cushrinada1986

1.) I think Web at FS is an experiment worth testing. Mentioned this a long time ago and think we could get our most out of him as far as value at FS.

2.) As we as Aiken has performed this season, how about Butler? He really stepped up and made some great catches. Really think he played himself to another season.

3.) see this as Upshaws last season, never was the pass rusher we needed and we manufacturer run stoppers so best to get value out of him as a future comp pick then keep on.

4.) If the money is there, I think its so worth going after KO. I think he has shown a ton of value at LT and LG, and even RT, even if it means taking a franchise tag, KO may be worth the cost. Having a solid LT is vital to survival in a tough AFC north and drafting a starting LT doesnt seem very safe.

5.)Biggest need I see is DB for sure, need more youth and speed playing along side Jimmy. Hope Will Davis comes back as well, he played very well before he got hurt.

Having the amount of injuries and new people coming into the team, as well as new coaches can make things difficult. A lot of these guys will be back because the team would like to see what they can do with more time, others will be let go due to not being able to fit the system. If we do our due diligence next season, we will be back in the playoffs.

OMG, I remember people saying Diggs wasn't worth it, and then ended up being a better receiver than what we could have and KEEP on the field.....

Ramsey is still probably gonna go top ten and though I dont value him as much I do Vernon H., he is still a worthwhile player. But he should play S when he hits the NFL.

Let's try this agaIn. I'll just say this first, Jalen Ramsey is the best DB in the draft. We need this guy.

Would definitely would take Ramsey due to his versatile ability. A guy that can play all over the field, CB to play press with Jimmy but also play deep safety and cover the deep ball. For that purpose alone I would like to add another CB(like eric murray) to play on the outside when Ramsey plays FS, leaving webb in the slot. After the last couple of seasons, adding more depth to the CB rotation wouldnt hurt. Will Davis and Sherece could probably fill out the final spots or fight for the last one, depending on how many we keep but yeah having another big body CB on the outside to match with Jimmy would be awesome. Woiuld also help that passrush.

Worth mentioning all these transactions makes the Ravens like the deepest team in Madden right now. Seriously, go look at the Ravens roster, looks like FA list. Seriously though, Monroes signing really makes things really hard here. Might have to make some cuts on defense and tbh if I was Flacco, after having the season I just had, I would restructure anything I needed to make sure I dont have Hurst watching my blindside again..... DB, pass rusher early in the draft would help, mid round WR like Sterling Sheppard and maybe even another DB like Eric Murray and we can start fixing those holes on D we had last year. Having our young guys like Urban and Will Davis may help also(Davis was pretty good before he was injured).

Next season, he should be a real problem for teams once he gets his own dual OLB to play otherside of him just like Doom and Suggs.

I would love to see Flacco with more big bodied WRs that can stretch the field like this. Size isnt everything but what you do with it matter a ton, especially if you had to worry about SSS or Perrimen Blowing by you on the outside. Camp has been injury prone, Marlon has been a dud, we dont know what Breshad can do yet, and all be it Aiken has played well, he plays better when the D isnt shading over to his side for coverage. Out of the WRs we do have on roster, if we could keep the following going into next season for TC, I would be happy off of the pure potential of competition we would have going into 2016:

Daniel Brown, 2nd year: Big body guy that can catch consistently. RedZone guy who could play slot

Breshad Perriman, 2nd year: If he can stay injury free next season, watch out, he will have a chip on his shoulder for missing this season and to prove what he can do.

Steve Smith Sr., 16th year: One last year to finally grab that ring?

Darren Waller, 2nd year: Big, sneaky fast, and a great ST contributor. Big redzone target

Jeremy Butler, 3rd year: As much as Aiken played well this season, Butler could possibly replace those stats and more.

Kaelin Clay, 2nd year: KR Only

Chris Matthews, 3rd year: Another Big body guy that can catch in the redzone and be a possible deep threat? more of those please!

Chris Givens, 5th year: Great speed big arm QB = trouble for any defense.

