The Raven

4 minutes ago, Cawtious said:

I can see Jensen fitting into that scheme when he's 317-320.  I am not sure Urschel will fit into that mold.  Mangold is not what he used to be physically, but that's understandable.  Jensen is an excellent run blocker.  If anything when he was playing guard, he would get to the gap a little too quickly looking to get downfield and  block at the second level.  His problem is definitely not aggression.  He finishes blocks with attitude.  You don't see him jogging behind plays....he's up field looking to do damage.  I like his potential.  I think Roman will like it as well.

He and TJ Lang had the same OL coach in college (Symington).  I think he's an underrated player and I think he'll give any rookie and/or Urschel a run for their money during camp. 

Man vs. Man.  May the best man win.

You got that right. That's music to an olineman's ears.

I don't know if anyone say Juice's tweet about Zuttah joining him in San Fran, but it alluded to the "#widezone."

I think that's a clear as day indication that we're moving far, far away from the stretch zone.

1 hour ago, ravensnick said:

I guess Mosley wasn't a true 3-4 ILB when he played all those years for Bama either...

He can do it, no doubt, but his skill set is much, much better suited to a 4-3 tampa 2 style.

1 hour ago, allblackraven said:

Drinks are on @The Raven

You're damn right. We're starting this weekend's festivities early! Drinks all around!

Well, okay.

47 minutes ago, Moderator 3 said:

Interesting that it's been hours since this "news" broke, but there's been no confirmation. 

Multiple reporters have said it and the team's website even has it. I don't think the team's website would post this unless it were true, do you?

As much as Ozzie and Harbs say Alex Lewis is staying at LG, I don't know if I totally buy it. If I remember correctly they said similar things about Kelechi, that he was going to stay at RT and then that he would stay at LG. It might be the plan to keep Lewis at LG but who knows how it'll work out?

5 minutes ago, Sunday QB said:

Why are we not bringing in players for workouts like the rest of the league?

Why waste time and money buying used tires when you're in the market for an all new car?

37 minutes ago, jazz1988 said:

Getting more stronger and physical at the center  position doesn't  necessarily equal to getting better at the position. 

Not necessarily, but in this case, yeah. Offensive line is about moving people. Zuttah is the kind of guy that gets moved. Stronger and more physical is frequently a good thing so long as they aren't total plodders. 

Y'all underestimate just how much Zuttah hamstrung our run game. People like to say Zuttah wasn't bad, he wasn't always getting blown up. But here's the thing: If you aren't moving someone, you're in the way, and if you're in the way, you're a liability in the run game. Get that word straight: liability. And center is the one position you can't afford to have a liability in the run game. He never got any kind of push.

If not getting blown up is the criteria for not being bad, then good offensive line play can finally be declared dead in the NFL.

Zuttah's pass protection wasn't bad, really, so I'll give y'all that, but Gino Gradkowski is probably the only center I've seen in the NFL that was worse at run blocking.

I'm cautiously excited about not having a backup plan at center. Maybe it'll light a fire under Ozzie's butt to go out there and actually get a real solution at center, like he did last year with Ronnie Stanley at LT. It gives me cause for concern, but maybe he'll be more aggressive in finding a solution, if there is no fallback option.

2 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

I'm curious to see how Matt Skura does this offseason.  Apparently someone tried to sign him last year and we bumped his pay up to active roster pay for the last few weeks of the season.

Yeah. Heard that we really like him.

1 minute ago, rmw10 said:

 

Gross. Urschel is a Zuttah clone.

Maybe my view is biased by my overwhelming frustration with Zuttah's inability to contribute in any meaningful way at all, but I think this is addition by subtraction.

For those saying we don't have a plan, we have two in-house stop gaps.

Urschel looked just as good in limited time at center at the end of 2015. Jensen is a possibility, too, and I think Jensen fits the mold of what we want going forward. Whether he's the guy, I don't know, but he'll compete for this job. He's strong and physical.

14 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

And apparently Zuttah is next on the chopping block

 

I guess it's true what they say. Dreams really do come true.

33 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

It makes too much sense to me.  Dunlap probably should have always been on the right side, but played LT in SD because they had no other option.  D'Allesandris really turned him into a viable, and even at times, good starter in his time there.  Like you said, I think he's the perfect bridge player to maybe a later round guy that you think can start but might need a year or two of seasoning, much like Wagner.

I have heard time and time again that they like Wesley though.  Certainly fits the size profile and looked good in limited preseason action the last 2 years.  Literally no way of us knowing what we have in him at this point though.  They clearly wanted to keep both him and Nembot based on their IR situations last year.

Yeah, Wesley's gotten so few meaningful snaps I can't really say how he is. From what I remember, I was really impressed with his mobility and burst but he seemed to struggle with anchoring against a bull rush. 

58 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

We've got a glaring hole left by the Dumervil cut and we also need to find a replacement for Suggs because he's not going to be playing for too much longer.

I wouldn't call it a "glaring hole." Matt Judon -- who actually got more snaps than Doom in 2016 -- says hi. Replacing Suggs, to me, is the bigger issue on the edge.

53 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

The Chargers just released King Dunlap.  He might be an interesting option on the right side.  He had his best years with our new OL coach.  He's definitely more of a run blocker/road grader type and comes with size.  I'm certainly thinking that option might be realistic.

