BALTIMORE – Thirty minutes into the first game of the season, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis stood before his teammates and delivered an inspirational and insightful speech that set the tone for the entire season.

Baltimore held a 21-7 lead over the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the identical score at halftime of their playoff game in Pittsburgh nine months earlier. In that one, the Ravens came apart in a 31-24 defeat.

Lewis placed himself in the middle of the locker room and emphatically spiked the comparison.

“Everybody was saying, ‘We’ve been here before,’” Lewis said. “And I was like, ‘We haven’t been here before, because 2010 is 2010, and 2011 is a whole new year.’ If you understand it that way, then you understand that this is a new team.”

And so it is. The retooled Ravens went on to hammer the Steelers 35-7, and they enter this Sunday’s bye with a 3-1 record, alone atop the AFC North and charging toward a fourth straight playoff appearance.

Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome retooled the team during a whirlwind off-season shortened by the NFL lockout.

Almost every move he made has thus far appeared to be the right one, beginning with a salary cap purge of wide receiver Derrick Mason, tight end Todd Heap, running back Willis McGahee, defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and fullback Le’Ron McClain.

At this point in the season, the Ravens don’t miss any of them. Not even a little bit.

Ricky Williams has proven to be a capable backup to running back Ray Rice; Lee Evans and second-round draft pick Torrey Smith have made up for the loss of Mason; Vonta Leach is an upgrade from McClain; Terrence Cody has proven to be just as immovable on the line as Gregg; and the tight end tandem of Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta has made it easy for Ravens fans to scrap the “HEAP!” cheer that resonated throughout M&T Stadium for the past decade.

Newsome also added safety Bernard Pollard and a pair of offensive linemen who made an immediate difference.

The signing of free agent tackle Bryant McKinnie enabled Michael Oher to move back to the right side — where he is more effective — and free agent guard Andre Gurode has been invaluable during Ben Grubbs’ absence with turf toe.

Oh, and the defence under first-year co-ordinator Chuck Pagano has been spectacular.

As Lewis said, this is indeed a new team. And it’s not outlandish to believe the Ravens could become even more formidable with the sooner-than-later return of Evans (ankle injury) and cornerbacks Chris Carr (hamstring) and Jimmy Smith (ankle).

“The scary part is, I think we can only get better,” Rice said. “What you’re seeing is a token of hard work. Guys are not afraid to work.”

The Ravens aren’t good enough to just show up and win. That was proven in Week 2, when they followed up their emotional victory over the Steelers with a 23-13 defeat at Tennessee. Then came a 37-7 rout in St. Louis and a surprisingly easy 34-17 win over the New York Jets.

Against the Jets, Baltimore scored three touchdowns on defence and allowed only seven first downs to hit the first quarter of the season tied with five teams for the best record in the AFC.

“We can’t ask for anything else,” Lewis said.

Moments after the Jets game, there was an aura of cautious confidence in the locker room.

“We feel good,” centre Matt Burk said.

“Certainly we wish we were 4-0, but we’re 3-1. We take pride in what we’ve done to this point, but when we come back from the bye it’s a whole new deal. There’s still a long, long way to go in this thing. They didn’t pass out the Lombardi Trophy after this game. Good teams get better as the season goes. We’ll see where this thing goes and where this journey takes us.”

The goal is to get to Indianapolis, site of the Super Bowl, and the easiest way to get there is to play at home leading up to the game.

The Ravens were eliminated at Pittsburgh in 2008 and 2010, and in 2009 their post-season run ended in Indianapolis.

Baltimore has won 12 of its past 13 at home, including two this season in which it outscored the two participants in the 2010 AFC title game by a combined 45 points.

“We’re only going to get better, but getting better is a choice. It’s based on how hard we decide to work,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I’m excited, I’m proud of these guys, yet, hey, we have a long way to go.”

By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

BALTIMORE (AP) – Thirty minutes into the first game of the season, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis stood before his teammates and delivered an inspirational and insightful speech that set the tone for the entire season.

Baltimore held a 21-7 lead over the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the identical score at halftime of their playoff game in Pittsburgh nine months earlier. In that one, the Ravens came apart in a 31-24 defeat.

Lewis placed himself in the middle of the locker room and emphatically spiked the comparison.