Obviously we wont keep all these guys but with the fact that SSS is 36 and may or may not come back or defintely be retired next season, I would think it wouldnt be a bad idea to have some extra depth come TC. giving flacco these types of weapons our TEs, plus our improved situation at RB and OLine and you have the beginings of a really good team in 2016. I see OZ loading up on D most likely and having the offense attempt to make out what starters they can and maybe draft a WR later in the rounds as insurance.

Ravens might be able to trade up and get Ogbah in the early second, late first round if need be(anyone know if Erick Striker is showing 2nd-3rd round value?). I love the Eric Murray pick. Would love to team him up with Hargraves and Jimmy with Web replacing #23. back there. Sherece Wright and Kyle Arrington  are good depth players but we need fresh legs in the secondary to keep up with the passing game in the current league.

Marlon is gone, period.

Matthews, Daniel, and Waller have all shown more potential an redzone targets than Brown, time to move on.

Being in the top 10 is still a win win. OZ will make the most of those picks and still have enough value to trade out.

The defense will definately come back reloaded next season. RB, TE and QB are locks, not to sure up O-line and WR. From there, rest of draft can be used to give depth to the defense. Smith#90 has really started to come on so when Suggs comes back, he should be a very good depth player on passing downs and may very well take Upshaws place....

Oh yeah, can we give it up for the juice and Butler for they great plays in the game!? The tandom of #Buck&West was too much for Pits run D and Mallet finally gave Givens the type of arm to really show how dangerous the speedy WR can be. Now that we have a clone of our current franchise QB, I think we can at the least wipe back up QB as one of the many positions(RB, K, P, LS, RG, SS, TE, FB) we can say we feel good about going into 2016.

%u201CRyan Mallett has a great arm, possibly more physical tools than Joe Flacco". Maybe its me but that kinda sounds like the Ravens trying to tell Flacco if he makes it hard on them in the offseason with his contract, they will have "other" options if need be. I assume the man upstairs has already let OZ and John know that the team will not be having another season like this or the one before so best believe Ravens may look increasingly different next season if players dont play ball and reduce salaries when needed.

Mallet has shown very capable of running this offense. Didnt see as much of a communication issue with the WRs as much with Mallet as we did from Schab or Clausen really so far. Cant wait to see what he does next game. Has the arm, now just need him to work the offseason in this offense.

Ok so didnt want this buried in the Fire Pees thread of the Changes for Next Year. This is solely focused upon the D, moving forward and some facts and stats. All the questions we as fans get are based upon "If not Pees than who?" and "Why switch to a 4-3 base". So I did a bunch of research that we can discuss. Harbs and Co pay attention ok?

The "Greatest Defense the NFL has ever seen was the 2000 Ravens" yeah maybe some people would argue the Steel Curtain or the Bears D but the fact remains the 2000 team holds the records for fewest ppg ever in history, and won a SB with a jv squad of inept offense. FACT. That D ran a 4-3, ok really they ran more of a 4-6 bear but thats besides the point. The starters were, Boulware Lewis Sharper at LB and a front 4 of Burnett @ 267 pounds, Adams @ 350, Goose @ 340 and McCrary @ 260. Now your prob wondering why Im listing the weights of our front 4. Ill get to that. So there it was, along with a really good secondary and a aggressive DC this was the basis of the best ppg defense in the history of the NFL, who went up against the best rushing offense AND the best passing offense and stomped both that year. anyways.

Here are the "magical stats and weights" for a front 4 in todays NFL. DT should average 307 pounds. DE 269. Carolina one of the most dominant fronts in the NFL weigh from LDE to RDE. 275 299 311 264. Minn with their #1 D in the league is 270 320 305 265.

That said, here are the weights of our guys. Projected DTs in a 4-3 front

Davis 320

BWill 335

The Interesting thing is Davis actually played in a 4-3 DT in college. BWill was a 3-4 NT but also played 5 tech. Now we have back ups and rotational:

KLM 315

Jerrigan 302

Guy 305

Again all played in a 4-3 in college.

DEs.

ZSmith 275. Was projected coming out of college as a prototypical 4-3 end. Has the weight, this past week played in that EXACT same role and scored 2 sacks. This isnt rocket science here.

