(Updated: 12:35 p.m.)

As rookies, quarterbacks, and veterans returning from injury take the field for the first practice of the summer on Tuesday, the Ravens will be without several players to start training camp.

Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs was placed on the non-football injury list as he continues to recover from surgery on his partially-torn Achilles tendon. The 29-year-old’s appearance on the list was obviously expected, but linebacker Courtney Upshaw and rookie tight end Bruce Figgins were also included on the list at the start of training camp.

The 35th overall pick in April’s draft, Upshaw tweeted Tuesday morning that he had to sit out the team’s first walk-through after failing the conditioning test. However, the rookie said he has since passed the test and was cleared to practice on Monday.

The Ravens also placed four players on the active physically unable to perform list, including defensive end Pernell McPhee (knee surgery), offensive linemen Jah Reid (calf) and Kelechi Osemele (leg), and wide receiver David Reed (torn ACL). Reed continues to recover from a knee injury suffered last December while the other three dealt with injuries during OTAs and are expected to be ready to practice soon.

Osemele revealed through his Twitter account that he passed the conditioning test on Sunday.

Players placed on the non-football injury and active PUP lists are eligible to return to action at any time, but they are unable to return to the list after practicing. Players on these lists count against the 90-man offseason roster but remain eligible for the reserve PUP list, which sidelines a player for the first six weeks of the regular season while not counting against the 53-man roster.

It is very easy to get caught up in the minutia of the Ravens off-season. None of that really matters until 7 PM on September 10th against the Cincinnati Bengals. I guess I do not find any injuries, contract issues, players who talk, too worrying because the Ravens have one of the top 3 organizations in the NFL. That being said; when I looking at the season ahead, I start with 10 wins automatically and work my way from there.

It is going to be difficult to match the 12-4 record last year because the schedule, on paper, is more difficult. We trade the NFC West for the East, and since we finished in first, welcome New England and Houston. Not to mention a visit for a Raven nemesis, Peyton Manning and his new team, the Denver Broncos on December 16th. (Frankly, I don’t think he will make the trip to Baltimore because of injury) A trip to Kansas City, other than the Barbeque, and Negro League Hall of Fame is never any fun, and flying to San Diego the week after playing in Pittsburgh is a recipe for disaster.

For all the harassment Joe Flacco takes, he is one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the league. With the league rules being what they are, the offense should be fine. The Ray Rice issue will be resolved, but either way, he isn’t going to sit out the entire year and cost himself 7.7 Million. Keep an eye on Bernard Pierce. He is a bruising running back with good deceptive 4.49 speed; ask Maryland. Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta will play a major role in the red zone again this year, and Torrey Smith has a full year underneath his belt. It is not like this offense was horrible last year; they scored 378 points, fourth best in the conference.

The Terrell Suggs injury, although damaging, isn’t the end of the world. If anything, this organization has drafted and signed free agent s well. As I responded at Hooters during the semi finals of the Baltimore Sports Media Superstar contest, a combination of Courtney Upshaw, Paul Kruger, and Sergio Kindle need to seal that edge of the line and get pressure on the quarterback. If they cannot do that to a reasonable level, this could be a long year. This has become a quarterback driven league and he only way to combat it is by moving him off his spot. Sacks are great, quarterback pressures is the real stat. Our defensive backfield is as good is at has been since the Super Bowl era of Chris McAlister, Duane Starks, Rod Woodson, and Kim Herring. The only other concern I have is the pass coverage of our linebackers. Ray Lewis is great, but his pass coverage is below par at this point. He needs come off the field on passing situations, but that is assuming we have someone better, and I do not think that is the case. All this being said, the success of this defense will rest on the front line and how quickly they can get into the backfield. Pernell McPhee, Halota Ngata, and the aforementioned players on the other side of the line need to create havoc, plain and simple!

The one thing about Baltimore that cannot be overstated is how great our home field advantage M&T Bank Stadium has been over the years. In fact, since Joe Flacco has been our signal caller, the Ravens are 27-5 in regular season home games. In that time period only New England has a better home record in the AFC.

