BloodRaven

He wasn't tagged by the Giants?

Don't think so, Paul Soliai would be another interesting choice.

Any predictions for Linval Joseph?

If Monroe leaves I hope Oher goes with him, I'm tired of watching Harbaugh field poor players because they're his "guys".

Would it be crazy to call Noah the best center in the league right now? Because I believe he's there.

He's up there, i'll go Cousins or Hibbert.

How much do you think Champ Bailey gets? it probably won't be more than 2 years.

The FO should release a statement saying they will beat any offer for Monroe, if that scares off the other teams then thats a good thing, if Miami gives him 12+ million then lol Miami.

The bengals???? Following the bungles organization on anything is laughable. It only took 20 years of picking within the top ten to put together a team that has MADE the playoffs 2 years with no wins. Baltimore is one of about 5 organizations that know how to build a consistent winner year after year. The pats being another. And you mention the pats prowess at building O-line talent but bill has whiffed on a number of defensive picks and free agents the last several years. No team is flawless. But I will stand by the way the pats and ravens build teams. Contenders yoy. You can keep the flash in the pan bungles, texans, 49ers, fill in the flavor of the week.

This a bizarre rant, these are two teams that were better than us and made the playoffs last season. All I said was they know how to build an offensive line.

We only need to look at teams like the Patriots and Bengals on how to build a strong oline year after year, and it goes beyond drafting and acquisitions we have to get rid of dead weight and bring in guys with upside.

Why can't the Ravens ever have a decent offensive line?

Because we make bad personnel decisions, the latest one was when the FO tried to coachspeak us that AQ Shipley and Jah Reid were worthy of roster spots but Ramon Harewood wasn't, it's like they think we don't have eyes.

It's been real Eugene, go feed your family.

As for our LT position, I would look at Collins, he didn't give up a sack last season in a starting role and seems to be under the radar. He's not as quick or mobile as Monroe but will keep the blindside clean.

Gabe is right, Monroe isn't going to be paid what he's worth, he's going to be paid according to his market demand. Right now his value is massive, he's an emerging top 5 blindside tackle whos combination of youth, upside and proven talent is unmatched in the FA or draft class.

that's exactly why I would rather just throw $6m per year at Alex Mack.

if Monroe gets $9-10 elsewhere, we can take that $3-4 we saved and put it towards another OL.

I would too, but I think Mack will become the highest paid centre in the league, over $8.5M a year.

who said we need to spend money on a new center and guard?

 

with monroe signed its only the RT position that needs to be filled unless osemele cant get healthy and i dont think gino is getting cut or traded any time soon.

We'll need a new guard if KO can't return let alone return to his previous level of play, it's not an ACL tear, back injuries are complicated. Gino is not a starting quality centre, he's the main reason our offense stalled last season.

 

 

Having a great franchise left tackle is a huge step in the right direction. If you didn't get to watch Monroe and solely Monroe, you might want to take a chance to do that. He was on an island when he played. He didn't have Shipley shift over to try to help him or give him aid. He took it one on one. So, that means if a team really is bringing pressure from all sides, they can shift the protection to that side and not have to worry about giving aid to Monroe. Sign him.

 

Monroe played very well, but how well did that theory work out for our offense last season? then tell me how much we can spend on a new centre, tackle and possibly guard if we're already spending $18M a year on two.

And how do we know, that we will be able to put a "decent front 5" together? Are we keeping Oher, who was widely inconsistent even at RT? Will Gino ever be a good Center or are we having to draft someone? Will KO come back healthy? All we do know is, that Yanda and Monroe are good players and only one of them has a contract, while we invested two draft picks into the other already. Those are the only things, that are certain as far as the OL is concerned, the rest, the way the FA and Draft shape out to be are pure speculation.

We don't know if the FO can piece together a capable unit with the pieces we have now but it has to be done, defenders can be moved around but you can't move Monroe and Yanda with them. We're only as strong as our weakest link.

Franchise LT's are worth every penny. Monroe is that

Thats not the case anymore, defensive co-ordinators take advantage of mismatches and bring pressure from all sides, thats why a decent front 5 is better than 2 elite linemen eating up $18M of the cap. Look at the LT's on the last 5 SuperBowl winners, not exactly an All-pro group. 

Agreed, but the problem we may run into is that all three of the top LTs in this draft get selected in the top 10.  I'm glad they resigned Pitta, but Monroe to me is most likely the only commodity at left tackle we're going to even have a shot at.  We might have to overpay him slightly to keep him, and in fact I think we most probably will, and I could live with that if the alternative is we shove Oher back out there at LT next season.

Compared to Monroe, some of the free agent tackles such as Albert, Veldheer, Collins and Saffold are serviceable tackles at a more cap friendly price tag.

Edit: I'm not saying we should pass on Monroe, just that it should be considered.

Ozzie said that he wanted to beef up the interior of the line so expect more "possible" additions there. I say possible because whoever is brought in will have to prove himself worthy.

That was before Kubiak got hired.  Not saying it isn't true, but plans may be different now.  Who knows.

You can find linemen with size and athleticism, guys like KO with upside. 

The best LT in the world isn't going to protect Flacco if half the oline is crap, teams don't just rush from the blindside.

At 10+ million a year he no longer becomes good value and we may have to look elsewhere. It's not like he's the missing piece, he might block his man but Flacco is still going to get crushed. The entire oline has to be rebuilt.

Houston was asking for too much IMO.

Now they get nothing and Thunder march to the title.

Based on the contracts last off-season, it seemed logical.

More like wishful thinking, far worse blindside tackles were signing for more last offseason.

Funny how most of the board thought he'd sign for under 7 million.

Thunder would have fixed a lot of problems with Asik.

Yeah that's not Evans.

At first when I watched him play I was all like...

Then I watched his post game interviews and was like...