Newsome is Awesome

8 minutes ago, kjbmore said:

You'd rather have Aiken over Boldin - seriously??

That's why arguing here is almost pointless. You have to wait for game results. We'll discuss them frequently this year.

1 hour ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

But "Big Stanley is terrible"... 

 

Just saying. The people at PFF know what to look for. I think/hope that he's going to be a gem. 

What you'll find is that Big Stanley has predominantly faced 2nd and 3rd stringers.  He's done an adequate job in that capacity, but there's been more going on than PFF or RSR are going to be capable of deciphering. 

The primary issue is snaps vs non starters, but there is more.

The average time the QB's are holding the ball is very short. PFF discuss that?  What about RSR?  The reason is those entities are not comprehensive. They are actually creating numbers for situations against non starters and in situations where the ball is held for extremely short periods of time. The latter is Trestman's influence.

Indy used players that laid way off our receivers. Reminded me immensely of the Patriot playoff game loss in 2014.  We couldn't cover close either.

Anyway, I'd be real careful in drawing conclusions before the season begins. That scene you've posted is a quick release again and if the play wasn't over in short order, it may not have been as good a block as implied. 

8 hours ago, allblackraven said:

 

After 2 years of not having Pitta to throw to, Joe is now used to it. He now has many other legit targets to make his life easier.

Joe has not come close to his 2012 Championship Run and a big part of that was Pitta.  The other parts were taken, one immediately the other while Pitta was absent.

Joes completion percentage went up last year, but his rating went down.  He threw a lot of dump off balls, which is a hallmark of the Trestman offense. 

The best way to put it is that Flacco has a bunch of new receivers with whom confidence has not been established.  When he works it out with receivers we retain, he'll get back, but "we've" been insisting upon playing musical chairs with his receivers.

4 hours ago, kjbmore said:

seems like thread had turned into the roster / cut / TE thread

my 2 cents - after reading the article on the front page and just from harbaughs quotes - i cant see pitta getting cut

“It’s absurd that it even happened,” Harbaugh said. “We need to get him back as soon as we can, but it’s not going to be this week. A bone has to heal.”

“I want to get him time to work with Joe but he really can’t catch right now. And he definitely can’t get his finger banged up,” Harbaugh said. “The guy has played a lot of football. We have to get him and Joe timed up. That was really coming early on, which was exciting to see.”

Does not sound like somebody about to get cut.

We give him a spot and we can still wheel out 3 TE's if he's not good to go and if it all turns to poo and has a hip thing again(touch wood be healthy) - waller can come back in 5 or boyle in 10 or we just run with the 3 on the roster

There is no way Pitta gets cut this season.  My interpretation of RSR is that it was speculative in regard to coming years.  Really that was the only way to interpret it. If it was a genuine belief about this year...well...don't put much stock into the rating system either.

What still bothers me about Pitta's injury is that our high drafted rookie didn't have the common sense to ease off a remarkable veteran making a historic comeback.  It never crossed his mind to not go full out.  That kind of processing mistake will show up on the field. A team needs athletes, but a team is best when those athletes are discerning.

6 hours ago, sibelius said:

 

Me? I'm gonna root for this team and go to war with the army we have. 

Sounds like you're quoting history. Very similar words to what a former Secretary of Defense used.

Bad decisions regarding personnel are bad decisions regarding personnel. Sometimes the leaders are the problem.

Well it looks like the Elam debate has been decided by the 15-20% chance of injury.  He had a chip removed from his knee and Lewis has been injured.  It's a race back to active status regarding who makes the roster.

3 hours ago, GrimCoconut said:

You may not understand how the fifth-year option works, but it's not something we really negotiate. It's sorta like the franchise tag. There's no negotiating the price. I never said Elam is of the same skill as Reid. I only alluded to the fact that he would likely be paid the same if given the fifth-year option; however, that may be a better question served to the cap guru around here, @B-more Ravor.

Thanx,

But I'm not much interested in Cap Discussions.  They are labored. Any Team can make room for any Player in  regard to Cap.  The Steelers do it all the time.

My view on Cap is that it must be rescinded for the game to be completely enjoyable. When it is rescinded we will see who the good GM's are and  who they are not. I also believe rosters need expanded by at least 10 players and I believe 12 would be a better number with the injuries and concern for player well being. If our roster was 65, I  might understand retaining Elam.

Whatever they pay Elam is too much, because his roster spot is valuable and it strains credibility to say, we have nothing better and can't release him. Every time he is on the field there is jeopardy of losing the game. He can't play the position in the NFL.

