Fabian Washington drills during camp.
We at NextGen Sports decided to follow up the Steelers piece from yesterday with Pittsburgh’s chief rivals, the Baltimore Ravens. Coming off a 9-7 season, in which head coach John Harbaugh’s team managed to squeak into the playoffs, the Ravens enter 2010 with an even tougher schedule against a much improved AFC North. Without further introduction, here is the ultimate guide to Ravens’ training camp…
Player Watch
Mike McLaughlin - McLaughlin, a former Boston College player, might just make the Ravens the roster this season. An undrafted free agent, he has displayed impressive versatility, switching from outside linebacker to fullback. With incumbent Le’Ron McClain hoping to better supplement the running game this season, McLaughlin could find a home as the Ravens’ blocking fullback. Don’t be surprised to see the 5 foot 11 inch, 236 pounder to find his way on the final roster.
Fabian Washington - The loss of Domonique Foxworth for the entire year coupled with Lardarrius Webb still recovering from a severe ACL tear, the Ravens appear to be thin in the secondary. Washington missed the majority of 2009 with a torn ACL, as well, but he has recovered faster than Webb. The likely explanation lies in timing, in which Washington suffered his injury four weeks before his teammate and Baltimore’s 3rd round pick in 2009. That being said, the Ravens need the former Nebraska standout to play up to his excellent form of 2008. Ed Reed could miss large chunks of this upcoming season, and the other starting cornerback job is in question. With such youth pontetislly in the secondary, Washington needs to lead by example, stifling the aerial attacks of both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
Marquee Position Battles
Tight End - Todd Heap is a likely guarantee to start at tight end, but Baltimore has grown wary of the injury prone past of the former All-Pro. As a result, General Manager Ozzie Newsome drafted a pair of talented tight ends in Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson respectively. Initial word out of Westminster points toward Dickson, who was selected first. Yet, Pitta expects to contribute offensively in his rookie year, nonetheless. The once BYU standout projects similarly to Todd Heap, in terms of stature. Dickson is much more athletic with a higher ceiling at the professional level, and he has already demonstrated signs of chemistry with Joe Flacco. Expect both rookies to contribute most in the Red Zone for Baltimore. Dickson is better suited to wrestle balls away from shorter defenders, while Pitta excels in individual match ups down the field.
Free Safety - With each passing day Ed Reed looks to begin the year on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Remember, if the star safety isn’t activated following week number six (when he is officially released form the list), he will have to be placed on injured reserve. In Reed’s likely absence, the Baltimore organization turns to either Tom Zbikowski or offseason signee and former Cowboys Pro-Bowler Ken Hamlin. The favorite as of now leans towards youth, with Zbikowski emerging as a hard-nosed, smart, and poised presence on the back end. Hamlin, on the other hand, might have very well seen his best days in Dallas and before, in Seattle. Although he is just 29 years old, he lacks sufficient speed to cover his needed assignments. Obviously, such a decline was evident in Dallas, where Hamlin was benches at the start of 2009 and released at season’s end.
Player Spotlight
Joe Flacco - The third year quarterback looks poised for a successful 2010 season, and the Ravens chances of reaching the Super Bowl will count heavily on his play. Perhaps, for the first time in over a decade, Baltimore will rely on the offense to carry them.
To his credit, Ozzie Newsome did a solid job in surrounding Flacco heading into this season. With the additions of Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth at wide receiver plurookie tandem of rookie tight ends, the third year quarterback rookie tight ends now has all the tools to succeed. Much pressure should be taken star running back Ray Rice.
The only potential problem for Flacco is his health. His struggled immensely at the end of 2009, likely because of a hip injury. In addition, expect the former Delaware also to have better foot work in the pocket this year. He worked tirelessly at perfecting the positions of his feet, doing baseball fielding drills alongside brother and Orioles prospect, Mike Flacco this offseason.
If all goes well in Charm City, the Ravens would have began consecutive decades with Super Bowl titles. Now that would please notable radio host Colin Cowherd, who has outspokenly picked the Ravens from the start of July.
-Justin Silberman
Joe Flacco drops back for a pass against the Bengals.
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this is a great article and i love the site, too. i think you guys are underselling ken hamlin, though. he was once a pro bowler and defensive rookie of the year candidate. he has had some good practices during training camp too, so watch for him to get some serious minutes with ed being on the pup list. hes definitley better than haruki nakamura. focusing on other issues, i don’t have much faith in fabian washington, and i don’t think he should have been chronicled as much in this article. he really has not done much for this franchise in his time here and maybe you guys should have focused on a dannel ellerbee, jameel mcclain, tavares gooden, or lardarius webb. otherwise, good article and nextgensports.net is a well run site. i hope to see more football coverage (nfl and college) from you guys
Thanks for the input, great apperciated. But lets look at this when Chris Macalister went down in 2008 who filled in as the teams number 1 cornerback. Yes, Fabian Washington, he filled in doing a great job shouting down teams number 1 receivers, and with Hamlin there is a reason Dallas did release him, hopefully he can regain some of his pro-bowl form that would be huge in a Ravens secondary that is already havenly under maned. That being said look for Zibby to step up and play a huge role filling in for Ed Reed as he did last year during the Ravens strech run to the playoffs.