Since the Baltimore Ravens claimed a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, I’ve found myself asking one particular question in regards to QB Joe Flacco. I’ve probably asked some 15 or 20 NFL analysts who have appeared on “The Reality Check” on WNST that same question.

“Do the Ravens need to put the right playmakers around Flacco to prop him up or should they assume he’s good enough to make lesser players around him better?”

I have probably tended to lean a little bit more to the former. I made my feelings about the team’s decision to trade Anquan Boldin over a desire to save a couple million bucks quite clear. The Ravens however have made it clear at least thus far that they’re operating with a lean to the latter.

The Ravens lost six starters from their Super Bowl winning defense, replacing them with potential starters in Chris Canty, Marcus Spears, Elvis Dumervil, Rolando McClain, Michael Huff and top Draft picks Matt Elam and Arthur Brown. At this time, three starters from their Super Bowl winning offense are currently not on the roster and the Ravens have replaced them with…well…I mean…I guess they DID draft a reserve fullback?

Coming out of the NFL Draft, the Ravens still find themselves particularly thin at receiver. Torrey Smith and his freshly-trimmed locks lead the way with Jacoby Jones, Tandon Doss, David Reed, LaQuan Williams, Deonte Thompson, Tommy Streeter and Aaron Mellette falling in some sort of similar order behind. The Ravens will certainly have high expectations for TE Dennis Pitta (who we might not see back in Baltimore for awhile as he hopes to get a long-term deal) as well as fellow TE Ed Dickson.

This group makes you believe the Ravens are thinking more along the lines of “Joe Flacco is good enough to make these guys better.” It’s not so terribly unthinkable that this group could help the Ravens win a third straight AFC North title. Certainly the New York Giants felt comfortable enough with Eli Manning under center that they were willing to simply elevate Domenik Hixon and some unknown receiver from UMass named Victor Cruz going into the 2011 season. For their troubles, the Giants were rewarded with their second Vince Lombardi Trophy in the Tom Coughlin era.

Returning with this group would inherently mark a belief that Joe Flacco has reached the level where his ability in Jim Caldwell’s offense is enough to make those he throws the football to better. A decision to obtain a veteran WR cut before the start of the season (similar to what the Ravens did with T.J. Houshmandzadeh in 2010) or to deal for a veteran WR (similar to what the Ravens did in 2011 with Lee Evans) or even to add one more current free agent receiver (Brandon Stokley remains on the market?) might mark more of a belief that the team still needs to help prop up their quarterback via more talented offensive weapons.

A similar situation continues to play out at left tackle. 5th round pick Ricky Wagner is unlikely to be of any sort of help this season, meaning the Ravens’ options are Kelechi Osemele, a possible return of Bryant McKinnie and similar late offseason considerations.

The Ravens may well believe Flacco’s quicker release in the Caldwell offense makes the need for a left tackle upgrade less necessary. The team won a Super Bowl with a left tackle who played significantly in only one regular season game. The Super Bowl winning left tackles in the prior three seasons were Jermon Bushrod, Chad Clifton and David Diehl. All were nice players, none Hall of Famers. The quarterbacks they protected for were Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning.

The Ravens made it quite clear that they feel Flacco is in that group, giving him a contract worth $120 million ($52 million guaranteed) this offseason. That decision made the organization’s faith in their sixth year starter evident, but the decisions they’ve made since then have made it even more so apparent.

The roster we see at OTA’s and minicamp in the next month won’t be a direct reflection of the roster that invades Denver September 5th to face the Broncos, but there won’t be many drastic roster changes to be made.

The Ravens won’t be better offensively in 2013 because of the big splash they made in free agency. They won’t be better offensively in 2013 because they drafted a hot shot receiver or mountainous offensive tackle out of the SEC at the back end of the first round.

Instead, they’ll hope to be better offensively in 2013 simply because of how they REALLY spent their money in free agency…their quarterback. They clearly think the guy is ready to make the rest of the group even better.

I guess my question has essentially been answered. The only question moving forward will be whether or not the decision was the right one.

-G

Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith has said goodbye to his trademark look since his days starring at the University of Maryland.

The 24-year-old had teased cutting off his dreadlocks in the past but officially changed up his hairdo on Sunday as fans provided mixed reviews. The 2011 second-round pick had been pulled down by his hair in the past, prompting fans and media to ask whether he should cut it off to prevent slower players from catching him.

Smith broke the news via his official Twitter account by writing, “Just a lil change…same face and big cheesy smile.”

