The Baltimore Ravens were very happy with Joe Flacco’s ability to manage games last season as a rookie.  But, in 2009 they will likely run a somewhat more wide open offense.  Don’t expect them to throw the ball all over the place in 2009 just more times than in 2008.  Flacco definately has the arm to get the ball deep but the Ravens don’t have a lot of speed in the WR corps so the Ravens hope Flacco’s timing and judgment will be better on the short stuff in 2009.  Troy Smith will backup Flacco again in 2009.  He will also be used in specialty formations with Flacco which were effective last season as a unique wrinkle on the offense.  If something were to happen to Flacco and Smith were forced into action the Ravens would likely run the ball a lot more.  John Beck will be the #3 QB for the Ravens in 2009 but they hope they don’t need him to play or they would be in trouble.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  B

The Ravens have signed 29-year old WR Kelley Washington to a 1-year deal.  The 6′3″, 215 pound Washington has yet to live up to his ability in his NFL career.  He played in 10 games last season for the Patriots and he caught 1 pass for 3 yards.  Washington has now played in 54 games in his six year NFL career and he has caught 73 passes for 896 yards (12.3 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  The Ravens will give Washington every chance next season to revive his NFL career.

The Ravens have signed undrafted punter/kicker Graham Gano out of Florida State.  He’s a punter by trade but he will battle Steven Hauschka for the right to replace Matt Stover as the Ravens’ placekicker.  Gano played in 43 games in four seasons at Florida State.  In those games he punted the ball 144 times for 6,238 yards (43.3 avg).  He pinned opposing offenses inside the 20-yard line 44 times (30.6%) and had 1 punt blocked.  Gano was the long range kicker for Florida State and it will be interesting to see how he handles the competition for the job.

The Baltimore Ravens didn’t really need another RB but Peerman was too good to pass up in the 6th round.  Peerman is solid in every phase of the game on offense as he’s a solid runner, receiver and blocker.  But what really caught the Ravens’ eye was Peerman’s play on special teams where he’s a standout.  Peerman is only 5′9″ but he weighs a solid 210 pounds.  He’s not a burner however running a 4.55 40.  Peerman played in 41 games (18 starts) in four seasons at Virginia and he carried the ball 382 times for 1,749 yards (4.6 ypc) with 15 TD runs.  He also caught 66 passes for 344 yards (5.2 avg) with 1 TD grab at Virginia.  This was another solid pick by GM Ozzie Newsome.

Davon Drew is a converted QB who is still learning the position.  He is 6′3″, 246 pounds and runs a 4.88 40 which is a tad slow.  Drew is not a good blocker so he will have to earn his keep in the passing game.  Drew played in 40 games (32 starts) in three seasons at Eastern Carolina catching 78 passes for 1,078 yards (13.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Drew will likely take some time to develop into a NFL caliber TE but he’s a good special teams player which should keep him on the roster as a rookie.