Roster 07 vs 08

Been thinking and trying to piece things together in my mind about the player differences between last year and this.
Admittedly it is a juggle, can't fully match position for position, but I come up with things like

Green replaced by Neal
Gaston replaced by Washington
Flynn replaced by Anderson (real round-about but Brown-Grubbs-Yanda moving means the hole was a tackle)
Musa replaced by Rice
They all look like improvements to me.

Some things look like a wash
Prude replaced by Walker

I don't see a direct replacement for Quinn, we are short a TE

anyone have a different perspective, or something to add? I know I have to be missing player insights, (I'm focused on players not coaching).
Douglas replacing Edwards is a step down, but not real bad.

Flacco replaced McNair/Boller...looking good so far

I thought Musa did well but kept getting hurt. I don't know that Marques is a step down. yes, Sypniewski would be nice to still have.
I wonder if Bazooka Joe, even now, is an upgrade from KBoll? I didn't see throws in the dirt, and no picks. I loved Kyle, but seemed every game he'd have that one brainblip.
I think Anderson will be an upgrade, but I'm sure Terry will get some time in given his age/injury history. honestly I'm not missing MFlynn too much.

Injuries (which showed lack of depth at key positions) and poor QB play were the killers last year.

DOH, missed QB :o

Sailorsam, I also don't miss Flynn's play, he is a Raven Family member, so nothing but good wishes for him and "don't be a total stranger".

Losac, no arguemant there, injuries were a huge part of last year.

The difference seems to me to be that we are not replacing... I don't want to say stars or good players, but it seemed in the past years that we were replacing starters/ players with playing time.
Like Green for Mughelli
Or CTaylor (M Anderson?), Pashos, AD, DvD, Sharper, Mulatalo....

This year just feels different to me, in that it appears that I'm not hoping that some newbie steps up for a starter, but that roster replacements have cut some of the bottom of the roster talent and not trying to replace people in the top who left.
I missed QB, Flacco is not a big step up from a healthy McNair, a ton of potential, but I can't say there is a big improvement like I can with Washington in/Gaston out.

Unless I'm missing something, it seems like this year has an overall roster improvement, where past years I was watching to see who would step up into somebody's shoes.
I mean something like Gooden replacing Burgess is normal kind of stuff, but seems like a lot of this years additions replaced bottom roster talent?
Looking for confirmation from others? Does it seem like this to you?

The injury factor was so huge it is not fair to compare last year to what we have right now, but the team looks like the 2006 team on paper and on the grid iron so far.

Flacco or Smith don't have to be great to equal McNair's production that year, and they both seem to have come with the poise.

Willis/ Rice and McLain should be an upgrade over Jamal, Musa and Anderson.

McClain and Neal are an upgrade on Mughelli and Green. Ovie was and is awesome, but not as versatile as the new FB and not better than Neal at the smash game.

TEs are the same but down graded severely by injury, but upgraded by scheme. They will be open in the end zone a lot more often in this attack and should be able to match the 8 TDs or so they got in '06.

WRs are mostly the same but should be much more polished by now. Clayton and Williams had good numbers in '06 and should be better with a real deep arm on the QB. Figurs, Smith and maybe even one of the P squad guys could really come on later in the year at a much higher level than Darling and Moore did.

O line is a very different unit than they have had in a long time. Brown is the best center we have ever had. He changes the game. He can get a push consistently instead of getting pushed. That allows all kinds of pulls traps and room for the rest of the offense to operate. The difference on Sunday was in the middle where Palmer had no where to step up and Flacco did. The Bungles got pushed back on 3rd and 4th down short yardage situation and the Ravens moved the chains every time. Ball game.

J.O. is the best LT of all time, but he can not block the nose guard unless he throws his guy all the way down the line on top of him. He did that on occasion, but like I have been arguing, there is a lot more you can do to help your tackle than there is to help on the inside. Pressure up the middle and penetration in the middle messes up any offense more than edge pressure, particularly if it is predictable.



Defense in Baltimore is a legacy. Ray Lewis is going right to Canton, but he still is playing like the best middle linebacker in the NFL right now.

I have had the Ray argument with TL and others around here and I have still not seen any video evidence to support anything the other side is saying. There are no stats to suggest slippage and if you ask Perry why he did not get more than 37 yards and a big fumble, he will say the Ray Lewis monster got me.

