SB Nation - Drew Bennett

MCM's Tennessee Titans Team of the Decade

Jimmy — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:06:16 -0000

I made the team!! (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

We are continuing our "of the decade" series today with the Titans team of the decade. This list was compiled by August, Hal, Gramsey, and me. It was a fun exercise. Some of the selections were no brainers that were easily agreed on by all parties, but there were a few that were hotly debated.

The team and some comments on it after the jump.

OFFENSE

QB- Steve McNair
RB- Chris Johnson
FB- Lorenzo Neal
WR- Derrick Mason
WR- Drew Bennett
TE- Frank Wycheck
OT- Brad Hopkins
OT- Michael Roos
OG- Bruce Matthews
OG- Zach Piller
C- Kevin Mawae

DEFENSE

DE- Jevon Kearse
DE- Kyle Vanden Bosch
DT- Kevin Carter
DT- Albert Haynesworth
LB- Keith Bulluck
LB- David Thornton
LB- Randall Godfrey
CB- Samari Rolle
CB- Cortland Finnegan
S- Chris Hope
S- Michael Griffin

SPECIAL TEAMS

K- Rob Bironas
P- Craig Hentrich
RS- Derrick Mason
LS- Ken Amato

A few thoughts:

The first debate we really had was between CJ and Eddie George. It seems somewhat blasphemous to keep Eddie off the team, but you can't include 1999 and without that CJ's numbers in 2 years are more impressive.
We all wanted to come up with a way not to put Drew Bennett on the team because all any of us can think of when we think of Drew is the drop in New England, but when you look at the numbers he had to be there.
Gramsey wants Sarge over Lorenzo, but the thing that gave Lorenzo the nod for the rest of us was the decline in Eddie's career when he left.
Everything else offensively is pretty much a no-brainer.
We cheated a little bit on the defensive line putting Carter in there at tackle. He did play some tackle in his time here, but it really came down to the fact that those four guys are the four that it had to be. Who else would you put at tackle? Tony Brown was close, but Carter's numbers were so good that it was justifiable.
Linebacker was a little bit of a debate between Randall Godfrey and Peter Sirmon, but Godfrey was more dominating so he got the nod.
The safety positions might have taken us the longest. Blaine Bishop was the first thought in everyone's head, but when you look at the numbers from this decade his aren't that good. Griff would have made it a lot easier on us had he not gone in the tank this year, but his season last year was better than any season posted by a safety in the last 10 years- ergo he makes the list.
The returner debate is still going on between the four of us as I am writing this post. The numbers are close enough that I can put Mason on the list and not feel bad about it. Gramsey and Hal are all about he who shall not be named. He was electric, but he only did it for 2 seasons. That is how I am justifying leaving him off. Gramsey says I will close the comments so no one can prove me wrong. He doesn't have that "Hater" title for nothing. Have at it..

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: We're Groovin', Groovin' Edition

August West — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:50:44 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

For all of the unpredictability of this season, there's one thing we can still count on: Chris Johnson is about to start breaking some very lofty franchise, and possibly NFL, records.

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Invaluable reader ctex80 send us towards this stellar profile on Vince Young that Lee Jenkins penned for Sports Illustrated. It does a better job than many at showing just how deep the memory of Steve McNair runs for that man. The opening paragraph is enough to warm the cold, calloused heart of even most Texans fans:

When Vince Young prays before a game, he asks God to tap Steve McNair on the shoulder, to let him know he's loved and to let him know it's game time. Like any good quarterback Young has an unusual ability to feel the presence of people he cannot always see, so as he crouches under center, he'll tell you, he knows running back Chris Johnson is lined up behind him and McNair is behind him too. "He's standing in the pocket with me," Young says of McNair.

Speaking of gone too soon, yesterday was the 42nd anniversary of the day some cruel deity called back one of his greatest gifts to the world: the voice and stylings of Otis Redding. Once Otis gets in your ear drums, he just Can't Turn You Loose! It's the second half of the medley, but so help me if I find out you skipped over Pain in my Heart I'll track you down and do terrible, terrible things.

491: that's how many yards Chris Johnson needs to cross the 2,000 mark. 597: that's how many yards CJ needs to surpass Eric Dickerson and reach NFL immortality.

