Last season, the Ravens played real well, finishing the season at 12-4 overall, 7-2 at home, and 5-3 on the road and missed going to the Super Bowl by losing to the division rival Steelers. The Ravens did this while missing one of their top-defensive players, Ed Reed, for most of the season. Yet, the Ravens still fell short after improving their roster with the addition of wide-receivers Anquan Boldin, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Donte Stallworth. The Ravens organization expects more, their fans expect more, and we expect more. Even with all these additions to the offensive side of the ball, the Ravens offense still was not one of the best in the league. Their defense struggled in pass defense mostly because of a missing Ed Reed. Despite this, the Ravens were winners in 2010 mostly because of their defense.
Points Yards Pass Yards Rush Yards
Offense 22.3* 322.9 208.4 114.4
(16)** (22) (20) (14)
Defense 16.9 318.9 224.9 93.9
(3) (10) (21) (5)
*Top number is average per game in 2010.
** Bottom numbers in parenthesis is the team’s ranking among all 32 NFL teams in 2010.
Quarterback Joe Flacco (3,622 yds., 25 TDs, 10 INTs, 84 rush yds., 1 TD, 4FMBLs) had a similar year to 2009, even though he was expected to play better. The pieces and weapons are there. For fantasy purposes, Flacco is still a border-line starter. Indeed, he played well enough to help owners, with the right roster, win a fantasy football championship. Yet, Flacco will likely be drafted by an owner who lands one of the other border line starters to be used in a time-share, while playing the match-ups, draftable beginning in Round 7 or 8.
As already alluded to, Flacco is surrounded by an array of offensive weapons. Leading the way is running back Ray Rice (307 carries, 63 receptions, 1,776 APY, 6 TDs, 0 FMBLs). While his numbers in 2010 were slightly less than 2009, Rice remains one of the top-RBs in fantasy, a certain first round pick in twelve team formats. As for Anquan Boldin (64 rec., 837 yards., 7 TDs, 1 FMBL), while his numbers were off from the 80+ receptions, 1,000+ yards, and 9-10 TDs we had hoped for in 2010, Boldin remains a solid No. 2 fantasy wide-out in fantasy (with upside), to be drafted likely in Round 5, but no later than Round 6. Entering his fifteenth season as a pro, wide-receiver Derrick Mason (61 receptions, 802 yards, 7 TDs) has year in, year out, been a model of consistency. While the yards were off a bit last season, the touchdowns were nice for a No. 4 fantasy wide-receiver. Still, with all the wide-receivers out there, Mason will likely be drafted towards the end of fantasy drafts, likely in Round 11 or so. Notably, with two of their first four draft picks spent on wide-receivers, there is a good chance that the Ravens are anticipating releasing T.J. Houshmandzadeh (30 rec., 398 yds., 3 TDs) and Donte Stalworth. Rookie wide-receiver Torrey Smith is the rookie wide-out to watch. Yet, except in leagues with very large rosters, Smith will likely be undrafted for fantasy. As for tight-end Todd Heap (40 rec., 599 yards, 5 TDs), he was a great match-up play last season but not good enough to necessarily be an every week, starting fantasy tight-end. Notably, the Ravens back-up tight end Ed Dickson got some playing time, but only due to Heap being injured. Heap will either be drafted in the very late rounds as a back-up tight-end, or more likely, be on waivers in most leagues. Dickson will be undrafted for fantasy but could be a decent add off waivers should Heap get injured.
The Ravens DST has been one of the most ferocious defenses in the league in years past. Last season, however, the unit faltered a bit particularly in pass defense. As a result, the Ravens spent their first draft pick on rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith. With a healthy Ed Reed, expect the Ravens defense, especially its secondary, to be its dominant self once again next season. Because the Ravens defense did not ingratiate itself to owners last season, the unit will fall in fantasy drafts and be a solid value pick in Round 11. Kicker Billy Cundiff (26/29 FGs, 39/39 XP) was good for owners last season, but not great. Still, he was a model of consistency and would be worth a final round draft pick playing for this offense.
Strength of Schedule – By Position
QB RB WR TE DEF
19 27 14 24 13
2011 Schedule
Week 1 Steelers
Week 2 at Titans
Week 3 at Rams
Week 4 Jets
Week 5 BYE
Week 6 Texans
Week 7 at Jaguars
Week 8 Cardinals
Week 9 at Steelers
Week 10 at Seahawks
Week 11 Bengals
Week 12 Forty-Niners
Week 13 at Browns
Week 14 Colts
Week 15 at Chargers
Week 16 Browns
Week 17 at Bengals
Projected Draft Round
Player Round(s)
Joe Flacco (QB) 7-8
Ray Rice (RB) 1
Anquan Boldin (WR) 5-6
Derrick Mason (WR) 11-12
Torrey Smith (R-WR) 13 – Undrafted
Todd Heap (TE) 13 – Undrafted
Billy Cundiff Last Round
Ravens DST 8-9
The Ravens – The Bottom Line
While The Fantasy Greek does not have the Ravens winning the division, they should make the playoffs and contend for another opportunity to win the league championship. All said, The Fantasy Greek sees this unit finishing with a record between 10-6 and 12-4.