huntrgathrr

I think put Campanaro on IR again and give him another year to build up his body so that he isn't getting injured all the time....or cut him. Smith Perriman Waller Brown Aiken and Butler will be ok as our 6 receivers. Put Nelson and the other Brown on the practice squad. Keep Carter if we keep 7 WRs, otherwise he goes to Practice squad as well.

Campanaro just doesn't seem built solid enough to play in the NFL. He has the talent but his injury frequency is ridiculous. Not worth taking the roster spot of someone that can stay healthy. I'm glad Taliaferro will be back but it will be more like 4-6 weeks. Toussaint is a really good back IMO and just needs the chance to show it. He is a lot like Taliaferro. Buck has a long way to go it seems. The O line will be ready week one....I hope Harbaugh keeps everybody out of the last 2 preseason games but practice squad and 2-3 team players. No reason to risk an injury to any starter whatsoever. Right now we are on the plus side of the injury ledger, unlike the Steelers who have lost their kicker and pro bowl center for the year. Ouch, that has to hurt big time.

Carter will go to the practice squad and Campanaro will be one of 7 WRs to make this team.

Williams and Jernigan are going to be pro bowlers before too long.

Waller is a lock to make this team. They will keep 7 receivers, especially with injuries to Brown and Perriman. I think they might cut ASA Jackson this year. They have overlooked many of his transgressions waiting for him to emerge. For him to play so poorly this camp and not even lock down the returner job should put his roster spot in jeopardy. With the emergence of Nick Perry we will probably keep 5 safeties (Hill, Lewis, Brooks, Levine and Perry) and 5 corners Arrington, Smith, Melvin, Walker and Webb/Vaughn. The hard cuts will come at linebacker where Orr, McClelland and Brown are fighting for one or maybe 2 spots. I wouldn't be surprised to see Webb or Reid get the ax this year.

If he is that good I can see the ravens keeping 5 safeties and 5 corners. A good safety can be used in the nickel package. Right now I see Smith, Melvin, Walker and Webb making the team with Smith and Arrington/Melvin starting. I like Brooks, Hill, Lewis, and I guess this guy Perry. Good players in the secondary don't need a position, just an assignment.

This is an under appreciated value that Canty brings to the team. He has played very well for the Ravens because of the overall talent level in the defensive front seven. He doesn't have to carry the mail but he does his part. His veteran leadership is very important however. He is teaching the young studs how to be pros and will no doubt have a huge impact on Carl Davis' development. He brings a mature, professional attitude to a talent laden roster. He took a pay cut to come back because he knows he can contribute and wants anther shot at a ring. As the young talent comes to the forefront he has no problem taking a backup role and that is a great example of how a team player behaves. He is a very immportant part of this defense and this team.

Harbaugh is working the system to the max. He doesn't care about preseason except to get through it with the fewest injuries possible. They already know who will make the team and be important components of a deep playoff run. Holding important players out for "injuries" is one of his methods for dealing with a preseason that is too long and potentially harmful to the team's success. Best example of this so far is the Steelers losing Suisham, the most accurate kicker in their history. Given the massive importance of a reliable kicker this year, this loss was devastating. Imagine if we lost Tucker. A great kicker is worth 3 wins a year and this year maybe more. The Steelers will be lucky to go 8-8 without Suisham. So holding out players is Harbaughs goal. Perriman's "injury" will miraculously heal prior to the opening game in Denver. At that time we will still not know exactly what it was. Go ask a doctor.....LOL.

This kid is real raw talent....you can't teach speed. He got a lot of learning last year. This year with Smith, Arrington, Lewis and Hill to guide him he will make huge strides and may end up starting in the nickel package with the players I just named. That is a very strong secondary. Having Webb, Melvin, Levine and (maybe) Walker and Vaughn behind them gives us some serious quality depth in the secondary. I'm not sure Elam would have made the team and still not sure Jackson will. I don't know about Trawick so he can only help if he steps up. My guess is he gets cut. Having Brooks healthy is a great trade for losing Elam. If this defense isn't top 5 I'll eat my hat.

