NFL Draft Info - Baltimore Ravens

2009 Baltimore Ravens Report Card

by: Brian Malan

Finishing the season at 9-7 and in the last spot of the playoffs is a great accomplishment in this league. But for the Ravens, this was not the type of season the players, coaches and fans expected. No, we did not think the Ravens would miss out on the playoffs, rather we though that this team was very capable of going 12-4 or at least winning the AFC North. That did not happen and we were unfortunately forced to go against Peyton Manning in the AFC Divisional game, getting sent into the off-season after a 20-3 beating. So here is a breakdown of how each position fared throughout the season.

QUARTERBACK: B

Joe Flacco had one of the best seasons as a Quarterback in Ravens history. Passing for nearly 3,700 yards, 21 touchdowns and only 12 INTs while completing over 60% of his passes is what this team needs each year. I said coming into this season that if Joe can get 3,000 yards and 20 TD's, the Ravens would be in the playoffs. Flacco exceeded my expectations and those are great numbers considering the lack of talent at WR/TE and the run first offense we operate most of the time. However, do not let Flacco's numbers hide the fact that he was still only in his 2nd year in the NFL. Flacco was caught far too often staring down WR Derrick Mason and dumping it off to Ray Rice too quickly after the snap. His redzone performance was rather poor this year, as Joe consistently threw bonehead interceptions when the Ravens were in a great scoring position. His footwork needs serious work and Flacco is not very good at stepping up once the pocket collapses. In the end, the Ravens have made the playoffs two straight year with Flacco as the QB, so he is obviously doing something right. With proper coaching, Joe should only get better.

RUNNING BACK: A-

The running game of the Baltimore Ravens was beyond belief this season, mainly because of 2nd year player Ray Rice. Rice has already stamped his spot as one of the best RB in the game with his fast, strong and fearless running style. Many people knocked Rice for his height coming out of college and did not think he would succeed in the NFL because of that. Well look at him now, a pro bowler. On only 254 carries, Rice was able to gain 1,339 yards, an average of 5.3 Yard/ATT, while rushing for 7 Touchdowns. Where Rice seemed most dangerous though was in the passing game, leading the team in receptions (78) for 708 yards. Rice was 2nd behind Chris Johnson in total yards from scrimmage this season. The other important factor in the Ravens rushing success this season was the performance of Willis McGahee. Coming from Buffalo, McGahee was brought to Baltimore to be the elite RB we had with Jamal Lewis at one time. Well, along cam Ray Rice and Willis was forced to the #2 spot, which he did not have a problem with supposedly. Even though McGahee only had 544 yards on the season, it was good for 5.0 Yards/ATT and a incredible 14 total touchdowns on the year. Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and the blocking of LeRon McClain were able to tie the league lead for rushing touchdowns with 22.

WIDE RECEIVER: C

Honestly, the only reason I am giving such a good grade is because Ray Rice bailed these guys out so much. Derrick Mason was his usual self, catching nearly anything thrown his way for 73 receptions, 1,028 yards and 7 TD's. Not bad for a 35 year old being covered by arguably the best athletes on the other team (CB). But other then Mason, our WR group was extremely weak. #2, Mark Clayton is not living up to the first round draft choice he was in 2005. Kelly Washington was a good player for getting first downs but was not seen in multiple games. Demetrius Williams showed flashes of elite play at times, but not enough. There is a good chance that the top 4 WR on the Ravens are not wearing purple next season. Joe Flacco needs elite talent if we want him to be an elite QB.

TIGHT END: B

Tight End Todd Heap has been a huge part of the Ravens dismal passing game since becoming a Raven in 2001. However, for the last few seasons we have seen a fall off in production and Heap has been seen as more of a blocking TE than a pass catching TE. Yet, this season Heap really stepped his game up. 53 receptions for nearly 600 yards and 6 touchdowns (our 3rd leading WR) was better production then Baltimore expected coming into this season. But for a team that runs as much as we do, it was disappointing to not see more two TE sets used with LJ Smith and Heap. Smith was a pretty decent pass catching TE with the Eagles, but was rarely seen getting passes thrown his way this year.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A-