10 hours ago, sibelius said:

I like Matt Elam. Always have liked him as a guy. Looking forward to seeing him put it together this year after a strong season and solid showings so far in preseason. 

Don't hold your breath.

I gotta tell you. I've watched a lot of players over the years, but rarely have seen one so much a fish out of water.

Having gone big against Big Stanley, must admit to this point he has not allowed the QB to be harassed.  I think it's an aggregation of things, but the QB has been clean in the pocket.   Elam on the other hand has a track record and tools that aren't fit for the position. What are you gonna do?

9 hours ago, GrimCoconut said:

I forgot to add that, but that was a point I wanted to make, too. Jimmy got around $7M, but it is based off of the position average and not the draft spot. I think he would've gotten close to if not the same as Eric Reid, who got $5.6M for the fifth year option. That's a lot to lose if he [Elam] becomes injured. We could re-sign him for possibly less, or let him go in FA and get a comp. 

Eric Reid?.....Yah, not even in the same stadium.  Check out Reid's read, catch and athleticism on his TD vs Denver. Granting it was against a 3rd string QB. Reid had a poor year last year, but not as poor as our 1st rounder from that same draft has played.

10 hours ago, Edgar said:

It's way too early to worry about Correa but I would agree that his performance in two pre-season games fails to measure up to the hype of training camp.

He is a high pick who really hasn't jumped off the film to this point.  He really has no answer when an offensive lineman gets hands on him first. 

 

Correa deserves time. He's definitely got a high motor and enthusiasm. He reminds me of a young Rey Maualuga.  Not sure about his NFL football instincts, but they can develop.

14 hours ago, jimmypowder said:

Chief , Stanley has offensive rookie of the year potential. Very polished for a rookie. 

Really?

4 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

You are actually making my point for me. If Elam was living up to expectations they would have taken that 5th year option without even a second's hesitation. I'd actually have to do some research to see when the last time the Ravens declined a 5th year option on a first round draft pick. I certainly can't recall the last time it happened.

After isolating Elam on the couple plays he appeared to make tackles they turned from tackles into at best middling plays. Can't believe he makes this team, but there is likely one thing worse than an early round bad draft pick for a Front Office.  It's cutting a high draft pick, they eventually determined to be a bad draft pick, only to have him blossom somewhere else. That scenario makes someone look very silly and so there certainly is some hesitation about Elam now.

Colts Drive 1
Elam, Correa and Judon not in. Correa gets in on goal line defense, overpowered by Colts right tackle, though got his facemask incidentally.

Colts 3-0
Raven Drive 1, will focus on Stanley

1-Run to right side away from Big Stanley, he misses cut block again, minimal gain
2-Big Stanley gets part of his man on a cut block that doesn't take him down, Partial Year starter,  they run away from Big Stanley again to right for minimal gain
3-Big Stanley has a rook LB take him long and is lucky pass is quick...
Rook that almost beat Stanley roughs punter drive continues
4-Big Stanley on Part Year starter again, gets bulled backwards but neutralizes him on Gilmore Drop
5-Stanley gets beat by 2nd move of Roughing rook, but quick pass out prevents any damage
6-Stanley off half a beat quick due to Roughing Rook on him again. Refs don't call it and Rook beats Big Stanley outside but quick throw prevents any damage.
7-Stanley literally punches Roughing Rook in head, Refs somehow don't see it, but that will not fly.  You gotta look at his play 7 on the film. Unreal. I grade Stanley very poorly for these two drives against nondescript players. My grades do not get reduced to a number. Not at BPU.  Ravens punt

Colts 2nd Drive
Believe Elam is in and gets stoned on a  blitz
Elam does make 1st of his two tackles next play.....have to note its a dive and not an arms tackle and leaves a man early that could have beat him for a TD. 
Elam makes his second tackle, but loses coverage on man
Elam beat in a couple steps but colts fumble

Ravens 3rd Drive
8-Run to stanleys side and he makes handsy seal vs 12 year vet, non starter end of year.
9-They Run at Big Stanley and being kind he looks awkward. Actually grabs the  defender from behind while he is tackling ball carrier. No gain.
10-Non Factor, rollout right, 1st down
11-Does a good job pass blocking on Sack Zed for a year DE
12-Fair block on starting linkbacker, very handsy.....gonna be lucky if he doesn't get called for holding as the Refs get his wind of his preference. No gain
13-Does a good job on OLB, full year starter,  forcing him out....TD

