AwakenTheDemon

Long time, no see my BR.com friends. Going through some of the pages here, it brings to mind my gut reaction to us drafting Torrey Smith a few years back. Some of you may remember how much I absolutely hated the pick. I tored it apart, and said how much of a wasted pick it would be. I then went on to admit I was wrong and eat my crow. I will admit that I was furious at the first pick, and got more depressed after the second. Brooks eased my pain, then Crockett caused me more. Yeah, it stung to not draft the top free safety in the draft when he fell to us at 17. It stung to not draft an offensive tackle at all, and it stung to not draft a receiver until trading back in to get one in the 7th. But let's really think about this for a minute, after I did, I'm not going to lie, I felt a lot better about our draft. Initially, I saw Mosley as the absolute "wrong" pick and as someone dumping on my favorite pick from last year's draft, Arthur Brown. I mean, Haha Clinton-Dix was sitting there, and Darian Stewart was the current starting free safety... someone who got dumped by the Rams. So yeah... I was down when I heard CJ Mosley's name called. But when push comes to shove, no matter how great Daryl Smith has been and will be, he's not young and I highly doubt he plays the entirety of his new four year deal with us. Once Smith calls it a day, who do we really have inside? Brown, Bynes and McClellan. I like McClellan, and I like Bynes, but not as starters. Now, Mosley is a tremendous inside backer: Smart, instictive, strong, and a great tackler. He isn't quick, so to speak, but he reads what the offense is doing very well, and can play down hill phenominally. Quite honestly, he's exactly what we need for the future to carry on what Ray Lewis brought to this team, and Daryl Smith continued: An intelligant leader in the middle who can tackle, and tackle well. Plus, I see Mosley as being a more vocal leader than Daryl, who leads more by his play (not that I'm taking anything away from him). If he stays healthy, that spot is locked up for the long term. When Daryl either retires or is released, Arthur Brown should be more than ready to step up and play next to CJ, and would be the perfect compliment, style wise. You'd have the vocal, do-it-all, thumper in Mosley, and the quick, rangy, excellent-in-coverage linebacker in Brown. If both men live up to their potential, the Ravens are set for the future. Now was Mosley the expected pick, and best value/need pick? No, I don't think so, and I think Ozzie took a huge risk passing on Clinton-Dix and Pryor (although I wasn't really sold on Pryor as a true free safety, but I digress). Yeah, I think the pick had a ton of influence from Ozzie's Crimson (tide) Glasses, but I mean, Haha was a 'Bama player too, so... yeah. But in the long term of the defense, and what he thought he could land in the next two rounds, he made it happen. I honestly don't think he foresaw Jimmie Ward going on day one, I know I didn't, and he was no doubt a day two target. Now, about Jernigan. This one made my head hurt from the throbbing veins in it. I mean, I don't see him as quite a scheme fit, as most of us probably do. He's not really big enough to be a nose tackle, and I don't see a constant pass rush ability to excel at defensive end. There's no questioning his run stuffing ability, and the great potential though. And let's not forget that Arthur Jones was not always a dominate pass rusher, but that man could set the edge and stop the run like no one else. I think I could very well see Jernigan taking over for Jones as that run stopping defensive end (leaving Ngata at nose tackle), or adding some healthy bulk and taking over the middle himself. I still have some faith in Brandon Williams being a great nose tackle in the future, he just needs time to grow. Jernigan's value in the second was ridiculous too, as he very well could have/should have been a first round pick, but his diluted sample began his fall. I know that may turn some of you off, as well as his maturity issues. But I think the kid genuinely wants to be great, and has the ability to. Maturity issues are something that can rectify themselves quickly once he gets in a professional locker room, especially with a coach like John. I hate throwing around the "Our locker room will fix him!" excuse, but we've all seen Harbs put guys in his dog house for less (Ellerbe showboating on a pre-season defensive touchdown, anyone?). Timmy was just another pick that was even more about the immediate/long term future of our defense as it was about this season. If his play improves to his already impressive college level, and he dedicates himself to being great, this team is going to have a dominate defensive end/tackle for the present and future. I'm not going to lie, Terrence Brooks saved the draft for me. In my personal mock, I had us grabbing him in the third, even though part of me was unsure he'd be there. But this was the gamble Ozzie played, and honestly... he got quite a bit lucky that Brooks was still sitting there, because this was a few thin draft for the type of free safety we need. Brooks really could have gone higher, and could start day one and I'd be fine with it. The team wanted a center field type safety, and Brooks truly is one of the best. Yeah, he left some plays on the table, interception-wise, at times at FSU, but the guy was always around the ball, whether it was a run or pass. He's fast. He's quick. He's athletic. And he should compliment Elam's skill set perfectly. This pick took all the sting of Clinton-Dix away for me. The value was there. The talent was there. The need was there. My favorite pick. The best pick. And the pick that started making me feel comfortable. I'm not going to go into great detail about the rest of the picks (aside from one), but I want to touch on all of them. Gillmore went higher than I think he should have, and I was taken aback when he was taken. But we did need a tight end, and he has the great size, and should be a solid all-around tight end, in both receiving and blocking. I doubt he'll ever stretch the defense downfield, but that's not what we need. He can block right away, and should be pretty good in the red zone, and those short/intermediate catches. Not going to lie, there were better players on the board, and I feel like it was somewhat of a reach. But a need was addressed and the long term potential is there. I feel similarily about Brent Urban, he's got amazing size and potential, but I feel as if he's a bit raw to make an immediate impact. There's no doubt the guy's huge, and