The receiver explained that he was simply growing tired of the long locks, but fans will hope the haircut doesn’t have the same impact it had on Samson in the Bible. Of course, the possibility of the new look making the already-speedy Smith a split-second faster is a scary proposition for opposing defensive backs.

Because I refuse to put a grade on a draft that needs a couple years in order to truly be evaluated, I instead offer a thought on each of the 10 selections the Ravens made in the 2013 NFL Draft this weekend.

Some are serious, others are not, and you can guarantee you won’t find a silly letter grade attached to any of them.

1. Round 1 – S Matt Elam, Florida
Thought: The Ravens are over the moon for Elam, but you do wonder if his propensity for the big hit will draw untimely penalties in the same way Bernard Pollard would.

2. Round 2 – LB Arthur Brown, Kansas State
Thought: No one will ever be Ray Lewis, but Brown’s skill set provides the Ravens with a complete linebacker who’s strong in pass coverage, something they were severely lacking.

3. Round 3 – DT Brandon Williams, Missouri Southern State
Thought: It’s great that the 335-pounder can walk on his hands, but that act of athleticism is too reminiscent of Kyle Boller being able to throw a football through the uprights while on a knee at the 50 for me to really care.

4. Round 4 – DE John Simon, Ohio State
Thought: The Jarret Johnson comparisons have already been made, but did Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer mean “John” or “Simon” when he said he’d name his son after the new Ravens outside linebacker?

5. Round 4 – FB Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard
Thought: General manager Ozzie Newsome didn’t dismiss the idea that the Ravens could keep both Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach and Juszczyk on the 53-man roster this year, but it wasn’t a ringing endorsement of the idea either.

6. Round 5 – OL Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin
Thought: The Ravens technically drafted a left tackle on Saturday, but Wagner’s feet aren’t quick enough for the position at the next level, meaning he’ll likely find a home at guard or right tackle with the Ravens.

7. Round 6 – DE Kapron Lewis-Moore, Notre Dame
Thought: Still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the BCS title game, Lewis-Moore is one to watch for 2014 after being a co-captain and four-year starter for the Fighting Irish.

8. Round 6 – C Ryan Jensen, Colorado State-Pueblo
Thought: Raise your hand if you had never even heard of Colorado State-Pueblo — who brought back football in 2008 after a 24-year hiatus — let alone this offensive lineman prior to Saturday afternoon.

9. Round 7 – WR Aaron Mellette, Elon
Thought: You’ll continually be reminded he’s a seventh-round pick from an FCS school, but it’s difficult not to be intrigued with the 6-foot-2, 217-pound frame and eye-popping production (210 catches and 30 touchdowns in the last two seasons).

10. Round 7 – CB Marc Anthony, California
Thought: You have to feel good for Anthony making it to the NFL after putting up with years of jokes about Cleopatra, Jennifer Lopez, and being a Grammy award-winning singer.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens appeared to accomplish a great deal by the conclusion of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Frankly, to evaluate a draft as good or bad immediately after it takes place is a pointless endeavor, but you can look at a team’s list of needs entering the annual event to determine how successful an organization was in addressing those positions. Whether those picks ultimately work out or not won’t be known for a few years in many cases.

General manager Ozzie Newsome did what he set out to do after stating just a few days after the Super Bowl that the Ravens needed to get stronger up the middle defensively. With their first three picks of the draft, the Ravens selected Florida safety Matt Elam, Kansas State inside linebacker Arthur Brown, and Missouri Southern State defensive tackle Brandon Williams to add to the middle of defensive coordinator Dean Pees’ unit.

Baltimore added more depth to its front seven with the selections of defensive ends John Simon (Ohio State) and Kapron Lewis-Moore (Notre Dame), though the latter is currently recovering from a torn ACL sustained in the BCS national title game. The Ravens added interior offensive line depth with the additions of Wisconsin’s Ricky Wagner and Ryan Jensen of Colorado State-Pueblo. A cornerback was drafted with California’s Marc Anthony, reinforcing Newsome’s proclamation before the draft that you can never have too many despite the Ravens already having quality depth at the positon.

The Ravens found their fullback of the future in Harvard’s Kyle Juszczyk, who may even push veteran Vonta Leach off the roster should Newsome decide the team needs an extra $3 million in cap space to address other areas. Juszczyk isn’t the same punishing blocker that Leach is, but he could serve in an H-back capacity with his impressive ability as a receiver out of the backfield.

Newsome, assistant general manager Eric DeCosta, director of college scouting Joe Hortiz, and head coach John Harbaugh deserve praise for addressing many of the needs created by a plethora of free-agent departures, difficult releases, and retirements made earlier this offseason.

