I'm pleased to announce that Purple Nightmare went 6-1 in playoff predictions this season. My lone incorrect prediction was regrettably that of the AFC Championship. Alas, what could have been...
Enough of all of that. Hats off to the Giants as they clearly earned their second ring in 5 years to become the hottest playoff team of the last half decade. The New York Giants and Green Bay Packers proved 3 out of the last 5 years that the best team of the year doesn't always win the Superbowl. It is, instead, the best team of the playoffs that wins the Superbowl. The Ravens, in their lone superbowl win, proved that very same statement to be true. The Ravens' 2000 regular season appeared almost completely hopeless at one point, but sometimes losses prove valuable learning tools on the road to late season success.
The Ravens didn't peak at the right time this year. Haloti Ngata had a nagging injury in the second half that prevented him from being the dominant force we've all come to know over the past 6 years. Without Ngata bulldozing his way through the middle of opposing offensive lines, Terrell Suggs was given more attention and was rendered almost completely ineffective as a pass rusher for the final 5 games of the season (Suggs had 1 sack during that time span). Matt Birk truly began to show his age when faced with the task of keeping Vince Wilfork off of Joe Flacco. Billy Cundiff's leg injury may or may not have had something to do with his missing what should have been one of the easiest field goals of his NFL career. Lee Evans took far too long to return to good form and, despite some solid catches in the playoffs, he dropped a perfectly placed touchdown pass that would have brought the Ravens to a game that both their organization and fanbase have been dreaming of for 11 years.
Because of such serious late season issues, the Superbowl simply wasn't in the cards for the Ravens this season. There were, however, some major bright spots that must be acknowledged and should have Ravens fans counting the seconds to the 2012 NFL Draft. Ed Reed and Ray Lewis remain elite players at their respective positions and will most likely continue to be big contributors and, at times, game changers next season. Lardarius Webb solidified himself as the best ball-hawking cornerback in the AFC and 3rd overall cornerback in the conference behind Jonathan Joseph and Darrell Revis. Jimmy Smith also displayed serious hands with numerous interceptions this year including one spectacular grab against Tom Brady in the playoffs. Ray Rice was the NFL's greatest all-purpose weapon this year with over 2000 yards from scrimmage and 15 regular season touchdowns. Pernell McPhee proved to be an absolute late round draft steal with 6.5 sacks in his rookie season. Dennis Pitta came out of his shell to establish himself as the most reliable pair of hands on the team. Joe Flacco got over a HUGE hump and swept the Steelers in grand fashion with Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu playing in both games. Aaaaand last but DEFINITELY not least, Torrey Smith went his first two games as an NFL receiver without a catch, only to answer his many critics with 3 touchdowns for his first 3 NFL receptions. Smith set a Ravens record with 7 touchdowns by a rookie.
With so many things going well in 2011, we must look back to the things that went wrong when discussing draft needs. In their "State of the Ravens" address, members of the Ravens organization mentioned addressing needs at wide receiver, offensive line as well as acquiring more pass rushers and possibly drafting a middle linebacker in the first or second round. The Ravens' draft policy has long been to draft the best player available so sometimes it's difficult to predict who they'll take. Along with weaknesses this past season, one must also take into account the Ravens that are now free agents and which players the Ravens can afford to release because of youth and depth behind them at their position.
THIS ARTICLE WILL BE CONTINUED TOMORROW WITH PART II
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