Urban 295. Played all over the line. But at his height and arm reach, think Watt as far as knockdowns and passes to the flat just not getting past him.

Now Upshaw played a 4-3 strong side end at Bama. Weight 272. No wonder he cant transition to a 3-4. IF we dont draft Bosa maybe he gets kept on to play the same 4-3 end here. And Urban is the backup on passing downs or specific plays they see or the competition. Like the Chiefs. Bunch of little passes in the middle and flat, you start Urban. The Steelers you start Upshaw. Its a win win, cheap.

Getting to the LBs. Of course Mosley played MLB at Bama. Again a 4-3, so thats set. So we need a Sam, who is your jack of all trades LB, can sniff out runs and get through blockers, or play the pass, or even rush the QB at times. Suggs, Doom? Hmmm maybe Suggs can, but def not doom. And even Sizzle wouldnt be the best.

Than you need a Will. Whos a fast speedy guy who can cover AND blitz the QB on occasion. Now we have ABrown, who thats actually what his role was in college, again no wonder he cant get on the field. However Id think Sizzle could fit, maybe.

But theres the facts. And hence why we play alot of 4-3 under even when were not in the nickle. And still keep alot of the same personnel as for the front for such.

Bosa is a 4-3 DE. The best in the draft. And thats what he is. Period. J.Smith is the best 4-3 Will LB in the draft. Period. Those are theyre grades by scouts and professionals all over the country.

Sorta like ZSmith was graded as purely a strong side 4-3 End, period. We tried to make him a OLB. Brooks graded as a "robber" and st guy and a backup FS at best. Yet our scouts thought better. Elam, graded as a SS starter. His 1st year he started at FS and on athleticism was kinda serviceable. Move him to his natural position and now hes lost and cant tackle. Now this isnt a attack on the scouting, but obviously theres a disconnect. Stop trying to overthink, stop fitting square pegs in round holes. These are solid facts. The scouts who found Sizzle and changed his position arent the same ones we have now. The scouts we had even before that found Ray and Ed, but it wasnt rocket science. Ed was the best college FS in college. Ray the best MLB. Ogden was the best OT. They didnt reinvent the wheel. They said thats the best guy at his position. Period. None said well Ed could be a SS or a LB or Ray is light lets make him a SS. No they said thats his position and hes the best. Done.

Anyways. Discuss away. Just presenting facts. Not one to complain without providing factual proof. So there it is

TBH, The idea of pushing Jerrigan, Urban, Williams and Davis all inside sounds like a good idea(having Jerrigan and Urban on passing downs and Davis and Williams on runs would sound like the perfect balance for a pass rush. I also think allowing Suggs and Doom to just pin their ears back and take care of the outside would also help simplify their position. I would think Upshaw would count as more an inside DT/Outside LE hybrid so that helps with depth as well. My only thing is that wouldn't that leave some need to reload at LB since a lot of our OLB would mostly be DE's in a 43? If that is the case, I love the idea of adding Erick Sriker next season, guy has great speed and would be a great pass rush option if doom or suggs were to be injured.

It also sucks to know that both Micheal Oher and Dickson are having a incredible year on the Panthers squad. Oher and Dickson both never performed to our standards(add in Rolando to the list as well) and now are performing better than ever imagined outside of Baltimore. Maybe it was the system, maybe it was coaching but it something we have to fix with recruiting and coaching to make sure we can regroup and get back in the SB picture asap.

Ah ha!! heres another wana be stand up comic!!!

If you think facts are funny, more power to ya buddy.

Maybe if we had moved Hurst out of the LT spot earlier we wouldnt have an issue at QB right now. Just saying. That line was breaking down and to leave your starting QB like that out to slaughter week after week. It was just a matter of time.

That's the WR/TE scenario you'd hope to see on the field?

Think it would be fair to see them in a better circumstance then what was given this year. Injuries to WR and no OLine can make alot of people look bad. daniel brown would have his 1st TD if not for bad officiating and Waller has a ton of potential, I dont think anyone would have issues with Gilmore in the redzone and Williams is a rookie, he will be better by next season.