But the fact that the Ravens were unable to significantly address two of their most glaring questions, left tackle and wide receiver, is one that cannot be dismissed. The fifth-round selection Wagner played left tackle for the Badgers, but he isn’t considered quick enough for the position at the next level and the Ravens have already said they view him as more of a guard. Seventh-round receiver Aaron Mellette posted big-time numbers at FCS school Elon, but to say he’s any better the other young receivers currently in the mix on the roster would be a stretch.

Protecting quarterback Joe Flacco’s blindside and providing him another trustworthy receiving target are two obligations that remain unfulfilled, which is concerning when most looked to the draft as the primary avenue to address them. As Newsome said in the Ravens’ post-draft press conference on Sunday evening, much could still change between now and the start of the season on Sept. 5.

As it relates to those two positions, many will certainly hope so.

“If you look at our history, we picked up Willie Anderson a week before our first game,” Newsome said. “We picked up Bryant McKinnie before the last preseason game. It’s so fluid. We don’t know what’s going to happen between now and then, so everything has to remain fluid.”

In fairness to the Ravens’ brass, the possibility of adding anything more than a project at left tackle was never going to be easy when picking at the end of each round as the Super Bowl champion. The top three left tackle prospects in this year’s draft were gone in the first four picks of the first round and the tier of tackles — including Florida State’s Menelik Watson and Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Terron Armstead — that was available to the Ravens didn’t stack up as favorably as the defensive selections of Elam and Brown in the first two rounds.

The Ravens said before the draft that second-year lineman Kelechi Osemele would be their starting left tackle if the season were to begin today and it appears nothing’s changed in that regard. Of course, the absence of a new tackle prospect will reignite desires for Baltimore to re-sign the veteran McKinnie to at least serve as an insurance policy for Osemele.

The only other obvious option out there appears to be the exploration of a trade for Kansas City’s franchise player Branden Albert, who sees the writing on the wall after the Chiefs took Central Michigan left tackle Eric Fisher with the first overall pick. However, the Chiefs’ asking price for Albert won’t be cheap and the 28-year-old seeks an expensive long-term contract.

Even if new run-game coordinator and highly-respective offensive line guru Juan Castillo believes Osemele is capable of handling the left tackle spot, it’s difficult to imagine the Ravens not bringing in another tackle to at least compete. Newsome didn’t sound too concerned when asked about the potential need to add a veteran, however.

“We’ll get the chance to roll the ball out there this week,” Newsome said. “You just can’t go against each other. We’ll have somebody lined up at left tackle.”

Replacing the production of veteran Anquan Boldin was another need many viewed as a priority for the Ravens and the organization praised the depth of the position in this year’s draft. As a result, most assumed the Ravens would come away with a wideout at some point during the first two days of the draft, but a receiver’s name wasn’t called by the Ravens until Mellette was announced as the 238th overall pick of the draft.

The outcome was similar to last year when the Ravens did not choose Tommy Streeter until the sixth round. Once again, Newsome remained true to the board this year, even as several well-regarded receivers appeared to slide more than many experts thought they would on Day 3.

Of course, the Ravens were also able to sign wide receiver Jacoby Jones after last year’s draft and the speedy return specialist also served as an upgrade at the No.3 receiver spot. It’s possible a similar scenario will play out when teams around the league readjust their depth charts with a new batch of rookies joining the fold.

“Were there receivers in every round that we considered? Yes,” Newsome said. “Did one receiver get taken when we were set to take the guy? No, that did not happen at that point. As far as [Mellette], when we got to that point in the draft, he was our highest-rated guy and that’s why we decided to take him.”

The 6-foot-3, 217-pound Mellette was wildly productive in his career at Elon, catching a remarkable 210 passes and 30 touchdowns over his final two collegiate seasons. His 4.54-second 40-time suggests he may have enough speed to complement his impressive size, but to consider him to be anything more than a long-term project would be too ambitious.

The Ravens have thrown out many compliments for the likes of Tandon Doss, Deonte Thompson, and David Reed as it pertains to the slot receiver spot, but to expect any of the aforementioned names to step up in a dramatic way to replace Boldin’s production is asking to be disappointed. Maybe Mellette or Streeter can be a diamond in the rough, but there were reasons why so many teams — including the Ravens multiple times — passed on these tall and speedy receivers.

For now, the burden falls heavily on Torrey Smith and Dennis Pitta as well as Flacco to overcome the absence of the safety net Boldin provided when the vertical passing game was struggling.

