Tenacious Faulker

Re: Harbaugh rank - Its about time he gets recognized. Unlike Billick I don;t think he'll let it go to his head, but as a long time Ravens fan i know this team always seems to perform better when it feels it has something to prove.

I guess some fans will bemnoan drafting him after reading of these drops, but this is practice people. It's a place to learn from mistaakes and improve. Unless he's making these same mistakes in preseason games I would not even worry in the least. Even then, preseason is a chance experiment. Why don't the Ravens beat writers compare this to the other receivers' drops in practice? That would be more telling.

We do know that Lewis is good. If he was good at new Orleans he'll be great here. That's just what happens in Bmore.

Not to mention all the injuries they had to overcome in their secondary the past two seasons. It's a miracle they made it to the playoffs and won in the post season with how they've had to scab together corners and against such strong passing teams like San Diego, Pittsburgh, Cincy, Indy, New Orleans, and Atlanta. That's 9 out of 17 games right there. Cam and Spagnulo got the most out of the bottom of the barrel. Provifing depth is Ozzie's issue. Anyone who thinks Cam is holding the defense back just uninformed. Can;t stress this enough - FORGET THE PAST. We are no longer a smashmouth team. GET USED TO IT because that's what the league has made. If you're looking for a Seattle-like defense then just know its an aberration in the league today to have so many young, talented defensive players. When their contract all come up they'll come back to Earth. Cam is playing chess on defense Rex and his predessors played checkers because they had that Seattle level talent when the league still rewarded defenses, not offenses. Most fans don;t like what they don't know and don't know how to run a defense, sooooo.......

Tryod would've cost us the same and for limited return. Schaub is proven veteran in Kubiak's system. THAT is what they're paying him for. Trestman's system is close and using Schaub's experience gets it closer. He's an average QB who benefitted from some smart offensive scheming. He also has plenty of football left if need be, but just about any back up QB will rely on the run game. We are fortunate to have Schaub without any other viable back-up on rostoer or in ffree agency. See my above comments. The team knows what its doing. While I hope Schaub never gets used it's not a comment on his ability as much as it is in my faith that Flacco is head an shoulders better than all but 5 QBs in the league. He'll make his case for top 5 this year (as always) but with all the talent on roster, Schaub is more than capable of running this offense. JaMarcuys Russel could probably even win a few with this offense. There are some concerns about these positions for me too, but not a cause for any real concern imo. Perriman is a day one starter. He has 1000+ yards written all over him and might be better than Torrey soon than later. But he will be better that's for sure. Smith Sr. will not see reduced snaps. He'll be the main receiver and leader for the first 6-8 weeks at least. I fully expect someone to step up and supplant him as the No.1 WR but he will also be flirting with 1000 yards of production too. I'm also comfident in Aiken, Brown, Waller, Camp and Butler. These guys will continue to develop and are already quality depth. TE seems thin on the surface. No gurantees, but Pitta looks like he might be healthy. Even if he isn't I think the combo od Gillmore, Williams and Boyle, though very young, will be a potent squad. Gillmore is looking like he could be our Gronk. He has the hands, the athleticism and the size (nearly equal). He WILL be a miss match nightmare. Willaims is unproven, but he plays like his hair is on fire (that's not a ginger joke, honest). He'll need to mature some, but he has good hands and speed. Boyle is raw, but how much are you expecting from a blocking TE? Still he has flashed some nice hands in OTAs. Cornerback is looking good with a lot of potential in the current group. Adding Arrington was HUGE. He might be best in the slot, but he's not awful on the outside. Our secondary coaching is one of the best and could polish that part of his game if he ever needs to take over for Webb or Smith. Beyond that, Melvin has another year under his belt after a solid, surprise showing last year. No reason to think that he regresses. Wlaker is questionmark only because he's unproven at this level. But if the Ravens think he's worth a 4th round pick then they believe he'll contribute. Even a raw rookie can be effective in close quarters where he doesn't have a lot of diagnosing to do - especially if his has the largest reach and one of the longest frames of his position in his draft class. Jackson has been slow to improve, but he has value on S/T and will continue to improve. His biggest problem is getting through a full season. If he can do that he'll be solid.

This is an easy thing to do now that he said he'll play into his 40's. Give him the biggest extension in NFL history.

I don;t see why not. He has far less miles on his bod than Big Ben did at this point of his career. Of course freak accidents happen, but he's defied the odds for 7 seasons so it's more than mere luck. He must be doing something right. Here's to another 10 more years (or more) of the Flacco era!

Not necessarily true. He might end up being better suited to the slot covering a TE/HB. I don;t think we can typecast him just yet. I think he's likely to get a roster spot unless he shows some serious regression (doubtful imo) we will be carrying 6 CBs - Jimmy Smith, Webb, Arrington, Vaughn, Jackson and Melvin. IMO Vaughn and Jackson on the bubble with Jacobs who I think will get cut. Rookie Tray Walker would likely end up on the PS.

