Steve Smith Sr. injury allows Ravens to test their young talent

When Steve Smith Sr. went down with his Achilles injury, everyone immediately thought the worst. I can attest that the staff here at Baltimore Beatdown began a fit of rage and bad words. Part of that is because of the expected loss of a valuable member of this team for the season, the expected end of a great career in a terrible fashion, and because the Ravens lack talent behind Senior.

Yet, the Ravens were able to muster up some serious offense despite Smith being in the locker room. Now that the Ravens know for certain that they won't have Steve Smith Sr. for the remainder of the season, there will be more likely a chance that we will see some of their young talent on the field from here on out.

Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown have been hit or miss this season for the Ravens, but the big question is what will the Ravens get out of players like Chris Givens, Jeremy Butler, Jeremy Ross and others moving forward? Chris Givens caught 3 passes for 57 yards, including a 39 yard long pass. Givens would have had a pretty good game against the Cardinals if it weren't for an underthrown pass by quarterback Joe Flacco that kept Givens from catching what would have been an easy touchdown and roughly 50 yards.

New offensive coordinator Marc Trestman will have to be creative with his lineups and how he uses the young talent that the Ravens have. Looking at the physical traits of the Ravens young receivers, they certainly have the size and the speed to get the job done, now it just comes down to being consistent and concentrating to make an impact. With Smith out, they could end up finding a diamond in the rough at a position the Ravens have faltered at over their 20 seasons in the league.