Bengals shouldn't have much issue putting pressure on Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco

Much has been said this offseason about the demise of the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens while the Cincinnati Bengals have enjoyed nothing but positive press as the team on the rise in the AFC North.

The downfall of the Ravens has been extremely over-exaggerated.

Baltimore lost Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. That's a valid thing to point out when analyzing the offseason for Baltimore. The problem is, Lewis was a liability on the field, and one opposing teams were quick to expose in the passing game.

The same goes for Reed, now a member of the Houston Texans. Reed was good for a big play every now and then but would oft times show his age in coverage and fragility in run support.

There's something to be said for the leadership qualities Reed and Lewis brought to the table, but many are acting as if great leaders such as Haloti Ngata and Ray Rice are gone as well.

Despite what many may lead you to believe, the Ravens had a great offseason. Reed has been replaced by Michael Huff and a first-round rookie in the form of Matt Elam. Expect the same quality of play from the safety position as last season, if not better.

The heart of the defense was neutered with the loss of Lewis and Dannelle Ellerbe, but a promising rookie in Arthur Brown will man the middle with a more athletic presence.

Much has also been said about the loss of outside linebacker Paul Kruger to the rival Cleveland Browns, but he played his best only when Terrelle Suggs was on the field. For whatever reason, the acquisition of one of the NFL's best pass-rushers in Elvis Dumervil has been getting swept under the rug as well.

Did we mention Lardarius Webb is set to return from injury? Webb gave Darrelle Revis a serious run for his money as the best corner in the league before going down with a season-ending injury last year.

If you couldn't tell, defense is why the Ravens won't skip a beat in 2013.

All of this equates to serious issues for the Bengals in the two matchups against Baltimore.

For one, the young Bengals have yet to prove they can get it done consistently in high-pressure games. Every game against Baltimore means something.

Two, the offense could struggle against the Baltimore defense, even if it doesn't have familiar faces. There won't be a slower middle linebacker to exploit anymore. No cornerback to exploit for Andy Dalton when he tosses it up to A.J. Green. Instead, Green will have to battle an elite corner in Webb.

Defensively the Bengals shouldn't have much issue putting pressure on Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco. Running back Ray Rice is another story as he has always given Cincinnati issues. There are holes at both cornerback and strong safety the Bengals have to answer before going against Baltimore or Flacco could pick the defense apart. Can rookie Shawn Williams have an impact at safety? Can Dre Kirkpatrick stay healthy and perform under the pressure of being thrown at constantly in what essentially amounts to his rookie season?

These questions and more will dictate whether or not the Bengals can win against the Ravens in 2013.

It's unlikely the Bengals are taking the Ravens lightly, but it's worth detailing why fans and media should not. The media can tell plenty of stories as ridiculous as Tim Tebow being a starting quarterback.

Cincinnati may be the talk of the town in the AFC North after back-to-back playoff appearances and multiple exceptional drafts, but it's Baltimore that went out and won a Super Bowl.

The Bengals still have plenty to learn from the Ravens.

-- This article from: sports.yahoo.com

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Smith got off to good start

Confidence has never been a problem for Jimmy Smith.

It’s comfort that the third-year cornerback hasn’t had, but is now gaining. And it’s what could lead to a breakout 2013 campaign for the Ravens’ 2011 first-round pick.

After two disappointing seasons in which Smith lost training camp battles, then battled injuries, he is again competing for a starting spot in the Ravens defense, this year with veteran Corey Graham.

Smith got off to good start, as he ran opposite Graham with the first-team defense with Lardarius Webb still rehabbing. Pundits took notice, placing Smith at the top of the list in terms of positive minicamp impressions.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth from Jimmy,” Secondary Coach Teryl Austin said. “He seems like a different guy right now.”

Smith has changed his ways dramatically since college, particularly in the classroom.

At Colorado, the 6-foot-2, fleet-footed cornerback could overwhelm opponents with his athleticism. Opposing quarterbacks hardly even threw his way. So when Smith was studying for an opponent, he said he was really only watching the action as if he were a fan instead of a defender.

“I didn’t really learn in college how to watch film,” Smith said. “I was watching to see who’s good, who’s fast, who’s strong.”

