Posts Tagged ‘Ray Lewis’

Play Like a Raven – Week 7

Posted by darnold on Thursday, October 28th, 2010

PlayLikeaRayRice

Ray Rice had a solid, if unspectacular, day Sunday, rushing for 72 yards on 16 carries (4.5 ypc). Mike Preston wrote on Monday that Rice seems to be a bit slow hitting his holes, making too many cuts trying to find the “home run.”

Running back Ray Rice carried the ball 16 times for 72 yards against the Bills Sunday, but he is still slow hitting holes.

Rice had a similar problem the week before against the New England Patriots. The Ravens are opening holes, but Rice is hesitating, trying to bounce outside or cut back for the home run instead of just blasting through the hole.

Additionally, in the fourth quarter, when the Ravens could have really used some yards on the ground to put the game away, Rice was nowhere to be found, for the most part. His fourth quarter touches:

3-7-BAL 10 (9:09) (Shotgun) 5-J.Flacco pass short right to 27-R.Rice to BLT 11 for 1 yard (59-A.Coleman).
1-10-BUF 44 (4:54) 27-R.Rice right guard to BUF 43 for 1 yard (99-M.Stroud, 90-C.Kelsay).
2-9-BUF 43 (4:15) 27-R.Rice left guard to BUF 40 for 3 yards (95-K.Williams, 20-D.Whitner).

I still maintain that Rice is the most important piece to this offense, but his follow-up to his Pro Bowl 2009 season has been a bit disappointing. Let’s hope he picks things up in the second half of the season.

Played Like a Raven – Ed Reed

Mr. Reed made his triumphant return to the gridiron against the Bills, and had a huge say in the outcome of the game. Eddie picked off two Ryan Fitzpatrick passes and caused a Roscoe Parrish fumble. The Ravens had only two interceptions in six games without #20, and that total was already doubled after just 45 minutes of football with Reed on the field.

I’m imagining Tom Zbikowski standing on the sideline, muttering to himself “they never throw the ball to me like that, mehhhh…”

The goofy faction of Ravens fans that maintain the delusion that the secondary is better without Reed (due to his “wreckless” play) will point to the four long touchdown passes as evidence that their claim still holds water. To those people, I’d remind them of the big touchdown passes by Denver in Week 5, and the horrendous play by Ravens’ cornerbacks all day against Buffalo. The bottom line is, if Ed Reed doesn’t play Sunday, the Ravens are very likely 4-3 today.

Honorable Mentions: Ray Lewis, Todd Heap, Marshal Yanda

Did Not Play Like a Raven – Rest of Defense

Holy shitballs. Where to start?

Let’s go down the list, excluding the two players (#20 and #52, of course) named above.

Fabian Washington: “Toast” was burned again and again, to the point that, by Fabe’s own admission, Ryan Fitzpatrick was calling him out via audibles at the line of scrimmage.

“Once they start going after somebody, you’ve got to get them off you then,” said Washington, who wears No. 31. “[Sunday] was, ‘check, check 31.’ That’s what it was. This week, they got me, but please believe I will be back.”

After his great day against Denver, Washington has fallen off a cliff. In New England, he was simply ineffective, and, against the Bills, he had likely his worst game as a pro. Fabe looked completely shell-shocked by the end of his day, which came midway through the fourth quarter when he was benched in favor of Josh Wilson following Fitzpatrick’s final touchdown pass.

Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs: These two are counted on by the Ravens’ defense to be playmakers. Do you remember hearing either of their named called on Sunday? Suggs and Ngata can NOT be invisible, or this defense is in more trouble than any of us realize. Ngata’s play is somewhat excused by the rest of his body of work so far in 2010. Suggs needs to step up down the stretch, it’s just that simple.

Edit: Some guys that know a lot more about football than me say that Sunday was actually Suggs’ best day rushing the passer since the Washington game in 2008, despite his not recording a sack.

