What aspect of the team are you most intrigued by for 2013: offense, defense, special teams?

[QuothDaRaven]

This upcoming year brings with it more excitement than I can remember in recent years as a Ravens fan. After the first Superbowl win there was a buzz with Grbac and our defense remaining intact and everything, but I just don't remember being as amped about the year after the superbowl as I am now. Maybe it has to do with the reloading as opposed to rebuilding, or maybe the coaching philosophy, the rebirth of the offense, the Dumervil signing, the draft, whatever it is.... this offseason feels different, fundamentally different.

All of that being said, what intrigues you most about the upcoming year?

Is it the continued (hopefully) growth of the offense? How Caldwell will run things over a full season? How Juice will be utilized? Pitta in the slot? The WR corps without Boldin? Which one of our young WRs will step up? The continued emergence of Pierce? Flacco and the 4000 yard mark? Torrey and the 1000 yard mark? The play of our o-line? The influence of Castillo?

Is it the retooling (reloading?) of the defense? How our pass rush will look with such an (apparent) embarassment of riches? The return of Webb, and the growth of Jimmy Smith? The safety play with Elam and Huff? The linebacker evolution with Brown and Simon? Brandon Williams fortifying the d-line? The influence of Spagnuolo?

Or is it the evolution of our special teams unit? Will our kick coverage finally step up (hello Trindon Holliday)? Will Tucker continue to be clutch? Is Jacoby Jones the man, or is it back to David Reed, or Deonte Thompson with Jacoby playing more WR? Do we bring in some competition for Koch and Tucker during training camp, or is that too ridiculous to even consider?

I think Ozzie may have one more critical free agent acquisition left to make, and I can't wait to find out who it is. Being a Ravens fan these days is like a perpetual Christmas morning. I can't WAIT for the season to start!!!

[wickedsolo]

Considering the draft we just had...definitely defense.

They got 4 legitimate contributors and 2 of them will almost be locks as starters (Elam and Brown). I think John Simon and Brandon Williams can contribute a lot this season.

[Shas]

I'm interested to see how quickly the defense gels. I expect it to take half the season at least. And specifically, I am interested to find out if their grand plan to improve the defense up the middle will pay off.

Will Cody show up and will Brandon Williams factor in the rotation? Will they be able to stop the run up the middle?

Arthur Brown should be able to cover tight ends and running backs in the passing game. Let's see how quickly he catches on to the scheme to be in the correct position.

Also, as much as everyone loves him--and I do like the pick--when I looked at game film on him I saw a lot of arm tackling that ball carriers were easily running right through. I have my doubts whether he is a three down ILB as a rookie and am curious to see if he rotates with someone like Bynes or McClellan.

And of course there is the question of whether Rolando McClain makes the cut and if Jameel McClain can play at all with his spinal issues--and if he does, how readily does he take on the leadership role they envision for him?

Maybe it all ends up as diagrammed, with Jameel and Arthur starting next to each other from day one. But there are a bazillion possible combinations at ILB.

And then I'm anxious to see what kind of positive impact Elam and Huff add with their speed, and how much negative impact they get from losing Pollard's tackling and Reed's savvy.

That's a lot of moving parts, and all between the hashes on defense.

[HotInHere]

Defense, and in two big ways.

First, just to see whether the new players can play. Are Huff/McLain products of Oakland dysfunction, or are they busts? Can the rookies contribute? Is Webb healthy? etc. etc.

But I'm more interested in how they look from an intangibles perspective. We lost players on defense who had questionable or declining physical skills. But collectively they had a ridiculous amount of veteran leadership and 'play like a Raven' attitude. And not just the pregame rah-rahs. We have never seen a Ravens D without Ray. Will they be intense late in the game? Will they do their jobs or get caught free-lancing? Will they point fingers at the offense if it sputters? Will they fight with coaches? How will they respond to a Ray Rice fumble deep in our own territory? Much of this is hard to determine just by watching, but I think we will all have a sense at the end of the year whether our defensive tradition will continue.

[wickedsolo]

Defense, and in two big ways.

First, just to see whether the new players can play. Are Huff/McLain products of Oakland dysfunction, or are they busts? Can the rookies contribute? Is Webb healthy? etc. etc.

But I'm more interested in how they look from an intangibles perspective. We lost players on defense who had questionable or declining physical skills. But collectively they had a ridiculous amount of veteran leadership and 'play like a Raven' attitude. And not just the pregame rah-rahs. We have never seen a Ravens D without Ray. Will they be intense late in the game? Will they do their jobs or get caught free-lancing? Will they point fingers at the offense if it sputters? Will they fight with coaches? How will they respond to a Ray Rice fumble deep in our own territory? Much of this is hard to determine just by watching, but I think we will all have a sense at the end of the year whether our defensive tradition will continue.

