Stallworth Signing Leaves Fans Questioning Ravens' Front Office

By Tyler Springs

February 19, 2010

Earlier this week, the Baltimore Ravens signed free agent wide receiver Donte' Stallworth to a one-year contract worth $900,000.  Generally, a Ravens fan would have two possible gut reactions to seeing that news crawl across the ESPN Bottom Line (or a similar news ticker):

A) That's good! He's gives the Ravens some speed that they currently lack at that position, and the Ravens need that desperately.

B) What? Wasn't he suspended this whole year for killing somebody?

Neither reaction is incorrect.  Stallworth automatically becomes the fastest wideout on the roster and has the potential to improve quarterback Joe Flacco's deeper passes so that he can worry more about being accurate on a given throw than overshooting his target.  Stallworth also hasn't shown that speed in over a year - last March, he was charged with vehicular manslaughter after killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol, and he was consequently suspended for the 2009 season by the NFL.

The shrewd part of this signing is in the facts and figures: Stallworth's contract is pretty low for a veteran (mostly due to his undesirable status as a criminal), and he has shown that he can produce solid numbers for a No. 2 receiver, catching 70 passes for 945 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2005 for the New Orleans Saints.  Economically speaking, that sounds like a low-risk and potentially high-reward acquisition.

The more important aspects of this signing are, unfortunately, a lot less measurable.  The intangibles of the Stallworth signing make up a veritable powder keg of negative publicity that could really hurt Baltimore if he doesn't play a considerable role in the offense in 2010.  For one, the fact that he signed with the Ravens perpetuates Baltimore's "thug" reputation among the rest of the NFL.  The stream of off-field incidents involving Cincinnati Bengals players in recent years has helped divert attention from the Ravens, but they have yet to really shake the "bad boy" label, one that they have been desperately trying to erase in the wake of investigations involving Ray Lewis and Jamal Lewis earlier this decade.  The "second chance" philosophy that owner Steve Bisciotti stands by is admirable, but at the moment, it may not be great for business.

The larger issue at play, however, is the direction the Ravens' front office is taking in remaking the receiving corps to better complement Flacco's development as (hopefully) a franchise quarterback.  The need for a dynamic No. 1 wide receiver has been staring GM Ozzie Newsome and director of player personnel Eric DeCosta in the face for quite some time now (nearly two calendar years), and in that time, they have yet to make a significant move to take the pressure off a solid-but-aging Derrick Mason.  Signing Stallworth is no more an improvement to the offense than was the signing of Kelley Washington from among a group of ho-hum candidates who worked out for the Ravens last May.  At best, it's incremental progress for a team that needs serious receiving talent as quickly as they can get it.

How is this year's situation any different from last year?  Fans are sharing the same whispered rumors about Anquan Boldin and Brandon Marshall today that they ooh-ed and ahh-ed about before last year's draft.  It's clear that Newsome and Decosta are not willing to part with high draft picks or shell out considerable cash to sign a free agent receiver, and neither one of those reservations is necessarily a bad thing.  On the other hand, limiting the team's acquisitions primarily to the NFL draft is risky and shrinks the pool of talent considerably.

Given Flacco's success in the passing game this season (3,613 yards, 21 TDs, 12 INTs), some might say that the Ravens don't need any additions at all, but for all the hits Mason has taken in the past two seasons, he's aging at a rate that far exceeds almost any other receiver in the league, meaning that he probably won't be catching passes for too much longer (he turned 36 last month).  For a team that needs (and has needed) a quality young receiver immediately, the lack of activity in the Ravens' front office is nerve-racking.  The expectations of automatic performance and production that will be demanded of a rookie receiver (assuming Baltimore takes one in the draft) are unhealthy and may hamper his development.  Realistically, unless that rookie has talents comparable to a Percy Harvin or a Michael Crabtree (minus the attitude), he shouldn't be reasonably expected to put up good numbers until at least his second or third year.

So now the Ravens are really stuck.  They didn't get Mason a replacement to groom or a sidekick to team with last offseason, and the prospects seem restricted to the draft this year.  If Mason decides to retire before the start of the 2010 season, their receiving corps will hardly be any better than that of the Browns, Raiders and Rams, all of whom were ranked near the bottom of the barrel in passing offense this year.  If that happens, Ravens fans will have only one question for their front office.

Guys, what's going on up there?

For Ex-Raven Adalius Thomas, A Tale of Two Cities

By Tyler Springs
January 12, 2010

The last time the Baltimore Ravens met the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs, Adalius Thomas was wearing a purple jersey.

