bioLarzen

This is the time of the year when whenever a player becomes available, he's automatically linked to all other 31 teams - regardless whether the team has any need in that péosition, how the player would fit the scheme, salary cap and personnel etc... At time it indeed seems like free agents and organizations are linked randomly - first as an "innocent" question like "Would (FA player) fit the (organization)?" Next thing you know is that it's reported as "(Player) may end up with (organization)" - next day Ian Rappaport reports that "(Organizatrion) is considering bringing (player) in." That afternoon the refute "(Organization) is not interested in (player)." There - 4 "news" items out of nothing... I don't want to bring politics in here, but if anyone is looking for "fake news" the pre-free agency period in the NFL is a prime hunting ground. I would go out on a limb saying at least 90 percent of these "news" have been deliberately fabricated.

... and fit all that under the cap limit? Yep, in Ozzie we trust - but finding a quality upgrade over Zuttah (essentailly meaning sign Nick Mangold), sign Garcon AND keep BOTH Brandon Williams and Rick Wagner - and even get Amukamara would take two Gandalfs (or Gandalves? :D), I'm afraid

I still see Garcon as a pipe dream - if he receives an offer from ozzie at all, he'll be offered much more money elswhere, of that I'm, sure. I'm afraid the same applies to Brandon Marshall. The only free agent linked to the Ravens I think is really worth reaching deep into the pocket for, is Nick Mangold. Without a quality C the best we can hope for from, the O is something similar to what we saw last season...So, unless a cap-happy organization throws fool's money at him, I think Ozzie should make signing Mangold our free agent priority.

One cannot help wondering how and why the average football fan's memory span is so short... Every single season, fans of cap-strapped teams play the same old "will our key UFA's be retained" game - totally forgetting that thay have played the same game the last time, and before that, and before that... only to see said key UFA's leave just about every time - because UFA's almost invariably follow the money trail... and it never leads to cap strapped organizations. So, for the 21st edition of the annual "Which Key Ravens UFA's Will Be Back In Baltimore Next Season" show, the answer is... what it has almost always been: none of them. It was clear as day all along, so nobody with a good grip on the notion of the cap system is surprised to see Brandon Williams, Rick Wagner and Juszczyk leave - JUST LIKE ALMOST EVERY SINGLE KEY UFA LEAVES CAP-STRAPPED TEAMS. Let's not play like it's surprising... we, football fans, know better.

That would get you ONE player in his contract year playing a position where we have some need - instead of three players who could fill in major needs. Not to mention that the 3rd and 4th rounds are typically Ozzie's playground - that's where he usually finds his trademark gems. Doesn't seem like an especially great deal if you ask me (I know you didn't) - and definitely not one I could imagine Ozzie take. Honestly, I doubt Ozzie would give this much up for Odell Beckham or AJ Green Not to mention: the trade value of these three picks combined (343) have little over a third of the trade valuie Tennessee's first round pick (900). And while I'm aware the trade value chart is a mere guidance at most, not a rule - it clearly indicates which offer the Saints would probably favor if the Titans indeed offered them their 1st round pick for Cooks. Our offer would be better if offered our 2nd round pick instead (420) - and that would strill be less than half the value of what the Titans offered...

Good to see someone with an idea of how the cap system actaully works...

That's not this automatic. Jacoby Jones left money on the table TWICE to be/stay a Raven - although henever made anything closer to 74M... And we could find an awful lot of guys who, having earned tens of millions, still chose to follow the money trail... You never know.

If you cut Flacco, he'll have a new job in about 10 seconds. And not in Baltimore.

"RAVENS GIVE 'VERY COMPETITIVE' OFFER TO RICK WAGNER" Doesn't mean a thing. That was the exact same phrase ("a very competitive offer") they used about Osemele last season - and we all know how that worked out...

Mangold would certainly make all the sense and be an upgrade (provided he's helathy, of course) - but I'm afraid he belongs to wishfulthinking folder: players casually associated with the Ravens, but almost surely way too expensive for our cap situation - players like Garcon, Jefferson, Pryor, Sheard, Calais Campbell, Connor Barwin etc...

Points #1 and #2 seem to somewhat contradict each other... Let the D play - but keep focusing on player safety? If you let the D really play, there are gonna be more injuries - because it's gonna be intense.

Cutting Pitta doesn't mean at all he wouldn't wear a Ravens jersey Week #1. With his injury history, I'm not sure any other team would take a flyewr on him - even with all the upside he would certainly offer as long as he's healthy. So, he may easily be back in Baltimore on a cheaper contract. All this, of course, assuming he's cut. He may not be cut at all.