at very least I see him as being a great rotational guy. But I do feel as if he has the potential to be our future starter at defensive end. It's way too early to tell, but I feel as if we've drafted our defensive line of the future these past two years, and I'm okay with that. In a few years after Ngata and Canty have moved on or retired, I could see us rolling with Jernigan-Williams-Urban. But again, it's too early to tell. Like many of us I'm sure, I didn't see much of Taliaferro in college, and you can only go by highlight reels for so much, but he's the pick I'm most "eh" and unsure about. I can understand what the team saw in him, he's a tough runner who won't be a complete liability when he needs to block, but I feel as if we made the "wrong" pick if we're talking about immediate return with this pick. I understand we've had some great success with small school prospects before (Webb, Flacco to name a few recent ones) and that being from a small school doesn't exactly mean the pro game is "too big" immediately for players, but I think in Lorenzo's case, it may be. Some touches every now and then should help, but if we have to lean on him a lot this year, it'll be rough, but I think he could develop into a servicable relief back. But who knows right now. Urschel, I think is somewhat an underrated pick. He wasn't the tackle we need, but I think we landed a low risk, high reward interior offensive linesman who could allow to cut the cord with AQ Shipley and/or Reid. This is a ridiculously intelligent guard who can also kick inside to center. I don't see him being here to eventually push Osemele to tackle and take over at left guard, but I think he could be an extremely valuable reserve linesman, who just may be able to be a solid starter if that opportunity ever arises. Regardless, he was a great pick for the future of the offensive line. Wenning is probably my second least favorite pick from a personal standpoint, but one I understand. Tyrod's time in Charm City looks to be coming to an end, and I definitely think we can upgrade at back up quarterback. Wenning would fit more in line to what we'd need under center if that unfortunate day every came. He doesn't have the arm strength of Joe (but not many do), and I think his deep ball isn't overly accurate, but he's more of a drop back and pass quarterback in line with our offense than the mobile dual threat Tyrod. I could honestly see this year being the first that we've carried three quarterbacks in a while, before we move on to just Flacco/Wenning. Campanaro is a huge sleeper pick. The team loved him when they met him, and I can see why. Yeah, he doesn't have the name recognition of a Watkins/Evans/Lee/Beckham or even Latimor/Moncrief/Landry/Bryant, but I can really say I think the sky is the limit for the guy. His build and skill set are extremely similar to Wes Welker and he brings what we'd need to the passing game. Before everyone jumps all over me, I'm NOT saying he's going to be the next Welker and throw up consistent 100 catch, 1000+ yard seasons. All I'm saying is he reminds me of what Welker brings to an offense. I mean, he missed the majority of last season, and still broke school records. I don't think he'll be an immediate contributor, but he has the natural ability and head for the game to really be the next late round receiver who broke out. Yeah, my hopes are high for Campanaro, I really think he can tear it up as a slot receiver in this league after some fine tuning. And lastly, the reason why I feel so much better about this draft in retrospect comes from, literally, one 22 year old man named James Hurst. Yes, the undrafted free agent we signed from North Carolina. This guy should have been a 1st-2nd round offensive tackle pick, if only he hadn't broke his leg. He's huge. He's strong. And he tears it up on the edge. Remember, he's one of the few tackles who held their ground against Clowney in college (no, I know he didn't always hold him in check, and didn't always do it alone, but he handled him a lot better than most of the tackles he embarrassed). We got a monster steal with Hurst, who I really want to be in immediate consideration for the right tackle job. He'd be an upgrade over Oher (hold your laughter) and I think would perform much better than Wagner. He's the tackle we needed in the draft, but I understand where Ozzie was coming from in saying he didn't want to reach for an offensive tackle that he felt wasn't value for the pick he was using. Obviously GMs saw something in Morgan Moses than most, and his drop began. I hated us passing him up over and over, but again, Hurst makes me feel so much better about the draft as a whole. Call me silly, but it did. So for all of us calling for Ozzie to get his head checked, or retire/pass the torch to DeCosta, remember that Ozzie did what he felt was best for the team immediately and for the future. He wanted to set the defense up for the future. Were the first two picks somewhat luxury picks instead of addressing some big needs? Well, yeah. Did Ozzie get lucky with some players being available whe I felt like they should have been long gone (Brooks, Campanaro)? Sure. But even the best talent evaluators get lucky. I mean, look at the team we all hate and Martavis Bryant? They needed receiver help, went with some luxury picks and rolled the dice on receiver help. Colbert and company got lucky and Bryant fell. I think we got some immediate starters (Mosley, Jernigan, Brooks), some future stars (again, Mosley and Brooks), and some extremely solid depth. There were some confusing picks, and picks I don't agree with. But this was not as bad a draft as some fans are clamoring it to be. I know this was a huuuuuuge post, and I don't blame most of you guys for not reading it all, But I've been gone for a while, and I just could not truncate my thoughts without leaving so much that I feel would gut what I wanted to say. (I don't agree with immediate draft grades, because even "sure fire" picks can bust, and "nobodies" in the later rounds can shine. We'll never know until they get on the field and play for a few years. But if I had to give grades based on need/value/talent, and people wanted to know, here it is: LB CJ Mosley: A DE/DT Timmy Jernigan: B+ FS Terrence Brooks: A+ TE Crockett Gillmore: C DE Brent Urban: C+ RB Lorenzo Taliaferro: D+ OG/C John Urschel: B- QB Keith Wenning: C WR Michael Campanaro: A- Good start. Lackluster middle. Solid ending.) Feel free to agree/disagree/rip me a new one. God knows it wouldn't be the first time people who vehemently disagreed with anything I said.

