Jared Gaither Is Back To Healthy

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='lowrider' timestamp='1306901949' post='692246']
[b]And even when he played with his nagging injuries, he played real well. Its tough to point out someone and say, "oo they are injury prone", I mean it is the NFL. Everyone gets hurt. [/b]

I still don't understand his injury this past year or what happened to him. Just hope its all better now.
[/quote]

I think that's an understatement. Whenever Gaither was on the field, injured or not, he played exceptionally well.

Everyone remembers Mason playing with a bum shoulder in 2008, but does anyone remember Gaither playing in the game against the defending champion NY Giants with practically one arm?

People talk about oh what heart and toughness Mason showed to tough it out and continue to play. Well Mason plays WR, and he doesn't have 300 pound guys pounding on him every single snap. Gaither play with one arm pinned to his side against one of the best Dline of that season and didn't allow a single sack.

I think the media has as much to do with Gaither having the poor work ethic label as anything. Coming from Maryland Gaither was labeled as lazy and a guy who didn't love football as much as he should. Well in his first training camp as a Raven, he shut people up about that and you would think it'd stay that way.

It's funny because Gaither missed one offseason program and that was last season. He decided to work out with a personal trainer to get into better shape to avoid injury. How people took that as him not wanting to be a Raven or not working hard I don't know.

If the Ravens keep Gaither as a RFA, or they resign him, he'll instantly be our best LT going into the 2011 season. People say he hasn't earn the right to a long term contract, I disagree. You'll be hard pressed to find a LT who played better then Gaither in 08 and 09. Yea he missed all of 10 and that hurts his chances of getting a long term deal. However I still believe the Ravens need to do whatever thy got to do to get him back in a Ravens uniform.

The guy continues to say he wants to be a Raven, so make him a Raven.

[ed.s52]

Whoa, what?

Placing Oher on the Left Side was a BRILLIANT Move. Right Away, I thought Gaither should remain at LT, because I loved the way our line was the year before. But, it was pretty much a prophetic move.

But, Gaither got injured. Im personally glad Oher got some practice at LT before Gaither went down. I dont know why everyone thinks it was a stupid move, considering Gaither didnt play a game.

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

[quote name='Bullrush' timestamp='1306666833' post='691702']
It's unfortunate that our coaching stuff doesn't know how to build an O-Line. They destroyed what was a great O-Line a couple years ago by shuffling everybody around and by treating one of the best talents in football at the OT position like crap. The coaching staff made it very clear that they don't value Gaither, and John doesn't help the case with his silly comments about Oher who in his opinion is a natural LT, even though he struggled mightily against elite pass rushers and looks way more comfortable on the right side as a vicious run blocker, where he's not asked to block guys like James Harrison on a weekly basis with no help from a TE whatsoever. He doesn't have the technique, [b]the quickness nor the feet[/b] to block elite pass rushers and shut them down. Gaither does.
[/quote]

That statement could not be any more false. If there was any optimism about Oher being at LT it was the fact that he was extremely quick dropping back in protection.

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

I think before we pass an informed judgement we would need another year. Oher has all the physical tools besides long arms. he has the strength, speed, and intelligence it is his short arms that allow harrison to get a full head of steam before he gets a hand on him. It is not like oher was god awful he was still middle of the road, he just wasnt as good as Gaither was at that position. Gaither had two years experience though, Oher has only had one if he can continue to develop he could damn well be a good LT without injury concerns and hopefully an agent who isnt a weasel. Our O-Line would definitely be better if Gaither came back and played either position honestly but probably more so at Left. I say this not due to lack of faith in Oher but I dont know how much we should lean on Jah Reid right out of the gate. If he pans out then we have the problem of having too many good tackles, which as far as problems go that is a good one to have.

[berad]

[quote name='ArmyRaven52' timestamp='1306993700' post='692555']
That statement could not be any more false. If there was any optimism about Oher being at LT it was the fact that he was extremely quick dropping back in protection.
[/quote]

Yup. From what I could tell, he had the most trouble with his hand technique and some of the protection calls / line shifts. He had some false start issues, too.

[lowrider]

[quote name='Ravensfan23' timestamp='1306990110' post='692544']
I think that's an understatement. Whenever Gaither was on the field, injured or not, he played exceptionally well.