As they will at the offensive tackle position, the Ravens will keep their eyes open to other teams potentially releasing veteran receivers or dangling them in trades as a result of what they fetched in this weekend’s draft. Newsome has used future draft picks to acquire veterans before and certainly wouldn’t hesitate if the right opportunity were to come along.

Perhaps another veteran receiver or left tackle drops into the Ravens’ lap between now and the start of the season, but it’s impossible not to feel uneasy about each position with the draft now coming and going.

And as good as this draft might ultimately end up being in other areas, it did very little to answer those two major questions.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was in Baltimore on Friday to settle a bet he made with the city’s mayor on the outcome of the Super Bowl game between the 49ers and Ravens in February.

Lee agreed on a friendly wager with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake ahead of the big game in New Orleans on Feb. 3, in which the 49ers fell 34-31.

As the losing mayor, Lee visited the winning city and started his day cooking Maryland blue crabs at Faidley’s Seafood at Lexington Market.

Rawlings-Blake then hosted Lee in a day of service.

The mayors attended a kick-off revitalization event at a vacant lot with Baltimore-based organization Power in Dirt and AmeriCorps, which is a federal community service agency.

Other events scheduled for the day were a repair of a police station, and a tutoring session with the city initiative, “Third Grade Reads,” which trains volunteers to be reading tutors for first-, second-, and third-graders who are reading below grade level.

(Report courtesy of Bay Area News)

The Ravens completed their 10-man draft process Saturday night, and quickly moved toward the next process of the NFL off-season and an area that they have had huge success in-the rookie free agent pool.

The team invited over 15 players to their off-season camps, highlighted by Maryland TE Matt Furstenburg, who had an impressive showing at the Combine.

Murphy Holloway, who was a member of the NCAA Tournament-bound Ole Miss basketball team, is trying to break onto an NFL roster as a tight end and will attempt to do so in Baltimore. Trying to replicate the success of Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates as converted basketball players, the 6’7” 240 lb Holloway averaged double-digit points for the Rebels this season.

Among the other invites included Army QB Trent Steelman, who will likely try to make it in the NFL as a WR. Towson Tigers WR Gerrard Sheppard also received an invitation to camp from the Ravens, as well as Penn DL and Gilman grad Brandon Copeland.

Jeff Braun, a guard out of West Virginia, signed with the Ravens. Braun played prep basketball and football at Winters Mill High School in Westminster Maryland.

Other rookies receiving invitations to camp from Baltimore include:

Chris Harris, TE-Elon

Jordan Devey, OL-Memphis

Will Pericak, DE-Colorado

Brynden Trawick, S-Troy

Jose Cheeseborough, DB-Florida International

Omarius Hines, H-Back-Florida

Ray Holley, RB/WR-Louisiana Tech

Nathan Stanley, QB-Southeastern Louisiana

Rogers Gaines, OT-Tennessee State

Moe Lee, DB-Utah

All of these players and the Ravens 10 draft picks will be in Baltimore Thursday for the start of rookie mini-camp.

Be sure to follow WNST on Twitter for your Ravens news! WNST-We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports!

The Baltimore Ravens added seven new players on the final day of the 2013 NFL Draft.

In the 4th round (129th overall pick), the Ravens selected Ohio State DL John Simon. Here’s a look at Simon from the Buckeyes’ 2012 win over Nebraska…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPAWU1Oc1iw

And a look at the OSU pass rusher from their 2012 win over Penn State…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpCJe4Djy_w

And here’s Simon campaigning to get on the cover of the EA Sports NCAA Football video game…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_jCllrixIk

We saw Brandon Williams’ arms Friday night, his new teammate’s are pretty impressive as well.

Simon received high praise from OSU coach Urban Meyer (courtesy of Eleven Warriors)…

Also in the 4th round (130th overall), the Ravens selected Harvard FB/TE Kyle Juszczyk. Here he is in action from Senior Bowl week…

And an overall career highlight package for the Crimson H-Back…

Juszczyk shared his excitement via Twitter…

Where he had previously shared his disbelief about how much someone was charging for his autograph…

In the 5th round (168th overall), the pick was Wisconsin OL Ricky Wagner. Here’s a look at Wagner from the Badgers’ 2011 loss to Ohio State…

In the 6th round (200th overall), the Ravens went with Notre Dame DL Kapron Lewis-Moore. Here’s Lewis-Moore’s performance in the Fighting Irish’s 2012 win over USC…

Based on this magazine cover, I think we can guess Lewis-Moore has a pretty good personality…

