2010 Baltimore Ravens Season Preview

Looking ahead to this season, the 2010 Baltimore Ravens Team Preview took a positive step forward after a key free agent acquisition, and retaining critical components to the team that made a playoff run a season ago.

The Ravens finished second in the AFC North Division last season to Cincinnati, but received a berth in the playoffs by virtue of the wild card. In the wild card round of the playoffs, the Ravens dismantled the New England Patriots in what was one of the surprises of the AFC playoff picture. That run ended however in the next round as the Ravens ran into Indianapolis and lost in the divisional round of the playoffs, ending their season.

Last year, quarterback Joe Flacco continued to develop as a young quarterback in the league, as the Ravens ranked 13th in total offense, averaging 351.2 yards per game. The team excelled in the run game, ranking fifth in the NFL racking up 137.5 yards per game. Baltimore scored an average of 24.4 points per game, which ranked ninth in the NFL and fourth in the AFC.

Defensively, the Ravens were the third ranked defense in the NFL and second in the AFC in total defense, surrendering just 300.5 yards. They were solid on both facets of the defensive scheme against the run and protecting against the past.

The Raven organization believes that they have made the necessary moves to take that next step and make a deeper run into the playoffs and a potential berth in the Super Bowl.2010 Baltimore Ravens Coaching Staff & Changes John Harbaugh has been a very effective coach since taking the position three season ago. He has tabbed a record of 23-14 overall and a 3-2 record in the post-season. Relatively little changes took place on the coaching staff from last season on into this season. The two notable changes are with the quarterbacks, as Jim Zorn comes on board and the linebackers in Dean Pees coming to coach up that unit.

Harbaugh has an effective system in place that has gotten wins in his years at Baltimore, with the 2010 Baltimore Ravens looking to make a solid run. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron utilized his weapons on the offensive side of the ball while defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will look to continue the success on that side of the ball in the 2010 NFL Season.

2010 Baltimore Ravens Key Free Agency Acquisitions & LossesAcquistions
WR - Anquan Boldin from Arizona Cardinals
DE - Cory Redding from Seattle Seahawks
WR - Donte Stallworth from Cleveland Browns

Losses
DT - Hustin Bannan to Denver Broncos
WR - Kelley Washington to Free Agency
DE - Dwan Edwards to Buffalo Bills2010 Baltimore Ravens NFL DraftRound 2: Pick 43- DE, Sergio Kindle (Texas)
Round 2: Pick 57 - DT, Terrence Cody (Alabama)
Round 3: Pick 70 - TE, Ed Dickson (Oregon)
Round 4: Pick 114 - TE, Dennis Pitta (BYU)
Round 5: Pick 156 - WR, David Reed (Utah)
Round 5: Pick 157 - DT, Art Jones (Syracuse)
Round 6: Pick 194 - OT, Ramon Harewood (Morehouse)
2010 Baltimore Ravens QuarterbacksQuarterback Joe Flacco is one of the promising young quarterbacks in the NFL, developing and getting better each season. He has won three of his five career playoff starts and has already gained valuable experience under Harbough and the coaching staff. He will be working with new Quarterback coach in Zorn, which should give him a new perspective on his position as he continues to try and grow and develop. Behind Flacco will be former Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State Troy Smith. Smith will compete with John Beck, will likely be a strong back up for the Raven this season, despite wanting to be traded or join a new team where he has a better chance to play.

Projected 2010 Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Depth Chart
QB - Joe Flacco
QB - Troy Smith
QB - John Beck2010 Baltimore Ravens Running BacksThe running back corps is led by Ray Rice, who had a fantastic season in 2009, rushing for 1,339 yards and hauling in 78 receptions for an additional 702 yards to a total of 2,041 yards from scrimmage. Rice is a dual-threat and a very explosive back that is capable of making the big play at a critical time as evidence of the playoff game against New England. Rice ranked second behind only Tennessee's Chris Johnson in total yards from scrimmage in 2009. Behind Rice is another solid running back in Willis McGahee. McGahee comes with a bunch of talent and is a great compliment to Rice. McGahee tabbed 12 touchdowns last season and looks to continue that production in 2010. After McGahee is Le'Ron McClain, who is a powerful bruising runner who is tough to bring down.

