FanHouse JaredGaither

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Jonathan Ogden retired last summer, leaving the Ravens with a young but deep group of offensive linemen to protect rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. Not surprisingly, Ogden's replacement, Jared Gaither (a former supplementary draft pick) was inconsistent, but occasionally flashed glimpses of big-play potential.

Torry Holt and Orlando Pace have combined for 13 Pro Bowls, all with the Rams. Now, the two late-'90s former first-round picks are facing the stark reality of what it means to get old in the NFL. The "it's a business" mantra means that, at some point, every player will have to make a choice: retire or risk getting cut.

James Harrison could have been a Raven. After the Steelers released him in 2003, Baltimore added him to the roster during the 2004 offseason. But the Ravens released him during training camp, he re-signed with the Steelers, and it sure seems like he's spent the past couple of years trying to remind Baltimore of what it could have had.

He's had six sacks in the past two years against the Ravens. He's forced three fumbles and picked off one pass. So when the Ravens watched the film of their first regular-season games against the Steelers, it must have become clear quite quickly that they had to figure out someway to stop their worst nightmare -- an angry Harrison.

Every week we do a new Between The Lines looking at some aspect of line play in the NFL.

A year ago, the Ravens were a complete mess. They had no quarterback, a "offensive genius" as a head coach who could never seem to figure out how to produce points, and the abysmal record to show for it.

There are a lot of reasons the Ravens have gone from 5-11 to 6-3 and playoff contention. New coach John Harbaugh has gotten the team headed in the right direction. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron has added some innovation to the offense and Joe Flacco has given the team the quarterback it had been lacking for years.

But after watching Ravens left tackle Jared Gaither contain Texans defensive end Mario Williams, it's clear that Gaither is one of the big reasons that the Ravens have gone from a league joke to a playoff contender. Gaither had one of the toughest jobs possible--replace a future Hall of Famer. But Jonathan Ogden had played in only 11 games last year and was limited in 2007 by a toe injury, and when he was out, the Ravens were lacking in viable fill-ins.

Running back Willis McGahee and company might have thought the eye laceration during the win over the Browns was intentional, but the NFL thought otherwise.

Head coach John Harbaugh said that they thought the hit was intentional and were sending the video to the league for review after McGahee left the game with a badly cut eyelid. Harbaugh said he didn't feel like mentioning the player in question, but did give us the option of seeing ourselves.

"I don't think we should say," he said. "I wouldn't want to comment on it, but you can see it on the tape."

On a 7-yard carry to Cleveland's 1-yard line in the third quarter, McGahee came up bleeding after a tackle by Browns linebacker Andra Davis, who appeared to get his hand caught inside McGahee's visored helmet while being blocked to the ground by Ravens tackle Jared Gaither.

McGahee got up and immediately headed to the sideline with blood dripping down his face. His right eye is still swollen and he has been limited in practice this week as the Ravens prepare for a Monday night game against Pittsburgh.

Good thing the season doesn't start tomorrow, because the Ravens might have to un-retire Steve McNair, have him drop a few pounds, and move to left tackle or defensive line. Jared Gaither, the guy in line to replace Jonathan Ogden, sprained his right ankle yesterday, and 2006 first-round pick, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, was carted off the field earlier today with an injured right leg.

Starting running back Willis McGahee is also recovering from a leg injury and safety Ed Reed, cornerback David Pittman, running backs Cory Ross and P.J. Daniels, and offensive tackle Davie Hale joined him on the sidelines today. In less depressing news, cornerback Chris McAlister was given the A-OK to return to practice after rehabbing from offseason knee surgery.

I'm not sure this will have much effect on how the Ravens start the season; presumably, everybody will be relatively healthy in short order and the preseason schedule will give the team an opportunity to prepare for the real thing.

That said, if Kyle Boller wins the starting quarterback gig, it won't much matter how all these injuries turn out; the Ravens will be playing for 2009, when Joe Flacco will hopefully be ready to assume the full-time job (if not sooner).

[FoxSports.com: Ngata hurts leg, adding to list of Ravens injuries]

For those of you looking forward to the supplemental draft to break up the drudgery between now and the start of training camp, I have some bad news: it's been canceled due to lack of interest. That's right, this year, you won't be able to sit in front of your computer and wait for random NFL.com updates alerting you to which team team took a fourth-round flier on a player you've never heard of.

"No one applied at the time of the deadline," 49ers general manager Scott McCloughan confirmed Thursday. The NFL sent out a memo to all 32 teams informing them of the announcement Wednesday.

The cancellation comes as a surprise because there had been rumblings that several players were considering applying, including high profile talents such as Southern California middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, Oklahoma State tight Brandon Pettigrew and Mississippi State offensive tackle Michael Brown.

Yes, surprising, indeed. Last year, the Chargers forfeited a 2008 fourth-rounder to take Georgia cornerback Paul Oliver, and a round later, the Ravens grabbed offensive tackle Jared Gaither, who could be in line to replace Jonathan Ogden.

Oliver only appeared in three games last season, but Gaither made two starts, and heads into training camp tentatively penciled in as Baltimore's left tackle.

According to NFLDraftScout.com, only 37 players have been selected via the supplemental draft since its inception in 1977, with Bernie Kosar, Cris Carter and Brian Bosworth among the most noteworthy. One of these names is not like the other.

I don't know if Jared Gaither suddenly becomes an answer to a Trivial Pursuit: the Baltimore Ravens Edition question, but he'll get first crack at the left tackle job vacated by Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden when he announced his retirement earlier this week.

Gaither, a fifth-round supplemental pick last July, entered the NFL amid all sorts of questions, both good and bad. On the upside, he's 6-9, 320 pounds and has plenty of quickness for a big guy. But he also failed out of Maryland, and only managed 15 reps of 225 during his Pro Day workout (Brady Quinn, by comparison, does 15 as part of his pre-warmup routine).

Gaither started two games last season, and the Ravens front office is intrigued by his potential. Of course, it's not clear if Gaither is truly dedicated to football, which is kinda worth knowing before giving him the job of protecting the quarterback's blind side.

Baltimore featured one of the youngest offensive lines in the league last season, and the inexperience showed. That said, this unit could evolve into a very competent group, which should make Joe Flacco very happy. In the meantime, Kyle Boller will have to pay the price for progress, in the form of a crapload of sacks. Thanks, dude.

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

The Baltimore Ravens have already taken their first step toward 2008. John Harbaugh is the new coach and brings with him the expectation of a more disciplined team that takes better advantage of its resources. Some have argued that this team is close to playoff position but, truthfully, change is needed to restore this team to the level of a contender. As it has for years, the major obstacle for the Ravens to overcome is at football's marquee position.

1. Quarterback – Elvis Grbac. Randall Cunningham. Jeff Blake. Chris Redman. Kyle Boller. Anthony Wright. Steve McNair. Those are the men who have started at quarterback for the Ravens since Trent Dilfer won Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. Other than McNair in 2006, not a one of them has done anything to earn a second season on the job, and McNair went down in flames in year two. Boller didn't embarrass himself at the end of this season but he didn't do anything to warm the cockles of your heart either.

Billick was Boller's biggest champion and we don't know who will be running the offense in 2008, so it's anybody's guess as to who will be under center.