Bryant McKinnie To Ravens

[codizzle]

[quote name='PuRock' timestamp='1314152697' post='761951']


Maybe he hired Jillian Micheals. Just seeing her around would be enough to get any man in shape.
[/quote]
lol well done but she isnt anything special...

[scrock]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1314152948' post='761955']

It's possible if 385 is not his normal weight. Since he's been playing at 335 for the past few years (supposedly), then I'd say it's possible he just took the lockout as a time much like The Summer of Bryant. It's pretty easy to lose weight that was put on quick and likely due to periods of large inactivity.

If he goes from 0 exercise and a terrible diet to a great diet and extreme exercise I could definitely see him dropping back to his normal weight at least.

[b]I think the Steelers might resign Starks, too.[/b]
[/quote]

they resigned Trai Essexx or whatever his name was

[mhead66]

Here's a question:

Last year, we carried 8 OLineman on the active roster: Oher, Yanda, Grubbs, Birk, Cousins, Mattison, Chester and Moll.

Gaither, Harewood and Daniel Sanders were on IR.

Andre Ramsey and Brady Bond were on the PS.

8 Linemen.

Assuming he passes the physical, we have on our roster:

[b](6) Locks[/b]: Grubbs, Oher, Birk, Yanda, Reid, McKinnie

[b](5) Others[/b]: Mattison, Levoir, Harewood, Cousins, Murphy

[b](5) Youngsters[/b]: Boren, Bartholomew, Barnes, Ramsey, Bond

Out of the Others/Youngsters list, we may only keep TWO on the active roster, and maybe stash 2 youngsters on the PS.

Who do we keep?

Do we cut Harewood, Cousins and Jason Murphy?

What two youngsters do we stash on the PS?

[scrock]

[quote name='mhead66' timestamp='1314153845' post='761973']
Here's a question:

Last year, we carried 8 OLineman on the active roster: Oher, Yanda, Grubbs, Birk, Cousins, Mattison, Chester and Moll.

Gaither, Harewood and Daniel Sanders were on IR.

Andre Ramsey and Brady Bond were on the PS.

8 Linemen.

Assuming he passes the physical, we have on our roster:

[b](6) Locks[/b]: Grubbs, Oher, Birk, Yanda, Reid, McKinnie

[b](5) Others[/b]: [b]Mattison, Levoir, Harewood, Cousins, Murphy[/b]

[b](5) Youngsters[/b]: Boren, Bartholomew, Barnes, Ramsey, Bond

Out of the Others/Youngsters list, we may only keep TWO on the active roster, and maybe stash 2 youngsters on the PS.

Who do we keep?

Do we cut Harewood, Cousins and Jason Murphy?

What two youngsters do we stash on the PS?
[/quote]

i'm not sure about the numbers game, it depends on how things shake out really...im doubting any undrafted rookie OL make the team, its possible...maybe we cut ties with Cousins..idk, Bryan Mattison is going anywhere i dont think, he's played well at C and Harewood has a lot of potential he could be on PS...and u never know the Ravens might place someone on IR or something

you need to have capable backups behind the starters..so honestly u might need 10 OL in a year..if everyone on the OL went down that is lets hope that never happens

[1/28/01]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1314152948' post='761955']


It's possible if 385 is not his normal weight. Since he's been playing at 335 for the past few years (supposedly), then I'd say it's possible he just took the lockout as a time much like The Summer of Bryant. It's pretty easy to lose weight that was put on quick and likely due to periods of large inactivity.

If he goes from 0 exercise and a terrible diet to a great diet and extreme exercise I could definitely see him dropping back to his normal weight at least.

I think the Steelers might resign Starks, too.
[/quote]
Where did you hear his playing weight has been 335? I heard and read everywhere it has been 365+-.

