What part of our team are you the most excited about?

[SecretAgentMan]

For me it's the pass rush

Canty and Jones occupying some of the blockers

 

Ngata going up the middle

 

Doom and Suggs on the edges.

 

It's going to be awesome!

[baltravens]

For me it is to see Flacco pick up where he left off. I hope he can effortlessly hit pass catchers when he drops back to pass. I acknowledge too that OC Caldwell is going to be scripting an offense that features Flacco in full command when we have the ball. 

[Sami84]

the D front. 

 

Its brutal and with so much flexibility. Might be the best front D since 2006.

[beanfigger]

The pass defense in general.  The rush has already been mentioned, and I agree it will be menacing.  I am also excited about our secondary and the fact that we, for the first time in a little while, have ILBs who can actually cover.  The fact that we have guys like Daryl Smith, Arthur Brown, Michael Huff, Matt Elam, and a healthy Ladarius Webb...this will all open up the opportunity to blitz at will, and from every angle, without consequence.  QBs are going to be seeing a lot of the Baltimore sky while laying on their back after being hit in our stadium.  Meanwhile, we'll have several players doing their best "Ed Reed" as they run back INTs.

 

Mostly though, the part of the Ravens I'm looking forward to with the greatest anticipation is their season.  Let's get it on already!

[gabefergy]

Definitely the defensive line. Canty and Jones with Ngata at the nose is nasty!

[easternshore97]

Front 7 + the secondary. You probably won't know who to credit half the time.

[Gordo52]

Defense in general.

It was weird seeing a Ravens defense play so bad last year. I'm dying to start a new streak of RB's not getting 100 yards on us.

This might be our greatest group of pass rushers ever. Our DL and Secondary are both extremely versatile. I'm excited to see the different looks we give on D.

The potential this defense has is scary. Being starved for a year has got me excited. No more Kemo + Cody rotation. :)

Of course I'm also excited to see a more confident Flacco in a newer style offense, but we know what we have in him already.

I'm not excited to watch Caldwell accept the HC job for the Jaguars after this season. :( --- ;)

[big hits and ball hawks]

This is a great question. It's also a tough question because I'm looking forward to every part. I'll have to go offense and defense with this.

 

On offense, it has to be Flacco. The WR competition always has my attention during TC/preseason, but once the season starts it's going to be all eyes on Joe. I'm not questioning whether he'll do well without Pitta and Boldin and all that talk; I believe he will. I think he's going to go beyond outsider's (and even some Ravens' fans) expectations. It's not like he's never had "safety blankets" taken away from him before. I wholeheartedly believe he will continue to flourish under Caldwell and I'm excited to see that happen. He has the opportunity to prove how great he actually is, most of us already know that though.

 

On defense, I'm gonna go with the middle linebackers. I'm excited for the whole defense, but I think our guys in the middle are being severely underrated. When ever people get around to talking about us on tv, you'd never know we picked up Daryl Smith. I think he'll be this year's Corey Graham. We're going to be fast there with the younger guys too, not that Smith is slow. Teams are not going to know what hit them and I can't wait for that.

[Sami84]

Daryl Smiths career up until this point leaves me frustrated and it has obviously nothing to do with his play. He's deserved far more recognition. Just with a simple Eye test you can see the guy is an elite linebacker. The guy is a pro bowl calibre linebacker. Him and Carlos Dansby are so freaking underrated. 

[The Oakland Cathedral]

Special teams.

[K-Dog]

Suggs Dumerall

[beanfigger]

Suggs Dumerall

 

I think Dumerall is on the banned substance list, correct?

[K-Dog]

-ville
I am an idiot.

[5aiah]

I think the part of our team i am most excited about is the coaching staff. This is now Harbs team instead of the Icons who used to be here. He is a champion coach who is looking to start a dynasty and this first year without Ray will set the tone for a new era. He is a tough, hardworking, and intelligent coach who got the job after being a special teams coach. That really means a lot to me, seeing that special teams has been alongside the defense in my mind as the driving factors of this franchise. This is a huge year for him. Caldwell is going to prove that his fine tuned playcalling and confidence in Flacco is a permanent boost to this offense with his better use of our speed and calling for more hard cuts in terms of route running. In addition I think he will find ways to be more creative in the run game on early downs. I'm looking forward to seeing just how creative Pees can get with one of the most versatile defenses Baltimore has ever had. Opposing QBs should be stumped when going against us. We get to play some of the best QBs this season(including 3 of the best to ever do it possibly). I expect an exciting showdown against some of the more complex offenses and it excites me to no end thinking of what he has in store for us Baltimore fans. The defensive coordinators are always guys I pay a lot of attention to and we have had some great ones. I'm thinking Pees will be the next one. T.A. will be tasked with refining what could be our secret strength(considering the d line is getting all the attention). Spags I'm very excited for because it seems like he has come along at just the right time to help us get the best out of our talented defensive line. He knows his stuff. This is the most excited i've been about more than just two coaches. I think they truly determine the course of this season considering all the new faces we have, and the young guys who are still developing having a prominent role.   

[Dubs]

CBs while its a question mark we know Webb when healthy is a stud..Graham is underrated and can play everywhere. This is mainly because of the new work ethic of Jimmy and the confidence Chykie has always had, obviously I like both guys. I think we have a pretty deep and talented group with two bigger perimeter guys (Chykie & Jimmy) and two inside or oustide guys (Webb and Graham)--I honestly think we can match any spread set. 

[Ravenseconbeast]

Im excited about our new D. Especially the front 7. Alot of energy and youth in defense thats capable of being very dominant.

However, Im worried about our passing game. I dont think we have enough to compete against a tough experienced D. But I guess we'll see what happens.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I'm most excited to see our passing game. Personnel, schemes and how we get guys like rice and juice the ball in space. Most excited but not the most optimistic.

