thecommish

Raiders are scary right now.... (as long as Carr is healthy)

I agree Howard might not be the right move, but what do you say to not having a single reliable te that can block and catch? -Pitta is not durable, cant block, is overrated as a receiver, and handicaps predictability when on the field. -Gilmore and Williams(bust) couldn't even get on the field last year........ -And Watson is old, coming off injury and probably gone - And Waller is nothing And I'm not saying cut anyone besides Watson, or necc. draft Howard, but our TE group went from "being the best in the league"-(Gilmore's genius claim last year), to being sad and completely unreliable. Sizzlingdoom.... I am not as ready to suggest that we don't have a single reliable TE. I agree that we probably don't have a very complete TE (outside of Ben Watson but we don't know what he has left and how healthy he is) We do have a sure handed TE in Pitta who should be a year healthier. We do have a very good TE in Gilmore who can block and has shown the ability to move the chains. I am not ready to give up on him bc he was injured. (Gronk, Julius Thomas, Antonio Gates, Ladarius Green, Eric Ebron, Tyler Eifert, Jimmy Graham, Charles Clay, Vern Davis, and more have all missed significant playing time in their careers and many of them even last season. That don't mean that I wouldn't take any one of them) Gilmore has shown that he has ability but got injured last season. That happens. Lets see if he is healthy and can take the next step. We have every reason to believe that he can. Maxx has ability but his body was not NFL ready and he needed to add strength. He now has two seasons under his belt and his body has changed. I am not sure that I am quite ready to write him off yet either. Waller... showed flashes of high end ability last season and flashes of why he may never live up to his potential... but changing positions is tough / doing it the NFL is crazy. The learning curve is steep and he does have a very high ceiling. This year should mean marked improvement for him as he has a year experience at the new position. Boyle..... TBH he looked better then Gilmore but he is a risk bc of his PED use. If he can stay on the field... he has shown the ability to not just block but move the chains. He will fight for those tough yards and he brings an attitude to that offense. Problem is... with such a full house at TE will he really get a chance ( and without a move to Fullback or Hback- I don't think he will). Just too risky but not a bad player. I think our biggest problem at TE is Joes reliance on the check down and his unwillingness stand in the pocket and go through his progressions. He wants to hurry up and dump the ball off to Pitta. (before Pitta even gets into his routes). This is a QB issue (and probably and OL issue) more then a TE issue. We have weapons and versatility at TE. We have old guys with experience and young guys with ability We have question marks sure but we have depth and I would still rank our TE corps in the top 10 in the NFL. If we are top ten in a position group (and very possibly higher) I not sure that Rd 1 is where you add to that group. Unless your team is stacked and has no other needs. That's not the case with the 2017 Ravens. I'm looking at Barnett, Davis, or a trade down. I would not be mad if we picked Howard though. There are maybe a single handful of tight ends that are difference makers in the NFL. Howard would step in day 1 and be 1. Calling our te core a top 10 one in the NFL is kinda laughable. It has the potential to be very good, but potential is all it's been. All we had on the field last year was an overrated pass catcher who can't block at all, Pitta. Not a real tight end. All the other guys from our "top 10" position group were either, suspended, hurt, "not strong enough"- our second round pick isn't strong enough in his second year in the league. That says something and is incredibly sad. I was excited about our te group last year, then it ended up being one of the very weakest groups on the team and a handicap for the team at that. Just thinking about it if we did go Howard, you still don't have to give up on people. Howard is absurd. Say with our picks we went, Howard, Pass rusher, corner, lineman....and so, and didn't really add a high pick wr. Then, if Gilmore would get his butt on the field, this "2 te" set sounds great.: Wallace and Pitta out wide, with Gilmore and Howard as te's, and Dixon in the backfield (once he gets back). - That would be a dynamic and versatile passing and running set up. All in all, it's not about potential, it's about proving it. And our te group was a serious weak spot on this team last year. "top 10 in a position group"??? Really? Cmon man. And please don't try to back that up with Pitta's check down stats. We all know stats don't tell the true story I think that Pitta check down stats is a bigger QB issue then a TE issue. Name 10 teams who have a better TE group. I really can NOT. I think I can come up with 6 legitimately. Heck... I will even say that I think we at least have the # 1 TE group in our conference. I think it legitimately is a top 10 group - I could make an argument for 6 possibly 7 teams having a better TE corps but thats it. I just think our TE group is deep with experience, talent, youth and diversity. Were they healthy? No Watson missed the season, Pitta was coming off of two season ending injuries, Maxx was put on IR, Gilmore was also, Boyle was suspended most of the year. That is unlucky (with the exception of Boyle) But throughout the NFL many TEs missed many games 1. Gronk missed half the season as he always does. Martellus Bennett missed a few games and yet most people would agree that was the # 1 TE group in the NFL 2. Eric Ebron for the Lions has shown to be very talented but has missed significant games in both of his two NFL seasons 3. Tyler Eifert....same 4. Jimmy Graham...same 5. Julius Thomas same (or worse) 6. Ladarius Green (same or worse) 7. Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry 8. Cameron Brate (Same) 9. Vernon Davis (same) 10. Jordan Reed 11. Gary Barnridge 12. Zach Ertz (IDK... I think all of these guys have spent significant time on the injured list. I wouldnt write them off). In fact some like Gates and Gronk, Jimmy Graham and others seem to come back stronger every year). Watson missed the season that dont make him horrible. Same as Gilmore or even Maxx. I think injuries are normal at the TE position... now that our group is healthy we are one of the most talented and deepest units in the NFL.

