The NFL is back, and Sportsnet is breaking down everything you need to know about each of the 32 teams—including why you should or shouldn’t be rooting for them this season—in the month leading up to kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 10. Today, the Baltimore Ravens.
Last year’s record: 10-6
Head coach: John Harbaugh
Core players: Joe Flacco (QB), Justin Forsett (RB), Terrell Suggs (LB), Elvis Dumervil (LB)
2015 is about… Winning the division and at least getting home field for a wild-card game. Despite finishing third in the AFC North last season, the Ravens made the playoffs, beat the Steelers in the first round, and just may be the best team in the division. None of the other three boasts the same mixture of offence and defence, and that showed in the playoffs—right up until they ran into the eventual Super Bowl–champion New England Patriots. Now with the Ray Rice debacle officially in the rearview, it’s time for Baltimore to just focus on playing winning football.
They lost… Haloti Ngata (DT). The Ravens traded away the stalwart nose tackle, along with a seventh-round draft pick, to the Detroit Lions for fourth- and fifth-round picks, a pretty small haul considering he’s a five-time pro bowler. At 31 years old he is getting up there in age, and after being suspended four games last season for violating the league’s policy on performing-enhancing drugs, it’s possible his skills could see a steep decline. Still, he’s been a staple for almost a decade, so it’ll be strange not to see him in Ravens purple.
Yeah, but they got… Kyle Arrington (CB), a veteran corner, who should help improve what was a below-league-average secondary last season. Arrington has spent last six season with the New England Patriots so he’s used to big game-pressure and won’t easily be baited into taking unnecessary penalties. The only risk with the 28-year-old is it seems as if his best years are behind him (he was the co-leader in interceptions in 2011 with seven but hasn’t come close to that mark since), but as long as he stays positionally sound he should make for an excellent addition to an already strong Ravens defence.
Growing from within: After finishing first among rookies and seventh among all players with 133 tackles last season earning him a Pro Bowl nod, it’s clear the Ravens have something special in C.J. Mosley (LB). Baltimore knows how to draft defensive studs and they hit a real home run by taking Mosley in the first round in last year’s draft. Lining up as an inside linebacker, Mosley showed an advanced ability to read and react to the run in addition to being able to play a pretty good cover game (he nabbed two interceptions last season). At only 23 years of age the sky’s the limit for this kid. Expect big things.
Why this team? Because their quarterback is beautifully flawed and because Steve Smith will retire at season’s end. Whether or not Flacco is actually elite is completely irrelevant because he’s a guy who will always try for the big play downfield regardless. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but it’s awesome when it does.
As for Smith, his career will always be remembered for what he did in Carolina but that doesn’t mean he can’t go out before thrilling us some more as a Raven.
Why not? Because despite Flacco’s willingness to throw the deep ball, and Forsett’s penchant to go off for a big run, unless you like defence this team will oftentimes fail to excite you. Baltimore’s style will always be defence first. That’s fine and all, but scoring points is more in flavor in the NFL these days and is a heck of a lot more fun to cheer for.
Perfect for fans of… Traditional football. The Ravens don’t deviate much from the old-school philosophy that defence and running the ball win games. Every once in a while Flacco will be given the green light to unload his cannon arm, but the bread-and-butter remains the same.
How much hope? 7/10. Point: The Ravens were a top-10 offensive and defensive team last season and with little change to their key personnel (minus Rice), there’s no reason why that will change. Counterpoint: As good as their defence looked overall the figure was skewed a little by the fact that it’s run defence was so much better than it’s pass defence. Point: Without the shadow of Rice hovering over the team, Baltimore should find its footing much more quickly. Counterpoint: While the Rice situation looked bad for the team off the field, it didn’t seem to influence them much on it last season. As stated off the top, the Ravens look like the best team in the division. Now all they have to do is prove they are.
Will you be mocked for front-running? A bit, maybe. Nothing you can’t handle.
A Meme to Remember: The folly of always airing it out.
