Ok, last year Joe Flacco was sacked 40 times. Peyton Manning…16 times… And with the rest of the division drafting young legs on defense, Flacco could get beat up again this year. Hopefully, Baltimore’s newest addition at the Offensive Tackle position, Jah Reid, will give Flacco time to react and be able to look for more than one receiver before the pass needs to be thrown. I want to see the Manning number this year.
The Browns’ two newest members to their team could have the Ravens “O” line scrambling. Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard are both solid pass rushers and could force Flacco to get rid of the ball quickly when these two teams face off twice this year. Meanwhile, the Steelers added athletic Cameron Heyward from Ohio St., yet another weapon to create havoc in the Ravens’ backfield. (Just what we need… something else to worry about when playing Pitt.)
One addition that will help Flacco is the big receiver from Indiana Tandon Doss. This is my favorite draft pick. Not only does this 6’2 201lb receiver have good hands, he is willing to go into traffic and make the catch. Also, He has the ability to be a kick returner. I don’t believe we have anyone right now who has the ability to be a consistent kick returner like Doss.
Another new player of interest is Torrey Smith, who ran a 4.41 40 yard dash. This playmaker really excites me! Having him could give Flacco another weapon to throw to before he feels the pressure. The issue is Smith can only be a force if the Ravens let him loose. Certainly, there will be a battle in training camp and I am very interested in seeing the workouts of wide receivers Doss, Smith, and David Reed.
Reed is a receiver who is heading into his second season. I believe that if he works hard and utilizes all of his skills, he could have a leg up on the two rookies. Smith has the upper hand on Doss because he is a deep threat. My favorite of the three is David Reed. I think he knows our offense and is very athletic. If the team uses all three of these skilled WR’s in the right way, each of them will have successful careers with our organization.
With the likely departures of Donte Stallworth and TJ Houshmandzadeh, we might see a lot of these guys.
Something else I’d like to see is Flacco being able to use his arm to throw the deep ball which could minimize his sack total. I believe Cam Cameron has been holding Flacco back from throwing deep down field and making the big plays that win football games.
Where is Cam’s faith in Flacco?
Given newcomers in Doss and Smith, we have enough threats that can go long, stay short, and/or block. I have always said if Flacco was given the opportunity to throw long, he could have that 4,000+ yard season that a lot of Baltimore fans desire.
That said, to get to the 4,000 yard plateau, the Ravens need to keep Flacco healthy something they have fortunately been able to do. But if he ever gets hurt, we need a capable backup and I don’t think that means Tyrod Taylor.
I don’t like the draft pick of Tyrod Taylor. I was expecting Ozzie to look to someone like Greg McElroy or Scott Tolzein. Taylor is 6’1 and doesn’t fit with our system. He has a solid arm and good feet but he needs time to adjust to the speed of the NFL. In free-agency, I would like to see the organization go after someone like Alex Smith or Chad Pennington. Both of these QB’s have big frames and have experience in the NFL. They also have played against some of the league’s top defenses. With our division, this is critical.
Yet for any quarterback to be successful, it starts with a good offensive line.
The addition of OT Jah Reid will help. It would be very interesting to see Michael Oher on one side and Reid on the other. As for the rest of the line, I am greatly concerned. Just remember those 40 sacks from last season.
And my hope for this year is to that number from 40 to 16.
