RavensIQ13

Its going to come to surface that Jim Hostler was the one calling the plays in last years playoffs and everyone here is going be like, "oops, well this makes things awkward..."

But isn't that the direction we want to head in? We've invested heavily in the quarterback position. I think tis time we started seeing some return from that phase of the game. I don't know about you but I want a scoring offense and when u look around the league the top scoring offenses tend to be the ones that are pass oriented. Imagine Ray Rice in Chip Kelly's offense or on the Denver Broncos. He would be unstoppable. Being pass oriented isn't such a bad thing given our personnel.

The more I learn about Shanahan the more I question whether he's the right guy for us. The thing that makes me iffy with him is the chemistry factor. Being that he's young (34) Is he seasoned enough to handle rogue players and stubborn veterans who might throw resistance at him if things start to crumble? Look at what happened in his final year with Washington as a prime example. There were many instances last year where players started turning against him and it actually caused a riff in the locker room when it came to the way the offense was being run. Then you have to question his leadership ability and ask if he can teach and successfully implement his system amongst our coaching staff. Theyre were reports about our coaching staff not being completely on the same page this year. Would that carry over with a new guy, a young guy, a guy who's been linked with controversy in the past while being apart of other coaching staffs? I think Shanahan can be an amazing play caller for us, no doubt but my concern is whether or not he can handle ALL aspects of coordinating a successful offense given the adversity we usually deal with year-in and year-out on that side of the ball. I think Linehan might bring a more stable and seasoned approach to implementing a new system that could result in success right away and with him he has a proven track record of being able to do exactly that. Every team he's coordinated for the players bought in right away and publicly spoke out in support of him. With Kyle, the success has been there but is he a Todd Haley type or Josh McDaniel type that can turn his players off to what he's trying to teach them and fracture team chemistry? I don't think we're privy to that kind of information so its purely speculation. For that reason alone, as a fan looking in from the outside i'd feel more comfortable with direction our team is trying to head in if we brought in some proven stability.

Kyle Shanahan seems legit but Scot Linehan seems like he would turn Flacco into what he's capable of being. I think Kyle would bring more schematic flexibility but Linehans aggressiveness bodes well with what we could accomplish having the type of defense we have. My vote is changed to Scot Linehan

If he comes here and later goes onto be a head coach somewhere else, i'd say it was worth the hire...but then again Jim Caldwell is now the Head Coach of the Detriot Lions so that theory probably doesn't hold any water..

At first glance, when I saw Kyle Shanahan's name as a potential Coordinator for us I just shrugged and thought he's a bum he doesn't know how to coach. Figured it was a joke.. But then I realized, hmm wait a minute I know absolutely NOTHING about Kyle Shanahan. So I started doing some research and the more I discovered the more I realized this is EXACTLY who I want to run our offense next year! He meets all of my standards in what i'd like to see from our offensive coordinator: -New School Coach -Young and willing to adapt -Aggressive offensive philosophy -Coordinated multiple top 10 offenses on multiple teams -Knows how to generate a successful rushing attack When you think Shanahan you think of the Washington Redskins, media circus, red cheeks, implosion, blown knee, train wreck... little did I realize Kyle Shanahan is legit. Has quite an impressive resume. Look him up. He gets my vote.

I think you're off the mark. When you're 6'5'' 220lbs you don't need to get separation. Look at what Vincent Jackson does. Check out his highlights. VJax isn't that fast, he's not a burner or a masterful route runner and still he's led the league in 1st down percentage for nearly 5 years in a row. Last year he was #2 behind Calvin Johnson, the year before that #1, year before that #1, before that he was injured, year before that #1. Vjax isn't gonna burn you but he is going to outfight you for the football. He's always going to win the jump ball battle. Mike Evans is vjax 2.0. One of Evans biggest strengths is facing press overage. He simply over powers at the point of attack and uses his physicality to gain quick separation on slants. If this guy is one of the WR that's on your radar, go back and watch his games again and notice how many quick slants and jump balls he catches. Not just that but the separation he gets at the line. Think of a bigger, faster Anquan Boldin

Mike Evans is a guy who presents a mismatch problem and a huge catch radius. Imo, he has the best hands in this draft class and has the physical strength to overpower anyone lined up in front of him. He's a guy Joe can throw a jump ball to knowing he'll come down with it every time. Now, what's one of the biggest things we struggled with this year? SCORING IN THE REDZONE! Mike Evans, if nothing else, is a pure Redzone Nightmare. Imagine being inside the opponents 10 yard line with a 5'10'' 190lb cb 1-on-1 with a 6'5'' 220lb WR who has an insane vertical jump and hands that catch everything. There's no other WR in this draft that catches the ball better at its highest point than Mike Evans does. Even when he's covered - at 6'5'' with a 39'' vertical - he's never covered. He's the reason Johnny Football gets so much hype. Watch his games against Alamaba and Auburn this year if you're not familiar with him. http://youtu.be/wl2OfgKbEBs

