Puntit

Titans are bringing in Gray for a look. If they sign him, maybe they'd consider flipping West to us -- something the Browns obviously would never do.

Is it just me or is this the first year that it won't be that upsetting if NONE of the bubble players make it. There aren't that many fan favorites at the bottoms of the depth chart for a change. Most of the people with big question marks legitimately underperformed this preseason. Players like Asa Jackson, KLM, Arthur Brown, Jah Reid, Fitz Toussant, haven't wowed us enough that many of us would be heartbroken if Ozzie swapped in other teams better discards for them. Seems like every year there's a preseason phenom that everyone on this board is upset won't make it to the practice squad (a Bobby Rainey, Aaron Mellette, Matt Furstenberg, etc) but not this year. I think this might be one of the few years where a fair amount of churning at the bottom makes sense.

Dude popped Dez Bryant in the face.

Now I like him even better. SSS can teach him how to use that aggressiveness on the field.

Anyone saying this guy would already be a star on another team doesn't understand the game. If Brown shows in practices that he's playing at a starter level, he makes it onto the field, even if only to spell Smith or Mosley for a few snaps. Pees loves to keep players fresh when he has that option. Weve seen it consistently with the defensive line and secondary. The fact that Brown really hasn't inspired that kind of confidence means he hasnt made the jump and really wouldn't have become a starter anywhere. hopefully this is the year he makes the jump and earns more playing time. If he shows he's worthy of subbing in, they'll absolutely sub him in. If not, he might be looking for employment.

Carter or Fitz would be ideal -- I think it might be tough for either to make the team without some kind of special team value, given the depth chart. No way we should risk injury on SSS or Webb.

First, I don't really understand the point of this article. Yes Flacco has dealt with a lot of changes. But changes can always be for the better or worse. We've made changes in the past that made this team worse -- deciding Gino was an adequate replacement for Birk jumps to mind. Letting Zorn go as QB coach also seemed to have negative effects on Flacco. Bringing in Kubiak was a big positive. Getting rid of Cam Cameron go was a big positive. Will the current set of changes make the team better or worse? Hard to predict, but on paper they seem like moves in the right direction.

Second, what's the point of worrying if Flacco is "Elite". I'd rather he never get the recognition he deserves and keeps winning. Let teams like Atlanta and San Diego keep talking about how their QB ought to be considered among the top QBs despite a lack of post season accomplishments. Let Miami and Cincinatti and Dallas pay their QBs high salaries even though they have yet to win anything. I'll take being snubbed but winning over that any day. At the end of the day after their careers are over nobody is going to pretend a Rivers, a Ryan, a Dalton or a Tanenhill had the better career. They'll likely look at Peyton as the best QB of his generation, Brady great but with an asterisk, and everyone else is just going to be various degrees of an honorable mention. So really what's the difference?

Since some of the players call Flacco Bert, maybe he could be Ernie.

While Campanaro is rehabbing that quad tear are the ravens allowed to resign DePriest or other FA?

Doesn't really teach a player anything if you cut him and he's quickly signed by another team. Bernard Pierce probably improved his chance of starting by screwing up. And teams like Dallas are becoming today's punchline for the number of arrestees they have recently signed. Really doesn't help the NFL if there isn't a global rule in place. I guess this is mostly a PR move for the Ravens to cut these guys, so we don't get labeled as thugs, but I hope we don't box ourselves into a corner with this policy when an actual star screws up and we have to cut him or be a hypocrite.

Was a good pick but I have to wonder whether trading down 7 spots for an extra day two pick and coming away with someone like Strong wouldn't have been the safer bet. time will tell.

Jags are trying to trade Mercedes Lewis.  Saw somewhere that he has an $8 mil cap hit this year.......which means he is only coming to us if he gets released

PFT suggests the Jags might be willing to pay some of his salary to move him, so the cap hit might not be so bad. The real question is since he hasn't really been effective since 2010 and only looked good with David Garrard at QB, is he worth anything right now? You don't sign someone just to have more bodies on the team, you only do it if in 2015 (not 2010) he's actually better than whoever else you have on the roster.

