jazz1988

Finally...the horrible Gradkowski experiment is over. He single handedly cost them the playoffs. Zuttah is solid, not all world but 10x what GG was. GG wouldnt start for most college teams.

I don't think Gino cost us the playoffs. The Ravens offense just suck overall  and the predictable playing calling didnt help either. We would have been in the playoffs if we were a bit more creative in the pass game.

Charles Sims was nice pick and he would fit Kyle Shanahans zone blocking scheme perfectly.

I dont know much about Darian Stewart but Aaron Wilson tweeted that The Ravens had high grades on him also according rotoworld.com   he was a favorite of Steve Spagnuolo. 

I really hope Dickson rejects our offer! I'd much rather bring in Owen Daniels...

Since we have a different tight end coach we could see a different Dickson. 

I don't expect them to address that. My guess they're hoping Haloti is healthy and Lewis Moore and Williams can play well in Arthur's absence.

I think they may have to address the defensive line. If we could get our hands on a solid north tackle it would only do wonders for a guy like Haloti . Keeping Haloti fresh is the only way  he's going to stay effective and he can't continue to be dominate seeing as much snaps as he did last year.

Didn't chykie play safety in college?

I think he did  but majority of his time was at cornerback. I don't think the Ravens view him more than as a cornerback but I do  remember John Harbaugh mentioning the day when they drafted Chykie that he was versatile enough to play safety and cornerback.

For anyone discussing Smith's "bad year" last year - can anyone tell me the number 2 receiver at Carolina?  Off the top of my head, I cannot.

 

Now imagine Jacoby and Torrey streaking down the sidelines with Pitta and Smith running crossing routes.

I kinda thought The Ravens were looking forward to having Marlon Brown as that main guy to run crossing routes with Pitta but Smith is cool.

Veteran leadership. Experience. Dependability. 

 

Smith would be a great fit and I think we still go after a WR in the draft.

i just like to see for once our team trust the movement of staying young when it comes to the receiver position .

I just don't understand why every year our team is always in a run for a 30+ year old receiver.

Ravens didn't even make an offer to Jones and 10 million guaranteed is not all that much. We could have given a similar deal.

I guess there some belief  they can get the same production out of the defensive linemen  already present  or a player from free agency or draft.

I want to see us take a run at Henry Melton or B J Raji. Both are great DL guys and since losing Jones we need some fresh blood there.

Is B.J Raji  a defensive end or north tackle?

Now that the Raiders have lost both Veldheer and Saffold I'm guessing they're going to address LT in the draft, that leaves the Falcons with Lewan at #6.

They still have Menelik Watson and I figure he would be their left tackle for the future.

Excellent

 

Noted some of the fans here are recognizing that Jacoby was catching the ball with his hands more.  The view here in regard to receiving skills is that he is still improving.

 

But the key to resigning Dragonfly was that if the Raven's hope to get anywhere close to their playoff level two years ago, Jacoby is an essential element in that pursuit.  We must have the diversified Receiver Corps we had in 2012 to have the slightest prayer to be in position for a playoff spot at the end of the year.  If we can get in, it is very likely to come down to one game and one big play.  Jacoby is uniquely qualified to be that difference maker. The Raven's have very few players that can win that must have game on their own. 

 

Eugene Monroe certainly can't win that game and to this eye signing Jacoby offsets the mistake of signing Monroe instead of Veldheer, who was there for us. Mistake, but the Ozmobile has generally been losing horsepower for a number of years now. The signing of Jacoby at least closes that barn door to keep one of the big horses.

 

Lets face it, Flacco didn't have a running game to use the play action pass and he didn't have time to let them rip downfield as effectively as 2012.  Monroe was a part of that problem. At least with Jacoby we retain the ability to pull a game out we have no right of winning. Maybe a game Monroe plays like the 3rd rater he is.

Monroe fits Gary Kubiak  zone blocking scheme   alot better than Veldheer. The last time Oakland used a zone blocking scheme it didn't work out well for their offensive line or  Veldheer. It wouldn't have made sense to sign a offensive linemen(Veldheer) whom better fits a power blocking scheme more than anything  but any way glad Jacoby Jones is re-signed as well as Monroe.

Ozzie said we needed to get bigger on the o line. De La puente isnt exactly big. Mack is.

That was before we hired Gary Kubiak. Kubiak favors smaller offensive linemen  in order for his offense to work

I'm glad Jacoby Jones is back and a little surprised by it a little .

 A little shock that  Byrd signed with the Saints.

 Anquan Boldin was a huge part in Torrey Smith's development as a young receiver. Whenever you have an old warhorse to take advice and tips on how to become the best WR you can be...big things happen. Boldin left last year and Smith emerged as our number 1 with some pretty good success.