The seven total pressures (a hit, six pressures) Suggs recorded in this game was the most since he recorded eight (a sack, a hit, six pressures) in Week 14 of the 2008 season against the Washington Redskins.

Lardarius Webb: He was slowed by a groin wrap, but Webb was the one beaten on the 33-yard touchdown to Stevie Johnson.

Webb said he had his groin wrapped as a precaution, but took it off after Johnson beat him for a 33-yard score in the second quarter.

“That’s not an excuse,” Webb said. “I’m still supposed to make that play. I took it off then, and didn’t have any problems. I’m thinking I never should have put it on in the first place. It’s the NFL. Everybody makes plays.

Webbie also whiffed on several tackle attempts.

Dawan Landry: Sure, he had 9 tackles, but how many did he miss? Unfortunately, they don’t keep that stat on NFL.com (well, fortunately for Dawan). Landry has been sub-par in pass support, run support, and general tackling all season. Maybe during his week off, he can go work out with, and get some pointers from, his brother LaRon, who is having a stellar season down in Landover for the Redskins.

Jarret Johnson, Paul Kruger, Brandon McKinney, Terrence Cody, Cory Redding: Buffalo averaged 3.8 yards per rushing play for the day, and had 132 total yards on the ground. Fitzpatrick was sacked only once, and it was hardly a true sack (he rolled out on a 4th-and-1 bootleg, and was stopped behind the line by Lewis). Nobody on the defense escapes blame for the Bills’ 64% 3rd-down conversion rate on the day.

Just an ugly, ugly performance all around.

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Ravens 37 Bills 34 OT (The SHOULD HAVE SUITED UP THE 2000 DEFENSE Game)

Posted by darnold on Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

On Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens honored the 2000 Super Bowl team with a “homecoming” of sorts.

Maybe they should have let those guys play a bit. Even though most of them haven’t stepped foot on a field in nearly a decade, they certainly couldn’t have been any worse than the current Ravens were yesterday.

I’m pretty sure Tony Siragusa could have plugged up the middle and slowed down Buffalo’s rushing game more aptly than Haloti Ngata, Kelly Gregg, and co. were able to.

I’m fairly certain that Duane Starks would have held his own against the Bills’ wide receivers better than Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb did.

Fabian “Toast” Washington was burned repeatedly

And I’m damn positive that Kim Herring could have stepped in and given Dawan Landry an absolute clinic on how to make a tackle.

On a day when members of the greatest defense of all time were in the house, the Ravens did little to make the former Super Bowl champs proud.

The Buffalo Bills came into Baltimore and ran roughshod over the Ravens’ defense, doing pretty much anything they wanted to all afternoon. They entered the game averaging just 251 yards of total offense per game, and had more than doubled that output (506 total yards of offense) by the time Billy Cundiff’s 38-yard field goal gave the Ravens the 37-34 victory. In overtime. Against, of all teams, the freaking Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo also sported the worst 3rd-down conversion percentage in the NFL entering the game. At the end of the day, one of the two teams was just 2/11 on 3rd downs, while the other was a stout 11/17 on their way to holding the ball for more than 38 minutes. The latter, of course, however inexplicably, was the Bills.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick put an end to the Bills league-worst 58 consecutive games without a 300-yard passer, and did so emphatically; he threw for 374 yards and FOUR touchdowns. Not to be outdone, receivers Lee Evans and Stevie Johnson ended Bills streaks of their own, as each surpassed 100 yards receiving, something no Buffalo Bill had managed in 11 games.

Not that it was a complete aerial assualt – Buffalo also put up 132 yards on the ground for the day.

And yet…as bleak a picture as all of those numbers paint – not only on the day, but moving forward as well – the Ravens still eked out the win.

It was up to the offense to bail the defense out yesterday, and Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin, Todd Heap, and company were up to the challenge. Finding themselves in a 24-10 hole after Evans’ second touchdown with 5 minutes remaining in the first half, the Ravens’ offense – with an assist from the great Ed Reed (more on him later) – ripped off 17 points in just 71 seconds of game clock to take a 27-24 lead.

