eze17

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. Not saying Webb should not be on the field: far from it! The poster I was responding to said Webb would play dime CB, with Humphrey relegated to special teams, which I find ludicrious. We did not draft a guy #16 overall to play him on ST, that's the point I was making. I've no doubt that we will find ways to get Webb involved. But to place Webb over Humphrey at the CB position is, frankly, far fetched in my opinion. As a hybrid, yes, I could see that if the Raven's & Pees feel comfortable going in that direction. As far as utilizing dime packages, hopefully with the addition of Jefferson, Carr and Humphreys we will have more confidence playing a variety of deep packages. I know that I feel a lot better having depth in the secondary and that a Jimmy Smith injury possibly won't cripple us like it has the last few years.

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.

What if bowser who is a good cover LB can play ILB while also being able to blitz, and then you have the rotation of Judon, Z smith, and Tim willams at OLB My problem with this is that Bowser is so good coming out of the OLB position that I don't know if you would want to utilize him in a new spot. Could he learn to play ILB? Probably. Would he play better on the outside? My guess would be definately. I can't see why you would switch a player's position unless the team was desperate for a body there, or thought the guy would play better at that spot, which as of now the Raven's are not. My observation is that Bowser is going to be given every opportunity to win the OLB spot across from Suggs. He's a really great player, don't think the team would hamstring his natural abilities. Correa, on the other hand, has got to be dropping on the OLB depth chart, so would make sense for him to fight for the 2nd ILB position. Which the Ravens were trying to teach him last year in OTA's & training camp, Orr just looked so much better there that he won the job.

Charles signed w/Broncos yesterday. But agree we are thin at RB.

We've lost way too many games over the last few years because our defense has not been able to preserve a lead. Should be no question about that, look it up if you don't believe it. While our offense has struggled at tymes, Joe & Co. can usually come up with enough points to keep us competitive. Raven's D has let us down too often, thus FA and draft were heavily tilted towards defense. I really think we would have snagged a WR in the draft, but every time we had our pick it would have been a reach grabbing any wideout who was available at that tyme. Agree that the players we got were better pick-ups and can help us long term, rather than grab someone who would just be a body on the roster. Do we need more help, not to mention depth, at WR? Of course. Have some faith that the Raven's are not done with getting some more players who can help this team.

While I feel that Siragusa probably has the inside track to move into the LG spot, it should be remembered that the Raven's won't just give him the position, he needs to come into OTA's and training camp with a chip on his shoulder and make the coaching staff believe that he is NFL ready. My guess is that him and Bowser have a really decent shot at getting starter positions, Humphrey receiving a lot of reps to see how NFL ready he actually is (and prepping him in case J. Smith has yet another injury), Wormley goes into the D line rotation, Eluemunor is a project, Chuck will fight for a special teams role. The wild card is going to be Tim Williams. Guy is nasty, could push Bowser/Judon for the other starting OLB across from Suggs, but will definately see some action on passing downs. Should be some fierce competition on the defense to see who deserves the most playing time. And I agree that we will probably sign a veteran o-lineman in any case, either to come in and start (Mangold?) or at least have more depth when the injury bug hits.(and based on the last few years, we all know it will...)

Best of luck in all your future endeavors Justin...Classy player who came in and "played like a Raven"...

Tim Williams is a QB seeking missile...If he can clean up his act both on and off the field, he has the potential to be a lights out type player. I'm glad the Raven's are giving him the benefit of the doubt. Williams could be a key piece in the Raven's future.

Disagree. There are a ton of draft grades for all 32 teams out there. The Brownies are getting more talk because A: They had the #1 selection in this draft. B: They also had a ton of high level picks overall. and C: They are the Cleveland Browns, easily the worst franchise in football, maybe in all pro sports, over the last ten years or so. The only way they can climb out of this hole is through the draft. How many free agents were banging on their doors wanting to sign w/ Cleveland? And they have been pretty horrible drafting players for numerous years now.(I know, they got Joe Thomas and a few other decent players, but overall they've stunk up the joint with their picks!) So, yes, the national media would, and should, hold them under a microscope. Most people don't like to admit it, but everyone loves to watch a trainwreck...

