First off, Congrats to the Ravens. They deserved it.

Significant players I think they'll lose: Lewis, Reed, Kruger, Birk

I think they'll keep Ellerbe, Pitta Cary and restructure Boldin, Jones, Suggs. They're also going to get back Webb.

They beat the Pats in week 3 without Suggs, who I think is more important than Lewis. They beat them in the post season without Webb, who isn't as important as Reed, but not far down the list.

They're still perfectly capable of beating the Patriots next season, even after some of those FA's leave, especially if the secondary for the Pats isn't fixed. What they did with Caldwell at OC has made them into a pretty good offense. They're still a formidable opponent. 

 

The trademark of the Ravens seems to be how close they all are. A lot of people, outside of the locker room, talk about this team is like a family. It'll be interesting to see how good this team is when facing adversity without their "Godfather".

Ravens will still be in the divisional round next season. That being said, I think they're trending towards the wrong path. If Flacco becomes a 20 million/year avg QB, then they're becoming another team that will be ultra reliant on its QB. You might already see through this offseason how many good players a big QB contract costs you. It's probably inevitable and part of the league parody. Best all around teams are usually built before the franchise QB gets his big contract

Interesting.  I, too, believe that the Ravens will be formidable despite the losses.  Lewis' contribution was increasingly less important on the field than it was as a team leader.  I don't hold him in very high regard as a human being but as a leader there is no question that he played a role in the team's success.

Interesting. I think there is going to be serious shake up based on Flaco contract and other cap issues. Where Lewis maybe most missed is dealing with post SB egos. Always a concern after winning the big game. They do have good talent coming back, but with some young contributors needing new contracts, they are going to say goodbye to a few of their older vets. Boldin could well be one of them and Reed probably is gone. Still going to be a strong team.

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it will be interesting to see how much of a cap hit flacco will put on them.....he earned himself a new contract. 11 td's and 0 ints in the playoffs....incredible.

In response to dapats1281's comment:

that may be true today, but really not that long ago - Reed was at least as important as Lewis, if not more so.

No idea what the "leadership" impact will be from losing Lewis, but in terms of his actual play it really doesn't matter.  Look it was a nice story, but Lewis was a huge liablity in last night's game.  There is a reason he is calling it quits.  Reed looks like he could be the potential biggest loss.  If they keep Ellerbe, and the rest of their secondary they can probably still be a pretty tough D.

On offense it really comes down to whether or not they keep Boldin.  Both TEs are RFA's I think so they probably don't go anywhere.  Jones is probably gone, but if they keep Boldin I think they will still be pretty good on that end as well.

I don't think they will repeat simply because it doesn't happen much in today's NFL, but they will still be a good team barring injury or they lose a lot more guys than I think.

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All those guys you are naming were still good players when they left.  Lewis is not a good player.  Reed I agree is a loss, but it doesn't necessarily have to be devastating.  They are getting Webb back so their CB corps should be pretty strong.  The only other guy they should lose on D is Kruger.  Good situational pass rusher, but not worth the money he is going to get.

In response to RockScully's comment:

How is that arrogant? I said they'll be slightly worse, but the drop off wont be significant. At this point of their careers, on the field, Suggs and Webb are just as important as Reed and Lewis. The drop off would be moreso off the field, which I brought up.

 

FA wise, there is speculation that Ngata, Suggs, and Boldin will be candidates to restructure their contracts. Jacoby Jones will probably restructure/extend. And if Suggs is healthy, I think he'll play at a higher level than he played for most of this season.

 

Are they going to lose some FA's? Yeah. No different than any team with a high priced FA. I said it already, this team is trending to be built like NO, NE, GB...a QB centered team. I think this postseason proved one or two things: 1. Cameron has held Flacco back or 2. Caldwell has unleashed Flacco's potential.

I never said I thought the Ravens would be champs because I don't believe teams that are overreliant on their QBs are the best way to create a championship team. I said the Ravens are still very much in position to at least make the divisional round.