Follow us through the jump for more on the rushing record and VY's injury...

PFW says breaking the rushing record certainly isn't impossible for CJ, and the deliver scouting reports on the previous members of the 2,000 yard club.

CJ has been on the injury report with an ankle injury, but the company line coming out of Baptist Sports Park is that CJ's 'fine', and Fisher is just giving CJ ann easy week so he can rest-up for the home stretch.

So we all heard about Vince Young tweaking his injured knee and being pulled from practice yesterday. Jeff Fisher sounds completely sure that Vince will be able to go on Sunday, and that they mostly yanked him from practice as a precaution against further damage.

Tony Brown was fined $10K for reaching into the face mask of Colt's instigator Kyle DeVan last Sunday. Of course DeVan wasn't punished for pushing Brown over the pile well after the whistle or the uppercut to the chin on the following play that sent Brown's helmet flying. For those who didn't watch the game Sunday, it was that kind of officiating.

Breaking News: A seldom used (this year, at least) NFL back-up RB wants to carry more of the load! But, because he's a stand-up guy, he's complementary of everyone and supports the starter who may be having one of the best seasons in NFL history.

Here, several Titans discuss the remote possibility of the playoffs.

Astute reader/commenter ryansax points us towards this Yahoo! Sports post that looks at the greatest Fantasy Football playoff runs of all time, and ranks Billy Volek to Drew Bennett in 2004 as the best.

Ha ha... ha ha ha ha.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAAHHA!!!!! Anybody got a towel I can wipe these tears of laughter with? I friggin' love it when these guys lose now.

Turf Show Times takes a look at the similarities and differences between the Titans and Saints.

PFW praises our numbers-over-talent defensive line, but fears that there will be drastic changes to the unit this off-season.

Have love, need links: mcmaugustwest@gmail.com

The Misuse of LenDale White

Jimmy — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:58:32 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Pondering why LenDale isn't getting the ball more. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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Last week I wrote a post titled "Everything That is Wrong with the 2009 Tennessee Titans in One Drive," and darned if we didn't see almost the exact same situation in last night's loss to the Colts. Here is the scenario:

The score was 7-6 Colts. The Titans defense had just forced the Colts offense to go three and out. A Mark Jones 15-yard return gave the Titans the ball at their own 32 yard line. The first play was a run with Chris Johnson that got stopped for -3 yards, but wait, their was a defensive holding penalty on the Colts that gave the Titans a 1st and 10 at the 37. LenDale White carried the ball on the next two plays for gains of 6 and 3 respectively. So that sets up a 3rd and 1 against an undersized defense. Instead of the obvious call, LenDale up the middle, the Titans decide to throw the ball 20 yards down the field to the sure-handed Justin Gage. Of course, the pass falls incomplete. Instead of lining up and running the ball on 4th and 1, the Titans decided to punt the ball back to Peyton Manning. He, of course, leads the Colts right down the field for a touchdown. Good thing we played the percentages there.

Why is LenDale even on the team if they aren't going to use him in that situation. I was so excited about the prospects of having Mike Heimerdinger back as the offensive coordinator. He was able to do so much with Steve McNair and Eddie George in his first tour here, but lately it seems that he has lost his mind. The whole taking the shots down the field worked with McNair throwing to Derrick Mason and even Drew Bennett. It is high time he got his mind around the fact that Kerry Collins, Gage, and Nate Washington are not of that caliber.

Last night was the perfect time to give LenDale the ball 20+ times. I understand the argument against this is that takes the Titans most dangerous weapon, Chris Johnson, off the field, but if we are being honest, CJ had a bad game last night. He was running everything side to side instead of north and south. Again, if there were ever a defense to run north and south against instead of east and west, it is the Colts defense that is undersized and built on speed. Nevermind the fact that Lendale, given 20+ carries, could wear down a defense and keep Peyton on the sideline. Win, win, win.

Heimerdinger needs to get his head out of his butt and start calling the plays to this team's strengths. If not, it is time for him to move on once again.

