Coming off the worst season of head coach Brian Billick?s tenure, the Ravens knew they had to make adjustments this year if they wanted to compete in the AFC North with the upstart Cincinnati Bengals and Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Ravens? biggest needs in the offseason were a force on the defensive line, depth at wide receiver and an upgrade at quarterback and special teams. Depth at running back and a new punter also became a priority after Chester Taylor and Dave Zastudill left via free agency.
The Ravens begin this season feeling they have addressed all of those concerns. The biggest splash came in June when they acquired quarterback Steve McNair in a trade with the Tennessee Titans. Baltimore also signed a pair of former Denver Broncos in running back Mike Anderson and defensive tackle Trevor Pryce.
Other key moves included drafting University of Oregon teammates Haloti Ngata (defensive tackle) and Demetrius Williams (wide receiver) in the first and third rounds, respectively, along with safety Dawan Landry (Georgia Tech) in the fifth round. Ngata, despite being slowed by a knee injury, is almost guaranteed to be the starter.
“You need a lot of mental toughness to get ready to play at this level,” Ngata said. “They demand a lot out of you to learn the plays and the techniques.”
Landry has impressed the coaching staff and may beat out Gerome Sapp for the second starting safety position. The Ravens reacquired Sapp in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts.
“I?ve learned a lot and picked up on the speed of the game,” Landry said. “But the hardest part is learning the schemes. In college, you pretty much know the defenses inside and out. Now, you?re starting all over, learning a whole new set of schemes and terminologies.”
Williams played well in training camp and during the preseason, but he will have to compete for playing time with veterans Devard Darling and Clarence Moore.
“I’m doing better now than I was at the beginning of camp, but I still have work to do to learn the plays inside and out,” Williams said. “Once you learn the plays and get comfortable with them, you can play at the speed at this level.”
