Potential philosophy shift as Ravens’ vets are cut

On Monday afternoon, Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens dove headfirst into football operations upon the new CBA being agreed upon by the owners and the players. As we all know by now, the Ravens decided to part ways with Willis McGahee (which was expected), Kelly Gregg (we knew he was a candidate to get cut), Derrick Mason (didn’t see that coming), and Todd Heap (really didn’t see that coming). The Ravens appear to be open to the idea of bringing back Mason and/or Heap for a lesser cap number. But for the time being, the Ravens save nearly $19 million off the 2011 salary cap by cutting those four players.

The initial implication is obvious: It frees up cap space for the Ravens to make offers to their own free agents and other free agents around in the league. The No. 1 priority headed into this weird and compact off-season for the Ravens was always going to be to re-sign Marshal Yanda, and it looks like the Ravens have freed up enough space to make Yanda a competitive offer in comparison to what he could make on the open market. Yanda is a physical player that can play right guard and right tackle, and play them well.

If the Ravens don’t find a way to re-sign Yanda – and there’s a chance that a team such as Washington could be willing to make him among the most handsomely compensated guards ever – the Ravens would be pushed into scramble mode in terms of their offensive line. An offensive line without Yanda means two positions — right guard and right tackle — need to be filled. An offensive line with Yanda means four of five starters along the line are penciled in for Week 1 assuming everyone stays healthy. It might not sound like much, but that’s a massive difference.

Per Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun, on Yanda:

“We’re talking about a good, hard-nosed player who never complains and plays well in a box for short-yardage situations and blocking straight ahead.

Yanda doesn’t pull extremely well, and isn’t that effective in the open field on tosses and screens. He lacks the size to be a power tackle, and those short arms limit him in going against speed rushers.

But you can’t deny his strong work ethic and loyalty. Besides, the Ravens, like every team in the NFL, are working on a reduced time schedule. Yanda knows the system and continuity is a key.”

Sure, Yanda has his faults, but it’s not as if the Ravens are going to find the perfect guard or perfect tackle on the free agent market at a nice cap number. Yanda is solidly above-average on the right side of the line, provides flexibility, and we’ll never hear a peep about his work ethic and motor. This is a long-term deal that the Ravens have to get done, and their clearing of cap space seems to indicate that the Ravens feel the same way. Yanda’s ability to play guard and tackle would give John Harbaugh roster flexibility, especially on game day when injuries along the line unfortunately pop up nearly every week.

Other areas of indecisiveness on the roster include the end opposite Terrell Suggs, but I don’t see the Ravens shelling out for sack numbers on the open market. Performances from end rushers tend to be pretty volatile; the Ravens are probably best served to see if they can get a breakout year from a player such as Paul Kruger on the cheap. The Ravens will have to find a cheap backup quarterback because I don’t see them entrusting Tyrod Taylor, and they’ll need to find a fullback on the cheap to replace Le’Ron McClain. Some would say strong safety is an issue, but the Ravens should let Tom Zbikowski play alongside Ed Reed for a full season.

They should (and will) also look into re-signing either Chris Carr or Josh Wilson. (I think the latter is the more realistic bet because he’ll probably command a cheaper price tag.) Both cornerbacks were quietly very good for the Ravens last year, which was especially welcome since so many were fretting about the Ravens’ options at corner once Domonique Foxworth went down with a torn ACL. Foxworth is a potential candidate to be cut, but I can’t see that happening since the Ravens aren’t exactly deep at cornerback. My guess is that the Ravens will enter the season with Foxworth, Wilson, Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb as the corners, with the latter two having to earn their way into the starting lineup for John Harbaugh.

Along with cap space, the Ravens’ cuts on Monday could signal a change in philosophy on offense. Last season, NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi repeatedly said that the Ravens were hamstrung by an offense that was too old and too slow. Lombardi often said that the Ravens’ most explosive play in 2010 was a dump-off to Ray Rice. He’s right on both counts. (In fact, I tweeted about this Monday and Lombardi responded to me, saying that the Ravens are not yet done with cuts.) Mason and Heap were two culprits of the “old and slow” offense, which is weird to type because those two pass catchers were also the two main targets for Joe Flacco during his time in Baltimore thus far.

But Mason’s ability – for all the footballs that he’s caught – didn’t extend much past comeback routes along the sideline by the time he reached his mid-30’s. Heap, for all the passes he’s also caught, was slowing down with each passing year. Anquan Boldin is another receiver that’s not particularly fast, and certainly can’t blow by defenders. And Flacco isn’t going to make anyone miss in the open field as he tries to run for first downs.

The Ravens see how the Steelers trot out young receivers year after year who happen to be very, very fast. My guess is that Newsome is tired of paying big for possession receivers and wants difference makers who actually make plays down the field that change the complexion of games.

So, exit Mason and Heap. Enter Torrey Smith and Ed Dickson. The Ravens get younger and faster (and cheaper) on offense with those exchanges alone, and may get even faster depending on who they acquire in free agency to catch passes from Flacco. Smith is ready to be a third receiver and a deep threat right now, but it’s probably a bit ambitious to think he’s ready to be the second option for Flacco with so little time to digest the offense this summer. I like Dickson a lot from the few snaps we saw of him last year, and I’d like to see him get an extended look this year.

A receiver on the free agent market that the Ravens need to give a hard look at is Sidney Rice, which would give them two young, speedy options on the outside with Boldin underneath. It’d give the Ravens’ passing game more than the one dimension they had last year – short routes towards the sidelines with older and/or slow receivers in Boldin, Mason and TJ Houshmandzadeh. It’d also presumably open up the flat for Ray Rice, who would still remain the Ravens’ best offensive player.

Sidney Rice would take a lot of money to sign, though, and would require that the Ravens are able to fill their needs at cornerback (Wilson), backup quarterback and fullback rather cheaply, since they’re probably going to hand Yanda a good bit of money.

Of course, the Ravens could simply re-sign Mason and/or Heap to team-friendly cap numbers and go with pretty much the same look as last year, but that would be a mistake. The offense needs to get younger and faster. The Ravens have two players ready to contribute right now that fit that mold in Smith and Dickson (both of whom would also be cheaper), and now have the cap space to get a true difference maker on the perimeter like Sidney Rice. This would also force Flacco to grow as a quarterback since he won’t have his security blankets anymore and he’d have to learn to adapt. While some look at losing Mason and Heap to be a potential negative for Flacco, I look at it as a potential positive.

The first priority for the Ravens is to lock up Yanda, but don’t sleep on a potential philosophy shift to go from old and slow to young and fast.

Because old and slow sure isn’t beating the Steelers.