The Raven

3 minutes ago, FastEddie said:

Does anyone think Conor Barwin has anything left?

I do, but I don't think he's what we should be looking for. I'd like to see us find a long term answer in the first round of the draft.

6 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Kaufusi was a beast in only two categories, the cone drill and shuttle. In every other measure he was pedestrian or worse. We didn't cut Dumervil because of Kaufusi. Bronson attempted to play OLB in college and was horrible at it. I hope he succeeds like I do for every Ravens draft pick, I just am not ready to buy into any hype on him until I see it in actual real live game time. Training Camp and Pre Season doesn't really mean much unless you are absolutely tanking.

J.J was a top performer in every drill save for the shuttle. Kaufusi only in the cone and shuttle and you can see the pretty large discrepancies in bench and the jumping measurements which focus solely on the main area of weakness in Kaufusi's game...which is weakness.

One thing I'd note here is that some players are faster on the field than in a combine setting. I think BK is one of them.

4 hours ago, Static said:

I hope Jefferson is able to kill the dink and dunk that has killed us for years

I do think that's the kind of thing he'll be able to help with. For years, we've needed DBs with better pursuit and tackle skills. The dink and dunk kills us because we don't break, pursue, and tackle effectively.

I'm tellin y'all... we got a taste of it last year, but Pees' defense is legit if you have guys that do the fundamentals. If you pursue and tackle well, a zone heavy defense can be suffocating. We get better tacklers in the secondary and look out.

44 minutes ago, Ravens559 said:

Bronson Kaufusi is gonna be the next J.J. Watt.. Look at his athleticism from his combine, hes beast..thats why we cut dumervil.. As for urban he is another chris canty.. Brandon williams is the next haloti ngata...dl is good to go..we should draft a RB in Fornette if he drops or Garret bolles OT or WR's John Ross and corey davis

I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but I do think the potential is there. Freakish athleticism. Freakish size. I like him best as a 4-3 LE but I think he'll carve himself a niche role here. In camp, I think we gave him snaps at nose, 3, 5, and on the edge. 

4 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

So are the reports correct about him on the negatives? That when matched up against superior strength/talent he doesn't have the ability to work out of it and he gets redirected out of the play? That most of his production comes from his relentless motor and not really from pure talent/moves/skills?

From what I remember from his film, I feel like he got redirected due to bad footwork and poor leverage more so than a low strength level. He plays high. That's a problem. But it's an easier problem to solve than strength. 

I feel like a lot of his production came from his burst off the line, but it's also been nearly a year since I've seen his tape.

1 hour ago, arnie_uk said:

I love how bluntly honest you are. 

It's what I do. 

1 hour ago, jazz1988 said:

I don't think any one is saying it's super easy (atleast i'm not)but it isn't super hard either. Ricky Wagner was the top free agent right tackle once free agency started. Not only was he the best available but the free agent market at right tackle isn't really all that great and the same can be said about this year draft. His agent had every opportunity to make him the highest paid right tackle in the league and Wagner is clearly better than  Lions former starting right tackle Riley Relief who was ranked 48 among right tackles.. Lions got the best right tackle available  but if this draft class was better  and there was more available  quality tackles in free agency then I don't think Wagner get's nearly as much as he did.

 

Doesn't really matter where they line  up because top  pass rushers like Gerald Mccoy , Nadaukong Suh, Fletcher Cox, Calaisis Campbell, and more go up against centers all the time

Wrong again. Those guys tend to be at the B gap more than the A. Do you watch the line when you watch?

28 minutes ago, jazz1988 said:

If Wagner not allowing no more than 3 sacks matters than  all this talk about how Jeremy Zuttah is  a bad  fit for The Ravens need to stop because he allowed just as many sacks  if i'm not mistaken.  Just because you can't remember the last time we've had RT play as well as Wagner doesn't mean The Ravens won't be able to replace him. Brandon Williams had a down year but profootball focus had him ranked as the highest NT  in the league in 2015. If you want to read more than go here  link .

 

Well he's 32 right now so The Ravens have a year and  a  half before then .

 

8 minutes ago, Purple_City39 said:

Whereas Zuttah allowed 3.5 sacks last season, let's also remember that as a center, he almost always has help from a guard.  Wagner as a RT will occasionally get help from a TE, but it's far more rare.

In addition, this is pure numbers that can be researched, but Wagner was not pushed into the backfield even comparably as much as Zuttah.  Jeremy gave our QB little to no room to ever step up into the pocket.  Meanwhile Wagner consistently moved his man out of the play.

And okay, you've called out my memory, so do you remember the last time a RT played as well as Wagner?  Everyone's making RT out to be some easy to replace position and I don't get it.  Especially this year.

Not only that, but how often do you see top pass rushers lined up on the center? Oh right, you don't.

14 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

Not to completely derail the thread, but since there are some Wagner vs. Williams debates... where is the assumption that it's super easy to find a RT coming from?  The fact that Wagner got as much money as he did should show that it's not that easy or there wouldn't have been tons of competition for his services.  There are needs at RT all over the league.

Because people buy into BS narratives. They naturally think that non-skill positions are easy to find. No idea why.

If it's so easy to find a RT why did we have such a crappy rotation of Jah Reid, Mike Oher, and who else before Wagner brought us stability? I'd like some people to answer that.

