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Monday, July 8, 2013

Ravens defense will need time to rebuild


By: Michael Tellier

With Ray Lewis,  Ed Reed, Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe and Bernard Pollard now gone from Baltimore, I think it’s safe to say that the Ravens will not be the same on the defensive side of the football this coming season. 

However, many people feel as though the defense may be even better this season.  Last season was not a banner year for the Ravens defense.  They finished 17th in the NFL for average yards allowed per game (350.9), and they were tied for 12th in the league for points allowed per game (21.5).  But for me I look at how poorly the defense played at the beginning of the season, and also how they finished it.

The Ravens had to deal with the injury of Lewis, which left him sidelined for a huge chunk of the season, along with Reed missing a few games as well.  The defense obviously proved in the playoffs that their defense was much better than the way they played through the course of the regular season.

Baltimore has made a few moves in the offseason getting Veteran Michael Huff and safety Matt Elam along with several others.  But I’m still not convinced, and I think the defense will need time to mold before they get back to where they were.  I really don’t think that losing the heart and soul of your defense is going to help.  At least not right away.

It’s good that the Ravens defensive Coordinator Dean Pees is excited for the coming season, I won’t argue with that.  Getting some new blood on defense might just be what that team needs.  But I personally think that the defense will struggle for at least one season.

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