RavenManiac#7

Hey, Mystigo, and jacket too, you guys have to know how happy this RavenManiac is right about now. As you guys are aware, I've made NO secret about my desire for Ozzie to Finally make an attempt to get Joe, in particular, and all the rest of us a true #1 receiver. Been asking for it for YEARS! And he might have Finally just done it, and then gone out and got him, and us, the best pass catching TE prospect in the draft to boot. Man, I almost feel like someone is going to come along and pinch me so that I wake up from the dream I feel like I'm having. I truly believe that Perriman Does have the potential to be that #1 guy, man. I'm a happy camper, a Very happy camper. If I AM dreaming, please, don't wake me up, everybody!

Oh yeah, I failed to mention that he is pretty much alone, All by himself on his assessment of our draft. I've heard nothing but praise and good grades from Every other talking head about it. He's a Bozo, bozo!

That guy bad mouths the Ravens ALL the time. I pay No attention to him. He is Obviously not impartial and objective. He has an agenda and it is to downgrade the Ravens. He's Always done it and I think that no matter what we do he Always will. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Actually, I Loved the pick as soon as it was made. I wanted him before the draft. And, like you, I wouldn't mind getting Diggs. We can still use a return man and Diggs Is special with yards after the catch. I Am, however, concerned about his history with injuries. He's certainly had more than his share. Because of his size, it may be an ongoing problem.

That really surprises me. It's hard to believe that Ozzie would move up in the 2nd rd to draft a linebacker that weighed somewhere in the mid 220s. That is Way too small for an NFL linebacker. I can only assume that he felt that the trainers could get him into the weight room and bulk him up. I mean, there Are safeties in this league at that weight. It just sounds like a very iffy draft choice at best, and a foolish one at worst.

I tend to agree with that. Although Ozzie has his great reputation, and has had some awesome drafts, think about the last few years. Last year's was amazing, but he had the 17th pick. Look at the couple of drafts before that, when we were in our customary very late draft position. There's been quite a number of misses. He is definitely committed to the BPA philosophy, and I think it would be ok to follow that in general. But, I believe that there are some times when you have to maybe abandon that just a little and drop a few spots on your board if you have to in order to fill a glaring need your team has. It looks to me like Ozzie almost Refuses to consider that. Thus, often we find ourselves with players that hardly ever get on the field because we didn't need them unless there was an injury. To me, sometimes you take the player your team needs Now, not just if an injury occurs. Depth is great, but so is filling needs. That's why I don't think one should be Married to a single idea like BPA. Sometimes it's better to be adaptable. Course, Ozzie's a hundred times smarter than me so, bottom line, you gotta go with him. He's put a darn good product on the field, despite some misses, for a long time.

The reason is fairly obvious. Ozzie won't draft impact offensive players anymore, even when he has the chance. He insists on concentrating on the defense exclusively.

Took away your neg. You're right, we should have drafted a RB. I was counting them down once the run on them started. We Did have a chance to get a decent one, but passed. Andre Williams, from Boston College, is the only one left that I think could help us, but to think he will last until our comp pick in round 4 today is very unrealistic. Whoever Ozzie digs up from what is left doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence.