Everyone remembers Mason playing with a bum shoulder in 2008, but does anyone remember Gaither playing in the game against the defending champion NY Giants with practically one arm?

People talk about oh what heart and toughness Mason showed to tough it out and continue to play. Well Mason plays WR, and he doesn't have 300 pound guys pounding on him every single snap. Gaither play with one arm pinned to his side against one of the best Dline of that season and didn't allow a single sack.

I think the media has as much to do with Gaither having the poor work ethic label as anything. Coming from Maryland Gaither was labeled as lazy and a guy who didn't love football as much as he should. Well in his first training camp as a Raven, he shut people up about that and you would think it'd stay that way.

It's funny because Gaither missed one offseason program and that was last season. He decided to work out with a personal trainer to get into better shape to avoid injury. How people took that as him not wanting to be a Raven or not working hard I don't know.

If the Ravens keep Gaither as a RFA, or they resign him, he'll instantly be our best LT going into the 2011 season. People say he hasn't earn the right to a long term contract, I disagree. You'll be hard pressed to find a LT who played better then Gaither in 08 and 09. Yea he missed all of 10 and that hurts his chances of getting a long term deal. However I still believe the Ravens need to do whatever thy got to do to get him back in a Ravens uniform.

The guy continues to say he wants to be a Raven, so make him a Raven.
[/quote]
Lazy is such an interesting label. Especially about the OT position. I read that Jonathon Ogden watched 45 minutes of tape every week or something like that which is virtually nothing. Its kind of a position, you either got it or you don't. And Gaither just has that natural ability. He hasn't even reached his full potential. He really could be one of the better LT's in the NFl. Maybe not one or two but definitely top 10 and maybe top 5. I just hope he comes back. I think a 3 year contract would be good for both parties.

[BloodRaven]

Gaither has longer arms and better technique, Oher is just too sloppy to start on the left.

[flynismo]

[quote name='BloodRaven' timestamp='1306998236' post='692563']<br />Gaither has longer arms and better technique, Oher is just too sloppy to start on the left.<br />[/quote]


that's the word I was looking for....Oher is very sloppy at LT dealing with pass rushers.
Besides, his mentality is so much better suited for the right side.
I think Oher can probably become a very good LT given more time, but the right side is where I think he'd fulfill his potential

[Bullrush]

[quote name='ArmyRaven52' timestamp='1306993700' post='692555']
That statement could not be any more false. If there was any optimism about Oher being at LT it was the fact that he was extremely quick dropping back in protection.
[/quote]
Indeed. He's so quick that it just looks like he's really slow. You know, how about you watch him get eaten alive by Tamba Hali and James Harrison during the playoffs and then tell me again how fast he is. Being fast to commit to doing one thing to prevent a guy from beating you doesn't mean you're fast. Fast to commit doesn't mean you're fast. If you have to commit to one thing in order to stop your opponent all he has to do is fake a move and then cut in- or outside and you're done.

Gaither doesn't commit. He drops back and waits for the defender to commit first, and Gaither is quick and skilled enough to adjust and shut them down, they can't surprise him or do something he doesn't expect because he sees everything coming. Oher can't do that because he doesn't have the same feet or skills to recover against elite pass rushers. If he waits too long he gets beat to the outside. If he commits to the outside he gets beat to the inside. Not all the time of course and nobody says he's the worst LT in the league. He does a good job on the left side until he faces elite competition, then he gets shredded, otherwise he's doing a decent job shutting people down for the most part. But when you have an elite LT like Gaither you should line him up there and move Oher back to the right side where he showed that he is elite as well. But our coaching staff is too proud to admit mistakes they make. They're quick to throw players under the bus and bench them every time they make a mistake or don't do something the coaches asked them to do. My way or highway. I'm surprised Gaither still says he wants to be here even though the coaches treat him like crap and make him compete with an unproven rookie middle round pick for the RT job.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='Bullrush' timestamp='1307008031' post='692567']
Indeed. He's so quick that it just looks like he's really slow. You know, how about you watch him get eaten alive by Tamba Hali and James Harrison during the playoffs and then tell me again how fast he is. Being fast to commit to doing one thing to prevent a guy from beating you doesn't mean you're fast. Fast to commit doesn't mean you're fast. If you have to commit to one thing in order to stop your opponent all he has to do is fake a move and then cut in- or outside and you're done.