31 minutes ago, Edug27 said:

I know. I just don't get it. Was Shareece a bad guy who went against what coaches asked? This board rejoiced his departure. Zuttah plays while injured for us and is a really good guy. It's Webb. It's not Ed Reed or Ray Lewis. His time on the field was up. Not sure what it is with Webb but the attachement here is strong. And I promise y'all I'm not trying be all Sami here. 

The very obvious differences are that Webb was homegrown, was here for eight years, and when healthy had more talent in his right pinky toe than Shareece Wright or Jeremy Zuttah ever had. He was a complete no name from a college nobody ever heard of and shocked the world in his rookie year. On his best day, he was maybe the best corner in the league. He never complained. He played hard and put his body out there. It's the softball games and the community involvement, too. It's being fan-friendly and always stopping for a photo if he can. If he could have stayed healthy he would have been a Ray or a Reed if you ask me, because he did have that level of talent. And I think that, too, is why a lot of us are upset -- because he had all the talent in the world but injuries broke him down, and we were disappointed he never got there.

It's the longevity, the relationship, and the talent. If you can't see that then I can't help you.

6 hours ago, Tru11 said:

guess the market value argument only applies to 1 certain player on this team.......

I see your point, but QB is the one position you absolutely need to fill with some adequate in order to be remotely relevant. It's better to have a capable guy than to gamble on getting someone else at a position like QB. One in the hand is worth two in the bush.

For other positions, I think market value is fair because for the most part, they don't have the every-play impact that a QB does.

8 minutes ago, Davesta said:

Or trying to keep your job if your John harbaugh

He doesn't deal with free agency. He might have asked Newsome to go ham in free agency but that's ultimately up to Ozzie.

8 hours ago, PurpleCity5 said:

Brandon Williams is an awesome guy man. Worked so hard to return here and showed so much loyalty to an organization, fans, and city knowing very well of the NFL business structure. Mad props to him. Got a lot of love for someone like that. 

Yes, extremely loyal. That's why he asked for more money than Damon Harrison and looked for it elsewhere. It was all about loyalty.

Loyalty was Yanda taking less than he was worth in 2010(?) to stay and Webb taking a pay cut. That's what loyalty looks like.

I thought we were in a rebuilding phase but I'm not sure the FO sees it that way. As I said in the free agency thread, I don't think you make the deals we've made unless you think you can win now and Jefferson is the piece to get us over the hump.

10 hours ago, rmw10 said:

This sense of urgency from the FO is so odd.  Definitely a change compared to the past.

 

Kinda makes me think the FO thinks the roster is viable for a legitimate run. I don't think you throw $10/year at your NT and $9M/year at a FA safety unless you're trying to win now.

1 minute ago, K-Dog said:

Just under the wire I guess.

Am I the LAST 10,000 club member ? 

I think so dude. Way to go man. Best for last?

And a quick note to the mods, especially @Moderator 3

Thanks for putting up with me  you guys deserve a nobel prize for what you do/

On 3/8/2017 at 10:06 AM, Purple Nurple said:

Slated for April 1st. Tell me it's an April fools joke. 

23 hours ago, codizzle said:

Yup and not being able to say anything except go team and yay Ravens doesn't help the cause 

22 hours ago, 1/28/01 said:

Wow.  It has gone down hill majorly the last few years, though!

If I don't pop in again, later all!

Wanted to give you guys a quick shout. It's been fun with you guys. We've all been here, what, eight years? Crazy. Lot of good times. Things went downhill, but good times were had here. Thanks guys for the laughs. Hope to see y'all at another board.

6 minutes ago, jazz1988 said:

Three years of inconsistency even with playing next to  a NT like Brandon Williams. Good player but not sure if he's irreplaceable .

Is it better to touch the QB or not touch the QB? You tell me. 

And by the way, Brandon Williams isn't out there on passing downs when Jernigan is collapsing the pocket and getting to the QB unless e's doubled.

Oh, this means we can kiss Jernigan -- the DT with a relevant skill set in 2017 -- goodbye.

Just now, BSHU_Miami said:

we can draft depth. this contract is insane. 

Pierce was a UDFA and Carl Davis was drafted. So, what's your point?

Just now, BmoreBird22 said:

I've always been very curious to see him one gap. I think he can knife gaps decently.

Me too, but why pay him unless you let him do that all the time? He's honestly worth more as a one gapper than as a clogger. I'd have him drop 10-15 pounds so he can knife through and pass rush more.

3 minutes ago, BSHU_Miami said:

......smh So we have pierce/Carl Davis for what? 

Uh, depth? Because you need depth?

13 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I'm super hype about retaining Williams. 

At first I was a little down on him after he faded down the stretch, but the entire defense faded with him. He is the anchor of that front seven. I'm hype.

I don't know why. There's no doubt he can stuff the run on the goal line but he's literally useless on 65 percent of snaps.

5 minutes ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

Well, at least Marqueston Huff is excited to be back with his $1.75m tender!

Phew. Is that worth it for him? I mean he's the youngest adequate safety we have, so he could be the "future" of the position in a sense, but is he worth holding onto for nearly $2 million?

17 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

This is why I hate FA. Honestly, I highly doubt Wagner did research on the city, schools, colleges (if he plans on living there for that long with kids), fit, roster, etc.

I bet he saw $$$ and just signed.

He's from the region originally. Wisconsin grad. He probably has an inkling of what it's like out there.