Rants N Ravens

"Aurora" - struck me as a slip of the keyboard! I am sure Garrett meant "Aura"!

 

Darn auto-correct.  

"When Elam returned to Baltimore in April for the voluntary offseason program, everyone took notice. He slimmed down. He had a different aurora about him. He had a bright outlook."

Aurora?

LOVE this team!

I'd rather the Ravens fair catch every single punt all season long and still have Smith Sr. and Webb starting in the playoffs than them watching from the sidelines on crutches.

So far, so good Ravens! #StayHealthyMyFriends

Stay healthy my friends.

I would like to think that Joe wants to keep Osemele and Yanda, his health depends on it. That being said, Joe is not a materialistic person and now has more money than he could ever spend. It makes sense that Joe will restructure to give the managers of the team the maximum ability to keep a really good team together.....especially if they have a great year in 2015. We will just have to wait and see. But I'm glad we are dealing with Joe and not some "me first" guy. All the people involved in the negotiations are very smart and well-intentioned. I have great faith that the organization will come out on top as will the players. A win-win is easily possible.

Awesome post, 2 thumbs WAY up!!

Don't get it twisted.  Some folks need a hand up and a hand out.  His family was receiving public assistance the entire time he was growing up and without it his path would have been considerably harder.  

I don't believe I have anything "twisted."  I don't see public assistance as a hand out, if received for genuine reasons and used for the purpose it is designed.  I actually work in the field, and the intention is to help anyone who has fallen on hard times survive and find a way to become self-sufficient.  Problems arise when certain individuals take advantage and develop a sense of entitlement, spending more time trying to figure out how to stay eligible for the assistance instead of working hard to get off of it.

Living proof that you can make it with a hand up instead of a hand out, if you make the right choices and keep working hard. This kid sets an example for so many others who want to hide behind their circumstances as reasons for their poor decision making.

Anyone know anything about this guy? Ravens signed East Carolina WR Cam Worthy

From NFL.com:

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS  Good size with long arms and big, strong hands. Can elevate and high-point his catches to win on jump balls downfield. ECU quarterback Shane Carden showed confidence in Worthy's abilities to go up and make plays. Carden gave him every chance. Usually tracks ball well and owned the back-shoulder throw. Obliterated Virginia Tech with variety of deep catches in early season upset in 2014, finishing with six catches for 224 yards. Helped out quarterback by working back to throws and digging out worm burners for catches.

WEAKNESSES  Lacks quickness and athletic traits. Doesn't have the speed to get by cornerbacks consistently. Slows into breaks, giving hints to defensive backs about his intentions. Fails to shield throw from cornerbacks on underneath work. Missing acceleration off snap and out of breaks. One-speed receiver who can get hung up by physical cornerbacks. Was suspended for two games during 2014 season for what school termed a "verbal disagreement" with another male student.

DRAFT PROJECTION  Undrafted

BOTTOM LINE  Tall receiver with marginal deep speed but a plus ability to challenge for the deep ball and come down with it thanks to his long arms and body control. He doesn't have the quickness or route-running ability to free himself underneath so he needs to find an offense that allows him to play downfield and win with size.

No one was happier than I was Friday night when we jumped the Stoolers for Williams. LOVE IT!

The difference between the OK ones who try to do this and the really good ones like Harbs is, you have to mean it. You can't be fake about it. People can see right through fake.

Way to jinx us Mink, most of these guys have already gone and 3 picks left before Ravens are on the clock.

Yes, but keep in mind... the mantra from their supporters on this team is that they should basically be handed a job, just like they couldn't understand why Tommy Streeter wasn't given a starting job two years ago.

Competition brings out the best in everybody... with one caveat. The loser of the competition doesn't get to play on Sunday's, which is the goal of the whole thing. There is no minor league baseball system in the NFL. If Mellette gets beat out by a rookie and/or a veteran for a spot on this roster, he doesn't play. He practices on the practice squad, and he competes at a high level during training camp.

Mellette and Brown could turn out to be very good players... but if they can't beat out the person in front of them, we will never have any idea of whether they are very good players or not, because they won't be playing.

You bring in somebody like Steve Smith and then use a first or second round pick on a WR, they are essentially handed gigs on this team, while guys like Brown and Mellette aren't. There's a big difference there.

Well of course if you sign a Steve Smith or draft a first round (even second round) WR they are going to get every opportunity to play ahead of Brown & Mellette....BUT...teams typically keep at least 5 WRs and sometimes have 4 on the field at the same time (3 of them a high percentage of the time).  Thus they'll still have a chance to contribute and develop, plus I still honestly believe Harbs when he says "the best guys play."  If for some reason the rookie WR struggled while Brown or Mellette outshined him in practices/preseason, Harbs isn't going to sit them just because...

And by the way... for all the people that think this team is pretty good at WR currently... the FO doesn't seem to agree with you. I expect the Ravens to add two pass catchers this offseason, one in FA and one in the draft. To me... thats a pretty good indication of what the franchise thinks about guys like Marlon Brown and Aaron Mellette.

While I agree the Ravens are looking to bring in both a veteran WR and draft one fairly high, I do not agree that either move is an indictment of Marlon and Aaron.  On the contrary, I believe it's just smart football.  Much like cover corners and pass rushers, you can never have enough good receivers.  Iron sharpens iron, as Harbs would say.  Thus the more competition the better, and let the best players play.  We recognize Mellette was a 7th rounder and Brown wasn't even drafted, so adding higher quality talent to the mix certainly is appropriate, but at the same time does not rule out the chances of one or both of those young men developing into solid players too.

Believe it or not , never one to be a "homer,"  I was originally a Browns fan despite being born and raised in "Stillers Country" PA (cough-cough), but then moved to Florida in 1992 and, with absolutely no ties to c-LEAVE-land either, later stuck with the Ravens when they started over in Bmore in 1996.  Boy was that the right decision!! 

I still currently reside in the Tampa Bay area, specifically Pasco County.  Go RAVENS!!