Bigger Loss For The Team

[Tighthead420]

I am just curious what everyone thinks. I know it's apples to oranges, but just humor me.

I say Reed. Every elite QB in the league has said on many occasions that you must identify where Reed is on the field and NEVER throw there under any circumstances. Manning, Favre, Rivers have all said it (maybe not in as many words). That kind of player makes other teams game plan specifically for him. I just don't think Mason is that type of receiver. Don't get me wrong, I love what Mason has done for the Ravens and I hope he retires a Raven, or even comes back (in a different capacity...to be discussed ad nauseum in the coming months).

Thoughts?

[Bazooka Joe]

I think Mason would be the bigger loss. Reed would be a huge loss, but I think we can overcome both losses and still have a contending team.

We must get younger WRs and Zibby can fill in at safety until we develop another.

[darklight1216]

I'd say that it depends on what moves we make. If Mason retires and we re-sign Clayton and Williams [i]and don't sign anyone else[/i] then Mason's loss would probably be bigger. We already know that the Ravens are good at finding and plugging in defensive players, but offense is another story.

[Bazooka Joe]

[quote name='darklight1216' date='20 January 2010 - 10:14 AM' timestamp='1264000482' post='347557']
I'd say that it depends on what moves we make. If Mason retires and we re-sign Clayton and Williams [i]and don't sign anyone else[/i] then Mason's loss would probably be bigger. We already know that the Ravens are good at finding and plugging in defensive players, but offense is another story.
[/quote]


Maybe our new philosophy should be "buy the offense and grow the defense." We do rarely whiff on defensive talent. I would go as far to say use the early portion of the draft on offense and use rounds 5 thru 7 on defense, because we are stars at finding late round and UDFA defensive talent. Hell, we even give it away (James Harrison).

[Ed_Reed20]

With how unsophisticated the passing game is and the complete lack of talent at the position, I would saw Derrick Mason would be the bigger loss. Last year, despite playing the majority of the season with one arm, he was still Flacco top target. This year, a year older, he continued to be the most reliable option. Just imagine where the team would be had he gone down for any stretch of time.

Obviously, that could change depending on who the Ravens sign and draft.

Reed would be a giant loss too. However, there are a lot of teams across the league that don't have a player of Ed Reed's caliber at the FS position but still play solid defense.

[Alexir]

Future Hall of Famer gets my vote. Zibby played fine but I'm a little bit more comfortable with Reed back there with Dawan's inconsistent play. Ruki will be back next year too though.

As for Mason, he is getting old, and Kelley Washington can easily replace him. Only bad thing is who on our team would replace Kelley Washington? We lack depth at WR obviously.

[ravens27]

[quote name='Alexir' date='20 January 2010 - 01:28 PM' timestamp='1264012131' post='347693']
Future Hall of Famer gets my vote. Zibby played fine but I'm a little bit more comfortable with Reed back there with Dawan's inconsistent play. Ruki will be back next year too though.

As for Mason, he is getting old, and Kelley Washington can easily replace him. Only bad thing is [b]who on our team would replace Kelley Washington? We lack depth at WR obviously.[/b]
[/quote]

Maybe Riley or Harper one day.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='Alexir' date='20 January 2010 - 01:28 PM' timestamp='1264012131' post='347693']
As for Mason, he is getting old, [b]and Kelley Washington can easily replace him.[/b] Only bad thing is who on our team would replace Kelley Washington? We lack depth at WR obviously.
[/quote]

Are you sure about that? He made some impressive grabs on third down but that doesn't automatically mean he can go up against top corners and do what Derrick does.

[ravens27]

They would both be big losses for us.

[MKdave]

Ed's my favourite player but Mase would hurt more at this point. I think Clayton will step up his game when Mason retires, but he'll have to create a rapport with Joe. And that will take time. Zibby's been integrated with the defense already and has, to be honest performed very, very well considering it was his first live action. So for me Mase is the bigger loss.

[Alexir]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' date='20 January 2010 - 01:38 PM' timestamp='1264012710' post='347706']
Are you sure about that? He made some impressive grabs on third down but that doesn't automatically mean he can go up against top corners and do what Derrick does.
[/quote]

He is also taller than Mason and gets pretty good seperation. He is a lot more physical. We won't know until we try and put him there.

[ravensgirl20]

I voted for Ed Reed, but both would be a huge loss for the team. Personally I hope both return next year.

[kash96ravenstotalfan]

I voted for Reed, as he is a playmaker and one of the best safeties to ever play the game. Having said that, I think that Joe will suffer if D-Mase is not with us. Joe seems to have alot of confidence in him as a receiver. Hopefully we will get a stellar WR for Joe to throw to downfield

[TSizzle00]

Ed Reed even at 80% is a game changer in every sense of the word. Mason is a great WR but he does not the same impact on the game like Reed does.

[MagicianCamille]

Mason.

We saw what this defense could do without Reed. It wasn't a dramatic change. Plus, Reed tends to gamble.

This WR corps without Mason...this OFFENSE without Mason. It'd be completely ineffective, not just against good teams but also bad ones. There'd be no fear of our receivers, everyone would be covered, and there'd be absolutely no reason not to assume every play is a run.

[noy]

It's not that we should compare the talents of Ed Reed to D. Mase, it's that we should compare their effects on their respective side of the ball.

With that in mind, I would have thought Mason would be an obvious choice. Our offense is close to being inept right now, without him it is completely done for (excluding future possible fixes, I'm thinking in the moment). Ed Reed is absolutely amazing, that's clear, but I think we have some competent backups to replace him in Zbi and Nakamura (they may not be the ballhawks that Reed is, but they play disciplined football and stick to their zones). With Mason gone, we have NOBODY who has [b]proven [/b]to be a competent replacement, let alone a 2nd string option! Washington could [i]possibly [/i]be a 2nd string option, but that's not even a solid statement considering how little we've seen him on the field (which is why he needs the job).

Edit: In other words, the defense can definitely survive without Reed, but the offense without Mason, heck no.

[ravensconvert]

Ed Reed is aging and injured. His backup is solid. He will be missed but it won't be the end of the team.

There is no depth at the wide receiver position. Without Mason we are done.

[Guest I-70WestRaven]

The loss of one or both of them can't help but affect the team, but though I tend to think Reed would be more impactful, the case for Zibby, and Ed's continuning injury problems have given us a chance to see a glimpse of the future. This is just a tough one any way you look at it, I think a vote for either one has merit. That said, I went with Ed, I guess it just came down to his game changing abilitiy on defense over the years. Just my opinion, plus I think Derrick has a better chance of coming back if the money is right.

[12th man]

Of course both would be big losses but i think Reed would be bigger. Mason is great but i think if we are going to ever find new wr than mason has to go. i sorta think that Harbaugh doesn't want to step on Mason toes and make him #2.Don't get me wrong if mason wants to stay I'm all for it but we need to move forward for what is best for the team and getting WR for #1 spot to cover all the field.

[jravens13]

As much as I love the best safety in the NFL, we have a good back up in Zibby. We have nothing at WR and can't go out and sign anyone due to these stupid CBA rules. Picture our WR core this year minus Mason... what do we have??? Were gonna have to draft 1 or 2 WR's