Dude I'm all about that move. Perfect fit at this point in time. He's potentially the perfect veteran stop gap RT that lets us worry about fixing center before right tackle. Him and Yanda on the right side could be money. What I'd give to watch them collapse the right side on a power play...

Sign me up. He's at least a solid insurance policy if Deondre Wesley -- who I do think is the current frontrunner for RT -- craps the bed. I think that the FO is banking on Wesley starting next year unless we find a pleasant surprise somewhere.

29 minutes ago, Filmstudy said:

That's a great spot for Jefferson, who also could play deep some in 4/5-DB alignments.  The problem is, Pees has used the dime just 148 snaps in his 5 year tenure.  49 of those came last season, but that's misleading, because 47 of those came with Mosley injured (and there was no other choice).  

He covers TEs man-to-man extremely well, including some big men in the games I watched and he switched well in zone underneath.  

Here is my piece on his play:

http://russellstreetreport.com/2017/03/12/filmstudy/tony-jefferson-2016-review/

I invite you to review my notes and the coaches film, but he's not special as a deep safety, because he's not particularly instinctive, nor does he read the QB particularly well (I contend this is probably the biggest reason why his career PD and INT totals are so low).  He does extremely well with defined man and zone reponsibilities.

Your piece is actually what got me thinking on this. I thought it, like much of your work, was solid analysis.

6 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

A Bleacher Report writer ranked this as his top move of the offseason out of 136 signings so far.

I haven't put much thought into how we'll use him, but from the sounds of things (and as I just said in the other thread), it sounds like this guy could be the prototype "dimebacker," filling the role we probably envisioned for Elam and used Levine for.

4 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Many believe the Ravens will end up landing Claiborne and apparently Webb isn't done here if the Ravens can help it.

From LaCanfora.

I'm curious about Webb's role here if he comes back. Nickel safety? Don't want to see him back at corner, and I doubt he'd take a starting safety job. Since Weddle and Jefferson aren't really the kind of guys you want to see as a single high, maybe Webb does come back to be that single high nickel safety.

Maybe Jefferson is also coming in to be a more full time "dime backer" like Levine was last year. 

If Pees continues to use the dime, we could have a hell of a back seven with Mosley at LB, Jefferson at dimebacker, Webb deep, and Weddle roaming,

12 minutes ago, Virginia 55 said:

Thank you Brandon Williams!!!! Nice to be able to keep the best player on the defense<<<<Correction--- he is the best player on the team,

Uh hard pass

1 hour ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Okay, that's not speed, that's quickness and explosion and those are actually things that are not exactly something Kaufusi's scouting report says he's good at. You only had to be specific because I wanted you to further prove you don't know what you're talking about and you did an excellent job of it.

I compared two players almost the exact same height and weight at the same position and had drastically different numbers in the strength game. Your comparison offers up two guys with almost identical numbers. Richburg obviously is the better talent but maybe that also comes down to technique and natural skills.

You guys are seriously gonna give me flack for stating that J.J. Watt is a lot better of a talent than Bronson Kaufusi? Seriously?

Yes, I am sure you are an amazing expert at talent evaluation and that's why you are sitting at home at your computer and not working for an NFL front office.

Wow, you get worked up pretty easy.  

14 minutes ago, allblackraven said:

I'd like to see the same but I just don't see it. Feels like we are going O line in 1st again.

I don't think so unless we're pulling a Travis Frederick type pick at center.

5 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I've mentioned him for several months now, but I'm in agreement- at his age, he's not the long term answer the Ravens want. However, I do think he's a very upstanding character and could help mentor KC, Judon, and Smith.

If we didn't have Suggs in the picture, I'd be all for Barwin.

7 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Then what do you mean by "faster" if you are not talking about speed?

I've played too and I don't think it is as common as you seem to think. I buy more into that some guys practice better than they play and vice-versa. But you are either fast or you aren't. You are either twitch quick or you aren't. You are either strong or you aren't.

The reason why he might look faster and stronger than he might be is because of his relentless motor. That's a good thing. I like hustle and a guy that never gives up on a play. Let's not mistake that for talent though. His clear weakness is his lack of strength in the upper and lower body. It shows on tape on the field and it is verified at the combine. Luckily for him if he's been busting his butt in the gym this offseason; and I am sure he has been, he can work on that and improve the strength part of his game.

I'm talking about his ten yard split, his burst off the line, his short shuttle, his 3 cone. I forgot that I need to write things out in specific for you.

It's not that black and white. Gino Gradkowski had 29 reps at his pro day and a 28.5 vert -- solid numbers for a center -- but got thrown around like a toy. He lifts strong but doesn't play strong. By comparison, Weston Richburg had 25 reps and a 25.5 vert. Who's the better center? But I don't think I can convince you otherwise, so I'll let it rest

It's not the motor. I can distinguish talent and motor. It's what I see with my eyes on the tape. What I see as the primary problem is his pad level.

2 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

I am going to be admittedly facetious here but, is he suddenly going to get stronger on the field than in the gym? Is it because he will be wearing pajamas with an "S" on his chest under his uniform? This is a way of me saying that I don't really buy that argument in a majority of cases.

His 40 time really doesn't matter to me because he's not going to be sprinting after a QB 40 yards away with nobody in front of him while he's not wearing any pads at all.

 

I'm not talking about his 40 time. It's irrelevant to his position.

And actually, some guys do play stronger on the field than their weight room stats show. Some guys are workout warriors but get bullied on the field. Having actually played the game, I can verify that it happens. It's really a common thing.