The Ravens enter 2010 with a blossoming quarterback and a star running back

A few months after the Harbaugh hire, Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome – one of the best front office executives in professional sports – drafted Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco in the first round. In the second round, Newsome selected Rutgers running back Ray Rice.

Many expected the '08 Ravens to post a record similar to their 5-11 mark of '07 – especially after a season-ending injury to quarterback Kyle Boller and Troy Smith's illness forced  Flacco into the starting lineup right away. Flacco wasn't the only concern. Baltimore had a youthful offensive line and a receiving corps that, aside from veteran Derrick Mason, was  mediocre. That year offensive coordinator Cam Cameron  wound up running a system that was careful and cautious. But the perennially stingy Ravens defense, led by all-but-certain Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, elevated its performance and carried the surprising  club all the way to the A.F.C. title game.

By the next off-season, whispers about the Ravens being a Super Bowl contender were spreading. The 6-foot-5-inch Flacco, with a strong arm and a year of experience, showed promise. Rice had proved to be a solid cog in a thundering backfield that also featured Le'Ron McClain and Willis McGahee. And that Ravens defense was still That Ravens Defense.

But Newsome and the coaching staff were willing to look at the bigger picture. They knew no team could prosper in the long run with its quarterback on a leash as short as Flacco's. And they thought that a three-headed monster at running back was good, but wouldn't it be great if one of the heads was more prominent and belonged to a superstar? Also, the Ravens' brass knew that the '09 defense would have to prove itself under Greg Mattison, the linebackers coach who was promoted to coordinator after the innovative Rex Ryan had accepted the Jets' head coaching job.

And so the Ravens decided they would chase a Super Bowl in '09, but not at the expense of solidifying their long-term foundation. In the end, they squeaked into the postseason with a 9-7 record, dismantled the Patriots in the wild-card round but lost to a much sounder Colts team the next week.

The divisional-round loss was disappointing. But the season as a whole was productive. Flacco had evolved into a genuine pro quarterback. His  pass attempts jumped from 257 as a rookie to 315. His yards went from 2,971 to 3,613, and his touchdowns from 14 to 21. Sure, he was still orchestrating a rudimentary offense, but that was in part because the Ravens had elected to feed the ball to Rice, their sensational second-year running back. The compact 210-pound Rice exhibited a rare blend of power, quickness and elusiveness in gaining 1,339 yards (5.3 yards per carry) in 2009. What's more, he was a phenomenal pass-blocker and receiver (78 catches for 702 yards).

This is where the story reaches the present day. The Ravens enter 2010 with a blossoming quarterback and a star running back. In addition, they've managed to cultivate the best young offensive tackle tandem in the game: Michael Oher and Jared Gaither. With every significant building block firmly in place, Newsome was able to acquire some weapons for Flacco this off-season. He traded a third- and fourth-round pick for the three-time Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin. He took a chance by signing the speedy (and humbled) wideout Donte' Stallworth, who is returning after a one-year suspension for D.U.I. manslaughter. He spent a third-round draft choice on an athletic tight end out of Oregon, Ed Dickson, and a fourth-rounder on B.Y.U.'s Dennis Pitta, both of whom will initially learn the game backing up the admirable veteran Todd Heap.

With Ed Reed's status in limbo and two other cornerbacks -- Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington -- working their way back from ACL injuries suffered last season, the Baltimore Ravens' secondary took another hit at the start of training camp.

WNST in Baltimore initially reported that Domonique Foxworth, a cornerback entering his sixth year in the NFL, tore his ACL during a non-contact practice Thursday night.

Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed the injury on Friday, saying Foxworth was injured without being touched.