The Ravens are rumored to be in search of a speedy WR in the draft in the mold of Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace. In the past the team has focused on size and speed in receivers. And while those are always desirable qualities for a pass catcher, expect Ozzie Newsome & Co. to pay a bit more attention in the ’11 draft on toughness and durability.

Don’t be surprised if Joe Flacco’s No. 3 option at wide receiver next year is David Reed. Sources have indicated that Reed was very impressive during Ravens practices in 2010 as part of the scout team and he presented problems for the Ravens starting corners.

Anquan Boldin will obviously return as a starter and most expect Derrick Mason to give it another go next season. If Reed is in fact the No. 3 choice and the team does seek out a speed receiver in the draft, it will more than likely signal the end for TJ Houshmandzadeh and Donte Stallworth as Ravens.

Many fans were frustrated by the way the team underutilized Stallworth. Insiders suggest otherwise. When Stallworth broke his foot during the preseason, he lost valuable time and even before the injury, he didn’t take many reps with the first unit and therefore never really developed any chemistry with Flacco.

During Stallworth’s 8 weeks on the shelf, Houshmandzadeh did develop some rapport with the Ravens starting QB. Stallworth’s less than ideal route running and average hands didn’t help him to close the gap.

As for Houshmandzadeh, he will likely demand more than the Ravens are willing to pay for a player who caught just 30 balls for 398 yards and 3 scores.

Many (myself included) have labeled former Ravens’ assistant coaches Jim Zorn and John Matsko as sacrificial lambs served up to save Cam Cameron by essentially re-directing blame for the team’s underachieving offense towards them and not the team’s offensive coordinator.

When rumors began to fly that Steve Bisciotti met with John Harbaugh for a total of five hours over the course of a few days to discuss among other things the team’s offensive architect just prior to the club’s annual State of The Ravens address, many concluded (and Harbaugh’s post address comments seemed to confirm this) that Harbaugh successfully salvaged another lifeline for Cameron.

I believed that the firing of Zorn and Matsko was Bisciotti’s influence. My conspiracy theory suggested that Bisciotti wanted to remove any potential future scapegoats and clear the way to assess blame or bestow praise accurately depending upon the performance of the offense in 2011.

However, it now appears that the firings aren’t the diabolical machinations that I once thought they could be.

Word now surfacing from Owings Mills suggests that Matsko wasn’t quite getting to the players on the offensive line – they weren’t embracing his style and there were some rumblings from that group to higher level coaches. Moreover, the team is said to really believe that recently promoted offensive line coach Andy Moeller, despite his troubles off the field, is a rising star among young coaches. He is said to have a unique ability to communicate equally as effectively with young players as with established veterans.

The seemingly unanimous support of Moeller at team headquarters suggests the same.

As for Jim Zorn, he was brought in to provide constructive criticism of Joe Flacco to help accelerate his development; to challenge him and to teach him how to break down game film like a professional.

That didn’t go as planned.

Zorn, being the nice guy that he is never provided the tough love to Flacco and morphed into a confidant more than anything else, treating him with kid gloves. It’s said that Flacco preferred it that way and that could explain at least in part why the Ravens’ signal caller was unusually vocal about Zorn’s firing.

Cameron on the other hand is tougher on Flacco and he’s unafraid to deliver the challenging yet necessary criticisms.

It remains to be seen if Flacco will embrace Cameron’s style.

Sometimes the most successful collaborations are semi-adversarial.

Charlie Weiss and Tom Brady come to mind.

During the 2008 NFL Draft the Ravens were on the clock in the second round with the seventh pick, the 38th overall. Some scouts liked a 6’6”, 220 pound wide receiver out of the University of Indiana. They were impressed by his range, speed and athleticism.

And the Ravens nearly made him their second round pick that year.

Instead, they traded back in the second round, giving up the 38th overall pick in exchange for Seattle’s second round pick (55th overall) and their third round pick (86th overall). The heavies in the Ravens’ draft room were scared off a bit by the Hoosier receiver’s character issues and as a result, Ray Rice and Tom Zbikowski became Ravens.

So who was this wide receiver?

