Mock Draft Round Up

It's that time of year when people hungry for football talk start predicting the NFL Draft. And with the Ravens having needs at the WR, TE, DL and DB position, there are any number of ways the Ravens could approach the draft. Here are a few of the predictions from mock drafts around the Internet:

The New NFL Draft predicts that the Ravens select TE Aaron Hernandez from Florida.

If Jermaine Gresham was healthy I would say he is the top TE in my 2010 NFL Mock Draft. At this time I have Hernandez surpassing him as the top TE because of his health and his ability to make plays. I have the Ravens taking Hernandez because they need another weapon for the Ravens young QB Flacco to throw to. I also think WR is a very likely option here but I have the top WR in this 2010 NFL Mock Draft already being taken.

Draft Countdown has the Ravens picking WR Arrelious Benn from Illinois.

Few teams do a better job on Draft Day than Ozzie Newsome and the Baltimore Ravens but one area in which they have struggled a bit is wide receiver. The Ravens got a real scare when Derrick Mason unexpectedly decided to retire this past offseason but he ultimately revered course, which bought them at least one more year. Still the thought of going into a season with Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Kelley Washington had to have been a wakeup call and you can bet they will take the appropriate steps to avoid that rather terrifying scenario. A prized recruit who Ron Zook somewhat surprisingly lured to the Illini, Arrelious Benn is a great athlete with an ideal blend of size (6-2, 220) and speed (4.40) who has the ability to be a vertical threat and create in space. Benn didn’t have the big junior season everyone was expecting but for the most part that can be attributed to lackluster quarterback play and it certainly isn’t an indictment of his talent. If they decide to look elsewhere the Ravens could also use some additional help at cornerback, especially if Fabian Washington leaves as a free agent in the offseason, and it might be time to bring in an eventual replacement for Todd Heap at tight end as well. However, at the end of the day finding a future #1 wideout must be the Ravens main priority.

NFL Draft Dog has the Ravens taking OLB Sergio Kindle from Texas.

At 6' 3" 250 pounds, he figures to be an ideal outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. Kindle can really come off the edge and get to the quarterback.

NFL Draft Blitz has the Ravens selecting WR Demaryius Thomas from Georgia Tech.

Something tells me the signing of Donte Stallworth is not the answer to the Ravens receiving issues. In fact, it speaks volumes to their desperation at the position. Thomas has the ability to one day make this a position of strength [for the Ravens].

And Football's Future predicts the Ravens selecting WR Golden Tate from Notre Dame.

Adding Joe Flacco and Ray Rice the past two years has given the Ravens life on offense. In order for them to take the next step however, they need a playmaker at wide receiver.

So there you have it, 5 different mock drafts and 5 different players selected. It should be interesting for Ravens fans on draft day.

A look at Flacco's 2009 season

Joe Flacco's potentially stellar 2009 season was disrupted by a foot injury suffered in week 6.

Toward the end of the season and during the playoffs, it felt like many Ravens fans had a change of heart when it came to Joe Flacco. On message boards and sports talk shows, fans wondered if Flacco was good -- or healthy -- enough to lead this team to the promised land. (Keep in mind this was also combined with much bitching and moaning about the Ravens WR corps for most of the season.)

My take is that Flacco is definitely good enough to take this team to the Super Bowl. I don't doubt it for a minute. Here's why...

The injury that Flacco suffered in the Week 6 game at Minnesota (he had his foot stepped on twice) affected him for the rest of the season. All you have to do is look at the numbers:

Flacco before injury (6 games):
12 TD
5 INT
279 YPG

Flacco after injury (10 games):
9 TD (4 of which came in the CHI game)
7 INT
193 YPG

Flacco in playoffs (2 games):
0 TD
3 INT
111 YPG

That is a huge difference before/after the injury he suffered. Had Flacco not been injured he was on pace for 31 TD, 13 INT and 4,352 yards. That's on pace with Drew Brees, the MVP of the Super Bowl -- and with a WR corps that many Ravens fans demand be blown up this offseason. And they're going to get their wish. Rumors are swirling that the Ravens are currently negotiating a contract extension with Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin.

So the verdict is undeniable. The injury Flacco suffered in week 6 disrupted what could have been an even better 2009 season for Flacco. He looked worse after the injury than he did as a rookie in 2008, with less poise in the pocket and little ability to move outside of it.

The biggest improvement the Ravens can benefit from next season is a healthy Joe Flacco, regardless of whether they are able to trade for Boldin. When healthy, Joe Flacco is a pro bowl caliber QB, as he showed during the first 6 games of the season.