Baltimore Ravens Training Camp: Tuesday's PM Practice

Bruce Raffel — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:00:31 -0000

After a spirited practice at Training Camp in the morning, the team was back out there at 3:30pm Tuesday afternnoon. Here are some notes on my observations:

The QB's took turns throwing nice passes to WR's Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Justin Harper, Eron Riley, Isaiah Williams and TE L.J. Smith. Flacco's passes to Clayton look sharp as he catches everything with the glue-like hands that a #1 wide receiver should have. D. Williams looks confident and J. Harper also looks good. L.J. Smith looks every bit the receiver we were looking for when we signed him. He looks like a wide receiver in a tight end's body.

Flacco was zipping passes all over the field. There is no question who the starter is in his mind this year, as well as everyone else's mind, including both other QB's Troy Smith and John Beck.

There is a new receiver in camp, already wearing what was supposed to be Drew Bennett's number 18, although his name is not even stitched onto his jersey yet. He is little known Jayson Foster, whom we will know slightly more about at Wednesday's practice other than that he is only around 5'7" tall, but very quick after the catch.

Troy Smith threw a nice deep ball to WR Eron Riley. D-Will is running like he has something to prove to both himself and everyone else - which he does - stay healthy all season!

Offensive linemen Robby Felix and Bryan Mattison were seen bustin' butt in one-on-one drills over and over again. Felix was the undrafted free agent center who suffered a stroke but was looking to be one of the top centers coming out of college, while Mattison is the son of Defensive Coordinater, Greg Mattison.

7-on-7 Drills:

CB Derrick Martin read QB John Beck's eyes, rushed in to pick one off his shoetops and took it to the house. Seldom used RB Matt Lawrence is contantly hustling, but seems like a longshot although he plays with versatility, running and catching well. Flacco hits J. Harper in traffic with a bullet. A small but significant play had Flacco looking the entire defense to his right then threw left to RB Cedric Peerman underneath for a nice gain.

Flacco to Harper is a common occurrence. Clayton has a nice fingertip grab on a curl-in completion from Flacco. D. Williams snatched a rope from Troy Smith right in front of L. Webb.

Click on the "Jump" for some photos from the afternoon session.

Check out these photos form Tuesday, July 28th afternoon practice:

Flacco up at the line of scrimmage:

TE L.J. Smith makes a nice grab:

WR Justin Harper about to catch a long one:

RB Willis McGahee does some rope drills:

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: My Bironas Edition

August West — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:48:30 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Big kick Rob is working to make those kicks even bigger,

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If we're going to be successful, we're going to need great play from Rob Bironas, Craig Hentrich and newly signed kick returner Mark Jones. Even if the offense fulfills it's potential, special teams will still be the backbone of any team Jeff Fisher coaches.

Advanced stat guy (and Stampede Blue favorite) KC Joyner takes a look at Albert Haynesworth and Jason Jones in this post for the New York Times' NFL blog.

Much love to SoCalTitan for pointing out that ESPN's E:60 will be returning tonight, and the first episode features the full interview between Michael Smith and Vince Young (parts of which were leaked months ago).

Follow us through the jump to discover how three great games can impact your bottom line...

Yahoo!'s Inside Slant lets Drew Rosenhaus pontificate on the greatness of Bo Scaife.

Diligent reader and commenter Ryan Sax points us towards Chris Chase at Shutdown Corner, who writes about that magical three game stretch Drew Bennett and Billy Volek had back in 2005. His totals for those three games were 28 catches, 517 yards and 8 touchdowns; the feat put him in rare company if only for a second and plumped up those stats before leaving for St. Louis after the next season.

Speaking of Bennett, don't you love how the Ravens are left to 'fill the void' of a guy who never played a snap for them? Sports journalists are dumb.

If there's anything you would like to share with the MCM community, please take advantage of the comments, fanshots and fanposts to do so! You can also email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com.

Note to Shutdown Corner: Bengals' Chad Ochocinco Johnson had an impressive three-game stretch too

Kirkendall — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:50:58 -0000

More photos » by Tom Uhlman - AP

6 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver Chad Ochocinco catches a pass during football practice in Cincinnati on Friday June 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

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The topic. Greatest three-game stretch by a wide receiver. The issue. Negligence. Drew Bennett spent two days as the Baltimore Ravens' newest wide receiver; signing on Friday, retiring on Sunday. It was weird. Like finding yourself awoken by a terrible mistake. So you look for an out. Any out. No matter how convincing or unconvincing it is. It's an out. That's the only end game. My knee kind of hurts. Bye.

