Those are my reasons. For all the average football fans out there who think our defense is “Aging” or whatever you call it, did you know the average age on that side of the ball is 28 years old? Seems pretty old to me…..

Sure, Ray Lewis, Trevor Pryce, Kelly Gregg and even Reed are getting up there. But these guys can still perform at a very high level. But the thing is, when you combine those proven veterans with the other young and physical freaks we have, this is IMO the most athletic defense in Ravens history. Landry and Kregg are back as well.

What I love about this year’s defense as opposed to last year’s is the overall depth we have on defense. At every position, there is a guy who is a back-up that can definitely start if needed. Last year, we were hurting come January and did not have they right amount of guys to get by Pitt when it really was needed. This year, we have guys from the D-Line to the secondary. Paul Kruger, Bannon to Jameel McClain, Burgess, Barnes, Ayenbadajo to ROLLE, Carr Webb, Walker, Zbi, Ruki. If the whole starting 11 went down, I think our back-ups could still be better then some of the defenses in this league.

At every position, there is a guy who is a back-up that can definitely start if needed. Last year, we were hurting come January and did not have they right amount of guys to get by Pitt when it really was needed. This year, we have guys from the D-Line to the secondary. Paul Kruger, Bannon to Jameel McClain, Burgess, Barnes, Ayenbadajo to ROLLE, Carr Webb, Walker, Zbi, Ruki. If the whole starting 11 went down, I think our back-ups could still be better then some of the defenses in this league.

Ozzie was burnt before by lack of depth but it wont happen in 2009. The man is still improving as GM every year, which is scary considering how great he already is.

Landry is better than Leonhard, both as a tackler and in coverage.
Gooden is faster and more athletic than Scott – if he proves to have the intangibles then he will better than Scott by mid-season.
The still somewhat unproven Foxworth is better than the totally useless version of Chris McCalister the Ravens employed for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Nobody will run on the Ravens with Kelly Gregg and Halot Ngata both manning the middle.

Also improvement on special teams will help put the defense in better positions to succeed. Assuming the Ravens stick with one kicker, be it Haushka or Gano, they will consistently be able to get the ball deep on kickoffs AND have an extra spot open on the team for someone on the coverage units. This should help the overall quality and depth of the kickoff and punt coverage units, which in turn should help the defense with field position.

On the other side, the addition of Chris Carr as a return man should consistently give the offense better field position, which eventually translates to either less time the defense has to be on the field or better field position for the defense.

Like the poster above said, the return of those two is stupendous…

I do not think we will have that much of a drop-off from Scott to Gooden, even with the burden of one more year of age on Ray-Ray and Pryce. I think our additions at CB will more than make up for that deficit. And Carr improves our return game, which will help in the overall battle of field position/overall defense. All of this equals a net gain on our defense.

I know a lot of folks are high on our backups but many of them have had very limited NFL experience/unproven/rookies/etc. I am just a tad bit concerned about injuries. I agree we have more depth than last year on the defense as a whole, I would just rather not see that depth tested.

I expect the additions we made at corner this offseason to increase the effectiveness of our entire secondary. Since Washington and Foxworth are both capable of playing man coverage against most receivers, it will give Reed more opportunity to roam in centerfield, which will hopefully result in more interceptions (and possibly touchdowns, or atleast opportunities to lateral the ball to a player who isn’t looking). Reed had an amazing year last year while having to pick up the slack of Walker and Rolle and I believe he will make a stonger case for DPOTY this season.

Speaking of Rolle, he has the potential to be a game changer at nickleback. I know his aging body has made it hard for him to be a shut down corner in the past couple years but his instincts are still there so I think he will make some big plays in passing situations. Having a nickleback who could be a starting corner on alot of teams should also help free up Reed for some effective safety blitzes on third down. If Mattison is going to coach similar to Ryan (like he claims he is) being able to blitz Reed in more situations will help make our pass rush more diverse and therefore more effective.

Combining a healthy Gregg with Ngata gives us the best interior line in football in my mind. I expect both of these guys to have big years and have a shot at making the Pro Bowl. If these two can perform like they are capable, it will give Lewis, Suggs, JJ, and Gooden the opportunity to be one of the best linebacking corps in the NFL.

