J.O.14

Why would we have Webb playing dime CB? I can't fathom how you would consider us not playing Humphery in that position. More than likely, we'll have Canady as a 5th CB, and he was doing a fine job playing ST until he was injured. Humphery will more than likely be given every opportunity to compete for Carr's spot, but likely will be in nickle/dime packages. In any case, if you haven't been watching Raven's games the last few years, we have had so many problems fielding a competitive secondary late in the season, it will be a relief to have capable guys who can come in and play at a high level. Webb may see some time at CB, but my prediction is that would be very limited and only if the injury bug hits us during a game. He's going to be the main back up safety,(and wouldn't be surprised if he does some return work also) not a full time CB. In my ideal world, we play a lot more dime packages (something we literally played none of last season) and Webb is part of that package, as a coverage guy either at CB or Safety (in Dime I'm not sure it really matters). Lack of depth/quality player at ILB to me means we should put more secondary players out there, especially on passing downs. Finding a way to get Weddle/Jefferson/Webb on the field at the same time seems like a good idea to me. I agree with this. Putting Jefferson down in the box allows him to do what he's good at. He can stop the run and can definitely cover TEs and backs out of the backfield. This allows us to get Webb involved, who actually wasn't that bad for us last year....

No, I don't think upset over Receivers, the top 3 were gone by the time the Ravens picked. Also, 3 Quarterbacks were taken and OJ Howard fell to us. A great TE (Sharpe, Heap) and Running Game is also what the Ravens were known for besides a Great Defense. I mean that's great, but you also have a bunch of young TEs on the roster already, so do we just throw them away? There's what we WERE known for, and there's what we are NOW known for. They don't have to be the same thing. We didn't used to be a team that invested heavily in the QB position. Now we are, and so are all the consistent good teams in this league. Times change. Teams change. We have a bunch of Tight Ends that were on Injured Reserve last year, Ben Watson 37 in December, Williams and Gilmore. One who is more of a blocking tight end who has been suspended 2 times and one more will be out of the league. Pitta who is one of my favorites but he gets no YAC. Tight End is still very important in the NFL and its not one of the Ravens Strengths as so many people beleive. If Pitta stays healthy, he is good. He might not get the YAC but he makes contested catches and moves the chains. I like Boyle, he has a chance to be great if he stays out of trouble. I think Williams will end up being a bust and Watson is definitely questionable after an achillies injury, but we shall see. But the one nobody is talking about is Darren Waller. Im pretty high on him. Hes big, hes got decent speed and he can catch. Also if Gillmore stays healthy, he is good too. I think a combination of Pitta, Gillmore, Waller and Boyle is a good group. Pitta and Waller will be consistent. Gillmore may get hurt and if that trend continues, we may have to cut ties. But I don't see a problem with Pitta, Waller and Boyle (proided he doesn't get suspended) Moves the chains? He set a new NFL record for the most "failed receptions"... remember that stat? It roughly meant a reception that didn't get close to the 1st down marker. 37 first downs and a first down rate of 43%. 37 first downs by anyone is pretty good. Also remember the passes he caught were more likely than not in a 3rd and long situation with the ball being thrown 5 yards down field. 1. And that's the reason he's catching those passes... because the defense is allowing him to. He's not a threat for YAC, and so they will let him sit down 2-3 years short of the line of gain and catch passes all day long. If anything, that pads his stats, not helps them. It inflates his reception total while yielding very little value to the offense on that play. I guess you could argue it makes for a shorter punt? 2. I look at it this way... the FO tells you everything you need to know. Career year for Pitta in receptions and yardage, and he played the whole season. And then he was asked to take a significant paycut. I'd like to know how many players you think this happens to. he averaged almost 4 YAC so youre telling me they just let him sit 2-3 yards under the line to gain? I doubt that. And he was asked to take a pay cut due to injuries, The Ravens do that to most players who suffer 1, let alone 2,career threatening injuries. And they haven't asked him to take a pay cut this year. Weve read articles talking about it, but no actual offer yet... Hes one hit away from his hit popping again, so Id have him take a pay cut too Pitta did take a pay cut.