So relax, Ravens fans. It's still OK to be wacko for Flacco.

Ravens Ink Stallworth

Donte Stallworth will likely become the Ravens #3 wide receiver.

The Ravens signed WR Donte Stallworth over the weekend. Stallworth, 29, has played with the Saints, Eagles, Patriots and Browns over the course of his 7 year career. But Stallworth is perhaps most famous for the 2009 incident where he fatally struck a pedestrian in Miami while driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to Wikipedia, Stallworth was still over the legal limit from the night before when the accident occurred the next morning. So it's not like he got behind the wheel as he left the club and then ran someone over. It's also important to note that the man was walking on a highway bridge which doesn't contain a walkway for pedestrians.

I bring this up because I know the Ravens will get a lot of flack for signing Stallworth when coach John Harbaugh is trying to build the Ravens with good character guys. He helped develop the "Play like a Raven" motto from last year. And of course, the Ravens start linebacker, Ray Lewis, was involved in the Atlanta scandal in 2000 that saw 2 men killed in a scuffle outside of a night club. So opposing fans will have plenty of "murderer" smack to choose from in 2010, despite the details of each incident that paint a much different picture.

That said, Stallworth did act irresponsibly, and a man lost his life. It can't just be glossed over.

However, the Ravens signed Stallworth to play football, and what the Ravens get in him is a decent #3 wide receiver. Stallworth had some good seasons in 2005-2007 before signing with the pass-challenged Browns in 2008 and missed the entire 2009 season because of a suspension stemming from the accident. So it's a good bet that Stallworth will take some time to get his football legs back under him.

Because the signing was made early, many Ravens fans will dislike the move, thinking that Stallworth has been signed to be a top 2 receiver. Well, I hope he wasn't signed with that intention and I don't think he was. Harbaugh was the special teams coach in Philly when Stallworth was there, so it's pretty clear that Harbaugh sees Stallworth as a role player. Along with Kelley Washington, Stallworth is a good possession receiver. And if Washington decides to sign elsewhere, Stallworth is a solid replacement.

But beyond that, the Ravens still have a lot of work to do to improve their WR corps, with Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton both potential free agents.

But as of today, I like the move.

Congrats to the Saints!

Drew Brees kisses his wife with the Lombardi Trophy in hand after beating the Colts 31-17. He won the MVP.

I usually wake up the day after the Super Bowl kind of pissed off. For one, I have to go back to work after a weekend of drinking, and secondly, it's usually because a team that I dislike has just won the Super Bowl. For instance, in the past decade, hated teams such as the Patriots (three times), Steelers (twice), and Colts have won Super Bowls.

But when the Saints won the Super Bowl last night, beating the Colts, I couldn't feel anything but happiness for the city of New Orleans and Saints fans everywhere.

The Saints were founded in 1967 and didn't have a winning season for 20 years. They didn't get a playoff win until 2000. If ever there was a franchise that deserved to win the Super Bowl for past performance, or lack of, it was the Saints. Watching historically bad teams like the Buccaneers, Cardinals and Rams have resurgences, it was only fair that the Saints had one of their own. They were perhaps the last of the "bad" franchises to at least make it to the Super Bowl.

And if ever there was a city that deserved a Super Bowl title, it is New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina decimated the city in 2005, and New Orleans is still recovering from that disaster. I visited the city in 2007, and while a lot of the touristy areas were back to normal, you could tell that the city's spirit was still healing. And while a Super Bowl victory won't account for the losses of family members, homes and businesses, it does take some of the sting out of those tragedies at least for the time being.

Also, this Super Bowl victory is the first major championship for the city of New Oreleans, a town that saw the Jazz relocate to Utah in the 1980's and was on the verge of losing the Hornets after Hurricane Katrina. You know that the streets of the French Quarter will be rocking for the next week. Add to that, Mardi Gras is only a few days away.

I watched the game with my friend, Jason, who has always been a huge Saints fan, and has family from Louisiana. I shared his joy in watching the Saints win while drinking some Abita beer. It was probably the best I've felt about a Super Bowl since the Ravens won it in 2000.

And finally, it was nice to see the Colts lose. It doesn't happen very often, and when Peyton Manning threw that game-clinching interception lat in the 4th quarter, I couldn't help but celebrate Manning's rare mistake, a mistake that cost him his second Super Bowl ring. Call me a jaded Ravens fan, call me whatever you want. I don't care. I hate the bleeping Colts.

So here's to the Saints and the city of New Orleans. Congratulations.