OFFENSIVE LINE:: The addition of center Matt Birk continues to be one of the Ravens' best moves during the offseason. Birk is a good teacher and leader for a young and talented group. The left side is solid with tackle Jared Gaither and guard Ben Grubbs. The right side will struggle early in the season with Chris Chester at guard and rookie Michael Oher at right tackle. Oher has excellent potential but needs to improve on pass protection. Chester is an excellent fill-in for regular right guard Marshal Yanda, who can play either guard or tackle. The Ravens, though, need to find a No. 3 and No. 4 tackle. Injuries at those positions could have a significant impact. Is veteran Willie Anderson still available?
DEFENSIVE LINE:: The Ravens haven't had this much depth since the 2000 season, when they trotted out starters Sam Adams, Tony Siragusa, Rob Burnett and Michael McCrary, and had backups named Larry Webster, Lional Dalton and Keith Washington. The Ravens go six deep at tackle, which gives them the option of playing a 3-4 or a 4-3. They have two of the game's best run stoppers in Kelly Gregg and Haloti Ngata, and Justin Bannan is no slouch, either. And Trevor Pryce can still bring it as a pass rusher.
LINEBACKERS:: The Ravens have so much talent here that it's ridiculous. They have the ultimate leader in middle linebacker Ray Lewis, and outside linebacker Terrell Suggs should have a strong season once he fully recovers from his constantly aggravated heel injury. The Ravens have three inside linebackers who can also play outside in Tavares Gooden, Prescott Burgess and Jameel McClain. Veteran outside linebacker Jarret Johnson is playing at a peak level, and keep an eye on third-year outside linebacker Antwan Barnes. No one talked about him much in training camp, but he had a great camp as far as rushing the passer. Now, if he would just cut down on the stupid penalties on special teams.
SECONDARY:: The Ravens have quantity, not quality, at cornerback. They have speedy starters in Domonique Foxworth and Fabian Washington, but speed alone doesn't make you a good cornerback. Foxworth, though, became more aggressive late in training camp. The Ravens' nickel and dime situations are shaky. Nickel back Samari Rolle hasn't practiced yet in training camp because of a neck injury, and possible dime backs Frank Walker, Chris Carr and Lardarius Webb are too inconsistent. Safety Dawan Landry showed in camp that he has rebounded from last year's neck injury, and Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed hasn't lost a step as far as covering ground. The Ravens have solid depth at safety with Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski. As usual, the secondary could be the Ravens Achilles' heel.
SPECIAL TEAMS:: These units might struggle, as well. The Ravens will have good coverage teams because they have an abundance of athletic talent at linebacker and in the secondary. The verdict is still out on the field-goal kickers because both Steve Hauschka and Graham Gano have kicked in only one preseason game, but Hauschka has been more consistent in practice. Sam Koch will handle the punting, but the Ravens are still in search of return specialists. Webb, Carr and Yamon Figurs top the list.
COACHING:: The main philosophy of the defense wasn't going to change with new coordinator Greg Mattison, but it was important to see how he interacted with the players. We now know that this group will play just as hard for Mattison as it did for Rex Ryan. It was important for head coach John Harbaugh to be as consistent with his message during this training camp as he was last year, and he succeeded. Harbaugh's fingerprints are all over this team.