It was, indeed, painful to see how often Flacco threw to targets yards short of the yellow line on third downs. TRhis, and his apparent utter reluctance to speed up things in the 2-minute drill periods, casually jogging to the line like there were minutes left, when the clock showed 35 seconds, with one timeout - only to throw a pass short ofd the first down marker, to the middle of the field, leaving no chance for the target to step out of bounds stopping the clock... It genuinely seemed like he couldn't care less if he tried... And I'm not saying it was the case - but it certainly seemed so.

Have you actually read the piece, or just the header? :)

If history is any kind of indication, we're almost surely be without all three of these guys - Brandon Williams, Wagner and Juszczyk - next season. Yes, there are always fantastic scenarios in the news whch yould result in retaining our star FA'S - but then it never happens.Guys, if Torrey Smith - whose whole life was about Baltimore and the Ravens, who was loved and respected in Baltimore, and knew he'd be a kley cog if he stayed - could leave Baltimore for San Francisco because of the money, then a Brandon Williams, a Rick Wagner and a Juice certainly will. And that's just the way it is in the NFL. That's their job - it's just natural they'll go wherever they're paid the best.

I have the feeling that if Corey Davis falls out of the top 10, there are gonna be teams that will trade up to one of the 11-15 sports and take him. A true day#1 playmaker WR is simply too enticing. But I'll gladly be proven wrong :)

Those who get their football info from realiable and impartial sources, have always known that Cruz has nothing left in the tank. This should come as no surprise to anyone. What I find truly surpriosing is why so many people think Ozzie is in a positrion to make a legit run for Pierre Garcon. The guy will IMHO get a deal from a cap space happy organization that will be way higher than what we can even think about...

"These picks are not based on rumors or reports about teams being interested in the pending free agents, but rather just who PFF thinks makes sense." ... and this is what makes them utterly irrelevant.

I've said it many times here the past few weeks, I know: this year we cannot really pick a bad position. The wrong guy maybe - but npot thr wrong position. Assuming Ozzie doesn't go for a QB, a P or a K at #16 (and I guess we can safely assume that much) - he could almost choose a position randomly and be still good with it.

Although he, Dixon and Tavon Young all had very promising rookie seasons, there are countless examples why we should all wait until they have their sophomore seasons under their belt. Just look at ZaDarius Smith, who, after a very good rookie season, had a rather pedestrian sophomore season. Which is the real Z? We'll see... Let's hope that all of the three aforementioned rookies turn out to be the real deals - but let's not just take it for granted now.

As for who we're going to pick at #16 (assuming Ozzie stays put) - I still say we can't pick the wrong position* - maybe the wrong guy, but not the wrong position. A WR? Sure. An O-line guy? Why not? A RB? You can't deny how Elliott has made them 'Boys O notches better overnight... A D-line guy? Can't have enough of them. An edge rusher? Any time. One for the secondary? Couldn't be better... I've seen at least a dozen guys projected to be picked by Ozzie in the various mock drafts - and I've yet to see one guy that doesn't make sense. Yep, I've even seen us projected to pick a TE at #16 - and even then I'd say it can be a really good pick. * Well, I assume the likelihood of drafting a K or a P at #16 can be safely eliminated :D

"“The Ravens have had five offensive coordinators since 2012, most in the league,” Sando wrote. “That's a big reason Baltimore ranks last for continuity among teams with the same GM and head coach over that period." I think that's as clear an indication that the method used by the Baltimore Ravens to identify the right man for the OC job does not work. Still, apaprently nobody has ever asked Ozzie or the owner if there is going to be a shift in the method of picking the OC. Sticking to a method that clear as daylight, doesn't work is hardly the hotbed of success... And I'm quite sure it doesn't take a rocket surgeon or a brain scientist to see it...

"Have the New England Patriots been so successful over the years because of their continuity? Or have they had continuity because they win so much?" Continuity is only productive if you have the right guys. We've all seen what "good" insisting on Cam Cameron did to the O back then, and I'm afraid we'll all see what "good" staying with Mornhinweg will do... The Pats were right to stick with their guys because they had the right ones... So, it all starts with identifying the right guy for each position. If that doesn't happen, continuity will, instead of being the seed of continued success, be the root of the downfall of an organization.

The Chiefs have all the fun with a guy the likes of Tyreek Hill with all the sea of character concerns - and I don't see the public image of the Chiefs fall a notch - and we're still at the "don't expext the Ravens to draft this or that guy because he did something wrong ONCE." Maybe that's part of the explanation why we have become a regular feature of the "look who's missed the playoff" game while teams like the Chiefs are in... As for Mixon, there were multiple reports that he's well liked by staff members, players, coaches - and basically everybody, and did what he did ONCE. That doesn't make it OK of course - but I do think the public image ramifications of selecting players with such cases have been way overblown in Baltimore. I can understand that the Rice case caused some shellshock - but it would be high time to leave it behind... You won't win many games in the NFL with a team of gentlemen.

Is there any scenario where Flacco and the Ravens have a good year? Just wondering. In 2012 there pretty much was...