That was the 2006 AFC Divisional Playoffs. This is now.

Almost three years removed from agreeing to a $35 million contract with the New England Patriots in the spring of 2007, Thomas has not been anything close to the All-Pro caliber player that Bill Belichick thought he had acquired.

In the three seasons he started for the Ravens' defense, Thomas averaged nearly 80 tackles and over 9 sacks each season, including a Pro-Bowl campaign in 2006 and a league-leading 3 non-offensive touchdowns in 2005.  Thomas saw time at linebacker, cornerback, defensive end and special teams, maximizing the rare speed and strength he possessed in his 6'2", 270-pound frame.  He was a smart player that grew to be a fan favorite in Baltimore, a face of Rex Ryan's vaunted defensive unit.

When he signed with the Patriots on March 3rd following the 2006 season, the Ravens were sad to let him go, knowing they had lost a good player to higher pay.  Since that time, however, the phrase "I wish we had Adalius back" has not been common refrain.  Role players and stars alike, including Jarret Johnson, Jameel McClain, Trevor Pryce, Brendon Ayanbadejo and Terrell Suggs, have taken over different parts of Thomas' former duties and have played well in those areas.

Thomas, on the other hand, has suffered in the painfully cold New England weather and similarly frigid playing environment that is Bill Belichick's locker room.  After being elected a defensive captain at the start of the season, Thomas has been frozen out twice, deactivated from the 45-man game roster against Tennessee and Carolina despite being healthy.  The second time was the result of being one of four players late to an 8AM meeting on a morning when traffic was congested due to a morning snowfall.

Said Thomas: "Sending somebody home, that’s like, ‘You’re expelled until you come back and make good grades.’ Get that [expletive] out of here. It’s ridiculous."

In his three years with the Patriots, Thomas' numbers have been significantly less than billed.
He hasn't had an interception or scored a touchdown since 2007, and his sack total in that time has been 14.5, barely half of his production level in Baltimore.  Much of Thomas' decreased stat totals may have had to do with his progressively diminishing playing time (he played just over 50% of New England's defensive snaps this season), but that's also a chicken-or-egg rationale that might suggest he wasn't playing as well in the first place.

Thomas will probably not survive the offseason in New England (even if he wants to) unless a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.  Under the present salary cap terms, the Patriots would owe Thomas a figure north of $4 million for the next two seasons if they were to release him at this time.  At 32, he still has a few good years left in the tank and could be an attractive free agent pickup (if he is released) for teams looking to shore up their pass rush, but his disgruntled public behavior and recent under-performance won't help him in that regard. 

So much for the grass being greener in New England.
--

Sources: Boston Globe, ESPN

Video Interference: Ravens-Raiders Referees Weaken Integrity of NFL Officiating

By Tyler Springs
January 4, 2010

With 18 seconds remaining in the second quarter of Sunday's game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Oakland Raiders, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco took a 3rd-down snap and dropped back to pass, not knowing that the footsteps he made in the ensuing six seconds would potentially change the NFL's use of instant replay in future seasons.

Flacco evaded pressure from the Raiders defense and started to scramble toward the line of scrimmage, seemingly intending to advance the ball a few yards across the line of scrimmage with a short run. As he approached the line, Flacco spotted running back Ray Rice alone in the endzone. Flacco then rifled the ball to Rice in an attempt to score a touchdown in the waning moments of the half, but the pass sailed over Rice's head and fell incomplete.

The problem with Flacco's decision was that he had already passed the line of scrimmage at the moment he released the ball. According to NFL rules, such a play constitutes an illegal forward pass, a penalty that demands a five-yard penalty on the Ravens and a loss of down; additionally, because the action occurred within the last two minutes of the game, it required a deduction of ten seconds off the game clock.

Everyone watching the game knew Flacco had committed a penalty. In spite of the obvious infraction, no official called a penalty on the play.

There is a general understanding among football fans that instant replay cannot be used as a tool to call penalties that are not originally called during the course of the play. The next five minutes of television shattered this understanding entirely.

Knowing that Flacco almost certainly committed a penalty, the NFL officials in the replay booth took the play into their own hands, calling for an official video review of the play (which they are legally allowed to do with any controversial play within the final two minutes of the half). After reviewing the play, the officials determined that an illegal forward pass did occur and penalized the Ravens for down and distance in relation to the previous play.

Under league rules, the wording of the instant replay policy allows the instant replay process to be used in helping determine whether or not an illegal forward pass occurred; in the spirit of the law, however, this application was probably intended to clarify whether or not an illegal forward pass is made during an attempted lateral, not when the pass was intended for a down-field target. When a play like that occurs, such as the famed Music City Miracle, then the penalty is appropriate, but in this situation, the results could have been disastrous for the Ravens.

