Baltimore Ravens Forums

Why We Need New Receivers.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:46:06 +0000

I keep seeing people say how we need to be consistent. Keep the receivers we have, that we have depth and talent. But the truth is, this is not always true. Take a look at some of the top receiving cores... You have a big receiver who will go up there, very reliable, the QB's security blanket. Then you have the very fast guy. Shifty, etc, the deep threat. Along with this the slot receiver and what not. The Ravens true options at receiver are:

Boldin
Torrey
Evans
Doss. Doss is a stretch, but one thing I find my self good at is being realistic. In the off-season last year we were expecting Jah Reid to start, Oher to take LT, Boldin and Torrey starting at number 1 and 2, Foxworth to start and be amazing while Jimmy Smith took over...And this didn't work out the way any of us expected. I'm not just gonna look at doss and say he is a young boldin. He is not. Sorry. Time to be real.

At this stage in their careers, Boldin-8th Evans-7th, the drops ARE a problem. Your hands don't usually get worse as you age. Evans had I think 2 or 3 drops in very few targets. Boldin led the team in drops. This is an issue, especially with how much money these guys are getting.

To be honest, the only receiver I am proud of is Torrey. He, in only his rookie season, played with more experience than the veterans at times, and showed progression on shorter routes. There is a reason why Ozzie said the receiver position needs to be addressed. Torrey is the deep threat we got that. But Evans, unless he takes a pay cut, is not worth keeping on the team. Even if you had Torrey and Evans running deep routes while putting Boldin in the slot, if Boldin is not open and the corners drop back, you have a big problem. Flacco will not know/have (any)where to go. HE NEEDS a big receiver. You can't just expect him to throw to Boldin when he needs help, because Boldin hasn't been 100% reliable despite how good he is. PLUS he is getting older...

I think it is almost as important as the O-line to the offense, that a big receiver is attained. Whether it be free agency or the draft. Ravens have a lot of cap room. Remember that about I think like 14 million or so a year is being taking up by Ed and Ray alone. You could easily sign Flacco, Rice, Grubbs, the etc. and one big name free agent (not big name like V-Jax, but someone of the sort) for maybe 3-4 mil this year and give them the big portions for the next few years.

Remember, those 40,50,60 million conracts usually go from 4-6 years. The Ravens have now, and will have later, cap space.

This is all just my opinion. As much as I know about how important consistency is. You have to be real and realize that 2 receivers who combine to about 11 million dollars in cap space, who drop balls, is not helpful. Lee Evans could be great, but cutting him for that 4-5million and getting a new receiver (extremely likely) is not unrealistic, a pipe dream, whatever. It is very very doable.

Marcus McNeil Might Be A FA

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:01:12 +0000

Chargers are expected to waive him who knows maybe we could sign him for cheap since he was injured last year.
http://www.utsandieg...have-room-move/.

Let's Look At This Rationally...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:31:11 +0000

Okay I know the draft is fun because fans get to debate who the Ravens could pick up
but I'd like to give a rational point of view about receivers.

First, Joe needs consistency with his WRs... he can't keep getting new WRs every other year... that is not going to help him or the offense grow. Consistency is very important for a team as a whole. Ask the Giants owner when he referred to us as successful franchise for that reason.

Second, we all should know that with Cam as our OC... plugging in a different receiver is not going to make much of a difference... unless it is an extremely tall physical proven receiver like Megatron or Fitz who can literally catch anything and everything... which lets be real we aren't getting either of them.

Third, we need to give Evans some slack..... if we give Joe slack because of Cam... then we should have the same courtesy for our WRs... of course minus the drops. Cam rarely used 3 WRs sets... and when he did Pitta was usually the 3rd receiver... so really Evans was barely on the field... kind of hard to make an impact when you are only apart of limited snaps.

He is big, fast & showed he can make some incredible catches when he got the opportunity. Yes there were times that they tried to force it to him at the end of the regular season & turnovers happened and of course the fact that he relaxed on the biggest catch of his life... but I think he can be successful here with a full offseason compared to anyone else who would want to be our 3rd receiver. He will probably be the most motivated player on the field to help us get back to the ultimate goal.

