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The Blind Side 2?
An analytical look at the Baltimore Ravens heading into the 2011 NFL draft:
Team needs
1. Offensive tackle. The Ravens want to improve their running game, and the best way to achieve that is to find a left tackle. Once they get one, they can move former left tackle Michael Oher back to the right side and insert right tackle Marshal Yanda back to right guard. That would give the Ravens a physical presence they desperately lacked last season. Look for the Ravens to take a hard look at Mississippi State’s Derek Sherrod or Colorado’s Nate Solder at No. 26 overall.
2. Outside linebacker. Terrell Suggs was the only constant pass-rushing force off the perimeter last season, and the Ravens would like to have a bookend. The Ravens gambled and lost by taking outside linebacker Sergio Kindle in the second round a year ago but might try to accomplish it again by tabbing Oklahoma’s Jeremy Beal or UCLA’s Akeem Ayers in the second or third round. One way or another, the Ravens will come out of this draft with an outside linebacker.
3. Wide receiver. The Ravens have a lot of possession types on the roster, but they need a tall, speedy gamebreaker on the outside. General manager Ozzie Newsome has affection for players from his alma mater, Alabama, but Julio Jones might be gone in the first 20 picks. Miami’s Leonard Hankerson would be on the list as a potential second-round selection.
4. Fullback. The Ravens got caught with only one on the roster last season. They can’t afford for that to happen in 2011 if they want to establish a strong running game. Stanford’s Owen Marecic and Pittsburgh’s Henry Hynoski both fit the mold. Marecic can also play linebacker and could be a big help on special teams, making him a very viable option.
5. Guard. The Ravens have a few options to fill their interior line jobs, but they would prefer an athletic guard who can run well enough to pull out and block linebackers. Florida State’s Rodney Hudson or Michigan’s Stephen Schilling are ideal candidates. Coach John Harbaugh has an affinity for Michigan players. Newsome prefers draft picks from big-time programs who have played against the best every week.
6. Defensive end. The Ravens were thin at this position last season. Cory Redding started, and played well, especially at the end of the season. The team, however, lacked a backup who could both stop the run and rush the quarterback. The top reserve was Paul Kruger, who filled in only part-time as a pass-rushing specialist. Virginia Tech’s Steven Friday is a good mid-round option.
Five-year history
The Ravens have been one of the league’s better drafting teams in the past half decade, but not as strong in 2009 and ’10. They were able to get a lot of offensive help with first-rounders such as Oher, quarterback Joe Flacco and guard Ben Grubbs. They also stole running back Ray Rice with a second-round pick in the same Flacco draft three years ago.
Why Doesn’t Brian Billick’s Name Ever Get Brought Up?
Which NFL coach has the most Super Bowl rings: Mike Holmgren, Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, Brian Billick or Jon Gruden?
Answer: All of the above. They each have one.
Yet, when the Dallas Cowboys have an opening, the names that surface immediately include Dungy, Gruden and Cowher. Dungy stated on Dan Patrick’s radio show he was not interested and added that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones needed a name like Cowher or Gruden or Holmgren, now working as president of the Cleveland Browns.
The buzz never seems to find Billick, whether it’s Dallas or Denver or Des Moines. Since he was fired as coach of the Baltimore Ravens following the 2007 season, he has had only a couple opportunities to return to coaching, despite a resume that warrants another chance.
Mouths Are Doing The Fighting
Some great postgame give-and-take between Miami’s Channing
Crowder and the Ravens, especially wide receiver Derrick Mason, after Baltimore’s victory.
This all started last week Crowder called Mason old and Mason sa
id he’d been playing in the NFL since Crowder was … umm … relieving himself down his leg.
After the Dolphins loss — another nice game for Joe Flacco by the way — Crowder claimed Baltimore’s LeRon McClain spit on him. As he spoke, Crowder used many bad words (tsk tsk).
“If he ever comes to Miami, he’s got to see me,” Crowder said of McClain, no doubt thinking of taking him for a Cuban sandwich in Little Havana. Crowder also said that to tell McClain he was a “ho.” Note: No “ho, ho!” followed.
Convicted Murderer Pleads Not Guilty in McNair Case
Adrian J. Gilliam Jr, pictured right, has ben charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, an offense which carries a penalty of up to ten years and fines up to $250,000. Law enforcement officials allege that Gilliam sold the handgun that was used to murder former Houston Oilers and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair. Police believe that Sahel Kazemi purchased the gun from Gilliam and then murdered McNair before turning the gun on herself.