Finally, we still have guys named Ray Lewis and Ed Reed on our team and I fully expect they will mentor and motivate our defensive players to be as good as ever. Even in years where we have been bad as a team, our defense has remained as one of the toughest and most feared in the league. I know our opponents are hoping for a letdown with the loss of Ryan, but I believe with the help of veteran leadership that Mattison should be able to turnout a top 5 defense in his first season.

Good idea, DT711. I have been arguing against these opinions for several months now. Basically, they’re the same main-stream opinions that we’ve heard every season since 2000. I don’t believe that Ryan’s departure will doom the Ravens’ defense. History shows that the Ravens’ defense continues to be great regardless of coordinators. I’ve heard this speculation for years. It was the worst when Marvin Lewis left in 2002, but it was virtually the same talk in 2005 when Mike Nolan left. Now, it’s the same talk with Rex Ryan. Obviously, Mattison is not guaranteed success. The players still need to perform, but the defensive tradition in Baltimore shows that the Ravens are consistently good at bringing in talented players and coaches. That has been the key to the Ravens’ success for years. I believe that our defense will improve for the following reasons:

1. The secondary upgrades.
Domonique Foxworth and Fabian Washington may not be Nnamdi Asomugha, but they are perfect corners for the Ravens’ system. Think about it. The Ravens blitz more than any team in the league and rely on their corners tremendously. If the corners cannot stick with their reciever, the opposing quarterback with simply throw the ball over the pass rush. That is how most teams, especially the Steelers, have beaten the Ravens in recent history.

In the Ravens’ system, the corners need to be fast and able to cover their man on an island. I think Foxworth and Washington are very capable of that. They are speedy corners and specialize in sticking with their receiver. The Ravens had trouble with Rolle and McAlister’s speed for years. Being able to man-up with receivers down the field will make the pass rush suffocating and give the secondary flexibility, something that has been lacking over the last two seasons and will also allow Ed Reed to roam free. Furthermore, the Ravens have added Chris Carr, resigned Rolle to a cheaper contract and drafted Lardarius Webb in the third round. They are deeper in the secondary than ever.

2. The emergence of young talent.
Ngata and Suggs are already excellent players, but I believe that they’re about to go off. Ngata is 25, and I think that he’s on the verge of an amazing, break-out season. Pro Bowl honors are almost a given if he stays healthy, but I also believe that he will be one of the league’s most dominate defensive players in the near future. Bold words… I know. Terrell Suggs is only 26 and was awesome last year. I believe that he’s only going to improve. Signing him to a long-term contract will make the Raven’s defense elite for many years. I believe that Suggs is underrated. You’d be hard pressed to find a player that can rush the passer and play in coverage like Suggs. Ngata and Suggs are super-stars and have just begun to scratch the surface of their abilities. Their continued improvement only improves the Ravens’ defense.

Tavares Gooden is another young player that I believe will emerge this season. Everyone talks about the void that Bart Scott left in the Ravens’ defense. I actually believe that Gooden will be better than Scott in the long run. Scott was a great player for us, but his role was to take on blockers and blitz on occasion. Willie McGinest described Bart Scott and his role very well. He said that "Bart Scott was the young guy that you’d send in to torpedo." Like defensive coordinator, the Ravens had several players play this role over the years and always managed to find excellent replacements. The role requires a player that is fast and athletic more than anything, and Tavares Gooden fits the bill. He’s younger, faster and more athletic than Scott. Sure, he may not be effective in coverage right away, but he’s already turning heads in team activities. Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun picked Gooden as his break-out player of the year.

3. The return of the fallen.
Most people also believe that the loss of Jim Leonard will be devastating. That is just funny to me. Dawan Landry is one of my favorite Ravens and must be one of the best unknown players in the league. Leonard was Landry’s backup! The Ravens were lucky to have Leonard step-up since Landry was injured last season. Landry is an excellent strong safety, and in my mind, there is no question that Landry is better than Leonard. Therefore, our safety position is actually improved by Landry’s return. This also makes our defense better.