The final 7 of that 17 came on a beautiful flea flicker, a play that I would bet the Ravens haven’t hit on in at least five years. From the Buffalo 34, Joe Flacco handed to Willis McGahee, who lateraled back to Flacco, and Joe launched a gorgeous touchdown rainbow to Anquan Boldin.

While Joe didn’t have his best day, he made enough plays to win the game. He connected on just 16 of his 31 throws, but the ones he did hit, he made count: 250 yards through the air was the final result, with three touchdown strikes of 26, 14, and 34 yards.

Ed Reed. The man just makes plays. Even though Reed looked a half-step slow at times during the day, his uncanny nose for the football just will not be suppressed. On the Bills’ first series, when it looked like they were about to pick up a 3rd-and-8 from the Ravens’ 32, Reed came up and put his helmet right on the ball, jarring it free from wideout Roscoe Parrish. The Ravens didn’t recover, but Buffalo lost 12 yards on the play, and the ensuing punt set the Ravens’ up to take their short-lived 3-0 lead. On Buffalo’s very first snap of the second half, Reed, off a tipped pass from Ray Lewis, intercepted Fitzpatrick to set up the aforementioned flea flicker score. And, at the end of the third, with the Ravens holding a 34-24 lead, just a single play after he came up a little lame and CBS analyst Steve Beuerlein noted that Reed looked a little slow, #20 AGAIN intercepted Fitzpatrick, this time returning the pick 40 yards to the Buffalo nine.

That play should have effectively won the game for the Ravens. Unfortunately, Willis McGahee and Joe Flacco botched the handoff on the ensuing snap, and gave the ball right back to the Bills. Instead of a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the defense was faced for the second straight week with a 10 point lead at the same juncture in the ball game. And, just like in New England last week, they would cave.

Buffalo put together a 63-yard touchdown drive and a 59-yard field goal drive – the latter starting at their own 9 yard line with just 3:26 to go in the game – in the fourth quarter, while the Ravens managed just a single first down in the final period. It’s distressing that just a week after blowing a fourth quarter lead, both units – offense and defense – again choked when given the chance to put the game away.

Facing the worst run defense in the league, and having gained nearly 5 yards per carry all day, the Ravens’ fourth quarter play selection was the following:

1st drive: Run (fumble)
2nd drive: Pass (incomplete), Run (6 yards), Pass (1 yard), Punt
3rd drive: Pass (incomplete), Pass (36 yards), Run (1 yard), Run (3 yards), Pass (incomplete), Punt

And in overtime (the drive that didn’t START in field goal range): Run (5 yards), Pass (incomplete), Pass (sack), Punt

Five runs, seven passes.

Now, some will argue that Cam Cameron was just doing exactly what Ravens fans were blasting him for NOT doing after last week’s New England loss – that is, being aggressive and not “going conservative.” To those people, I’d offer this rebuttal: the difference is, in both instances, Cam went AWAY from what was working. Last week in New England, it was the intermediate passing game that was having success – and in the fourth quarter the Ravens decided they were going to play it safe. Against Buffalo – again, the WORST run defense in the league – Ray Rice was having a fairly good day and Willis McGahee was outstanding (besides the fumble), averaging nearly six yards per carry. Add in that Flacco, as mentioned earlier, was erratic on the day (he should have been intercepted at least once, if not twice), and the decision to skew the playcalling towards the pass in the fourth quarter and overtime becomes even more perplexing.

I suppose I just don’t understand NFL playcalling. I’ll leave it at that for now, so I don’t drive myself insane.

Two additional points I’d be remiss not to address: First up, Ray Lewis. With his former teammates watching, is it any surprise that #52 would say, “enough of this bullshit, we’re not losing,” and just straight up maul the football from Bills tight end Shawn Nelson? Make no mistake about it, Ray won the game with that play, as the Ravens had very little hope of stopping the offensive juggernaut that stole the Buffalo Bills’ jerseys and wore them in Baltimore.

