merryjman

Wouldn't call these "bold" predictions so much as "obvious" predictions. Assume Sarah was being facetious here. There aren't going to be any 1st round tackles worth taking at #6, so clearly we'll have to get one later. The top positions are all defense, excepting 2 QBs and a RB, and we have 5 RBs and a franchise QB; obviously our pick will be a DE/LB/CB. And Ozzie loves drafting corners, we need one, and Jalen will be gone by #6.

It's so weird that there aren't any OLBs at the top of this draft class. In my opinion, that's what we need the most. Also weird that some draft sites list Jack as an OLB - clearly a mistake, right??

No brainer. Brown is cheap and fits in with the recent "sign 35 receivers and see who stands out in camp" strategy they've adopted. Put some others on special teams and cut the rest of em loose.

Still hoping to see Daryl Smith come back. Poor guy has been underrated his entire career.

$10k fine for watching his daughter in a once-in-a-lifetime performance. I get that there are halftime rules and all, but it seems really petty to fine a guy for a reason like that.

what good is having a Willis/Bowman if you don't have an Aldon Smith / Ahmad Brooks??? I'd much prefer a pass rusher at this point.

I totally agree with what you said about Monroe. He took a while to figure out the scheme, but once he did he was good. I am hoping that he is not truly injury-prone and was simply unlucky to get two lingering injuries in a row. After all, the same exact thing happened to KO (remember his back issues in his first two seasons?) and his play suffered then, too. A long shot, but I also wonder if the Ravens aren't letting talk generate about LT just to make people think they want to make a move there, when they really don't? Seems like this sort of thing happens a lot with all teams leading up to the draft.

I agree. When he said "good quarterback" I think he mostly meant "a quarterback who can get me the deep ball;" i.e. a good quarterback for Mike Wallace, which Tannehill and Bridgewater definitely weren't.

Which is basically what Wallace was saying in that interview they quoted. Basically, "yes I get paid a lot, but the idiot offensive coordinator here doesn't know how to use me right, and that noodle-armed QB can't get me the ball on nines anyway."

I agree with this too. I love Joe, and he can definitely get the ball downfield, but he's not terribly accurate. That miracle throw to Jacoby in Denver was a serious underthrow, for example. So was Jacoby's touchdown in the super bowl. I feel like the last time I saw him hit a fast receiver in stride was like the second game of Torrey Smith's rookie year.

Agree. It's obvious most of the best players at the top of the draft are defenders. No idea what's going on at LT, but if (a) they have reasonable faith Monroe can stay healthy, and get a LG/LT backup other than Hurst, and (b) get one more fast receiver, then I think they can justify going all D in the draft's first few rounds. Especially since rush-by-committee seems to be winning out over feature-back.

I agree with you that Joe can't do it alone. However, it appears that this draft is going to be better for defense. And I think that if the current receiver/TE corps can stay healthy, we might already have enough weapons for Joe, provided the O-line stays stout. Maxx and Crockett could be a great pair; Perriman has a good shot at justifying his draft position, and people like Aiken, Campanaro, Brown, etc. have a chance to show they're worth keeping.

Daryl was one of my favorite players over the last couple years, but it's hard to deny that he's lost a step too many. If we're being honest, Ray Lewis was in the same boat his last couple years, but no way were the Ravens going to release an icon. In both cases, however, we lose a lot of on-field intelligence and film study. If they can re-sign him later for less money, I really hope they do.

Shame. I like Canty a lot. Hopefully they'll do again what they've done the last two times: re-sign him later for less money.

First, calling an agent greedy is like calling the an air raid siren loud. That's his job: to get his client paid. Second, Flacco gets $3M more than the franchise tag number, so by no stretch is that exorbitant. QBs cost a lot now, that's all. Third, people are allowed to joke and mess around with their friends, and that doesn't make them braggarts. Especially if those friends are also soon to be millionaires themselves.

I like what Hensley said: No, he's not elite; yes, he's really good; no, there's nobody better than him available; yes, it's way better to overpay someone you can trust and who fits than to gamble on an unknown quantity. Very well-put. Plus, just like last time he's the first of what are sure to be lots of restructures and new contracts, so pretty soon he won't be the highest paid anymore, just like last time.

I would love to see KO stay. Now that Flacco's deal is done and Tucker is tagged, that's definitely going to be their priority - to convince him to stay despite the promise of better money elsewhere. I'd rather see them do that than try to get a free agent like Roddy or Mario Williams or whoever.

Wrong on all counts! This was designed to be a 3-year contract all along; both Flacco's agent and Ozzie said so. The backloading is what kept our salary cap manageable for the first 3 years, and that's what the extension does too. So this was actually the smart way to pay the Super Bowl MVP the money he demanded.

Tucker may not be the best, but he's up there, and definitely worth keeping at $4-5M per year. Remember that we got to the playoffs the first time on Matt Stover's leg. And do I really need to bring up the names Steve Hauschka and Billy Cundiff to remind everyone how painful it is not to have a superstar at K?

Agreed. Aiken was the yards leader by default, because our #2 receiver was my uncle Joey who runs the 40 in 15 seconds.

If you're going to cite statistics, why are you leaving out that he tied Joe Montana's record playoff performance of 11 TDs and no interceptions? In fact, I'd rephrase your statement to "If 84 is your career average in a run-first offense whose star receiver is Torrey "go deep" Smith, then just imagine how Joe would do with 2 or 3 quality receivers and an offensive scheme to match." And I'm no Flacco fanboy, I just think he's better than most people give him credit for.

Yes, but the whole point of the article is that Tom Brady is not getting paid less over that restructured time span, just extending the terms of the contract so that the cap hit is less.

I agree we should keep him if we can, but I don't think we can. I just think teams with lots of cap room can pay Upshaw more than he's really worth. Look at how much money Ellerbe and Kruger got when they left.

I'm not ready to give up on Monroe yet. He's got the right mentality and work ethic for Bmore, and I think (believe?) that he just got really unlucky with two injuries in a row. He was drafted in 2009 so it's not like he's over the hill. Now, if we can't keep KO, maybe then think about another guy on the left side. But I'm not convinced it should be how the #6 pick gets spent. I say pass rusher all the way.

I think that this offer to KO is definitely connected to the Flacco negotiations. They're essentially telling Linta that he's being held to his comment in 2013 that Flacco's was essentially a 3-year contract, because if KO accepts their offer they will not be able to pay Flacco at his current cap hit. Which is smart, because Flacco is not worth a $29M cap hit. So it's a way to insert some leverage into a place where they had very little - the only leverage they really had before is that Joe's injury status is a big question mark. And it makes Ozzie's remark (that they're going to make moves regardless of Flacco's status) truthful; i.e. Ozzie is putting his money where his mouth is. Plus, if the Flacco negotiations fail, it would be better to know that before the draft. It's not like Ozzie would be afraid of losing Flacco - he won a super bowl with Dilfer, after all. Besides which, KO is a monster and the Ravens would be fools to let him go without at least an offer. And I think what Harbaugh said about it is good: the Ravens have a certain atmosphere and mentality that KO is a part of and buys into, and if he's willing to stay in that environment for a little less money - like Yanda did - that's a win.