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We’re again compelled to point out the purpose of these preseason power rankings. It’s not a prediction as to where the teams will finish. Instead, it’s our assessment as to where they are right now.
We say this because we think that the Baltimore Ravens can potentially win the AFC North. If they do it, however, they will have climbed out of a deep hole.
Because, as of right now, the Ravens are at No. 28 on our overall NFL team barometer.
The team currently is at a crossroads. New coach John Harbaugh is a breath of fresh air, but will the nucleus of veterans opt to inhale? The offensive line is in a state of flux at best, the defense is getting old, Terrell Suggs won’t show up until September, Willis McGahee might have too many miles on the tires, and the quarterback position is unsettled.
Other than that, things are just fine.
Still, we think that Harbaugh can get these guys to come together. If he can, he should be the Coach of the Year, in only his first year on the job.
As we’ve said before, the AFC North will be wide open. The schedule for each team feature eight tough games against the teams of the AFC South and NFC East. The term that emerges will be the team that can weather the ups and downs of a long and at times discouraging season. That team could be the Ravens.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:27 am
dont get me wrong the ravens arent the best team but they arent the fourth worse
they have a solid d and a solid running game
i see them finishing 7-9 maybe 6-10
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July 29th, 2008 at 9:53 am
“Still, we think that Harbaugh can get these guys to come together. If he can, he should be the Coach of the Year, in only his first year on the job.”
Florio, I don’t get your hard-on for Baltimore. This team couldn’t stop the pass last year (i.e. Steelers 5 first half passing TD’s) and their D is only older this year. They cannot compete with the excellent offenses that the other AFC North has.
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July 29th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Wait one cotton pickin’ minute. The candidates for the 29th spot are the Rams, Jets, and Raiders. You go with the Raiders in that spot. Logic dictates that the 28th spot should go to the Rams or Jets if they were considered as the possible 29th best team in the league.
And anyway, the Lions should have been the 29th best team, as they will once again stink up the joint.
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July 29th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
If Baltimore “wins the AFC North”, as Florio has suggested is possible, that will probably mean that the Browns and Steelers have lost half their starters to injury. No way, Jose! They’re probably better than 28th overall, but a long shot to win the AFC North. Put down that crack pipe, Mikey!
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July 29th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
wonder if they got the phins on their schedule this year maybe they can get some payback prolly not though I say they beat Cincinatti once 1-15
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July 31st, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Ha! They could’nt beat Cincy last year either. And If anyone says, “But, that was last year.” Well then lets just not consider predicting anything based on strenghth of schedule…that was last year too.
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August 1st, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Not bad… You guys had them ranked higher than I did as I see this team going 4-12 with the fourth worst record in the NFL by seasons end. Just not a very good football team outside of a few defensive playermakers who only play when they want to.
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August 6th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
OldChuck: Maybe the Ravens will win the AFCN, afterall most of the steelers starters are already hurt and if Dereck Anderson plays like he did in the probowl the Browns are doomed.
Dont count out the Ravens!
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August 6th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
It’s obvious that Florio is just about the only one of you who knows anything. CoryDangerous has no idea what he’s talking about. Yes, the Ravens couldn’t stop the pass - but ONLY when they had their 4th & 5th string (off the street) CBs in the game along with their best pass rusher (Pryce) out. Look at the games where those guys were in and you see the defense from the previous year…#1.
Without injury the Ravens could easily win the AFC North, even with Troy Smith at QB. But, without injury hasn’t been common for BAL in recent years, as 2 years ago was the last time they didn’t get ravaged by injuries in the last 4 years. Oh, and what was their record then……..yeah, 13-3. It wasn’t just Steve McNair either. I laugh when fans completely forget how injuries affect the game because of their ignorance or bias towards their own team.
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August 7th, 2008 at 12:22 am
The Ravens did not just have injury last season, they lost half the starters and most of the back ups at some point.
The top 2 QBs, TEs, WRs, CBs all missed more games than they played. The best DE, LT, C, RT, RB, and Ray Lewis all missed games.
In all over 60 starts by recent probowl players were lost to injury.
Despite the injuries the defense still finished 6th overall. #2 vs the run behind the Vikings. McGahee got 1200 yards in 14 games, and Mason got 100 catches.
Turnovers, penalties that were in part a result of all the subs were almost as big of a factor in turning a 13 win team into an 11 loss team.
There were only blow out games. The Colts and the Steelers jumped all over the back up CBs in the first half, but got the RBs and O line beat up trying to kill the clock in the second half.
There were 2 wins yanked away by suspect calls (NE week 13, and the overturned FG call, “upon further discussion”, and there were 2 overtime losses, 3 or more games botched by Billick in the 4th quarter.
So basically despite the bad luck, injuries, and questionable coaching by Billick, the Ravens were a lot closer to winning 10 games last year than a lot of teams you are going to rank higher.
Ray Lewis, Trevor pryce and McCallister are the only defensive starters over 31, and they all have a lot of good footbal left. The CB depth issue was addressed, and Rolle, Washington, McCallister, Ed Reed and Dawan Landry will make up the best secondary in the NFL. Nagta, Gregg and Pryce are going to be among the best 3 DL group in the NFL, and I would like to see a better LB core than the one that is now about 10 deep.
The QB competition is just getting underway, and there may be another name tossed int the hat before it all shakes out.
Even if you dont like the QB or tackle situation at all, it is hard to overlook the number of solid players at pretty much all the other positions.
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August 7th, 2008 at 6:56 am
How fast they forget. 13-3 to a losing season and then Mikey says they are in the bottom quartile of the NFL. Jeremiah W hit it on the nose. Our biggest problem last year was a boatload of injuries and we still finished close to 500. Our whole season will come down to offensive line and QB play. If it is average we will be 500 again. If it is better than average we will win the lousy AFCN. If it sucks then we will suck.
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September 2nd, 2008 at 12:55 am
well gee lets stop to think about their situation last year. saying that they were ravaged by injuries would be one of the biggest understatements of the century. they lost most starters and even some backups to injuries. the qb situation was awful save for the small ray of light that was troy smith. anyway on to this season. i wouldn’t totally count out the ravens. They have, as stated somewhere above, a nice running game. oh and by the way to pad the duo of McGahee and Rice, they signed a fella by the name of Lorenzo Neal. Also if im not mistaken, one of the admins on this sight ranked their D as number 11 in the league. remember that the AFCN is in the air and if derek andersen falls from greatness as some predict he will, the Browns are S.O.L. as are the Steelers if they lose some key componenets as the Ravens did last year. we could be looking at a four team race come December.
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