Pees gets a bad wrap because of the bend-don't break style he brought over ffrom New England. He's a serious X/O mind and knows how to manage a defense with less talent, allowing the F.O. to invest their money into the offense. Most fans remember the awesome smashmouth Ravens defenses up through 2010. That's a diffenent era and F.O. has actively made the mve from defensive first to offense first because of the NFL rule changes and haivng our first franchise QB in team history. Fans have to get over the past and stop pining for it. Stop whining ove the missed play-offs of 2013. Rex payed checkers on defense - Pees is playing chess. He might not be Pagano, but if it wasn't for Pees this team may have missed out on the '12 Super Bowl and possibly the other post-seasons too. The Pats are always contenders. I've been calling for their demise since 2010, but they continue to surprise. Eventually things will change, but as much as I dislike that team (pehaps even for then the Steelers) I'll never coun them out as long as they have Belichick and Brady. Because as long as the league won't take away wins for cheating, New England will find ways to make it happen.

RU kidding me? Kubiak's passing offense (and Trestman's) is based on the WCO - i.e Walsh's spread offense that he brought from Cinncinati. You can make these pass heavy like Walsh did with Montana or run heavy the way Kuiaks does. Our offense is obviously run focused with a 100+ more run plays than passing, and it starts with the run zone blocking but they set up a lot of shorter, high-percentage, spread pass plays. This sets up the defense for the longer plays out of the fewer shotgun fomations. So yeah, its "close" to a spread offense.

The offense is a spread offense. Joe's vertical game is irrelevant in this case. Kubiak and now Trestman will focus on the short game with some long plays mixed in. see where Welker would factor into that prominently, BUT, that being said, he'd get destroyed. I can't see bringing a concussion risk like him in for the slot when you have other guys that can roun those routes - Smmith Sr., Aiken, Brown, Camp (when healthy) and even Perriman.

Yes, Mr. Hill, daughters do change almost everything there is in a young father. Sons, not so much. Looking forward seeing what you can do this year!

I wasn't a Maxx Williams fan initially and since I was faced with havin to being one I thought I'd like to try to get a little excited about him. I figure the two best TEs we've drafted before would make good comparisons. There's not much Todd Heap college footage, but here's two plays from ASU: We see some athletic moves here with good body control. He was not the most athletic TE, but he had a great football IQ and was fearless and tough. Big soft hands and quick feet made him a dual threat. Dennis Pitta: I see Dallas Clark like receiving qualities: Good hands, low center, crisp slant routes, strong hands, great ball tracking. He intiates contact and often catching in double coverage and always seems to be falling forward. Maxx Williams: [don't go there] I've seen it written that he compares to Jermy Shockey. What I see in the highlites is Shockey-like in terms of running with the ball, but Shockey would blow defenders up or run them over. Williams is not that beastly, but he has surprising athleticism and agility. He also has the slowest 40 time of these TEs including Shockey. Great focus on the ball and good hands.

BTW - Peter King seems to think that the Ravens are the top team ranking them #1 in his June power rankings in MMQB today. I think he's right for a change. Still "June-faith" is not "October-faith". We'll see if he stays true.

Well we can simply say that the Pats are "aided" by their division rivals fewer wins. I'm not sure where those win numbers come from, but the AFCE has consistenty sent 2 teams to the playoffs iver the past 5 seasons AND 3 teams in 2 of those. When was the last time the AFCE did that? The Browns, may lower the win totals to make the two seem more comparable, BUT if the Ravens had the same overall caliber of rivals the Pats did, we'd be on course for almost 15 consecutive years as division winners too. Put the Pats in the AFCN and they wouldn't appear nearly as dominant against Pittsburgh and the Bengals of the past half-decade.

Broco-dzilla?

They have been elite imho. How many other teams can say they made the play-off 6 of their last 7 seasons coming from one of the toughest divisions? This draft and free agency solidified a lot of question marks on paper which is all anyone can say about any team at this time of year. It;s their consistent winning tradition and deep run in the play-offs every year that puts them with the best teams. Secondary - addresed in free agency with veterans and solid back-ups with drafted Receivers - looking for young talent to contribute in year 1. Risky, but they did get top caliber players with the high picks and tremendous value with the low/UDFA Pass rush - They have a strong core group they've built. These rookies are nothing more than addtional cogs in that rotation. It's doubtful they fail to rise surrounded by all that success. OL - stayed the same and was one of the best last year. Trestman won't change that and knows the system. Then you throw in a SB MVP QB and a ILB that should've been the RDOY and you have an elite team.

Flip that and I agree.

That's a bod statement. I want to agree, but that's a tall order seeing as there are newer safeties in the division and he's switched from a pass defender to an in the box safety.

