fusuymada

As crazy as it sounds, the Ravens are victims of their own success. I saw an article that said the original Ravens Super Bowl team had like 6 future head coaches and 4 future GMs on staff. Not to mention the scouts like Savage and Jeremiah that were tapped by other teams to fill roles. The same has been true throughout the Harbaugh era, in the organization, from top to bottom. Success attracts the attention of other teams who want to lure that talent away. I think that the revolving door of scouts, coaches, etc... created a void of consistency during draft periods. In addition, people who stood on the table and argued on behalf of a lot of these draft busts are now gone themselves. This is the first year we have had the same OC on staff for two straight years since Cameron left. Subsequently, not only is the offense better suited to be successful by having Trestman in subsequent years, did you also notice the draft seemed to be better as well. Granted, the draft position and other factors figure into that, but it only makes sense that a 5-11 season goes a long way to building consistency because other teams aren't looking at the Ravens saying we want some of their people. Proof is in the pudding. Every year for as many years as I can remember someone wanted to offer Eric DeCosta a GM job, last year after a losing season, I didn't see any articles regarding him turning down offers like we usually do. Unfortunately when we win the Super Bowl next year Trestman will get HC offers, DeCosta will be back to his annual GM offers, Ozzie will be "In Ozzie We Trust"again and our offices will be scoured by other teams for talent looking for the next NFL Guru.

You won't see Campanaro at any time this year. He is on IR and was NOT on the final 53 so he is not eligible to return and play this year at all. Elam or Carl Davis were on the final 53 and then put on IR when they signed Hester and recalled Forsett. After all, after the great play Elam has produced since he has been here he wasn't worth cutting for Butler, and we had to risk our #1 back just to keep him. I guess he has pictures of someone in a compromising position because he has done nothing, absolutely nothing on the field to justify a roster spot. Yet, here he is, sucking up a roster spot that could have belonged to a playmaker. But NFL Front Offices don't like to admit they made a first round blunder so they drag the player along, year after year, hoping he does something that they can point at and say, see, we told you so. In Elam's case, they are going to be waiting a long time to say that.

I think it simply has to do with investing in the staff to get that done. Having worked in IT, when the presser is going on, someone should be also recording it in a format that they can then put right on the site. Then you need the staff to update the website to put the link out there and then to add it to the videos page. I am wondering, and I am pretty sure, the Ravens contract out their web site as part of an NFL thing. Many teams have the exact same page format as the Ravens so I think it is probably a contractual issue. In that case, that's probably why it takes so long because whoever is doing the contract for the NFL is also doing a bunch of other teams. The Ravens would have to develop their own site and not use the NFL pre-made, cookie cutter site, they would have to have staff to support it, update it, provide security, etc... It probably is just better, cheaper and best left to the professionals especially in today's world where everyone's little brother/sister is a computer genius and can hack web sites. This probably saves the Ravens a ton of headaches doing it this way though it may not suit the demand for information that us fans would like, it keeps the Ravens from hosting their own site, probably saves a good bit of money and keeps their internal computer system safe from those who can hack into the site and access the teams servers.

Wonder if you've noticed something: Butler signed with the Bucs having gone through the waiver wire. Which means all 31 teams passed on him, none of them put on a waiver claim on him. So, if you think it was a mistake letting him go, you're not only holding it against Ozzie, one of the most acclaimed GM's, but 31 other GM's as well. Do you really think you're in a better position to assess Butler than 32 NFL GM's? Don't you think the other 31 teams who saw Butler perform and then not make the squad then question why. They want him on the practice squad to see for themselves. This mentallity of questioning people's opinions based on what 31 other GMs do is a lame response by someone who has no other argument, but oddly enough, that's exactly the same number who DONT win the super bowl every year. Do you honestly agree with every decision every GM makes? Do you know how many contacted Butler to try and get him? If not, you should try looking it up, because you say all those GMs didn't want him but the majority tried to get him to see what was going on with the Ravens decision. I don't need 31 other GMs to show me what I and everyone else saw with Butler, including Harbaugh and Newsome who both said he should be on the 53. But you know more than everyone so why should anyone ever question you?