As far as being excited bc I know it's going to be fun to watch is just the all-around defense. I think we're gonna create a ton of turnovers and sacks. Should be a big play machine.

[Jitamon]

The rookies. I cant wait to see the preseason games and watch all our rookies in action. Especially B. Williams.:)

[FreckleNate]

Looking forward to seeing this defense in all aspects. From our hopefully dominant pass rush to our young and athletic DBs things should be quite interesting. But i am mostly looking forward to seeing how Flacco plays now that he is getting paid big. Also, I am hoping that Tandon Doss has a breakout year as I believe this is his year to really make a difference in this offense.

[Footman DCXLV]

I'll jump on board and say I'm looking forward to the defense, in whole. Webb coming back is the most interesting thing to me. If he can play anywhere near the level he was before being injured, he's truly one of the best in the league. Of course, a healthy Suggs with Dumervil on both sides could be the best pass rush we've had since 2006 with Suggs and Adalius Thomas. If Ngata can come in healthy and get back to his dominating ways, that'll make it even better. As much as I hated losing Pollard, and nobody wanted to lose Reed, I'm really interested in seeing Elam and Huff who could be better than a lot of people expect, depending on how quickly Elam picks things up. Of course, the annual "under-the-radar" signing of Daryl Smith could be something that really provides us some consistency when we need it most. And, finally, I'm looking forward to seeing how they use Courtney Upshaw this year, who just seemed to get better and better as last season went along.

 

All the variables aside, I expect the defense to perform much better this year, even without Lewis and Reed. We may not be able to get right back to our top three ways of old, but I do expect a top 10 defense this year, barring injuries to Webb or Suggs.

 

 

 

Maybe it's just a matter of habit from all our years being Ravens fans, but I find it funny how we have the $120 million, Super Bowl MVP quarterback, and most of the posts here are saying they're most excited about the defense. I have a lot of faith in Joe, and think he'll have a career year, statistically, even without Boldin and Pitta, but offensively I'm more excited about Bernard Pierce, and hope he gets a lot of carries. Ever since we first saw him last preseason, I thought he could really be a top-level running back. 

[beanfigger]

Maybe it's just a matter of habit from all our years being Ravens fans, but I find it funny how we have the $120 million, Super Bowl MVP quarterback, and most of the posts here are saying they're most excited about the defense. I have a lot of faith in Joe, and think he'll have a career year, statistically, even without Boldin and Pitta, but offensively I'm more excited about Bernard Pierce, and hope he gets a lot of carries. Ever since we first saw him last preseason, I thought he could really be a top-level running back. 

 

I think it's because we know what we're getting with Joe.  I know I expect big things from him, but it won't be as exciting as watching a brand new defense.  We all want to see this defense that looks great on paper come together and live up to their potential, but it is still not a certainty that they play lights out together until they do.  That makes it more exciting because there's a little higher element of surprise.  Who will the biggest defensive stars be?  Who will lead them each week?  We pretty much know the answers to these questions on the offensive side of the ball.

[5aiah]

I think it's because we know what we're getting with Joe.  I know I expect big things from him, but it won't be as exciting as watching a brand new defense.  We all want to see this defense that looks great on paper come together and live up to their potential, but it is still not a certainty that they play lights out together until they do.  That makes it more exciting because there's a little higher element of surprise.  Who will the biggest defensive stars be?  Who will lead them each week?  We pretty much know the answers to these questions on the offensive side of the ball.

Yeah we already know Joe(that he was a Superbowl worthy QB last year). Now its just can he be more consistent,build on a career performance, and take the next step and be the QB who can make lesser receivers better. The problem is that isn't as exciting as some of the other story lines or situations going on. Not a slight against Joe.

[The Raven]

The dline and the outside linebackers. Chomping at the bit to see those guys in action.

[HoldingCall]

During preseason I will mostly be interested in seeing the non starters and rookies on both sides to watch the team depth chart materialize. Defense will have my attention in September.

[Gordo52]

Who I'm most excited to see: Brandon Williams (in the preseason anyway).

Really all our rookies but Williams just stands out to me. I guess it's him coming from a small school, hoping not to see Cody any more, the build and personality this dudes got, and his story. I'm rooting big for him.

[MTRavensFan]

Sizzle taking over as the vocal leader of the defense. Gonna be fun!

[Tank 92]

Defense in general.

It was weird seeing a Ravens defense play so bad last year. I'm dying to start a new streak of RB's not getting 100 yards on us.

This might be our greatest group of pass rushers ever. Our DL and Secondary are both extremely versatile. I'm excited to see the different looks we give on D.

The potential this defense has is scary. Being starved for a year has got me excited. No more Kemo + Cody rotation. :)

Of course I'm also excited to see a more confident Flacco in a newer style offense, but we know what we have in him already.

I'm not excited to watch Caldwell accept the HC job for the Jaguars after this season. :( --- ;)

 

 

 

Ditto............

[Ravenslifer]

Passing offense.  I've seen a great running game with a 2000 yard rusher and multiple pro-bowl backs.  I've seen great run-blocking.  I've seen a great run-defense.  I've seen the Ravens lead the league in scoring defense, finish tops in defensive YPG, passing D, and run-D.  I would love to see a top passing-offense finally come to Baltimore.  We won't hit top of the league this year, but if we can be a consistent passing offense, I like the makeup of this team much better than last year's team.

[hawkprey]

I'm excited to see the WR competition turn into a feeding fest. Laquan on the outside, Doss anywhere, Thompson deep and over the middle, D. Reed on the underneath routes. It's time to finally get a return on our WR investments.

[Runnin Raven]

Offense: Doss, Pierce, Joe

 

Defense: Webby, Dumervil, Canty, Elam