“Everybody was saying, ‘We’ve been here before,’” Lewis said. “And I was like, ‘We haven’t been here before, because 2010 is 2010, and 2011 is a whole new year.’ If you understand it that way, then you understand that this is a new team.”

And so it is. The retooled Ravens went on to hammer the Steelers 35-7, and they enter this Sunday’s bye with a 3-1 record, alone atop the AFC North and charging toward a fourth straight playoff appearance.

Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome retooled the team during a whirlwind offseason shortened by the NFL lockout.

Almost every move he made has thus far appeared to be the right one, beginning with a salary cap purge of wide receiver Derrick Mason, tight end Todd Heap, running back Willis McGahee, defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and fullback Le’Ron McClain.

At this point in the season, the Ravens don’t miss any of them. Not even a little bit.

Ricky Williams has proven to be a capable backup to running back Ray Rice; Lee Evans and second-round draft pick Torrey Smith have made up for the loss of Mason; Vonta Leach is an upgrade from McClain; Terrence Cody has proven to be just as immovable on the line as Gregg; and the tight end tandem of Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta has made it easy for Ravens fans to scrap the “HEAP!” cheer that resonated throughout M&T Stadium for the past decade.

Newsome also added safety Bernard Pollard and a pair of offensive linemen who made an immediate difference.

The signing of free agent tackle Bryant McKinnie enabled Michael Oher to move back to the right side – where he is more effective – and free agent guard Andre Gurode has been invaluable during Ben Grubbs’ absence with turf toe.

Oh, and the defense under first-year coordinator Chuck Pagano has been spectacular.

As Lewis said, this is indeed a new team. And it’s not outlandish to believe the Ravens could become even more formidable with the sooner-than-later return of Evans (ankle injury) and cornerbacks Chris Carr (hamstring) and Jimmy Smith (ankle).

“The scary part is, I think we can only get better,” Rice said. “What you’re seeing is a token of hard work. Guys are not afraid to work.”

The Ravens aren’t good enough to just show up and win. That was proven in Week 2, when they followed up their emotional victory over the Steelers with a 23-13 defeat at Tennessee. Then came a 37-7 rout in St. Louis and a surprisingly easy 34-17 win over the New York Jets.

Against the Jets, Baltimore scored three touchdowns on defense and allowed only seven first downs to hit the first quarter of the season tied with five teams for the best record in the AFC.

“We can’t ask for anything else,” Lewis said.

Moments after the Jets game, there was an aura of cautious confidence in the locker room.

“We feel good,” center Matt Burk said.

“Certainly we wish we were 4-0, but we’re 3-1. We take pride in what we’ve done to this point, but when we come back from the bye it’s a whole new deal. There’s still a long, long way to go in this thing. They didn’t pass out the Lombardi Trophy after this game. Good teams get better as the season goes. We’ll see where this thing goes and where this journey takes us.”

The goal is to get to Indianapolis, site of the Super Bowl, and the easiest way to get there is to play at home leading up to the game.

The Ravens were eliminated at Pittsburgh in 2008 and 2010, and in 2009 their postseason run ended in Indianapolis.

Baltimore has won 12 of its past 13 at home, including two this season in which it outscored the two participants in the 2010 AFC title game by a combined 45 points.

“We’re only going to get better, but getting better is a choice. It’s based on how hard we decide to work,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I’m excited, I’m proud of these guys, yet, hey, we have a long way to go.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

STEELERS AT RAVENS

Posted: September 11
Updated: Today at 1:40 AM

Pittsburgh’s trip to Baltimore is not just another game for the combatants on the field.

DAVID GINSBURG AP Sports Writer

BALTIMORE — Whether they clash in the playoffs or September, when the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are on the same field, emotions run high and the collisions are violent.

That’s what makes it the best rivalry in the NFL.

The last time they met, a trip to the AFC title game hung in the balance. The consequences won’t be nearly as significant in Sunday’s opener because, after all, each team will still have 15 games left in the regular season.

Try telling that to Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.

“The stakes are the same. The stakes are always the same,” Suggs said.

Part of the incentive to win Sunday is taking an early lead in the AFC North. Most of all, it’s about beating a fierce rival.

“It’s always a very physical game, it’s usually close and usually very low scoring,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “It’s two very, very good defenses going against each other, it’s in the division. So I think that adds a little something extra to it.”

