We lose Ray, Ed, Krugs,Ellerbe,Pollard,Williams

[cravnravn]

And the Defense gets better..If this plays out to be true, then Oz should run for President

 

 

 

 

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The premise could be taken as sacrilege, maybe even borderline blasphemy by some. But my theory regarding the state of the Ravens' rebuilt defense was met mostly with a series of Cheshire-cat smiles at Baltimore's training camp.

The knee-jerk perception was that the defending Super Bowl champions got decimated on defense this offseason, losing the likes of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe, Bernard Pollard and Cary Williams in a massive talent drain that would certainly presage a post-championship hangover.

But while many were focused on the high-profile defections, I surmised they failed to fully appreciate the roster additions made by the Ravens.

It looked like it was all gloom and doom for a while there in Baltimore, but when the smoke cleared, the team's defense didn't emerge just dramatically different. It got better. Younger. Faster. Stronger. More athletic. All of which is in the direction you have to be trending to play quality defense in today's NFL, with its host of mobile quarterbacks and multi-faceted skill-position weapons.

Yep, you read that right. The Ravens' defense upgraded this offseason. No Lewis, no Reed? But no real sense of worry in Baltimore, either.

"Those guys left their mark here and they'll never be forgotten, but anybody who knows football knows better than to think this defense got dismantled," said new Ravens outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, the centerpiece of Baltimore's offseason. "It's great, man, because we've got a lot of new pieces and yet everybody brings something different to this defense. What they had started here was great already, but I'm excited to see how it all plays out this season, because on paper it looks crazy, doesn't it?''

Here's maybe the craziest thing about Baltimore's makeover: The Ravens somehow won a Super Bowl last season despite an aging and at times mediocre defense that was wholly un-Ravens-like, ranking 15th in sacks (37), 17th in yards allowed (350.9), 17th against the pass (228.1), 20th against the run (122.8) and 12th in scoring defense (21.5), the first time Baltimore didn't finish in the top five in that all-important statistical category in the five-year John Harbaugh coaching era.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130802/baltimore-ravens-defense-training-camp-2013/#ixzz2au2HD5Y5

 

 

[varaven45]

Crav,

 

It all sounds good. Lets see how this translates to the field.

[Oldschool739]

The opposing teams would do well to keep the John Deere ready and running on the sideline, they're gonna need it often......lol

 

SB Champs.....All Yr. Looooooong.....REPEAT !!!!

[Tornado700]

In Oz we trust.

 

It's good to have some serious talent in the front office, isn't it?

[oldno82]

Good find, Crav.

[deeshopper]

I said all of this months ago and posted the stats that supported it. Once you look at the performance and stats of the players lost, the defense should improve. It was middle of the pack (at best) in most categories last year.