32 Teams in 32 Days: Baltimore Ravens

Were back at it again today as we will dive in and take a look at the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are coming off of a 8-8 season that saw them miss the playoffs. They headed into week 17 against the Bengals needing a win and Dolphins loss against the Jets. The Dolphins lost, so all Baltimore needed to do was beat the Bengals and they would capture the second wild card spot. But, the game did not go as planned and ended up being a really disappointing loss as they were beaten 34-17 despite Bengals QB Andy Dalton throwing 4 interceptions. This year they look to get back to their ways and return to where they were 2 years ago when they won the super bowl. As a team they have had their share of off the field issues, highlighted by Ray Rice's incident this off season. But, they want to put those things behind them and just get back to playing football. So to start, let's take a look at some of the position battles that are going on in camp right now. And don't forget to tune in tonight to take a look at the Ravens as they play their first preseason game against the 49ers.

Defensive Tackle: Brandon Williams vs Timmy Jernigan

These two players are fighting to fill the void left by Arthur Jones and play on the d-line alongside all-pro Haloti Ngata and Chris Canty. Williams is a second year man out of Division ll Missouri Southern State and played only 93 snaps last year as a rookie. Then you have Jernigan who is a rookie out of Florida State and had a very solid career and finished strong last season with 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. So we haven't seen much of either of these guys so expect anything when it comes to this battle. But, watching Jernigan play at Florida State and reports that he has had some good practices so far, I am going with him.
Pick- Jernigan

Right Tackle: Ricky Wagner vs Jah Reid

A not so exciting to the eye competition but, a huge impact spot on the team has Wagner and Reid battling it out at Right Tackle. They are looking to fill the void left by the departed Michael Oher who went to the Titans in free agency. I really think this is Wagner's job to lose as he was the backup right tackle for Oher last year. Reid has been a career backup guard who is looking to move to tackle but, will need to put on a show in camp to win this job.
Pick- Wagner

Free Safety: Darian Stewart vs Jeromy Miles

The Ravens need someone to step up at free safety this year as last year's starting free safety Matt Elam mover to strong safety this season to replace the departed James Ihedigbo. The main two competitors in this competition are Stewart and Miles. Stewart is a fifth year guy who came over from the Rams this off season and reports out of camp are that he is in the lead in this competition and they like him because of his familiarity with Steve Spagnuolo who is the Ravens secondary coach. Miles is a guy who has really been getting his only chance when Stewart moves to CB, so it may not be a competition after all.
Pick- Stewart

Now that we have looked over some of the position battles in camp lets look at some key players for the Ravens this year:

Terrell Suggs- Suggs became the voice of this defense last year after Ray Lewis retired and he looks to build on a season last year where he recorded 10 sacks. Suggs is a player known around the league for his physical nature and paired up with Elvis Dumervil gives the Ravens two really good end ruskers who look to put constant pressure on the opposing QB.

The CB as a group- I believe this group of CB needs to take it to another level this year with the departure of Corey Graham who went to Buffalo. You have Ladarius Webb and Jimmy Smith on the outsides who the Ravens are going to be relying on big time in division match-ups against teams like the Bengals who can really air it out.

Bernard Pierce- Pierce will be filling in for Ray Rice the first two games of the season because as you probably have heard, been suspended for assaulting his wife this off season. Pierce has the capabilities to step in and be a first string running back. He will be huge throughout the season and especially the first 2 games as the Ravens don't want to fall into an 0-2 hole to start the season.

X-Factor- Steve Smith
Smith comes to the Ravens this year after a long and successful stint in Carolina. He is near the tail end of his career but, still has that fiery attitude that helps him get into the heads of some of the younger secondaries in the league. He doesn't back down from anyone and if he can have the same success as he did in Carolina it could be a huge weapon for this offense who already have one of the more explosive receivers in the league in Torrey Smith.

Season Outlook:
The 2014 schedule is listed below... They start off right out of the gate with three straight division games. If they can come out of those three games with a 2-1 or even 3-0 record they can really put themselves in the drivers seat for the rest of the season. They have a few tough games like at Indianapolis and at the Saints but, other than those games I really can see them having very good success with their schedule. I see them going 11-5 and winning the AFC North and being a 3 seed come playoff time. And remember check back tomorrow as I take a look at my favorite team the Buffalo Bills.