Ravenslifer

That's what stood out to me the most when I compared Perriman in 2014 to Torrey's tape at Maryland in 2010. Torrey on almost every play I saw him in basically waited until the ball was in his chest and then tried to hold it there - he only used his hands first when he had to stretch out for a pass that was above him or off to the side. Perriman highpointed the ball a lot and it looked like he often reached out with his hands to snatch the ball before it hit his chest.

See I don't understand this at all. Marlon was forced into starting in 2013 when Jacoby went down, and he caught less than 60 percent of the passes thrown his way. Then he gets pushed to receiver number 3, all while everyone is learning a new offensive system, and responds by catching 3/4 of the balls thrown his way. Then he goes to the playoffs and catches more balls than Torrey. Marlon wasn't used as much, but in terms of efficiency he was much better in 2014 than in 2013. I don't see that as taking a step back considering he was forced out of a starter's gig by virtue of the fact that we brought in a HOF wide receiver to take his spot.

You could also look at it this way - Breshad is much more pro-ready at this point than Torrey was. He's also not only got SSS next to him, he's got young guys like Camp, Marlon, Kamar in here who know the growing pains of being an NFL wide receiver and how to best overcome them. He has a much better WR coach here than Torrey had initially, a guy who built a career out of getting the most out of his limited physical traits in Bobby Engram. You mentioned Maxx - Maxx is very pro ready, IMO, plus we have Crockett who I think is going to have a good year and potentially Dennis. Breshad has a QB in Joe who is going into his 8th year and has spent the last 4 years learning how to play with younger and more inexperienced receivers, whereas when Torrey had Joe all Joe had ever known was how to throw to Heap, Mason, and Boldin. We've got a great running game in place, which is something we struggled with at times over Torrey's career in Baltimore. So not only does Breshad have a good place to learn to play the game, he's also in a situation where he's not going to be forced to be "the guy" from day one, which will allow him to make a lot of strides without the kind of pressure Torrey had to deal with here. Was he a more risky pick than others we could have made, yes, but I definitely think he's less of a risk than Torrey was coming out, and I think he's in a situation that's going to allow him to be more successful than Torrey was here.

I think Waller will basically get a redshirt this year, and get some serious looks heading into next year. SSS would be in the last year of his deal, and while I think the odds are good he plays it out, he could always retire or get cut next offseason - we've done similar things to great players in the past. The key for Waller is whether he can beat out some of the non-starting receivers e.g. Campanaro, Aiken, Robinson, or at least make the case that he deserves a spot as much as they do. Right now we have 2 spots open with the loss of Torrey and JJ. Breshad will be penciled in for Torrey by default. So there's really only one open spot, and Waller is a bit behind in terms of being pro ready coming out of GT, so I'd say the odds are against him this year.

Heyward-Bey was a track star that Maryland coaches thought they could develop into a receiver. Torrey Smith as a freshman accomplished more as a receiver than Heyward-Bey. If you're going to compare receivers, consider that Heyward Bey never put up more than 700 yards receiving in any of the three years he was at Maryland. Perriman had a decent first year as a starter with 800 yards, and that was with Blake Bortles passing - fast forward one year, and he puts up almost 1100 yards and 9 TDs. Now consider the fact that Bortles had a great year in 2013, completing 68 percent of his passes for 3600 yards, and the kid who replaced him, Justin Holman, completed less than 57 percent of his passes for less than 3000 yards. So despite a significant drop off in quarterback play Perriman had a much better year. He proved he could produce with a struggling quarterback, something Heyward-Bey never did.