Ziggler has really been growing on me a lot truthfully. I still wish we could have seen a Shield beat down this week though. With them possibly getting the tag belts from Team Hell No, though, it could be worth the build up. God knows who'd be challenging them for the belts though, since the tag division has gone back to hell and Team Hell No is really the only face tag team on the roster, and they need to split for Bryan's benefit. Other than them, the most accomplished tag team is Rhodes Scholars.

And I was there to experience it all, commercial free.

I'm not gonna lie, I hate Hines, but it was kind of funny reading his interview about the scene and saying how he normally smiles while he's running, but that time he was screaming for his life.

TDKR was better than TAS, if only for one reason. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in some skin tight leather. Which is saying a lot, considering I do love me some Emma Stone. Seriously though (well, more seriously as I was serious about the previous statement), I did enjoy TDKR more. I love Nolan's Batman universe (it saddens me that this is the end), Bane's one of my favorite villains, and, most importantly, I got to see Hines Ward run for his life and Heinz Field blown apart. TDK wrapped everything up with the series, and had a great dark, edgy tone as one has come to expect from Nolan's Batman. Without spoiling or giving anything away, I'll be vague with my next statement. The only thing that bugged me was the cop's true identity. It felt tacked on and an afterthought just to make viewers go "a-ha!". It had no impact on the plot and could have been left out. The one thing that did irk me was Bane's voice. It sounded like a old wiseman, not a brute who dominates both mentally and physically. Personally, I just did not find it menacing at all, which I was hoping. I did like The Amazing Spiderman though. Every cast member played their part well, and it had Denis Leary.