Finally, Kelly Gregg and Dwan Edwards are also returning from injured reserve. Kelly Gregg was considered one of the league’s most underrated defenders. The Ravens were also lucky to have Justin Bannan, who dominated in Gregg’s absence and really came into his own last season. Edwards is only a rotational player but is an excellent rotational player. Having Bannan and Edwards, two players that would start on most teams, in a rotation with Ngata, Pryce and Gregg makes our defensive line one of the best and deepest in the league.

I looked back to the CB’s who suited up for the Ravens in 2007, since we went into that season with expectations similar to this upcoming year. Of course that season didn’t play out like we all would have wanted for a variety of reasons. Poor QB play was a major one, as was very poor CB play. It seemed any team with a good QB (Manning, Palmer…) was able to throw the ball at will on us. Our corners just weren’t good enough or fast enough to get by. All that equaled a very disappointing 5-11 season.

If we were to point out one weakness of the Ravens D in the past decade, it has to be defending the pass, as our run D has been consistently stellar, as has our LB and DL play. During the 2007 season these 8 corner backs saw time….

C-Mac
Rolle
Ivy
D. Martin
D. Pittman
W. Gaston
R. Prude
J. Winbourne

Not a good group, no matter how you look at it. McAllister and Rolle were both solid but both battled injuries and age. Their speed was not what it once was and allowed top WR’s to beat them with double moves. Behind them is where we really struggled. Ivy is a nice nickel or dime back and special teamer but cannot start at CB. He is just too small and does not have the speed to play on the outside. The rest of the corners are journeymen at best. Our depth was deplorable that year and we payed dearly for it.

Ozzie Newsome, being the wizard that he is, realizes that smart orginazations turn their weaknesses into strengths. He saw that we were lacking young talent, speed and depth at the position, so he did something about it. Over the past two off seasons he has made savvy trades, (Fab for a 4th round pick was a steal), smart, affordable free agent pickups, (Walker, Carr and Foxworth – While Fox was not cheap, Oz paid market value), restructured the contracts of a valuable veteran who most thought was out the door, (Rolle) and did what he does best – find young cheap talent in the middle rounds of the draft (Webb). All these moves has given us depth, talent and speed at the position like never before. We posses the fastest CB tandem in the league, and have 3 reserves who can start capably in a worst case situation….

Washington
Foxworth
Rolle
Carr
Walker
Webb
Gerard
Martin

Granted, all of those guys will probably not make the final roster, but that is some great talent at the position. Looking back, Martin might have been our 4th best corner in 2007, possibly 3rd, depending how you feel about Ivy.
This year he is going to struggle to make the team. Now that’s some depth.

This is one of the main reasons why I am so optimistic about our chances of beating the Colts, and making a deep run. We know our run D will be stellar, especially with Buddy Lee’s return. Now with corners who can actually run with faster WR’s (Holmes, Harrisons of the world), our pass rush should greatly improve. With the extra time, I can see Suggs having a monster season.

You guys did a great job at listing reasons why our D will be improved in 2009. It’s funny how non Ravens fans like to beat the same drum, over and over again, as to why our D will fall off. Every year they are proved wrong, yet every off season the talk starts back up. I am optimistic that this can be one of our top defenses since our SB year.

      just having gregg and landry back make up for all the loses. leonhard was a nice “rudy” story so we will see what the future has in store for him. our current LB’s (other than Ray) can get to Barts level soon. The speed of the younger LB’s might be enough to make up for Barts lost experience. I’m actually more excited to see the LB play this year. The DB additions make us deep and healthy. Ray and Ed still coaching. yep, we’re better.

The one thing I believe our D has to improve on is stoping that littlebull s*** short passing game Pitt. always seems to beat us with. I seen it every time, it will be 3rd and 4, Big Ben play action and throws a quick little slant to Holmes for about 10-15 yards. That is the one thing that kills me.

