steelcityraven

Good Luck to Ngata.... and I think he is only saying what he is supposed to say but two things; 1. I do not believe that he will play all 16 games this year and 2. I think that Timmy will end up with more sacks then Ngata and BWilliams will make the probowl while Ngata does not this season! With those two things being said... I think that the timing of letting NGata go...was perfect (typical Ozzie) and that we will stop the run better then the Lions this year!

I don't think that ABrown is going anywhere. He will play limited duty behind two of the top ILB's in the NFL. He is capable of playing and growing and getting better. He will be re-signed cheaply (as DSmith continues to age going into his 12th season). Arthur Brown will be ready to contribute when we need him to! Either this year if someone were to miss any time with an injury or next year (two years) stepping in and becoming a starter (or at least providing quality reps). The less exposure we show with him the less chance we have of losing him. He has looked solid in limited opportunities... He even looked good last pre-season! Not physically dominant but more then adequate! Arthur will be ready to step in when we need him.... Lets not jump the gun on the bust thing just yet... That is the luxury of a great team... we don't have to draft for need and we can stock the warehouse! It is not coincidence that Ozzie does the best job in the league replacing guys when we lose them!

Competition is a great problem to have! I think that ABrown needs to step up and claim his spot but I am really happy that ZOrr is ceasing the opportunity that is before him! I Like what ABose brings to the table as well and his presence will make that battle even more interesting!

I'll pick 5 that I want to see show improvement:

1. Matt Elam... I know that everyone is singing his praises this offseason and I hope that continues, but he is a 1st round draft pick and bc he has underachieved this year and last year, we had to go out and spend money at the position (Will Hill and K Lewis)if Matt played up to expectations that money could have been used in other places...nonetheless, I hope this is the season he steps up and shows why we drafted him # 1

2. Arthur Brown... A 2nd rounder.... going into his 3rd season. He needs to produce!There is nothing else to say... he needs to find his way onto the field for meaningful reps on Defense not just special teams!

3. Juice.... the FB/ H-Back was the mindset when we drafted him... Juice needs to become more of an offensive weapon moving forward..... he can be that wild card, that mismatch that gives defense fits... he showed some improvement last year... that growth needs to continue!

4. Eugene Monroe.... we made him our starting LT but he has been often injured and inconsistent there to this point. He has been billed as one of the top young talents at the positon... I love his attitude and work ethic... just want to see him take the next step and fulfill his potential!

5. Courtney Upshaw.... He has become an great run stopper and edge setter... I love his physicality and mentality (it is Ravenesque!) But when we took him in the 2nd round (our 1st pick) we envisioned more then a 1 dimensional player... He has the ability to be more.... would love to see him continue to show his growth and show a little more this year!

(Bonus)... (Chris Canty and Michael Campanaro). Canty was expected to come in and make and immeadiate impact. HIs imposing size, speed,talent combination came with great expectations but injury and inconsistency have left production sporadic... would like to see more consistent play this year from Canty even if it means fewer reps! Campanaro... was drafted with visions of an athletic,playmaking slot WR... he hasn't been able to stay healthy long enough to show those attributes... He has the skillset to create mismatches and allow us to exploit defenses... but he cant use them if he cant stay healthy enough to get onto the field. Would love to see him prepare his body to stay healthy this year and have an impact (at least in the kicking game)!

I think that Canty start for the first 3 0r 4 games of the season and then sees his playing time diminish as Urban and KLM get more comfortable and show more in limited reps. He is winding down a great career and these two will begin to amp up their own. I look for Canty to make a solid contribution but for KLM and Urban to really take the next step!

I love to hear of the new guys coming into a standard that demands a lot from them. They will learn how to win and how to get the most out of their potential here. There are not a ton of places we can say that about... Glad that Baltimore is one!

Glad Butler had a great Minicamp....he will have his work cut out for him. Not sure how many WR's we keep this season but 6 is probably the max. 1. SSS 2. BPerriman 3. Marlon 4. Aiken that leaves Campanaro, Butler, DCarter, DWaller, and more to compete for two spots THat is tough and even tougher when you consider that Waller and Camp are draft picks (who the Ravens do not like to give up on). Carter has been highly touted! Not saying that Butler cant make it... just that he has a very uphill climb! Good Luck!

I like our roster from top to bottom. The Sqeelers have a very dynamic and potentially a very prolific offense but their defense has more question marks then the riddler. Who is playing CB for them? How about Safety? Their entire defensive backfield is sketchy at best and a single injury there could be devastating to their season. They have LB's that are highly drafted but also highly unaccomplished. The have a DL with talent on the outside and weak in the middle. They have no depth on that DL or anywhere in the front 7. WHile I think their offense is very good... there defense is in the bottom 10 in the league. How could any reputable sports writer suggest that they have more talent then us as a team???? that is a joke.

