E-mail
Print
Fans and the media are wondering why the Ravens didn't sign a wide receiver in free agency or draft one.
After hearing the most pressing question about the Ravens for months, quarterback Joe Flacco and his receivers confidently responded Friday after the first day of full-team minicamp.
"We had a pretty darn good team last year, obviously, with the guys that we have," Flacco said. "So, we don't need anybody else. We feel like we have the guys to get it done. We feel like we have the guys to be a Super Bowl team."
The problem is the Ravens' passing game was the weakest part of the team. The Ravens finishing 28th in passing yards while ranking in the top five in the other three major categories (run offense, run defense and pass defense).
The struggles can be traced to an issue with depth. Derrick Mason made 80 catches for 1,037 yards and five touchdowns. The Ravens' other wide receivers combined for 55 receptions for 918 yards and five touchdowns.
But whatever the Ravens' receivers lack in statistics, they make up for in resolve.
"We got to the AFC championship game with the guys that we have," Mason said. "You can't satisfy everybody around here. We've had a lot of injuries that kind of derailed some of the things that we wanted to do. Once we're fully healthy, we're just as good as any group."
The Ravens' top three receivers weren't healthy at the start of this weekend's minicamp. Mason (shoulder) and Mark Clayton (undisclosed injury) did not participate in team drills.
Demetrius Williams, the team's third receiver, practiced even though he considers himself 80 percent since having ankle surgery. He looked fine running and cutting, but he walked with a limp.
"Really, walking hurts more than running," Williams said. "I think when I'm running I've kind of trained my mind to run smoothly, not to think about it. But when I'm walking, I feel it because it's a slower motion. I'm probably going to walk with a limp for a little while, but as long as I can run, I'm all right."
The Ravens could improve their passing game if Williams stays healthy (he's finished the past two seasons on injured reserve) and Marcus Smith takes a step forward in his second season.
A fourth-round draft pick last season, Smith didn't make a catch in the five games that he played in. On Friday, he worked with the first-team offense and made one of the best receptions of the day, pulling down a 40-yard touchdown catch in traffic.
The Ravens have three receivers ( Jerry Porter, Kelley Washington and Tab Perry) in for tryouts, but none of them separated themselves Friday. Free-agent wide receiver D.J. Hackett visited the Houston Texans instead of trying out for the Ravens.
The other talked-about option is the Arizona Cardinals' Anquan Boldin, who drew interest from the Ravens last month. On Friday, Boldin's agent predicted that the receiver would be traded before training camp.
"If you can add a guy like that, that would be great," Mason said of Boldin. "But to say this team needs him ... we don't. We've made it this far without him. We'll continue to go. We have guys that are capable of doing the same things that he's been doing in Arizona."
The constant skepticism hasn't offended the receivers. But it has motivated them.
"I just take that as a challenge," Smith said. "That's them saying they don't know about the other guys in this room. This is fuel to our fire for us to go out there every day, get better and make sure there is no doubt when the season comes around."
Notes: Mason, who is entering the final year of his contract, said Friday that he believes the Ravens will give him a contract extension before the start of the regular season. "I'm very confident that it will get done," Mason said. "I hope management has the same confidence that I have that it will get done."
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the team has remained in contract talks with linebacker Terrell Suggs, the only absence at the mandatory minicamp. Suggs isn't required to attend because he has yet to sign his franchise tender. Surprisingly, undrafted rookie William VanDeSteeg (Minnesota) has filled in for Suggs with the first-team defense.
Willis McGahee doesn't know when he'll be running yet, but the running back said he would be fully recovered for the start of training camp in late July. He was sidelined Friday because he is coming off arthroscopic surgery. A team official indicated that McGahee had surgery on his knee, but the seven-year veteran said it was his ankle.
Michael Oher, the Ravens' first-round pick, was the right tackle for the first-team offense because Willie Anderson and Adam Terry were sidelined with injuries. According to Harbaugh, Anderson couldn't practice because of an issue with his knees.
Fullback Lorenzo Neal, who started five games last season for the Ravens, signed with the Oakland Raiders.
For a full list of the Ravens' undrafted rookie signings, go to baltimoresun.com/sports.
Discuss this story and others in our talk forums
Most recent sports talk forum topics:
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Mixx
