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It was only four months ago that the 2012 Baltimore Ravens were hoisting the second Lombardi Trophy in team history but in those four months so much has changed. The team lost the two long time faces of the franchise along with many other fan favorites and they have brought in a slew of veteran and rookie players expected to challenge for starting roles.
Talk about a facelift. The Ravens are coming off a world championship and you would think that they felt the need to rebuild the team for a 2013 Super Bowl run. After losing Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Paul Kruger, Cary Williams and Danelle Ellerbe you would think that this team would be hurting for defensive talent. However, with the addition of Chris Canty, Elvis Dumervil, Marcus Spears, Michael Huff, Branden Williams, Matty Elam, Arthur Brown and Daryl Smith the Ravens defense is poised for a younger, more athletic and possibly statistically better squad than last season.
One of the main reasons the Ravens were able to become Super Bowl Champions a year ago was the offense though and the front office in Baltimore has pretty much left that unit be. They did lose Anquan Boldin but the over all confidence in quarterback Joe Flacco seems to be so strong that they are willing to eat that loss. Flacco's new teammate Michael Huff is finding out why.
"He’s a lot better [than I thought]," Huff said. "I knew he was good before, but just seeing him every day in practice, just seeing him put the balls here in certain places; I’ll think I have great coverage and somehow he’ll find a way to squeeze it in there."
"He’s definitely an elite quarterback and definitely one of the best in the NFL," Huff said.
This seems to be the trend here in Baltimore. Joe has gotten better in each and every one of his professional seasons and the rest of the Ravens are getting used to it. The words by Huff come as no surprise to those that have worked with Flacco.
"He’s getting better each and every day," Offensive Coordinator Jim Caldwell said. "Every single day he gets a little bit better. That’s exciting.
"Joe loves football. [He is] interested in getting better all the time. We have great dialogue just in terms of offensive schemes, schematic ideas that he has. He hasn’t changed a bit in that regard – still working just as hard."