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.
There are a number of questions about the Ravens' offensive line entering the 2010 season, most of which center around tackle Jared Gaither.
After being moved from left tackle to right tackle, Gaither missed most of the Ravens' minicamps.
Is he truly OK with the position change as he claimed immediately after his first practice at right tackle? Does he want to be traded? If not, how will his play be affected by his move to the right side? How healthy is he after a foot injury supposedly kept him out of practices the last month and a half?
Despite those questions, the Ravens' O-line got very favorable marks by Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports. In his rankings of the best offensive lines in the NFL, Cole has the Ravens slotted third behind only the Saints and Patriots.
Here are Cole's comments on the Ravens' line:
"At a time when pass protection is so critical, the Ravens were below average last season with an adjusted ranking of 19 overall. That said, between having a young quarterback (Joe Flacco was in his second season), a couple of big changes on the line (guard Jason Brown left and rookie right tackle Michael Oher came in) and a lack of great weapons at the receiver spot (Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth were brought in this offseason), there is reason to believe improvement will be made. Oher is switching to left tackle, where he may quickly surpass Denver's Ryan Clady and Miami's Jake Long as the best at that spot."
While I agree with Cole that Oher is poised to become one of the top left tackles in the league, I think the uncertainty surrounding Gaither makes the Ravens tough to grade at this point.
If he is willing to come back and move to right tackle, the Ravens could have one of the best O-lines out there. If not, the coaching staff will need to either bump the unproven Oniel Cousins into the starting lineup or move Marshal Yanda from right guard to right tackle and slide Chris Chester in at right guard.
There's a lot of potential with this group, but until we see where Gaither stands, it's hard to predict how the offensive line will fare.
What's your take on the ranking and how the Ravens' O-line looks entering 2010?
