NFL team previews — AFC Central
By Vito Stellino
As published in print Aug. 21, 2000
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Ravens CB
Chris McAlister
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How good will the Ravens be this year?
Just ask owner Art Modell.
"I have to show restraint, but inwardly, I’m extremely confident about this
season," Modell told one reporter.
He told another, "With unusual restraint for me, I want to be very, very sober
about this thing. But I think this could very well be the best football team I’ve had
in 40 years."
Those are the kind of expectations the Ravens face this year, and they seem eager for
the challenge. TE Shannon Sharpe even compares the Ravens to the two Super Bowl teams he
played on in Denver.
After four non-winning seasons in Baltimore since moving from Cleveland, the Ravens
think they’re ready to be a playoff team in the wake of their 6-3 record in the last
nine games last year. Modell is particularly eager to win a Super Bowl before minority
owner Steve Bisciotti takes control of the team in four years.
"If I can’t get the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the next four years, I
don’t deserve it," Modell said.
The Ravens will be carried by a defense that was the second best in the league last
season, and they retooled their offense by signing free agent TEs Sharpe and Ben Coates
and drafting RB Jamal Lewis and WR Travis Taylor in the first round.
The player Baltimore will be counting on more than any is QB Tony Banks. He has to be
more consistent and become more of a leader than he has been in the past. If Banks
falters, the Ravens could go to backup Trent Dilfer. Getting productive play from the QB
position is the key to their season.
Top of page
| Quarterbacks |
Grade C |
| Banks will open the season as the starter. Scott Mitchell
opened the season last year and was yanked in the third period of the second game. Banks
figures to last longer, but he has to produce early to keep his job. The Ravens play five
of their first seven games on the road and don’t have a major monetary commitment to
him. They gave him only a $2 million signing bonus in a four-year deal, a move that
prompted former Buccaneers QB Dilfer to sign a one-year contract and wait in the wings if
Banks’can’t get the job done. Rookie Chris Redman has a lot of potential but is
being groomed for the future. So either Banks or Dilfer — both given second chances
in the NFL — has to be the answer. If Banks is successful, Dilfer figures to move on
next year. Top of page |
| Running backs |
Grade C |
| The Ravens thought rookie Jamal Lewis and FB Chuck Evans
would form their starting backfield, but Lewis dislocated his elbow on his first carry in
a scrimmage against Washington and didn’t play in the first three preseason games,
and Evans tore his triceps in the first exhibition game and may be out for three months.
Fortunately, veteran Pro Bowl FB Sam Gash was still on the market, and the Ravens quickly
signed him to replace Evans. With Lewis likely to get off to a slow start after missing so
much time, veteran Priest Holmes will have to carry the running load. Backup RB Jay Graham
also went down in the exhibition opener with a high-ankle sprain. Unless Lewis makes a
speedy recovery, the running attack may not be much better than it was last year, when the
Ravens ranked 16th. Top
of page |
| Receivers |
Grade B |
| Look for the Ravens to play a lot of two-TE offense with
Sharpe and Coates until rookie Travis Taylor, who held out for nine days, makes up for
lost time, and Patrick Johnson recovers from his broken collarbone. Qadry Ismail, who
jump-started his career with 68 catches last year, will again play a big role. Jermaine
Lewis, starting until Johnson returns, and Brandon Stokley are backups. Sharpe is the key
to upgrading a passing game that was 25th last year. He’ll give the team the
intermediate threat it lacked in ’99. Top of page |
| Offensive linemen |
Grade C |
| Except for Pro Bowl OLT Jonathan Ogden, this group is a work
in progress. OGs Edwin Mulitalo and Mike Flynn (who sprained an ankle in the second
exhibition game) are untested, and C Jeff Mitchell is a journeyman. Harry Swayne, who
broke a foot last year and pulled a hamstring in the first exhibition game, has to prove
he can stay healthy. The Ravens don’t have much depth if any of the starters are
injured. Top of page |
| Defensive linemen |
Grade B |
| Even though there’s a problem at tackle — where Sam
Adams, not known as the most motivated player, is replacing suspended Larry Webster, and
Lional Dalton is filling in for Tony Siragusa, a holdout at presstime — this is a
solid unit anchored by DEs Michael McCrary and Rob Burnett. McCrary had 11½ sacks last
year, even though he was recovering from knee surgery, and the unsung Burnett is a force
on the other side. The Ravens also have good depth with Keith Washington, Martin Chase,
Marques Douglas and rookie Adalius Thomas. They can rotate their linemen to keep them
fresh. Top of page |
| Linebackers |
Grade A |
| This unit is the strength of the team and probably comprises
the best group of young linebackers in the league. Ray Lewis, who’s in the best shape
of his life after diligently working out to relieve the stress of his off-the-field
problems, and Peter Boulware are Pro Bowlers, and Jamie Sharper, who becomes a free agent
at the end of the year, is playing for a big contract. The team has upgraded the backups
with Brad Jackson in the middle and Anthony Davis, who sprained an ankle in the second
exhibition game, joining Cornell Brown on the outside. Brown started the first three
exhibition games because Boulware is recovering from shoulder surgery. Boulware should
probably take the year off and give his shoulder more time to heal. But he’s a gamer
who probably will strap it up again and play in pain the way he has the last two years. If
so, he risks his shoulder woes becoming a chronic injury that will bother him his whole
career. Top of page |
| Defensive backs |
Grade B+ |
| In both 1998 and ’99, the Ravens selected a cornerback
with the 10th pick in the first round. But they’ve shown you don’t always get
the same value with the same pick. They were fortunate that Chris McAlister, the ’99
selection, fell to the 10th pick because he’s likely to become a Pro Bowler. But they
reached for the ’98 pick, Duane Starks, and he was benched last year for DeRon
Jenkins, who left for San Diego via free agency. Now Starks has to prove he can handle the
job. Ageless Rod Woodson has made a smooth transition from cornerback to free safety,
while SS Kim Herring has yet to live up to his 1997 second-round billing. Corey Harris and
Anthony Poindexter are waiting in the wings if Herring leaves as a free agent at the end
of the year. Top of page |
| Special teams |
Grade C+ |
| The Ravens’ two kickers, PK Matt Stover and P Kyle
Richardson, are solid, although Stover has a habit of slow starts. He rallied last year to
make his last 18 field-goal attempts, while Richardson set an NFL record by dropping 39
punts inside the 20. But the coverage and return teams faltered under new special-teams
coach Russ Purnell last year. Jermaine Lewis wasn’t as effective as a punt returner
as he was under former coach Scott O’Brien, who went to Carolina when Ted Marchibroda
was fired. The coverage teams also slipped. Purnell’s under pressure to improve both
units this year. Top of
page |
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