I like the idea of not over training at this stage of his career. You need more recovery time and mentally...you need to increase your recovery time. Suggs is a true professional. When it is game time he will be ready to go and He will do what he has always done... PRODUCE. then you add ZSmith into the mix and if he can give us some quality reps... and keep Sizzle fresh... it will be another interesting battle between suggs and dumervil to see who gets the most sacks again! Cant wait!

67 yards with room to spare?????? Pay the guy!

Cant wait to see how Cj and Timmy progressed. I think both could be probowlers. I think that Gilmore will contribute but there is a ton of competition at TE and reps will be limited as season wears on. Still love his potential to show growth. I Like what Talifero showed...especially around the goaline. Brooks has so much potential and if he is healthy I expect him to be the most improved out of all of our sophomores. Urschel... leaves me very confident that he can and will take that next step. I have no problem is he needs to step in and play! He showed that last season... he can be a starter in this league (we just happen to have two of the best G's in the league in front of him). Hurst... has to add muscle and that may take him two years but has shown to be a great pickup already.... Campanaro.... (I love his potential but needs to show that he can stay healthy. if he does... he can be a great weapon for us who brings a different skillset that makes us harder to defend). Love to see a great draft class continue to progress and grow....cant wait!

I love Perrimans potential but I don't want to have to depend on him this early in his career. We are too diverse and too talented at that position to not get serious production from multiple sources. That will give Perriman time to develop into a superstar and remove some of the pressure and that will keep all of our WR corps fresh and healthy heading into the playoffs. (and make us harder to defend as an offense)!

Ray Rice.... does deserve a 2nd chance and soon! Cmon....Dante Stalworth got a 2nd chance and he killed someone! Ben is in the league and his crimes were more heinous towards women then Rays every day of the week. Plus many players in the league committed the same infraction and were given 2nd or 3rd or more chances. Ray Macdonald, James Harrison, Greg Hardy, and so many more! What he did was wrong and he should have been punished and was! He served his sentence... he has shown that he gets that he was wrong (charges were dropped) and the precedent has been set... There are a ton of players in the NFL currently failing in the moral court... but ray served his penalty and has done everything he can to make restitution for his infraction. Its time to move on! Ray deserves another shot!

Great draft class...with the ability to accomplish even more this season! Cannot wait to see what some of these guys can contribute. I am excited bc I think we have a couple of very special players in that draft... along with some very solid contributors and potential starters.... Really hope the progression continues and a very good draft class turns into a great draft class and maybe even our best (and that is saying a great deal)!

Love the depth that Ozzie and co put together (at an area of weakness) in a very short time frame! Best in the business!

Great attitude from the two...and great to have them both be part of the team. Urschel is extremely valuable bc we have two G's this year and a C next season up for contract negotiations.... Urschel gives us a ton of leverage and he is only getting better! Hurst on the other hand really did impress me last season. He has some rough patches but what rookie wouldn't at that position. He showed improvement over the course of the season and I hope that he continues to progress. He has already showed more then Jah Reid!

RavensFootbalFan... I am not saying that size and speed don't mean anything.... Obviously they are both great tools but they are not the ultimate predictor of how someone will perform. Nearly every draft for the past decade or two has had a bust WR with all the intangibles taken in the first round! 10. Sylverter Morris taken by KC in 2000 was 6'3" 215 and ran mid 4.5s bust. 9. RJay Soward out of USC 8. David Terrell... 6'3 213 out of Michigan ran a 4.34 7. Freddie Mitchell taken in round 1 6'1 185 4.43 6. Ashley Lelie ou of Hawaii was 6'3" 196 and ran a 4.33 Charles Rogers 6'3 220 ran a 4.38 Reggie Williams 6,4 199 4.44, 3. Troy Williamson 6,1 203 ran a 4.34, Mike WIlliams out of USC 6'5 235 ran a 4.56 - ted Gin jr. 5'11- 185 4.38 Darious Heyward Bey 6,2 212 4.34 Matt Jones out of Arkansas 6,5 219 ran a 4.39.... in fact it you look at the fastest 40 times in combine history.... many of them have been average at best.... (Justin King 4.31 our own Yamon FIgures 4.3, DH BEy 4.29, Demarcus van dyke, and Jacoby Ford both 4.28- Marcus Goodwin WR out of Texas 4.27, Dri Archer 4.26.... the vast majority of the top 40 guys in the history of the combine have had mediocre careers. SO while I think speed and size are important factors.... they are not the end all when predicting success in the NFL. As I said... I am with you and I hope that Waller takes his freakish gifts and lights it up in the NFL but I am cautiously optimistic and mostly hope he is simply a great redzone target for Joe. If he does that he will have a much better pro career then most experts had projected for him. Ill take it... everything else would be a bonus!

