Welcome back to the new and improved “View From 151” a weekly blog of observations and thoughts through the eyes of a die-hard Ravens Fan who sits in Section 151. My Baltimore football roots go way back to when my father worked for the Baltimore Colts when the team colors were green and grey.
This blog started when my youngest daughter went off to college. She would call on Sunday morning and we would discuss team updates and which team to root for that week. When she went on a study abroad to Ireland, we couldn’t call each other so I started this blog. Molly started forwarding this to siblings and friends and, eventually, she became known as the girl whose father writes the Ravens Blog.
We also like to look at the teams of our friends and root for them if we can–as long as the outcome of the game helps or doesn’t hurt the Ravens standings. There will never be an occasion where we will root for the Steelers. Never.
Here we are in our third season of our blog. I hope this helps you become an informed Raven Maniac and enjoy the games a little more. GO RAVENS!
THE VIEW FROM 151 TRAINING CAMP
(photo credit: BaltimoreRavens.com)
Hello everyone, I’m putting last season’s 5-11 record well behind me in the rear view mirror and that’s all I’m gonna say about the season. We can now wonder what this new season will bring. So far, we know that training camp will bring some answers to most of the off season questions. The past off season, (isn’t it great saying past off season since the new season is here?!) brought more questions than answers with all of the players who were injured last year and this year’s free agent signings. Who will recover and what free agents will fit in and make a difference? The most glaring question-how is Joe Flacco’s knee? My inside sources tell me that Joe was spotted on the dance floor at Jeremy Zuttah’s wedding two weeks ago. Also at the wedding was Steve Smith, Sr. It was told to me that both Joe and Steve were dancing fools and looking good. But—how does looking good on the dance floor translate to the football field?
Rookies and injured players (half the team) reported to training camp last week with the rest of the players reporting this week. The first practice is Thursday. Can you believe that football is back?!
Let’s start out the same way we ended last season, with the bad news. The Ravens released the PUP list (Physically Unable to Perform list) with a bunch of starters on it including Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, Steve Smith, Perriman (last year’s first round pick who didn’t play one down last season). Sorry, I said that I wasn’t going to mention last year. Trent Richardson RB, a free agent signing, has a bad hamstring. Jumal Rolle CB, also a free agent signing, will be out for the season. Please, can that be the last time I say “out for the season”. To look on the bright side, Joe Flacco, Dennis Pitta, Jimmy Smith and Will Davis are not on the PUP so that means they will be participating in training camp. Other players that we can look for in camp are Justin Forsett RB, Mike Campanaro WR and Crockett Gillmore TE, all who ended last season on the injury list. So, cross your fingers that none of these guys slips and falls in the shower at home and breaks a leg or something.
Since I can’t mention last year, I won’t tell you that the 5-11 record is the reason you can look for plenty of changes this year. We picked a couple of guys from the draft who could start this season including offensive left tackle Ronnie Stanley replacing Eugene Monroe, outside line backer Kamalei Correa if Suggs can’t go or to replace Courtney Upshaw, and defensive end Bronson Kaufusi to replace Chris Canty. I love this guy’s name. It just sounds like he could rip your head off at anytime.
- Did we end up with a net positive in free agency?
- Did we get better players than the ones who left us?
- Did we fill last year’s holes with good free agents?
Safety Eric Weddle is ready to help our secondary. Ben Watson will add experience (in other words, he’s older) to our young tight end corps. Wide receiver Mike Wallace (formerly with Pittsburgh–so I will hold my true judgements until later) should be able to stretch the field.
We are going to take this season one step at a time. The first step is to see who steps on the practice field on Thursday, healthy and ready to play. Here is to nobody spraining an ankle getting out of their car in the parking lot of the Under Armor Performance Center going in to the first meeting of training camp.
We will follow training camp in the next few weeks to get you ready for the preseason games.
GO RAVENS!!! (It’s great to say that again!!!)
(Photo credit: BaltimoreRavens.com)
The View From 151 