2011 Baltimore Ravens Predictions


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The Baltimore Ravens finished tied a top the AFC North at 12-4 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Steelers earned the all-important No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a better division record. While the Ravens crushed Kansas City 30-7 in the first round of the postseason, their season would come to an end the following week at Pittsburgh, as the Steelers held on for 31-24 win.  While the Steelers figure to be just as strong in 2011, the Ravens have the talent to knock off the defending AFC Champions and make their way to the big game this season.

Offense:

The Ravens are happy with the progress Joe Flacco has made since they drafted him to be their starting quarterback in 2008, but they want to see him take that next step and really put this team on his shoulders in big games. Flacco threw for 3,622 yards with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, but will have to adjust to a revamped receiving corps.

The Ravens decided to not bring back wide outs Derrick Mason and T.J. Houshmandzadeh along with starting tight end Todd Heap. The only starter back is Anquan Boldin, who led the team with 64 catches for 837 yards. Baltimore traded for Buffalo deep threat Lee Evans  and drafted a couple of promising rookies in Torrey Smith and Tandon Doss. While it’s hard telling how the new additions will fit in, I look for a big season from new starting tight end Ed Dickson.

The Ravens also made some big moves in the running game. They bring back Ray Rice, who is coming off a monster season where he had 1,220 rushing yards, 556 receiving yards, and six total touchdowns, but got rid of Willis McGahee and fullback Le’Ron McClain. The good thing is they added a couple of pretty nice replacements in running back Ricky Williams and fullback Vontae Leach.

While the Ravens could use an upgrade over left guard Ben Grubbs, the biggest concern heading into the season is whether or not rookie Jah Reid will be ready to step in and start at right tackle. It looks as though he is on the right track, but the depth at tackle is extremely thin and could end up costing this team if Reid or left tackle Michael Oher go down with an injury.

Defense:

With the departure of nose tackle Kelly Gregg, the Ravens appear ready to turn over one of the most important spots in a 3-4 defense to second-year tackle Terrence Cody, who has the potential to really be a force inside. With the massive Cody eating up blocks inside, it should allow for another big season from Pro Bowl defensive end/tackle Haloti Ngata, who led the Raven’s defensive linemen with 65 tackles and a career-high 5.5 sacks.

The strong defensive front should allow veteran linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs to continue to make life miserable for opposing offensive players. Lewis led the team with 145 tackles in his 15th season, and still looks like he has at least a couple more years in the tank. Suggs led the team with 11 sacks, and will try and make it to back-to-back Pro Bowls for the first time in his career. Jameel McClain proved he was capable of starting alongside Lewis in the middle, but they need to get a little more out of outside linebacker Jarret Johnson.

The Ravens used their first-round pick on Colorado corner Jimmy Smith, and it couldn’t have been a better fit for the talented young player. Smith has some off the field issues that kept him on the board, but if anyone is going to keep the kid in check it’s Lewis and free safety Ed Reed,  who decided to stick around for at least another season.  The Ravens added free agent safety Bernard Pollard to start alongside Reed at strong safety, while Domonique Foxworth, Lardarius Webb, and Chris Carr fight for playing time at corner.

Prediction: 1st AFC North, 13-3 Overall – The Ravens are one of the more complete teams in the league, and I really like their chances of taking over the North from the Steelers this season. The schedule sets up for a lot of regular season wins, but this team is all about winning the Super Bowl. Anything less will be a disappointment.

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