Okay, I was ready to move beyond the lame excuses for cutting Butler but here it pops up again. Nothing like rubbing salt in a wound. Not only that, it is just a repitition of the same bs that Harbaugh gave us. At first we couldn't have a returner only, he had to play receiver also, like Hester has bowled the league over with his receiving ability. Then to say there wasn't a spot when quarterback killa Hurst made the team. Do we really need someone who can't play the position anyway. No, it's Harbaugh and his absolutely stupid obsession with special teams and his lifelong crush on Hester. Did you hear Hester, as soon as he became free Harbaugh was on the phone with him. As a special teams guy he just wants to say he coached Hester. We could have gotten by without him easily and proof will be in the pudding but I will make a formal apology here if Hester is still playing by week 6. Mark my words, this is another of those rash, stupid decisions that seem to be the Ravens MO here recently that will end up causing us to lose a playmaker for a guy who won't return kicks because they will all be touch backs and his punt returns have been garbage recently. I watched the Ravens Falcons game from 2014, his last "good" year, and he did nothing. Actually his first kickoff he was tackled by Trawick on the 10. Ooooooh that scares me...... Harbaugh would be a great coach if he would let go of special teams and all that goes with it and actually coach and make decisions for the whole team.

Have trust in Ozzie, and I used to be the first to post that, but after a 5 - 11 season, and 2 of the last 3 out of the playoffs and a combined losing record in the last three seasons. We traded comp picks for vet free agents which we never do but we were scrambling for players why, because we weren't prepared as a result of poor draft picks or bad contracts. Keeping Elam is another one of those questionable decisions, and draft picks, especially when you risk your #1 running back to do it. Ooooh I'm so impressed Ozzie made a back door deal with Forsett, but had another team come knocking with a briefcase of money and Forsett took it, no one would have known it was a back door deal. Do you think we would have been told it was a back door deal had it fell through, no... So we took the chance to save Elam when pretty much everyone agrees Brookes played better but to save face we didn't cut the first found blunder we cut Brookes and Brown, two second round blunders. Perhaps we will do well this year, perhaps not, and some will be in here screaming they were right and others we won't hear from, but the fact that so many fans and pundits are now questioning, draft decisions, roster moves, and every other action by the front office that used to be the unquestioned leader in the NFL indicates that people are now doubting the Ravens front office. The fact that Ozzie has resorted to hiding players by getting them to agree to the subterfuge, and by getting unsigned players to hold off signing until you get your ducks in a row, at some point in time will blow up in your face. It didn't this time and good for us, but when did our once great front office have to resort to smoke and mirrors to be able to sign the players we need. I am not anti Raven or anti-front office, I am pointing out that fans and experts alike have started to doubt the wizard of Oz which prior to a couple years ago just didn't happen. In Oz we trust just doesn't carry the weight with some of us that it used to.

Both the Ravens and Forsett have tweeted that Forsett has returned to the fold. No information I have seen indicating the difference in contract but contrary to what some have reported, I have seen where it may be more, not less. Will be interesting to see. However, they screwed up my fantasy picks on ESPN because I was hoping West would be the bell cow so I grabbed him in a bunch of leagues thinking I was getting by but to no avail. Gambled and lost on the roster switcheroo.

