Baltimore Ravens: 5 Offseason Adjustments Team Needs to Make

To look forward, you must first look back.

The Baltimore Ravens went 12-4 in 2011, winning all of their home games for the first time in team history. They also swept their division for the first time in the team's 16-year history.

However, while Baltimore split on the road (4-4), it was the way it lost and whom it lost to that left players, coaches and fans wondering what could have been. All four of the Ravens' losses were to teams that had losing records (9-19 combined record at the time they played each other).

Yes, the Ravens were mere seconds from representing the AFC in Super Bowl XLVI, but if even one of those losses were a win, the Ravens would've been 13-3. With a 13-3 record in 2011, the Ravens would've had the same record as the New England Patriots, but the Ravens would've won the tiebreaker.

Thus, with one more win, the Ravens would've been the AFC's top seed and had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

As good a game as they played in New England, you've got to think that game would've turned out much better for the Ravens if the AFC Championship were played in Baltimore.

Looking ahead to 2012, the Ravens are no doubt in good shape.

Joe Flacco has proved he can play with anybody in the league. The team as a whole went through 2011 with minimal injuries, which is very rare in the NFL. And although they fell short of their ultimate goal, the Ravens swept the Steelers, which has been the biggest obstacle in Baltimore's way.

So, here are the five things the Ravens need to address this offseason to set them up for success in 2012.

1. Re-Sign Key Free Agents

There are 21 free agents currently on the Ravens' roster, 13 of which are unrestricted (they can sign with any team that want to).

Of all 21 free agents, by far the most important player on that list is Ray Rice. Rice is the most valuable player for the Ravens going forward. With three straight seasons of 1,200-plus-yards rushing and 550-plus-yards receiving, Rice is the Ravens' offense.

Another unrestricted free agent the Ravens must re-sign is left guard Ben Grubbs. Of the six games Grubbs missed with a turf-toe injury last season, the Ravens went 4-2. If it weren't for guard/center Andre Gurode (also an unrestricted free agent), things could have been a lot worse.

Center Matt Birk, defensive end Cory Redding and linebackers Jameel McClain and Jarret Johnson are the other starters who are unrestricted free agents.

As a matter of fact, seven of the Ravens' nine active linebackers will be free agents this offseason.

Furthermore, the two starting cornerbacks for the Ravens (Lardarius Webb and Cary Williams) are both restricted free agents.

Here is how that process works, via BaltimoreRavens.com:

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For restricted free agents, the Ravens have the chance to offer them a tender, attached to a draft pick. If another team wants to sign them, Baltimore would first be able to match that offer. If it chooses not to, the other team would have to forfeit the corresponding draft pick to the Ravens in order to sign the player.

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For example, if the Ravens offered Webb a tender of one year for $5 million, with a second-round draft pick attached, and Team B offers Webb more money, the Ravens would have to first opportunity to match that offer.

If the Ravens chose not to match that offer, Team B would send their second-round pick to the Ravens as compensation.

Fortunately for Ravens fans, team president Dick Cass, general manager Ozzie Newsome  and director of player personnel Eric DeCosta are the best men for the job when it comes to personnel evaluation and contract negotiation.

Still, odds are there will be a few key Ravens players that won't play in Baltimore in 2012.

2. Draft Replacements

Sixteen years. 2,016 combined tackles. Thirteen-time Pro Bowl selection. Seven-time first-team All-Pro selection. Two-time NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year. Only player ever to have 30-plus interceptions and 40-plus sacks. Super Bowl XXXV MVP.

And still going strong.

Ray Lewis is irreplaceable.

However, that's something the Ravens will have to try to do, starting in April's draft.

There figures to be at least one very strong middle linebacker available when the Ravens are on the clock in the first round of this year's draft.

Although Lewis said he's coming back next season, and he's still playing at a high level, most people agree this is the time to groom his replacement.

Whether it's Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict, Alabama's Dont'a Hightower, or someone else, the Ravens have a good shot at selecting a suitable protege' for Lewis (if they choose to do so).