Colts next Drive
Correa in this drive
Contrary he does not touch ball against 2nd string LT
Correa unblocked has ball thrown right into him.
Missed field goat 7-3

Ravens
14-Good Pass block..completion
15-Does good job on Roughing Rook this time on run
16-Does an adequate job on non starting big LB........Ravens punt

Colts Drive for filed goal

Well, thats enough. No need to go into the second half with 3rd stringers.  What one can't dismiss is that for the second game in a row we did not look good while it was 1st team vs 1st team. Hopefully that means we are slow starters, cuz that can be overcome.
Big Stanley started poorly and played better as the game went on. Still waiting to see him on dedicated QB rushers. He's gonna have to watch his hands.
Judon has a motor and will play large for us barring injury. He was my favorite in this draft.
Matt Elam became invisible after a couple plays he appeared in. 
Correa has a ways to go as well.
Essentially we won a close one and that's good for morale.
 

25 minutes ago, Inqui said:

But Stanley's continuing to be a pleasant surprise with how he's holding up in the run game already. I thought he'd need a little more time in that regard.

If you take Josh Johnson's scramble runs out of the run equation, the running game wasn't much. 

Stanley appeared to block pretty well in pass protection though.

cant seem to stop them but elam has made a couple tackles

Penalties keeping us in it.

23 hours ago, fusuymada said:

Where it would be nice to be perfect in every draft with every player, it is impossible. Ozzie is great because of how well he does compared to the rest of the league. Believe it or not, the draft is set up so the best teams pick later making it harder to get superstars in every draft, thus creating parity. Because we have done so well historically, the fact that Ozzie is discussed as one of the best in the league is a tribute. Yet there are those who continue go down the road of "Ozzie has lost it", or "our scouts are no good". Not every draft pick is Ray Lewis or Jonathon Ogden.

I have major concerns with Webb on the roster as a safety. We say in this article Keenan Reynolds can't make the transition well enough to be a pro wide reciever yet if you look at the video of Reynolds making the long catch from Joe (in the video section), he beats Charisse Wright and Webb had him deep and while the guy who can't make the team is catching the ball and running for a touchdown, Webb is looking up in the air with his arms out like he is checking for rain. That's scares me.

With the tennis ball drill, the balls should be dyed brown like a football not flourescent green. Anyone can find the bright green ball against a dark blue sky but the brown football blends in better with the blue sky and will make the drill more realistic.

The problem is our core team building draft years are quite a few years back.  2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008....by any objective measure we really haven't drafted core players for 8 years.  That's a long time to go into a slump in today's NFL. After finishing 8-8, we picked up Mosely who is a very productive player. Whether he becomes a core player remains to be seen. No one else since 2008 fits into that category. 

You have to look close at our 1st round selections since then.

2009- Oher......we certainly didn't think enough of him to keep him........he was literally chastised in this forum by the fans.

2010-Kindle - They'll say, how could you know?.........Fact is he didn't play for us under very questionable conditions

2011-Jimmy Smith....He can't stay sound.....he's Webb on the corner.  How many pro bowls?...certainly not core.

2012-Courtney Upshaw.......once again, not core

2013-Matt Elam.........here they clearly just fumbled the ball.

2014-CJ Mosely.........He's played well and has potential to become core

2015 Perriman..........Not a play for us.

2016 Big Stanley........we'll see.

I'm not even going to get into the 2nd and 3rd round busts..........you can't draft like that in today's NFL and claim to have been among the Evaluating Elite.  Our draft selectors have been much closer to the bottom of the league than the top of the league over these years and that my friends is our problem.

7 minutes ago, Obie said:

Every time I read that flacco is not 100% I cringe, we,d better go out and get us bonafide qb as a backup, now.

I haven't heard anything implying Flacco is not precisely on path.  They are being careful with him, but we'll see if he gets some time tonight.

6 minutes ago, JO_75 said:

I think the Cowboys have found their Quarterback of the future in Dak Prescott. He finished 10/12 for 139 Yards and 2 Touchdowns against the Rams, and 12/15 for 199 Yards and 2 TDs. Making him 22/27 for 338 Yards and 4 TDs in 2 preseason games. Crazy how the Rams traded everything including the kitchen sink for Goff and the same for Eagles with Wentz while the Cowboys drafted Prescott in the fourth round.

I agree with you.  Not sure why he went that late, but a lot of teams are going to regret it.

