2013 Baltimore Ravens Season Preview
By Loot, NFL Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
The defending Super Bowl champions enter 2013 with a lot of question marks looming. The smart money says Baltimore will not repeat. A recent trip to a sportsbook revealed that the Ravens are barely in the top ten list of favorites to win the 2014 Super Bowl. While they have certainly seen their share of key personnel losses, perhaps it’s premature to begin piling dirt on Baltimore.
The skepticism is understandable. With the Ravens, their heart and soul has always been their defense. Sure, their offense was definitely key, but their identity always seemed wrapped up on the other side of the ball, where a slew of future Hall of Famers made the Ravens a perennial conference force.
A lot of those guys are no longer there. In a single offseason, they lost their longtime leader Ray Lewis. It’s hard to remember a time when didn’t have Lewis, that’s how long he’s been there. In addition. they lost Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard--two stars in their secondary. They lost Dannell Ellerbe, a key part of their front seven.
Their ability to retool the secondary will be key. They lost 3 of their 4 starters from last year’s Super Bowl team. But they did load up in the offseason with a slew of key acquisitions. If some of them of them pan out, they might not be as deteriorated as people think heading into the season. Rookies LB Arthur Brown and S Matt Elam could potentially fill in nicely. In the secondary, they still have Jimmy Smith, and Corey Graham. They added Michael Huff. So who knows?
The other spots might be tough, but Terrell Suggs is still there, as is the rest of a formidable line. And they added a real stud in Elvis Dumervil, who should make a solid impact. Let’s face it--they lost a lot. But they did have a good offseason in terms of replenishing some of these problem areas. One shouldn’t assume this defense will nosedive into mediocrity just yet.
An area of real concern, however, is the loss of WR Anquan Boldin. While it’s understandable why a front office wouldn’t want to throw a gigantic contract at a 32-year old receiver who has taken a lot of hits over his long career, it’s hard to forget how key Boldin was to the Ravens’s success last year. Simply put, without Anquan Boldin’s contributions, the Ravens would not have emerged past the status of marginal playoff team last season.
The Ravens’ offense remains solid, with two good tight ends, a star back in Ray Rice, and a quarterback who really took his game to another level in Joe Flacco. Now operating with the confidence of a team that knows they get it done, the Ravens should continue making progress as an offensive unit. Still, in those close games, who is going to step up to make those big clutch receptions? The guy they depended on for that is now on the team the Ravens beat in the Bowl--the San Francisco 49ers.
The Super Bowl hangover component always looms over a team the year after they achieve glory. On one hand, it might be a lot of hocus-pocus. Still, in the last two decades, only two teams have managed to repeat as Super Bowl champions. And among all those champions, there tends to be a little letdown the following season, which is understandable. All teams and players have a fire that rages to be a champion. Once that is achieved, that fire goes from an inferno to a flicker.
Nevertheless, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the Ravens can again get to the mountaintop and if they did, it would come as a big surprise to everyone. As far as getting good value on a futures bet, the Ravens might be worth a look at about 25-1 to repeat. It’s not something one should bank on happening, but the lack of respect being given to the Ravens is a bit off-putting. In contrast, the team they beat in last year’s Super Bowl is going off at a mere 6-1. Talk about no respect.
The big boys in Vegas don’t make the big bucks for no reason. They have their rationale to discount Baltimore, who did in fact lose a ton of players following an unlikely run to the top last year. Teams like Denver, Houston, and even New England are expected to be the class of the AFC this season, but if any of those teams take a small step back and Baltimore can get rolling, who’s to say they won’t be right in the thick of it?
