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Baltimore Ravens Team Defense

2008 Projection

Positives

Year after year the Ravens remain among the leagues elite defenses. In '06 they were again #1 in yards allowed, #1 in points allowed, #1 in sacks with a whopping 60 and second only to the Bears in the takeaway column. Understandably the defense received very little attention over the off-season as the club concentrated on improving their pedestrian offense. Fortunately for them there was not much work to be done as they return 10 starters.

Negatives

After the season they had in '06 it's tough to find flaws with this unit. The only bad thing that's happened to them is the free agent loss of SLB Adalius Thomas who signed with New England. Thomas's 11.5 sacks and big play ability will be missed but the club has confidence that Jarret Johnson will step right in and fill the void. One thing that could be a problem is a lack of depth. The same thing was said last off-season but the Ravens somehow managed to slide through a 13-3 season with no serious injuries on that side of the ball. Even so they elected to make no free agent additions and added only a pair of second day outside linebackers on the defensive side. An injury in the secondary, at OLB or DE could be devastating.

Outlook

History proves that the Ravens are a high quality option for fantasy owners and even with the loss of Thomas they should be one of the first two defenses off the board come draft day. That said, it might be a real good idea to pick up an up and coming backup late in your draft or keep your eyes open for one early in the season. You may never need them but then again how long will Baltimore's luck hold out when it comes to injuries?