In response to RockScully's comment:

translation: i dont like them and want them to be good and beat my team yet again

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seriously jints, cut the sh.it. we all know you dont like rusty, but you criticizing his every post is getting to a stalker level now.

and the ravens will fall off a bit without lewis and reed, probobaly kruger too. how much? well that we dont know, they could very well be a playoff team next year....but we also were hearing about how the giants were going to be a dynasty after last years super bowl. you never know.

In response to redsoxfan94's comment:

seriously no one deserves it more and his rampant homerism/arrogance/entitlemen/condescension/personal attacks is the epitome of the type of pats fan that is the most despise across the NFL

consider it a public service of sorts

The Ravens will be fine, but I don't expect them to be a threat to repeat. Basically they did what the Giants did and what just about every SB winner the last decade or so (with a couple of exceptions) has done, including the '01 and to an extent, the '04 Pats.  That is, get hot at the right time and play their best when it counted most, and catch a few crazy breaks (thanks Rahim Moore!). 

They weren't the most consistent team by any stretch.  They were an indifferent regular season team, lost 4 of their last 5. If Rice doesn't make the play of the year on 4th and 29, they possibly miss the playoffs.  

If you think there's some formula there, I'm not seeing it.  Well maybe it's this, win enough games to squeak in to the playoffs, get hot, get lucky. A strong armed QB, solid o-line play and a deep passing game seems pretty important too. You don't seem to need a great running game or a stifling defense.

The only teams that were consistently at the top of their game all year and never let up since the last millenium were the '03 Pats and the '09 Saints, the only two one seeds to win the SB in that time.  

In response to 42AND46's comment:

The mods did us all a public service when they banned you.  Guess you didn't get the message.

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Upshaw looked pretty good. At some point we as fans will learn whether or not the Ravens have depth at certain positions. Reed is one of the best safeties I have ever seen(maybe below Lott, but it's an awfully short list) and you could say the same about Lewis (love or hate him, guy's a great player). You can make a reasonably cogent argument that the two players are/were best at their respective positions over the last 15 years. Thinking that the Ravens will just cherry pick the next Ray Lewis and Ed Reed with the last pick in the 1st is little too unrealistic. Possible maybe, but I doubt it happens. Real issue is can they plug guys in that can do their jobs. Again I doubt players on their current roster do the jobs as well HOF players, but we'll see. In the end, it's about positional depth and contracts (just like very team that contends for the SB).

In response to redsoxfan94's comment:

Who thought the Giants were going to be a dynasty?

I'm pretty sure most people had the 49ers, packers and patriots as favorites coming into the season. Everyone knew the Giants were a 9-7 team that got hot at the right time. Dont think anyone considered them a power house

i was at the Denver /Raven game in Balt in December If any one told me they were going to win the SB then I would have thought them crazy - altough they were missing a lot of players and i still cannot believe what they enventually got out their Oline

I think they will miss Reid but will not miss Lewis, if they lose Kruger they will have no pass rush - Unless Suggs is completely back - and if there will be 2 people I hate more next year than Pollard and Suggs I don't know who that would be

I think we have got to the point that every year there are about 4 or 5 teams that  can win- depending on injuries / breaks - Francessa - WFAN down here thinks that missing Gronk and Talib didn't make any difference - and don't foreget Arrington and Jones  i think he is nuts - Until and unless we have a healthy Gronk we won't know our upside.

With the rules now - there are no great defenses. Balt or 9ers weren't that much better than the Pats - and when we lost talib and arrington we didn't and couldn't blitz which is what the ravens did to CK in crunch time. We still need a burner, our D will be better with experience - Goskowksi was a little down - hasn't been the same since his injury-we will have an easy schedule

I think the entire league next year will be in flux - except the Pats and 9ers but doesnt' mean either will win SB

One last thought on Jim harbaugh  I think he is entirely too emotional-Emotional coaches give emotional teams which are inconsistent - see Phat Rex

 

 

In response to pcmIV's comment:

guess not!

In response to RockScully's comment:

it all seems a.ss backwards, the arrogant fans are the ones who are willing to criticize any member of the team? so its not arrogant to think one player can do no wrong and that its never his fault?