Huff is far from a bust. Even while he was in Oakland he was a good player. How many other guys do you know that are safeties and can line up as a cover corner and play decently? Not many.

[RavenScallywag]

Tie between offense and defense...

Offense, intrigued to see if we can continue the amazing play we got from the playoffs without Boldin and Birk
Defense, intrigued to see if the many changes we made can improve our D or at least keep even with the play we got from them in the defense

[Brien Jackson]

Huff is far from a bust. Even while he was in Oakland he was a good player. How many other guys do you know that are safeties and can line up as a cover corner and play decently? Not many.

Calling a guy who had an All-Pro season a bust seems...strange.

[lobachevsky]

I could honestly answer all three.

Defense because of the changing of the guard & the increased emphasis on the middle and the DL.

Offense because Caldwell has an entire offseason to install his own offensive philosophy rather than tweaking Cam's playbook. (Does anyone think Kyllas Juszclark was only drafted as Leach's heir-in-waiting?)

Special teams because this is how the players at the back end of the roster first make their presence known. IMHO training the "deep depth" to cover & return kicks as an effective unit, when many of them never played ST in college, while at the same time they're trying to learn the nuances of the NFL at their positions, is going to be the biggest challenge on the team.

For any Ravens fan who can handle a fair chunk of exasperation, especially early in the season as the kinks are being worked out, it's going to be a fun, fun year.

[Ravenswintitle]

To me it's defense for sure. The Ravens 'draft em to play em' plus with the free agent acquisitions it will be interesting to see if they're ready to step in and step up. Also curious as to Spag's influence

[Bigfish]

The offense is coming back minus Boldin and Birk only. Caldwell impacted the unit positively in a short amount of time and with additional time I expect an improved game plan. Birk was a solid center but it was time for him to retire considering his age. Boldin was solid in the playoffs but replacing his regular season production is not close to a far fetched idea. Gino will replace Birk. The only question mark I see is who will end up as a WR.

The defense is definitely the side of the ball with the most turn over and question marks.

Ngata is the anchor of the line, but what will the rotation look like? With new personnel and everyone else healthy I expect a marked improvement in our run defense. I just don't know who wins a lot of playing time. Between Canty and Spears I expect to see Canty on the field more. Was the hip issue holding Cody back last year or is Williams going to out muscle him for playing time? Is Ngata going to play NT? Art Jones and McPhee are both young guys who should improve.

Who will win a spot at MLB? Brown seems to be a lock to see the field often. Jameel is working out now without restriction so he should be ready to compete. Rolando has the talent but his behavior and attitude is a huge concern.

OLB is intriguing with Dumervil, Suggs and Upshaw. Does Suggs regain his form from 2 years ago? How will they utilize Upshaw?

Elam and Huff are both new and I expect both to start day 1. I like Huff and I think he'll be solid. Playing last year as a CB showed he has coverage abilities. Everyone missed Reed, especially his leadership at this point in career. At some point leadership takes a back seat to being physically able to play at a high level. He was one of my favorite all time Ravens. If he returned it may have been one year too many.

Can Webb come back? Does Jimmy step up?

My expectations for the first half of the season I expect the defense to have some struggles before the unit gels. Hopefully the offense comes out on fire and wins early match ups while the defense catches up.

[Tyrian]

The obvious answer is the D as it's just changed so dramatically, but I'm actually thinking more about the O. The D will be better than last year (I'm wondering what the O/U is on sacks this year), though how much better is hard to say.

The O is more intriguing to me because it's not just about personnel and people stepping up. It's about scheme and what Caldwell wants to do as well as players carrying through their momentum - particularly Flacco. It's difficult to see exactly what we get - that's hardly been a word on it. I'm also curious to see which, if any, of the young receivers will burst onto the stage.

I'm intrigued on what Ravens O we get this year and partly because the D will take a little while to get up to speed in likelihood considering the changes.

[Iscull]

Defense for sure. This side of our team went through the biggest overhaul and I am excited to see it play out. The acquisitions of Dumervil, Huff, Spears, Canty, and McClain through FA should provide both depth and possibly starters for this team. The first four picks in our draft did the same with Elam, Brown, Williams, and Simon. It wouldn't surprise me if Williams is starting towards the end of the year at NT. He takes on double-teams so well and should create space for the LB's.

With all of these changes, it will be interesting to watch. I can't wait to see Dumervil line up opposite Suggs with Ngata and Canty on the D-Line. So much talent.