First, the guys available at WR right now are over priced. In time their prices will drop or there will be new guys on the market. Second, Smith, Brown, Aiken and Camp is one of the better corps we've started with for this time of year. Its a lot better than the several years when we went into off season with DMason, Clayton and nobody at WR. Add a WR and TE to the mix from the top half of the draft and we are probably fine. Third, Juice is a catching fullback so we kind of already have a third TE along with Gilmore and Supernaw. Jury is still out on Pitta, but having him back (Ill believe it when i see it) means we are in pretty good shape at TE. Fourth, the two youngster TEs aren't that much worse than Tamme or some of the guys getting way too much money right now. Fifth, Daniels signing in the first couple of days of free agency before the Ravens freed up money and then claiming that hes surprised they didn't pursue him enough is laughable. If he didn't know Ngata needed to be squared away before anyone getting more than the league minimum, he's not too swift. I think he had no interest in the Ravens once Kubik moved on. He's a good player but he was a one year rental in a game where you need to plan for multiple years at a time. Everyone be patient. It's about right player at the right price. And maxing out comp picks. And right now, except for a couple of the unsigned guys still on our roster (Miles, Gorrer), there probably aren't a lot of right guys for the right price yet. But prices will drop, and bargains will be there to be had, if you are patient.

Is there a reason the Ravens haven't attempted to re-sign Guy? I thought I remembered him playing fairly well when he had to fill in when Canty and Jernigan were hurt. I would also like to see deals for Miles and Gorrer at least for competition in camp but not sure if anyone has heard about any movement with any of those 3

Totally agree. These non-glamorous in house signings would go a long way in terms of depth at positions that could potentially be trouble spots. Would also free Ozzies hand to go BPA in the draft.

If Ihedigbo was all that why didn't we retain him?  Are you saying the Front Office thought Hill, Elam, Stewart, Miles and Trawick made a better Safety Squad?  You can't be saying that right? You're not saying that are you? 

 

Especially since Ihedigbo was actually cheaper than Bernard Pierce. Have to give you credit for that part because I looked it up. He was dirt cheap. Still is, even on IR for the Lions.  Though  being cheaper than BP is not really surprising to me and I don't think it surprised the Raven Front Office either.

 

There's a lot to being an effective Safety in the NFL.  It's a very complex position. There's huge responsibility. There's intelligence and instinct.  There's physicality and there's effective understanding of all that and more.  In my opinion, other than Quarterback it is the most demanding position in the game and maybe even more so. It is a complex position made doubly difficult by the change in League Rules regarding "Defenseless Players".  It's also clear to me that fans both do not really understand it and undervalue Safety Play and that some Front Offices do the same, the Raven's among them.  

 

Bernard Pollard knew the inherent math. He was part of the Order that knew.  Did you know that Pollard was only flagged for one penalty in 2012 that lead to a touchdown by the other team?  Did you know that was the only game the Raven's lost in regard to Pollard penalties?  FYI that game we were smoked by the Houston Texans, Pollard's play had little to do with that loss.  He was putting the rear leg into it and laying down the law, another part of a Safeties job that is not going to disappear entirely.  Did you know that the Ravens lost more games in which Ihedgibo committed penalites in 2013 than in Pollard's penalized games in 2012?  (Browns and Bengals).  Do you know what Pollard did to the Cheating Patriots in the 2012 AFC Championship, with broken ribs?

 

The following may sound arrogant, but it's not offered other than as an illustration in organizational understanding.  As they greet in the Masonic Orders, to those within their circle "Do you know?"

Pollard was cut for three reasons. (1) he lost a step and wasn't that fast to start with. He was a guy who hit hard but couldn't cover. (2) he was part of the undercurrent they felt was undermining the coaches ability in the locker room. It not really an accident how many different teams he will have played on. (3) the NFL telegraphed that they were changing the rules and a lot of the hits that made Pollard the weapon he was were no longer going to be tolerated.

Im sure our FO did their research, but i mean........Kendrick Lewis.

 

Guess ill see what he does on field before judging him.

Ozzie has historically done pretty well with guys named Lewis... Anyway we don't need this guy to be the next Ed Reed, just an upgrade over Stewart for this to have been a good signing.