In my opinion, this is the strongest unit of the entire team. Young, nasty and strong group of guys. Starting at the Center position, the Ravens signed Free Agent pro bowler, Matt Birk, to snap the ball for Joe. Birk showed that he was one of the best pick-ups of the entire off-season, leading a group that was potent in both running and passing the ball. With the Gaurds, the Ravens have 2 young and promising guys with Ben Grubbs and Marshal Yanda. Grubbs is a former first round pick and 2010 pro-bowl alternate. Yanda was 3rd round pick from a few years ago and in the Ravens last 4-5 games of the season, Yanda was maybe the best run blocker during that span. Lastly, Tackles Jared Gaither and Michael Oher. These two need to be considered as the best LT/RT duo in the league. Gaither is enormous, standing at 6'9", 340 pounds and long arms. Gaither was a 5th round supplemental draft selection 3 years ago and is showing why he would have gone in the first round. Michael Oher is in consideration for Rookie of the Year and there are many experts that said if the NFL Draft was done over, Oher would be the first pick. Their pass protection needs work, but this group is young and will only improve. This entire group made a statement that they are one of the best in the league and will be for a long time.

DEFENSIVE LINE: C

There is no question that the Ravens have a talented D-Line, but it just did not show at times this year. For a squad that is known for getting after the QB, the Ravens only had 32 sacks on the year. Baltimore lacks a true DE outside of Trevor Pryce who is nearing retirement. Haloti Ngata spent too much time at DE this year, where the Ravens need him playing NT in our 3-4 defense. This group was good stopping the run this year like they usually are, but a few big time backs like Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson were able to expose them.

LINEBACKERS: B-

Ray Lewis was his usual self, leading the team in tackles once again and getting to the pro bowl while being the leader on this team. OLB Jarrett Johnson was maybe the teams best all-around defensive player this year, becoming a great 1 on 1 tackler, decent pass rush and above average awareness on passing downs. The other ILB spot next to Ray Lewis was always changing. 2nd year player Tavares Gooden was considered to maybe be Ray's future replacement, but he still needs work. Undrafted rookie Free Agent, Dannell Ellerbe, out of Georgia was a bright spot at times with his tackling, but coverage skills lacked at times. What really hurt this team was the lack of performance by Terrell Suggs, the $66 million man. For as much money as Suggs was given, 4.5 sacks throughout the season is awful. He better step it up. This squad knows how to hit, but needs more discipline and better coverage skills.

SECONDARY: C-

About the 8th week into the season, this grade might have been a D- considering how bad the group was playing at the time. Game after game, the CB's were getting beat deep and this resulted in pass interference calls. Because of this, the Ravens lead the league in penalty yards. The group finished strong at the end of the year and we finally got to see flashes of solid football from Dominique Foxworth, the teams biggest Free Agent pick up this year. Where the Ravens should be excited is with rookie CB Lardarius Webb who looks to be one of the best athletes on the team. Great tackler and knows how to stick with his WR. Ed Reed was not his usual self this year, but the games he played in teams still refused to throw his way. A few missed coverages by Reed, but he was still solid. This squad was still able to get 22 interceptions on the year and finish 8th in the league in pass defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D+

I give the kick-off and punt coverage a A- on the year, but it was the kicking that gets a F. The Ravens got it wrong during the off-season with cutting Matt Stover (who is now playing in the Superbowl) and letting a 2nd year player in Steve Hauschka and undrafted rookie in Graham Gano battle it out. Hauschka got the job, but was gone half way through the season. He missed kick after kick in crucial situations, including a 44 yard attempt against the Vikings that would have won the game after one of the best comebacks in Ravens history (21 points in the last 5 minutes). Ravens signed Billy Cundiff who had stints with Dallas in the past and kicked for the Browns, and he was.........solid. Missed a few easy field goals, but was strong for the most part and kicked the game winner against the Steelers. The Ravens still need to find a kicker who can make 50+ yard attempts regularly and get the ball in the endzone more. Cundiff cannot do this.

COACHING: C+

The coaches for the Ravens get a C+ simply because they were 1 game above average this year at 9-7. The players are the ones scoring and making the stops, but the coaches are the ones getting those guys in the positions to win the game. Head Coach John Harbaugh did make it to the playoffs in his 2nd straight year, but he refused to change the attitude of a team that was undisciplined and lost games because of penalties and mental errors. His time out management and challenges were also not so good this year. But the players seem to buy into him. Harbaugh is straight up with you and loves the players he has. Off. Coordinator Cam Cameron has maybe put himself on the hot seat after this year. Fans began to question why Flacco was throwing so much when we had barely any talent at WR and great talent in the back field. The Ravens defense was forcing us to play from behind in some games, but the balance of play calling was not what this city is used to in the past.