Gaither doesn't commit. He drops back and waits for the defender to commit first, and Gaither is quick and skilled enough to adjust and shut them down, they can't surprise him or do something he doesn't expect because he sees everything coming. Oher can't do that because he doesn't have the same feet or skills to recover against elite pass rushers. If he waits too long he gets beat to the outside. If he commits to the outside he gets beat to the inside. Not all the time of course and nobody says he's the worst LT in the league. He does a good job on the left side until he faces elite competition, then he gets shredded, otherwise he's doing a decent job shutting people down for the most part. But when you have an elite LT like Gaither you should line him up there and move Oher back to the right side where he showed that he is elite as well. But our coaching staff is too proud to admit mistakes they make. They're quick to throw players under the bus and bench them every time they make a mistake or don't do something the coaches asked them to do. My way or highway. I'm surprised Gaither still says he wants to be here even though the coaches treat him like crap and make him compete with an unproven rookie middle round pick for the RT job.
[/quote]

Yea Oher's false starts were a result of him trying to get out of his stance quickly to avoid getting beat by quicker OLBs/DEs, no really because he was so quick himself.

The Reason Gaither was so successful against the elite pass rushers in the NFL was because he had, really long arms and really good feet as a LT. Gaither didn't have to commit as early as Oher when it came to defending the speed rush.

As for the move, It was good that Oher got a full season at LT because you never know when you'll need him to move over and fill that position, in a pinch. If you can have a quality back-up at LT then that's great. However, I don't think there is a doubt in anyone's mind that if Gaither and Oher are both on the team, that Gaither is the better of the 2 at LT.

Oher has the skill set to develop into a really good LT, and maybe even elite status. However Gaither is probably top 10-12 at LT in the NFL right now, and has the potential to be even better, because he's not a finished product yet.

Here's a list of the top 10 LT in the NFL before the 2010 season. The list was put together by someone at the New York Times. It's just one persons opinion, and while the list can be switched around from probably 3-10, there is no doubt that Gaither belongs in the same company as everyone on this list.

[color="#4B0082"][url="http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/best-left-tackles-in-the-n-f-l-the-top-10-list/"]4. Jared Gaither, Baltimore Ravens The largest and perhaps most talented lineman in the game. Hard to believe there are whispers about his work ethic. [/url][/color]

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1307000868' post='692564']
that's the word I was looking for....Oher is very sloppy at LT dealing with pass rushers.
Besides, his mentality is so much better suited for the right side.
I think Oher can probably become a very good LT given more time, but the right side is where I think he'd fulfill his potential
[/quote]

Yeah, Oher has problems with technique. But he is hall of fame stuff on the right side. People say you can't pay franchise money for an LT an RT but I would have no objection to Oher being the highest paid right tackle. Besides, at least you know you have 2 starting left tackles in case Gaither goes down.

[flynismo]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1307034194' post='692620']People say you can't pay franchise money for an LT an RT[/quote]


I think that's probably the dumbest catch phrase that I've heard slung around here in quite some time...I agree with you that if we knew Gaither was healthy and happy, I would pay through the nose to have two elite OT on our team.
No other team does it because no other team HAS two tackles this talented.
I'd kill to have our 2009 OL back. We'd be unstoppable.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1307044404' post='692673']
I think that's probably the dumbest catch phrase that I've heard slung around here in quite some time...I agree with you that if we knew Gaither was healthy and happy, I would pay through the nose to have two elite OT on our team.
No other team does it because no other team HAS two tackles this talented.
I'd kill to have our 2009 OL back. We'd be unstoppable.
[/quote]

Because that Lamar Woodley guy doesn't need to be stopped. Not at all.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1307048000' post='692704']
Because that Lamar Woodley guy doesn't need to be stopped. Not at all.
[/quote]
Not sure what you mean by this, but generally speaking most teams dont have two elite pass-rushers. Steelers, Colts, Giants, and Vikings are the only teams I can think of that have significant threats coming off both edges. Is it worth compromising depth or some other position because we play the Steelers 2-3 times a year? Perhaps, but generally you dont pay the right tackle left tackle money because of this. I would love to see us sign both Gaither and Oher to long-term deals (if Gaither can have a strong 2011), but I am not sure it is financially viable.

