Despite the understanding that the cornerback position was perhaps the Baltimore Ravens biggest weakness after this past season, the team now has a bunch of options of who to pair with each other to form the starting cornerback combination when the 2011 NFL season finally gets underway. Decisions will have to be made on which free agent cornerbacks (Chris Carr, Josh Wilson, Fabian Washington) are going to be retained, which previously injured ones (Domonique Foxworth, Lardarius Webb) will definitely be ready and effective, as well as if one or both rookie cornerbacks drafted in the 2011 NFL Draft (Jimmy Smith, Chykie Brown) can come in and contribute right away.
A lot of questions remain to be answered but the combinations and possibilities are intriguing. Joe Platania of PressBox Online took a stab at it recently and came up with a variety of scenarios. He looks at the choices of size, speed and experience as options that the Ravens can look at, depending on who the opponents are on any given weekend.
Notable opponents include Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald, Houston Texans Andre Johnson and of course the always dangerous tricky and sneaky wideout on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Platania also notes that the defense allowed career passing days to more quarterbacks than they'd care to regurgitate, including a few whose names would normally not impress nor scare defenses when mentioned by name.