Another player Baltimore will have to replace in the near future is center Matt Birk, who has started in 171 of the 194 games he's played in during his 14-year career.

Birk may retire before this coming season, which would elevate the Ravens' sense of urgency to replace him, even though Andre Gurode made five consecutive Pro Bowls while playing center for the Dallas Cowboys.

Now that he has six children, this may be the right time for him to walk away. But after the way his season ended on Jan. 22, whether he retires or not is anyone's guess.

3. Fix Road Woes

By now you know the Ravens' big weakness was their play on the road.

In their four road wins, they won by an average of 13.8 points per game.

In their four road losses, the lost by an average of 10.8 points per game.

But the way they lost those road games is what's really alarming.

After analyzing each of the Ravens' four losses in the 2011 regular season, here is what I found:

• Four first quarters: no points
• Four third quarters: three points
• In three out of their four losses, the Ravens recorded one sack (four sacks at Jacksonville against a rookie quarterback)
• The Ravens lost the turnover battle in each of their four losses (minus-eight overall)
• Ray Rice never had more than 19 touches

For a team that had the best player from scrimmage in the NFL (Ray Rice) and recorded the third most sacks (48.0), to have played like that is unacceptable.

If one loss turns to a win, the Ravens are the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

You've got to think the Ravens coaches will harp on ball security and tackling—instead of just pressuring—the quarterback this offseason.

4. Prepare for a Tougher Schedule

Entering the 2011 season, the Ravens had the second-easiest schedule, according to their opponents' 2010 records.

2012 is a much different story.

At the beginning of last season, Ravens' opponents had a combined record of 117-139 (45.7 percent).

Heading into 2012, the Ravens will play teams that had a combined record of 134-122 (52.3 percent) in the year prior.

Besides playing six games in the AFC North, where each team finished with a defense ranked in the top 10, the Ravens will play the teams from the NFC East and the AFC West, as well as the Texans and the Patriots.

However Super Bowl XLVI turns out, the Ravens will host the defending world champions next season.

The best thing the Ravens can do is do what they do best: Wreak havoc at home.

No team has beaten the Ravens in Baltimore in the last 11 games (playoffs included). As a matter of fact, Week 13 of 2010 against the Steelers was the Ravens' only home loss in their last 20 home games.

Speaking of the Steelers, for once they may not be the most anticipated home game of the Ravens schedule next year, especially if the Patriots win the Super Bowl. You know Ravens players and coaches will circle the date when New England comes to town. The last time the Patriots played in Baltimore, they beat the Ravens in Week 13 of 2007 in what was almost an undefeated season for New England.

If you don't think the Ravens are already planning and preparing for the next Patriots game, consider this: The Patriots are the only team in the NFL the Ravens haven't beaten in the regular season.

5. Play Well for Pees

Dean Pees was recently named the successor to former Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, who left the Ravens to become head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

Pees was hired by the Ravens in 2010 to be their linebackers coach.

From 2004-2009, he worked for the Patriots and was New England's defensive coordinator from 2006-2009.

Like Pagano, Rex Ryan and the five other former Ravens defensive coaches that went on to become head coaches, Pees is seen as a player's coach. Not only that, but Pees has worked with some great coaches, such as Lou Holtz (1994), Nick Saban (1995-97) and Bill Belichick (2004-09), among others.

Since being with the Ravens, Pees has helped tutor Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Jarret Johnson, Jameel McClain and more. All of those players should be back, unless Pagano is able to convince Johnson and/or McClain to play for him in Indy.

Either way, players adjusting to Pees as being "the guy" defensively will probably be easy, but they will still have to execute.

Ravens defensive coaches have a history of getting the most out of their players. Since 2000, the Ravens defense has been ranked outside the top six only twice (2010: 10th overall, 2002: 22nd overall—Ray Lewis played in only five games that season).

Still, Pees will tell you himself, that doesn't mean much.

Ravens defenders know they must keep the tradition alive, and that they must produce at a very high level each and every snap if they want to get to New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII.