Will the Ravens pose as the top team in the AFC?

The Baltimore Ravens are the best team in the AFC.

There are so many wrongs about this statement and a number of questions you could place upon it. First off, don't Tom Brady and Peyton Manning still play for AFC teams? Another question you might arise is this: The same Baltimore Ravens that have a banged up secondary and very questionable receiving corps is the team that you think will the stand atop of the AFC when it's all said and done?

I would answer yes to both of those questions. At the ages of 38 and 39 respectively, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are two guys that you can never ever overlook. We have come to that realization over the last few years. However. my statement was that the Ravens were the best TEAM in the league and not that they had the best player.

I am taking the Ravens roster over that of the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, or the Indianapolis Colts any day of the week. While these three teams might have three of the four or five best quarterbacks in the league, their rosters are stacked with question marks.

The Ravens, however, do have some holes on their own roster. It was reported yesterday that starting strong safety Matt Elam suffered a tear in his biceps and he has been ruled out of this coming season. This leaves an already uncertain secondary with even more question marks.

Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb are the team's two starting cornerbacks and both players have a ton of talent. However, they have been plagued by injuries throughout the early part of their careers and how they will perform in this coming season is unknown.

The Ravens also have a very questionable receiving corps. Steve Smith Sr., a 36-year old veteran, will start the season as the teams top wide receiver on the depth chart. Rookie Breshad Perriman, who although possesses great speed and a load of talent, struggles to hold onto the football. He had some major issues when it came to dropping passes in his three-year college stint with the UCF Knights.

Couple that together with the questions hovering upon the tight end position, and nobody really knows what is in store for the receiving corps this season.

However, the team still has veteran Joe Flacco, who going into his eighth season in the league, is looking stronger than ever. They also have one of the most dominate front-sevens in the league; a group that recorded the second-most sacks in the NFL last season.

Just having a veteran quarterback and a dominate front seven could very well be enough for the Ravens to finish the year atop the AFC. Does that say more about the Baltimore Ravens or their competition? I don't know. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how you win  the games, as long as you win them,.