The second point, which piggybacks right off of that one – the officials. I’ve complained about the refereeing enough on this blog over the years that I’d be quite hypocritical to not acknowledge that the Ravens were aided monumentally at least once yesterday by the guys’ in stripes. So, referee Pete Morelli and crew: thank you for not blowing the whistle on that play.

In fairness, former NFL VP of Officiating Mike Pereira says the refs made the right call.

The other curious ruling came two plays before Flacco found Heap to pull the Ravens to within 24-20 at the half. Flacco had appeared to have found Bills cornerback Reggie Corner (great career choice BTW Reggie!) for an interception that would have kep the deficit at 11 points at the break. However, luckily, Corner was ruled out of bounds even after review – and Boldin was not flagged for offensive pass interference (though either player could have been called for P.I.)

The Ravens have problems on both sides of the ball, and on special teams, and we’ll get into those problems deeper here during the bye week. But for now, let’s just thank our lucky (after yesterday, that word bears repeating) stars that the Ravens go into the off date at 5-2 and right where they need to be…record-wise, anyway.

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Ravens 10 Jets 9 (The MOST LOPSIDED 1-POINT GAME EVER Game)

Posted by darnold on Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

I’m sure many of you out there are, like me, Maryland Terrapin fans. And watching this game, I’ll bet many of you also, like me, felt like you were watching Labor Day’s Maryland-Navy game all over again, only this time from the Navy fan’s point of view. They weren’t quite the goalline possessions that the Midshipmen kept coming away empty from, but the Ravens did have the ball inside the Red Zone twice in the games first 25 minutes (once on a 17-play, 9-minute drive) only to turn the ball over and come away empty handed on both chances.

I’ll also say this – I think we Ravens fans may have cashed in every last “the refs hate us” chip that we had left. The Jets were penalized 10 times for 100 yards in the FIRST HALF alone. The Ravens had four 3rd-down attempts turned into first downs via New York penalties, including a 3rd-and-28, and the pass interference in the end zone that set them up at the 1 for their only touchdown of the night – a touchdown that would not have happened had a field goal attempt earlier on the same drive not been nullified by, you guessed it – a penalty.

As a matter of fact…watching the Jets, with their defense committing a stupid penalty for seemingly every big play they make, and their offense that nobody in the stadium has any confidence in to go 40 or so yards to set up a potential game winning field goal…you begin to wonder if it was Rex Ryan or Brian Billick coaching those Ravens teams of the last decade.

John Harbaugh’s team – the “new” Ravens – were penalized just 5 times for 38 yards in the game, compared to 14-125 for Rex’s “old” Ravens. Several times the New York crowd was pining for pass interference flags on Ravens’ cornerbacks, but none would come, as Chris Carr and Fabian Washington were playing with what Harbaugh likes to call “perfect technique.”

The Jet penalties served to effectively offset all the mistakes the Ravens’ offense was making in giving the ball away. It’s a bit eerie when, after a season of hearing your offense hyped up as potentially one of the league’s best, your quarterback’s very first dropback on the very first offensive snap of the season results in a sack-fumble-turnover. Flacco held the ball way too long on that play, and paid the price. On his interception, the MNF crew seemed to think it was as much Anquan Boldin’s fault as Flacco’s – the ball was seemingly intended for Todd Heap, but Antonio Cromartie – who was covering Boldin on the play – came off his man to make the pick. Still, it was an ugly floater of a pass that had me nervous as soon as it left his hand. As for the Ravens’ THIRD turnover of the first half, Willis McGahee, who looked terrible all night save for his crucial touchdown burst, just played right into the Jets’ hands, allowing himself to be held up by tacklers while more flew in to try to knock the ball loose.