I actually liked most of the picks we ended up with. Dallas took our tackle in front of us in the first round, and Cleveland moved up to take the RB we probably wanted a couple of rounds later, which is frustrating. But we didn't have the ammo to move up so we really ended up lucky with some of the guys who fell to us. I think too many people bought into the hype of the two first round safeties that the pundits seemed to want us to take but we may have ended up with one a few rounds later that complements Elam much better. (Pryor was too much of a Strong safety Elam clone, and HaHa was never all that in Ozzies eyes.) I think when everybody else is focusing on WR and QB and OT, thats actually the ideal time to swoop in and draft defense, and fortunately Ozzie saw it that way too. We got a lot stronger on young defensive players while at the same time lining up someone to address all our needs. We got a FS, an offensive lineman, a MLB, a RB, a TE, a WR, a backup QB prospect. Ozzie clearly used a BPA methodology and stayed true to his board, which means we took the player the Ravens had previously determined was the highest value at that time. Not even sure what didn't get addressed that we needed. We will pull in a veteran RT and 3rd corner when teams make their cuts if the guys we have arent ready.

We actually did need another ILB to replace McLain (and McLain). This guy was in the top ten on Ozzies board. Apparently much higher than the supposed first round safety talent (apparently the fan favorites weren't graded that well by the guys who actually know football -- go figure). I'm not sure why people have a problem with it. This gives us an upgrade at probably the single most important position on the D and gives brown a little more time to season and learn. Smith is already near the tail of his career. Oz said there are safeties we like in every round, so that need will get filled without overpaying.

...

...either that or reunite with Ed Reed for a 1 year deal...

For the reasons discussed in the Ed Reed thread this would be the most foolish thing we could do short of bringing back Huff to play safety again. Reed of the last two years isn't a starter quality safety. We, and then the Texans and Jets only let him back on the field because of who he was five years ago. He stopped making tackles about two years ago. We watched WRs vault him multiple times. His hip, shoulder etc kept him on the injury report weekly. We didn't get a full Ed Reed caliber game out of him during his last year here, and then he was swiftly cut by the Texans, and the Jets aren't interested in bringing him back either. He gets a one day deal when he's ready to come back. One year -- you are nuts, or living in 2012. I'm glad he found a sucker to give him a last payday, but if he's going to milk someone else for another year, it better not be us. If we did bring him back, dancing is not the emoticom that comes to mind.

Let's not turn Blount into Peterson, please. I would have liked for us to add him but he's not AP, the Steelers can't even run block. Without an elite O-Line he's not gonna look any better than in Tampa in his last few years were he was barely averaging 4 yards per carry. I don't even think he's an upgrade over Bell who's more shifty and just as tough running inside. Bell averaged an awful 3.5 yards per carry last season and he couldn't get anything going, so again calm down. I wouldn't worry about either of them, I'm more worried about shutting Big Ben down. The Steelers can't run the ball, no matter who they have back there. He'll have a subpar season because everybody expects him to put up the same numbers he put up in NE later in the season and that's not gonna happen in Pittsburgh. Good back, but useless if you can't runblock.

I have full faith in Ray & Pierce.

Blount is a great situational runner. He isn't an every down starter. Given that fact, the 2 mill a year they are paying him is simply too rich, and Ozzie probably wouldn't have ever considered that. Not surprisingly nor did the Pats. Plus, given Rice could face a suspension, we might actually need an every down back for a number of games, so Blount isn't really the right fit for us. He will cause us headaches to stop for sure, but he eats up most of the remaining cap Pitt had, so thats probably good for us in the long run -- it's not like they don't have big holes to fill. Plus I'm not really sure how much of an upgrade (for Pitt) this is over Dwyer who at times showed Blount like potential, but at a much lower price tag. I think we probably dodged a Bullet on this one, price-wise. We will address RB with a cheaper, less situational guy.

For almost the same money you could bring back both L'Ron McLain and Leach and really run over some guys on 3rd and short type plays. (not saying that's what we should do, but it would be fun to).

can we please let this go.

its like

Unless Boldin would have stopped castillo for becoming the o-line coach and changing stuff and would stop pitta for being hurt, it would have hurt us more keeping him.

1 san fran has a much better o-line , its not even close.

2 they have a running game teams must respect.

3 they have a dual threath QB teams must respect.

4 in baltimore boldin is the top receiver, in san fran vernon davis is the receiver to stop along with crabtree later on.

there is no way boldin would have done what he did in san fran if he stayed with the ravens....

