Baltimore Ravens 2008 Season Preview

Football Betting Lines

08/25/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a new era for the Baltimore Ravens, on multiple fronts.

Gone after nine seasons is head coach Brian Billick, who lifted the young organization to near-immediate heights by winning a Super Bowl in his second season, only to slowly fall out of favor in Charm City as the decade wore on.

Billick was replaced by Eagles secondary coach John Harbaugh, who seeks to bring a tougher attitude and a firmer hand to a team that rarely seemed unified behind Billick in his final years on the job.

Changes are also at hand at the quarterback position, where Steve McNair retired after two so-so years in Baltimore, leaving the club without a legitimate NFL starter.

Second-year-pro Troy Smith and longtime hand Kyle Boller will duke it out for signal-calling duties as the season begins, but the future belongs to first- round Draft choice Joe Flacco (Delaware), whom the Ravens traded up to select in April.

Overshadowed by those shifts was the retirement of Pro Bowl left tackle Jonathan Ogden, the longtime anchor of the Baltimore offensive line who had been hampered by injuries in the past couple of years.

Will all of these changes be for the better? Well, Harbaugh has received positive initial marks, and the AFC North is very much up for grabs, but there is no disputing that the Ravens are going to need a lot of good luck in order to rise up the AFC North ladder.

Harbaugh figures to experience some growing pains as he attempts to build a roster from a group of declining veterans and young question marks.

Will fans in Baltimore wait patiently as his vision takes hold?

Below we take a capsule look at the 2008 edition of the Baltimore Ravens, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

2007 RECORD: 5-11 (4th, AFC North)

LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: 2006, lost to Indianapolis, 15-6, in AFC Divisional Playoff

COACH (RECORD): John Harbaugh (first season with Ravens, first overall)

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Cam Cameron

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Rex Ryan

OFFENSIVE STAR: Willis McGahee, RB (1207 rushing yards, 43 receptions, 8 TD)

DEFENSIVE STAR: Ray Lewis, LB (120 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 INT)

OFFENSIVE TEAM RANKS: 16th rushing, 23rd passing, 24th scoring

DEFENSIVE TEAM RANKS: 2nd rushing, 20th passing, t22nd scoring

KEY ADDITIONS: QB Joe Flacco (1st Round, Delaware), RB Ray Rice (2nd Round, Rutgers), FB Lorenzo Neal (from Chargers), TE Adam Bergen (from Cardinals), G Adrien Clarke (from Jets), OL Oniel Cousins (3rd Round, UTEP), LB Brendon Ayanbadejo (from Bears), LB Tavares Gooden (3rd Round, Miami-Florida), CB Fabian Washington (from Raiders), CB Frank Walker (from Packers), S Tom Zbikowski (3rd Round, Notre Dame), S Jim Leonhard (from Bills)

KEY DEPARTURES: QB Steve McNair (retired), RB Musa Smith (to Jets), RB Mike Anderson (released), WR Devard Darling (to Chiefs), T Jonathan Ogden (retired), LB Prescott Burgess (injured/out for season), S Gerome Sapp (not tendered), RS B.J. Sams (to Chiefs)

QB: With Flacco deemed not quite ready for primetime, the preseason quarterback battle revolved around Smith (452 passing yards, 2 TD, 0 INT), who gave the team a spark while starting his final two games as a rookie, and Boller (1743 passing yards, 9 TD, 10 INT), the more experienced player who has shown himself to possess considerable limitations. It appeared, as preseason neared its finish, that Smith might get the nod due to his athleticism in the presence of a shaky o-line. If the Ravens fall out of contention, Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron figure to throw Flacco into the fire. The Delaware product has a strong arm, but his touch and decision-making will have to catch up in order for him to be a factor.

RB: When Cameron was hired, it was figured to be a boon for running back Willis McGahee, as the coach's offense helped running backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Ronnie Brown be especially productive. But McGahee was knocked out of the final three games of the preseason following arthroscopic knee surgery, and how effective he'll be at the start of the regular season is something of a question mark. That could mean an expanded role for second- round rookie Ray Rice (Rutgers), who brings a shifty element to the attack, but at 5-9 and 205 pounds might not be quite ready to do much inside running. There is little depth behind McGahee and Rice, a situation that prompted the team to consider using fullback Le'Ron McClain as a tailback. The acquisition of veteran Lorenzo Neal (8 receptions, 1 TD with San Diego) makes this possibility more likely. Cory Ross (72 rushing yards, 1 TD) will probably make the team due to his special teams abilities, and seventh-round pick Allen Patrick (Oklahoma) is among the players on the bubble.

WR/TE: Whoever wins the quarterback job will have a gaggle of decent targets at his disposal. Derrick Mason (103 receptions, 5 TD) has been extremely reliable in his three seasons in Baltimore, and will continue to get his catches. Mark Clayton (48 receptions) experienced a down year in 2007 due to personal problems and injuries, but has a chance to revert to his strong 2006 form. And tight end Todd Heap (23 receptions, 1 TD), when healthy, is one of the best in the business. If any of these three players goes down, the Ravens could be in trouble. Demetrius Williams (20 receptions) and Yamon Figurs (1 reception) can be occasional deep threats but don't look like potential starters, and Matt Willis (1 reception) is promising but remains an unknown quantity. Behind Heap, Daniel Wilcox (6 receptions, 1 TD) had trouble staying on the field last year due to injury, and Cardinals castoff Adam Bergen is a big target but hasn't translated his physical presence into much production.