It was those turnovers – along with the Jets eating the Ravens’ lunches on special teams – that kept Gang Green in the ball game. The “lopsidedness” of this one, which I referenced in the blog title, is on full display if you look at some of the numbers:

First Downs: BAL – 20 NYJ – 6
Third down conversions: BAL – 11/19 57% NYJ – 1/11 9%
Passing Yards: BAL – 233 NYJ – 60
Time of Possession: BAL – 38:32 NYJ – 21:28

Complete dominance by the Ravens, yet a single point separated the two teams after 60 minutes. As my dad put it, it felt like we were playing the damn Steelers. The only difference – and its a big one – Mark Sanchez is no Ben Roethlisberger (although he and his teammates seem to be working from Ben’s playbook lately).

Sanchez had no ability to drive down the field for a game-winning score. He was horrific all night, throwing check-down after check-down, and at one point sliding like a wuss just shy of what would have been a Red Zone first down when he saw #52 flying at him. The Ravens’ much-maligned secondary was never even tested by the second-year quarterback. Mark Sanchez did NOTHING the entire game, save for confirm every suspicion I have about him being nothing but Matt Leinart version 1.2.

It was ugly – excruciatingly so at times – but all that really matters is that the Ravens walked out of the New Meadowlands with a 1-0 record.

Now, Rex and the Jets: SHUT THE F*$K UP!!!

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Ray Lewis for Old Spice

Posted by darnold on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

“Old Spice Guy” got nothin’ on #52. Get them “body muscles” ready for MNF, Ray.

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Ravens Look Formidable in Final “Dress Rehearsal”

Posted by darnold on Monday, August 30th, 2010

Bad Ass O

Baltimore Sun Photo

Someone tweeted last night something along the lines of “if this is the New York Giants’ dress rehearsal, they had better hope for a whole new wardrobe come Week 1.”

Well, if that was the case for Tom Coughlin’s team, then the exact opposite rings true for John Harbaugh’s squad. The Ravens came out firing on all cylinders in Week 3 of the preseason (save for the opening drive 3 and out), ultimately disposing of the Giants by a final of 24-10. While each team’s starters were in the game though (the entirety of the first half), the Ravens outscored Eli Manning and company 17-3. It probably should have been worse, as the dominant display put on by B’More would have seemed likely to result in greater than just the two touchdown advantage.

While Cam Cameron’s game plan in every contest this preseason has obviously been to hone the passing game of his starters, for the first time in three games that plan was finally executed to his, and Ravens’ fans’, satisfaction. Joe Flacco was 21-34 for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns. He spread the ball around very efficiently, using all parts of the field. Todd Heap was the Ravens’ leading receiver, looking like a half-decade younger version of himself while hauling in 6 passes for 69 yards and Flacco’s second score. Derrick Mason had five catches and Mark Clayton made just one, but for a 20-yard gain.

Flacco’s newest weapon, Anquan Boldin, also had his most impressive showing as a Raven to date. Boldin caught 4 passes for 52 yards and the team’s first touchdown, a brilliant catch in which he bailed Flacco out a bit. Joe made a beautifully executed read at the line of scrimmage, calling an audible to check out of the original play call on 4th-and-3 from the Giants’ 9. Flacco dropped back, looked the safety off nicely, and Boldin had two steps on his man headed to the end zone when Joe Cool’s gaze returned to that side of the field. Flacco, though, put the ball a bit behind Boldin, who adjusted his body to make the catch anyway.

Boldin also showed the dimension he brings to the Ravens’ WR corps that had been completely absent: a physical, yards-after-catch element. On the first play of the Ravens’ second drive, Boldin caught the ball near the sticks with two Giants closing quickly. No disrespect to Derrick Mason or Mark Clayton, but those two are hit-or-miss to get the first down in that situation, likely to go down to the first defender to get a hand on them.

Not Boldin.

Q stiff-armed and dragged his way for an additional 3-4 yards, leaving no doubt that it was time to “move those chains.” A beautiful thing to watch.

