State of the Union: Baltimore Ravens

Ray Lewis is a murderer.

I just like to throw that out there whenever I can. He's the scariest person in the country, because not even the justice system has the balls to punish him. He brings ferocity every snap of every game and is one of the big reasons why the Ravens defense has been elite for all these years. While the front seven are ready to have another great year shutting down the run, there are very legitimate questions about the secondary. I'm going to start off discussing the defense because the secondary could leave the Ravens in a hole to start the season since superstar safety Ed Reed is out for the first four or five weeks. In a competitive AFC North, getting off to a slow start can result in a lost season; just ask the Browns. So while Reed is just missing a portion of the season, the only steady corner going into this season, Domonique Foxworth, had a season-ending injury leaving a major hole in the secondary. Fabian Washington, who is coming off of an injury, will be looked upon to lead a cast of unproven corners including Chris Carr, Ladarius Webb, and Cary Williams (wait... who are they?). Dawan Landry and most likely Tom Zbikowski will man the safety spots in what will most likely be the league's worst secondary (even when Reed returns). Luckily for the Ravens, the front 7 will bring the heat with familiar faces like Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, and Trevor Pryce. Rookie Sergio Kindle, who will look to bounce back from a freak injury, and 2nd year pro Paul Kruger could definitely have an impact as outside rushers.

Now to the offense, which used to be the Ravens' Achilles heel, but will contend for top 5 this season. Young QB Joe Flacco is poised to have a major breakout season with newly acquired receivers Anquan Boldin and Dante Stallworth (actually killed a guy, no joke) and reliable tight end Todd Heap. The offensive line is elite with studs Jared Gaither, Ben Grubbs, and Michael Oher. Running behind them will be the electric Ray Rice, complimented with Willis McGahee and fullback LaRon McClain. To be honest, I don't even need to go into the Ravens' offense too much to get the point across. They are going to be sick to watch this season if Joe Flacco plays like everyone expects him to. I'm hoping they bring Troy Smith in to run a wildcat with Rice. That would be filthy.

If the Ravens do not upgrade their secondary before the season then it will inevitably lead to their downfall. Carson Palmer and Ben Rapistberger are too good to not pick it apart even with a great pass rush coming at them. If the Ravens go for broke and make a deal to acquire an elite corner (I've heard Nnamdi Asomugha's name thrown around) they will have to overpay but it might be worth it. This is a legitimate Superbowl contender.