After that sequence of events, Shutdown Corner's Chris Chase writes that Drew Bennett had the "greatest three-game stretch in recent NFL history."

For three games in Weeks 13-15 of the 2005 season, Bennett put up stunning, historic numbers for the Tennessee Titans. Catching balls from backup Billy Volek(notes), Bennett posted 28 receptions, 517 yards and eight touchdowns in those three games. In comparison, here are the best three-game totals from some of the premiere receivers in NFL history:

Jerry Rice(notes): 32 receptions, 563 yards, 3 touchdowns

Marvin Harrison(notes): 28 receptions, 421 yards, 6 touchdowns

Randy Moss(notes): 22 receptions, 403 yards, 5 touchdowns

Terrell Owens(notes): 24 receptions, 472 yards, 7 touchdowns

Oh, really?

Let's rewind a moment, for a team that Shutdown Corner only talks about when they're doing crazy stuff off-the-field. From week 10 in 2006 to week 12, Chad Johnson (what he was known back then as) recorded 24 receptions for 573 yards and five touchdowns. The yardage is more than any of those receivers and all three of Johnson's stats during his three-game stretch is superior than Moss'. And four of the five touchdowns went for 51, 74, 41 and 60 yards.

Johnson's performance was better than Bennett's. Statistically speaking, not so much. Comparable at best. But in those three games, Johnson did more to help his team win than Bennett did; the Titans lost all three games in which Bennett recorded this accomplishment. Granted, it's not Bennett's fault. Scoring eight touchdowns really is doing everything you could possibly do. However, in Johnson's case, two touchdowns broke a tie against the New Orleans Saints and his first touchdown against the Chargers gave the Bengals a three touchdown lead in the first quarter and kept the Bengals afloat for much of the game before the defense gave up 42 points -- in the second half.

My point isn't to demean or downgrade Bennett's accomplishments. They really are impressive. How about a little love for Chad Johnson in the debate. Apparently to get Shutdown Corner's attention, we have to break a law, or acquire a player with red flags.

When seeing something like this, praising an accomplishment for a span of games in which the player's team lost more games than won, you have to ask yourself something else: is this proof that Fantasy Football is ruining the sport, or redirecting the priority of the common fan? (Note: the common fan aren't die hard fanatical crazies like we are)

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Health Is King Edition

August West — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:48:50 -0000

More photos » by David Duprey - AP

Boy, I'm glad our training camp isn't going to be a media circus.

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One man isn't going to be asked to replace the departed Big Albert. Instead the focus this year will be a rotation that runs eight ten deep with talent that's primed to break-out and hopefully rested enough to wear down O-lines as the game moves on. Also included here is an interview with Jason Jones, who will have to be a key contributor this year if we're to succeed.

Interested in being interviewed by Tennessean writer Gary Estwick on what training camp is like from a fans perspective? Then click here and hit him up at gestwick@tennessean.com for more information.

The Titans secondary is reviewed by Gary, and he's thinking what we're thinking: this secondary is as good at the top as it is shallow the rest of the way down the depth chart. We need all four guys to stay healthy, no matter how well the young guns behind them come along.

Follow us through the jump to see which former Titan just couldn't stomach playing for the Ratbirds...

Jim Wyatt reviewed the LB corps yesterday, and that unit looks at least a little deeper this year. Health is still a key though.

This random analysis site raises a good question: is LenDale White better thought of as 'a poor man's Jerome Bettis', or 'what Ron Dayne should have been?' You decide... I have to say these guys are surprisingly accurate in their snap evaluations of most of our starters (especially the O-line, save LeRoy, who is better than that say).

Intrepid reader/commenter (with a pimp middle name also) Jason Kyle Bates points us towards this gem: After getting a 1-year deal to play for the hated Ratbirds, Drew Bennett said his knee felt balky and decided to retire. I'd like to think Drew's conscience also played a role in his retirement.