To show just how focused the Ravens were on the passing game, look no further than the fact that Flacco also led the team in rushing yards against the Giants. Joe looked much more mobile than we remembered from the last half-dozen or so games of 2009, when he was dealing with the much talked-about hip/leg bruise. He avoided pressure nicely several times, and while he won’t be confused with a Drew Brees or Tom Brady yet when it comes to pocket presence, the third-year quarterback is far from the immobile water buffalo back there that injuries made him during times last year.

When Ray Rice finally was called upon to tote the rock, he looked a bit rusty at times, while also appearing to struggle a bit with the new playing surface at M&T Bank Stadium. He also dropped a pass down the seam that Flacco dropped in beautifully, which, had he caught it, would have set the Ravens up with a 1st-and-goal at about the 5 yard line. I’m not terribly concerned about #27, and it is pretty obvious from his lack of carries in game action that the coaching staff isn’t either. Rice also seemed to hear the coaching staff’s “ball security” message loud and clear this week, securing the ball nicely on each of his 9 touches. The same cannot be said for Le’Ron “Pain Train” McClain, who fumbled after a nice gain on one of his only three touches. Not exactly great ammo for his “MCCLAIN 4 RB” campaign moving forward.

On the whole, the Ravens offense was very impressive. They showed that opposing defenses will not be able to focus on just Ray Rice or Derrick Mason in 2010, as Flacco seems quite comfortable with all of his weapons entering the season. Once they actually start game-planning for teams, and putting together a more balanced attack (which they most certainly will), this offense just might have a chance to live up to the hype.

One area they will certainly need to improve though, is on 3rd down. They were just 4/15 on the night, although they were an impressive 3/3 on fourth downs.

As for the defense, they had an up-and-down first half despite holding the Giants to just the three points. New York running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 63 yards on just 13 carries in the first half, including a 29-yard scamper by Jacobs. The Ravens missed several plays on defense due to poor tackling, which everyone from Haloti Ngata to Jarret Johnson to Dawan Landry was guilty of at times.

One play that will have Ravens fans talking this week was Bradshaw’s seemingly innocent 12-yard scamper midway through the first quarter. On the play, he appeared to be bottled up in the backfield before eluding Johnson and then running away from Ray Lewis in a way that made the 35-year old linebacker’s age show like it rarely, if ever, has before. It was a play that Ray has made countless times in his career, and one that he may have even made last season. You hate to take too much from any one game, let alone one PLAY, but it was a painful reminder that #52′s best days are getting further and further behind him, and us.

Of course, knowing Ray, he’ll simply log that play in his mental playbook, adjust his angle appropriately next time, make the tackle, and all will be appear to be right in Ravenstown. You have to admire the way Lewis continues to use his knowledge of the game and film study expertise to prolong his career, but his football IQ won’t make up for his diminishing physical abilities forever. Just something to keep an eye on.

On a more positive note, the Ravens’ much-maligned secondary played very well. Fabian Washington whiffed on one wide receiver screen, but was all over two others. Chris Carr recorded a sack and was not really picked on at all by Eli Manning. Tom Zbikowski was beat badly over the top on the Giants’ second drive by Steve Smith, but Manning underthrew him; overall though, Zibby had another solid night. He had better watch out for Haruki Nakamura though. His fellow third-year safety was all over the field, picking off one Manning throw and nearly getting another. “Rooki” is making a strong case for more playing time, and looks to be completely healed from his nasty broken leg suffered against Cleveland last season.

Even those wide open men over the middle that were there for the Redskins a week ago seemed to disappear this week. I expected Giants’ tight end Kevin Boss to have a field day, but he had as many catches as you and I did. Boss was making his first preseason appearance of 2010 after offseason ankle surgery, and probably had some rust. Still, the gaping holes in the Ravens’ coverage that were there last week appeared to have been addressed, at least for one night. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe dropped into coverage impressively and was able to tip the pass that was ultimately intercepted by Nakamura. Despite Jameel McClain again getting the starting nod at inside linebacker next to Ray Lewis, I still think more and more that Ellerbe will be the team’s best option moving forward.