The Big Tunsil vs The Cowboys

The Big Tunsil starts this game with the other Fin starters.  The psychology of Tunsil being number 1 is palpable.  Just tell the truth  coaching staff.

1-Tunsil not only removes his man from the pass play, he knocks him off balance
2-Tunsil pulls right on a run play and removes his man from the play.
3- Tunsil gets double team help but sack comes from off side of line
2nd Drive
4- fake bootleg left, play goes other way
5- Tunsil pulls left and gets a shield block  on his man, but play looks to have broken down
6- Tunsil does excellent job of double teaming a man and keeping on eye on Left Tackles man.  Superb.
7.- Tunsil in melee, very effective
8- Tunsil pancakes his man on a pass play......kaching!
9-Tunsil literally blocks 2 men on a running play, 2nd on a blitz.
10- Totally neutralizes his bull rusher
11-Pushes his bull rusher laterally......my oh my

Fins fail on 4th down

12- Tunsil pulls right, tags a man, but tackle on runner made behind him
13-Helps double team a  man...1st down, but Fins struggling
14-Tunsil yards downfield neutralizing a linebacker
15-Tunsil off half a step quick, but they don't call it, neutralizes his man.
16-Tunsil seals his man on a pass play, but heavy rush comes from Left Tackles man
17-Camera loses play
18- Tunsil neutralizes his man, but late loses him off the left side, incomplete
19- Stumbles, but gets a block nevertheless.....showed his athleticism on tough play
20 - seals man TD

Tunsil out for next Fins series.
Tunsil back in with 11.00 to go in third quarter

21- Neutralizes man on quick hitter
22-Gets a piece of two defenders. 1st down run called back due to hold.
23-Is moved off the spot by a fresh bull rusher......first time I've seen that.......keeps his man safe, but definitely moved by him
24-Gets  upfield on 3rd and 29
25-pulls right upfield, finds no one to block QB sacked
26- neutralizes his man but QB sacked again from right side..bullrusher he had trouble with
27- Nice block on pass play....his  man never close
28- Textbook pull and move out on linebacker....runner cuts right behind him
29- Big Bullrusher blocked....tries to stunt..1st down
30- False Start on Tunsil......clearly goes on wrong snap count
31- Nondescript block towards play direction......not effective
32-No one to block on play
33-Stops big bull rusher on 1st and 2nd moves......same was gonna clear on 3rd move, but 1st down
34 gets in front of his man on play to left for big run gainer.......good play after a few questionable ones
35 Downfield with noone to block again.......getting downfield well on pulls but not finishing out there
36- Stops bullrusher....same one Rookie from Akron is a beast though
37-Akron rookie beats him inside and makes tackle.......worst play in 2 preseason games
38- Double team ..good block but  Fins fail to convert down deep on 4th and short.  Cowboys blowing them out.........Note this Rookie from Akron #67 is a load.  Hes' gonna make this team and make lots of noise

Tunsil out with 5 min left in 4th quarter.  He didn't finish the game as well as he started it.  Bad plays including losing track of the snap count on a downfield assignment and blowing the block on the Akron rookie.
Still, only he and Pouncey kept the QB clean.  The dominant blocks were once again, other worldly. 
They played him a good number of snaps because he is clearly the starting Left Guard now and he is gonna be a good one........very good. Whether thats gonna be enough to elevate the Fins in the division is another story.

3 rooks stood out
The Big Tunsil and
Dak Prescott are going to be game changers

The Akron Rookie is going to create chaos

Its almost Football Time!......gonna have us some fun!.....GONNA HAVE US SOME FUN!
 

What was Suggs gonna say? He's the Team Leader now and was doing his pep talk job with a young team. We were 12-4 in 2011 and 10-6 in 2012, with a team still heavy in pro bowlers.

14 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Just so we're clear, this is the "Championship Cary Williams" you'd be getting.

then turned around and gave up over 1,000 yards, six touchdowns, and a 91.6 quarterback rating in his coverage this season.

If you're saying Williams was not as effective after he left the Ravens, that is probably accurate in some respects, but I have to say when anyone uses a rating like a 104.3 or a 3.1, you're going to immediately lose the attention of anyone from the Bill Parcells school of evaluation. That is going to be especially so when the source of the rating is not even referenced, because certain sources like PFF or Russell Street have lost accreditation with the School of Parcells.  For instance, we had a poster from Russell Street the other day actually state that one reason our rookie left tackle scored so high, (3.1), was because the "expectation" for him was lower.  Or in other words he received a subjective bonus.  At BPU, we sorta chuckle at that! (Update: Such was stated within a Russell Street Report link, but the author has since revised that post and the subjective language has been removed.)