Looking at the rest of the division, Pittsburgh is always formidable, but with Todd Haley taking over the offense, and wanting to run more, they could take a step back until a comfort level is reached. Cleveland is still in a rebuilding mode. They must take a page out of the Baltimore Orioles playbook. Everyone is all over Cincinnati and with good reason. I really like Andy Dalton, and A. J. Green, but are they still owned by Mike Brown? Enough said!

All in all and with limited injuries, I look at the Ravens going 11-5, winning the AFC North and getting another home game in the playoffs. I think a bye is going to be more difficult to accomplish, as New England, and Houston have easier divisions to navigate. With the bad taste in my mouth (it was not the chicken wing I was eating) from last year, I am chomping at the bit for this season to get going. Come on September 10th!!!

With 28 seconds left in the 2012 AFC Championship, Joe Flacco faced a second down with one yard to go.  Well, you know what happened next.  Lee Evans dropped a pass in the front corner of the end zone to end a season that was filled with tremendous promise and frustration for the Ravens.

So, what should Ravens fans be looking forward to in 2012?  As always, there is a fair amount to be excited about.  From young players like Courtney UpShaw, to savvy veterans like Ray Lewis, the Ravens always have an abundance of talent to rely on.

But, as of today, there has not been much for Ravens fans to cheer about and it all started with Terrell Suggs.  Suggs tore his ACL earlier in the offseason.  Some mystery still surrounds the injury but that doesn’t matter to me.

What matters to me are the linebackers that will be assigned to take Suggs’s place.  Notice, I did not say replace because no one on the Ravens roster can replace Suggs.

Courtney UpShaw, Paul Kruger, and Sergio Kindle will be assigned to take Suggs’s place at outside linebacker.  What is interesting about these three players is that they were all drafted for one reason.  That was to provide a pass rushing threat opposite Terrell Suggs but Kruger and Kindle have not been able to make a sizeable impact.  While each of these players is capable, it will be interesting to see how they play without Suggs on the field.

Kruger, Kindle, and UpShaw have potential but that only gets you so far in today’s NFL.

Paul Kruger and Pernell McPhee had 12.5 sacks combined last season but what will happen when Suggs is not on the field commanding double teams?  Beating double teams is one of the hardest things to learn when transitioning from college to the NFL and even from High School to college.

Therefore, the outside linebackers will be the Ravens biggest weakness throughout 2012, especially with the evolution of the tight end.  These young linebackers are going to have to cover at some point and the Ravens will be going up against some of the NFL’s best tight ends.

These tight ends include Jermaine Gresham, Brent Celek, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Tony Moeaki, Jason Witten, Owen Daniels, Heath Miller, Antonio Gates, and Fred Davis.

This weakness will be most evident against the Pittsburg Steelers, a team the Ravens face twice in three weeks.  Ben Roethlisberger is the hardest quarterback to tackle in the NFL and there is a big difference between Dean Pees telling his young linebackers how tough it is and actually executing.

If you watched Ron Jaworski’s quarterback countdown on Ben Roethlisberger, one statistic should scare Ravens fans the most.  When Big Ben was playing in a three tight end set last season, Big Ben completed 75 percent if his passes.  Expect the Steelers to put more tight ends on the field to force Kindle, UpShaw, and Kruger to fight through more double teams.

Albert McClellan is a name to keep an eye on for the outside linebacker position.  McClellan played middle linebacker last season against the San Francisco 49ers due to Ray Lewis’s injury.  McClellan totaled four tackles and helped limit Frank Gore to only 39 yards rushing.  McClellan played defensive end Marshall and totaled 19.5 sacks in three years at Marshall so he has some pass rush ability.

I don’t mean to downplay the Ravens outside linebackers but I think it is important to be realistic.  Sergio Kindle has potential but has struggled to get on the field because of an injury.  Kindle has also had trouble learning the playbook throughout his time in Baltimore.

Both T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Lee Evans were additions to the Ravens in the last two off seasons.  Evans showed great chemistry with Flacco in the preseason and T.J. caught a game-winning pass against the Steelers two years ago.  But, both receivers failed the team in the biggest moments.

