Weapons of Mass Destruction
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by: Marco Romanell, AFCNT.com Writer Anyone who studies politics knows that the United States is scouring the world looking for any person or country that has weapons of mass destruction. Instead of going oversees, they only need to travel 40 minutes north up I-95 to M&T Bank stadium to find the “weapons of mass destruction”. Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, Ray Rice, Ed Dickson, Todd Heap, Dennis Pitta and Donte Stallworth are all the Ravens weapons, and they may be the weapons the Ravens need to destroy the NFL. Last season the Baltimore Ravens were a run first team, whose passing game was defined by finding Derrick Mason on the 12 yard comeback route and Ray Rice in the flat and hope he breaks it for a long gain. Enter Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth, and the Ravens offense has weapons and the potential to be one of the most explosive in the league. Stallworth is still one of the fastest players in the NFL and his ability to stretch the field provides the Ravens with explosiveness that they have not had since Vinny Testaverde was under center. Boldin, is a great route runner and tough receiver who has more breakaway speed then people give him credit for. Couple those two with the always steady Derrick Mason, and the Ravens receiving corp possesses more weapons than North Korea. Over the last decade no position in professional football has evolved more than the tight end position. Once reserved for people who were too small to be a lineman, but were still good blockers, the tight end position is now filled with athletic pass catchers who create mismatch problems all over the field. Todd Heap, is aging and his better days are behind him, but with Boldin, Stallworth and Mason garnering the focus of the defense, he should be able to find some seems in the middle of the field and will have lots of opportunities to make plays. The things that have made Heap so great throughout his career are his hands and his athleticism, but he is not the explosive, field stretching tight end that some of the elite offenses have. Enter former Oregon tight end and 3rd round pick Ed Dickson, and the Ravens offense looks like it has that game changing tight end to compliment Heap. Dickson, who is 6’5″ and 243 pounds, ran a 4.67 40-yard dash at the combine, and is the perfect combination of size and speed that wreaks havoc on opposing defenses. Dickson has the ability to line up outside the hash as well as in the slot and very few defenses will have a defender with size and speed to match up with him. In addition to Dickson and Heap, the Ravens have sure handed Dennis Pitta who will likely be a great safety valve for Flacco, due to his steady hands and maturity. No longer will Ravens watch opposing offenses like the Cowboys, Colts, Patriots and Saints and yearn for the kind of weapons they have. The Ravens now have their own weapons and a strong arm quarterback under center. Those weapons have the potential to destroy the rest of the NFL. Boldin, Stallworth, Rice, Dickson, Heap, Mason and Flacco, those are the real “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and they can be found in Baltimore, Maryland.
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