One final note from last night comes from the injury front. Donte Stallworth suffered a broken foot late in the first half, and will need surgery. According to John Harbaugh, the team does not expect to have Stallworth back until at least the Bye week. It’s a shame, as Stallworth was having a strong camp in his attempt to return to the NFL after missing all of 2009, but it’s not a completely devastating blow to the Ravens’ offense. While Stallworth was the team’s purest “deep threat,” he was nowhere to be found when Flacco was doing all that above-mentioned passing all over the field. Stallworth did appear to be the team’s first option at punt returner, but Mark Clayton seems to have secured his spot as the #3 wideout. With Stallworth out, Demetrius Williams and Marcus Smith see their chances to make the roster and impact the team increase, and we have to hope they embrace the “next man up” philosophy and make the most of their chances. Smith admitted that he was energized in the second half last night after watching Stallworth go down earlier (I read that somewhere, but can’t find the quote right now).

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Preseason Preview: Panthers @ Ravens

Posted by darnold on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Ravens Cats

For the second consecutive year, we Ravens fans enter the preseason eager to wipe the bitter taste of a postseason loss to a hated rival out of our mouths. Last year, it was the 2008 AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh we were looking to push out of our memories. This year, the 2009 AFC Divisional game in Indianapolis is, unfortunately, our most recent football memory. Thus, it is with wide open arms we welcome in the 2010 NFL season, even if it is just in preseason mode at the moment.

So, besides the elation that comes with watching our purple and black take the field for the first time in nearly seven months, what should we be watching for on Thursday night? Here’s my far-from-exhaustive list:

Wide Receiver

Is there really any question that watching #81 catch passes at M&T Bank Stadium is what has most Ravens fans salivating most at the moment? Anquan Boldin gives the Ravens’ passing attack the kind of legitimacy it hasn’t had since Vinny Testaverde was heaving pigskins to Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander in the team’s infancy.

Boldin has already been putting on a show at training camp, so expectations certainly haven’t fallen since his arrival in B’More. The naysayers will point out that Boldin’s strong camp has “only been against the Ravens’ weak secondary.” Boldin has had little trouble regardless of his opponents throughout his career, but Thursday will be his first chance to show us Ravens fans what he can do as a member of our squad.

Is he in sync with Joe Flacco yet?

Does his presence open up space for Derrick Mason and Todd Heap?

These questions obviously won’t be answered this week, as Boldin and the rest of the starters are likely to play no more than a quarter, but it’s something to watch as the march to the regular season continues.

Boldin, of course, isn’t the only wide receiver on the roster. Along with old faithful (emphasis on old) Derrick Mason, the Ravens will trot out Mark Clayton and Dante Stallworth, who are fighting for the #3 spot. By all accounts, Stallworth is putting on a show at camp, but Clayton is also thriving from the slot position, which is the more natural for a player of his particular skill set. While they are both likely to make the roster, the competition has them both trying to push their games to the next level, which only benefits the team as a whole.

Kicker

For the second straight year, the Ravens kicking game is in flux as the preseason opens. However, the two men in the competition this year are much more established NFL performers than their 2009 counterparts were. Nobody is confusing Billy Cundiff and Shayne Graham with Graham Gano and Steven Haushka. Graham is expected to win the job by most, but Cundiff is conceding nothing.

Originally, the coaching staff had said that each kicker would get a half in the preseason games, but that has changed. John Harbaugh now plans to rotate the two on each field goal attempt, to try to ensure them equal opportunities as the final decision approaches.

Remember to keep an eye on their kickoffs as well – not just how far they fly, but on how the opponents return games fair against each. The hang-time and directional placement of kickoffs has a lot more to do with kick coverage success than many fans realize.