He just needs to be apart of the game plan... you know actually be on the field to do some damage.

I still think Torrey & Evans on the sides & Boldin in the slot would be a deadly combination. Maybe Cam has his reasons why he didn't use that this season but I'm hoping he gets his head out of his [profanity deleted] & actually does it.

Sorry if there is another thread about this or if I repeated anyone... just wanted to get my opinion out there about it

Ricky Williams To Retire

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:12:56 +0000

As per Adam Schefter via Twitter.

List Of FA WRs Is Deep

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:22:24 +0000

If the Ravens are looking to upgrade the WR position as Ozzie said they will be looking to do, this year is the deepest the free agency class of WR has been in a while...check this list out, here are some of the top guys available

(in no particular order)
Vincent Jackson
Dwayne Bowe
Wes Welker
Reggie Wayne
Desean Jackson
Marques Colston
Steve Johnson
and many more

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2012/fa/wr.html

Now I don't know if Ozzie is looking to sign a WR that cost less or maybe find another one in the draft somewhere, but this year is a good one to pick up a WR in free agency...

Just Some Thoughts

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:14:25 +0000

Don't get much of a chance with my busy schedule to post as often as I used to, or would like to for that matter so I'm just gonna roll everything that's been brewing for the past few weeks into one topic burrito if you will.

First and foremost, I am absolutely proud of what this team was able to accomplish this past season, winning the AFC North title, Sweeping the division, and returing to the AFC Championship for the 2nd time in 4 years. That's the silver lining. in all of this. If you look at the pre-2008 Raven's franchise, and remember back to some of those years that we went 5-11, missed the playoffs and were just flat out disappointing you'd appreciate where this franchise is now. Putting not only a winner, but a Super Bowl contender on the field EVERY year is an almost impossible feat to accomplish in today's NFL. So, kudos go out to Ozzie,Harbaugh,Bisciotti ect.. for making the right moves year in and year out to put the best team possible on the field.

Secondly, The AFCC. We all saw it. Our hearts were broken. So I won't go into a HUGE amout of detail here, but looking back on it, I just don't think that it was meant to be. Our defense was nothing short of HEROIC. Chuck Pagano came into the game with an absolutely genius game plan..they didn't try to "confuse" brady. They just sat back, saw what the Patriots wanted to do, gave up the run to them but didn't let Brady,Welker, and the TE's go crazy. Geniouis. Another thing, Flacco's pass to Lee Evans was probably one of the best throws that any QB in the NFL could have thrown. It wasn't good, it was perfect. Look back at some of our most dissapointing losses over the past few years. We lost to NE in '09 on a Mark Clayton dropped pass. We lost to the Steelers in the regular season last year on an Ed Dickson dropped pass. We lost to the Steelers in the Divisional round last year after Boldin dropped the go ahead TD late in the 4th, then the game was officially over when Houshmazadeh dropped yet another perfectly thrown ball on 4th down. We need more talent in the WR pool.

Third I'll go into some needs going into next year.
Offense- O-LINE. The Ravens CAN NOT continue to win or expect to make a run at the SB with out some more size at Center. I love Matt Birk, he's a great guy, smart player, but he gets used and abused hard by large DT's. The Ravens haven't been able to be effective running the ball between the tackles for two seasons now, and it's gotta get fixed. Also, Mckinney was a decent stop gap at LT. I wouldn't be unhappy to have him back for another year, but the Ravens have to find the franchise LT very soon, because Oher just isn't it.

WR- We absolutely positively need another outside receiver, maybe Evans stays on the cheap? IMO the Ravens need to look long and hard at some of these guys like Williams and Doss. Anquan Boldin at this point is what we need to play the slot. He just doesn't have the speed to get open in man coverage on the outside. Torrey Smith was a big surprise, but when he doesn't have the outright speed advantage against a corner, he can't get open either..needs to work on his route skills. IMO the two biggest things that will help Joe Flacco will be WR's getting open, and improved run/pass blocking.