If Gaither ends up being a UFA this upcoming year, I dont think it is prudent to sign him long-term unless the team is committed to playing him at LT. I also think that contract has to be heavily incentive laden. He has missed too many games to throw a ton of money at him with no insurance.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1307052170' post='692727']
Not sure what you mean by this, but generally speaking most teams dont have two elite pass-rushers. Steelers, Colts, Giants, and Vikings are the only teams I can think of that have significant threats coming off both edges. Is it worth compromising depth or some other position because we play the Steelers 2-3 times a year? Perhaps, but generally you dont pay the right tackle left tackle money because of this. I would love to see us sign both Gaither and Oher to long-term deals (if Gaither can have a strong 2011), but I am not sure it is financially viable.

If Gaither ends up being a UFA this upcoming year, I dont think it is prudent to sign him long-term unless the team is committed to playing him at LT. I also think that contract has to be heavily incentive laden. He has missed too many games to throw a ton of money at him with no insurance.
[/quote]

A lot of teams have two pass rushers, but Harison and LLamar Woodley are, in my opinion, the best two, so our Right Tackle should be of a higher standard than other teams. Either way I'm fine with oher at LT.

[flynismo]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1307052170' post='692727']<br />Not sure what you mean by this, but generally speaking most teams dont have two elite pass-rushers. Steelers, Colts, Giants, and Vikings are the only teams I can think of that have significant threats coming off both edges. Is it worth compromising depth or some other position because we play the Steelers 2-3 times a year? Perhaps, but generally you dont pay the right tackle left tackle money because of this. I would love to see us sign both Gaither and Oher to long-term deals (if Gaither can have a strong 2011), but I am not sure it is financially viable.<br /><br /> If Gaither ends up being a UFA this upcoming year, I dont think it is prudent to sign him long-term unless the team is committed to playing him at LT. I also think that contract has to be heavily incentive laden. He has missed too many games to throw a ton of money at him with no insurance.<br />[/quote]

when it comes to Gaither, I agree fully; any contract he recieves must be incentive laden. Otherwise he is a total crapshoot.

But assuming he's healthy, wealthy and wise...the way I see it, if you are going to dump money into your offense, the OL is the place to do it.
You can have too much money tied up in WR/TE/RB (even at QB, like we did last year with our backup earning more than our starter)...but it seems nearly impossible to invest too heavily into the OL..if Flacco had 2009's OL last season, I can only dream how far we would have gone (no Polamalu strip/sack, leading to us winning the division, and so on...)

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1307053100' post='692734']
when it comes to Gaither, I agree fully; any contract he recieves must be incentive laden. Otherwise he is a total crapshoot.

But assuming he's healthy, wealthy and wise...the way I see it, if you are going to dump money into your offense, the OL is the place to do it.
You can have too much money tied up in WR/TE/RB (even at QB, like we did last year with our backup earning more than our starter)...but it seems nearly impossible to invest too heavily into the OL..if Flacco had 2009's OL last season, I can only dream how far we would have gone (no Polamalu strip/sack, leading to us winning the division, and so on...)
[/quote]

Don't forget 3rd and 1 at the 47 yardline that would have given the Ravens a 1st down with under 9 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter of the Patriots game. The Ravens moved the ball well on that drive, and if they could have at least got a FG, it would have been a 6 point lead instead of 3. However the oline got no push on a 3rd and inches.

If the Ravens win that game coupled with the Steelers game, we could very well have had a #1 seed. But no need to play the what if game right? Lets just hope that we can get that Oline back this year.

[ghost1986]

I'm here to just discuss the title of this topic. Shouldn't it be called "Gaither Is Back To Full Health" or just simply "Gaither Is Healthy"? It's a bit misleading. I think some people came in here thinking we somehow resigned him.

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

I feel that choosing to let Gaither walk (unless he and Rosenhaus are being completely unreasonable) would be a massive mistake on the Ravens part. Anyone who watched the offensive struggles of last year knows Gaither is integral to the offense.