 

Steve Smith is a borderline HOFer and still has a lot left in the tank to make some plays for us at 35. We give him a 1 or 2 year deal and he becomes our reliable target who can move the chains and make the tough catches, while also teaching Torrey, Marlon and a possible rookie addition along the way.

Torrey Smith is a veteran why can't he provide mentorship to the young guys also The Ravens new receiver coach Bobby Engram is a ex veteran receiver. I'm just tired of The Ravens giving Joe Flacco every year veteran receivers that are in 30's and it would be nice for them to surround him with younger receivers in which he can grow with more than just one or two years .

Addressing the 35 yo wr post, Steve Smith doesn't play like a 35 yo.  He takes care of himself and is one of the toughest, smartest wrs in the game.  If he comes in he is probably our number 1 wr immediately.

He may still can play at a high level but  I doubt he can  be our number one receiver. Smith would most likely be out slot receiver aka number 3 wideout.

We have always had success with veteran Wrs. They are reliable security blankets and can help develop and mentor some of the younger guys on our team. Well worth it.

I'm really tired of veteran receivers and honestly what veteran receiver really mentor  and help develop  some of our young guys? The only receiver I can  think of was Torrey Smith but what about Tandon Doss, David Reed,  Laquan WIlliams, Tommy Streeter, Marcus Smith,  and Justin Harper. 

Pick you poison raven fans would you rather have a Elite center or the 8 or 9 best LT? screw i want Alex Mack! make it happen ozzie.

You don't need a elite center to get your offensive line going and it's not  hard to find a solid center(look at The Broncos last year) but it's definitely hard to find a solid left tackle. 

 

from the baltimnore sun Aaron wilson in a article about 2 hours ago listed some FA the ravens are interested in at WR.

 

The Ravens could also be in the market for a veteran wide receiver, preferably someone who can work the middle of the field in tandem with Pitta.

Among the players expected to be on their wish list, according to sources: Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dexter McCluster and New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman.

Should the Patriots release Danny Amendola or the Carolina Panthers cut or trade Steve Smith, the pool of receivers could increase and the prices could potentially drop for pass-catchers.

 

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-new-league-year-0311-20140310,0,7123683.story#ixzz2vdJEst7n

 

Hmmm I think its interesting that The Ravens are in the market for a receiver to work the middle of the field or should I say a slot receiver. I thought Marlon Brown would be their ideal guy whom they like to have in the slot along with Pitta.

All in all it just shows that Miami is getting ready to spend a trillion dollars in free agency like they did last year. Last year they spent $60M on Mike Wallace...and this year they will probably spend 60 more on a LT. All the big money they dropped last year on FAs and they still sucked a big one.

 

You can't finance a championship using your checkbook. Maybe if they spent more time evaluating draft prospects and less time batting their eye lashes at over priced FAs like a fat kid in a candy store...maybe they could get some where. But they continue to throw money at the wall and fail at drafting players...when you trade up in the draft for someone you could have probably traded back to get....and then try and trade him the following year you know your doing something wrong.

One thing to keep in mind is that The Dolphins have different general manager. They fired their old general manager whom signed Mike Wallace and etc last year. I'm not saying they won't spend big money this year but they may be more careful or approach this year free agency differently than last year.

Pay him the 10 mil he's asking. Its not easy to find decent LTs on the market. Its not like teams are just letting them go left or right, and if they are, usually teams with higher cap space snatch them up or would out bid us. Its not like they will have a chance at an instant starter out of the draft in LT. They are only about 1mil apart, so why not just pay the man his million difference and move on to the next stage. Its not like LTs are like running backs or receivers where there are an ample supply of them on the market that are really good. Unless we completely suck next year and get a top 10 pick, we will never get another JO unless we get lucky in the later rounds. So why not just sign the man who has proven himself this past season (atleast to me he has) and that way we have a good LT and don't have to try and find/battle with other teams in FA. To me, with the way GOOD LTs are hard to find in the market, 10 million is not overpaying.

I think if The Ravens had more cap space and  less other needs they would be willing to give Monroe 10 million but they don't .

He wouldn't have been on the team in 2014, either way. The big issue with that trade was how little we got back.

I think it depends on how good Arthur Browns becomes. When we trade up in the second to draft Brown it was with the help of sixth round pick in which we received from the Boldin trade. If Arthur Brown some hows turns out to become a beast of player than the trade of Boldin makes it even more worth it.

Given the massive rises in salary cap (an expected 30+ million in three years) and a franchise quarterback who was paid $120 million, he was well worth it

I understand  where you coming from  but thats just not how  a business operates all the time. Monroe isn't worth 10 milliona and I can understand why his agent is asking for so much money since The Ravens are in  a desperate need of a left tackle.

 Ozzie  and  his representatives have every right to not budget  and I'm sure there is big reason for that  especially when they may be thinking about the future such as re-signing Jimmy Smith and Torrey Smith whom both will not come cheap at all.