[jimmysmith3]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1314152179' post='761938']Bryant McKinnie - at this juncture - is not as good at offensive tackle as Nnamdi Asomugha is at corner. He's not as good as Peyton Manning or Rodgers are at QB. That's ultimately where your reasoning fails. McKinnie was cut from his team. He was let go. He showed up well over his playing weight. He isn't Joe Thomas or Jake Long. He won't be handed anything, and quite frankly you're really only reflecting poorly on yourself to advocate that sort of favoritism.

McKinnie has a lot to prove. Asomugha, Manning, Rodgers: those guys really don't. Your error in reasoning is a rather large one. You probably don't see it, but you don't have a leg to stand on.

I have a reason to believe that this coaching staff will put the best 11 men out on the field. Every coaching staff everywhere will do the same. That's simply how football games are won. And the philosophy in championship caliber teams like New England is that no one man is bigger than the team. No one man is irreplaceable, and every single bench player is a play away from being a starter. If the backups are not trained with the mentality that they can beat the starter for their job, then their performance becomes weaker. Every single head coach in the National Football League is likely to disagree with your ideas. The fact of the matter is Peyton Manning is on a whole other stratosphere from Curtis Painter. One day, Manning will be replaced. Another player will come in and do his job better than him, and like Brett Favre before him he'll be replaced. If you look at New England they've already got Ryan coming in and perhaps sitting on the bench for 3 years just like Rodgers did. That's a smart organization.
.
[/quote]Funny how you conveniently didn't mention anything regarding my point about Vonta Leach having no competition for his job, despite the fact that you used an absolutely in your statement that is clearly incorrect.

It's too soon to tell whether Bryant was brought in to be a starter or not, but that was not what I was debating. You stated that every player the ravens bring in are brought in to compete for a job and that no one is brought in to be a starter. That is what I was debating, which is what you determined it to be a fallacious analogy. This simple is not true and I used other extreme examples as evidence to support my argument.

I also think you were out of line by criticizing the other members on this forum for discussing possible Offensive Line combinations with Mckinnie as a starter. All you had to say was that you didn't think he was going to necessarily be a starter, you didn't need to tell other people that they shouldn't be discussing things on a forum without a source.

I really didn't appreciate that because I enjoy discussing things like this no matter how preposterous it can get. It's a [profanity deleted] football forum man, stop trying to turn this into a literature association.

[RoflDogs]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1314152179' post='761938']
Bryant McKinnie - at this juncture - is not as good at offensive tackle as Nnamdi Asomugha is at corner. He's not as good as Peyton Manning or Rodgers are at QB. That's ultimately where your reasoning fails. McKinnie was cut from his team. He was let go. He showed up well over his playing weight. He isn't Joe Thomas or Jake Long. He won't be handed anything, and quite frankly you're really only reflecting poorly on yourself to advocate that sort of favoritism.

McKinnie has a lot to prove. Asomugha, Manning, Rodgers: those guys really don't. Your error in reasoning is a rather large one. You probably don't see it, but you don't have a leg to stand on.

I have a reason to believe that this coaching staff will put the best 11 men out on the field. Every coaching staff everywhere will do the same. That's simply how football games are won. And the philosophy in championship caliber teams like New England is that no one man is bigger than the team. No one man is irreplaceable, and every single bench player is a play away from being a starter. If the backups are not trained with the mentality that they can beat the starter for their job, then their performance becomes weaker. Every single head coach in the National Football League is likely to disagree with your ideas. The fact of the matter is Peyton Manning is on a whole other stratosphere from Curtis Painter. One day, Manning will be replaced. Another player will come in and do his job better than him, and like Brett Favre before him he'll be replaced. If you look at New England they've already got Ryan coming in and perhaps sitting on the bench for 3 years just like Rodgers did. That's a smart organization.
[/quote]

For a guy that types so much, you don't say anything. You just rambled for a couple paragraphs on something totally irrelevant

[magna481]

I like the pick up, better than Levoir in my opinion, even out of shape. And I don't even have to begin about Cousins...

