berad

Just wanted to check in and say a very fond farewell to everyone. This board has been around pretty much ever since I started watching football. Before it was, I was posting on the Ravens MySpace groups and LOL that was a riot. I was so young and knew next to nothing. But I learned so much, from everyone, all the other mods, @theFRANCHISE was an OG beast. All of the posters - @-Truth- @rmw10 @BOLDnPurPnBlacK @The Raven @BmoreBird22 @GrimCoconut @JoeyFlex5- who dive so deep in the draft and come up with legit, good info. Some more I'm definitely missing, the 'younger' posters like @ludy51 or @LosT_in_TranSlatioN who are so energetic and funny. Just some plain good people, too, funny people! Wise adults like @ellicottraven @K-Dog @cobrajet @PuRock @PurpleNurple. Some of them have been around as long as I have (I believe I'm member 33 lol), I remember some more like @flynismo @AwakenTheDemon @Ed_Reed20 @codizzle @1/28/01 @Militant X 1 being around very early. I'll miss you all, I'll miss this board. I'll miss the discussions we had, the wins we reveled in and losses we grieved for. The Dump Thread in its glory days. The incredibly inventive mock offseason game you all developed and have enhanced, that was truly an inspiration and something you should take pride in. I'll miss what the boards mean to me and how I've grown since I've been on them. I'm a bigger and better Ravens fan because of these boards and because of all of you. Thank you. You'll still find me posting on the articles, but it won't be the same. Sorry for the ramble.

They'll probably keep trying to find them in the draft, they're very reluctant to trade away picks. They're all about value. Good or bad, that's what they'll do. That's probably what they'll continue to do unless Ozzie retires and DeCosta becomes Mr. Wheel-and-Deal. edit - they're much more likely to hunt for cuts and/or unheralded guys, hoping for Aiken 2.0

Advice: Be flexible. Don't make a guy like Anquan Boldin run go-routes all game. Don't waste an 'offensive weapon' like Juszczyk with 3-yard shallow routes. Keep running the ball when we have success or it's a close game. For whatever reason, Marc Trestman refused to run the ball against the Redskins even though West finished with 95 yards on 11 carries... the final 22 offensive plays of the game were passes... and we still almost won but it shouldn't have been like that. Trestman was fired after that.

Haha that was after the Week 2 meltdown against Oakland in 2015, same game were we allowed a game-winning TD drive with under 2 min left. Jernigan had a roughing the passer penalty that pushed them past the 50. The defense got spanked and Harbs was not happy. That was also the week after Suggs went down with his Achilles

I like topics like this although the Ravens only have a 20 year history so the player pool is limited... I'll limit it even more and go by players that I've actually seen live since I began to watch the team ~2004-2005 CB: Chris McAlister CB: Jimmy Smith NB: Lardarius Webb SS: Eric Weddle FS: Ed Reed Was very tempted to put Dawan Landry on there, he was such a tough player and solid professional. Pollard had a decent run, too. Weddle is just a better player. Now, the inverse... worst, or most frustrating, players in that span CB: Frank Walker CB: Chykie Brown NB: Corey Ivy SS: Matt Elam FS: Michael Huff

I'll say Carl Davis. Maybe he actually works his way on the DL rotation this season, he's been training with Willie Henry a lot.

Definitely, definitely. Is it football season yet?

Yes, I agree, and it would be disappointing if they under-performed. All the resources they have put into that unit. I wish we had retained Leslie Frazier but he took a coordinator job. I don't think we've gotten any better on offense, unless it is something more subtle with scheme and coaching. We lost our most reliable WR and leader, lost a premier RT, and traded away the starting center. Now, all of those things could be distant memories comes November, if new guys step up and returning players stay healthy. I'm optimistic but harbor doubts.

Could be great. Should at least be really good. You can tell the coaches and FO were stung by the defense faltering down the stretch. I expect them to reclaim a top 5 defense and remain steady throughout. I think Jeff Zrebiec tweeted that all of the starting front defense is 28 or younger, outside of Suggs and Weddle - a lot of young depth after that, too.

All the better. I've wanted a guy like that for a long time. It's cool to have pass-rush specialists like Dumervil but a dynamic player who can drop in coverage and not be lost? Yes!

He looks rangy and fast. Apparently he's decent in coverage, too? If he can hold up against the run, he sounds like a complete OLB.

He's got all the measurables you could ask for, sounds like his biggest issues are tracking the ball and making plays downfield. Sounds familiar to what we saw with young Jimmy Smith. He would blanket guys but not turn around to play the ball once it came his way. I remember a preseason game (I think) against Dwayne Bowe where he was practically velcro'd to the guy but Bowe ended up catching a few passes because Jimmy either didn't anticipate the throw or was slow to react. He's obviously corrected that. One thing he does undoubtedly better than Jimmy is tackle. Some of those hits are just nasty.

I know the Patriots are the vogue enemy now - they've done so many more annoying things recently - but the Steelers will always be the game I have the most trepidation for. I hope it always stays like that, it's the best in sports.

Confirmed

And the stars, including picks: Patriots net change: 0 (0.5 base salary for Calhoun, trade away 0.5 charge on pick) Raiders net change: -0.5 (0 savings for Calhoun but take on the 0.5 charge for the the pick)