The Ravens are coming off a hell of year with Injury after Injury to some of their star starters. When up and going this team can beat anyone but its hard to say how they will fair this year. Flacco has just announced he will be right to go next week at training camp which is a massive bonus for them as they wont have to use Ryan Mallett.
One of the big bonuses as well is the return of veteran Steve Smith Snr, all thou he did retire last season. Smth Snr went down with an achillies injury week 8 and this made him change his mind, Smith will be the number 1 go to man for Flacco again this year but at 37 and with the injury will he be any good? There is no doubting the guys ability with 8 seasons of over 1000 yards and 5 pro bowl appearances.
Mike Wallace comes across from the Vikings and will add to the Wideout position taking some of the pressure off Smith Snr. Wallace was good when playing at Miami but didn't live up to it at Minnesota. His two biggest years of 1000 yards or more where at Pittsburgh in 2010 and 2011, the Ravens will be hoping he gets back to that form this season.
Another guy that came across this off season is veteran Ben Watson, Watson had been down at New Orleans the last season where he had a pretty good year. The former Patriot had 74 receptions, the most since 2010 when he was in Cleveland. His off field work gained him a nod for Walter Payton Man of the Year. At 36 the Ravens will be hoping he stays healthy and provides some of what he did for the Saints.
On the defensive side the Ravens get back Terrell Suggs from injury, Suggs went down early last season with an Achilles and he left a massive hole for the Ravens to fill. He will take a lot out of the fact Vince Wilfork came back from a similar injury only 12 months earlier to play in the Championship. Suggs isn't carrying as much as Wilfork so should be right to go hopefully by week 1.
Lets not forget they have probably the leagues best kicker in Justin Tucker. This bloke is amazing at field goal with a percentage 87.8% which is well above the league average. In 4 seasons the guy is yet to miss an extra point! With the game on the line the Ravens know they can trust this guy to kick the winner.
I do not believe the Ravens will be back to their best this season. They have a few tough games so I have them at 8 - 8. As said it all depends on the health of their list.
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