The outcome of the play was an incomplete pass, leaving 12 seconds on the game clock before halftime with the ball on the Oakland 15-yard line. Because of the penalty instituted by the replay booth, the field goal attempt ended up being snapped from the 20-yard line, meaning it was 37 yards long. Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed the attempt wide to the right side, meaning the Ravens had less than a one-touchdown lead (14-10 rather than 17-10) heading into halftime.

Did Cundiff's miss ultimately affect the end result of the game? No. But the significant role that the officials played in altering the circumstances of the kick could be crucial in future games. The way in which the penalty was called, even if it was the correct call, sets a precedent that is dangerous if not counter-productive to the review process.

Imagine a similar situation in which there are less than two minutes left in the game and the ball is spotted just inside field goal range. Then imagine that the offense throws an incomplete pass, but the booth chooses to review how many people were on the field at the snap of the ball. (This assumes that the excess of people was an accident, as it is unlikely that an NFL team would actually try to run a play with 12 players.) After review, the officials agree that there were 12 offensive players on the field at the time of the snap. The offense is penalized five yards and is now out of field goal range, despite the fact that the result of the play did not help them at all.

It's scary to think that officials who aren't on the field can have such an impact on the game, but that potential is now on the table. Just don't blame Joe Flacco.

Ravens vs. Steelers: Keys to the Game

By Ben Butanis

The NFL schedule-makers know what they're doing.

Let's face it: when the Ravens' schedule for the 2009-2010 season was released, we all circled December 27 on the calendar.

While the Cincinatti Bengals (9-5) are the surprise of the AFC North, this game between the Ravens and Steelers will go a long way in determining which team will likely take one of the AFC wildcard spots.

Here are the keys to the game for the Baltimore Ravens:

1) Take down Ben Roethlisberger early and often.
Ben Roethlisberger's ability to elude tacklers and extend plays is what makes him one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL. With Ladarius Webb joining Fabian Washington on IR, the Ravens were forced to sign CB Corey Ivy to play at corner and on special teams -- which weakens an already suspect secondary. But here's a little known secret: Corey Ivy can't cover anyone. Neither can Frank Walker, or for that matter, Chris Carr. In order for the Ravens to have any success Sunday, the pass rush will need to take Roethlisberger to the ground early and often -- or Roethlisberger will pick the secondary apart.

2) Get Le'Ron McClain 15-20 touches in the running game.
Ray Rice has, without a doubt, been the team's MVP this season. He's a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball, and it's important to keep him heavily involved. But the Ravens will need to use McClain to wear down the Steelers' defense. The Ravens/Steelers matchup always boils down to which team is more physical -- this one won't be an exception.

3) Joe Flacco avoids costly interceptions.
This seems like a no-brainer. Flacco threw an interception in Week 1 (Kansas City) and Week 2 (San Diego) and the Ravens won those games. Since Week 2, in winning efforts, Flacco has been perfect (eight touchdowns, zero interceptions). But over the course of the six Ravens losses this season, Flacco has tossed nine interceptions. Interestingly enough, the Ravens are +9 in the turnover battle, while the Steelers are -5.

Fearless prediction: Steelers 24, Ravens 21
As much as I'd like to see the Ravens win, I don't see them being able to contain the Steelers' passing game with such a depleted secondary. The loss of Ladarius Webb has been the most costly injury this season -- Webb showed the ability to cover extremely well, be a physical run stopper and provide explosiveness in the return game. While Corey Ivy should be able to cover Joey Galloway (recently signed to replace the injured Limas Sweed), I don't see the combination of Frank Walker/Chris Carr being able to effectively stop Hines Ward or Santonio Holmes.

Notes: The Ravens can clinch a playoff birth this week by first beating Pittsburgh, THEN A) Jacksonville AND either the Jets or Broncos lose, OR Miami, the Jets and Broncos all lose...John Harbaugh explains why the Ravens signed Corey Ivy and not Chris McAlister...Troy Smith wants to be more than just a Wildcat quarterback...ESPN's James Walker says the Ravens plan to start Chris Carr at corner against the Steelers...Michael Oher is Jeremy Green's (Scouts, Inc.) #1 Rookie to Watch and his pick for rookie of the year for Week 15...If you haven't seen it yet, ESPN has an interesting video about Ray Lewis' view of Baltimore City...Browns QB Brady Quinn is out for the rest of the season...Mike Holmgren has accepted the GM position for the Cleveland Browns.