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Super heroes Baltimore looking like repeat is good possibility
Dealing with success isn't easy, and coping with a Super Bowl victory may be the most difficult thing to do in the world of sports. From what I've seen of the Ravens, they really seem to have a grasp on the task of preparing to defend the championship. Everything starts at the top. Head coach Brian Billick is pushing his team to set their sights on repeating. Last year he realized he had to pull back on his West Coast offense playbook and win with defense and special teams. One high-ranking Raven said, "He was smart enough to take the air out of the ball," and win without the offense being the focal point. This year will be different now that Baltimore has made three significant additions to its offensive arsenal.
The players and coaches believe Elvis Grbac will be more effective than Trent Dilfer and Tony Banks in locating the right receivers and he will deliver a more accurate pass. Plus, Billick has a reputation for reviving veteran signal callers. In practice the offense looked sharp and the receivers have been strengthened by the return of last year's first-round pick, Travis Taylor. Billick has clearly expanded the two tight-end package for this year's No. 1 selection, Todd Heap. The rookie will benefit greatly from the short-pass routes that have been installed for him and from the extra coaching he's getting. I couldn't help but notice how much time Shannon Sharpe was giving the young tight end on how to get off the line of scrimmage and how to get open in his pass routes. And I saw general manager Ozzie Newsome, the Hall of Fame tight end, working with Heap on some of the finer points of the game. Heap couldn't have walked into a better situation and from talking to him, he knows it. Right tackle Leon Searcy upgrades the offensive line and allows last year's starter, Harry Swayne, to be a "swing," backing up both sides. Not many teams nowadays have a player of Swayne's caliber for depth on their roster. Critics would say the Ravens lost a very valuable player in center Jeff Mitchell, but as pro personnel director James Harris pointed out, "We had Mike Flynn ready to move in to that spot and in the era of the salary cap paying guards and centers big money doesn't work." I couldn't agree more. Defense is obviously the backbone of this franchise and the return of defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis may have been the single biggest move of the team's offseason. The defense stayed in tact minus safety Kim Herring and the coaches feel Corey Harris will do just fine until second-rounder Gary Baxter develops. There are rumors around the league that Ray Lewis has a chronic foot injury and that Sam Adams is just coasting the way he did in Seattle. Wrong on both counts. I watched both players closely in an intense scrimmage. Lewis was running from sideline to sideline and in on almost every tackle. Adams worked as hard as any player on the field, and after practice when I confronted him with the rumors, he made it clear to me he was on a mission to prove his reputation wrong and show people why he belonged in the Pro Bowl in 2001. It will be difficult for unproven players to make this team, but there are a couple of young guys who jumped out at me during practice. With Priest Holmes now with the Chiefs, someone must emerge as a backup to Jamal Lewis. The battle looks to be between fifth-round pick Chris Barnes from New Mexico State and Jason Brookins, a free agent from Lane College. I spoke with Earnest Byner, who has been working with both players, and he said he feels they both have the talent to answer the call should Lewis go down. As college scouting director Phil Savage said, "We may have our own Mike Anderson here." When I asked Newsome for some dark-horse candidates to make the team, he didn't hesitate to mention rookie free agent Reggie Waddell from Western Illinois. Waddell should make the team as the fourth corner, and although that may sound like a down-the-line job, remember that the Ravens probably use more dime defense than any other team in the league. Waddell could be on the field for 35 percent of the defensive plays. In that role, a rookie d-back could also get picked on by opposing offenses. Unless they get hit with a number of unforeseen injuries, the Ravens appear to be a better team than they were a year ago. For the rest of the NFL, that's a scary thought. Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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