The ease with which these questions are addressed testifies to the strength of the Ravens this year. 1. Perriman's "injury" is nothing but a smokescreen. The Ravens have a game breaker that needs little work in camp. With his speed, just his presence on the field will change a defense's ability to load the box and stop our real offense....running the ball and play action. Williams, Gilmore, Smith and Campanaro will all get more catches than Perriman but his presence on the field will allow this to happen. Load the box against us and watch Flacco and Perriman light it up. Perriman's MRI was normal (surprise). He'll be back in camp but Harbaugh wants to keep this kid off the radar as long as possible. 2. Truth be told, the loss of 2 players that have never contributed and were not counted on to contribute doesn't make me cry. The two areas on the team where we are deepest with quality players are DL and Safety. Brooks was just activated. Hill and lewis will be starting but now look for Brooks to get some serious PT, he is really fast and a great talent that will benefit from having Hill, Lewis, Arrington and Jimmy Smith to help guide him early in the season. Urban would have been a rotational player on a defensive line is strong and deep: Williams, Jernigan, Canty, Davis ,Guy and Tyson can carry the mail. All would start for any team in the league. 3.Schaub...experience,experience,experience. If Flacco goes down he can follow directions and not make mistakes. I'm fine with him. So is Harbaugh. 4.Short yardage offense...With the TE group we have (excellent) and the huge red zone targets we now have (Brown 6'5, Williams 6'5", Gilmore 6'6" and Waller 6'6") I dare any body to stack the box in short yardage. But really, if we need a yard who is going to stop Yanda, Osemele and Zuttah from letting Flacco fall forward. Very few and not very often. 5.News Flash...the Ravens front 7 will again be one of the best in the NFL. The linebackers are the best in the NFL as a group. Williams and Jernigan both are pro bowl candidates. The way Pees rotates 5-6 players up front will keep this DL healthy and fresh all year. It would be nice if KLM shows up this yearn and joins the party. Same with Z.Smith who I think will contribute nicely this year. Of all the teams in the NFL, the ravens are the only team that really don't have any issue to address except staying healthy. Whoever returns punts and kickoffs will have only one mission....do not fumble. Turnovers are the only thing that can keep the Ravens from going 13-3 and a first round bye.

With the type of offense I expect to see from Trestman (lots of play action with short to intermediate routes) I don't think Perriman will be much more than a decoy most of the time. Receivers like Williams, Gilmore, Smith and Campanaro will be much more effective in this type of offense. I expect the offense to be similar to last year in that the number of downfield throws will be reduced and used to keep the defense honest. So Perriman may turn out to be a weapon when he recovers but right now I don't think the staff is particularly worried how long it takes.

Thanks to Ozzie we got "first round talent" with our first three draft picks this year. Davis and Williams look like sure winners so far. Perriman looked great before his injury and I think he will become the home run threat we expected. It just may take a little while for his knee to recover. That's fine. Z.Smith looks like he will eventually contribute this year but Buck Allen may be a year or two in development. Forsett and Taliaferro will handle the heavy lifting. Boyle looks like a bonus as does Waller. Both should contribute this year. All in all I think we came out way ahead in the draft. We got some starters and some quality depth. I'm pleased with the results of this year's draft. All in all we

Arrington can be counted on to perform his role as long as Smith Hill and Lewis are doing the heavy lifting. He is a feisty competitor that will be an upgrade to the secondary over last year's abomination. He is a determined guy that will apply himself but a savior he is not.

Talk about Schaub now cause in 4 weeks no one will even know he is on team. That is unless Yanda sucker punches Flacco and puts him out for 3 momnths.

It's been 2 years since Webb played well as a starting NFL corner. He looked like a fool last year. Injuries??? I don't know but it looks more like he had one great year where he played above all expectations. He may be able to handle the corner if Smith Hill and Lewis are in there with him. Expecting him to return to form as a shutdown corner is unrealistic. If he does we will have one of the best secondaries in the NFL. My guess is that Melvin or Walker beats him out for the other starting corner. I have no idea about Cassius Vaughn but our luck with Raider rejects is not good. Webb or no Webb, this defense looks pretty solid from front to back and has some decent quality depth. I'll be happy if and when brooks gets back in the saddle and if KLM stays healthy. The wild card that looks promising is Z. Smith as McPhee 2.0...I think he steps in and makes a lot of plays for us this year.

Be nice if he could go out with a ring.....certainly a possibility.

They are going to play it ultra safe with Perriman. He can affect a game with his speed alone. No need for him to be out there with any injury whatsoever. the goal is to get through training camp with everybody healthy. If this sounds too protective, ask Suisham what he and the Steelers think.

Gilmore will have a huge year. He's the same size as Gronkowski and looks like the Ravens are going to exploit him this year. I expect a lot of 2 TE sets with Williams. Gilmore is a great blocker as well making him an indispensible weapon. Even if Pitta was healthy I'm not sure you could take Gilmore off the field.