Enter…Jacoby Jones.  Jones is one of three Houston Texans that have been brought in over the last two seasons.  Bernard Pollard and Vonta Leach being the other two.  Leach and Pollard have been very good players for the Ravens thus far and hopefully, Jacoby Jones can follow suit.

Jones’s presence helps Anquan Boldin the most.  This is because Boldin now lacks the speed that is necessary to have a significant impact on the outside.  Boldin can now move to the slot where he is much more effective.  This will also help Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta because Boldin will command a lot of attention on the inside.

When the Ravens put Jones and Smith on the outside, the defensive backs will be forced to back up to prevent the big play.  This will help Joe Flacco beat cover two defenses, a defensive set he struggled with early in his career.

His struggles against the cover two was because the Ravens lacked a deep threat and to beat a cover two defense, you have to be able to stretch the field and challenge safeties.

This is why players like Troy Polamalu had so much success against Joe Flacco early on.  They were able to roam free because they did not have to worry about receivers outrunning the cornerbacks.

So, when Flacco starts hitting Dickson, Pitta, Boldin, and Rice underneath, the opponents will start bringing their defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage.  Joe Flacco will now be able to take shots down the field more often.  Play-action passes will be deadly in Baltimore’s offense this season.

So how will the Ravens finish the season?  The schedule is brutal which should make obtaining a high playoff seed unlikely.  The secondary will be tested early with the Bengals, Eagles, and Patriots being the first three opponents.

I see the Ravens winning the division once again.  There has been a lot of hype surrounding the Bengals but they are a young team and I don’t trust a team that young against some of the NFL’s elite teams.

Sergio Kindle is an awesome talent but has yet to get on the field because of a fractured skull he suffered in July of 2010.  Kindle was projected as the best 3-4 outside linebacker in the 2010 draft but fell to the second round because of character issues.

Like many Ravens fans, I was elated when the Ravens picked Kindle.  He has a great first step and plays with a high motor and level of passion the Ravens covet in their players.

What is really interesting about Kindle being drafted is that Rob Gronkowski went one pick before Kindle to the New England Patriots.  The Patriots and Ravens shared needs in that draft.  They both needed outside linebackers and tight ends.  If the Patriots had passed on Gronkowski and picked Kindle instead, I believe Gronkowski would be a Raven.  The Ravens later addressed their tight end need when they drafted Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta in the fourth and fifth rounds respectively.

It is amazing to me that Kindle has remained on the roster for so long.  I believe that teams like the Patriots would have cut Kindle a long time ago because of the mystery surrounding his injury, his inability to get on the field, and his struggles learning the playbook.

The Ravens have shown a lot of faith in Kindle for keeping him on the active roster for two years.  They must envision him making a sizeable impact for the Ravens in the years to come.

Kindle does have a great opportunity to make an impact this season.  With the injury to Terrell Suggs, Kindle could have an opportunity to win the starting outside linebacker position.  He will have to compete with Paul Kruger and Courtney UpShaw, the projected starters for this upcoming season.

Even with Paul Kruger and Courtney UpShaw, I believe Kindle has an advantage over Kruger for the starting job.  He has more athletic ability and in my opinion, is better at stopping the run then Kruger.

Now, how could I say that if Kindle hasn’t gotten any playing time?  If you look at his college career, Kindle played a very similar role as Suggs does for the Ravens.  They moved Kindle around at Texas so he was never in the same spot all the time.  Kindle was also a monster when it came to stopping the run.  Kindle registered 34 tackles for loss in three years at Texas contrasting to Kruger who only registered ten and a half.

If Kindle does not get the starting linebacker job, he can still make an impact on special teams and in pass rushing situations.

Kindle will have a lot of competition this summer.  According to reports, Kindle has learned the playbook, which was one of his biggest obstacles.  I think Kindle will make an impact this year.  No one is really expecting him to which means he wont be double teamed if he comes in for passing downs.

I think Kindle is up for the challenge this year and will have five or more sacks in limited playing time.