Once again Ozzie goes defense. I'm beginning to think the man just can't help it. If ever there was a draft where he could have helped our 29th ranked offense it was this one. And today doesn't really matter. The help that was available is gone. The rest of the draft and UDFA's are luck, pure and simple. While watching the third round, after the run on RBs, I told my son, "Oz is gonna pick Terrence Brooks, not Terrence West or Andre Williams, just watch". We all saw. And then, to not take Williams at the end of the third? Is the TE he chose So much better than Furstenburg that we resigned ourselves to not filling our running back need? Time will tell, and I sure hope so. I'm not saying we didn't get good players, not at all, but if Ozzie thinks he has done enough to fix our offense from the mess we saw last year, I think he's going to be Very unpleasantly surprised. Just as unpleasantly surprised as he was not unhappily concentrating on the wrong side of the ball the last two nights. I hold out more hope that maybe, just maybe, some veteran free agents can be had to try to help the offense that Ozzie chose to ignore. And I'm not buying that BPA stuff either. Like I've asked, if the BPA in round 1, or even rd 2, had been a QB, do you think Ozzie would have "stayed true to our board"? I don't. Not for one second. I'm not saying you should totally disregard BPA, but there is, also, a place for some consideration of your team's most pressing needs if you want them to get filled and improve. I'm just concerned about our offense. Despite the moves in free agency already made, I still think it is in much more need than our defense. It wasn't at all fun to watch last year, and I just very much hope we're not going to have to suffer through another year like that. Bottom line, the offense needed more help than the defense but, yet again, it was the defense that Ozzie addressed. Sound familiar?

I mentioned Clinton Dix in my initial comment, but only in a food for thought mode. At no time did I jump all over Ozzie. In fact, I stated my trust in him and tried to show my encouragement to him for tonight. But then I started reading some of the comments on here and was really surprised to read All the comments about how it would not have been a good idea to have two such young players as our starting safeties. Only one time did I mention that thought before the draft, again, as a thought only, not as a strong vote against Dix. But now all kind of comments are being made to that affect when so, so many people were calling for Dix to be drafted before last night. Sometimes I just can't figure some people out.

I really hope he will turn out to be everything that people are saying about him. I'm a little concerned of the sheer number of injuries he's suffered and hope that's not an indication that he is, in fact injury prone. I understand BPA and all that talk, but everyone certainly realizes that that philosophy is Not always followed. I mean, think about it, if our BPA at that point had been a QB, do you really think we would have selected him? I don't for one second. So, I know that BPA Is flexible, to some degree. And knowing that, it's a little confusing to me that with an offense rated 29th in the league last year and a defense ranked 12th, we go defense in a year when we Finally have the chance to get an immediate impact player in the first round. And at that, a FS, we needed, if Ozzie still wanted to go defense, and Dix was there. The second question is, does this tell us that maybe we missed it with Arthur Brown in the second round last year? I have to think that Moseley will start and Brown will be depth. Oz knows best, so I'll continue to trust in him, but I sure hope we get a decent receiver in round two tonight because we missed out on a great one last night that New Orleans thought enough of to move up to #20 to grab; Brandin Cooks, the playmaker from Oregon State. That's over with now, though. I ain't root in' for him anymore. Now I'm root in' for C J Mosley. Get us some good ones tonight, Ozzie.

Don't completely understand our first pick. It raises some questions in my mind. I think most of the receivers and TEs might not be there, but if any are I think we should take whichever one we think is best.

Zack Martin has arms too short to be a tackle. I suspect he will be a guard at the NFL level. Could be wrong, of course, but that's my thought. And why would you ever consider moving a Pro Bowl caliber guard to the tackle position? Leave Yanda right where he is. That's why I don't see Zack Martin as a good choice for us.

Doubt we can make it happen, but I agree with you that if we gat Alex Mack it would be incredible. But your receivers: Evans, and probably Ebron will be gone. I still want a first round receiver, though. Make it Brandin Cooks or Odell Beckham Jr., in that order, and we'll be in more than fine shape.

I have admitted on here numerous times that I preferred Edelman, but Steve Smith was my second choice and I Do think he will make us a better team; If he can avoid injuries. That has been a problem his last two years and I really hope it's not a sign that his age is catching up to him. Welcome aboard, Steve, and the best of luck to you. You're a Raven now and you are Very, very welcome. You're a great addition to our team and I'm hoping for big things. Signing Both Smiths is really very good news. Now, fix the line and get us Brandin Cooks, Odell Beckham, or Eric Ebron in the first round and it will be the best off-season anyone could hope for. If we can somehow add Alex Mack, I think I'll be so excited I will Not be able to contain myself. Please pull it off, Ozzie.

