[Kray007]

Recently, Lamar has taken to the airwaves to tout a Raven’s offense which he declares to be an incipient juggernaut. NFL Defenses, he tells us, “Aren’t prepared for what’s in store for them.”

Now, Lamar could be right… every man is entitled to an opinion. But, most quarterbacks, even those who helm offenses that could legitimately be described as juggernauts, guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, John Elway Joe Montana and Dan Marino, don’t go out of their way to tout the size of their hands. Euphemism intended.

He has, literally, fired a shot across the bow of every Defense the Ravens will face this year, starting with Lou Anarumo’s crew. It’s not for nothing that Bill Belichick warned his players against providing opponents with locker room fodder.

The curious thing is that I’m not sure he has the chips to back up the brag. The biggest improvement, over last season, for the Ravens is that Lamar should be healthy. A healthy Lamar is, of course, formidable; but a large part of his game is on the ground, and you wonder just how many times the ravens will want to call his number in his year 30 season?

You also have to wonder about the King, Derrick Henry. He didn’t show many signs of slowing down, last year. But, he’s going to be 33 years old by the end of the season, and the track record for Running Backs when they reach that age does not instill confidence. In far too many games last year, he was a non- factor. Against Cleveland, he rushed for 23 yards. The following week against Detroit it was 50. He followed that up with 42 against Kansas City and 33 versus Houston. There was, in fact, only one or two games he actually looked like King Henry.

On the offensive line, they’re trying to integrate three new players. One of their projected starters, Danny Pinter, has been lost for the season. At left guard they’re playing a Joe. At Right Guard, a rookie.

At wide receiver, beyond Zay Flowers, they have no one of note. Flowers, in fact, is their only receiver to catch more than 22 passes last year.

At Tight End, they have Mark Andrews; and while he poses a particular threat to the Colts, not all teams are so inept at covering Tight Ends. Tomorrow is his birthday, and he’ll be 31 years old. Over the past five years his receiving totals have gone from 1361 in 2021 to 847 in ‘22, to 544 in ‘23, followed by 673 in 2024, until finally descending to 422, last year. It is not impossible, of course, for him to resurrect his career, but…