MASNsports.com is your online home for the latest Orioles and Nationals news, features, and commentary. And now, you can connect with MASN on every digital level. From web and social media to our new mobile alert service, MASN has got all the bases covered.
Get the latest breaking news direct to your phone with our mobile texting service.
Last night's episode of "Hard Knocks" had a bunch of Ravens themes to it.
From the coaches' reminders to the players to "Play like a Jet" (I feel like we've heard that type of message before somewhere) to the ever popular "King Ugly" competition which the team took part in, Rex Ryan clearly has taken some key ideals and methods from his Baltimore days up to New York.
Anyway, last night we saw another very entertaining episode of a fantastically put-together show.
The Ravens will face Rex and the Jets on Sept. 13 to start the regular season. This much we know. But what we don't know is who John Harbaugh will line up at cornerback when the Ravens' defense takes the field.
With Lardarius Webb now off the Physically Unable to Perform list and seemingly progressing well as he comes back from a torn ACL, the talks of the Ravens needing to acquire a proven cornerback through a trade have cooled.
Webb is back practicing, Fabian Washington appears close to fully healthy, and Cary Williams has stepped up his game in recent weeks and appears ready to contribute in nickel or dime formations.
All is good at cornerback, right? We can cross that problem off the list?
Well, let's hold on a second.
For the sake of this discussion, let's assume that Webb is not able to return for the first week or two of the regular season. After all, the Ravens have said they will take things slow with Webb and will only toss the promising second-year corner back into action when he's 100 percent healthy.
While Williams has looked sharp lately, he won't be available for the first two weeks of the year because of a league-mandated suspension.
So, Williams is definitely out for the Jets and Bengals games, and Webb could join him on the sidelines.
If that's the case, what would the Ravens' options be at corner to start the season?
Washington would start at one cornerback spot, and Chris Carr would get the call at the other. That's for certain.
That would likely leave Travis Fisher and Prince Miller as the nickel/dime backs, and K.J. Gerard (who missed almost all of training camp with a hamstring injury) as a reserve option.
Feel confident about the Ravens' cornerback situation now? I bet the Ravens don't either.
Who knows, Webb could continue on his path to recovery and be ready for the start of the season.
But if he's not, the Ravens' cornerback issues might be as bad as some have mentioned. Webb's absence combined with that of Williams could leave GM Ozzie Newsome making quite a few phone calls as roster cutdowns approach.