How can you say the Ravens are 3 for 3 in retaining their players? They're actually 3 for 5, are they not? A Jones Did sign with the Colts, and Graham Did sign with the Bills. That sounds more like 3 for 5, not 3 for 3, unless you're implying we had No interest in the two players that left. Everyone assumed A Jones was leaving, but I thought the numbers he would receive, from the way people were talking, would be much higher. When I Did hear his numbers, my very first thought was, "Wow, was that really All that undoable for us"? Now, as much as I would have liked to see Graham stay, I didn't feel the same way about him. I don't think he was worth what he got; at least from us he wasn't. Just my opinions. I don't have good "vibes" about D Smith, but after seeing what happened with Monroe, I'm not counting anything done, or not done, until it actually is. It appears pretty obvious that the FO is Very interested in bringing Steve Smith here, and I think he could help, but I would Much rather see D Smith than S Smith signed. Of course, I recognize that I'm in the minority here, because I honestly have Much more interest in Edelman than Steve Smith, although Smith Would be my second choice for FA WR help. I can just really envision Edelman being extremely effective picking up first downs coming out of the slot. Smith's age and injuries from last year, contributed to the drop off in his numbers last year, I believe. That really influences my feelings that Edelman would be the better choice. Again, just my opinion. We'll all just have to wait to see how everything pans out. Overall, I think Ozzie has done real well so far this off-season.

I really want D Smith back but the prospect of retaining him doesn't sound too good right now. Of course, there was a time the same thing could be said of Monroe, so we shall see. Sounds like the FO is keen on Steve Smith, and I would be ok with that, but he still remains my Second choice. I still think Edelman should be our guy. From the day he joined the FA list, he's been my biggest "dream" signing. Perfect slot receiver/skill set that we need.

I agree totally with you, and hope you're right about the last part, that he's coming here. NE did Not let him walk. They did, after all, offer him a Three year contract. It may not have been enough to suit Edelman, but a 3 year offer from NE, says something. I don't know what that other guy was talking about. Signing Edelman would, to me, be the absolute Best FA WR we could get. I've been saying that on here for weeks. I mean, for Pete's sake, Ozzie described him to a T when he described what kind of receiver he felt we needed.

Thanks for your reply and thoughts, but we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. I want Nothing to do with Tate, but the tough of adding Edelman excites me tremendously. Ain't it funny how two hard core Ravens fans can disagree? I guess that's what makes the world go round. Keep on "Ravin"', man.

I hope that last sentence was a joke, because I really liked everything else you said. All those weapons really Would be awesome, and for anybody that might think it might be overkill, just remember last year and how the loss to injury with Dennis Pitta affected our offense. Yes, it was only One reason it stunk, but still, it was a huge contributor. An injury or two, which can Never be discounted, would still leave us with weapons under your scenerio.

I want D Smith desperately. I think Edelman should be a Raven. Exactly the kind of receiver Ozzie said we needed. He would be an Awesome weapon for Joe, a first down machine.

I'm totally with you on that, but I want no parts of Tate. Edelman is the only FA WR I'm interested in.

Sign Monroe. Sign D Smith. Sign Graham, if possible (should be). Maybe JJ, but Only at a K/R price.

All is good fellow fan. And, also, no worries about me supporting Hostler if he does get the job. Like I said, I'm just a RavenManiac, and there's nothing I can do about it, nor would I want to.

My goodness! If that's how it went down, I couldn't agree with you more. I saw WAY TOO MUCH of Boller than I care to remember. Thanks for the clarification. My memory is Not good. I state that emphatically. But I Do remember this "Offensive Guru" of an OC that we hired away from the Vikings to be our HC. "Offensive Guru"!!! That man wouldn't recognize a QB if he bumped into one. My gosh, just how many did he go through during his tenure here? How about the "Leap of Faith" Scott Mitchell? That was a good one. I just remember being glad we were getting a new HC. I thought it was time.