I hate July - I really do (in one way, at least).  The start of football season, training cams, and all that is SO close you feel like you can reach out and touch it.  Fans like myself just can't wait to get things going.  Granted, all of August is pretty boring, too, because you're looking at training camps, scrimmages, practices and wondering how good or bad your team will be in the coming year.  You're hoping that major injuries are avoided, and you watch usually bad pre-season games because it's football.  Let's face it - there's no good reason to watch a pre-season game, especially the first one.  The starters play for a series, or two at the most.  The offensive sets are pure vanilla.  The defensive sets are all the base sets - the ones that everyone has seen and has known about forever.  Those first games are primarily about venting frustration - getting to hit someone else for a change - and to start building rhythm and chemistry.  Actual game play is pretty ragged, and once you hit the second half...yikes.  Choppy play, strange happenings. 

Not so curiously, most local newspapers - like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - cover pre-season games like they were the Super Bowl.  Why?  Well, for one thing the football beat writers are probably thrilled to have something to write about again.  Plus, they know how high interest runs in the Steelers here in town.  So they are guaranteed an audience.  People being tuning in to talk-radio a little more frequently, and the topic of conversation is Steelers 24-7.  The coverage is pretty predictable.  There will be 5-6 stories about how the Steelers and the coaching staff are doing everything they can to avoid a Super Bowl Hangover.  There will be about 10 stories on the rookie draft picks - how they are doing, where they are struggling, where they are showing promise (or even improvement...as training camp wears on).  There will be 3-4 stories about position battles, and the cut-down day that results from those position battles.  Every year there's at least 2 stories that are supposed to make you "feel good" about some player - how he overcame this or that or whatever.  Of course, somewhere near the end of training camp will come the GIANT SPECIAL EDITION where all the Steeler writers will sit down and write up their own predictions.  Of course everyone will want to get that.  And then finally, after a long, hot and brutal August, we get the start of the regular season.  FINALLY!

Pre-season games always hold some interest for me, even though I said above that they're boring.  I like to see the players the Steelers drafted get into game action.  Most of the rooks don't know much, and it's obvious, but the joy in playing the game is good enough for me.  I also like to watch a couple of key players, to see how they are progressing.  I think this year many eyes will be focused on Lawrence Timmons and Limas Sweed.  Timmons is moving into the starting role held by Larry Foote for the past 5 years.  As an athlete, he's an upgrade.  The coaches believe in him.  Now it's time to see whether he's another Steeler LB wizard or not.  As for Sweed, after the rookie year he had it would be hard to fall back.  But I guess that danger always exists; no one wants to see a 2nd round draft pick turn bust.  It doesn't hurt as much, but still hurts.  Sweed is going to face pressure this year to improve.  We can only wait, and wait, and criticize later.

Yes, July sucks because there's not much to talk about.  I mean, how many blog posts can you write about the upcoming season?  I wrote a post yesterday based upon a report that Niners coach Singletary made first round pick Crabtree cry.  The fact that it was reported goes to show how little actual news is out there; the fact I wrote a post about it also shows how little I actually have to talk about, too.  Let's face it, I'm writing a post whining about how long July is because I have nothing to talk about!!

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.