Smith was among those good, fast, strong athletes. He was talented enough to be drafted 27th-overall. But when Smith arrived in the NFL, he found out a high draft status didn’t equal success.

“When you get drafted high, you’re thinking, ‘I got drafted in the first round because I’m capable,’ not thinking of the extras you have to do,” Smith said. “Sometimes you get drafted just off physical skills. You don’t factor in that this is a veteran league and you’ve got to learn how to play in this league.”

Last year, Smith talked to linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed about what they did to become great. Both film junkies, they pointed to dedication in the classroom. Smith started to develop better habits, but once again fell to the injury bug.

On the very first play of his NFL career, Smith suffered a high ankle sprain that knocked him out of that game and four more. Last year, a sports hernia sidelined him for five games, and by the time he returned in Week 15, Graham had seized the starting job.

But Smith’s altered habits paid off in the playoffs, and particularly in Super Bowl XLVII.

In the Ravens’ final goal-line stand in the Super Bowl, Smith diagnosed the final two plays. He left his wide receiver early to break into the flank and clobber 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree, knocking the ball loose on third down and even temporarily blinding the wideout.

Then on fourth down, Smith noticed San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick tap the back of his head before the snap. Smith anticipated a fade to Crabtree, and that’s just what he got. Smith stood up to initial contact and the pass sailed out of bounds.

The study habits that led to that string of plays – among the Ravens’ biggest in Super Bowl XLVII – carried into the offseason.

“I think playing as well as he did the last two playoff games coming off the injury and coming into the offseason knowing that this is a big year for him [was beneficial],” Austin said.

Smith now asks a lot of questions in the classroom. He does his homework too, studying the Ravens’ plays and his practice tape on his iPad. He said he texts Austin nearly every night as he watches film.

“I want to do exactly what they know I can do here,” Smith said.

Smith also took up boxing in the offseason, strengthening his core and shedding 10 pounds. He said he feels like he did in college, and is hoping that the increased strength will keep the injury bug away.

“I guess I’m taking that step to become great,” he said. “I wasn’t doing that to my fullest capability the first couple years.”

Smith still has a tough battle on his hands if he’s going to win a starting job. Graham also looked good throughout minicamp, and also played big in the playoffs. Graham’s two interceptions of Peyton Manning in the divisional playoffs, including one returned for a touchdown and another in overtime, were two of the game’s key plays.

Graham, a former special teams standout, has noticed Smith nipping at his heels in practice.

“He’s doing well too. He’s in good position,” Graham said of Smith. “He’s getting his hands on a few balls. … I’m going to go out there and do my best, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to do the same. Whatever happens is what happens.”

Never lacking in confidence, Smith said he can “taste” the starting job. He said he felt that way every year, but this time he’s in position to actually seize it.

“My rookie season I truly believed I was good enough to go out there and play every single snap,” Smith said with a laugh. “My confidence has never changed, but my preparation has. It makes me a lot more comfortable. I know what I’m doing.”

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Lewis was the lone player who was able to wear the two rings the franchise has earned

The Baltimore Ravens may have lost the two most important players in franchise history in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed this offseason, but that certainly wasn't bringing anyone down on Friday. Just about everyone on the team that won Super Bowl XLVII received the ultimate tangible reward relating to such a victory -- Super Bowl rings. Lewis, who retired after the win, and Reed, who signed with the Houston Texans, attended the ceremony at the team's headquarters in Owings Mills, Md.

"I always told them I wanted them to really feel what the confetti felt like," Lewis said. "Now to be here, to have something that symbolizes it, it's the ultimate because now it connects us forever. It took me 12 years to get back and get another ring. I want them to cherish what this moment feels like right now while we're world champs."

Lewis was the lone player who was able to wear the two rings the franchise has earned -- this new one, and the one the 2000 team won with a 34-7 thrashing of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. For the younger guys, it was the first ring, and the experience was surreal.