I expect to be in the playoffs. Concerning how far we can go in the playoffs, it depends on how well our rookies and injured players come back. I would assume the expectation is for Breshad to start the season opposite of SSS. Can he do it - Torrey pulled it off and I think Breshad is further along now than Torrey was in 2011, but you never know. How will Marlon, Kamar, Camp, Butler, etc. progress in another years' time is another question. We had 2 known starters last year in Torrey and SSS - now we have one. The tight ends - Maxx will undoubtedly be expected to start right away - can he do it? Will Dennis suit up again? What about Crockett's progression - will he pick up where he left off at the end of last season, become more of a factor in the passing game? The o-line is pretty much intact from last season, but will they be healthy this year. Will Forsett replicate what he did last year, and will the backs behind him step up into larger roles? Can Joe be 2014 Joe and not 2013 Joe? Piggybacking off of this - Kubiak is an acknowledged offensive guru - everywhere he goes his offense is expected to be great. Trestman has an NFL pedigree and by all accounts is a smart man, but will he run the 2015 Ravens offense as well as Kubiak ran it in 2014? Same thing on defense - how do we replace McPhee's production? Will Suggs and Doom be playing at a high level or will age begin to catch up to them? How will Webby look now 2 full years post injury? When will Jimmy come back and what will he be like? Will we sign Will Hill? Will Elam finally live up to draft expectations, or will someone come along and take his spot from him? We just shipped out one of the greatest Ravens in history in Ngata - are our young guys ready to completely take over his role? Will CJ continue his ascent, and will Arthur Brown finally take his place next to CJ as a starting ILB? Bottom line - no question that if all of our players live up to expectations we have one of the best rosters ever under Harbs, maybe rivaling 2011 as the best ever (2012 I actually felt we were very depleted down the stretch, which goes to show you that it's about execution, not overall talent). Will they play up to expectations - the only way to know is to watch the season unfold. But right now I feel like we easily have the talent to compete with any team in the league.

Something to consider with Perriman's drops and seeming lack of production is the QB throwing to him. I'm pretty sure WVU runs a pro-style offense or at least pro-style route concepts, so the comparison to Kevin White is fair - White's quarterback completed 67 percent of his passes last year, where Perriman's completed just 56 percent of his. White had a better quarterback, so it stands to reason that he probably saw a better quality of throw on a consistent basis and thus had more receptions and fewer drops.

Agreed - hopefully he goes undrafted and we pick him up.

I liked Boyle coming out, but either he's not going to make the team or Pitta isn't, and either way that makes me sad.

The other thing about taking him first round is we get that extra fifth year of his contract if we need it.

It really is hard to judge any offense based off of how (un)successfully Jay Cutler ran it.

A lot of people forget also that in 2013 Culter missed 5 games, and Josh McCown came in and proceeded to go on a tear of 1400 yards, 8 TDs and 1 pick. McCown then parlayed that into a starting gig in Tampa. So it's obvious what Trestman preaches can work.

I have to disagree. Cutler has exactly 1 4000 yard season under his belt, way back when in Denver with a young Marshall. During his first 4 (non-Trestman years) in Chicago he was barely a 60% passer who crossed 3500 yards one time and 25 TDs one time. His two Trestman years his completion percentage in 27 games (missed 5 in 2013) was 64 percent, well above his career average to that point. His interception percentage was also lower under Trestman than under Lovie Smith, and he missed 4000 yards in 2014 by less than 200 yards while missing a game. QBR (the real one, not the ESPN psudo-science) is an imperfect stat but it does give a nice summary of an overall performance - Cutler had the highest 2 regular season QBRs of his career under Trestman. I don't see how you can say Cutler wasn't more successful under Trestman than under Lovie Smith. The last time Cutler showed as much or more was when he was still under Mike Shannahan.

I think he's a good fit given he runs the same system that we did so well in last year. A lot of people point to his lack of success in Chicago last year, but look at the QB he was working with. The same think happened to Kubiak when Shaub melted down. Trestman can call plays, and he did get a lot out of the offense in Chicago when it was given the opportunity to succeed.