The names change from year to year, but the intensity remains the same. Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, Le’Ron McClain, Willis McGahee and Kelly Gregg — all of whom played a significant role with Baltimore last season — are gone.

It makes no difference to Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who has been a participant in this heated duel since 1996.

“I tell people all the time that there are no better games to play for your legacy,” Lewis said. “When people hear Baltimore and Pittsburgh, everyone is going to have a front row seat because they know exactly what they’re going to get. The players and the people outside the league really care for you because of playing in those rivalries.”

Redskins-Cowboys? Packers-Bears? Anyone who’s been a part of Steelers-Ravens knows there is no comparison to this rivalry.

“It’s the best in sports,” Suggs declared. “Everything the fans want to see out of a rivalry is in this game — the hatred between the two teams, the physicality between the two teams.”

Steelers-Ravens. It’s a double chin-strap game for all the participants, and even that occasionally isn’t enough. In the AFC championship two years ago, McGahee was knocked senseless from a hit by Ryan Clark. Last year in Baltimore, Roethlisberger had his nose broken on the game’s third play.

“I keep telling our guys to stop all the Tweeting stuff, because I’m the one who feels the brunt of it — not our defensive guys,” Roethlisberger said. “I hate playing them, and I hate going down there to play them. But that’s not a knock on them. It’s because they’re so good.”

Roethlisberger has won seven straight starts against Baltimore, but it hasn’t been easy. Five of the last eight games between the teams have been decided by three points, another was 13-9, and Pittsburgh rallied behind Roethlisberger for a 31-24 win last January to end the Ravens’ season.

Close, physical games between two similar teams. That’s what Steelers-Ravens is all about.

It’s been that way for a long time, actually. Lewis remembers when the Ravens beat Pittsburgh 16-0 in the 2000 opener, a victory that started Baltimore on its way to its lone Super Bowl title. You think that game meant nothing to the Ravens because it was played in September?

“I’ll never say this is too early,” Lewis said. “It’s an AFC team, it’s in your division. Deal with what you’ve got to deal with right now.”

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens are younger than last season. The big question is: Are they better?

Longtime fixtures Derrick Mason, Willis McGahee, Todd Heap and Kelly Gregg are gone, victims of a salary cap purge. All were key contributors to a team that made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.

And all of them were over 30 years old.

Mason, the leading receiver in Ravens history, has been replaced by Lee Evans, who is seven years younger.

“He’s fast, he’s made plays, and he’s a big yards-per-catch guy,” coach John Harbaugh said of Evans. “That helps a lot.”

Heap’s job has been taken over by second-year tight end Ed Dickson; second-year pro Terrence Cody steps in for Gregg and backup running back Ricky Williams comes at a much cheaper price than McGahee.

Also missing from last year’s 12-4 team is cornerback Josh Wilson, who signed as a free agent with Washington. Playing in his place this season is first-round draft pick Jimmy Smith, who is quite talented but dangerously inexperienced.

Two other rookies, wide receiver Torrey Smith and right tackle Jah Reid, are currently projected as starters.

The Ravens aren’t in rebuilding mode, but there have definitely been some significant tweaks to team that expects to overtake rival Pittsburgh in the battle to win the AFC North.

“It’s probably a natural progression in this league,” Harbaugh said. “It’s tough. It’s hard. It’s just the reality of the salary cap and the situation we’re in right now.”

There have been some positive additions to go with Evans and Williams. Pro Bowl fullback Vonte Leach is an upgrade over Le’Ron McClain, who was allowed to leave as a free agent, and safety Bernard Pollard should make it easy for Baltimore to get over the loss of free agent Dawan Landry.

If Leach can pave the way for Ray Rice and Williams in the fashion he cleared holes for Arian Foster in Houston, the running game should be sound. Quarterback Joe Flacco should benefit from the addition of Evans and Smith, both of whom possess the downfield speed that complements the steady hands of possession receiver Anquan Boldin.

“This is a team that you sense has a chance to do something special. I think they know that,” offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said. “I think they know it is going to take a lot of hard work, and this group is not afraid to work. That’s what the Ravens do. The young guys have filled in and followed the example of the veteran guys.”

If the Ravens are to make another trip to the postseason, Cameron’s offense will have to improve. Unfortunately, the right side of the line is still under construction and the frail knees of veteran center Matt Birk could be an issue.

