M&T Stadium, Baltimore

Well, the draft is over and the mini-camps are getting underway. Figured I’d wait until this point to give my opinion on the last few months, well, as a Raven anyway.

The Anquan Boldin Trade:
This really did take me by surprise. I could see us trading for a solid wide receiver, but to be honest I never really expected it to be Boldin. A pleasant surprise by all means though. Boldin really is a quality player. He may have had a few injuries lately but his effort and his production is nothing to be dismissed. I really can’t wait to see him in the Purple of Baltimore. He came at a pretty reasonable price too. A 3rd and 4th round draft pick? Bargain, especially since we recouped those by trading down in the draft.

Off-Season pick ups:
We’ve picked up a couple of notable players this year so far. Let’s start with wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth, a player with his share of controversy to say the least. Now, I won’t pretend that I know all the details of his past, but according to the law he has now served his time, he is showing genuine remorse and he wants to make up for what he did. That’s all I need to know. He’s come in looking as quick as he was, he’s been making some good plays with Flacco in training and he is still looking sharp. I’m looking forward to see if he can reproduce this on the field, he definitely gives us a solid option for a pretty minimal cost.

New Raven Boldin

Secondly, we picked up defensive tackle Cory Redding from the Seahawks. A good move after we lost Dwan Edwards to the Bills. He can produce, he’s shown he can. Last season wasn’t his best and I believe he only started 3-4 games for Seattle, but in 7 years he has picked up 18 sacks. He’s a big guy, 6’4” and over 290lbs, but he is versatile and quick on his feet. I expect him to take some downs off Pryce to keep him fresh and mix it up a bit. Redding signed a 2 year contract so let’s see what he can do as Raven.

Ed Reed:
Will he retire, won’t he retire? Well I certainly hope he doesn’t! Ed is an amazing talent who has been hit with injury as of late. So bad there is talk of him calling it a day. Latest reports say he has undergone surgery to try and rectify this problem, hopefully a sign that he isn’t quite giving up just yet. If this is true, and it all goes to plan then I can’t wait to see what he does next year. Ed Reed is a game changer, and you just know the opposition offence hate it when he is playing, and playing well.

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Re-Signs:
Biggest re-sign of the off-season is definitely Derek Mason. The man is still in amazing shape, more so than probably half the NFL players, and he is 36. He still has his pace, he still has good hands, and he still has that smile on his face when he plays. A 2 year contract hopefully means he will be retiring as a Raven.

Draft:
I’d say the trading down from the first round surprised me, but it didn’t. What DID surprise me is what we got for it and for who the traders got with our pick. Still, it worked out really well; we got 3rd and 4th round picks back which means effectively we got Boldin for peanuts. Anyway, here is a breakdown of the picks for the Ravens from the 2010 draft.

Sergio Kindle (OLB) – Pick 43 – A potential 1st round pick taken in the 2nd round. Great pick in my eyes. Kindle can slot nicely into the Ravens formation and go straight to work. There was a bit of talk about his knee but it looks like no work is needed. This is probably why he didn’t go in the 1st round.

Terrence Cody (DT) – Pick 57 – ‘Mount’ Cody as he is known to his friends. This guy is huge and I’m very excited to see him in the Purple of Baltimore. A lot of talk about his weight, but I have no problems putting faith in the Ravens staff to keep him fit and healthy. This bloke can destroy offences.

Ed Dickson (TE) – Pick 70 – The first of 2 Tight Ends taken in succession by Ozzie. Ed is a more traditional ‘block’ tight end. He’s athletic, big frame and can make a catch or two if needed. Would work well and gives Flacco a target who might work himself into some space.

Dennis Pitta (TE) – Pick 114 – The second of 2 Tight Ends. Pitta is more of a receiving tight end. He’s quick, he’s got amazing hands and he can run routes well, probably more of a wide receiver, definitely an exciting player to watch. Flacco will be rubbing his hands together with all these targets for him to hit.

David Reed (WR) – Pick 156 – Didn’t see us picking a wide receiver in this draft but I can see why Ozzie has picked him. He’s a young talent with good potential, and he’ll be practicing with Anquan Boldin and Derek Mason, who better could be learning from? I can see him probably getting a couple of downs, possibly in the slot.

Arthur Jones (DT) – Pick 157 – Jones is a big defensive tackle, i’m actually shocked that he made it all the way down to the 5th round. 6’3″ and 300lbs, but he’s quick and he hits hard. I don’t think he’ll be in the team straight away, but he might play a bit part of a few downs to give the other guys a rest.

Ramon Harewood (OL) – Pick 194 – This guy is interesting. He is basically a raw product, but at 6’6″ and 340lbs i’m sure we can do something with him. The guy is massive, a giant, he’s got decent speed for his height and weight (think he ran just over 5.0 in the 40yd dash), so let’s get him settled and get him working at the camp. He’s got drive to succeed so let’s help him reach his potential and scare some opposition.

The one thing I would have liked us to do is pick up a good corner, and I think most Ravens would agree. That didn’t happen but Ozzie did make some great moves in the draft. He hasn’t gone wrong yet and I trust that he will be looking at this position over the course of the remaining off-season. In Ozzie we trust.


Optimism:

Overall I have to say I am very pleased with the way things have gone so far. We have definitely improved in positions we needed to improve in and we have some quality young talent on the roster. We had a good campaign last season that ended too early and with the additions we have made I can’t help but think that we’ll be challenging not only for the Divisional win, but for a Superbowl ring once more.

Image Credits:
M&T Stadium: kevygee
Boldin: xoque
Ed Reed: Keith Allison
Cheerleader: Keith Allison, again.