Yeah, solid "B" grade in my opinion. The BPA approach is great, but we really needed some more help( and depth) at WR. The FO can keep saying "were not done yet", but other than an aging Boldin, who's out there that really jumps out at you? The undrafted FA WR's we've brought in could hold a diamond in the rough, but I won't hold my breath waiting for one of them to excell, especially right away. And with Perriman and Campanaro's injury histories it's hard to feel confident that what we've got now will even stay healthy enough to play the full schedule. Hopefully Ozzie has a trick or two up his sleeve and can give us an upgrade before Sept. rolls around... But overall, I'm still happy with the draft. I could easily see Bowser and Siragusa pushing for starter spots, Tim Williams has the potential to be a monster NFL player if he can keep his nose clean both on and off the field, Humphrey and Wormley need some more polish in my opinion, but could be excellent players if they put their nose to the grindstone, Eluemunor needs work but has the size and athleticism teams covet, while Chuck Clark has natural tackling abilities that should transfer over into a great special teams player.

If he can stay out of trouble, Tim Williams could be a dominant player in this league. Dude is a QB seeking missile. Just needs to show some maturity, both on and off the field.

Nico Siragusa is starter material...Dude is a beast, who played every game that he was eligible in college. Look at his stats(or game film), he is not only a piledriver, but extremely durable to boot. I could easily see him starting at LG, and moving Alex Lewis to RT.(remember, Lewis played tackle in college, so not such a big transition for him.) As far as center, I wonder that Mangold and the Raven's don't have a handshake deal that he signs after June 1st. We'll have to wait and see...

Solid pick...Guy is a bruiser who should get every opportunity to crack the starting line-up.

Watson is coming off a season long injury (and has yet to play a down for us), Pitta has been through however many injuries and considered fragile, Gilmore has suffered constant injuries and has yet to last a full NFL season, Williams was injured last year and pretty much has been unreliable his whole career, Boyle is one failed drug test from being kicked out of the league, and Waller is a converted WR with little experience at TE.(although he has looked promising.) So, yes, if the the Raven's felt the BPA at whatever part of the draft was a TE, you take him. Too many injuries/question marks to feel comfortable, especially since we like using two-TE formations.

We need to look if there is a run on QB's, also. Most "experts" are saying no, the talent isn't there this year. But as I recall, it wasn't considered great last year either, but four were picked in the 1st round anyways, including the top two overall...so if teams ahead of us start snaggin' QB's, there's a good possibility that A: A player we really covet will fall to us, or B: one of the teams below us is willing to give up more to get the #16 spot if they feel they can get someone they desire. Should be one of the more interesting drafts, that's for sure.

I could see us trading back into the mid-twenties of the 1st for an extra 3rd rounder, then trading one of our 3rd's back further(or even out of the round) for more picks on the third day of the draft. Ozzie and company loves their draft picks.

Not an expert in drug samples , but I interpret a diluted sample as worse than a failed sample. Sounds like he got caught cheating. I have no facts to back up my opinion. Respect your opinion, but a failed sample means you've been caught red - handed using a banned substance. No excuse. Diluted samples can have an explanation, such as over-hydrating. So while a diluted sample may/may not affect a players draft status, a positive result will almost always drop a player down at least few notches in the draft. Or if a video comes out of you smoking weed through a gas mask won't help your status either.

Still have a feeling that we trade back into the mid-twenties of the 1st for an extra 3rd rounder, pick best available pass rusher(really deep class of prospects this year), WR in 2nd (Ju JU Smith,maybe?), BPA with 2 picks in 3rd,( but with an eye out for O-line, CB and ILB), trade remaining 3rd for extra picks on third day of draft.

