Mark Barron #4 Safety, Alabama. 6'2" 218 lbs.

Ed Reed still has it. The question is, how often is he willing to use it?

The Ravens have found another play maker at safety in Bernard Pollard. Pollard is the perfect compliment to Reed. Reed has developed into more of a strictly ball-hawking center fielder at this stage of his career. He is still capable of laying the wood if need be but it seems he saves that for special occasions these days.

Bernard Pollard is the perfect compliment to that. He is like having an extra linebacker in the secondary that can cover. Reed has the glove and Pollard carries the bat. Between the two the Ravens have the perfect safety.

Reed and Pollard however are seasoned veterans, Reed the more seasoned of the two and they won't be around forever. Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura are great back ups and viable options as starters if one were to go down but they are not play makers.

If the Ravens want to start grooming a replacement for Ed Reed they need look no further than Mark Barron in this years draft. He may not have the ball hawking skills of Reed yet but he definitely has them in there somewhere. Mark Barron is a football player and he can be dominant.

The chances of Barron being available at the Ravens pick probably aren't good. He is the best safety, by far, in this years draft and any team needing a one will take him in a heart beat. Although Barron is ranked number one at his position he is also ranked the 30th best player in the draft, leaving open the possibility of him dropping. Especially if one position starts to fly off the board and teams get desperate to find their guy. If that happened I'm sure a team like New England or Dallas would trade up one spot ahead of us to grab him though...

One thing that could cause him to drop would be his missed scouting combine. Below is the latest news on th double-hernia surgery that caused his absence.

Considering he is a 'Bama boy, I'm sure Ozzie would take him if he's there though!

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Every fan of the Baltimore Ravens already knows what a great owner Steve Bisciotti is. They also believed that former owner Art Modell was a great owner, certainly deserving of enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but that is another story for another time. Bisciotti's main contribution to the success of the team has been to have the faith and confidence in the team's front office to make the business and more importantly the personnel decisions that have kept this franchise competitive virtually year-after-year.

Now, it appears he is getting the just recognition he deserves as an owner, as evidenced by a story on the website, Business Review USA. They list their list of the Top Ten Sports Franchise Owners with Bisciotti at number ten on the list. Although Ravens fans would like to argue he belongs closer to the top of the list, remember that this ranking is cultivated from the many owners in the four major professional sports, which numbers well over 100 possible individuals.

Here's what they say about Steve Bisciotti:

From the Baltimore Ravens PR Department:

The Baltimore Ravens have hired Chris Hewitt as their assistant special teams coach, while Matt Weiss has been promoted to defensive assistant, head coach John Harbaugh announced Thursday afternoon.

Hewitt, 37, joins the Ravens after spending the previous eight seasons as an assistant at Rutgers University. Most recently, he served as the Scarlet Knights’ running backs coach from 2010-11. Prior to that, Hewitt was the team’s cornerbacks coach (2008-09), director of speed and skill development (2005-07) and graduate assistant (2004).

Weiss, 28, has served as the head coach’s assistant for the past three seasons (2009-11) under Harbaugh. In that role, he supported Harbaugh with administrative duties while also working in a defensive quality control capacity. Some of his primary responsibilities included compiling opponent scouting reports, working closely with scout teams in practice and assisting in the breakdown of opponent tendencies. During games, Weiss assisted with charting opponent offenses, while also serving as a liaison for in-game coach’s challenges.

(Click on the 'Jump' to read the full team's official Press Release)

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Listen up, Baltimore Ravens! The readers of Baltimore Beatdown have voted on a variety of topics and their collective voices heed warning and speak volumes as to what the team needs to do to take that final step to get to and ultimately hoist the Lombardi Trophy high as victors of the Super Bowl, starting next year in New Orleans and then who knows where else?

The following ten polls were recently posted on The Beatdown and the majority of votes went like this:

How should the Ravens build their wide receiving group this off-season? Free Agency: 54%

Would you want to see TO in a Ravens uniform next season? No: 60%

Where does the Ravens defense need to improve the most? Edge Pass Rush: 64%

(Click on the 'Jump' to see the results of the other seven recent polls)

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While things may be peachy in Joe Flacco’s household this week on the heels of recent news stating that the Baltimore Ravens and Flacco’s agent, Joe Linta, are scheduled to begin contract extension talks in Indianapolis next week, it seems that Ray Rice isn’t so fortunate. According to a story on ProFootballTalk.com, the Ravens and Rice are at a stand-still on the impending free-agent’s contract negotiations.

The two-time All Pro Rice (2009, 2011), is set to become perhaps the most sought after talent in this free-agency class. Unfortunately for potential suitors around the league that may be prepared to throw bundles of cash at Rice, the Ravens aren’t very likely to let arguably their most talented offensive player just stroll out of Baltimore. Through his first four years, the versatile running back has totaled: 4,377 rushing yards with a 4.6 yards- per-carry average, and 24 touchdowns. Rice also has garnered: 2,235 receiving yards with an 8.6 yards-per-catch average, and 5 touchdowns. As the Ravens’ offensive centerpiece, they simply cannot allow Rice to even sniff free-agency.

If the Ravens and Ray Rice are unable to come to an agreement on the numbers and figures, the Ravens will have the ability to place the Franchise Tag on Rice which would net the star running back a salary of about $7.7 million for the 2012 season and keep him in Baltimore. Although it’s not the long term deal that both the Ravens and Rice want to get done, it’s still a hefty pay raise over the estimated $555,000 Rice earned for the 2011 season.

(After the "Jump", see what placing the Franchise Tag on Rice could mean for other Ravens free-agents-to-be)

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Former University of Maryland Terrapin and Baltimore Ravens star Jermaine Lewis is in trouble with the law once again. Lewis was pulled over in Baltimore County for driving on a suspended and revoked license with his toddler son unrestrained in the front seat, according to a story on WBAL.com.

Just six months ago, Lewis was arrested at his home for a hit-and-run accident. This is a sad state of affairs for a guy whose most famous photo was him running down the sidelines of Super Bowl 35 pointing to the heavens as he returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Cordy Glenn #71 Guard, Georgia. 6'5" 348 lbs.

Everyone knows that Baltimore will be drafting an offensive lineman. The question is, Who and in what round?

If the Ravens choose to find someone to fill the shoes of Ben Grubbs, assuming they lose him in free agency, Cordy Glenn may be just the guy. Projected as a late first round pick, it's Glenn's versatility that caught my attention. His primary position is left guard just like Grubbs but Glenn has had experience all over the line including some time at tackle.

This type of versatility is just what the Ravens look for in their players. Similar to Marshal Yanda, Glenn could be moved around the line if there were injuries to other linemen. Having two guards capable of playing multiple positions would be quite the luxury for a perennial playoff team like the Ravens.

Glenn may even be a viable option at center if that is where the team needs him most. If you know John Harbaugh you know that versatility is key. It can get you a long way on a Harbaugh coached team...

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Yesterday we talked about all the players that showed improvement for the Ravens in 2011. There is no question that the team had many pleasant surprises on their way to an AFC North title and AFC Championship game.

Baltimore got great contributions from the veterans they brought in like Bernard Pollard, Vonta Leach and Bryant McKinnie.

The Ravens were also able to get quality play out of their rookie class. Torrey Smith, Jimmy Smith and Pernell McPhee all played much better than most had expected. Even Jah Reid looked like he could be a quality NFL lineman in his limited time on the field.

There is a flip side to that coin however. There were also some players that were expected to be key contributors that underachieved. Some more than others obviously. Who was the biggest underachiever this season? Let's decide together, shall we?

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