If there's anything you would like to share with the MCM community, please take advantage of the comments, fanshots and fanposts to do so! You can also email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com.

Roundup From BN Walk: Cole's Dominating Summer, Aztec Optimism Via Familiar Names & Other Notes From Memory Lane

Nestor — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:28:43 -0000

Let's start the week with some news from the diamond. Bruin phenom Gerrit Cole's dominating summer continued as the righthander tossed a two hit complete game shut out against Canada on late last week:

PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia - UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole recorded seven strikeouts and scattered just two hits in a complete game as the USA Baseball National Team (Collegiate) blanked Canada, 1-0, Friday evening at the 2009 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge at Prince George Citizen Field.

Cole (4-0) pitched all nine innings, surrendering two hits, and never allowed a baserunner to reach third. The rising sophomore from Santa Ana, Calif., earned his fourth victory of the summer pitching for the U.S. team. Cole registered three of his seven strikeouts in the ninth inning.

The U.S. team got on the board in the bottom of the second with one run, and Cole helped shut the door against Canada. Yasmani Grandal (Miami) hit a two-out single to left field in the second inning and Andy Wilkins (Arkansas) followed with an RBI-triple off the scoreboard in left-center field.

Too bad another US team playing a more high profile match yesterday experienced the opposite results. Watching that game brought back the feelings of 19-66. I will just leave it at that.

Moving on to football Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, who I believe used to be on XTRA back in the day (is he still on radio?) wrote up a preview of San Diego State firing up the Aztec faithful. He especially used the names of couple of key coordinators (brought in by new HC Brady Hoke), who are familiar names to all of us here on BN:

Prediction Aztecs fans: Things will be different this time around. Meet head coach Brady Hoke and his two coordinators, Rocky Long and Al Borges. [...]

The track record of these men speaks volumes — Hoke at Ball State, Borges at UCLA and Auburn; and Long at New Mexico, UCLA and Oregon State. This head coach, and those two coordinators will be the difference makers. They’ve rebuilt and won before and will do it here.

Camp week is here: Random Ramsdom, 7/27

VanRam — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:53:59 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

St. Louis Rams' Oshiomogho Atogwe will be in camp, playing the season on a one-year franchise deal. Will he be in camp with the Rams next season? (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

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It's (finally) a big week for football. Rookies, QBs, and a few others report on Wednesday, July 29 and have some workouts the day after, the same day the rest of the roster reports before getting into full team practices on the 31st. Stay tuned, we'll have you covered for camp right here. Speaking of camp...TST plans to be there soon, but if you're going to the open practices this week and this weekend, give us a shout and let us know what you think of what you see. The best fanposts covering camp get a t-shirt.

I missed this little tidbit last week, but it's worth coming back to since we've been talking about St. Louis Rams FS Oshiomogho Atogwe, who recently signed his franchise tender. Could some of the intent behind the one-year deal involved the former Pro Bowl safety to prove himself to the new coaching staff? Pro Football Weekly cites a team insider who says that's the case:

Certainly the team's old coaching staff had seen enough to make a long-term commitment to him, but now it's as if he has to prove himself all over again to a new set of eyes.

That makes some sense, but losing the FS would leave the Rams with some serious work to do in their secondary for next season. There are lots of scenarios that could happen, not the least likely of which is that they get a deal done - something the team has stated a desire to do, on the record. It's reasonable to expect also that Atogwe can iron out some of the kinks in his coverage skills that have prevented him from being a truly elite FS under Spagnuolo, a former d-backs coach.

Some more info...

From cellar to stellar?
Prediction season is in full swing, and a few talking heads here and there are starting to pay some attention to the Rams. Here's a look at how the last place teams in each division will fare in '09.

WR Drew Bennett Retires
How long was he a Raven? Didn't he even try out? An old knee injury got to him, which tells you a little something about what went wrong in St. Louis.

Patriots S Chung reports on rookie date
That's significant news to Rams fans because Chung was drafted in the second round, 34th overall, right before the Rams picked LB James Laurinaitis. No contract details yet, but the deal should help influence Laurinaitis' contract with the Rams.