Offensive Line

The Jared Gaither saga has made the O-line into a drama that was not supposed to be. I’ll be very interested to see who the team starts at right tackle opposite Michael Oher. The staff knows that, if needed, Marshal Yanda can more than adequately fill that role, with Chris Chester moving inside to Yanda’s guard spot. However, I think they may want to give third-year man Oniel Cousins the chance to win the job in Gaither’s absence. Cousins’ mistakes in the second Pittsburgh game last year were detrimental to the team, but reports have been positive on the 315-pounder so far this summer.

None of us really have any idea how the Gaither thing will wind up playing out. Luckily, the team has a ton of quality depth at both the guard and tackle positions. It’s definitely worth watching to see how this group plays in the preseason, both in opening up lanes for Ray Rice and in keeping Joe Flacco on his feet.

Inside Linebacker

In another mirror image of 2009, the battle for the right to line up next to Ray Lewis on Sundays is one to watch. Last year, rookie Dannell Ellerbe came out of nowhere to win the starting job by the end of the season. He was expected to start again in 2010, but it has actually been Jameel McClain getting the majority of the snaps with the first team in Westminster. McClain, in his 3rd season out of Syracuse, had 2.5 sacks as a rookie in 2008, but didn’t do much in 2009. He had a great offseason though, and now finds himself with the edge over Ellerbe and Tavares Gooden. Practice is one thing though – McClain will have to show that he can perform in game situations to keep his name atop the list.

McClain may also have an edge, as he is considered the best of the three at getting to the quarterback. Which brings us to our next item…

Pass Defense

I say “pass defense” here and not just “secondary” for a reason (and I thank Rob Long of Fox1370 for driving home this point today). Ravens fans are extremely worried about the team’s secondary, with Domonique Foxworth out for the season already, Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington both coming off ACL injuries of their own in 2009, and the continually up-in-the-air status of Ed Reed. The team’s starting corners on Thursday are likely to be Cary Williams and Travis Fisher – not two names that exactly inspire confidence.

However, the success (or lack thereof) of the Ravens’ secondary this year will hinge heavily on the other aspect of pass defense, the pass rush.

Quick, name the four starting cornerbacks on last year’s two Super Bowl teams, the Colts and Saints.

Some of you may have done it, but I’m guessing many of you couldn’t. And even if you could, there are no “big name” CBs like Champ Bailey, Darrelle Revis, or Nnamdi Asomugha on those rosters. What the Colts and Saints have in spades that helps their respective secondaries is a consistently strong pass rush, especially from their front four.

The Ravens’ pass rush will be the key in 2010. If they hang those backup-quality DBs out to dry for 5-6 seconds at a time, we are in trouble. As we are if it takes 6- and 7-man blitzes to get pressure.

Haloti Ngata says he has been focusing on getting to the passer this offseason. He will need to greatly improve that part of his game to take the next step as an elite DL in the NFL.

Newly acquired DT Cory Redding posted back-to-back 10-sack seasons in 2006 and 2007, while playing in the football wasteland of Detroit. If having a Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs lining up around him can rekindle performances like that, the Ravens may be in decent shape.

Speaking of Suggs, keep an eye on #55 as well. All reports out of training camp indicate that you’ll like what you see from the lean-and-mean Sizzle. He won’t suddenly be asked to put his hand in the dirt and rush the QB every play like he was at the start of his career, but when he does rush, take note of whether or not the Panthers try to double-team him, and how he does against any one-on-one blocking he faces.

Again, this list is far from exhaustive, but hey, it’s only the preseason. Most of you will check out after the first quarter or so, along with the starters. If you stick around though, the Ravens’ depth will be on full display. Guys like Demetrius Williams and Marcus Smith at the WR position, who haven’t had to fight for roster spots in the past, will be doing just that to try to keep their jobs. Players who would likely be starting on other teams, like a Brandon McKinney or Marc Bulger, will have the chance to beat up on the Panthers’ reserves.

I don’t bother predicting scores of preseason games (not that I could do much worse than I do for regular season and playoff games though), but I do expect the Ravens to win on Thursday. They are an extremely deep team, as Tony Lombardi tells us, everywhere except cornerback.

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