Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.Meet The ...
House that Brian Billick built! WOW! Everyone bask in the ambiance of the offensive machine he left behind. What? The almighty offensive guru that built the late 90s Vikings offense couldn't turn around the Ravens putrid O in nine seasons? Billick went through more quarterbacks than successful offensive games, and now John Harbaugh has to start over again, with the introduction of rookie QB Joe Flacco.
The Breakout
Most people are going to jump on Flacco as the QB upon whom to gamble late in the draft, and those same people will expect Kyle Boller to get the snaps if Flacco doesn't. Enter Troy Smith. Obviously I'm not saying Smith's gonna be a stud, but I'm calling him to get the most starts of this bunch. That's worth a gamble in the deepest leagues -- the ones where about 45 QBs are drafted -- especially with a new coaching staff not wanting to over-expose Flacco early in the season.
By and large, you won't find any real "breakout" gem on this team, though.
The Bust
Todd Heap is way overvalued. The tight end position has seen an influx of talent in the past few years, and Heap still doesn't seem healthy after only playing six last year. The new coaching staff shouldn't be as in love with Heap as the Billick Administration, and the QB situation is murky at best. Tight ends are a safety blanket to certain QBs and an afterthought to others. With a revolving door at the position and a sure-to-be heavy reliance on the running game, Heap is not an advisable start at TE ... but he's gonna get taken in the top ten in your league. Just watch. He's all name recognition at this point.
The Depth Chart
QB1 - Kyle Boller/Joe Flacco/Troy Smith
RB1 - Willis McGahee
RB2 - Ray Rice
RB3 - Cory Ross
WR1 - Derrick Mason
WR2 - Mark Clayton
WR3 - Demetrius Williams
TE1 - Todd Heap
K - Matt Stover
The D/ST
Is that seriously the freaking mighty Ravens that I see sitting in the 28-hole of my 2007 stat sheet where it says "D/ST?" Great Odin's Raven! What in the name of Ron Burgundy happened to this proud unit? Well, injuries. Trevor Pryce played five games. Studly corners Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle only combined to play 14, and even Ray Lewis missed a couple games. Though this once-stellar defense is aging in several spots, there's no reason to think that the core of Lewis, McAlister, Rolle, Price, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott is done by any stretch. They do play in an offense-happy division, yeah, but you'd be crazy to not consider them a top ten D ... thus, a fantasy starter once again. Especially if Scott starts paying attention the field instead of the officiating.
The Skinny
Ugh. Slim pickings here. I love the defense for a bounce-back, as I just said. Stover's reliable, but will he get enough scoring opportunities? Probably not. McGahee is going to be a lower-tier #1 fantasy RB or upper-tier 2 -- and he should definitely be handcuffed by the diminutive Rice. The passing game? Expecting more than "sucky" is a stretch. I only picked Smith as a breakout because I believe he'll take the majority of the snaps and most fantasy owners would take Flacco or Boller before him. He still won't be usable unless you can start three QBs or have the most egregiously injury prone roster of all-time.
So to sum it up ... if you play in a 10-12 team league you only need to look at McGahee and the D/ST as starters.
