Offensive juggernaut

**Andy Freeland** · 05-31-2010, 01:22 PM

Talking about the Ravens offense is almost sacrilegious. They are, always have been and always will be a defensive team. They should have a picture of Ray Lewis on their helmets. But with the addition Anquan Boldin to an offense that finished in the top 10 in scoring last year, are they ready to enter the conversation of the best offensive teams in football?

The offense runs through Ray Rice. A serious threat both running and receiving, with over 2000 all-purpose yards last year he has to be considered one of the top 5 back in the NFL. Joe Flacco is still not a finished product. But considering he was playing at DI-AA Delaware 2 years ago, he has come a long way. For the first time, the Ravens have 2 legitimate threats at wide receiver. Derrick Mason is 35 years old, but has 1000+ yards each of the last 3 years and 8 of the last 9. Getting Anquan Boldin for a 2nd round pick was a steal. Tough and productive. His attitude and work ethic should fit in well in Ray Lewis' locker room.

**ppdoc** · 07-05-2010, 04:48 PM

for the first time since the Ravens were born we have an offensive that legitimately can keep up with the defense. if, and this is always a big if, we can keep major injuries to a minimum, we will be going deep into the playoffs this year.

**Mordeci** · 07-05-2010, 04:56 PM

I HATE the Ravens, but I have to admit you may be right. Ray Rice is nasty, it's not fair that you got him for a 2nd round pick. You should have to give up next year's #1 if he plays the same this year.

**Wordsworth** · 07-05-2010, 05:46 PM

Ray Rice is an absolute beast. I'm very high on the Ravens this year as a favorite to win their division and to be in the AFC title game. It's about time they had an offense,

**Gandalf2300** · 07-07-2010, 02:20 PM

I am not a Ravens fan either, but the Ravens keep adding the right pieces to their team, and they will likely go deep in the playoffs this year (and certainly win the division). The signing of Marc Bulger is a perfect fit-Marc did not play well in St. Louis for the last couple years, but he had little/no talent around him other than Steven Jackson. Bulger played well when his supporting cast could actually, you know, block for him and get open on passing routes. He is more than capable of managing the game and moving the ball down the field in the event that Flacco goes down with an injury, especially in an offense that runs the ball so well. Marc can also provide some veteran advice for the up and coming Flacco. I am not saying Bulger is an All Pro QB, but probably now one of the best backups in the league. As we have seen in many other cases, having a viable backup QB can be critical to a team's success. Despite the rule changes to help QBs, they still get knocked out of games fairly regularly (and probably more often in 2010 since the NFL is paying more attention to concussions than before).

They got Boldin at a reasonable price, and he should provide several years of good performance at WR. I don't know if they will outscore the Saints over the course of a season, but their offense will be above average. Kudos to the Ravens organization for great talent evaluation and a great job of putting a true team together. I think making the Super Bowl could be part of the conversation for the Ravens this coming season.