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 3^rd and 4^th 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 3^rd and 4^th 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 1^st round pick taken in the 2^nd 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 1^st 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.

Although we don’t know what teams will be heading over, the chance to see a live NFL game isn’t something that comes around every day (only once a year I’m afraid, kind of like Christmas except there’s no fat dude wearing red – unless the Cardinals turn up). The buzz is amazing, and considering the Patriots v Buccaneers game sold out in 72 hours, I’m expecting the same thing to happen this year. Luckily I got my interest registered early on. Now Christmas rarely comes twice a year, so pinch me because I must be dreaming, but the talk is that we’re getting two games this year!

You can guarantee that at one, if not both of the games us guys at MAC will be meeting up for a few beers and a bit of banter which makes the game all the better. As the old joke goes… A Redskins fan, Miami fan, and Ravens fan walk into a pub. You’ll probably get to see the outcome later!

Anyway, enough ranting from me. What games would you guys want to see at Wembley this year?

Graham and I were at the stadium last week for the England v Belarus World Cup Qualifier. And though we were in a box, and got champagne and beer via hospitality (yeah, it’s a tough life) we did take a moment to snatch a look at the food and drink prices.

As you can see, they’re not cheap.

Drinks are up from last year to a whopping £4. Now I stay in hotels a lot, so have inflated values of what a pint is worth and wouldn’t balk at £3.50. But £4 is high. And as Graham pointed out to me, it’s not even for a full pint!

Food is equally expensive, but there’s a lot more atmosphere and fun to be had from eating outside of the stadium anyway: Either along Wembley Way at one of the many stalls, in the Tailgate party, or even at the McDonalds which is near Wembley Park tube station. In fact there are several shops and takeaways along that road… if you can avoid getting sucked down the wide steps and onto Wembley way go and have an explore. If you can make it to The Green Man pub, then it looks rocking (Graham and I popped in last year and it looked like great fun.)

In terms of facilities though, you can’t beat the stadium. With wide walkways and with shops, bars and toilets dotted liberally around they chances are you’ll queue for less time than you’re expecting. Beer, wine, soft drinks and food can be taken back to your seat too (which isn’t the case for soccer matches) so don’t hesitate to pop out during a change of possession, challenge or other game-pausing event. You’ll be back with your tasty beverage in plenty of time.

So there we are. Have a great day, enjoy it, boo that Pats and cheer the Bucs. But you might want to eat before you get into Wembley itself.

(NB. These prices were recorded on the 14th October 2009, and were checked on the 25th October. If they’ve gone up since, please let us know)