Expect the Rams to start getting more deals done with the remaining rookies in the next few days, especially if the team plans to have them all in camp on time.

Ravens Passing Attack Will Improve In 2009

Bruce Raffel — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:25:39 -0000

This story, along with the same headline, could have been written the day the 2008 season ended with the loss in the AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh to the Steelers. Obviously, a full year of experience under the belt of a rookie QB plus the chance to have the entire off season to prepare to be the starter in 2009 is a major benefit to Joe Flacco.

Then came the NFL Draft and while many fans were clamoring about which wide receiver the Ravens were going to select with their 26th pick in the first round, GM Ozzie Newsome pulled a fast one by moving up and grabbing offensive tackle Michael Oher (Mississippi). In fact, the Ravens did not select a wide receiver in the entire draft, which astounded and even angered many Ravens fans, much less the vicious local and national media. Obviously, Ozzie thought that the players in the draft didn't warrant first round selection as much as a great steal for help on the offensive line did. The other rounds didn't offer much to him either, as he stocked up on depth all around the field on both sides of the ball. Shortly after the draft, veteran right tackle Willie Anderson decided to hang up his cleats and retire, thrusting the rookie Oher into aa starting role, making Ozzie look that much more like the "Wizard" he earned his nickname from, picking winners out of the draft. A full year of experience for the rest of the line plus the addition of veteran All Pro center Matt Birk highlighted the off season, all combined to equal a great recipe for 2009 success in the passing game.

Then came the terrible murder of former Ravens QB Steve McNair, followed shortly thereafter by the unexpected announcement from WR Derrick Mason that he was retiring after 12 NFL seasons.

Ravens fans, once again along with the local and national media, went ballistic. A receiving corps that was already thin and criticized as being non-offensive, had just been decimated by the loss of it's top receiver and some say it's only true threat. It was bad enough to have people saying how we would now be a losing team and the second year QB would have no one to throw to. Luckily the team held two different tryouts in the off season, netting two more wideouts to add to the mix in the event that Mason does decide to officially retire, which many are beginning to think that he will hopefully return for 2009. The two tryouts brought two veteran receivers to the team with a combined total of four receptions in 2008. To many, these were moves of desperation, and these guys were either washed up or not what they were looking for, when there were star players like the Arizona Cardinals' Anquan Boldin and Denver Broncos' Brandon Marshall apparently out there on the trading block. However, Ozzie relishes his team's #1 draft picks like the gold they are and will not relinquish them for anyone, much less two disgruntled players who would be demanding huge contracts to keep them happy as he was looking at the team's own players who would need to be rewarded with big contracts in the next year or so. The choice of retaining a Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, Jared Gaither and/or Ben Grubbs versus bringing on an outisde WR with no promises was an easy one for Ozzie to make and I totally support that decision.

So how will the Ravens passing game actually be even better in 2009 than it was in 2008? That's relatively easy when it was rated 28th last season, averaging just over 175 yards/game. With or without Derrick Mason, the team is a year more experienced at the key positions needed to improve, mainly QB and offensive line. The wide receivers are as good or I dare say without Mason, even better? Yes, I said even better. I realize that Mason caught a ton of passes last year as Flacco's main target, but he was Joe's first option. If Mark Clayton moves over to assume that role, his stats will be very similar to Mason's, just you watch. Newcomer Drew Bennett gives Flacco a huge target and runs crisp routes with great hands, so the lack of speed should not make a difference with him. The progress that Demetrius Williams and Marcus Smith have both made in the off season will only give them and Joe more confidence whenever they do get the chance to be on the field. Plus, the additon of tight end L.J. Smith along with a healthy Todd Heap should greatly improve the number and variety of options in our passing game. Lastly, the emergence of second year running back Ray Rice should add a new wrinkle in the passing attack, now having a receiving threat out of the backfield for the first time in a long time!

All in all, I am confident that you will see this team improve its ranking in the passing game in 2009. Understanding that we will still be a run-first offense, this team should be in the top 20 or even top 15 by year's end in passing statistics. Flacco's arm is just too good for Offensvie Coordinator Cam Cameron to not take full advantage of after keeping him in his reins thier first season together. As Joe said in his Fantasy Files video, "Last year was just the beginning."