The Ravens have signed safety Jim Leonhard.  Leonhard is a tad small at 5′8″, 185 pounds but he doesn’t have a problem with sticking offensive players.  He played in 13 games with the Bills last season and he finished with 54 tackles, defensed 3 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Leonhard has now played in 38 games in his NFL career and he has compiled 72 tackles, defensed 3 passes and has 2 interceptions.  Leonhard will provide depth at safety and he will likely be a special teams ace for the Ravens. 

Ray Rice was drafted to back up Willis McGahee.  Rice was outstanding at Rutgers since the day he arrived there.  Rice played in 37 games (all starts) at Rutgers and he carried the ball 910 times for 4,926 yards (5.4 ypc) with 49 TD runs.  Rice also caught 37 passes for 334 yards (9.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Rice is small at 5′8″, 205 pounds and he’s not overly fast as he runs a 4.55 40.  But, Rice is a downhill runner who runs with good pad level and he should be a solid backup for the Ravens and he might work his way into the starting lineup at some point.

The Ravens traded up to nab QB Joe Flacco who they had rated as the #2 QB in this draft.  Flacco has nice size at 6′6″, 232 pounds but he doesn’t have much agility and he runs a 4.95 40.  Flacco has a very strong arm but he played against very weak competition at Delaware and he didn’t have to pay for mistakes he made at that level.  Flacco played in 29 games (26 starts) at Pittsburgh & Delaware and he completed 596 of 942 passes (63.3%) for 7,057 yards with 41 TD passes and 15 interceptions.  Flacco will battle Kyle Boller and Troy Smith for the starting job in Training Camp and the pre-season.  This could be a little bit of a reach where the Ravens took him.

The Ravens have acquired cornerback Fabian Washington from the Oakland Raiders for a 4th round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.  Washington played in 15 games (3 starts) for the Raiders last season and he made 40 tackles, defensed 8 passes and he intercepted 1 pass.  Washington has now played in 45 games (28 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 123 tackles, defensed 24 passes and he intercepted 5 passes.  Washington will likely start the season as the Ravens’ nickel back but he could start if they have injuries.  This was a good trade for the Ravens.

The Ravens have lost tight end Quinn Sypniewski for the 2008 season due to a torn ACL.  Sypniewski played in 15 games for the Ravens last season and he caught 34 passes for 246 yards (7.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 31 games in his two year career and he has caught 36 passes for 261 yards (7.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Ravens might draft a TE to back up Todd Heap in this weekend’s NFL Draft.

35-year old Steve McNair has decided to hang up the cleats.  He played in 6 games for the Ravens last season and he completed 133 of 205 passes (64.9%) for 1,113 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 interceptions (73.9 QB Rating).  McNair also carried the ball 10 times for 32 yards (3.2 ypc).  McNair finishes his NFL career having played in 164 games.  In those games, McNair completed 2,733 of 4,544 passes (60.1%) for 31,304 yards with 174 TD passes and 119 interceptions (82.8 QB Rating).  McNair also carried the ball 669 times for 3,590 yards (5.4 ypc) with 37 TD runs.  McNair will probably make it to the Hall of Fame but his play was slipping big time and he made the right choice to call it a career.

The Ravens were one of only a handful of teams that got production out of every player they drafted in 2007.  Offensive guard Ben Grubbs was the first round pick for the Ravens and he played in all 16 games and started 12 of them.  Grubbs will be a good starter for the Ravens for quite some time in the future as he was a great pick.  WR/KR Yamon Figurs was a 3rd round pick for the Ravens in last seasons’ draft.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Ravens and he carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard (-1.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 36 yards.  But Figurs made his money on special teams.  Figurs returned 46 kickoffs for 1,138 yards (24.7 avg) with 1 TD return.  He also returned 16 punts for 171 yards (10.7 avg) with 1 TD return.  As long as Figurs doesn’t fumble the ball much he could develop into a Pro-Bowl type player.  Fellow 3rd round pick Marshal Yanda was an absolute steal for the Ravens.  He played in all 16 games as a rookie and started 12 of them.  Yanda can handle either guard or tackle on the offensive line and he should be a starter for the Ravens for a long, long time.  The Ravens first 4th round pick of last season was outside linebacker Antwan Barnes.  Barnes played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Ravens last season and he made 10 tackles, had 2 sacks and forced a fumble.  Fullback Le’Ron McClain was a starter most of last season for the Ravens.  He played in 16 games (11 starts) last season and he carried the ball 8 times for 18 yards (2.3 ypc).  He also caught 9 passes for 55 yards (6.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  QB Troy Smith was the 5th round pick of the Ravens and he might be the quaterback of the future for the Ravens.  Smith played in 4 games (2 starts) for the Ravens last season and he completed 40 of 76 passes (52.6%) for 452 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions (79.5 QB Rating).  Smith also carried the ball 12 times for 54 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Ravens also like their 6th round pick, OLB Prescott Burgess.  Burgess played in 8 games (1 start) for the Ravens last season and he had 4 tackles.

GRADE FOR 2007 SEASON:   A-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Ravens have signed CB Frank Walker to a 2-year, $3.5 million dollar contract.  He played in 12 games last season for the Packers and he made 17 tackles and defensed a pass.  Walker has now played in 53 games in his NFL career and he has made 84 tackles, defensed 10 passes, forced a fumble and he’s picked off 5 passes including one that he returned for a TD.  Walker is a special teams ace and he could help the Ravens out as a nickel or dime back so this was a decent signing for them.

The Ravens have signed linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo to a 4-year, $4.925 contract.  He played in 16 games for the Bears last season and he made 20 tackles and forced 2 fumbles.  He has now played in 80 games in his NFL career and he has made 130 tackles, defensed 1 pass, forced 4 fumbles and intercepted a pass.  He is a good special teams player and he’ll add depth to the defense.

With all of the trouble the Ravens had throwing the football they should have just fed their running backs more.  Willis McGahee did a solid job replacing Jamal Lewis but they should have got him the rock a little more last season.  McGahee played in 15 games (all starts) last season and he carried the ball 294 times for 1,207 yards (4.1 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 43 passes for 231 yards (5.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  McGahee has now played in 61 games (55 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,162 times for 4,572 yards (3.9 ypc) with 31 TD runs and he also caught 111 passes for 734 yards (6.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Big Musa Smith finally stayed healthy for a complete season and he did a so-so job.  Smith played in 16 games (1 start) for the Ravens last season and he carried the ball 75 times for 264 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 27 passes for 192 yards (7.1 avg).  Smith has now played in 49 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 132 times for 496 yards (3.8 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also has caught 54 passes for 363 yards (6.7 avg).

Mike Anderson was buried on the depth chart for the Ravens in 2007.  He played in 8 games (0 starts) last season for the Ravens and he carried the ball 15 times for 62 yards (4.1 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 26 yards (6.5 avg).  Anderson has now played in 98 games (51 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 919 times for 4,067 yards (4.4 ypc) with 37 TD runs.  He also has caught 92 passes for 727 yards (7.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs.

Cory Ross finally got the ball this season and he showed some potential.  He played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Ravens last season and he carried the ball 12 times for 72 yards (6.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He played in 4 games before this season and didn’t touch the ball.

Rookie fullback Le’Ron McClain did a good job of lead blocking as a rookie for the Ravens.  McClain played in all 16 games (11 starts) in his rookie season for the Ravens and he carried the ball 8 times for 18 yards (2.3 ypc).  He also caught 9 passes for 55 yards (6.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.

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