No, I don't think upset over Receivers, the top 3 were gone by the time the Ravens picked. Also, 3 Quarterbacks were taken and OJ Howard fell to us. A great TE (Sharpe, Heap) and Running Game is also what the Ravens were known for besides a Great Defense. I mean that's great, but you also have a bunch of young TEs on the roster already, so do we just throw them away? There's what we WERE known for, and there's what we are NOW known for. They don't have to be the same thing. We didn't used to be a team that invested heavily in the QB position. Now we are, and so are all the consistent good teams in this league. Times change. Teams change. We have a bunch of Tight Ends that were on Injured Reserve last year, Ben Watson 37 in December, Williams and Gilmore. One who is more of a blocking tight end who has been suspended 2 times and one more will be out of the league. Pitta who is one of my favorites but he gets no YAC. Tight End is still very important in the NFL and its not one of the Ravens Strengths as so many people beleive. If Pitta stays healthy, he is good. He might not get the YAC but he makes contested catches and moves the chains. I like Boyle, he has a chance to be great if he stays out of trouble. I think Williams will end up being a bust and Watson is definitely questionable after an achillies injury, but we shall see. But the one nobody is talking about is Darren Waller. Im pretty high on him. Hes big, hes got decent speed and he can catch. Also if Gillmore stays healthy, he is good too. I think a combination of Pitta, Gillmore, Waller and Boyle is a good group. Pitta and Waller will be consistent. Gillmore may get hurt and if that trend continues, we may have to cut ties. But I don't see a problem with Pitta, Waller and Boyle (proided he doesn't get suspended) Easy on that Blue Hen drank. Boyle has the chance to be great? I think he has a chance to be good and I think he will be a big contributor to this team, but using the term great is a bit over the top. It is extremely unlikely that we would cut Maxx. He would have to have an absolutely terrible camp for the FO to release a second rounder in his 3rd year. Even though he has only played 1 year that one year was much more impressive than Art Browns first 2 and we kept him a third year. You cant just write him off because he was injured last year and your a Delaware fan. I know its hard to think back that far but he showed promise in his rookie season...He actually made some really spectacular catches while working with 3 different QBs. He actually has more receptions than Boyle who has played more games. Not that, that necessarily means anything. I think they will both be on the team and they compliment each other well. Williams is your more athletic pass catching TE and Boyle is more of your blocking TE who I expect to take over a lot of Juices blocking duties. But they are both well rounded guys and should be able to contribute this year. I meant he will eventually be axed, not immediately. And I see Boyle moving to more of a receiving FB position. And any and all players have a chance to be great.... Why will he eventually be axed? If he builds off his rookie year, Pitta will go before Maxx will. Not to mention he was only a 20 year old rookie I think, so he's only 22 with plenty of room to grow. You don't give up on a player that young that fast who has shown promise.

Yeah, but what Mixon did goes beyond football. Have you seen the video? IMO (and it's not acceptable at any point), his video was worse than Rice's. He literally knocked her out and just left. Rice was a good citizen before that, Mixon hasn't done anything to show he is a good person. After what Rice did and what the organization went through, could you imagine what it would have been like if the Baltimore Ravens drafted him? A nightmare. If you don't remember correctly, did you watch the playoff game against the Steelers two years ago? Burfict and Adam Jones cost the Bengals the game...the players with red flags. Surprising? Absolutely not. You get what you pay for.

I'm not sure how this will sit with many of you or what your opinions are, but what about Michael Floyd? I know he has been in some trouble, and is currently in jail I believe, but he will be out before the season. He definitely has the talent, size, but obviously there are concerns. He hasn't been as productive as he was expected, but if he gets it together and focuses on just football, he could be great again. We could use a WR like that...but he would definitely have to get his life together first and prove hes reliable. He is also only 27 years old...

I don't think J. Smith, Ngata, or Flacco's contracts are bad. That was the market for those players at the time. Ngata essentially lived up to his contract except the last year, which is impressive to get that out of a player these days...they hardly make it through most of their contract anymore. In hindsight we can say Webb was a bad contract because of injuries. When we paid Webb, he just came off a fantastic year and was looking like a great corner. I think he had 5 picks, 2 more in the playoffs and didn't allow a touchdown all year. Monroe was obviously a bad contract. Our drafts haven't been great, and honestly I like what we did in this draft. It's not a sexy draft, but we made some very good picks.

Smith Schuster, Bashem and Ryan Anderson would be a good draft.

This fan base is crazy. I was surprised as well, but CB is a position you ALWAYS need. Adding Brandon Carr isn't really an upgrade to me. Hes a solid player, a stop gap, but doesn't make our secondary great. Adding Humphrey is a good pick. We complained about our secondary for years and now it looks great and we aren't happy? He might be our 4th CB THIS YEAR, but he definitely has potential to be a very good and possible shut down guy for us in the upcoming years. We have 5 rounds to go and plenty of talent left. We can add a good pass rusher, WR, OL and whatever else we need in the rounds remaining. Stay calm. This was a good pick.