Hester is a perfect fit if you consider kickoffs are an obsolete part of the game and he will be returning few and far between and mostly be part of a touchback. Also, he didn't have as good a punt return average as the 5 people who collectively returned punts for the Ravens last year. Hester had 34 yds on 8 returns, Camp had 49 yds on 3 attempts. We won't take a chance with Camp because of injuries so we get a guy who has been dealing with injuries. Hester was ranked 52nd in the league in punt returns. As far as Butler goes, it's a catch-22, you say he didn't make another teams 53 so he must not have been that good, yet the other teams wonder after his performance why didn't he make the Ravens 53 so they put him on a practice squad to see for themselves. Has nothing to do with the talent that we all obviously saw. We cut him to make room for Hester who will amount to nothing, so much so that I will bet that Butler gets activated to the 53 of the Bucs and has more catches for more yards than Hester does. We were told we don't just put a returner on the roster, he has to be a receiver also. Let's see if Hester can produce as a receiver, we know Butler can. The Ravens are taking chances, trading comp picks for free agents (which we never do), gambling with our starting running back for Matt Elam (of all people), dropping quality players for old has beens. This doesn't sound like the premier front office who thinks long term. I think some jobs are on the line after a 5 - 11 season and it looks to me like some decisions are being made by people who are running scared, and that's never a good thing.

I seriously think the Ravens front office has had some sort of decline in common sense. Harbaugh is chasing a has been returner for kick-offs which won't exist after the season starts. Harbaugh must have bumped his head and thought he was in the year 2006 when he was still a special teams chump in love with the "greatest" returner so he has to say he coached him. 4 million? Seriously. Well, for those of you who want to see Ozzie and Harbaugh gone, they might have done it. Also, what message are you sending when a player who puts cheating above the team and a player who puts dope ahead of the team is on the roster, but Butler who busted butt for years, sat on the practice squad, did everything asked and produced on the field, came up last year and produced and Ozzie and Harbaugh shafted him. I used to be a defender of those two but no more. I don't want my children to take the message that cheating and doing drugs is preferable to hard work. That is the message Ozzie and Harbaugh sent to the team. Same with Forsett. This front office wants to play games with their players and jerk them around and thinks they will come back. Butler finally had enough and though offered a spot on the Ravens practice squad told Ozzie and Harbs to stick it. I don't blame Forsett if he did the same. Ochi was offered a spot, told them the same thing, hit the road, losers. When players won't even go onto your practice squad the team has problems. It will be a cold day in you know where before I say anything nice or defend Harbaugh and Newsome anymore. I don't like the messages they are sending to the team and young fans and I think their decision making has gone far beyond questionable.

Jeremy Butler clearly got shafted by Harbaugh and Ozzie during his stay in Baltimore. No one did more to make this team, and now he is telling the Ravens to stick it. After being offered a practice squad spot with the Ravens he told Ozzie to shove it and instead signed with Tampa Bay's practice squad. I guess he figures if this team is too stupid to recognize talent it is time to move on. I am no big Butler fan and if you look at my posts you see that, but based on his production, even against starting competition, his hands, and ability to get open justified a spot. When the WRs we have couldn't get on the field, Butler was always there and always produces. Keep Hurst who is so bad he got picked up and pushed into our QB causing him to have knee surgery and letting go of Butler is just stupid. I am sorry and I never criticize the coach or GM and am often here defending them here but to say these roster cuts look like the work of an amateur is just echoing the sentiment of not only fans, but people who have reported on the Ravens for years.

According to ESPN the Ravens signed Hester to a one year deal. I think they had to do it and since there was no salary info released it had to be low enough the Ravens aren't concerned about having to guarantee it for the year, or he signed an injury waiver, one of the two. Once Dixon and Taliaferro get better there really is no need for Forsett so unless they figure both will be out for quite awhile, I don't see them signing him back. I think the message was sent that after a 5-11 season, no excuses will be accepted. Ozzie has done some things that seem more the acts of a desperate man than those of a calculating GM. He never gives up his comp picks but he went on a free agent shopping spree this year. He has more cornerbacks than they have ever kept and that is the knee jerk reaction to having to start corners from other teams practice squads last year. The Ravens are really strong in the skill positions so Ozzie thinned them out to keep a bunch of pass rushers because last year there was no rush. It seems the word came down that there will be quality skill players, we will have a pass rush and we will have enough corners. Well, we have those things but do we have the mix that will work.

if they sign Hester in week 1 they have to guarantee his salary for the year since he is a vet and Ozzie doesn't do that. My guess is they have a wink and nod agreement and he will be here week 2. When we thought Joe was smothered in talent around him, things have become thin with only 2 backs, 5 WRs and 3 TEs. Of those 10, 6 are coming off an injury or surgery last year or during training camp. Oz had a good bit of cap space before these cuts and should get another couple. I am thinking Ozzie is looking to make a big name move.