He was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 41st overall pick who was eventually released after suffering a knee injury, underperforming and still at least loosely clutching some off field baggage.

And he is now property of the Baltimore Ravens after signing a reserves/future deal back in January.

His name is James Hardy.

Hardy may never amount to anything but then again, he could. Clearly the risk reward favors the Ravens.

When discussing the deal with one Ravens’ source I was reminded of another wide receiver who possessed plus skills but unfortunately character issues as well. His team, the Dallas Cowboys, just couldn’t get comfortable with taking on more character red flags since their roster already included Michael Irvin and Alvin Harper, neither of which was ever mistaken for a choir boy.

The discarded receiver eventually got his act together and had an outstanding career while wearing the colors of the Jacksonville Jaguars for 13 seasons and hauling in 862 career passes for 12,287 yards and 67 touchdowns. Comparatively speaking, Hall of Famer Irvin posted 750 catches, 11,904 yards and 65 scores during his 12 year career.

Of course I’m describing Jimmy Smith.

While we aren’t suggesting that Hardy’s career will track closely with Smith’s, it does suggest that sometimes when given a second chance gifted athletes can rise from the rubble.

And for the Ravens, the opportunity cost seems worth the roll of the dice.

Mark Bulger has been the subject of discussion lately and many have him pegged for the Arizona Cardinals’ available starting position. While that may be an option for Bulger, don’t be shocked if he returns as Flacco’s back up.

After years of being knocked around in St. Louis, Bulger may have learned that back up QB play may over the long run, pay more handsomely than a starting gig on a struggling team. Exposing diminishing skills in a starter’s role could make Bulger less desirable to contenders as a backup. He might opt for long-term security over short term glory.

Another Raven staring down the setting sun of a career is Matt Birk. Recently Birk informed the team that he would return in 2011.

"Yeah, that's my plan. That's assuming that everything heals up the way it's supposed to. My desire is definitely there. I want to do it again and contribute. We really like it here, and we love the organization and love the team. We've got their support and I've got the family support. I should be good to go."

Birk has always been a team-first guy. Count me among those who would not be surprised if Birk is simply serving up this soft verbal commitment to keep the team’s offseason personnel strategies from being exposed. If Birk states that he will retire, it could drive up the price of a free agent acquisition if and when the new CBA is implemented or it could tip the hand of the Ravens’ scouts in the draft.

Sergio Kindle is said to be in outstanding shape but as one source indicated, “He could bust out of a phone booth with a big S on his chest but even then, [his return to active status] is out of our hands.

In other words the Ravens are at the mercy of the doctors when it comes to their first pick in the 2010 draft.

The discussions surrounding the 18 game season are sure to spike heated debate during the collective bargaining sessions between the NFLPA and the league’s owners. The court of popular opinion seems to side with the players on this one and many who support keeping the 16 game season, suggest that the league is practicing hypocrisy while championing the extended season at the same time they campaign for player safety.

That said if you think about it, an extended season could favor a team that scouts better and one that has a deeper roster. Those frustrating inactive players would likely be a thing of the past and those players would be asked to provide more in the way of snaps.

Here’s what Steve Bisciotti had to say back in October when we discussed the 18 game season with him.

“When I get to the end of 16 games there are a lot of players on my 53 man roster that I don’t know anything about. And there’s no reason why Paul Kruger shouldn’t have played some last year instead of Trevor. And there’s no reason why some of our other players shouldn’t play.

“So through the course of a year you are forced to play those guys because of injury. So as much as everybody talks about the injuries in this league, I still finished with a handful of guys last year that I was not happy didn’t get a lot of snaps. So I can promise you that Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata will not play 20 more snaps in two games.

“I’m still looking for Arthur Jones to get out there. Ozzie Newsome thinks he’s great. Arthur Jones, fifth round pick out of Syracuse, can’t get on the field. I want him on that field and if you go to two more games I promise you are going to see guys like Paul Kruger out there last year more than you would because we’ll start rotating more.”

Sounds like the Ravens owner genuinely supports the extended season.

Or could this all be part of the owners’ master plan of simply creating another negotiating tool to enhance their leverage during the CBA sessions?