OL: Opposing pass rushers are licking their chops when looking at the Ravens' potential starting tackles. On the left side, where Ogden was once a fixture, Jared Gaither is a second-year player with two career starts and was bothered by an ankle injury in the preseason. On the right side, Adam Terry was unspectacular as a fill-in for Ogden, and seems to have trouble staying healthy as well. If either of those players go down, the options are third- round draft pick Oniel Cousins (UTEP) and/or journeymen Chad Slaughter and Adrien Clarke. The interior part of the line looks much better. Center Jason Brown and guards Ben Grubbs (left side) and Marshal Yanda (right side) are all solid and reliable, and Chris Chester, who started five games a year ago, is able to fill in for any of those players in a pinch. Fourth-round Draft pick David Hale (Weber State) figures to make the squad as a backup.

DL: The Ravens are led up front by the tackle combination of Kelly Gregg (80 tackles, 3 sacks) and Haloti Ngata (63 tackles, 3 sacks), who are better run- stoppers than pass rushers but have the ability to play in either a three- or four-man front. When Baltimore is in the 4-3, Terrell Suggs (80 tackles, 5 sacks) and Trevor Pryce (15 tackles, 2 sacks) are the ends. Suggs had a down year last season, with only five sacks, and was slapped with the franchise tag in lieu of a new long-term contract. Pryce missed 11 games last year with a broken wrist and a torn pectoral, but appears to be back in good health. Justin Bannan (30 tackles, 2 sacks) and Dwan Edwards (41 tackles, 1 sack) figure to remain as the primary backups up front.

LB: He doesn't move from sideline to sideline like he once did, but middle linebacker Ray Lewis still packs a punch and remains the leader of the defense. Lewis is 33 and has had some trouble staying healthy, but will be the focal point of Rex Ryan's defense until further notice. Lewis' supporting cast needs to have a bounce-back year. Bart Scott (93 tackles, 1 sack) was oft- quiet after a Pro Bowl season in 2006, and fellow OLB Jarret Johnson (58 tackles, 2 sacks) did little to make folks forget Adalius Thomas. Antwan Barnes (10 tackles, 2 sacks) could see a bit more time as a pass rusher in Johnson's place. Rookie Tavares Gooden (3rd round, Miami-Florida) should garner most of his action on special teams. The Ravens might hamstring themselves defensively if they keep both Gary Stills (16 tackles, 1 sack) and newcomer Brendon Ayanbadejo (21 tackles with Chicago), who are primarily special teams aces. But Harbaugh made his name as a special teams maven, and could put a greater emphasis on this area.

DB: It became pretty clear by the midway point of last season that the Ravens defense was going to struggle to be successful if cornerbacks Chris McAlister (19 tackles, 1 INT) and Samari Rolle (22 tackles, 1 INT) weren't healthy. McAlister missed eight games, Rolle ten, and the secondary was borderline horrible in the games that both were out. If the starting corners succumb to injury this year, the Ravens have at least one better option in ex-Raider Fabian Washington (40 tackles, 1 INT with Oakland). Ex-Packer Frank Walker and holdovers Derrick Martin (40 tackles, 2 INT) and Corey Ivy (57 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT) could be fighting for one spot. At safety, there is concern over whether Ed Reed (39 tackles, 7 INT) will be ready in time for the season due to a shoulder injury. If he's not, strong safety Dawan Landry (82 tackles, 1 sack) could find himself teaming with either ex-Bill Jim Leonhard (54 tackles, 2 INT with Buffalo) or rookie Tom Zbikowski (Notre Dame). Sixth-round Draft pick Haruki Nakamura (Cincinnati) could stick as a special-teamer.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Fantasy enthusiasts love veteran kicker Matt Stover (27-32 FG), who has an ultra-reliable leg that is called upon often due to the Ravens' sputtering ways inside the red zone. Stover turned 40 in January, but looks like he could play another five years. Punter Sam Koch (43.6 avg.) and long snapper Matt Katula are also solid. In the return game, the departure of B.J. Sams means Yamon Figurs (24.7 kickoff return avg., 10.7 punt return avg.) is pretty much alone with those duties. Figurs had a touchdown in both the punt and kickoff return games last year, but needs to do a better job holding onto the football.

PROGNOSIS: The Ravens' 2008 fortunes are particularly difficult to predict, since it's impossible to tell whether injuries will fall Baltimore's way, whether "X"-factors at several positions will come through, or whether the players will buy into Harbaugh's philosophies. But the rule of thumb in the NFL is that if there are more questions than answers, you shouldn't count on good things happening. The situations at quarterback and at tackle are going to have to work out perfectly in order for the Ravens to have a chance in this division. And even if that happens, there's no guarantee that a defense that has clearly lost some of its dominance will return to form. In all likelihood, the Ravens will battle Cincinnati to stay out of the AFC North cellar, with an eye towards more positive things happening in 2009.