As previously reported, the Ravens brought in 4 WR’s to tryout at mini-camp. Those 4, now 3 recievers are Jerry Porter, Kelly washington andTab Perry. and the 4th which would have been the top of the group, DJ Hackett, decided at the last minute to tryout for the Texans instead of the Ravens. The Ravens were questioned for not sigining a WR in free agency or drafting a WR in this years deep class, and this news actually pleased Raven fans. And suprisignly, some of the Ravens players said it is not neccessary.

Despite just finishing 28th in pass offense when the run offense, run defense and pass defense ranked in the top 5, franchise QB Joe Flacco and the group of current Raven WR’s say that is not needed. Joe Flacco said this ”We had a pretty darn good team last year, obviously, with the guys that we have” and then said this ”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”.  He does have a good point. Despite the losses of Bart Scott, Chris McCallister, etc, we still have a strong, super bowl contending team. And are veiwed as one of the top teams in the AFC, if not the whole league. Then #1 WR Derrick Mason said this ”We got to the AFC championship game with the guys that we have” and then said this ”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”. That is also a true statement. We are as good as anybody when we are at least around 100% healthy.

But, im not totally saying that Flacco and Mason are wrong, because they arent. Its not the quality of the players we are lacking, its the quanity. We ARE very thin at WR and we DO need a guy that can catch 2, 3, 4 passes a game, not a starter, just a guy that helps depth. We had a good duo of Mason and Clayton as the 1 and 2 last year, and Demetrius Williams is a good #3 when he is healthy, but we showed how thin we were when Williams was hurt for the season after 7 games.

Right now it goes Mason, Clayton, Williams, Marcus Smith, and then is a question mark beyond that. Marcus Smith was our 4th round pick in the 2008 draft, and even though he didnt have a catch in the 5 games he was active, showed improvement over the course of the season. Ravens officials say that Smith is one of the most improved players from this season to last. And that is true. He has been impressing in mini-camp, hauling in a 40 yard TD catch in traffic yesterday. He has good height and weight at 6-2 and 220, and has the speed and stregnth to be a good WR in the league, i am very high on Smith, and so is everybody else in the Ravens camp. He is poised for a breakout season, which should be 2009. Maybe become an Anquan Boldin type reciever? He has that mold. And he is only 24 yeard old.

But even then, i still would like at least another decent WR, just for depth. Yoiu never know when injuries can happen, and you have to be prepared if they do. My personal favorite out of the 3 trying out would be Jerry Porter, but nobody knows where his head is at after being rumored to be one of the main reasons that Jacksonville team fell apart in 2008. So it is Kelly Washington. For what its worth, it was DJ Hackett, dammit!

Thanks to the Balimore Sun for the Flacco and Mason quotes.

Thats it for now, check back soon for a new article.

                                                                    Logan Quick