Where did you see this? He was the number 2 rated corner in this draft by many pundits. He was also considered one of the better corners in a very talented draft class of CBs. It's not like this guy is a bum. He was going to be picked in the first round.

I actually agree with you. I thought Hue Jackson got the wrong end of the stick in Oakland. He's a damn good coach and has took all the right steps in building a good football team. They are getting rid of the mistakes the previous staff made and are building a team from the trenches outward. That is how you create a competitive football team. If they have a good draft, they will be dangerous within the next year or two. I'm not convinced they go QB in the first round, unless they trade back in late. I think Myles Garrett is the first selection without a doubt. Pick 12 is where it could get interesting.... They very well could go Myles Garrett then pick Rueben Foster if he is there....or a QB.....or a CB. I'm interested to watch that's for sure. If Fournette keeps falling...they could trade up for him to and become a ground and pound team with the line they have created.

A part of me hopes Rueben Foster is on the board at 16. I would love for him to be apart of our defense. But, I'd also like to see us have a shot at Mike Williams or Corey Davis. I also wouldn't mind a pass rusher. I wouldn't be happy with an OL, because of the reported weakness of the class, but if we do select one I guess I will be okay. The FO is doing a ton of homework and if they feel comfortable, I'll be comfortable.

The question is "Will he be on the field?" Already in Stage 1 of the the NFL drug policy (1 more failed test = 4-6 game suspension). Numerous off-field issues (nightclub killings, hospital incident at combine, diluted drug test, etc), immaturity, bad study habits and injury questions may push him down most teams board. If a guy can't wait 2 hours in line at the hospital, what makes you think he's willing to spend countless hours in the film room in order to live up to that talent? Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. Extremely talented but so was Rolando McClain. I agree with this. I know Ozzie and company will do plenty of research on the kid. If he is available at 16 and we don't draft him, he must come with to many red flags. If he is there, I think we will pull the trigger on him. Extremely talented and would be an absolute force on our defense beside CJ. He would bring a lot of nastiness to our defense. Tony, CJ, Weddle, B Will, Suggs, Foster....my goodness. Rolando McClain was extremely talented, you're correct. I think the difference would be the desire to play the game. Does Foster love football enough to put it ahead of the off the field crap? I think Ozzie will find out. McClain didn't love the game enough and he was also drafted into an environment that wasn't good for his own success.

Birk was an iron man. He was 32 and never missed a game. Mangold hasn't been healthy in two years.

So you would rather have TJ for one more year then let him leave and get nothing? got it. 25 spots in a draft is a lot.... 25 spots in a draft is a lot depending on where it happens. If we moved up 25 spots in the 7th round... not such a big deal.... that guy probably will still not make the team. If we move up 25 spots in the 1st round.... that is giant. (even the 2nd) but the further back you get the less it mean. with that said. We gave up a starter, a third round pick and a future third or fourth round pick to move up 25 spots in the middle of the draft. I feel like that was a lot for what we gained If we moved up 25 spots and got a 4th rounder to cover the future comp pick.... I get it. If we moved up 25 spots and even got a future 5th rounder now for a potential 3rd of 4th then...okay.. but to move up now... lose a player and a future player.... I don't feel like it was enough (and a 3rd or 4th rounder -should be a future player) We are losing a player at a position that we can replace. We have depth there and I don't know why everyone is thinking Jernigan was a superstar. He had his moments, but also completely disappeared from games and made boneheaded mistakes. Yeah we won't get a comp pick next year, that would range anywhere from the 3rd (doubtful) to the 4th or 5th, but we are moving up and gaining another pick inside the first 78 selections in a very talented draft class. 4 picks in the first 78? Yes please. We have guys that can replace Jernigan and we have needs at other places that can be filled by extremely talented rookies in this class. Could this backfire? Absolutely. But I like the chances of getting another quality player at a position that will be here for the next 4 or 5 years, instead of a player that will be here one more year and is replaceable. Moving up 25 spots in the 3rd round in this draft is a good move in my opinion. Especially since we have 2 picks within 4 selections of each other.

Rueben Foster, Mike Williams, John Ross, or a pass rusher would make me pleased with our first round. We can find a quality WR/CB in the 2nd or 3rd. I think we will draft an OL in the mid-late rounds. We can find quality starting OL after day one.