saintz08

Ravens now team to be reckoned with


For the past five years I have written a column that followed the draft and the initial stages of free agency, asking the opinions of pro scouts and personnel directors on which team scares them the most.

In 1999, the consensus team to fear was the St. Louis Rams, whose offseason acquisitions brought them the likes of Marshall Faulk, Trent Green, Torry Holt and Dré Bly. All the Rams did that season was win Super Bowl XXIV over the Tennessee Titans, 23-26.

In 2000, the team virtually every voter went for was the Baltimore Ravens. With a team led by Ray Lewis, Shannon Sharpe, Jamal Lewis, Tony Siragusa, Trent Dilfer and Matt Stover, the Ravens Super Bowl XXXV over the New York Giants, 34-7.

In 2001, the Philadelphia Eagles were the team to watch. The scouts said Philly was on the verge of being a dominant club, despite the fact that it hadn’t been to the playoffs since the mid-1990s. Led by quarterback Donovan McNabb and a rock-solid defense, the Eagles won the NFC Eastern Division with an 11-5 record and made it to the conference championship game before losing to the Rams.

http://houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../1103/SPORTS02