I'd love to see Cena either lose the MITB or turn heel. But I have no faith in either scenario happening. This is the biggest stage thus far in WWE's history, and Cena is the golden boy who also happens to lay golden eggs. They'll milk last summer's Cena/Punk Feud again this summer, with Cena yet again winning on Raw and Punk getting his rematch on Summerslam. It is what it is.

Ugh, soo... Raw's MITB Match was probably one of the worst I can think of. It's the opposite of everything the match is supposed to be. Sure, it may sound corny, but the essence of the match is as a avenue for the young, promising stars who are on the cusp of the next level, that extra push over the hill. It could even be seen as a shortcut, so to speak, to the strap, although I don't think that phrase fits correctly. Therefore, putting strictly former WWE Champions in the match, it nullifies that point. What makes it even worse, is you have three men who really have no real business in a ladder match in Show, Kane, and Cena. Sure, Show and Kane have both been in the match (Kane's even won it), but they do not fit the pace and style, so to speak, of the match. You want to see swift, quick people in that match, while Kane and Show are very slow and deliberate. That's not to say that they can't be involved in a great MITB match, but they have to have the appropriate talent around them, which they really didn't with only five members in this match. The Miz was a good last minute addition, but his stance as a former champion also makes it against the grain. The best outcome would have been for either Jericho or The Miz to win it. Sure, Jericho's feuded with Punk for the belt since he came back, but the stance of having an ace in his pocket that he can cash in any time perfectly fits a heel, sly, Jericho. Let's also not forget that Jericho's never actually won the match, even though he's very indebted into it's history. The absolute best outcome would have been The Miz. Sure, he's languished in mediocrity since his title reign ended, but that would make him at least somewhat fit the mold of a Mr. Money in the Bank. A young star who needs that push. It doesn't set well with me that The Miz would need that same thing to get back over the hump, but then again, creative doesn't seem to know how to handle him that well. Instead, what do we get? Cena with the briefcase. Cena, a 12 time world champion. Not only that, but having him with the briefcase is most likely going to make for a boring cash in. Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect, Mr. Clean, he's not going to surprisingly cash in on a vulnerable Punk, or whoever is champion. What we'll most likely get is Cena coming out at the beginning of a show and letting the world know that he's going to CASH IN ON HIS MONEY IN THE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP CONTRACT.....TONIGHT! There's, most likely, not going to be that suspense of hearing the MITB winner's music hit after the incumbent champ is broken and vulnerable. Cena is everything that the match was not made for, which means the match itself was, well, basically meaningless. Someone's who already crammed down our throats every year did not need another avenue to do that same thing, at least in my opinion. The WWE Title picture had been incredibly strong and interesting without Cena, however now he has that "shortcut" that he never needed. However, it's obvious that if Cena's not involved in the title picture, creative has no idea what to do with him, which only leads to worse Cena moments, like his "fudgin' terrible, childish jokes. I'm fully preparing myself to see Cena cash in his contract at the 1,000th episode of Raw. It's practically set up for the WWE's Golden Boy to win the gold on Vince and Raw's most important night. </ my two cents >

Score, tickets to yet another Pittsburgh edition of Raw on May 14th.

He did indeed "violate the wellness policy" and served out his suspension. The release talk was mostly rumors based upon how poorly he's been received in the locker room, and the sloppy matches he's been having. I don't really know why they're throwing out this Sin Cara Vs. Sin Cara idea.

They are indeed bringing Mistico back as Sin Cara... to wrestle Hunico as Sin Cara. So, we'd get another Imposter feud between both Sin Cara's. The feud makes no sense to me, because I really don't think the common fan who doesn't go reading dirtsheets would even know it's a different person donning the mask. Plus, how are you going to flesh out a feud, no less an imposter feud, when neither man speaks?