Ravens looked ready for the regular season against Jaguars!

The Baltimore Ravens have had many doubts about their offense and if Joe Flacco could lead them through the air. The only problem is that he did that in the post season last season when he put up better numbers then future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. The only problem was Lee Evans didn't hold on to the ball! Now in the third of four pre-season games Joe showed that he can be calm and run the offense.

Ray Rice ran for 30 yards on 2 carries while making 1 catch for 13 yards for his day to be over. Rice didn't need to show much and no one wanted him to get injured. The team, the fans and the opposing teams around the NFL know how good this running back is. Most of the evening consisted of Joe Flacco throwing to different receivers. Flacco was 27 for 36 for 266 yards and 2 touchdowns. He did throw 1 interception but that was a deep ball thrown before the half that you wouldn't normally see in the regular season. These two players look poise to help the Ravens offense put up big numbers this season. Look for both of these players to be big fantasy producers.

While the Ravens put up 48 points against 17 of the Jaguars many positives came out from the starting squad as the starting defense only allowed 3 points in their tune up for the regular season. The only problem I saw was the 7 penalties for 57 yards while Michael Oher still showing false start issues at the tackle position.

Last thing I saw is the rookie kicker Justin Tucker who booted 2 field goals with one being from 53 yards to stay perfect through the preseason. This puts pressure on the Ravens as who should be the opening day kicker.

In all the team looks ready to play on Monday Night against the Bengals to kick off the season.

Ray Rice a top five fantasy football player!

Ray Rice just keeps putting up numbers on the ground while also reeling in passes from Joe Flacco. Rice has put up over 1000 yards rushing and over 550 yards receiving in each of the past three seasons. While Rice gives you a dual threat coming out of the backfield it gives the Ravens offense a little security blanket that a lot of other teams don't have. Add in his stats and the fact I love to draft running backs and it makes him very attractive.

                                     Rushing Stats                                              Receiving Stats
                           Attempts   Yards    Touchdowns          Receptions    Yards     Touchdowns
2011 Season:         291         1364          12                         76               704               3
2010 Season:         307         1220           5                          63               556               1
2009 Season:         254         1339           7                          78               702               1
2008 Season:         107          454            0                          33               273               0

Those stats have continued to get better along with the amount of touchdowns going up. Last year he had the most yards from scrimmage, the third most rushing touchdowns and was second in rushing yards.

The only teams I would put ahead of Ray Rice in my draft would be a select few and at this moment a gamble as we don't know what injuries will pop up and if Adrian Peterson will return to his old self. The players I would draft ahead of him are Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Calvin Johnson. Now I would draft Adrian Peterson if I knew he would be 100 percent as long as the league is not a point per reception.

Keep an eye out for my fantasy rankings, fantasy tips and mock drafts.

Ray Rice lands new deal!

The day that all Baltimore Ravens fans have been waiting to hear about since the end of the 2011 season. Ray Rice received a new 5 year deal worth around 40 million dollars with 25 million coming in the first 2 seasons. The bulk of the money is upfront with 17 million in 2012 and 8 million in 2013. This is great news for a team that needs to get franchise quarterback Joe Flacco locked up long term.

The deal also gives the team around 2.7 million dollars in cap space for the upcoming season! As far as Ray Rice he can now show up to work happy and ready to run which he would have down under the franchise tag to! Now Flacco can give a sigh of relief that his favorite check down will be coming out of the back field this season!

The deal is good for both sides now its time for some football!