I am excited about this draft class. I expect Perriman to come in and contribute from day 1. I expect Williams to do the same but we have Pitta, Gilmore and Boyle who may all get reps... but I do expect Williams to contribute more and more as the season progresses! I expect CDavis to be in the rotation and see 15-or so reps per game and gradually increasing if his performance demands it (Like Timmy did last year). I don't expect as much out of ZSmith bc of who is in front of him but 10-12 reps per game (should give him some opportunities to show us what he can do). Tray Walker has more work to do and I don't expect him to contribute as much this season as I do next (unless it is on ST). Robert Myers.... also more of a longshot... with two of the best G in the league (Yanda and KO) in front and a very capable Urschel in the mix. I don't think Myers will see much PT (barring injuries) but that is a good thing bc it gives the 6th round pick the time to mature and develop in the pro game! Finally... I think that Buck Allen and Nick Boyle are wild cards. I think that Allen could add a little or a lot (especially in the passing game). I think that Boyle may be the surprise pick of the season for us! We are loaded at TE now, so his opportunities will be few but I am curious to see what he can do. Reminds me of when we drafted Pitta and Dickson and everyone originally though that Dickson was the guy... it turned out to be Pitta. Not suggesting that Maxx will not be the guy but that we may have found two future TE's to throw at defenses (like the Patriots had- minus the off the field issues). Cant wait for Sept!

if Juice improves as much going into his third season as he did from his rookie to second year....we will have a weapon on our hands. I thought that he struggled a little as a blocker in year 1 and saw vast improvement (as he put on some size) going into year two. He showed that he can be a weapon last year and if he learns to hold onto the ball.... I think he will be exactly what we hoped for when we drafted him. A true H-back more then a fullback! Love to see the progression in these players!

RavensFootballFan.... On paper.... Waller looks like a steal... and I really hope he is but one this is for sure... don't go by measurements when it comes to WR's.... some of the best WR's currently in the game and throughout the leagues history.... don't have great 40 times... or don't have the physical qualities. Look at Boldin (not fast but produces year in and year out).... Look at Wes Welker... (many said he was too small for the NFL but has put up numbers that most WR would die for). Most WRs coming into the league today are freaks but few of those draft day freaks produce consistently. I hope Waller learns to use his physical gifts but I am not getting my hopes up too much, just yet! I don't expect him to be Calvin Johnson, or even Torrey SMith for that matter.... but if he can produce in the redzone! I think he makes us a much more dangerous team!ANything else is a bounus

I think he is going to be a good one.... but I also really like what Boyle can add to this offense. I think we have found our TE's of the future

HEck.... Forsett did it here... why not Kamar? He's growing up!

Rody White, Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, HArry Douglas.... Heck- I could be a superstar QB with those weapons....I would bet that if Joe had weapons like that... the Falcons would have won a lot more playoff games/ probably still not as many as BMORE bc the franchise is balance and committed to winning- the Falcons don't know how to win and would have probably held Joe back from achieving the success he has in BMORE. That being said... I think Joe in Atlanta would have greatly out performed MAtt Ryan in Atlanta... and Joe in BMORE is even better~

Joes biggest problem has always been consistency. I think there are a few factors that come into play that has caused his lack of consistency throughout his career: 1. He seems to have a new OC every year (that slows the development of a QB). 2. Many years he has lacked top notch weapons (he has had some good ones in Mason, Boldin, Pitta, Heap, Torrey, etc) but has rarely ever had a full compliment of weapons. 3. OL play has been inconsistent throughout his career (sometimes it has been very good-like our superbowl season) and sometimes very bad (like 2013) and most of the time...somewhere in between. Joe is a different qb when he has time. 4. and lastly (and this one is on Joe) he has always struggled to handle pressure, to manage the pocket and to manipulate the pocket...he seems to get rattled at times and becomes very erratic when flustered. He has been in the league for some time now and this is the one area that I want to see him improve - if Joe controls this - he has weapons this year- he has a very solid OL... he has a strong running game and a OC (while new) that should scheme in a system that Joe is very familiar with. If Joe learns to manage the pocket and deal with pressure better... he will have a career season!

Vick is not the type of QB to fit the Ravens current offense....if he were then we would have simply kept Tyrod! We are looking for a west coast style pocket passer. Schaub will fit that much better. Schaub has been out of football (inj) and relegated to getting little reps when he was back. WIth that being said... he has a lot of rust that he needs to work off, but he does have the tools and he does have the experience and he ran the same style of offense in the past (pretty effectively). He did have weapons (Andre Johnson, Jacoby, Owen Daniels, Arian Foster, etc.) but remember that we are asking him to be ready to step in IF needed. He has time to get the rust off and when he does... I think he will not only fit out system well but be a very capable back up- who could step in and run the offense if needed! We still have time-no need to push the panic button on the back up QB just yet~!