Youth Will Be Served

The world belongs to the young....

Never have these comments been so true when looking at the Ravens offensive line. Due to injuries, they should be lining up Sunday with three rookies and two second year players on the o-line. No other NFL team has more than two rookies on their line and the Ravens average age is almost three years younger than the next youngest team. But this is not a significant worry. Ravens QB Steve McNair has not been sacked in two weeks, including last week behind this line as a group. St. Louis' defense should not be able to put enough pressure on McNair for this to be an issue this Sunday. The Ravens have had success running the ball behind this line as well, led by Willis McGahee, who is third in the league this year in rushing yards. While Raven veterans Jon Ogden, Mike Flynn and Adam Terry mend on the sidelines, they are watching and mentoring the future offensive line of this team. Besides, this line is getting to practice daily against one of the leagues top defenses, so perhaps the games are the easy part for these rookies. When looking at the future, while it looks like the o-line is set, the big question still remains: Who will be taking the snaps from behind them? While Kyle Boller has made great strides, the jury remains out on his ability to be the franchise's quarterback of the future. Either way, unless injuries tell the tale, it will be McNair lining up behind center this Sunday.
Tomorrow I'll make my week #6 NFL picks.