Then there’s Flacco, who has been asked to take a bigger role on the field and in the huddle in his fourth NFL season. Flacco is confident he can step up his game and assert himself a leader.

“We’re going to have a lot more younger guys,” Flacco said.

“This is going to be our fourth year, me and Ray, and it’s just time to kind of groom those guys and mold those guys the way we want them, the way I want them. We will have that chance.”

Flacco got married during the offseason, and it was apparent after the lockout that he did more than merely take a honeymoon and lounge around the house.

“He’s in tremendous shape. He is as sharp starting off as I have ever seen him,” Cameron said. “We’re at the best starting point with him going into the season than we have been since he has been here. I haven’t flinched on anything that I have believed about Joe Flacco since the first day I saw him. We have one heck of a quarterback, and he happens to be a young quarterback.”

Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison is gone, replaced by the fiery Chuck Pagano. But the mainstays of the unit are intact, which means the opposition still has to worry about linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs, along with seven-time Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed.

Baltimore’s biggest problem on defense last year was a pass rush that produced only 27 sacks, 11 of them by Suggs. Linebacker Sergio Kindle, who missed his entire rookie season with a fractured skull, has been asked to team with end Paul Kruger to provide Suggs with support from the other side.

“Paul is a relentless guy. He’s going to help the defense,”general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “Sergio? Sometimes you need a little luck in this business. You need a bonus, and he’s our bonus this year. The first reports we got is that he would never play and now he looks like the player we drafted. The physical ability is there.”

Newsome’s plan for this season was to make the Ravens younger without a dropoff in talent. His logic is sound. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Baltimore Ravens are younger than last season. The big question is: Are they better?

Longtime fixtures Derrick Mason, Willis McGahee, Todd Heap and Kelly Gregg are gone, victims of a salary cap purge. All were key contributors to a team that made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.

And all of them were over 30 years old.

Mason, the leading receiver in Ravens history, has been replaced by Lee Evans, who is seven years younger.

“He’s fast, he’s made plays, and he’s a big yards-per-catch guy,” coach John Harbaugh said of Evans. “That helps a lot.”

Heap’s job has been taken over by second-year tight end Ed Dickson; second-year pro Terrence Cody steps in for Gregg and backup running back Ricky Williams comes at a much cheaper price than McGahee.

Also missing from last year’s 12-4 team is cornerback Josh Wilson, who signed as a free agent with Washington. Playing in his place this season is first-round draft pick Jimmy Smith, who is quite talented but dangerously inexperienced.

Two other rookies, wide receiver Torrey Smith and right tackle Jah Reid, are currently projected as starters.

The Ravens aren’t in rebuilding mode, but there have definitely been some significant tweaks to team that expects to overtake rival Pittsburgh in the battle to win the AFC North.

“It’s probably a natural progression in this league,” Harbaugh said. “It’s tough. It’s hard. It’s just the reality of the salary cap and the situation we’re in right now.”

There have been some positive additions to go with Evans and Williams. Pro Bowl fullback Vonte Leach is an upgrade over Le’Ron McClain, who was allowed to leave as a free agent, and safety Bernard Pollard should make it easy for Baltimore to get over the loss of free agent Dawan Landry.

If Leach can pave the way for Ray Rice and Williams in the fashion he cleared holes for Arian Foster in Houston, the running game should be sound. Quarterback Joe Flacco should benefit from the addition of Evans and Smith, both of whom possess the downfield speed that complements the steady hands of possession receiver Anquan Boldin.

“This is a team that you sense has a chance to do something special. I think they know that,” offensive co-ordinator Cam Cameron said. “I think they know it is going to take a lot of hard work, and this group is not afraid to work. That’s what the Ravens do. The young guys have filled in and followed the example of the veteran guys.”

If the Ravens are to make another trip to the post-season, Cameron’s offence will have to improve. Unfortunately, the right side of the line is still under construction and the frail knees of veteran centre Matt Birk could be an issue,

Then there’s Flacco, who has been asked to take a bigger role on the field and in the huddle in his fourth NFL season. Flacco is confident he can step up his game and assert himself a leader.

“We’re going to have a lot more younger guys,” Flacco said. “This is going to be our fourth year, me and Ray, and it’s just time to kind of groom those guys and mould those guys the way we want them, the way I want them. We will have that chance.”