He also seemed quite upbeat despite ACL surgery after the Orange Bowl…

Lewis-Moore had a fun interaction with ESPN’s Rick Reilly…

In the 6th round (203rd overall), the Ravens brought Colorado State-Pueblo Center Ryan Jensen to the team. Here’s a highlight package from the 2011 season…

The CSU-Pueblo team did a “Harlem Shake” video last year…

Jensen Tweeted out a photo earlier this month of a quote that you might be familiar with as a Ravens fan. It’s one of John Harbaugh’s favorites…

In the 7th round (238th overall), the Ravens selected Elon WR Aaron Mellette. Here’s a career highlight package for Mellette…

And some highlights from the Phoenix’s 2012 loss to North Carolina…

Someone is going to have to let him know that his hat (and any friendship with Duke’s Ryan Kelly) is now completely unacceptable…

With their final 7th round pick (247th overall), the Ravens selected California CB Marc Anthony.  We were all thinking the same thing.

Turns out it was a different guy.

Here are some highlights from Cal’s 2012 loss to Stanford…

Hear from Simon, Juszczyk, Wagner, Lewis-Moore and Mallette in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault at WNST.net.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Coming away with seven more defensive players on the final day of the NFL Draft, the Ravens will now look to the next phase of the offseason with a new batch of rookies.

The Ravens selected Florida safety Matt Elam with the 32nd overall pick, addressing an immediate need at safety following the departures of Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard earlier this offseason. Of course, Baltimore still would like to address needs at inside linebacker, wide receiver, and left tackle, and the profile of this year’s draft suggested the best value would fall in the second, third, and fourth rounds.

General manager Ozzie Newsome and the front office expressed optimism on Thursday night that plenty of “draftable” players remained on the board as the Ravens entered Friday slotted to have the 62nd and 94th overall picks. Considering they originally held nine third-day picks, the Ravens were a good bet to trade up at some point Friday night and did so in the second round in order to draft Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown.

With their third-round pick, the Ravens chose defensive tackle Brandon Williams of Missouri Southern State.

In order to move up to the 56th overall pick, the Ravens surrendered their original second-round pick (62nd overall) as well as the 165th (fifth round) and 199th picks (sixth round). Coincidentally, the 199th pick was acquired from San Francisco when the Ravens traded Anquan Boldin at the beginning of last month.

Elam and defensive coordinator Dean Pees met with the local media on Friday afternoon. You can listen to the press conference HERE.

Here’s a breakdown of what the Ravens were able to add over the last three days:

Round 1, No. 32 overall – S Matt Elam, Florida
Round 2, No. 56 overall – LB Arthur Brown, Kansas State
Round 3, No. 94 overall – DT Brandon Williams, Missouri Southern State
Round 4, No. 129 overall – DE John Simon, Ohio State
Round 4, No. 130 overall (compensatory) – FB Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard
Round 5, No. 168 overall (compensatory) – OL Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin
Round 6, No. 200 overall – DE Kapron Lewis-Moore, Notre Dame
Round 6, No. 203 overall (compensatory) – C Ryan Jensen, Colorado State-Pueblo
Round 7, No. 238 overall – WR Aaron Mellette, Elon
Round 7, No. 247 overall (compensatory) - CB Marc Anthony, California

* Compensatory picks may not be traded.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens concluded their 2013 draft by selecting California cornerback Marc Anthony in the seventh round with the 247th overall pick.

Anthony was a three-year starter for the Bears and posted 138 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 21 pass breakups, and five interceptions. At 5-foot-11 and 196 pounds, the 23-year-old projects to compete for a roster spot via special teams and depth in the secondary.

General manager Ozzie Newsome said prior to the draft that you can never have too many cornerbacks, so the Ravens’ decision to take one with their final pick is hardly surprising.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens waited until the seventh round to address the wide receiver position by drafting Elon’s Aaron Mellette with the 238th overall selection on Saturday.

At 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds, the FCS product has excellent size and good straight-line speed by running a 4.54-second 40-yard dash. Last season, Mellette started all 11 games and caught 97 passes for 1,398 yards and 18 touchdowns.

His 2011 season was even better as he caught 113 passes and averaged 14.5 yards per catch while catching 12 touchdowns. That production earned him first-team All-America honors as he led the FCS in both receptions per game (10.27) and receiving yards per game (149.0).

Mellette is an intriguing prospect that many thought would go in the middle part of the draft, making his selection great value in the final round. The Ravens hadn’t added a wide receiver since trading Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers for a sixth-round pick on the eve of free agency in March.