Also, if were gonna blitz Ben, we gotta make sure we bring him down. How many times have we seen this guy escape a sack, runs to the sidelines, thorws the ball while getting hit and makes a huge comletion or even worst, a touchdown.

i just wish reed would play his position and stop screwing rolle up…LOL.

thanks for visiting and please keep posting. we’re just a cranky bunch but don’t read too far into that. we have never flagged and never will but we like to give it to visiters….and we can take it. keeps it lively. smack is great because the x’s and o’s are too obvious. like the bengals finishing last in the division this year. you’ve got a huge mess up there. if you start slow your are toast. that team is on the verge of running marvin out if he tanks this year.

our D sags with every year ray ages BUT the infusion of young talent is there. as long as he keeps dudes in there positions the speed of the youth will make up for inexperience. ray is like a missile guidance system. the kids don’t need to think too much. he calls the plays and they react. thats why Leohard was so successful. ed and ray put the play on the T and let all the other guys T off.

This years standings:

Pitt 12-4 (young O players got substantial time last year..huge benefi..Bens a beast..won SB with crap o-line)

Ravens 10-6 (receivers?…flacco 24-75 in playoffs..outside of Rice putting on muscle I don’t see ANY O improvement since we walked off Heinz field)

Cleveland 7-9 (Quinn goes the way of Leinhart goes the way of Boller goes the way of Stoney Case.)

Bengals 7-9 (who’s driving this boat anyway..All hope falls on Coles, a beat up QB and a Ocho Oldo..special 17th game played at local high school to decide Ohio Championship)

sorry Rexx but I can’t give us another win until i see how the O starts. on paper we aren’t better. d-williams is a ? mcgahee is a ? to a degree. Clayton is a ? rice’s use is a ? cam is a ? flacco should be better. how will McClaine be used? Oher is a rookie. Heap is a huge ??? can he stay healthy. his backup (?) has lacked real reps. mason is the only factual threat. marcus smith might not even start. we have a lot of HOPE. i think pitts Ben and Ward are 2 games better than us today. that may change in October but today we have more hope than proven full season O success. 12-4 and 10-6 is fair.
i’m not being negative and 10-6 might get us in the playoffs. that’s a totally realistic record. if cleveland and the bengals are healthier as people seem to think, those 4 games should be tougher than last year. they imploded big time last year. also, like a pitcher, the league has film on flacco. if marcus smith is good I might add 1 win. but i’m not counting on that.

we should make the playoffs but the O will be the same when we get there. that won’t be enough. good yes great no. 12-4 is great.

Yes, Mason is a year older and probably will break down by the end of the year. But the very young three of the starting five O-Linemen have an additional year of experience. O-line play is as much about chemistry as it is about strength, technique and speed. These three have chemistry. And I think people are sleeping on the value of the addition of Birk. He is basically one of the best at his position and people kind of yawned with his announced arrival… I know center is not a sexy position, but he is the one in charge of line-calls and blocking assignments. He is the one that has to direct traffic when the defense switches at the last second. Watch closely at what a center does when he crouches down right before the ball is snapped: he is pointing, he is turning his head yelling out instructions -he is almost like a QB in that regard.

I know Oher is a rookie, but he is at RT. There is some margin of error as there is usually a chipping or blocking TE with the RT. His pure athleticism will allow him to recover from mistakes his first year until he learns the RT game.

I think as Flacco is given a little more lee-way, you are going to see improvement in the passing game, no matter who is in the pattern. Yes admittedly our WR’s are spare, but a good QB can help that. Our current crop of receivers are not known for drops (unlike the bunch in C-town) so if they can get open, even a little, I am confident Flacco will deliver the mail to them.

Our running game does have some questions: will Willis bounce back? Can McLain be as productive as last year? Can Ray Rice step it up to the next level? I think the potential is there for a monster, as since we have three legitimate ball carriers to share the load, they should all still be fresh as a daisy come December. No guarantees, but potential.

What do we know: we know that Cam is a competent X’s and O’s guy and calls a good game; he basically has the same parts as last year, with some improvement -we hope. We did not lose to P-burgh by that much. If our offense can improve by as little as one more score per game (and the associated improved field position battle), think what a huge difference that would have made in many of the games we lost last year, Giants and Colts notwithstanding.

I know I am a homer, but “The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades…”

i hope too…we had no O vs pitt, colts and tenn.. we were dumbed down with our play calling in those games. i understand we were protecting flacco but did he improve in those games. i thought he was better in the first pitt game and got worse in the following pitt games. we also got more conservitive in those games.