The future is now in Charm City. After going 5-11 in one of the most injury-ravaged seasons in recent memory, Baltimore enters the 2016 slate with a palpable sense of urgency.
In terms of pure impact players, the Ravens have one of the oldest rosters in the league, with Joe Flacco (31), Steve Smith Sr. (37), Terrell Suggs (33), and Elvis Dumevil (32) all on the wrong side of 30. Meanwhile, running back Justin Forsett is 29 — dinosaur-aged at his position — and coming off a broken arm.
The Ravens are in a tough position: They aren’t getting many votes as the favorites in the AFC North, why with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals still looming looming large, but general manager Ozzie Newsome has shown very little interest in reshaping the roster.
Perhaps Newsome knows best. He’s already won two Super Bowls, after all, and the organization still has one of the league’s better signal-callers under center. There’s also some intriguing young talent for head coach John Harbaugh to cultivate, including receivers Kamar Aiken and Breshad Perriman and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley.
The Ravens need maturation out of their younger players to compete in the North. Baltimore must see Aiken continue his ascension and not be stunted by Smith returning to the fold. Perriman was a first-round pick in 2015, has yet to see the field, and started this summer’s training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. If he can develop into a reliable ancillary option for Flacco, the Ravens won’t have to lean so heavily on their ever-aging D.
After neglecting to release any of his expendable veterans, which could’ve saved his team money against the cap, Newsome is clearly pushing his chips to the middle of the table, by opting for moves like inking veteran safety Eric Weddle and keeping kicker Justin Tucker in town.
Baltimore’s biggest challenge — outside of staying healthy — will be a defense that is long on issues and short on answers. The Ravens have good safeties in Weddle and the converted Lardarius Webb, but Jimmy Smith and Kyle Arrington remain huge question marks on the corners. Smith is a former first-round pick of Newsome who has yet to mature into a quality player, while Arrington is perhaps most famous for being a low-cost Patriots castoff.
The pass rush, for years one of the team’s biggest strengths, could also pose a problem. Suggs is coming off his second Achilles tear, and Dumervil — who notched all of six sacks in 16 games last year, the second-lowest total of his career — seems to have hit a career plateau. Should these two linchpin vets fail to find some magic, Baltimore’s pass defense could be a nightmare.
Harbaugh and Flacco are not used to missing the postseason, which they’ve done just twice since the two became a pair in 2008. Being a team that knows how to win when the weather gets cold, counting the Ravens out would be foolish, especially with a schedule ripe for a hot start.
Still, Father Time has yet to be defeated, and may well have his sights set on sending this once metronome-consistent franchise straight to the top of the Draft.
Schedule
Week 1 – Buffalo Bills
Week 2 – at Cleveland Browns
Week 3 – at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 4 – Oakland Raiders
Week 5 – Washington Redskins
Week 6 – at New York Giants
Week 7 – at New York Jets
Week 8 – BYE
Week 9 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 10 – Cleveland Browns (Thurs.)
Week 11 – at Dallas Cowboys
Week 12 – Miami Dolphins
Week 13 – Cincinnati Bengals
Week 14 – at New England Patriots (Mon.)
Week 15 – Philadelphia Eagles
Week 16 – at Pittsburgh Steelers (Christmas)
Week 17 – at Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore needs to get off to a good start, with three home games and only one contest against a team that made the postseason last year. The Ravens play in a daunting division that could require 10 or 11 wins to take the crown.
The end of the docket is brutal. Four of the last five games are against the Bengals, Steelers and Patriots, with three of those contests away from home. Baltimore might need to have nine wins before going into December or face the real possibility of missing the playoffs two consecutive years.
Draft class
Round 1 (6) – Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame
Round 2 (42) – Kamalei Correa, DE, Boise State
Round 3 (70) – Bronson Kaufusi, DE, BYU
Round 4 (104) – Tavon Young, CB, Temple
Round 4 (107) – Chris Moore, WR, Cincinnati
Round 4 (130) – Alex Lewis, OT, Nebraska
Round 4 (132) – Willie Henry, DT, Michigan
Round 4 (134) – Kenneth Dixon, RB, Louisiana Tech
Round 5 (146) – Matt Judon, DE, Grand Valley State
Round 6 (182) – Keenan Reynolds, RB, Navy
Round 6 (209) – Maurice Canady, CB, Virginia
Baltimore had to come away feeling good about this haul. General manager Ozzie Newsome had 10 selections and started out with a steal in Stanley. The Ravens needed a realiable starter at left tackle and landed the former Notre Dame star, who will come in and anchor the group right away.
Later in the draft, Newsome selected Reynolds who could become a modern-day version of Kordell Stewart. Reynolds played quarterback for the Midshipmen but will be playing a role similar to Denard Robinson in Jacksonville. Canady was also a nice find, with some believing he had second-day talent.
Offseason moves
Acquired
Eric Weddle, S (4 years, $29 million)
Lost
Kelechi Osemele, OG (OAK – 5 years, $60 million)
Eugene Monroe, OT (Retired)
X-Factor
Not to be repetitive, but it’s injuries. If the Ravens get Joe Flacco back healthy and Justin Forsett finds his way to another 1,000-yard season, Baltimore is going to be very much in the playoff picture. Steve Smith Sr. also has to continue producing despite being in his late 30s and coming off a torn Achilles.
Baltimore is relying heavily on aging players with injury histories, and that’s a combination that could end in another top 10 pick. Then again, should the ligaments and bones hold up, the Ravens are one of the best teams in the conference.
Bottom Line
The Ravens are running out of time with this group. Suggs, Dumervil, Flacco and Smith Sr. are all on the wrong side of 30. Should things go south and injuries crop up again, Newsome will have to consider blowing up the roster and going with a youth movement.
Should Baltimore be able to reach back for one more year and make the postseason, its an extremely dangerous group led by an incredibly underrated coach. This is a team nobody else in the AFC wants to see in January.