It looks like every CB that tried out made the team. Knee jerk reaction to last year's injuries.

Well, we cut these guys to keep Hurst. Or should that be hearse. The only offensive lineman known as a quarterback killer.

CSN is reporting it is official with Keenan Reynolds, the Ravens have released him.

At this point we only have a snippet of what is going on. Ozzie has stuff going on behind closed doors that we are not yet privy to. Until the weekend is over, I wouldn't get too wound up in these decisions just yet. Some of these guys could be back in some capacity as the process plays out. I figured with 13 million in his pocket still, Ozzie would be busy as teams trim their rosters and players we will never know about are discussed in phone conversations between GMs.

You have to waive a player before they are signed to the practice squad. That's why most people have suggested that they put him on IR. Yep - the only problem with putting him on the IR is that he cannot legally be trained by the Ravens stuff while on IR. TBH, I don't see why so many people think Reynolds will be scooped up in an instant. His camp and pre-season tape won't exactly sell him... Which isn't a knock on him, he's converting to a position he had never ever played at before... So, I think there is a fair chance he'll be available and will end up on our PS. There are 3 guys in any kind of real danger of being cut that would almost surely be picked up by another team: Butler, Pierce and Ochi. All the other guys are either safe with a more or less guaranteed spot on out final roster, or will have a good chance of going through waiver wire and be available for us to bring back to the PS - assuming they pick us over other PS offers. What people like to forget that in a couple of days 704 players will be cut in the NFL. Every position will suddenly have a deep pool to choose from. With the exception of the three mentioned above, the other players we'll cut don't stand above the crowd. Maybe they won't be retained becuse Ozzie snatches other teams' cut players to the P... who knows... There are always players on the PS who were with other teams for the camp and pre-season... Why would a team sign him based on his preseason and tape? Because he is a feel good, ticket seller and that's what drives the NFL, selling seats and making money (who would have thought a Tebow baseball practice would interest 25 pro teams? $$$$$$$). Bellicek who used to coach at Navy and has a knack of picking up these guys (Edelmann is a former QB), and he happens to have Tom Brady and a whole bunch of super bowl wins. I can see where they alone, not to mention the other 30 teams may have a connection to him or the coaches to develop him that may have an interest. Our roster is tight due to players returning from injury so we have to utilize our roster spots differently than other teams who may have a spot on the 53 for a developmental player. I believe the Ravens did what they could to keep him. They gave him a chance to see how much development he needed and when they saw he wasn't going to make the team, they really limited his play time. The Ravens wanted as little tape out there as possible without making it so it looked like they were putting out as little tape as possible.

The league really needs to look at this roster issue. Other than expanding rosters, which is highly unlikely, and since they expanded the practice squad in recent years, they should look at allowing teams to designate 2 or 3 guys that they can put on the practice squad that other teams can't touch. Now if they are guaranteed to be on the final 53, then no one can stop a player from bettering his career, but if they are just going to put them on a practice squad then, no, they should be on the designating teams practice squad. Teams put a lot of time and effort into developmental players and there are those just on the bubble that teams want to hold on to because of their potential. And it is beneficial to the players to stay in the system they started in because it allows them to continue their progression of developing the skills they need and dropping them into another system handcuffs their development because now they are back in the playbook, questioning their assignments, etc...