At Bill Parcells University, Wins and Losses, Games Played, Starts, Passes Defensed, Interceptions, Tackles are what is going to make us initially take notice with a cornerback. If you've got film, we are very big on film as well.  But ratings, not so much. 

I'd point out that even with diminished "Parcells Numbers" and a Philly Offense that did NOT stay on the field, Cary Williams was a winner and played in the playoffs in 2013 and we did not.  The Chip Kelly offense will make any defender slip some, because there are quick outs and quick scores. But won't argue that Williams did not slip, just that evaluating with someone else's "ratings" is not the way to judge it. At least not at BPU.

Correction...It looks like Championship Cary Williams may have been picked up by Washington.  

On ‎8‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 0:34 PM, K-Dog said:

No. Not at all.

I remember a game against the 49'ers a few years ago.  We were totally blowing them out. I think it was the largest lead we ever had. They eventually came back but still only lost by less than three. ( one point? )

If that game were any longer I am convinced we would have lost.

 

So, no. The game will never be put away enough. 

The Championship Game?

1 hour ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

If you think Jimmy Smith's 2013 and 2014 campaigns are anywhere in the same atmosphere as Cary Williams then you are blind. Jimmy between the super bowl and his lisfranc injury was by far the most dominant stretch the ravens have ever seen from a cb, and he did it without the elite defenses that c-mac had, and did it against top flight receivers seemingly every other week.

Jimmys worth isn't about potential, it's about recovering from an injury that has been known to end careers or at least send them on a downward spiral.

I have a vastly different measuring stick for player. For me he doesn't get to be called elite on a subjective basis.  He has to be a game changer on film.  He has to produce, he has to be on the field and the team has to win.  I like Jimmy Smith, but to this point he has not tipped the scale in his favor. I see potential, but it has not fully ripened by many measures. If we could put Championship Cary Williams on both corners this year, it would be a no brainer.

Regarding injuries, I'm going strictly by memory, but I recall his rookie year he had a high ankle sprain that set him back multiple games.  His second year, I believe he had a abdominal hernia that set him back. Obviously the Lisfranc in 2014, a year you wish to score as pro bowl.  I know there's great influence here to put Smith on the Hall of Fame express. I'm just not on board that train. But if he's going to get on, it better be soon, because he is 28 years old and the best sequence he's shown was in the final drive of the Championship game.

Jimmy Smith certainly hasn't shown much in practice, but I'm not holding that against him. He deserves the chance to demonstrate he's still got it.

6 hours ago, Drew P said:

Knee jerk reaction but the secondary after Weddle and Jimmy is still a huge question mark.

That wasn't Weddle back there though. 

Ladarius probably had the sun get in his eyes..........."Blinding"

Check out the shadows on the field.

What about that throw. Check out the spiral on that thing. Low boring trajectory. That's the type of throw Flacco excels at.

Unfortunately it sounds like Waller is making the Cut decision more difficult after today. 

11 hours ago, Purple_City39 said:

I'm curious about this.  I remember Jimmy being ahead of Cary and all depth charts before week 1 that I can find show that (although they are hard to find).  Cary got the start because Jimmy had a high ankle sprain on the opening kick off and by the time he was healthy again, Williams and Webb were pretty much dominating.  He did get abused by Rivers mid-season, but so did everyone sans Webb

Jimmy Smith has had trouble staying glued together. Not sure you're talking 2011 or 2012, but I believe Smith was nicked in both years.

Cary Williams on the other hand started every game, including all playoff games, for us those two years. 38 of 38 games, including 2 passes defensed in the Championship game. Williams had 75 plus tackles each of those two seasons and defensed as many thrown balls (35) as Darelle Revis, but for Revis's in 2009

Now he is only 31 and a Free Agent, but he did play admirably for the Ravens.

Jimmy Smith is 28 years old and has he played his best?  Because if he has do you really think he has measured up to Cary Williams in either 2011 or 2012?   My view is that Jimmy Smith is still about potential and a lot of that has to do with injuries.

Which brings us back to Elam and a much lower level of contribution discussion.

3 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

I must have missed him saying this. Can you post a link to the quote?

I've projected 7-9 with possible upside exceeding that should Suggs return to near form and Wallace become at least a Torrey Smith.