Eight days ago, I gave my take (https://baltimoresportsandlife.com/?p=2811) on the 53 Man roster I expected the Baltimore Ravens to start the year with.
As the Ravens head into their last Exhibition game tomorrow night, here are my revisions:
QB: Flacco, Taylor (2)
Thoughts: I am not going to be convinced that Taylor makes the most sense for this team, but I am convinced the job is his. Taylor has some talent, that much is clear. Personally, I would rather have an experienced backup available vs. a Rookie. If Flacco goes down for a significant amount of time it will not matter who the backup is. If Flacco misses a game or two, the play of the backup could be the difference between playing at home in the Playoffs or going on the road. I would like to see Taylor play nearly all of the Exhibition tomorrow.
RB: Rice, Williams, Parmele, Allen (4)
Thoughts: I currently have both Parmele and Allen making the roster, but I won’t be totally shocked if the Ravens decide to go with just 3 RB’s. If that happens, I would think Allen has the edge. My reasoning is that even though Parmele has been a Special Teams contributor, a draft pick was spent on Allen, and there is reason to believe others could replace Parmele as a Kick Returner.
FB: Leach (1)
Thoughts: The Ravens signed Leach, because they valued the All-Pro as a true blocking back. If he were to go down, it would be an issue for the roster. As such, I would not mind him having a backup FB in place that could be learning from the veteran. The reality though is the Ravens will not have the roster flexibility available to carry a 2nd FB.
WR: Boldin, Evans, T. Smith, D. Reed, Doss, L. Williams (6)
Thoughts: Dan Shonka, a former NFL Scout, who runs Ourlads’ NFL Scouting (http://ourlads.com/) recently tweeted that Torrey Smith has had his drops but was ‘Sticky and aggressive in his blocking against the Skins.’ Obviously that is good to hear. I have complete confidence in Smith’s ability to emerge as a down field threat this year, and as a complete WR by next year. That said, he is probably the Ravens’ 5th WR going into the season. That means his most valuable contribution in the immediate term might be as a KR. We will see what Reed and Doss do tomorrow against Atlanta, but if Reed is going to be relied on more as a WR, I think he should be used less (not at all) as a KR.
I’ve come around on LaQuan Williams making the team. The Ravens do not need him as a WR, but he has produced in each of the Exhibitions. I think that 38 yard Punt Return last week had to have really helped him. Another thing that could help him is his previous experience in the Secondary for Maryland. Versatility and Special Teams contributions with the last players on the roster is huge.
TE: Dickson, Pitta, Wilson, (3)
Thoughts: No changes here, Wilson is the best blocking TE on the roster and has to have the edge for that 3rd TE position over Drew.
O-Line: McKinnie, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda, Oher, Reid, Harewood, LeVoir, Mattison (9)
Thoughts: I went into last week thinking Cousins would make the team over LeVoir. Once we saw LeVoir get time at RG against Washington, we knew Cousins was officially out the door. I’m feeling pretty good about the line right now. I think that even if McKinnie is not at his ’09 Pro Bowl level, he will be an upgrade over Oher at LT. I think Oher is a huge upgrade at RT over Yanda, and that Yanda himself is a huge upgrade over Chester at RG. The question that remains is Birk. The latest reports sounds promising, but you would still think the Ravens would like to have another option besides Mattison. If another C/G is added, Harewood could be the odd man out.
D-Line: Ngata, Cody, McKinney, Redding, Jones, McPhee, Kruger (7)
Thoughts: Right now I have Divens out, to make room for L. Williams. I would not be surprised if the Ravens kept Divens, and cut a LB (Gooden?), or dropped Parmele at RB as mentioned above. However, I think the D-Line depth ahead of Divens is good enough to go with just 7 lineman. Scouting Reports (http://www.mockingthedraft.com/2011/8/19/2373588/michael-mcadoo-supplemental-draft-scouting-report) we have seen on Michael McAdoo are interesting, but I would not keep him.
LB: Lewis, Johnson, Suggs, Kindle, McClain, Ellerbe, Gooden, Ayanbadejo, (8)
Thoughts: The first six mentioned are obvious. The questions begin with Gooden and Ayanbadejo. The Ravens value Special Teams, and Ayanbadejo has made his mark there previously. He is said to be healthier, and look better than in recent years. Due to that, I currently have him making the team. Phillips, or Burgess will have to shine tomorrow to make the team. A cut of Ayanbadejo would be about saving a little money.
CB: Smith, Webb, Foxworth, Carr, C. Williams, C. Brown (6)
Thoughts: I think the Ravens will carry 6 Corners, and feel like they have 5 that are capable of starting (at some point during this season). With the volume of plays that opposing offenses use 3 WR’s, you really need this level of depth. The whispers about Foxworth being cut remain, but I don’t see that happening. As camp progresses, he is feeling better. Even if the Ravens don’t believe in his ability to be fully ready for Week 1, they will want him around as a guy that can help during the year. Certainly will be interesting to see if the Ravens decide to start Smith and Williams to begin the year, and how they play tomorrow will figure to have some impact on that.
S: Reed, Pollard, Zbikowski, Nakamura (4)
Thoughts: Jeremy Conn from 105.7 The Fan stated the other day that he believed Nakamura to be the best of the three Strong Safeties. He’s solid depth, but I don’t agree with that. I also do not agree with the commentary of Zbikowski being better than Pollard in coverage. In a January article reviewing the Texans 2010 defense, John McClain of of the Houston Chronicle said (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/mcclain/7387410.html) that Pollard was outstanding. Before joining the Texans, Pollard was with Kansas City. The Chiefs drafted Pollard in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft. In August 2009, Baltimore Sports and Life interviewed Kent Babb who covers the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star. Babb stated the following about Pollard, “Pollard has had some issues with fundamentals and tackling, and the Chiefs brought in veteran safety Mike Brown this year to push Pollard and either make the youngster better or steal his job. So far, Pollard has responded, and he is likely to be the starting strong safety. He has plenty of things he could improve on, but he is good enough if not great.”
Zbikowski played reasonably well when he was on the field last year, but missed 8 games with foot and back injuries. Nakamura played in all 16 games last year, but spent ’09 on IR. I see Pollard as the one that replaces Landry as the starter.
ST: Koch, Cundiff, Cox (3)
Thoughts: The new kickoff rule is obviously not a challenge for Cundiff, but also negates one of the advantages the Ravens had.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.