Defense- I am absolutely BURSTING with excitement about our 3 CB's. Lardarious Webb is going to be a star, Jimmy Smith IMO will benefit greatly from having a full offseasn with the team, and Carey Williams..impressive. I'm done with Zibikowski though, guy can't cover..and he somehow forgot how to tackle over the past few years. I think that maybe he needs to just go ahead and turn to boxing full time..it seems that's where his passion truly lies. We are set a SS with Pollard, but really need to start looking hard at where the team is going to go at FS when Reed retires. That brings me to MLB, Ray's coming back. That said, the defense actually looked great with Mclain and Ellerbe both starting so I think they'll be fine, but it's definitely a position that could be improved (after Ray). The rest of the front 7 is good IMO. I can see Kruger being a starter next year, possibly even Mcphee/Kindle. Oh and let's not forget our DPOY!

Special teams- Bye Bye Cundiff.

Misc- I'm really bummed that we lost Pagano so quickly, he did such an amazing job bringing this defense back from what it was during the Mattison years. Hopefully Peas doesn't change too much and understands what a dominant, attacking Ravens defense is truly all about. On the other hand, I'm super psyched that Caldwell is going to be working with Flacco, hopefully he can help Flacco's game get to the next level.

Next year, we'll get our shot at the Giants. We'll get another shot at the Pats. We'll get to show Tebow what a real defense is. We'll get to have a chance at continuing our domination of the Cowboys, there will be another battle between the Ravens and that team just south of us, oh and we'll also be taking on the Cheesesteaks in philly (god I can't wait)!
-Jeep

Matt Birk Takes A Jab At Steelers Fans

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:36:43 +0000

I just read this and thought it was funny, that Matt Birk taking a shot at our rivals haha

Quote

The NFL Man of the Year award went to the veteran Ravens center. He beat out Philip Rivers and Charles Tillman, and he did it by going all-in on encouraging kids to read. His acceptance speech Saturday night at the NFL Honors awards was touching and smart.

"Reading is a skill from which all others follow,'' Birk said. "Mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, baby sitters ... even Steeler fans ... anyone who has instilled the love of reading in a child, this is for you.''

Couldn't have said it better.

- Peter King

Odds To Win 2012 NFL Championship

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:36:19 +0000

i just saw this on espn. there are 3 AFC teams on the list but no Ravens?

Odds:

Patriots 5-1
Packers 11-2
Eagles 6-1
Steelers 6-1
Giants 8-1
Saints 8-1
49ers 10-1
Texans 10-1

~Mili

Daily Player Post And Comments.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:26:18 +0000

Since there won't be much to talk about until the draft around here, I thought it would be a good idea to have a daily post about each Ravens player. The purpose is to give your opinion on that person, their role on the team and his pros/cons as he contributes to the team.

No flame war since everyone's opinion about a player is just that, their opinion! Try to keep the discussion about that player and only that player. No need to discuss who should start over him or who we should get in FA to replace him. Since he's currently a Raven, will talk about his role as a Raven.

Mods if this is a bad idea just lock this thread and I'll move on.
If approved, the first player to be discussed should be the face of the franchise, Ray Lewis!

Will J O Be Elected To 2013 Hall Of Fame

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:36:58 +0000

What is everyones though on JO getting elected to Hall of Fame as a 1st ballot entry.

Flacco Next Season

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:05:42 +0000

I think Flacco will have a break out year next season. Another year under his belt with alot of not so new names anymore. The chemistry can be here next year with the talent and veterans we have. Boldin, Smith, Evans, Pitta, Dickson and Rice. I hope Rice doesnt get targeted on as many pass plays this year. Confuse the opposing D. Evans if he is still here will produce for this team. Him and Smith will put Boldin in his comfortable area. Making him productive too. Hopefully we are balanced with alot of people touching the ball on offense. I would like to use the whole field and make everyone a factor to make defenses thin. I cant wait for next year. Its gonna be special!