Ugh, hope to never see that.

Why is that?

Watching Dallas/Redskins game last night, i could immediately tell that we are far above a better team than most 4 win teams right now.   

We have talents.   We need to get back on track and get our guys in top shape.   Get a new turf, hire a better conditioning coach, recovery team, tackle avoid coach w/e.   We already have most of the pieces to be a contender.   

 

Next year, can you imagine Waller and Daniel Brown, Gilmore, and Max Williams apart of our redzone package? cant wait to see that.

We have some really good young talent on offense with both RB and TE. Daniel Brown, Waller, Givens, Butler, and Aiken all deserves a shot at a WR spot next season. Perrimen and a new WR draft pick at WR will add competition but may not really need to do so until 2nd -3rd round since the WR could eventually show its value by next season. We double dip at DB by possibly moving back in the draft (Hargreaves, Kearse, Ramsey), we could sure up the secondary for the long run. We add a WR later in the draft(Boyd, Sheppard) along with line and OLB help and we could be right back in the champ hunt in 2016. 

Daniel Brown, Waller, Boyle, Williams, West, Buck(or Buck & West lolz), Butler, and Givens all seem to be solid players going into the future. Now to solidify that Oline.

He's a bum. I don't think you have anything to worry about. But I understand your reluctance to let him go. But for someone who has failed miserably to shake the injury issue doesn't look to promising even that respect.If they keep him it should be as a game day inactive. Only for insurance of another players misfortunate injury.

That is solely why I think we should double up in the draft in WR this year. having a slot guy who can stay on the field would go a long way. Too bad though, kid had a lot of potential.

I don't think Camp will make it out of next training camp as it'll probably result in a broken fingernail. Dude doesn't know how to practice for crying out loud. And part of the problem this team is experiencing has been injuries. I don't think they will value him as high this coming year as he was just a seventh round after thought. They will surely not want to have continued scrutiny by the fan base, media and will look to be noticeably upgraded by end of training camp. Marlon is already gone and I'm shocked they haven't IR'ed him to get another prospect in that may actually have an upside. Waller is an interesting project and if not injured could stand more playing time. Givens has been a reliable target in each game and plays hungry. I like him on this team and only stands to reason he will only get better. Butler may also be a missing piece of the puzzle. Of course the absence of Flacco complicates the issues they face but at least they will have an opportunity to learn some of the aspects and complexities of the playbook. I personally think they should and ail devote more assets into the position. Players tend to compete @ just about the same level they think they'd have to beat out. Which wasn't saying to much about the current group. SSsr was the only real comp out there. And going against an injured/healing Webb (back) and Smith (back/foot) couldn't have been but so taxing. lol

Camp may be too injury prone to think long term as a piece player but would hate to see him go elsewhere and become a problem on another team...

He'd be our Wes Welker, edelman, A. Brown, E. Sanders type and 1000% agree. If he's there in the late 2nd early 3rd I'd jump up and snag him. We have options for the third currently on the team thus far. Butler and Givens seem to have reliable hands. Aiken is waking up late. Smith could be stop gap if he returns. But if they double dip in the draft it would be much more beneficial and provide a greater depth then just coming into training camp with the same cast of characters they trotted out before. Campanaro is waste because he can't stay healthy or be relied upon consistently.

I think a combo of Perriman (fingers crossed), Sheppard, Butler, Givens, Aiken and SSsr (if he returns) would be a nice mixture of talent. With possible late round project. Pass Rusher and CB rank higher on my list of BPA needs in the current projections of talent entering via draft ratings in the early rounds.

He could split time with Givens as #2 and Aiken could play #3 along with Camp. Waller would be our redzone guy. Marlon has to go!

any of these guys could be gone late round 1, but then again all 3 of them could still be there. boyd is being very often projected as an early-mid 2nd rounder while treadwell and doctson are getting first round projections. 

 

even michael thomas has been projected in the first round more than boyd as of late

There's always Sterling Shepperd. Wanna talk about a guy who can get separation. Would make a great compliment to Perrimen as a #2 right next to him.