Nicknamed “Air McNair,” the shooting came as a heavy blow to NFL fans everywhere as a veteran quarterback was needlessly gunned down in what officials are calling a murder suicide. His remarkable performances with both teams only serve to underscore the depth of the loss. In eleven years with the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans as a starting quarterback he led the teams to four playoffs, including playing in Super Bowl XXXIV with the Titans. He remains the Titan’s all-time leading passer.
During his short stint with the Baltimore Ravens, McNair led the Ravens to the playoffs in one of the two seasons he spent with the team. Selected to the Pro-Bowl three times, All-Pro and Co-MVP also count among his 2003 triumphs. A true football player and a true titan of the game, he remains sorely missed by all who knew him. Gilliam’s recent charges re-open the wound but may help several fans find some closure on the heels of a true tragedy.
Baltimore Ravens: NFL’s Toughest Team
While Joe Flacco had an amazing Rookie season with the Ravens, it was the Ravens rushing attack and their defense that gave them the title of the NFL’s toughest team. The Ravens offense doesn’t ever slow down behind RBs Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee, a rushing tandem almost as feared as Smash and Dash in Tennessee. These two hard nosed runners pounded opponents throughout the year, while Derrick Mason took the heat off the rushing attack with 1000 reception yards. But the Ravens are known more for their defense than their offense, and with a defensive line comprised of names like Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs, with Ed Reed in the backfield, there isn’t a QB or team out there that walks over the Ravens with ease. With Joe Flacco blossoming as a QB, and with the addition of Michael Oher at OT, the Ravens look to take 2009 by storm.
Expect lots of Ravens jerseys in stadiums around the nation in 2009, as the team is near guaranteed to make a run at the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl. Those who doubt the Ravens will find themselves knocked square on their rear.
Retired NFL Players Gathering to Make a Stand
With what is said to be the worst benefits of any professional sports league the NFL players are determined to make a difference by gathering to discuss a marketing initiative in a first time Independent Retired Players Summit.
“It’s not going to be a legal entity,” said Bob Grant, retired linebacker of the Baltimore Colts and Washington Redskins in the late 1960s and early ’70s. “It’s not going to be a situation where we’ve got somebody running around who’s president and trying to be a very important man. We want to keep it absolutely as democratic as we possibly can.
Coming on the same weekend as the NFLPA held Retired Players Convention ‘preventing’ NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith from being able to attend and participate in a chance for these retired players to ensure a better future for all NFL retirees.
Willis McGahee and the NFL’s Year of Showboats
What happened to the class act. The NFL may soon find out what a bunch of melodramatic idiots can do to a sport like the NBA has. Between Ocho – please shut the hell up and talk to much – TO the NFL does not need another act in its repertoire of class action lawsuits and felons.
When your team is down and out and things don’t go the way you planned, you could always fake paralysis. I guess looking like an idiot when your called out for faking just to ruin a voctors celebration is enough for Baltimore Ravens‘ Willis McGahee.
“And oh, yeah, that stretcher was a nice touch. It’s like he planned how he could make himself the center of attention,” Pittsburgh’s safety Troy Polamalu said as he vowed never to forgive McGahee for trying to take away from the Steelers’ victory.
I suppose that when you sustain an injury like that it is nothing a few asprin can’t remedy as Pittsburgh emergency-room doctors had reported as apposed to the usual perscribed pain killers in the event sever neck pain actually occurs.
Can Donovan McNabb Step up?
“Sometimes you have to step back to step forward in a positive way and Donovan will do that,” coach Andy Reid said in a positive light after benching Donovan McNabb half way through Sundays loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
“This has nothing to do with Kolb’s performance or Donovan’s performance.” he reaffirmed. McNabb will remain the starter, for now, and when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night it will be the beginning of what coach Reid hopes to be a posative step forward.
The Eagles are again on the verge of missing hte playoffs for the third time since losing the 2005 super bowl and despite McNabb remaining the starting quarterback, Reid felt that at the time second-year pro Kevin Kolb appeared a better option after a dismal half for McNabb even though they only trailed 10-7 and ultimetly losing 36-7. I am sure that numbers don’t show that the decision paid off but time will tell as a coaches decisions always reflectdirectly on their apparent abilities, whether good or bad.
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