Ravens Defense (1 Viewer)

[Bonfire]

Im sure we all remember the Raven's D in there prime, compared to the 84 Bears and other greats. I feel that they have rode, to an extent, on their name a little bit the last couple years. However, the hopeful return of a fully healthy Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. The addtion of Ngata, and T.Pryce via free agency; a more consistent offense with McNair, is anyone else hopefuly or predicting a Dominate team in terms of both FF and real NFL? Im curious how others are projecting them as compared to other team D's.

 

[Mungo Burrows]

The are not in the ballpark with the 2000 team. But as you mention, not many teams in history have been.

The defensive line will not be able to dominate the way that team did. Even if Ngata grows up in a hurry, he and gregg are still not ready to overpower people, control the rushing lanes and disrupt the offense. Getting price and Ngata to replace Weaver and Kemo isn't a huge upgrade when you consider the age of one and the inexperience of the other.

After the starters, the defensive backfield seems to drop off quickly.

There are a lot of tweeners on this team (particularly DE/LB) so it will be interesting to see if this results in more flexibility for the defense, or positional liabilities that other teams can exploit.

Even if he can stay healthy, which is not a given, Ray Lewis is simply not Ray-Ray anymore.

I think you did touch on one of the keys however. If McNair and the offense can sustain drives (and score some points while doing so) I think it will help the defense immensely in terms of rest, confidence, and putting pressure on the other team to take chances (and thus make mistakes).

 

[ravnzfan]

The are not in the ballpark with the 2000 team. But as you mention, not many teams in history have been.

The defensive line will not be able to dominate the way that team did. Even if Ngata grows up in a hurry, he and gregg are still not ready to overpower people, control the rushing lanes and disrupt the offense. Getting price and Ngata to replace Weaver and Kemo isn't a huge upgrade when you consider the age of one and the inexperience of the other.

After the starters, the defensive backfield seems to drop off quickly.

There are a lot of tweeners on this team (particularly DE/LB) so it will be interesting to see if this results in more flexibility or liabilities teams can exploit.

Even if he can stay healthy, which is not a given, Ray Lewis is simply not Ray-Ray anymore.

I think you did touch on one of the keys however. If McNair and the offense can sustain drives (and score some points while doing so) I think it will help the defense immensely in terms of rest, confidence, and putting pressure on the other team to take chances (and thus make mistakes).

great call here, MBI believe Time of Possession goes heavily in their favor as it did in '00 (35:06 avg), putting huge pressure on the opposing team to do more in less time , leading to risky play

TO's go up ,along w/a few more scores...top 5 D, IMO

 

[MLBrandow]

Im sure we all remember the Raven's D in there prime, compared to the 84 Bears and other greats. I feel that they have rode, to an extent, on their name a little bit the last couple years. However, the hopeful return of a fully healthy Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. The addtion of Ngata, and T.Pryce via free agency; a more consistent offense with McNair, is anyone else hopefuly or predicting a Dominate team in terms of both FF and real NFL? Im curious how others are projecting them as compared to other team D's.

Return to Dominance? This D never left.With injuries to their best players last year, they still managed a top-10 defense.You no sense make.