in a league with a type cap limit which is always eaten up in large part by QBs - No team can afford to overstock any position. 1.Watson 2. Pitta 3. Gilmore 4. Waller 5. Maxx - 6. Boyle Even if we cut Watson and released Waller or Maxx (which I dounbt) that would still leave us with 3 TEs and I just dont see us drafting a 5th TE in round 1. OJ is a great talent but not the right move for us. If Andrew Luck or another top tier QB prospect came out this draft - even if they would be an upgrade we dont go out and get them; We have a franchise QB- Drafting another franchise QB would be a wasted draft pick (Even if they became the starter) then we would have a ton of dead money and we would waste a previous pick. Maxx -and Crocket are high draft picks and we cannot afford to over stock one position and leave the cupboards bare in other spots.... This is what the Browns and other cellar dwellers do.

Agreed- there is a ton of talent and at the skill positions (which is rare) the nice thing is that this is not a top seven this year but realistically a to 20

Agreed...at this point the market seems minimal for JC but there is no denying that the guy is talents and can be the type of home run threat (the type that we are looking for). He is brittle (but so is Pitta and Jimmy). Plus JC would NOT have to carry the load. With West -Dixon and Woodhead.... JC would really only need to be that home run threat for us. He would make our offense more dangerous immediately! I like it!

"IF" Browns would take Flacco &our 16th for their 1st&33rd we could FIX defense and sign Kapernick or even Cutler as stopgap REBUILD decent team. Flacco & our 16th,74th for 1st&12th would be DREAM scenario. DO you really want to face the Browns 2x with Flacco at QB and Gordon, Coleman and more at WR? They would no longer be just counted as a win for us. Especially if we had Kappernick at QB. I get Cutler but he is so undependable that his contribution in 8 games or less would virtually make Mallet our starter.... do you really think we would be better off there? I get it... I dont like Joes ridiculous contract but a trade like that would set us back 5 years. Teams without franchise QBs just DO NOT win in this league. That is why the Browns are the Browns. Now it would be different if we could trade Joe for a Phillip Rivers or Joe for Matt Stafford..... etc. Not saying that they are better then Joe but they are franchise Qbs who we could continue to build around... Problem is why would those teams trade those guys to us for Joe... take on Joes contract and still give something else up?????

I think 6-3 headed into the break is realistic.... 5-4 is very possible but 4-5 would be unacceptable. IF we go 6-3 before the break... 11-5 is a very realistic expectation. 12-4 would be lofty but possible. 10-6 would be the minimum expectation. We should not sleep the Jags (great young defense and a lot of offensive weapons). The Texans will be much improved also. They will have one of the best defenses in the NFL this year and they do have weapons at WR! They will not be an easy out. The Titans are another team that could scare us.... they have a very good OL with a very solid defense and a great RB. The titans will not be an easy out this year. The Dolphins are supposed to be much improved this year also... The Lions - Bears and Colts should be wins. The Browns are never an easy out for us but need to also be counted as wins. That would give us 5 wins just right there The formula remains the same as always however. Win the divisional games and home games. If we have the best record in the division vs divisional opponents... and win the home games we are sitting pretty. In fact if we won all of our divisional games and home games we would be 11-5. If we split with the sqeelers and won the rest of our divisional games but won on the road vs Minn and Jax we would only need to win 3 of the next 5 home games vs (Chi,Miami,Tex, Lions and Colts) to go 10-6 In other words with Browns 2x, Cincy (split) Pitt (Split), wins over Minn, Jax, Chi, Miami, Det, Hou, and Indy) that would leave us at 11 wins Additional Win vs the Titans, and could leave us with 12 wins.. Leaving us with 2 throw away games on the road vs the Raiders and Pack... even a split there would leave us with the top seed. and 13 wins. We always find ways to make it interesting and drop games we shouldnt drop (Tenn, Hou, or a Browns, Bengals game) SO I am calling our season record. 11-5 or 10-6. 10 -6 would be a little bit disappointing.

