Baltimore Ravens Betting Odds: 2014 Preview, Predictions

The Baltimore Ravens ended a string of five consecutive winning seasons last year off their Super Bowl XLVII victory, proving just how difficult it is to repeat as NFL champions.

The good news is that the Ravens still managed to finish last season at .500 with an 8-8 record, and they will have a solid chance to win the AFC North for the third time in four years at 11-4 odds.

Before last season, Baltimore (7-9 against the spread in 2013) lost some key players who helped the team win the Super Bowl, notably wide receiver Anquan Boldin, safety Ed Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis.

The Ravens open at home with a tough assignment: a divisional clash with Cincinnati where the point spread has moved to a pick 'em in recent days.

However, the Ravens have addressed all of those positions in the NFL draft and through free agency over the last couple years and should finally start to see some better results from the moves in 2014.

For example, one year after trading Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore signed free-agent wide receiver Steve Smith, who is the all-time leading receiver for the Carolina Panthers.

While the 5'9" Smith is not as physically imposing as the 6'1", 220-pound Boldin, he does give the Ravens another sure set of hands in the passing game opposite of Torrey Smith that opposing teams will need to focus on.

Trying to replace two future NFL Hall of Famers in Reed and Lewis has proven to be much tougher though and understandably so, especially considering the team has chosen to rely more on youth than experience with early-round draft picks.

After selecting safety Matt Elam and linebacker Arthur Brown in the first two rounds of the NFL draft last year, Baltimore used its first-round pick this year on linebacker C.J. Mosley and then took safety Terrence Brooks in the third round.

Reloading rather than rebuilding with most of the core from the Super Bowl team intact could end up working out well for the Ravens if their young players can grow up quickly this season.

In that scenario, not only is Baltimore worth a look at 18-1 to win the AFC and 40-1 to win the Super Bowl, but the most likely bet to cash could be over 8.5 wins as long as the veterans can stay healthy as well.

Stats and odds courtesy of Odds Shark.