Flacco got married during the off-season, and it was apparent after the lockout that he did more than merely take a honeymoon and lounge around the house.

“He’s in tremendous shape. He is as sharp starting off as I have ever seen him,” Cameron said. “We’re at the best starting point with him going into the season than we have been since he has been here. I haven’t flinched on anything that I have believed about Joe Flacco since the first day I saw him. We have one heck of a quarterback, and he happens to be a young quarterback.”

Defensive co-ordinator Greg Mattison is gone, replaced by the fiery Chuck Pagano. But the mainstays of the unit are intact, which means the opposition still has to worry about linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs, along with seven-time Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed.

Baltimore’s biggest problem on defence last year was a pass rush that produced only 27 sacks, 11 of them by Suggs. Linebacker Sergio Kindle, who missed his entire rookie season with a fractured skull, has been asked to team with end Paul Kruger to provide Suggs with support from the other side.

“Paul is a relentless guy. He’s going to help the defence,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “Sergio? Sometimes you need a little luck in this business. You need a bonus, and he’s our bonus this year. The first reports we got is that he would never play and now he looks like the player we drafted. The physical ability is there.”

Newsome’s plan for this season was to make the Ravens younger without a dropoff in talent. His logic is sound. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.

The Kansas City Chiefs fall to 0-2 on the preseason as they lose to the Baltimore Ravens 31-13 Friday night in Baltimore.

McClain joined the Chiefs in the offseason after four mostly successful years in Baltimore, joining a wave of ex-Ravens on the team they helped knock out of last season’s playoffs. Quarterbacks guru Jim Zorn, defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and offensive tackle Jared Gaither are here, too.

They’re all returning to Baltimore for a preseason game Friday night.

“I’ve been with the Kansas City Chiefs for a few weeks now, you know?” McClain said. “I’m a Chief now, so I’m going to go over there as a Chief, playing as a Chief. They know the physical ball that I’ve been playing these last four years, they know how I play, so I’m going to bring it when I’m in there.”

McClain, a former fourth-round draft choice, ran for more than 900 yards two years ago, when he was named first-team All-Pro. But he watched his number of carries dwindle the past two years. He toted the ball only 28 times last season while serving primarily as a blocking back for Ray Rice.

Gregg played in at least 14 games each of the last eight seasons for Baltimore, a period during which the franchise fielded one of the best defenses in league history. The Ravens decided to let him go in part because of his age — he’ll be 35 in November — and the Chiefs quickly snapped him up. They’re hopeful he still has at least one season left in the tank, and that he can help shore up an abysmal run defense.

Gaither started 15 games at left tackle in 2008, and 11 games the following year, but he missed all of last season because of injury. Zorn, meanwhile, was fired in January despite helping Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco achieve a career-best 25 touchdown passes with a career-low 10 interceptions.

“I think it is a compliment to those guys and to the organization,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who wouldn’t have minded at a least a couple of them staying in Baltimore. “Those guys are all good players. They’ve all proven themselves, and they’ve been contributors here, and it’ll be fun going up against those guys.”

Gregg acknowledged that Friday night’s preseason game will be strange for all the ex-Ravens, but he also believes the Chiefs have come together during training camp, and that might take some of the edge off.

“We’re just worrying about the Chiefs,” he said. “We’re not worried about anybody else.”

That included the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who embarrassed the Chiefs in a 25-0 rout last Friday night. Kansas City hardly bothered to create a game plan for their preseason opener, and they’re taking a similar approach to Baltimore. The Ravens are coming off a 13-6 loss to Philadelphia in their preseason opener.

“I think the Tampa Bay game, from a score standpoint, you can say it didn’t go well, and that’s the name of our game, but we feel we made real good progress through that first game and we feel like we’re making progress this week,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. “A lot of coaching and teaching that goes on — like last week, how we come out of the locker room, we kind of had to educate everyone. Now it’s what to wear on the plane, how to get on the plane, how we act in the hotel. … It’s another day that’s going to be just as critical in this process.”

Haley has stuck to a master plan throughout camp, slowly trying to get his players up to speed after the lockout wiped away much of the offseason. Much of the work has centered on conditioning and learning the playbook, and the result is an appearance that Kansas City is far behind the rest of the league.

The third-year coach wouldn’t say how long his starters will play Friday night, though it figures to be more than the eight or so plays they were in against Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the Ravens’ starting group plans to play well into the second quarter because, Harbaugh acknowledged, “we need to get ready to play.”

“We’re going to be playing a regular season game very soon,” he said.

While the Chiefs are focused mainly on themselves, Harbaugh is taking a different approach. He views the preseason as a dress rehearsal for the regular season, so the Ravens have looked at film of Kansas City and will put together a game plan just like they would for a game that counts.

“They obviously won their division last year. We played them in the playoffs, they’re a heck of a team, and they’ve only gotten better in the offseason,” Harbaugh said. “They’ve added some former Ravens that we would have liked to have had here, so they’ve got some good players. They’ve got a lot to play for. I know they’re very highly-motivated to come here and play and I think we understand that.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I’m sorry but on paper, the Baltimore Ravens don’t look like a Super Bowl team.

In 2010, the Ravens ranked 23rd in total offense, 10th in total defense. They didn’t get a lot of sacks, didn’t dominate in the turnover column, didn’t run the ball particularly well. But they still finished with the fourth-best record in the NFL and surrendered the third-fewest points in the league.

The 2010 Ravens found a way to overcome some glaring weaknesses, bending but not breaking and landing in the playoffs for the third consecutive season. If you look at the numbers, it’s hard to believe they were so successful. It was like some sort of magic trick.

Based on what took place this offseason, they might have to check the hat for another rabbit.

The team lost several key contributors this summer. Jared Gaither was the team’s most talented tackle. Gone. Todd Heap was one of Joe Flacco’s safest targets. Gone. Derrick Mason was Flacco’s most reliable option. Gone. Dawan Landry was coming off his best season and is entering his prime at safety. Gone. Josh Wilson was probably the best corner on the roster. Gone. Kelly Gregg was a force at the crucial nose tackle position. Gone.

So not only did the Ravens fail to remedy what ailed them in 2010, but it appears as though they actually got worse.

But that’s all on paper. And football reportedly isn’t played on paper.

2010 in a nutshell: A December home loss to Pittsburgh costs them the division, but they still finish 12-4. A January road loss to Pittsburgh ends their season in the divisional playoffs.

Three predictions for 2011:

1. The offensive line will once again have problems: I’m not worried about Ray Rice; I’m worried about Joe Flacco. Rice will find new holes with Vonta Leach in town and Marshal Yanda moving back to guard. But the tackles are a problem. Baltimore gave up six sacks in its first preseason game, with three counting against left tackle Michael Oher. On the other side, starter Oniel Cousins has already been moved inside, with rookie Jah Reid getting a chance. The possibility of Oher and Reid having to face the Pittsburgh front seven twice in 2011 is quite scary. This is a unit that could have used Jared Gaither, but the team let him walk this summer. Not only will Flacco be forced to deal with poor pass protection, but with Heap and Mason gone and rookie Torrey Smith struggling to get acclimated, the receiving corps is in trouble beyond Anquan Boldin. They’d better get Lee Evans caught up swiftly.

2. The pass rush will once again have problems: It’s hard to believe how bad the pass rush was last year, and it’s harder to believe how little effort the team put into improving it in the offseason. Beyond Terrell Suggs, virtually nobody gets sacks. The Ravens finished with only 27 sacks in 2010, with Suggs registering nearly half of that total. They missed out on Osi Umenyiora, who appears to be staying with the Giants, and Sergio Kindle probably isn’t ready to become a consistent threat at this point.

3. Jimmy Smith will make a run at defensive rookie of the year: The secondary isn’t in much better shape. Wilson left as a free agent and Domonique Foxworth is coming off of surgery to repair a torn ACL. If Smith can get up to speed and stay healthy, he’ll have a chance to start alongside Chris Carr or Lardarius Webb. With such a golden opportunity and so many playmakers surrounding him, I’m expecting the first-round pick out of Colorado to have a big season.

The final word(s): As I said, they have playmakers, and that might be how they keep winning. Ray Lewis is determined to go out strong, Ed Reed is healthy, and guys like Haloti Ngata, Suggs, Rice, Flacco and Boldin can be game-changers. Despite their flaws, this team will once again contend for the division title. I’ll give ‘em 10 wins.

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