1 thought: 2 TE sets and a healthy rotation

well add in ILB to that needs list. We need to land a WR and ILB in FA... Maybe even a S- We need to re-sign Ducasse and then look to draft S-Gibrill Peppers CB OT WR RB

Proud of you Zach Orr. Even when nobody believed in you and you came in here as an UFA... you never doubted. You proved everyone wrong and that is a testament to your character. Your type of character is rare and it will be missed. Good luck in the next chapter. God Bless!

We need to trim the fat. 1. Webb is not earning his contract 2. Elvis has not earned his contract for 2 years 3. Sharece owes us money 4. Hurst owes flacco some money 5. Powers / Arrington/ Elam / have never earned their contract 6. Zuttah is beyond his ability to play to the level that we are playing him 7. McClellan is a high paid ST player 8. Talifero will never see the field again (I could even throw Kamar in that list) Thats ten players that need trimmed Then there are probably a couple that has earned it but we will not be able to retain them 1. Brandon Williams 2. Rick Wagner I would love to find a way to keep both but I just do not see it. Fortunately we found Pierce and Alex Lewis who could probably step right in Then there are a few who are still under friendly contracts who we need to really develop and get more out of or they will be on the top list in a season or two. 1. KC 2. Perriman 3. Maxx 4. Cannady 5. CMoore 6. ZSmith 7. CDavis 8. Kafusi (but that may not be fair to list him yet) 9. Willie Henry 10. Camp * but he has to stay healthy to have a chance to develop him Think of it this way... that is 20 plus players on the team that are not playing up to expectations and two that are that we will probably lose (along with SSS who retired) I can add in that Joe is not playing up to his contact and that is 24 roster spots who under performed or who we will need to find replacements for. Thats over half of the roster... We have a lot of work to do in the off- season if we really expect to right the ship. I still think that Ozzie, Harbs and company are the right people for the job but they have their work cut out for them... believe that!

The OC / HC abandoned the running game way too quickly this year but maybe bc they know the personnel that we have and they have little faith in their ability. Thats probably what Harbs has been calling for a RB who can be a game breaker since the season ended. Dixon and West showed good potential as a pass catching / short yardage back but they also seemed to struggle with consistency and vision. I think this had a lot to do with the coaches lack of trust in the run game. I would like to see us add a game breaker at the RB position and get back to our mauling identity.

YUP, we need a new Center... Urschel who has been the backup... Could he be a replacement? I don't think Urschel should even be in discussion since a 4th round rookie basically took his job. I think he is decent depth, but they need better players than Urschel on the line. I am with you... I think Urschel makes a solid G and very suitable back up at G... but he has struggled at C and struggles in front of the QB is never good! We need a quality C either via the Draft of FA

i like the swap; Roman for Castillo but losing Fraser hurts- In fact.... I really dont know how we can retain dean pees with out LF. I think Pees improvement this season was mostly due to the addition of LF.... and even with him with had a collapse in the final quarter and maybe even final half of the year. Would love to see us replace Pees (maybe keep the Bills / Ravens swap going and bring Rex back) or even his brother. IDK anyone other then DP... I dont think we can survive another year with him heading our D. The D has under performed since he got here and we have not been able to close a single team out over the past 3 seasons.... In fact over the last three years nearly every loss we had saw the defense not be able to close a team out! How long can that continue? SMH

Waller is fast. With the O-line back Joe will have time to use that. Same with Wallace and maybe Perriman if he can learn to get separation. Looking forward to seeing Waller light the sqeelers up! He is a mistmatch and their defense is vulnerable to TE's