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  • June 11, 2008 07:50 PM ET

The Ravens will WIN 8 or more games.

C0NFUCIUS (86-122-14) vs Bigdleech (147-55-0)
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Without any doubt in my mind

We know the defense is aging but it's still a good D. With Ngata and Gregg anchoring the line with suggs, Lewis, and Scott forming as the anchors of a great LB corps. The secondary is aging but Reed is still a pro bowler and McCalister is still an above average player

I think this year will be a turning point for the Ravens offense. It all starts with Cam Cameron, he is one of the best if not the best at building an offense around a QB, and has numerous success stories with 2 pro bowl QB's in Drew Brees and Philip Rivers. And his running games have always been great (see San Diego), but even in Miami they were above average ( they averaged 4 yards/carry) and were fantastic with Ronnie Brown's injury (he averaged 5.1 and lead the league in rushing before his unfortunate injury). Baltimore has 3 QB's with great physical tools in Flacco (incredible arm strength), Troy Smith ( good arm fantastic mobility), and Kyle Boller (Great arm, decent mobility) and with Cam Cameron making a less than physically gifted Drew Brees into a super star Cam could work wonders. And let's not forget about Willis McGahee who ran for over 1200 yards last year

I got more


Of course their defense is good, but that won't win eight or more games for them. The offense will simply struggle too much for them to compete.

So what if they have three quarterbacks with some form of talent. Joe Flacco should be starting by the end of the year, but he is a rookie. He will need time to develop, especially considering that he never played the most elite competition in college. Troy Smith is mobile, but he definately is nothing special as a quarterback, and not of starter quality. I don't think anything has to be said about Kyle Boller, clearly one of the biggest quarterback busts since the start of the decade. Not one of these men is fit to lead this team to a .500 record this year.

Cam Cameron is a top notch offensive mind, but he had much more going for him in San Diego. Drew Brees is a very good quarterback without Cameron, and LT would go down as one of the greatest running backs of all time without Cameron. Ronnie Brown was very good anyway, Cameron didn't exactly make him any better. McGahee is a good running back, but he is nothing compared to LT. Plus, there is nothing special about the line either.

You can't succeed with a terrible quarterback.


Drew Brees owes alot of his success even after he left Cam, and don't forget they plugged Rivers in and he had similar success and I don't believe in coincidence's.

Why is Troy Smith not starter material? He played 2 games and had 2 solid outings, especially in his last outing where he threw a touchdown, completed 16 of 27 for 171 yards, and NO INT's. Those are solid numbers. Flacco's arm gives him great upside, with Cam coaching him he could become a pro bowler (he does have a good track record), Boller is a bust, but I was talking physical talent which he has. Calling the QB situation terrible is an over statement it isn't that bad, if not good.

Willis McGahee could become a great runner, even a top 5. He has all the physical tools to succeed speed, power, quickness, and acceleration.

The line isn't bad, I refuse to believe a line that gave up just 13 sacks just 1 season ago could turn into a horrible line. And with McGahee having the success he did is a sign of their abilities.

They have 2 great targets in Todd Heap and Derrick Mason. Heap is the all time leading receiver for the Ravens and is in a system to exploit his abilities. Mason has some of the best hands.


Where do I call the line horrible? I said it was nothing special. That said:

The Ravens quarterback situation isn't good right now. They clearly don't think Troy Smith is good enough to be a starter in the league, because they traded back into the first round to get Flacco. Flacco has great upside, but that doesn't mean a thing this year. He will not start all season as a rookie. How many quarterbacks can come in and be successful right away? Other than Big Ben, I can't think of a single person. And a lot of his success was owed to the running game and receivers. Flacco could become a Pro Bowl quarterback, but he definately won't be one in his first season.

McGahee is probably a top ten running back, but he will never be a top five back. In his four seasons, during which he has called himself the best running back in the league, he has never averaged over 4.1 yards per carry in a season.

Heap is a pretty good tight end, I have to give you that. But Derrick Mason is by no means a great target. There are maybe five great targets at wide receiver in the division, and he is definately not one of them.

The division is great, and they will struggle against those other teams.


Your right Mason is a terrible receiver who caught 103 balls with Steve McNair and Kyle Boller throwing him the ball.............that is called sarcasm.

Those great teams that you mentioned. The Steelers still don't know how good Willie Parker will be and how their line will be without Faneca, The Browns still have to prove they aren't a one hit wonder, do I even have to talk about the Bengals. And the Ravens were just 3 games below .500 and with improvements made to the O-coordinator and at QB (Troy Smith and Flacco are an improvement).

That running game is going to be good. If he could get the Dolphins to average 4 yards a carry he can get Willis McGahee to average over 4.5.

Can't really think of any more to bring up. Good TD.


Again, Mason isn't a bad receiver, but he isn't great either. Of course he caught a ton of balls. Heap was injured for most of the season last year, so Mason was really the only person capable of catching the ball on the team.

Let's take a look at the other teams in the division. Willie Parker now doesn't have to carry the load, and he only busted up his ankle. It's not like he injured his knee. The team was plagued by injuries, and Faneca didn't look like he cared that much anyway.

The Bengals defense isn't good, but they still have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and arguably the best receiving tandom.

I see DA, not the Browns, as a one hit wonder. They have a very good line and, receiving corp, and tight end. They improved on the d-line, and they have one of the best return men in the league.

Plus, they have to play the toughest NFC division, the NFC East.

Again, Ronnie Brown is a better running back than McGahee.

And, whether people believe it or not, Brian Billick was a pretty good offensive mind himself. Just look at what he did when he took over offensive responsibilities in his first year with McNair.

June 11, 2008  08:36 PM ET

the problem with the ravens qb's is two of them don't have experience and the other has no accuracy at all, the o-line is old, but still above average, but their receiving core is old and are gunna struggle

June 11, 2008  09:07 PM ET

Your in for a very dissapointing season Confucius.

June 11, 2008  09:26 PM ET

I'm a Charger fan.

June 11, 2008  09:41 PM ET

Oh, my bad, nevermind

 
June 12, 2008  12:50 PM ET

No proven QB. Limited talent at WRs. A decent but inconsistent RB. A rock solid defense. One plus will not be enough to get this team to 8 wins.

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