KLM and Davis need to step up and play well this year. If they do we won't miss Urban. We will have Jernigan, Canty, Williams, Tyson and Guy as well as KLM and Davis. Still strong and deep on the DL.

Brown pulled a muscle in his back.........1-2 weeks. Perriman bruised his knee.................1-2 weeks. Walker has a hamstring pull...............2-3 weeks. Elam is out for the year..................no problem as he was a backup only this year. Right now the blessed with the injury situation.

We have 4 NFL caliber players in the seconday: Hill, Lewis, Smith and Arrington (who is marginal and can only play the slot well). The rest are not a threat to make the pro bowl and when on the field will be expected to pick up the least amount of responsibility. That's a good thing because that is all they are capable of doing. None of them could step up and shut down anybody or anything. They depend on the big four to carry the mail and leave them a job they can handle. We saw this very clearly last year. But the one position in the NFL that sees the most dramatic improvement in players is corner back. See Carrie Williams and Corey Graham. These 2 rose from the ashes to complement an all star Raven lineup. So they left and got paid and were never heard from again. The lifetime of a good cornerback in the NFL is measured in minutes, not hours. Webb looked like a shutdown corner for a year. Then he got paid, got injured and is still playing like a fool. He may not even make the 53 man roster despite his 5 million a year salary. He took a cut in pay from 8 million to 5 million to stay a Raven...BS. If the Ravens cut him he would have been out of the NFL. I would be the most stoked human alive if this guy returned to form and started earning his money. But it is more likely that a nobody from tmhe Miami practice squad will beat him out for the final outside corner position. Either that or a 5th round unheralded draft pick from somewhere in Texas. This is why Smith is so important. The rest of the backup secondary players are good at only one thing.....managing sporadic playing time with injuries to extend their time at the nipple. See Asa Jackson. Maybe this is the year he will contribute to the Ravens. If he sprains a pinkie...give him to the Steelers, free of charge. Based on his contributions so far he should be shift manager at McDonalds. I'm just sick of guys afraid to realize their potential. Players that keep getting injured before they ever contribute...year after year...are just phonies afraid to take the field. That goes for KLM mas well.....put up or shut up and leave. Play harder than the next guy and you won't get injured......they will. Soft pedal it and oh well, another year getting paid on IR. See ya.

Elam was never going to beat out Hill or Lewis. We lost a backup and Elam may have extended his one more chance status with the Ravens. Trawick and Levine both make the 53 man roster now. Trawick still owes us big time for knocking out Jacoby for 6 weeks with his stupid play and total lack of awareness. Still, both of these guys are backups thank god. I'm fed up with corners getting leg injuries. Cut any secondary player that can't show his ability on the field. Get players that are tough enough to handle the NFL. Missing more than a week of practice makes you a liability. Cut them immediately and open up their spot for someone that can perform week in and week out. A lot of these guys use injuries as a way to keep getting paid, knowing they don't have the talent to make it in the NFL. Case in point is that little rookie Golson the Steelers overdrafted. His only way of not getting cut was to get injured and out for the year. His "mysterious" injury showed up out of the blue. Lucky for him.

BUT...if everyone stays healthy, getting everyone the playing time they deserve will be the biggest problem facing the coaches. This is the deepest team the Ravens have ever had. I would love to see them spend every last nickel on a top tier corner as Smith is the most susceptible to injury. Ozzie should be able to find a way to trade for a top tier corner, even if it means giving up something of value. Arthur Brown, Jah Reid, Fitz Toussaint, Marlon Brown, are all trade bait if you throw in a couple draft picks. We should never have let the Steelers get Boykin. Just saying, after being burned by Smith's injury last year I'm a little skiddish and would love to see another top level corner ready to go.

This is where the Ravens leapfrog over most teams, actually every other team in the NFL. There are only 3 spots where an injury would definitely hurt the team: Joe Flacco, Justin Tucker and Jimmy Smith. All three are basically not replaceable given our current roster. So the other 19 spots have starter quality backups. That's pretty darn good, better than almost every other team in the NFL. But the difference between super bowl and almost is an injury to one of these three. That is life in the NFL. Given their importance to the overall team success, I could understand having all 3 avoid all contact in the preseason. Why risk a stupid injury when you can reduce the chance. None of these players need the reps with full contact. Like Lambert said 30 years ago, "put dresses on them"...LOL.

Looks like Waller might be the real deal....beating Hill for six is not easy to do.