Totally agree. And when you factor in what Marlon Brown accomplished considering he wouldn't have gotten to even see the field otherwise, it softens the blow even more. Q is a great player, and at the right price it would have been nice to keep him. but on no planet is what he brings to the table on a team with a porous OLine and no running game worth the number of players we were able to bring in at that price tag. we were at best an 8-8 team even with him and if Ozzie didn't think he was worth 6 mill last year, he'd think he's worth even less a year later and a year older, so we'd be in the same situation.

Move on. Nothing more to see here.

Looks like drafting an O-linesman in the first round is off the table; I'm happy with that.

AQ Shipley and Jah Reid are not long for this team.

Because he can play both center and guard, I suspect Shipley might be kept around for depth until Wagner or Jensen show they can actually play in the NFL. Shipley isnt great but we had someone to throw out there when KO went down. I doubt Gino is going to be as good at guard and will likely become the backup center unless Jensen displaces him. I think the writing on the wall is probably there for Jah Reid who was already on the wrong side of the bubble before his legal issues.

Yeah, no reason not to let him compete -- he's stuck with the Ravens at a pretty cheap salary if he wants to come back, and there's an open spot at the moment. as for who Ozzie is going to take in the draft, it going to be BPA in the first round, and if there's no one he loves he will try to trade back for more picks. I can see him considering dropping back in or out of the first round to get more 2nd or 3rd round picks regardless, to try and fill WR, TE, FS and OL spots with 2nd day guys -- that's historically been his wheelhouse.

I would have rather seen this money going towards resigning Art. Letting him go was a mistake because we have the cap to sign him.

That said, Jacoby is a valuable player and the contract isnt terrible. Little guaranteed money and its doubtful he hits those incentives. If he stops producing he can be cut in 2 years.

Art got 10 mill guaranteed. We wouldn't match that even though the entire contract wasn't that unreasonable. Plus we have other understudy players at that position that aren't terrible.

That being said, we are gradually going through cap money and haven't made much of a splash in free agency. Hoping that changes later in the week when Ozzie decides the suckers (Cleveland and Miami) burned through all their mad money. While I like our players we resigned, they were still only an 8-8 team even with Art and Graham. As of this moment we aren't a better team than we were in December. We are setting ourself up to get a few compensatory picks in a year.

I don't think anyone expects 4000 yards out of the guy. But a solid 500 or 600 would be fine, along with giving us good field position on returns, and a few highlight reel run backs. Its not like they are paying him Joe Flacco money.

 

Part of the reason that fans are excited about him staying is because he is a fan favorite, and we have lost a lot of fan favorites over the last few years. Its understandable why, but that doesn't make it any more a reason for celebration. Remember how much it sucked that Reed left for the Texans.People would have rather seen him retire a Raven.

 

Sure we had better spruce up the WR corp with more than just the same guys from last year. I am reasonably certain that the FO is well aware of our needs in that department. So don't get all bunched up, until the FA and the draft are over. Enjoy the little things when you can. Keeping a fan favorite is one of those enjoyable little things.

I like Jacoby, and I like the idea of building around a core that will be here for four more years (Flacco, Pitta, Jacoby, Monroe). That being said we were a weak 8-8 team last year and we aren't going to do that much better with the same personnel minus Arthur Jones, Graham, Leach, McLain, Doss, and probably Smith and Oher. While I love retaining the bright spot in our lineup, I'm still waiting for the signing that does more than maintain the status quo.

I think if we get Steve Smith we will take a WR in the 3rd round. We have a lot of undeveloped talent at WR right now and with Pitta back it will make our offense way better. Torrey and Steve will be our #1 and #2 while Brown/Jacoby/whoever we draft will rotate in that role. I think we take BPA for our first round pick and then go lineman if that wasn't the first round pick. We might even take Clinton-Dix/Pryor if we don't address FS soon enough which I'm not to sure about, but Ozzie knows his stuff.

It's too early to speculate who we will need to draft and when. Right now we might be short a WR, TE, RT, C, MLB, nickel corner, FS. Knowing Ozzie, he still might pick up a nose tackle if that's who he regards as the BPA. My bet is he fills some of these spots before the draft, or guys like Asa Jackson, Wagner, Jensen, Juice, and Omar get "promoted" to doing more.