[CNC]

Shoulda done this earlier

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZqo4OZ0Pqs"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZqo4OZ0Pqs[/url]

[flynismo]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1314152372' post='761943']

No way he did, and if he did, he lost it too quickly. It's unhealthy to lose that much weight so quickly. You're only suppossed to lose 1-2 pounds a week, at most 3. He lost this weight faster than he should have, i hope he stays healthy.[/quote]


the only thing McKinnie lost was his dinky lol...

*by dinky, I clearly mean car keys.

[sozo91]

@mgridda
I think it is a given that McKinnie has to fight for the position. I do not believe anyone here is naive to think that he will be given the starting job, but I think we are all optimistic (as fans should be) that he can play up to his potential pro bowl form. Granted it will take time and tomorrow's physical will be a real indication to how serious McKinnie is in reasserting himself, but if we see his determinism to improve, I do not think it is implausible to assume he will overtake the starting spot.

After all, his competition is a rookie who still has yet to learn NFL defenses and a player who has been considered "depth" for most of his career. Obviously, if McKinnie did not go balloon himself this summer he would not have been released by the Vikings. But because he did, it gives us the opportunity to pick up a veteran in a moderate risk-high reward situation.

The Patriots, which you cited as a model franchise, is known for picking up players in underappreciated circumstances and reforming them to star players (Randy Moss, Corey Dillon). This could be the same.

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

[quote name='mhead66' timestamp='1314153845' post='761973']
Here's a question:

Last year, we carried 8 OLineman on the active roster: Oher, Yanda, Grubbs, Birk, Cousins, Mattison, Chester and Moll.

Gaither, Harewood and Daniel Sanders were on IR.

Andre Ramsey and Brady Bond were on the PS.

8 Linemen.

Assuming he passes the physical, we have on our roster:

[b](6) Locks[/b]: Grubbs, Oher, Birk, Yanda, Reid, McKinnie

[b](5) Others[/b]: Mattison, Levoir, Harewood, Cousins, Murphy

[b](5) Youngsters[/b]: Boren, Bartholomew, Barnes, Ramsey, Bond

Out of the Others/Youngsters list, we may only keep TWO on the active roster, and maybe stash 2 youngsters on the PS.

Who do we keep?

Do we cut Harewood, Cousins and Jason Murphy?

What two youngsters do we stash on the PS?
[/quote]

It is interesting you were thinking this because I was playing madden (where all good idea's start) and I noticed that we have entirely too many lineman. In regards to what you say I think we have given them all ample opportunity to showcase what they have. That being said nobody carries 3 centers so it looks like all the C's besides Mattison are gone (which pains me because I dont want anybody in that family tree on our team but he can help us so we keep him. Which means Barnes and Bartholomew are gone or one on PS (Bartholomew probably)

Boren has shown [i]me [/i]something at least I cant speak for anyone else though so he shold at least be stashed on the PS if not active roster.

Harewood has potential but that goes both ways. He is gigantic but that is the problem with 2 knees that already needed major surgery I would rather cut ties now than hope his body is the only one in the world that knee surgeries dont affect.

Cousins not even sure how he played college ball well enough to get drafted but hey there must have been talent somewhere.

Jason Murphy is a goner plain and simple.

Ramsey I like but I doubt it.

And bond aside from having a cool name has really done nothing for me.

[colljb9]

[quote name='mhead66' timestamp='1314153845' post='761973']
Here's a question:

Last year, we carried 8 OLineman on the active roster: Oher, Yanda, Grubbs, Birk, Cousins, Mattison, Chester and Moll.

Gaither, Harewood and Daniel Sanders were on IR.

Andre Ramsey and Brady Bond were on the PS.

