The "sudden" retirement of Derrick Mason from the Baltimore Ravens may prove to be a very painful blow to that team.  Mason has long been Baltimore's best wide out, and he developed a solid chemistry with rookie QB Joe Flacco last year.  Mason is the one player on the Ravens offense capable of stretching defenses; without him, that Ravens offense looks very pedestrian.

The Ravens have followed a very basic formula with varying degrees of success this decade.  They play stellar, opportunistic and physical defense first and foremost.  With players like Lewis and Reed, it's virtually impossible not to have a great defense.  On offense, they've gone through a litany of average or worse quarterbacks, and as a result their offense has been average to pathetic since 2000 - including their Super Bowl year.  Last year, elevating Joe Flacco to the starting QB position injected some excitement into the team and its fans because Flacco actually looked like a bona fide QB and not some bum dragged in off of the street. 

A major reason for Flacco's quick success was that he was on a very good team.  The Ravens running game was extremely tough, and they had a big, bruising offensive line to open the holes.  The Ravens could be conservative on offense because they knew that relying on their defense was always an option.  There was no need to get aggressive, especially throwing Flacco up into tough situations like asking him to win games with his arm in the face of brutal defenses.  That simply didn't happen.  However, Flacco was a very solid player, and that was in part because he had Mason as his key target.

Mason's speed and elusiveness forced defenses to account for him all of the time, and for some teams that meant a double-team.  That gave Flacco generally more time and space to see the field and deliver the ball.  Granted, the Ravens routes weren't all that complicated last year because of the usual rookie limitations.  But they were effective.  The loss of Mason cannot be overlooked, because now Flacco is left without a true number one receiver.  There are not that many teams in the NFL that can be constantly successful in the passing game without a true top receiver - ask Donovan McNabb.  Unless Mason is replaced, the Ravens offense can expect a long season of 8-man fronts and extreme pass pressure in obvious passing downs because there just won't be the weapons on the field that defenses have to respect.  This isn't to say that the Ravens will fail - but it will make succeeding more difficult. 

I think that by the time the season actually starts (a whole two months away...seems like forever!) most people will start to get down on Baltimore.  There are simply too many questions that need to be answered.  Will Rex Ryan's departure hurt the defense?  Can Flacco avoid a sophomore slump?  Can Mason be replaced - either internally or via a veteran free agent pickup?  Will the losses on defense hurt this team?  I think it's entirely possible that all of these questions will be answered positively, and if so then the Ravens are a Super Bowl contender.  Yet, I also think that many of these questions might end up being problematic, which drops Baltimore out of true Super Bowl contention and puts them more or less into simply playoff contention. 

My personal feeling is that the Ravens will struggle through the first 8 or so games, especially (and notably) on defense.  I think it will take the team some time to adjust to the new coach, his method of calling plays, and his timing of calling them.  But, being honest here, a Ravens defense that "struggles" will still be very good.  It's just that it won't be the same level of play that they've shown in the past couple of years.  I also think that the offense - unless it imports a solid veteran WR - may also have some early-season struggles.  That being said, I'm not entirely down on the Ravens.  I think there's enough talent on that team for them to be in the playoff hunt all year long.  I just wonder whether or not there's enough talent, and whether or not enough questions can be answered, to justify calling the Ravens a Super Bowl contender.