"To have it so close, it finally hit me, what exactly we accomplished together," defensive end Terrell Suggs said after the rings were presented. "It didn't take a year. It took me 11 years to get it. It took Coach [John] Harbaugh [from] when he got here in 2008. It finally paid off, all that blood given. There's not a word that describes what I'm feeling and all the emotions. The journey was long, but it was worth it. I will tell you this -- I damn sure want to feel like this again."

Lewis and quarterback Joe Flacco, who put up an MVP performance in the Ravens' 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers, had input on the design of the ring. Designed by Jostens, the ring has 40 round-cut diamonds outlining the Ravens' logo, and the franchise's two Lombardi trophies. Inside the ring, one will find one of Harbaugh's mottos -- "The team, the team, the team" -- and the scores of the Ravens' playoff wins.

"It's kind of un-wearable," Flacco said with a smile. "When I see people for the first time, I'm sure they're going to have some interest in seeing it or at least I'm going to have some interest in showing it off to them. So, I'm definitely going to bring it a couple of places. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm going to wear it, but it's pretty special."

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti ensured that John and David Modell, sons of the late former team owner Art Modell, were present for the ceremony and received rings. However, receiver Anquan Boldin and safety Bernard Pollard did not attend. Boldin was traded to the 49ers in the offseason, and Pollard signed with the Tennessee Titans, Those were two moves in a post-Super Bowl roster shake-up that also saw star outside linebacker Paul Kruger sign with the Cleveland Browns.

"It really symbolizes that this is the last time we're all going to be together as a team, and it's definitely a special moment," receiver Torrey Smith said. " I didn't cry or anything, but I can see how women feel when they get a ring. It has a lot of different meanings. There will never be another season like this. We can win the Super Bowl every year while I'm in the league, and there will be nothing like this one."

Brendon Ayanbadejo is not looking back

Released by the Baltimore Ravens in April, Ayanbadejo remains unemployed, despite coming off a season in which he recorded a career-high total of 43 tackles.

The problem for Ayanbadejo is that he will turn 37 in September and his biggest value comes on special teams. Yes, he had a career year helping the Ravens win the Super Bowl, and yes, the Ravens lost two linebackers -- future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis to retirement and Paul Kruger to free agency. But Ayanbadejo's age plays an important role in the fact that he's still unemployed.

But don't feel sorry for Ayanbadejo. He's certainly not.

"Either way, I'm happy with it," he told USA Today. "If someone needs a linebacker, I'm ready to go. And if not, well, then I'm ready to do the things I haven't had the time to do before. There is a lot of life left to be lived."

After helping Baltimore win the Super Bowl, he has kept himself busy. He hobnobbed with President Obama at the Wednesday ceremony honoring the Ravens, and USA Today points out that he's going to be a guest editor for a LGBT paper called the Washington Blade.

Ayanbadejo has been one of the more vocal supporters in the NFL for gay rights. Along with punter Chris Kluwe, they have been outspoken in their beliefs and both have received their share of criticism. Ironically, both were released this offseason. While Kluwe, who was let go by the Vikings, recently signed with the Oakland Raiders, Ayanbadejo is preparing to proceed in life without football.

Even some of the criticism that Ayanbadejo received has helped his cause. Remember this story about how a Maryland delegate was upset that Ayanbadejo dared use his platform to talk about the gay issue (I mean, what is this: some kind of crazy country that has some sort of silly First Amendment?).

"Many of my constituents and your football supporters are appalled and aghast that a member of the Ravens Football Team would step into this controversial divide and try to sway public opinion one way or the other," Emmett C. Burns wrote in a letter to Ayanbadejo. "Many of your fans are opposed to such a view and feel it has no place in a sport that is strictly for pride, entertainment and excitement."

After that news emerged, Ayanbadejo said he received even more support.

"I have to thank him for making me a global story," Ayanbadejo said. "I've gotten letters from Argentina, Brazil, Australia, all over Europe and the UK, all in support of marriage equality. The guys who put their foot in their mouth make more news than the guys out there doing the right thing."

As for whether that activism has hurt him in the eyes of the league's gate-keepers and job-bestowers, he doesn't think so.

"I graduated college in '99, and I'm going on 37," Ayanbadejo said. "For a guy in my field, I've done everything you can do in the NFL. There's no need to cry for me."