8 Linemen.

Assuming he passes the physical, we have on our roster:

[b](6) Locks[/b]: Grubbs, Oher, Birk, Yanda, Reid, McKinnie

[b](5) Others[/b]: Mattison, Levoir, Harewood, Cousins, Murphy

[b](5) Youngsters[/b]: Boren, Bartholomew, Barnes, Ramsey, Bond

Out of the Others/Youngsters list, we may only keep TWO on the active roster, and maybe stash 2 youngsters on the PS.

Who do we keep?

Do we cut Harewood, Cousins and Jason Murphy?

What two youngsters do we stash on the PS?
[/quote]

I agree with you scrock, i dont believe mattison is going anywhere, Birk whether we want to believe it or not could get hurt again this season and mattison has really stepped in well. Especially if we get some of these other veterns back mattison will be helped along even more, and birk has already stated he will help the ravens groom another center (read that somewhere). After that apparently cousins is playing well at guard so we'll probably keep him. I assume if Levoir plays well we'll keep him, yet Boren is playing outstanding. Harewood has huge potential and looked well...more than adaquate against the chiefs as pretty much a second year rookie. We've been debating the offensive line for so long but now all of a sudden we're actually having some problems even determining who we're going to keep. I love how the tides have turned and some people go from ozzie not fulfilling his promises to not even being able to determine our offensive linemen because so many are playing well. I say in the future how about we do what we always do and let ozzie be ozzie...and wait until were 0-5 in the regular season because when that day comes (which under ozzie i dont believe it will ever happen) maybe we will have some serious problems.

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1314157498' post='762068']
<INSULT DELETED>.

[b]Leach did not have any competition for the job because there was no other starting fullback there. And if there was a fullback then he had competition.[/b] Training camp is competition. If Leach is going out there and playing like a blind school girl, then he'll get replaced. That didn't happen. Leach's play is what keeps him afloat week in and week out. Same with every player on the team. It's a cut throat business. You're the one who doesn't grasp reality. If a player's performance drops considerably in practice then he gets benched or cut. It happens every year and many times.


I'm pretty sure this is the opposite of what I stated. Go troll elsewhere, bud.



Yeah, but I don't think that. So why would I say one thing or another? And come on..."out of line?" Really? Is there a line here? It's hollow talk at best and just plain waste of space to demand that a player be put on one side of the line or the other. Get McKinnie along side Grubbs and see, put him alongside Yanda and see and then the coaches will make a judgment call from there.
[/quote]

I am not sure if McKinnie passes his physical there will be any competition for him. At least at RT I would rather have him than Reid, Harewood, cousins, or Yanda for that matter. Not that I don't think Yanda can play RT well it is just if we have a serviceable RT why not move him back to the position where he is naturally suited for, which leads me to my next query.

Lets all for a moment assume hell freezes over and McKinnie comes in to the regular season in great shape. He is obviously suited better for LT than Oher who was a dominant RT and a slightly above average LT in my opinion. Now I would not be opposed to using him at Lt for a few years while we get things settled.

What I mean is almost every year there is at least one LT who is going to be a good LT in the game, now since Ray and Ed are nearing their expiration on their careers he could be used as somewhat of a stop gap until we find their replacements and then in about 2 or 3 years find our man at LT (although this year I would not mind gettin Kalil out of USC.)

[flynismo]

So if we get to the Super Bowl, does that mean McKinney will bring a spoon with him?

[POE]

[quote name='colljb9' timestamp='1314157937' post='762079']

I agree with you scrock, i dont believe mattison is going anywhere, Birk whether we want to believe it or not could get hurt again this season and mattison has really stepped in well. Especially if we get some of these other veterns back mattison will be helped along even more, and birk has already stated he will help the ravens groom another center (read that somewhere). After that apparently cousins is playing well at guard so we'll probably keep him. I assume if Levoir plays well we'll keep him, yet Boren is playing outstanding. Harewood has huge potential and looked well...more than adaquate against the chiefs as pretty much a second year rookie. We've been debating the offensive line for so long but now all of a sudden we're actually having some problems even determining who we're going to keep. I love how the tides have turned and some people go from ozzie not fulfilling his promises to not even being able to determine our offensive linemen because so many are playing well. [b]I say in the future how about we do what we always do and let ozzie be ozzie...and wait until were 0-5 in the regular season because when that day comes (which under ozzie i dont believe it will ever happen) maybe we will have some serious problems.[/b]
[/quote]
Amen!

