In the 2008-2009 Season, The Baltimore Ravens from the AFC North Division had one of the most ferocious and successful attack defenses in the entire NFL. Led by off-the-field Defensive Coordinator, Rex Ryan, and on-the-field assassin Ray Lewis, the Ravens routinely disrupted opposing offenses , rattled and sacked enemy quarterbacks , and, in general, raised mayhem on the gridiron.

Clearly, the Ravens 3-4 Defense was primarily responsible for the teams overall success,m well that and an ace new quaterback, Joe Flacco. He gave the ravens what they needed, a qb with the it factor and a guy who can exicute winning drives and make all the throws. Finally this team has a REAL QB!

But, nothing stays the same. When the season ended, Rex Ryan left Baltimore to become the new Head Coach of The New York Jets. Not surprisingly, he coaxed three of the Ravens top defensive starters away from Baltimore, including stud linebacker Bart Scott.

While team leader, Ray Lewis, will remain with the Ravens in the 2009-2010 Season, it remains to be seen how much the loss of Rex Ryan, Bart Scott and other defensive stalwarts will impact Baltimores chances in the upcoming season.

NFL experts and analysts will tell you, these critical personnel losses will hurt. However, many who closely observe the NFL and its thirty-two teams believe that the Ravens have retained enough of their core players, while adding other new, important pieces, to remain just as defensively ferocious in 2009-2010 as they were in the last few seasons, particularly last year.

It remains to be seen. And, for fans of the team and those who enjoy wagering, the new season will have to be approached cautiously. While it appears that the new squad will be the same old Ravens, its impossible to know that , until they start playing the games for real in September.

Ray Lewis, often considered the top defensive linebacker in all of football, will be 34 when the new season begins. Thats getting old in football years and people who wager will have to watch Lewis performance closely to see if hes lost a step or if hes still the same old Ray.

Moreover, and perhaps equally important, will the replacement for Rex Ryan, the teams new Defensive Coordinator, be able to quickly establish a rapport with the players and get them to perform at the same stellar level as they did last season?

Its no gimme , no guarantee that the same defensive players will work as hard and perform as well for a new Defensive Coordinator as they did for the very popular Rex Ryan.