Nagta and Gregg are better than the Williams DTs in Minnesota. Pryce is better than any interior pass rusher in the NFL. He was held all day, but the push he was getting on the interior line was ridiculous. They were driving the center back like a sled on almost every play.

Suggs this year and JJ are different but possibly better than '06 Suggs and AD and the back ups are more explosive.

Scott and Ray look like they put in mad work in the off season. Scott looks crazy quick and strong. The play he made where he hit the FB so hard he knocked down the RBs in the follow-through was incredible. Ray is just too smart and too strong for a regular Rb. LT did not get 100 yards on him in 40 attempts with Lorenzo leading him, Perry had no chance.

The secondary is a good bit older and more beat up than they were in 2006, but they showed on Sunday they are even better than they were, at least right now. They are more savvy and patient and Landry is no rookie.
The backups in the secondary are the main reason they are much better overall. Zibz Leonard and Haruki are awesome and way better than a Winbourne and Sapp. Washington is a far better cover guy than we had last year at any point when C Mack was hurting. The other backups are a lot more solid than the street free agents and rookies we turned to before.

Special teams should be way better than at any time since Jermaine Lewis was taking it to the house. Figurs is special. He is the closest thing to Hester or Roscoe Parish in the NFL, and much more likely to break one than any returner we have had including Jermaine.
Stover seems to have more leg than he used to even with the shank he seems to be solid from 50 now and it used to be 45.
The punt game is pretty good also. I have not seen a really bad punt yet and a lot of inside the 20 kicks.

Coaching has obviously improved. Rex Ryan is much better coach now than he was in 2006. Cameron knows not only what he is doing, he also knows what the other team is, and adjusts to it. Harbaugh has really energized and united the team.

The ball takes crazy bounces and your season is only as good as you’re back up Qb most of the time, but I really like the direction and potential this team has shown so far.

Actually on the OL you missed one Jonathan Ogden.

Brown and Ogden replaced by Adam Terry and Jared Gaither effectively.

nice summary Jeremiah. sounds like a solid roster everywhere but maybe D2ry and maybe TE.
I think this Oline is the Ravens' best, and the Dline right up there.
how far do we think Ravens can go with these WRs?

Knew I had "ignored" JO, but as I was considering last year, he was out some and Gaither played, so didn't consider that.

Jeremiah, you hit an area I missed, it sure does look like Winbourne/Sapp has had a big improvement. Leonhard absolutely dwarfs Winbourne as a roster spot, and at the bare minimum of what we have seen so far Zibs or HNaka equals Sapp with a lot more upside.

I know part of the reason my thoughts were running in this direction, is that it appeared to me that every SB champion has had its roster raided by others at the end of the year. Call it quality back-ups .... I can remember the hoops Ravens were jumping through with players like Washington/Dalton/Hartwell/Sharper/ Cornell Brown ... trying to keep things as intact as possible...
It just seems to me that we are finally starting to approach a roster depth that we haven't seen around here since Festivus. We have had strong pockets on the team, like the young linebacker haul last year, but nothing like the extent that I think I'm seeing now... still a couple of areas to go, but I've got a nice feeling about where things are when I look at the bottom part of the roster.
The player cuts seem to be more painful... a good sign, no obvious mediocraty that we would gladly wave goodbye to.

FWIW - I heard on the Radio a couple of days ago - so I'm not vouching for the accuracy - that the 53-man roster had 20 new faces this year, which is a pretty high turnover from one season to the next.

The biggest change on the roster are the coaches.

By far the biggest change is Cam Cameron's impact. It is now clear to all what a well coached offense looks like. Even if the players don't always execute (e.g., dropped passes) this was day compared to a 9 year night. Pace, flow, and the ability in the fourth quarter to stuff it down their throat without relenting. If Billick had called a game like that (and I was a supporter until the end) he still would be talking . . .

Think Rex and Cam will have a friendly rivalry on who can be more creative and mix it up more. I'll have to tape all the games to watch them again. I'm looking forward to seeing how Rex uses the extra depth that we have in safeties this year.

I think its hard to tell Harbaugh's impact yet -- think it will be more subtle and we'll get a better sense when the first inevitable stumbles occur.