[ed.s52]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1314158143' post='762084']
So if we get to the Super Bowl, does that mean McKinney will bring a spoon with him?
[/quote]

McKinnie doesn't use spoons.... It wastes too much time

[gabefergy]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1314157498' post='762068']
<insult deleted>
Leach did not have any competition for the job because there was no other starting fullback there. And if there was a fullback then he had competition. Training camp is competition. If Leach is going out there and playing like a blind school girl, then he'll get replaced. That didn't happen. Leach's play is what keeps him afloat week in and week out. Same with every player on the team. It's a cut throat business. You're the one who doesn't grasp reality. If a player's performance drops considerably in practice then he gets benched or cut. It happens every year and many times.


I'm pretty sure this is the opposite of what I stated. Go troll elsewhere, bud.



Yeah, but I don't think that. So why would I say one thing or another? And come on..."out of line?" Really? Is there a line here? It's hollow talk at best and just plain waste of space to demand that a player be put on one side of the line or the other. Get McKinnie along side Grubbs and see, put him alongside Yanda and see and then the coaches will make a judgment call from there.
[/quote]
=)

I dont think there is anyone trolling here, just some misguided ideas. I'll repeat what I said before. Certain players are going to brought in with the expectation that they will start based off their prior performances, but they still have to prove that they have what it takes. There has been a lot of negative commentary about McKinnie from fans/pundits around the league. The way he handled his offseason to go along with previous "instances" doesnt garner a lot of respect. Ray and Ed spoke positively for him because he is from the U, but he has a checkered record to say the least. McKinnie was way out of shape after a poor 2010. He has potential to play like he did to earn Pro Bowl recognition, but unless he is ready physically and mentally to play for the Ravens he is no more than an insurance policy because we lack depth at OT.

[mgridda]

I mean, it's almost like you guys look at it like it's Madden or some sports video game: like every player has an overall rating and you just sim from week to week and some players progress and some players regress but generally it's just dry and cut and steady with one guy being a 60 ovr and then signing a 86 ovr guy and he's just obviously going to start.

Being on an actual football team is a daily grind. Players are going out and performing daily and they're being evaluated daily. I have no doubt in my mind that McKinnie (provided he passes his physical) has the best shot of starting out of any tackle not named Oher on our team. I'm just saying it's foolish to prognosticate where someone will start (left or right) and whether someone can or cannot play right tackle before we even have him in practice.

I guess having one's words run around like a chicken with its head cut off is fun for many of you and perhaps it's fun to go from week to week in the most bipolar fashion ever. Read the posts from last week. Compare them with this week. If you don't immediately facepalm or shake your head PM me (on the honor system) and I'll buy you a drink.

[colljb9]

I would love Kalil too but this is one thing we need to look at realisticly...If the players come out who are projected in 2012, this draft will actually be faily deep at the offensive lineman position, however that LT spot is the most coveted. If we are where we want to be (super bowl champions) then what do we do in 2012? I believe we have 2012 to skip drafting a safety as zibby, pollard, and haruki are going nowhere and ed reed will (cross your fingers) be back for hopefully another at least 2 years after this season. If the offensive linemen work out this season and mckinnie in fact plays to his playing potential...we have a 32 year old LT. Ellerbe and Mcclain are playing very well in the middle and with the depth on defense i believe we will be good for 2012 as well as barring a serious inury or if he retires when we win the superbowl, we should have lewis for 2012. Weve already traded a 4th round draft pick (which i have no problem with because we stole the man who will make our offense electric).

