bioLarzen

The 87 year old female helmet is really a gem

I didn't say any of that, and neither did I wish to imply that - and frankly, I don't think what I wrote says that. Just take a look at what I wrote this as an aswer to.

I agree that there would probably a smaller loss of production if we had to replace Tucker than having to replace either - let alone both - of our starting guards. Having to "replace" any of the Tucker/Yanda/KO trio would very probably mean a loss of production, so the best scenario would be to keep all three. But, if this was impossible, I would prefer the guards - and not because I wouldn't want to keep Tucker, but because having to replace either of the guards would probably mean a greater loss of production - and also more expensive and a bigger cap hit - than replacing Tucker with a lesser kicker. Losing Tucker over losing either/both of our starting guards would be the smaller bad, so to speak. That said, lets hope we'll retain all three.

In no way was it my intention to claim anything like that. I just wanted to point out that kickers usually do more than "kickoffs and extra points". Even Cundiff. But why would it be a problem to replace him with a better one?

I would say that, despite Tucker's obvious importance, retaining one of the - if not The - best guard-tandems of the NFL would be one notch more important. However good Tucker is - and he is VERY good - it's still a smeller loss to replace him with an available kicker than trying to replace KO and/or Yanda... And much cheaper, too. That said, I think both Yanda and Tucker stays at the end of the day. And I wish KO did too... But he'll be a lava-hot commodity on the free agent market if Ozzie lets him hit it...

Do you know that the top three scoring Ravens are three kickers - Stover, Tucker and Cundiff? Yep, despite having played for "only" 3 seasons, Tucker scored the second most points in Baltimore Ravens history. His 401 points scored are almost 150 points more than Torrey (182) and Boldin (86) combined. And he scored 117 more points than the best non-kicker (Jamal Lewis with 284 points - in 5 seasons, as opposed to Tucker's 3). I would say that's a little more than "kickoffs and extra points".

"Veterans GM Ozzie Newsome has signed in recent years after they've been cut: Steve Smith Dumervil Forsett Daryl Smith Now Kyle Arrington" ... and we can also add Jacoby Jones.

Well, if the lack of proven backup is a problem (and I agree) then TE should also be named. Yup, we got Maxx Williams and Boyle, but we don't know how much we can count on Pitta - and there's no real "proven" depth behind him other than Gillmore, who even by his own admission, is much rather a blocking TE than a catching one. Also, catching TE's typically take at least a season to really catch on, even if they are really good. Pitta wasn't much of a factor in his rookie season. Dickson had little playing time (although he took the most out of it) in his rookie season. Even Heap, though real useful, wasn't much like what he would became eventually, in his rookie season. Or we could take a more recent example of Ebron, who really struggled, because he was treated like a plug-in player who would be a key contributor from day 1 - and he couldn't be. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Maxx took some time to become what we all hope and trust he will. And if it happens - and Pitta can't come back or be the same he was before his injuries...

"One day, #Ravens fans will appreciate the genius of Ozzie Newsome..." I dunno who this Nestor Aparicio guy is, but what makes him think we're not appreciating it already?

Who the heck is "Jimmie Smith"? I'm glad though you are willing to keep Jimmy Smith around. So terribly kind of you.

However improbable it may sound now, Mount Cody could do that in his rookie season. Here's hoping Brandon won't go copycat on Cody's career.

Currently it is. But he might also get 25 "back" as right now it's Tray Walker's number, but players are allowed to swap numbers for the regular season (like Ray Rice wore #39 during his rookie pre-season and changed #27 after that)

I'm afraid even if we make him an offer, it won't be one the Pats can't match - and if they do, I'm quite sure Arrington heads back to Foxboro (or another organization that offers hem even more). Does anyone know how the Pats currently stand capspace-wise?

The Wells report specifically mentioned that it was of no importance from the investigation's point of view whether the infringement had any effect on the game's outcome. As I underatand, the "severity" of the punishment is mainly due to the following factors: - there WAS an infringement of the rules; - The Pats' past transgressions of the rules (a.k.a. cameragate) - The unwillingness of some of the key Pats-employees to fully cooperate What the final punishment will be - we are yet to see. It's gonna be a long story, especially that we are in the off-season desert, where a story like this is golden for any media outlet, including nfl.com.

For a moment I thought you were talking about the WildCat and was accordingly confused

Yeah, that would be awesome - but realistically, I see no chance to have two safeties get in Canton as first-ballotters... I don't even really see ANY safeties make it the first possible time. Not because neither Ed nor Polamalu would deserve it - but because it seems that those who vote don't seem to regard safeties that high for some reason...

What they say bears no importance. We can all remember how Harbaugh kept praising Kindle, saying he definitely has a future in Baltimore, mere weeks before he was cut for good. Also, he praised David Reed the same way not long before he was traded to the Colts for a running back who then failed to make the cut... ("Mark my words: David Reed is going to play in the NFL for a long time.") They always praise any Ravens player - which is understood and not a bad thing at all. It's just that we should always take these appraisals with a pinch of salt - or two. They are often much more sales pitch than real evaluation. That said, I hope Elam will come out of his sophomore slump - many players have done that before him, so its not impossible at all. We could certainly use a good Elam. Brown is a different matter - he never really showed he could be more than a backup, to be honest... Frankly, while I can imagine Elam become an anchor in our secondary, I don't really see Brown ever become more than a fringe player - like Jah Reid for example. Good for depth, but maybe not more.

So, it means Arrington is not on the waiver wire and so he can choose where he goes. Great. (That said, I think he'll end up back in New England - just like Edelman did last summer - but hey, we'll see.)

Thanks for the explanation! Thanks, I'll give it a look right away! Edit: OK, now I know how Moss got on the waiver wire in 2010: "A vested veteran only goes through the waiver system from the trading deadline in midseason through the end of the season." (from that article you linked)

Is this a new rule? I clearly remember when in 2010 Randy Moss was cut by the Pats and went to Minnesota, but was cut again a few weeks later, the Titans claimed him off waivers - and at that point Moss had more than a decade of NFL behind him. Or does this rule only apply to off-seasons? ... and anyway, aren't "cut" "released" and "waived" essentially the very same thing?

You're making it sound like the only reason it hasn't yet happened is because Ozzie didn't feel like getting one... Reality is a somewhat different.

He's clearly on the verge of losing it

I don't think he was ever expected to be, so this seems not to be an unpleasant surprise. It would, indeed, be a good find to somehow snatch Arrington - but I don't thnik it's gonna happen. I think he's gonna sooner be claimed off waivers by another team ahead of us in the waiver order.

Marlon Brown seems to be missing from the list of undrafted rookies sticking with the team.

It would IMHO make more sense to stay on the East Coast between the Broncos and Raiders games in Weeks 1&2, because we also have a road game in Atlanta Week#4 of the pre season - so, instead of 3 separate travels it would only be two.