Mario Williams Or Calais Campbell

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:49:10 +0000

Mario Williams is a pipe dream but could you imagine!? Sizzle on one side with Williams on the other? Hoooly shizzle!

But I'm leaning more towards Calais Campbell if he's not tagged. He's easily a Top 5 3-4 DE. He's a MONSTER w/the pass rush and he's tremendously athletic for his size: 6'-8'' 300 lbs. Now being that he's a premier 3-4 DE/DT and only 25 y/o...you're talking about some serious cake that's going to have to be forked over. Nowhere near Mario Williams/T-Sizzle $$ range, but still...4-6 mill a year is pricey given our pending free agents. So here's my thought on how it could happen.

For the most part our core is pretty solid. Obviously Ray and Flacco are top priority at this point and they're not going anywhere, they come 1st b4 anything else blah blah blah, and I know our cap space is "limited" but I don't buy into the hype of us being unable to have the cap room needed to make roster moves and get sexy wit it in free agency. Inorder for us to do the sexy FA thing somebody is definitely going to need to restructure/getreleased. On a side note: Ed and Ray Ray --a year left in em if that! Once those 2 retire, you're talking about a LOT of money coming off the books for our younger players. Just for this year Ed is $8.5M against the cap and Ray is right around the $7M area. Those numbers are only going to go up in the coming seasons. So once they "officially" retire, hopefully not for another year - a LOT of cap room will be made available for the bigger contracts we sign NOW, as well as the younger stars who'll be on the up and up. Anyway, just keep in mind that eventually Ed and Ray will be off the books and we're gonna have a fair amount of wiggle room to work with when the inevitable happens. But back to the right now and onto the other players we can live without...

Lets assume that the Ravens are sitting somewhere around ~$107M against the cap in current salaries..not including RFAs/UFAs

My theory is Release/trade/whatever the following players:

CB- Foxy ~$5.6M
WR- Evans ~$3.375M
OT- McKinnie ~$3.2M
CB-Carr ~$2.5
HB-Ricky ~$1.5M
---------------------------
SAVES ~$16M

add in the remaining $6M from unused cap space in 2011...

...and now you're hovering around $85M against the cap or ~$40M available for signing RFAs/UFAs + Calais Campbell.

Of course we're going to have to fill the vacancies we void with new role players but I think between the draft and free agency we can find cheaper if not better talent. I just hope that whatever happens, Ozzie and company will be aggressive in trying to win it all next year. I want more than anything for Ed and Ray to go out on top. At the same time we all know Ozzie is going to manage the future with due diligence and be patient with a well thought out plan. But if at all possible, Calais Campbell is apart of those plans...hopefully our front office strikes quickly b4 eagles get an itch or the redskins decide to wave their magic cap wand and create room for everybody who's anybody.

Just keep Calais Campbell in mind!

How Do You Guys Think We Would Compare To The Giants?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:46:41 +0000

Like the title says, do you guys think we would have won??? I honestly do think we would have beaten them.

I am very happy the PATS lost but come on now. Lets be honest, the pats backed into the SB and everyone outside of MARYLAND knows it. Dam , that was our SB. Kinda sick of busting, RAVENS could have been a dynasty. I mean , we still could but Chances are going to get harder and harder. A team can't keep making the Play offs every yr. Not in our Division. Look at the PATS and their division, Maimi,Bills,Jets. Nuff said.

Bernard Pollard: New Contract?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:52:55 +0000

What is the chance we redo his contract so he retires a Raven? I really want to get his jersey (Patriot-Killer reasons) but i don't want to if he is going to leave us after next year

Flacco's Time In The Pocket

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:06:03 +0000

After watching the Super Bowl, I'm just amazed as how much time typically Manning
and Brady had to throw the ball. At one point Brady could have had a snack near the goal line
before throwing a td pass.

Is Joe really getting this amount of time to throw the ball? Brady's not that mobile.