The question is, do we offer pretty much all of our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round draft picks to move into the top 10 and draft either Kalil, Martin, or Reiff...or do we draft the best player available and try to find a LT in our system (like Harewood or continue with Oher)...or do we do are normal draft and take a chance on a guy like Mike Adams from Ohio state (check ohio state scandle, will be suspended for first 5 games)...Although Adams will be suspended and has had a few injuries hes recovered from, he could be a classic 2nd or 3rd round ozzie pick who has first round talent yet comes with a few red flags. Jimmy smith seems to me to be a great character guy who made a few stupid mistakes as a young kid so i really dont think the character flaws are an issue.

[flynismo]

I heard he tried out for the Steelers and everyone confused him with The Bus. Or a bus. Details are sketchy at the moment...large yellow object was seen leaving Heinz Field. Earthquake ensued a few moments later.

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1314158422' post='762090']
=)

I dont think there is anyone trolling here, just some misguided ideas. I'll repeat what I said before. Certain players are going to brought in with the expectation that they will start based off their prior performances, but they still have to prove that they have what it takes.[b] There has been a lot of negative commentary about McKinnie from fans/pundits around the league.[/b] The way he handled his offseason to go along with previous "instances" doesnt garner a lot of respect. Ray and Ed spoke positively for him because he is from the U, but he has a checkered record to say the least. McKinnie was way out of shape after a poor 2010. He has potential to play like he did to earn Pro Bowl recognition, but unless he is ready physically and mentally to play for the Ravens he is no more than an insurance policy because we lack depth at OT.
[/quote]

See I have always laughed at things like this, because does anyone remember what pundits/fans were saying about Ray when he had his murder incident. People were calling him scum of the earth and just another thug who can barely tie his shoes well enough to get on the field. And to this day people still like to jump on Ray for that from time to time, but I cant really think of anyone who has done more for a community or just people in general than Ray. Like that little kid whose family was killed in the murder/suicide of his mother, that is something ghandi would have walked over to Ray in his thong and sandals to shake his hand.

As far as McKinnie goes what he does off the field is his business now if the law catches him and he costs the team by his absence then that is when it become's a problem for me but as long as he produces on the field and does not hurt our team I could care less what others have to say about him.

[cant knock the hustle]

[quote name='colljb9' timestamp='1314157937' post='762079']
I love how the tides have turned and some people go from ozzie not fulfilling his promises to not even being able to determine our offensive linemen because so many are playing well. I say in the future how about we do what we always do and let ozzie be ozzie...and wait until were 0-5 in the regular season because when that day comes (which under ozzie i dont believe it will ever happen) maybe we will have some serious problems.
[/quote]

Amen.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1314158444' post='762091']
I mean, it's almost like you guys look at it like it's Madden or some sports video game: like every player has an overall rating and you just sim from week to week and some players progress and some players regress but generally it's just dry and cut and steady with one guy being a 60 ovr and then signing a 86 ovr guy and he's just obviously going to start.

Being on an actual football team is a daily grind. Players are going out and performing daily and they're being evaluated daily. I have no doubt in my mind that McKinnie (provided he passes his physical) has the best shot of starting out of any tackle not named Oher on our team. I'm just saying it's foolish to prognosticate where someone will start (left or right) and whether someone can or cannot play right tackle before we even have him in practice.

I guess having one's words run around like a chicken with its head cut off is fun for many of you and perhaps it's fun to go from week to week in the most bipolar fashion ever. Read the posts from last week. Compare them with this week. If you don't immediately facepalm or shake your head PM me (on the honor system) and I'll buy you a drink.
[/quote]
Well thats because McKinnie has the most natural talent and NFL experience from any T we have on our team, when hes not seriously over weight.

[-Truth-]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1314158143' post='762084']
So if we get to the Super Bowl, does that mean McKinney will bring a spoon with him?
[/quote]
As long as Ricky Williams brings a lighter.