I don't think the ship has sailed on Campanaro just yet, because they won't sign Hester before week 1 because as a vet, then they owe him his salary for the whole year. If they wait until week 2 they can pay him week to week so if he turns out to be worse than Camp, they can get rid of him. So Camp is good until week 2 anyway, however, if he comes up lame, or bobbles some more kicks, or is totally unproductive in the pass game, he could be swapped out for Hester. Unfortunately for Camp, this was the wrong year to be injured or to fumble because the WR group is so deep, his catching ability doesn't play as much into his roster spot as it would have say last year. Love Camp and am one of his fan club as merryjman refers to us Campanaro supporters, but he is far from a bust and if he gets cut, he will make us sorry we didn't stick with him. Eventually he will break out of this injury thing and when he does, we will hate seeing him in a different colored uniform.

I really think this year that the success of the Ravens hinges more on Flacco's play than anything else. Year after year we have made excuses for his inconsistency and accuracy blaming it on poor talent around him. I am in that boat as well and just as guilty. This year, Flacco is immersed in quality talent in the skill positions from top to bottom. If Flacco can get the ball anywhere near these guys, we should have a dynamite offense. Flacco should get 4500 yards without a problem. No excuses, gloves are off, this is Flacco's time to prove the pundits wrong and utilize the talent around him and show them he is a very good QB if not an elite QB.

If Perriman does nothing but causes the defense to move back, then that means that SSS, Wallace (who has shown he is a much better route runner than given credit for), Aiken, Camp, and our really good tight ends are going to eat up the middle of the field and underneath. Also, when our running backs break through the second level, the corners and safeties are running backwards to cover Perriman, thus allowing for greater gains by the RBs. Also, they can't roll coverage over both sides, so Wallace and Moore can stretch the other side of the field and if they play a Tampa 2, or a 2 deep cover, then Waller, with 4.4 speed (when he gets back) can fly down the middle. And on top of all those wonderful goodies that Perriman brings, just like Torrey Smith, with Joe's arm, he will become a PI magnet on the catches he doesn't make. For the very first time since the Ravens have been in Baltimore, I think we have a first rate, A+ rated receiving corps, and I love it.

I agree, but its not like its the first time. Remember, Ellerbe intercepted a pass in that Rams preseason game and then did a little dab and stuck the ball out over the endline for a touchdown and Harbaugh went off. Then they decided he was an OLB, then a DE, then a OLB again. Took two years for him to get off the practice squad. Cary Williams as well. For two straight preseason he was a force in the secondary, yet final cuts we kept other less productive guys and it was only the year that he got the contract from the Eagles, he got a chance to start in the secondary and we won a super bowl (not necessarily because of Williams but you get my point). Kruger sat for many a season because he was a pass rushing force coming out of college and he didn't want to play special teams. You know how Harbaugh is about that so once again, several years sitting on the back burner before he got a shot and one year later he was gone.

I have to agree.Too many times we don't give our own guys a chance and we waste cap space bringing someone in who can't be productive because he doesn't know the system. Like you said, its just four weeks and only if someone gets hurt. By the time you need a TE and he gets familiar with the system, he will get cut to make room for Waller who has really done well this preseason. Right now we have three TE's which is what most teams carry. And if at this point, Williams keeps ending up on the injury report, it is time to cut ways. I don't see a lot out of Williams that Daniel Brown can't do.

I have been watching all preseason and no doubt, our number 2s have been mopping the floor with other teams number 2s. I am anxious to see them against the Saints starters and thanks to the Saints for giving our guys good competition. Would love to see Judon and the rest of the young guys hold their own against Brees and the Saints. I think they stand a good chance. One thing we do have this year is depth and alot of it.

I am dying to see this guy go flying down the sidelines and catching a pass 5 yards behind the nearest corner. Am I hoping for too much, I don't think so. I watched Mike Wallace get a three step lead on a corner in the third game and Joe just missed him and when that happened I thought to myself, if that was Perriman, he would have had that and been streaking down the field. I could almost taste it. Now there is just another reason to watch the fourth preseason game (like I needed additional excuses).