Projected 2010 Baltimore Ravens Running Back Depth Chart
RB - Ray Rice
RB - Willis McGahee
RB - Le'Ron McClain
2010 Baltimore Ravens Wide ReceiversThe Baltimore receiving corps got a huge boost by acquiring Anquan Boldin from Arizona in the off-season. Boldin is one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL today and will help out both Flacco and the Raven running backs in 2010 as he poses a play-making threat. In addition to Boldin, the Ravens have 36-year-old Derrick Mason on the other side. Baltimore also added Donte' Stallworth this off-season. Stallworth is trying to put behind him a DUI Manslaughter arrest for which he served three months in jail. Baltimore also utilizes tight end Todd Heap a lot in the offense, as he was on the field for more snaps than all other tight ends in the league.

Projected 2010 Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver Depth Chart
WR - Anquan Boldin
WR - Derrick Mason
WR - Donte' Stallworth
WR - Mark Clayton

Projected 2010 Baltimore Ravens Tight End Depth Chart
TE - Todd Heap
TE - Ed Dickson2010 Baltimore Ravens Offensive LineLeft tackle Michael Oher and right tackle Jared Gaither are two of the best 1-2 tackles at run blocking in the entire NFL. Oher makes the move to left tackle after playing on the right side of line in his rookie campaign. Gaither is a colossal figure at 6'9 340 and swallows defenders opposite of him. Ben Grubbs is also a nice compliment to the line while center Matt Birk anchors the line.

Projected 2010 Baltimore Ravens Starting Offensive Line
LT - Michael Oher
LG - Ben Grubbs
C - Matt Birk
RG - Marshal Yanda
RT - Jared Gaither2010 Baltimore Ravens Defensive LineThe defensive line for Baltimore begins with Pro Bowl lineman Haloti Ngata who is a force on the interior. He is an aggressive pass rusher and solid run stopper plugging up the middle area leaving no room for running backs. Noseguard Kelly Gregg is a solid piece on the unit as well, who used to wrestle. The Ravens drafted huge interior lineman Terrance Cody out of Alabama to come in and take up space on the inside. Trevor Pryce made the Pro Bowl and led the team in sacks last year in the 3-4 base set.

Projected 2010 Baltimore Ravens Starting Defensive Line
DE - Cory Reddin
DT - Kelly Gregg
DT - Haloti Ngata
DE - Terrell Suggs 2010 Baltimore Ravens LinebackersWhen talking about the Baltimore defense one has to mention Ray Lewis, as the veteran continues to be productive year-in and year-out. Terrell Suggs struggled last season, after being overweight for the majority of the year and has been asked to slim down to become more active. Daneel Ellerbe, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Georgia has been a rare find and filled in the inside position next to Lewis. Baltimore selected Sergio Kindle in the 2010 Draft out of Texas, who is a hybrid-like figure who can play end and linebacker.

Projected 2010 Baltimore Ravens Starting Linebackers
OLB - Jarret Johnson
ILB - Ray Lewis
OLB - Dannell Ellerbe
2010 Baltimore Ravens SecondaryThe 2010 Baltimore Ravens secondary is looking questionable because of Ed Reed's hip surgery and uncertainty of his future. Reed is on the Physically Unable to Perform list for possibly the first 6 weeks of the year. Reed has been arguably the league's best defensive player this decade. Fabian Washington and Domonique Foxworth with be the 1-2 corner back punch, with Tom Zbikowski backing up Reed and Dawan Landry at the Strong Safety position.

Projected 2010 Baltimore Ravens Starting Seconday
CB - Fabian Washington
CB - Domonique Foxworth
SS - Dawan Landry
FS - Tom Zbikowski

2010 Baltimore Ravens Preview