A New Era: Baltimore Ravens 2009-2010 Season in Review

The 2009-2010 season came to it's conclusion yesterday for the Baltimore Ravens, losing 20-3 to the one seeded Indianapolis Colts.

This season was filled with it's up and downs, along with injuries, and new men stepping up. However, there is a lot for Ravens fans to be proud about, along with certain changes being made for the beginning of next season.

Offense

The offensive identity of the Baltimore Ravens had it's highs and lows, with Joe Flacco and Ray Rice leading the way.

Though Flacco did hit a wall midway through the season, he improved in every major offensive category from his rookie season, which includes passing yards, touchdowns,  passer rating, and even a decrease in interceptions.

How much more could you have asked out of Flacco, who had to hear the curse of the sophomore slump? He did the best job he possibly could have with one of the more weaker receiving cores in the league.

The talent is there in Flacco, and heading into next season, will continue to the next level of becoming an elite quarterback.

Mostly, however, the attention of this Ravens offense was focused on running back Ray Rice. In only his second season in the NFL, Rice emerged onto the scene this season, with 2,041 in the regular season, just second to Chris Johnson. These stats earned him his first Pro-Bowl appearance, without any doubt.

Not only was Rice the leading rusher on the team, but also lead the offense in receptions. Ray was Flacco's main target throughout the coarse of the season, and this bond between both players really shows that the future is bright.

The young offensive line must also get credit where it's due. The potential is there, but with some younger players stepping in, blocking was a struggle at times for the Ravens. Michael Oher, the rookie tackle who became famous for the movie "The Blind Side ," was the most consistent lineman on the team.

Oher played both right and left tackle when starter Jared Gaither missed due to injury. Oher faced some of the best pass-rushers in the league, and held his own. A future Pro-Bowler in the making.

Unfortunately, the most disappointing area of the offense was the receiving core. As predicted, veteran Derrick Mason was the only contributing receiver on a daily basis. Mark Clayton continued to prove why he needs to leave Baltimore, while Kelly Washington and crew just did not show any fear in the defense.

Todd Heap had a bounce back year after injury, but is still aging. With questions rising on the future of Derrick Mason's career, work needs to be done on this offense. 

Final Verdict: Great deal of growth in Joe Flacco and Ray Rice. Offensive line should continue to improve in 2010. However, via draft or trade, an upgrade needs to be made at the wide receiver position.

Defense/Special Teams

A group battling adversity along with injuries, the defense and special teams of the Baltimore Ravens improved greatly over the course of the season.

At first, the Ravens defense looked as what everyone thought it would be, which was no longer a top ten defense after the departure of Rex Ryan, Bart Scott, and Jim Leonhard.

The chemistry with first year defensive coordinator Greg Mattison looked very rough at times earlier on in the season. However, after finishing strong in the final two months of the season, Baltimore finished with the 3rd best overall defense in the league.

For all the doubters who said Ray Lewis was to old and slow, think again. Having another 100+ tackle season, and another Pro-Bowl appearance, Lewis has showed he has a job that he has not finished just yet.

Terrel Suggs overall had a disappointing first season after his pay day. Although missing four games due to injury, Suggs showed life in the final month of the season, including the playoffs.

Jared Johnson, Haloita Ngata, and Dannell Ellerbe sprouted on this Ravens defense, and filled the void for the players who left in free agency.

The major concern on this defense was the secondary, which in the final game of the season showed it had come a long way.

First and foremost, Ed Reed battled injuries most of the season, and wasn't much of a factor. Come playoff time though, he made an impact in centerfield.

Dominque Foxworth had a difficult for half of the season, but stepped up his game after multiple injuries at corner. He finally had a pure grasp of the system, and was able to get comfortable at certain times.

Frank Walker and Chris Carr were nightmares for the Ravens defense in the secondary. Aside from the playoffs where they did play their best football of the season, these two guys were known for the thousands of penalties committed.

The biggest loss was the injury of rookie cornerback Lardarius Webb in mid-December. Webb had stepped in as the best corner on the team, but tore his ACL while on special teams.

There is not much to say in the special teams department, other then the issue of the kicker. Steve Hauschka was waived half way into the season after the multiple meltdowns in clutch situations. Billy Cundiff was brought in and did a decent enough job, but was not even close to former Raven great Matt Stover.

The return team was the best in the league on kickoff return average, and avoided giving up the big play in the special team as well.

Final Verdict: The defense showed bright spots, but probably the biggest concern is finding another pass rusher. A cornerback via draft or free agency is also needed.

Coaching

The overall coaching staff as the Baltimore Ravens had some miscommunication during the season. Coach John Harbough and company were criticized for the amount of penalties the Ravens committed over the season. However, in just his second year as a head coach, he has reached the playoffs two straight seasons.

Cam Cameron faced an interesting season with the offense. First he was for the early develop of Joe Flacco, giving much more responsibilities. However, toward the late run in the season, Baltimore began pounding the ball like they did a year ago, which kept them in games. Cam is one of the best in the league of developing quarterbacks, so surely he made a stride with Flacco this season.

Greg Mattison's plan on defense finally came to it's works in the middle of the season, after the rocky start. Baltimore finished third in team defense, one year after losing many key contributors to the New York Jets.

Final Verdict: Young coaching staff, but seemed more comfortable towards the end of the season, hoping their plans will work to perfection in 2010.

In conclusion, the Baltimore Ravens finished within the elite eight of the NFL. With questions heading into the off season, it will be interesting to see if any moves are made to put them over the top in the AFC next season.

Matt Miselis is a Baltimore Ravens Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/MattMiselis