I want to see someone brought in or promoted from within, who will run a single back spread offense with the passing game being premised around the short pass, quick strikes, and creative passing plays out of the backfield to fully exploit ray's talents. I want Ray Rice to become a dual threat RB again. I want our OC to have an attacking mentality. I don't want someone who will come in and have their playcalling dictated to them by what the defense does. I want a guy who will dictate what the defense does. I want a guy who's willing to adapt the newest and latest trends into his offense and is willing to steal effective plays from other teams playbooks. I want an extremely competitive guy who believes his offense is the only way this team can win, period. Anything the defense gives him is a bonus. That's what we need.

Ozzie revealed to us in the presser exactly what kind of receiver they're going to target. They want a WR with sure hands, who can convert on 3rd downs; which means he has to be able to get separation, and - that is strong enough to take a hit and gain some YAC (yards after catch). Now I know some on this board are using process of elimination to suggest that a shifty, smaller Wes Welker type is the obvious choice to what our WR corp is lacking - but that couldn't be further from the truth. What we need to compliment our Speed is a tough, over-the-middle, physical presence who can contend for catches, act as a true #1 possession WR and be a difference a maker. Like: -Vincent Jackson -Brandon Marshal -Antonio Brown -Aj Green -Demayrius Thomas I've spent a lot of time studying this years WR draft prospects, free agency, and other teams salary cap situations in order to provide some sort of insight as to who we could go after. The player that makes the most sense to me given all the financial factors and compensation that would have to be given up, is: 1st round draft prospect Mike Evans. Definitely a big time playmaker and @ 6'5'' 220 lbs he plays fierce, his hands are made of glue and his game is completely based around physicality. He would be the perfect compliment to Torrey Smith and Marlon Brown and he would immediately become a go to option for Joe Flacco. Love this guy. Other players we could target (and highly unlikely) would have to come through trade because as of right now, I just don't see that many WRs in free agency that both Ozzie and Harbaugh would be overly enthusiastic to have. So thru unlikely trades: Larry Fitzgerald (30). The Cards are in really, really bad shape cap-wise and the way his contract is structured they're going to have no other choice but to release him after next season. The problem with trading for him now though is two-fold, 1) the compensation that would have to be given up and 2) his contract would have to be cleverly restructure because he's due crazy $$ in base salaries for the remainder of his career do to all the restructuring he's done. Andre Johnson (33). The Texans are really tight in cap space as well and the only way for them to get around it is by releasing players. But when it comes to Andre Johnson the only way to save cap is by restructuring his deal and then trading him. Releasing him outright saves them less than a mill for this year and they're at a point where they cant keep pushing money into the future without it coming back to haunt them, so further restructuring seems unlikely.. There's no incentive for them to get rid of a great player if they don't have to. However, the pending years of his contract will inevitably force them to part ways with him sooner rather than later. So now might be the best time to recoup as much value as they can while he's still a productive player. But, similar to Fitzgerald, his contract is another nightmare to take on because of all the restructuring he's done in the past. I don't know the in's-and-out's of how trading players work, or if there are ways to work around that kind of thing but a new deal with him would no doubt ensure that an aging Andre Johnson (33yr) would be on our team for at least the next 2-3 years with the final years coming at a hefty price both $$ and cap wise. But he is Andre Johnson so.... Vincent Jackson (30). Being that he plays for a crappy team like the Bucs this is more plausible than feasible but none the less it's a possibility. He just signed a huge contract in 2012 which keeps him in Tampa for the next 3 years. Essentially, we would have to give up draft picks for the rights to pay him a ton of $$. Only way he's on our team is if we're willing to pay $8+ mill for every year he's here in addition to giving up picks (or Suggs wink wink). Free Agent-wise there's: Jimmy Graham (1% chance there) Hakeem Nicks (has never played a full 16 games in any season and he's looking for a big contract) Kenny Britt (has never really done anything other than flash potential, look up his numbers they're shocking) Malcom Floyd... Eric Decker :/ (we already have our version of him in Dennis Pitta) Slim pickings. Aside from Sammy Watkins, the draft has two WRs that I think could come in right away and fill the role we're looking for: Mike Evans (personal choice) he compares well to Vincent Jackson. And Marques Lee (really really like his game) he compares exactly to Antonio Brown. Watch his games and tell me that isn't Antiono Brown playing in a Trojans uniform But my bet is in the end we find another free agent steal that as usual no one expects to be as good as he winds up being. Anyway here's rooting for Mike Evans!