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

[quote name='colljb9' timestamp='1314159124' post='762099']
I would love Kalil too but this is one thing we need to look at realisticly...If the players come out who are projected in 2012, this draft will actually be faily deep at the offensive lineman position, however that LT spot is the most coveted. If we are where we want to be (super bowl champions) then what do we do in 2012? I believe we have 2012 to skip drafting a safety as zibby, pollard, and haruki are going nowhere and ed reed will (cross your fingers) be back for hopefully another at least 2 years after this season. If the offensive linemen work out this season and mckinnie in fact plays to his playing potential...we have a 32 year old LT. Ellerbe and Mcclain are playing very well in the middle and with the depth on defense i believe we will be good for 2012 as well as barring a serious inury or if he retires when we win the superbowl, we should have lewis for 2012. Weve already traded a 4th round draft pick (which i have no problem with because we stole the man who will make our offense electric).

The question is, do we offer pretty much all of our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round draft picks to move into the top 10 and draft either Kalil, Martin, or Reiff...or do we draft the best player available and try to find a LT in our system (like Harewood or continue with Oher)...or do we do are normal draft and take a chance on a guy like Mike Adams from Ohio state (check ohio state scandle, will be suspended for first 5 games)...Although Adams will be suspended and has had a few injuries hes recovered from, he could be a classic 2nd or 3rd round ozzie pick who has first round talent yet comes with a few red flags. Jimmy smith seems to me to be a great character guy who made a few stupid mistakes as a young kid so i really dont think the character flaws are an issue.
[/quote]

It is really hard to say with any certainty because depending on how McClain and Ellerbe progress, and if we feel Zibby can give us production from the FS spot then I say worse things have happened, because in all honesty from what I have seen from the preseason only 3 spots worry me.

MLB: Not because I don't believe in our depth but more because how do you insert someone into a legends spot and not expect a drop off in production. Now I think Ellerbe could be a great tandem together (especially considering they were undrafted) however it goes back to after having a Marquee player there for so many years and being the facilitator of everything that defense does exactly how much responsibility do you want to put on them.

S: While I like Pollard and what Zibby showed for Reed it goes back to the same thing with Ray. So much of our defense is relying on Ed to be that integral piece to the turnover ratio by playing center field well in my opinion I don't think there has ever been a ball hawk quite like him and help you out so much in every facet of the game that I cant help but think there would be a huge drop off in production.

Now If you are Ok with both of those scenario's then that leaves the issue of Oher not being as good as billed on the "blindside." Again at RT he was a force and if we draft a franchise LT such as Kalil then we have a young and ultra talented O-line to go with a young and ultra talented offense so I see that as a need of the utmost importance.

Outside of Lt our team really has no holes.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='ArmyRaven52' timestamp='1314159286' post='762102']

See I have always laughed at things like this, because does anyone remember what pundits/fans were saying about Ray when he had his murder incident. People were calling him scum of the earth and just another thug who can barely tie his shoes well enough to get on the field. And to this day people still like to jump on Ray for that from time to time, but I cant really think of anyone who has done more for a community or just people in general than Ray. Like that little kid whose family was killed in the murder/suicide of his mother, that is something ghandi would have walked over to Ray in his thong and sandals to shake his hand.

As far as McKinnie goes what he does off the field is his business now if the law catches him and he costs the team by his absence then that is when it become's a problem for me but as long as he produces on the field and does not hurt our team I could care less what others have to say about him.
[/quote]
I agree, if he can produce on the field I could care less about his "questionable work ethic" or his rap career. But he is going to have to produce.

[scrock]

we get it McKinnie likes to eat

[codizzle]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1314157062' post='762052']



the only thing McKinnie lost was his dinky lol...

*by dinky, I clearly mean car keys.
[/quote]
dang.. I lose my dinky everyday

[BloodRaven]

Wow! been working 16hr shifts like a horse and this is what I come back to?! great news!! [size=1]all things considered[/size]