You mean "> any other STRONG safety" right? You could make a case for that, but he's only played FS in the AFCN so far so I still stand by Whitner. Hill was great for us, but I think that the safety position in the AFCN has lost tremendous respect on field without Reed and Polamalu. last year Atkins hadn't yet recovered fully from his 2013 ACL injury. It's harder for a 310 pound man than it is for say Adrian Peterson or RG3. He's still 27 with 3 Pro Bowls to his credit so he should get back to form this season. If not then Brandon Williams is my next best and he's only getting better.

QB: Big Ben is still the best in the division and their offense is set up for him to succeed. Flacco will close the gap and it's possible he surpasses him, but not as likely imo but we won't need him to be the best in the AFCN to win it. QB b/u: Schaub is the best here. Should all startig QBs go down at once, I think he's the best of the lot and will be in a familar scheme. His 2013 pick-6 streak was an aberation in his career. RB: Bell is the man. Hill could compete and Forsett will have an OC that values bigger one-cut backs rather than speedy and shifty so he may see fewer snaps. WR: Brown has turned into a Jack of all Trades and Master of ALL as well. Smith still has it, but is ball dropper (always has been). Green could make up the difference and surpass Brown in yards in long catches, but is not as developed all around imo. HOWEVER, do not discount the rapid rise of one or both of our rookies - Perriman or Waller. One or both WILL be a developing storyline this season. LT - Whitworth hands down. I'm surprised that Beachum was listed over Monroe though who I think is 3rd best of the AFCN. RT - Wagner hands down. His growth from rookie season to sophomore was great. With that type of work ethic and ability, that trend will continue. LG - K.O. is in contract year and has been the best so far. Bitonio showed he's worthy of consideration and could challenge. RG - Yanda. Nuf sed. C - Alex Mack. Nuf sed FS - I want to say Nelson, BUT I'm going with Gipson. Nelson has been great, but Gipson is just starting out and has a Pro Bowl while Nelson is still looking for his first. Mitchell is physical with good awareness but commits to many dumb penalties - still raw and out of control. SS - You didn't list Browns Donte Whtner and that who it is. Iloka will be a close 2nd with Hill challenging in a close race. CB - Jimmy Smith, but Dre Kirpatrick deserves mention here. He's who I think will challenge Jimmy as the AFCN's best. ILB - Mosely is the best. Ray Lewis incarnate. As good as any in the game today Wagner, Kuechley, Mayo, etc. Burfict would be in the mix, but is a grimey, ankle twisting player. OLB - Suggs or Dume. Take your pick. Dunlap is great too and has the ability to change that, but when you have players of Suggs and Dume opposite each other, then they automatically are better. Suugs taking on doubles last year allowed Dume to be the teams sack master. Also, don't overlook Bud Dupree. He has game chamging qualities and the Steelers are desperate enough to break with tradition to start a rookie. Follow him in the offseason. IDL - Atkins here, BUT don't discount Brandon Williams who looked very Ngata-like last year when Haloti was suspended 4 games. In his 3rd seasson now, there's no reason to think he can't do that all season long. Jernigan is also better than those other players. Why not list special teams? - kicker, punter, KR/PR?

He has the makings of a ballhawk with 142 tackles, 24 PDs, 7 INT and 2TDs. Maybe they can develop that further. He'll be quality depth.

My thoughts on thos eposition battles are as follows: Justin Forsett will begin the season as the starter and the real battle will be LT vs Buck. Smart money for me is on LT to be the immediate back-up. Only injury or unexpected poor performance will change that. At receiver, Perriman will start the season as the 3rd receiver, maybe fourth, but expect him to work is way up the depth charge as the season goes on. Marlon is looking good and while he's not as fast he does get open and catches everything. Kamar has looked a little Boldin-like at times. He and Marlon will battle for #2 and the loser will either end up 3rd or 4th in depth. If Pitta is ready to come back, i'm really happy for him and the team. The TE depth chart all depends on his recovery. If he gets injured or calls it a career he'll the depth chart will simmply be Williams, Gillmore and Bolye. The OL is healthy and set - no changes there. The KR duties will be Asa and Camp. Webb will not see the field as a returner having popped both ACLS doing that not to mention he's not nearly as quick as he once was. Leave that to the younger guys.

Re: Upshaw vs Smith - Unless Upshaw really screws up or is that much of a liability in the pass game, he'll get McPhee's snaps. He was fine in passing situations last season in a limited run nailing Big Ben hard twice. Granted they were flagged, but those were suspect calls imo. He's going to work on tightening up his game so those 50/50 calls don't happen anymore and he's shown steady improvement. He should have little trouble fending off the rookie this year.

RE: Trestmans Ofense - I've been saying the same thing as Hensley for months now. The Ravens wanted to keep as much of Kubiak's offense as possible and Trestman is the man for it. His scheme is very similar - Zone Blocking and play-action off of a strong run game - just like Kubiak. He's sure to have some minor differences and will add his own little flair, but even though he says he's not a Kubiak Clone (and I agree), it might appear so on the field to most fans.