The Baltimore Ravens moved Lardarius Webb and Marshal Yanda to first-team players on the depth chart Tuesday. It’s not big news and not really all that important, but it’s worth talking about.
Webb, of course, replaced the injured Fabian Washington in the lineup on Sunday night. His rise in his rookie season has been meteoric. The third-round draft pick started very slowly in training camp, but started to turn it around on special teams. Then he started to get in some plays in the nickel package. Now, Webb is the starter. For what it’s worth, I liked what I saw out of Webb on special teams. He seemed to have a nose for the ball on kick and punt coverage. It looks to me like he can be a shutdown corner. No, Webb is not as big as Chris McAlister, but size doesn’t matter as much as speed at the corner back position. Webb was a very solid addition for the Ravens in the draft, and is a welcome addition in a secondary that has been suspect all season.
Yanda, on the other hand, has finally gotten his job back. Yanda was the starting right guard for Baltimore until he shredded his knee last season. Chris Chester hasn’t played poorly, but Yanda is much nastier when blocking. Also, I think John Harbaugh, like many coaches, believes that players shouldn’t lose their starting jobs to injuries. Yanda just needed to get his knee healthy. I fully expect the offensive line to be even better in the upcoming weeks now that Yanda is back on the right side next to rookie right tackle Michael Oher.
I don’t think the depth chart matters too much in any instance, but I’m certain it doesn’t matter with the Ravens. Since Harbaugh took over last season, the whole roster has been used. I wouldn’t put too much stock in these moves, other than Harbaugh is putting the best 11 men on either side of the ball on the field. I do like how Harbaugh uses the entire active roster, for the most part, in every game, but elevating Webb and Yanda to first team is the right move.
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