I'm going to say no because of three unknowns - we need a field-stretching wide-out for Joe to be at his best, we need either a healthy Dennis or a capable replacement, and we need a healthy Jimmy. If we're set at those by that game, I think we have a good shot to win. Remember also that several of their major players - BOTH TEs, Rahim Moore, and starting guard Orlando Franklin all left in FA. We have no clue how both teams will look come game-time.

They've still got to cut him first, don't they? Maybe they draft a young guy and release Vernon after, but I don't see us trying to do a "reverse Boldin" with the 9ers for Davis.

Glad we didn't sign Crabtree - he just does not look the same ever since his injury, and receiver is a position we really should just invest another top pick in on a young talent like Torrey.

It would be pointless to sign any of these WRs at this point IMO. Jennings, Nicks, and Jernigan will spend more time in the trainers room than on the field for their new teams, and they're the best left.

They have a lot of time to adjust for it - draft, OTAs, mini camps, TC. I don't think it's that big of a deal.

The thought process was probably something like "prove you're worth a big deal and we'll talk next year." The reality is, as I've shown, Housler has intriguing potential but numbers wise he's never proven in on field. Are there extenuating circumstances such as his QB situation in AZ, yes, but the fact remains he's never in his career eclipsed 500 yards receiving and he has a total of one TD in 3 years. Potential yes, production no. So I could see the logic in saying "we want you here as a tryout to a potential long-term deal, and this is what we're offering." I personally would have offered a little more than vet minimum because I really like what Housler could bring, but I'm not the FO and I don't know what they value or how they evaluate players, which is probably completely different and much more informed than me. And you could look at it this way - the Browns have lost both their star receiver and star tight end, and their QB is in rehab. They're desperate for anything they can get, so they probably offered A LOT more than any other team was willing to. It's not necessarily we thought so little of Housler, but more likely the league as a whole didn't think much, the Browns were just the first desperate team to scrap logic in favor of adding anyone and everyone they can.

I see where you're coming from, but I wouldn't do it. If Forsett is the guy and Taliaferro is his understudy, we'd be looking for a 3rd back in the rotation to spell them. As tight against the salary cap as we are, I think Jackson is an unlikely option. If the chart I'm reading is right, the minimum starting salary for a veteran with at least 10 years in the league is just under 1 million dollars. Seems kind of expensive for a number 2 or 3 guy to me, especially considering if we use a 4th round pick on a RB, his 5 year salary will be about 2.5 million or basically half of Jackson's per year. IMO the approach should be to draft a RB maybe 2-3 years out from the end of your current one's contract, then when the one guy's expires, if he wants too much money the other guy can take his spot.

I don't recall anything about him being lazy or lacking effort. Despite playing with guys like Kolb and Skelton, he's caught at least 2/3 of the passes thrown his way. I wouldn't call that a guy who isn't trying. And this year, from weeks 7 to 16, 8 games, he had a TOTAL of 8 passes thrown his way and caught 5 of them. It's not that he couldn't be productive, he's never really had anyone throwing him the ball at all during his career in AZ.

It depends on what the Jags want for him and if he's willing to work out an extension On the one hand he's very talented and has never had a great QB throwing to him. On the other hand he's 31 years old and has missed 13 games the last 2 seasons. His cap hit is also an unreasonable 6.65 million - if we were to do a trade and extension, get maybe 2-3 more years out of him and lower his cap hit to around 4 million a year or less, I'd probably do it. Otherwise no.

Agreed, and if he thinks about it, if he really wants a big deal he should take a minimum offer for 1 year with the best QB he can get and look to cash in after a big season next year. If the word is right that he's looking at us, Cinci, possibly Cleveland, and Atlanta, then I'd say either us or Atlanta. We seem to be the only one among that group that offered him a contract - if Atlanta isn't going to make an offer, I'd say we're easily the best bet.

They offered him a deal - he hasn't taken it, but he's visited other teams and hasn't signed a deal, so what I'm thinking is he wanted more than what we offered but he's just not getting better offers from other teams right now.