jlswartzii

This is the second time I've seen this stuff about Ed today, and neither times did the writer of the article recognize it for what it is, a joke. Remember all the times he used to say he was thinking about retiring, even while he was still in his prime, but never did? He was never being serious about retiring back then, it was just Ed being Ed. This is the same. He's not serious about coming back, even for a reasonable dollar amount. It's just Ed being Ed. In the full interview, he says "[I knew] that I was no longer a player a long time ago. That's why I retired. So all that's gone. That life is behind me, man. Here I am, Coach Reed."

Very possible, but I also saw a mock draft that would be the dream scenario for us. It had Tunsil, Wentz, Buckner, then I believe Goff or Elliot (Offensive player is all I remember), then Jack going 5th to the jags. That would mean Ramsey falls right in our lap. Bosa would also be available. That would be the best possible scenario IMO, and we would get an instant upgrade on our defense. We really need at least 2 teams in front of us to take offensive players. Maybe we can even get a third with a trade up. Just have to wait and see. Sounds a lot like Ike Taylor's mock draft, except he had Goff at #2 instead of Wentz(And Elliot at #4). If you want a good laugh, check out his mock draft. He has Ramsey falling to #9, Bosa to #11 and Wentz falling out of the 1st round entirely.

Wallace knows that he needs one or two great seasons to have a shot at getting another large contract from any team. Look at him with the Steelers. He was playing at his best when he was still trying to chase that big contract. He was also playing for a contender that had an established QB that can make the throws that play to Wallace's strengths. In Miami he already had the big contract, paired with a QB that didn't play to his strengths. They also weren't a contender. In Minnesota he was still getting paid, and also didn't have a QB that played to his strengths. Now he is here and hungry. He's playing for a payday again. He will have an established QB that can make the throws that play to his strengths. We are a contender. And, most importantly, he isn't expected to be "the guy" for us. He can just go out there and try to prove to us, and other teams, that he is worth more money when this contract runs out. That is a pretty big motivator for someone like Wallace because he tends to think $$ first, everything else second. Welcome to Baltimore Mike Wallace! Go out there and show teams you want $$ come 2018, us Ravens fans won't mind that :P

I don't think it is a logjam. I think Lewis is gone for sure, probably as a post June 1st designation or just waiting until after June 1st to release him because that will save us more than cutting him now would. Elam probably stays because we won't save much at all by releasing him so he can play backup and develop in his contract year and see if he's worth resigning next year. I don't see Brooks going anywhere. Last season I believe we started the season with 9 DBs on the roster, 5 of which were safeties, and then ended the season with 12 DBs on the roster, 5 of which were safeties(6 if you include Webb). So once Lewis goes, there will be Hill, Webb, Weddle, Elam(Probably), Brooks(maybe), and Levine there, so it would be 6 safeties again. At CB, Smith and Wright are gonna be on the roster, and Arrington is as close as you can get to being a lock without actually being one. Trawick might be back for special teams if no one ends up being interested in him, so that could make 7 safieties. A corner will almost certainly be added during the draft at some point(Hopefully VH3). Tray Walker was just selected last season, so he stands a good chance to be on the final 53 unless offseason/preseason don't go well, then he'd probably go down to the practice squad. So that would put us at around 12 DBs total, 2 of the safeties are primarily special teamers, so realistically there would be 5 safeties in the mix for playing time. With Webb having the flexibility to cover slot if need be, he might as well be considered a CB/FS now that Weddle is here. I could see us going into the season with 10-12 DBs this year. Most of them are probably already on the roster, and I don't see us adding more than 4 new players to that mix. Weddle might end up being the only new starter for our secondary, unless we draft a CB early enough and he earns the starting job over Wright, which means we would be going into the season with 5 of the 6 key DBs that started gelling during the second half of the season and finished very strong. Pees could design some packages that have Smith, Wright/Draft Pick, Arrington/Wright, Weddle, and Webb(Instead of Hill) all out there at the same time. To me, that combination sounds like it has the potential to be a great 3rd and long/obvious passing situation lineup. Of course, all of that is assuming no injuries to any of the aforementioned players happen between now and the start of the season. If our secondary can pick up where they left off last season(the second half of the season) and then improve even more, our secondary would be in great shape. Depending on how the draft goes, I think we could have a shot at being a top 5 defense this season.

Haha, hopefully Ozzie and Co. agree with us on draft day.

Personally I think we should take Vernon Hargreaves III at #6. Unless he injures himself while training, has a bad pro day, or interviews reveal something film doesn't show, he would be a great pick for us. Having VH3 opposite of Smith for the next 4 years would be amazing. Some people are worried about his size when it comes to covering bigger WRs, but he is only an inch shorter than Revis so a corner doesn't always have to be tall to shut down WRs. He's shown a lot of talent and potential, so if his pro day workout shows he has what it takes to be a top CB in the league it would be stupid to pass on him. This draft is deep with pass rushers and Ozzie usually finds a mid to late round pick that contributes with sacks. Plus Za'Darius Smith showed he has potential to be a good situational pass rusher. If Suggs comes back 100%, we would have him and Doom reaping the benefits of a great secondary. Our D-line is pretty good already, and we usually add a mid to late round pick to that each year. If VH3 and Smith are shutting down the #1 and #2 WRs, coverage sacks and turnovers will happen, both of which are areas we have to improve if we want to win games. We already have a pretty good run defense. Pass rushing can be fixed with healthy players, a mid round draft pick or FA/cap casualty, and an improved secondary making the opposing QB hold on to the ball. VH3 and Smith on the outside, Webb roaming the field at safety, and a solid nickel CB covering the slot, has the potential to elevate our defense to a top 5 defense and take a lot of pressure off of our offense. At the end of the day, I just hope we don't go Stanley if he is still there at #6. I just don't think that he would make a bigger impact on our offense's success than VH3/Bosa/Ramsey/Buckner would have on our defense's success. Better coverage usually generates more sacks, more turnovers, better field position for the offense, more time to rest by getting off the field faster, and fewer points allowed. Flacco staying upright and healthy is important, but as the Broncos showed, elite coverage and pass rushing can make up for terrible QB play. Which would come in handy with Flacco since he is inconsistent during the regular season. When he's playing great, teams will get crushed. When he is having a bad game, our defense will keep it close or win it for us. Getting an elite CB or pass rusher in FA is rare and very costly. Getting a veteran LT from FA/cap casualty that will be good enough until one develops via mid/late round picks is much more common, and usually much cheaper. Flacco hasn't gotten to the point where he can carry a subpar defense, who knows if he ever will, and I don't think Stanley is going to be the magic piece of the puzzle that turns Flacco into an MVP candidate. But we do know that an elite defense can make up for inconsistent/subpar QB play.

@verified I don't know what draft coverage you are watching, but ESPN has shown footage on every single one of our players.