[Ravensfan23]

To be honest I just can't believe we have 4 pages of positive talk about Jared Gaither. Last year this time, it seemed like only about 4% of Ravens fans actually wanted Gaither to be apart of this team.

Funny how peoples perception of someone changes, when you realize how much you actually need that person. Much like the fans on this forum, I think the Ravens are feeling the same way.

The Ravens didn't fully realize and appreciate what Jared Gaither meant to this team. So the thought of trading him, wasn't hard to consider, and although they wouldn't part ways with JG for nothing less then a high #2, they were still willing to part ways if a team like the Bills made a good offer.

Much like most fans, the Ravens brass thought, hey Oher did a pretty good job filling in for Gaither the 2 or 3 games we needed him to, we drafted him as a LT, so lets put him there. We can move Gaither to RT to avoid giving him the type of contract he actually desires as one of the better young LTs in the NFL.

They thought they could just move Oher to LT, move Gaither to RT, and if Gaither wasn't happy, ship him out of town. Insert Cousins or Harewood at the RT position and things would just keep moving. However that plan backfired on them.

The Ravens started to realize just how much they needed Gaither on this Oline. That's why they waited so long to place him on IR. From mini-camp through the preseason, the Ravens took a hard stance on Gaither. The media started attacking his character and the fans followed suite.

Then Oher failed to live up to the "Blind Side" hype and most people started to realize and understand just how important Gaither was/is at that LT position.

So what happened was, after the season, the Ravens swallowed their pride and wanted to have a face to face with Gaither and his representatives. It wasn't about hashing out a new deal, it was about getting a feel for Gaither and making a play for him to return. The Ravens needed to let Gaither know how much they wanted him to return, without looking desperate at the same time. They needed to smooth things out with Gaither for moving him in the first place, allowing the trade rumors to swirl, and not extending his contract after the 09' season, without saying, hey we screwed up.

The bottomline was the Ravens needed to still make sure they had the inside track to signing Gaither once Free Agency started, and make sure there were no hard feeling or ill will towards the organization on Gaither's part.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Ravens want Gaither to return. Drafting Reid was just a backup/insurance plan should Gaither actually decide to take his talents else where.

The Ravens know they need Gaither. The Ravens are too close to a Super Bowl and guys like Ray, Ed, Derrick, Todd, Kelly, Matt, and Corey only have a couple years left(in a Ravens uniform anyway). So the time is now and Gaither gives us the opportunity to have the best Oline we can possibly have, and perhaps one of the best in the NFL.

Gaither and his people know the Ravens need him, for the same reasons listed above, and just like us fans, they all sat back and watched the type of play we got at the LT position last year.

So now, while I have no doubt that Gaither wants to remain a Raven, the question becomes...How does the negotiations play out? Do the Ravens attempt to low ball Gaither because he didn't play a single snap last season? Do Gaither attempt to get back at the Ravens for the way they treated him last season, knowing this team needs him and using that against the Ravens? Or do both sides come together and hash out a fair deal for both parties.

Imo a fair deal would be a 3 year contract that's incentive heavy in year 1 and loaded on the back end. Gaither have to prove he's healthy and can stay that way. The Ravens(nor any other team) will want to commit to giving him big money up front unless he proves that. So I think the Ravens could sign Gaither to a deal in year 1 that pays him what his restricted tender would be. If Gaither plays a certain amount of games and plays a certain amount of offensive snaps(like 80%) then those escalators in his contract will pay him more.

The Ravens could protect themselves by making only the first year guaranteed with the option of picking up the second year. If Gaither doesn't stay healthy, or doesn't reach the incentives in his contract, the Ravens can part ways with him.

Gaither can protect himself by having a clause in the contract that says, if he reaches all the incentives in year one, the Ravens either have to pick up his option for year 2 and work on a long term extension, or they have to allow him to walk and pursue a big Free Agent contract.

[scrock]

If the Ravens want to win they need to fix their O-line, that means bringing Gaither back and moving Oher to RT where he belongs. Remember in 2009 how dominate our O-line was? Yeah...then Gaither got hurt, they moved Oher to LT and it all went down hill.

FIX the O-line and it helps the entire offense....