BEACHBOY

Lets all try to remember that and not bash our QB mid season when the run game's going nowhere and Flacco is on his back, because he has no time and his receivers can't get separation.

balfan23 - your comment was that when a run on RBs occurred those teams who grabbed a back were "late to the party". So which teams in your opinion panicked? Was Carlos Hyde a bad choice? How about Jeremy Hill, Terrence West? You asked who I would have given up; Mosely is the answer. Not because he isn't talented, but because of how that selection impacted our draft. Had we taken Clinton-Dix, or Pryor we wouldn't have had to settle for a less talented safety at 79. And I'm clearly not as excited about Jernigan as some are who graded him as a 1st rounder. I think he is undersized for an NFL NT and he disappeared at times in college - took himself out of the game in the 4th quarter of the national championship game. That's really disappointing to me. We needed to fill the void left by Arthur Jones' defection, but I think we pulled the trigger too early when a talented guy like Louis Nix doesn't come off the board until the 83rd pick. There were a lot of offensive playmakers available in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, guys who you could argue were also 1st round caliber. and per our own FO we needed to be very smart in this draft, because we had a lot of holes to fill. I'm just disappointed that among the top tier TEs, WRs and RBs we landed exactly none of them.

Pete Carrol's philosophy is sound; draft the player you think is best AND who fits your scheme. You need to go into the draft with a plan of making your team better. Your selection should be driven by a combination of talent and need. To simply choose BPA is to suggest you don't have a plan. Taking Gilmore at #99 doesn't even suggest BPA.

I'm not prone to Offense or Defense - I want playmakers. For me it started at the top of the draft picking Mosley because that decision set in motion everything else that followed in our draft. Its not that I don't like C.J. Mosley; he is a terrific football player and a high character guy who if he can remain healthy stands the chance of becoming an all-pro. My dissatisfaction stems from the fact that two guys who could help us immediately, two guys linked to us in numerous mock drafts were sitting there for us to take and we passed them up - Pryor and Clinton-Dix. Is there that much of a talent gap between Mosely and the other two? I don't think so and when you consider everyone's injury history, when you consider the NFL has become a pass first league and when you consider that by adding Clinton-Dix, or Pryor you make Elam that much better I feel the better choice would have been to pick a safety. Had we done so then maybe we would have added a RB in the 3rd.

balfan23 - I would have gladly "settled" for any one of those RBs taken in that run. If staying true to our process means waiting too long, then perhaps we should rethink the process. Every draft is different based on the talent that is available, your draft position, number of picks and type of picks. To my way of thinking the key to a successful draft is to be flexible and remain open minded to an opportunity that presents itself rather than stick to a process.

Some posters want to argue the Ravens don't need a WR, TE, or RT. Really? Two days ago Ozzie listed all three positions as needs. If you think you're going to develop a Pro Bowl candidate from the list of Reid, Jensen and Wagner you need a reality check. Why doesn't your argument fit at LB? We just signed Smith to a 4 year deal and we have a 2 time Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12 who we drafted last year already in the locker room, so we add Mosley, a talented player, but who is it that's not going to get on the field every down next year? You don't need to be a homer to be a fan of this team and you don't need to neg every fan with a different opinion. We've drafted some talent, I just don't think its the "right" talent. There were playmakers available on both sides of the ball and its too late now, 'cause they're gone, party over. Brooks btw is not considered a playmaker at FS. He even lost his job his senior year to Joyner and moved back to SS. Jernigan isn't built like Nagata, or Williams; he's overweight at 302. He is going to get shoved around and worn down in the NFL. And the rap sheet on Gilmore reads slow, can't shed coverage and has an under developed lower half, so he's got work to do in the weight room just to be an adequate blocking TE. Not a single Pro Bowler drafted in the past five years and it looks like Mosely might be our only hope in this one. As a footnote: what do we do if Rice gets suspended and Pierce reaggrevates his shoulder injury?

Anybody who watched the BCS National Championship last January remembers Auburn driving the length of the field late in the 4th quarter for a go ahead touchdown and FSU is desperately trying to make a stop. So when the going gets tough the tough get going and where is Timmy Jernigan you ask? Why he's taking a knee on the sidelines sucking oxygen, because he is gased! God help us if he turns out to be another Terrance Cody. I see this draft as a great opportunity squandered. I look at teams who have filled needs - the Rams on the offensive and defensive line, a versatile CB/SS and a tough RB; the Jags with a starting QB and 2 stud receivers to throw to for the next 5 years - and I think what could have been.

Zero help for an offense that ranked 29th overall - picking a nobody at TE doesn't count. Coulda' had Clinton-Dix, settled for Brooks, coulda' had Jace Amaro, but settled for Davey Crockett. You can't stand pat in the middle and expect these offensive players on your board to simply "fall to you". I realize half our picks were compensatory so we couldn't trade up, but that should tell you to think outside the box. IMO they should have drafted for need and saved the best player available philosophy for the later rounds. They took Jernigan at 48 when they could have gotten a REAL NT in Louis Dix (6'3" 326) who didn't come off the board until 83 (both graded the same btw). As a result they wiff on Amaro, Fiedorowitz and Niklas; Robinson, Latimer and Landry; Sankey, Hill, Hyde and West plus Moses and a slew of interior linemen who you could plug and play. And that's what this team needed out of this draft - guys who can make an immediate contribution by filling a void. Instead we mirror last year's draft and all that means is somebody's not getting on the field - Smith, Brown, Williams, Daniels??? They said they needed to hit a home run in this deep draft and I think they are one player shy of taking a horse collar in the first three rounds.