My take on this, as an older fan of the game, is that some people don't remember that Squeelers/Brownies was one of the more intense rivalries in football back in the day. Actually, it still is to the fans in Pittsburgh & Cleveland.(just ask one who's been around awhile.) I think it's the NFL's way of acknowledging the passion that these fan bases still have when playing each other.

It's all guess work, but I could see: Trade back into middle 20's for extra 3rd round pick; select best available edge rusher. (this draft is stocked with high quality at the position.) WR with 2nd rounder.(Ju Ju Smith?) Address OL(unless they feel its a reach) and CB/ILB(deep draft for both positions) with two of the 3 third rounders, trade remaining 3rd for extra picks later in the draft.(we know the FO would love to have more picks in this draft, so I could see this easily happening.) Can't wait til Thursday! Go Ravens!!!

Leave them weaker? Certainly. Unable to overcome those injuries? Not even close. On literally any team in the league, there's maybe 1-2 players at most who the team literally can't compete without. We've had All Pro or even HOF players on this team miss significant time, and we still managed to win a lot of games. In most cases, the franchise QB is about the only player on the team that they can't afford to lose these days. I would also add that when teams lose their starting CB's it can take a definate toll on the overall play of said team...we need only to look at the Raven's overall D when we lose Jimmy Smith. Most teams only have 2, and if they're lucky 3 legitimate starters at CB, the rest are " do not use unless desperate" players who may hold their own in dime packages against mediocre WR's, but get torched by starters. I could also make a case that losing your starting center can affect a team to a bigger degree than most other positions. Not all teams have a quality back-up who can come right in and not miss a beat. QB's like to have that solid guy they depend on, and iv'e seen plenty of occasions where losing a center can really hurt a team.

If you don't believe any of the WRs are worthy of a pick as high as #16 (and virtually every analyst alive would disagree with that) ... that's a valid reason to not pick a WR .. but the notion that we're bad at picking WRs - that is NOT a valid reason to avoid a WR with our 1st pick. Using your logic, had OBJ fallen to 16 a couple years ago, we should have avoided him, because we're bad at picking WRs. That makes zero sense. Yes, we've picked 3 disappointing WRs in the 1st round, however the jury is still out on one (Perriman) and the other 2 were made 13 and 16 years ago. To think that draft busts from over a decade ago will shape your draft approach is mind-boggling. Thank you for making a valuable point that some people just don't get. No respectable NFL team would ever handcuff themselves in a draft because they've wiffed on a certain position in years past. That argument is so over-used by some fans that's it's gotten to be gospel among some people. Another way to look at it would be that we should only draft an ILB in the 1st because we picked Ray Lewis 20 years ago, and he was great. Neither scenario makes sense, but you still hear "Ozzie can't draft WR's" argument constantly...if a WR is BPA, you draft him, end of story.

Add in that now that Webb is not starting, he could compete for handling return duties as well...he's getting long in the tooth for such things, but at least he has experience if need calls upon him to play on ST.

How often does Suggs go down and we are left scrambling for pass rush depth? Hint, it happened once how many times have our cbs went down and we watch an otherwise solid team become abysmal because of practice squadders starting in the secondary? Literally every year IS Webb at this point in his career worth spending money on with so many holes at Wr, OL, Pass rush? IMO no. IMO, yes. Have faith we will address those concerns through the draft, and add at least one more veteran WR in free agency, and maybe O-line hole with veteran presence also. Secondary has been a glaring weak spot for a few years now, more specifically lack of depth when someone goes down. Webb is more than capable to step into a variety of back field positions, and comes on the relative cheap, at least by NFL standards. Like I stated, add a young gun CB in the first three rounds, and our secondary is among top of the league not only starting but back-up as well. I think it was A good decision to re-sign Webbie, we'll take care of our other needs-still a lot of time, so no need to panic.

Grab a CB with one of our top four draft selections and we're looking very solid all around in our secondary. Great move re-signing Webb for less money, utilizing him as a kind of super-utility man in our backfield, should be fresh when called upon, knows our system very well...all around smart move by the Raven's. Welcome home, Webbie!