Great Signs For Our Future Defense

[eandb17]

Watching the Ravens the past few weeks, every game people (most notably Pittsburgh fans) will say to me, "Man, there is no way your defense can hold up without Ray Lewis." These past few weeks though, have been fantastic and are great signs to the future. The obvious one is [u]Terrell Suggs[/u] who will have to step into Ray's shoes when he retires. [u]Ladarius Webb[/u] has been on a roll (lets just hope this toe turns out to be nothing.) First rounder [u]Jimmy Smith[/u] has also been coming into his own as of late. Others like [u]Pernell McPhee and Jameel McClain[/u] who nobody had thought of much before are playing as though they are five year veterans. Even some of the lesser known guys, i.e [u]Paul Kruger and Terrence Cody[/u] are playing some sensational football right now. Plus, Ozzie can easily fill any gaps using his draft skills. Our future defense is secure in these, and with plenty more great names to come, I see our "aging" defense still being one of the best in years to come. What do you guys think? Who are some names I forgot or we should draft.?

[codizzle]

Yup ur right oh and there's a draft section where everybody talks all about prospects and all that good stuff

[Fricknmaniac]

And the Lord spoke to Ozzy and He said, "You shall go to Baltimore, you shall build and maintain a football team through the draft. Do this and you shall be rewarded with amazing players year after year."

[quoth_the_raven_neverscore]

[quote name='eandb17' timestamp='1323913412' post='907076']
Watching the Ravens the past few weeks, every game people (most notably Pittsburgh fans) will say to me, "Man, there is no way your defense can hold up without Ray Lewis." These past few weeks though, have been fantastic and are great signs to the future. The obvious one is [u]Terrell Suggs[/u] who will have to step into Ray's shoes when he retires. [u]Ladarius Webb[/u] has been on a roll (lets just hope this toe turns out to be nothing.) First rounder [u]Jimmy Smith[/u] has also been coming into his own as of late. Others like [u]Pernell McPhee and Jameel McClain[/u] who nobody had thought of much before are playing as though they are five year veterans. Even some of the lesser known guys, i.e [u]Paul Kruger and Terrence Cody[/u] are playing some sensational football right now. Plus, Ozzie can easily fill any gaps using his draft skills. Our future defense is secure in these, and with plenty more great names to come, I see our "aging" defense still being one of the best in years to come. What do you guys think? Who are some names I forgot or we should draft.?
[/quote]


it's been an interesting glimpse into life without ray these past few weeks, the d has really stepped up and played well without him. and i really do think the defense will be dominant when ray retires. so, onto the topic of everyone else...

terrell suggs has demonstrated great leadership in ray's absence and will do a fine job running the show when ray and ed reed retire. ngata's in his prime and with his new contract will be a raven for years to come, which is huge because he's the best end in the league and really helps the linebackers go to work. webb is turning into a very solid and sneaky corner (and a good punt returner to boot), and cary williams' play has been a nice surprise. mcphee and mcclain are doing a solid job. kruger and redding have been beastly at times. another name that comes to mind is bernard pollard, he's played well this year and was a good acquisition. jarret johnson is very underrated but is in the last year of his deal. ed is contracted through next season, we'll have to see if he continues on after that...

the other thing to consider in this matter is that when 52 does finally leave the game, he probably won't be on the sidelines to provide that guidance and wisdom that he has been since the injury. unless of course he gets into coaching, but i don't think that's likely to happen because he's interested in an acting career when he retires.

but the ravens' bread and butter has been defense for more than a decade, and i think they will continually gear their team toward an elite hard-nosed defense, complimented with an offense that runs first and throws passes later. at least for as long as ozzie's upstairs, and hopefully afterward. we all love ray and will hate to see him go, but i think that after he leaves, when people think ravens, they'll still think defense.

[Dudeman]

I really think this goes without saying. Ray has helped establish a tradition for how Ravens defense should be played. But if Ray was the only guy we ever drafted then we wouldn't have sustained a good defense for nearly his entire tenure. The Ravens play great team defense with the older guys helping to indoctrinate the younger ones. Ozzie also does such a good job of drafting impact players on defense in the first round. Because we seldom miss on a pick and we have staple veterans to build around we have sustained sucess on defense for as long as we have. I also don't see this drop off in production in a world without Ray and Ed.

[Gordo52]

Plus whenever Ozzie leaves we'll have Decosta too take over whose been learning from the great. I think we may always be a defensive team

[LouieDaLug]

Don't forget Cary Williams....he's played pretty well this season... underrated in my opinion with Webb and J Smith getting most of the pub.

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

In ozzie we trust

[BmoreInBmore]

We have an abundance of young talent right now, I have been especially impressed with how McClain has stepped up in Ray's absence.

And no ones really talking about him, but Cody is developing into a great nose tackle. In his second year he is taking almost every first and second down snap and anchoring the second ranked run defense in the league.

[cobrajet]

Our future is bright on defense and offense! I love this team
[quote name='eandb17' timestamp='1323913412' post='907076']
Watching the Ravens the past few weeks, every game people (most notably Pittsburgh fans) will say to me, "Man, there is no way your defense can hold up without Ray Lewis." These past few weeks though, have been fantastic and are great signs to the future. The obvious one is [u]Terrell Suggs[/u] who will have to step into Ray's shoes when he retires. [u]Ladarius Webb[/u] has been on a roll (lets just hope this toe turns out to be nothing.) First rounder [u]Jimmy Smith[/u] has also been coming into his own as of late. Others like [u]Pernell McPhee and Jameel McClain[/u] who nobody had thought of much before are playing as though they are five year veterans. Even some of the lesser known guys, i.e [u]Paul Kruger and Terrence Cody[/u] are playing some sensational football right now. Plus, Ozzie can easily fill any gaps using his draft skills. Our future defense is secure in these, and with plenty more great names to come, I see our "aging" defense still being one of the best in years to come. What do you guys think? Who are some names I forgot or we should draft.?
[/quote]
That Danny Gorrer kid is playing pretty well also.

[BenDufusberger]

PFF did a writeup on late-round 2011 draft picks who are playing well , and McPhee was one of the four they reviewed :

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/12/16/the-scramble-late-round-impact/"]http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/12/16/the-scramble-late-round-impact/[/url]

[1/28/01]

[quote name='BenDufusberger' timestamp='1324151396' post='908931']
PFF did a writeup on late-round 2011 draft picks who are playing well , and McPhee was one of the four they reviewed :

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/12/16/the-scramble-late-round-impact/"]http://www.profootba...e-round-impact/[/url]
[/quote]
Good read...thanks!

[SideStep77]

I think we will be just fine, Suggs will become the defensive icon that Ray once was, it will become Suggs' Defense, the young talent we have now will keep us good for a long time.

[PurpleDrink]

[quote name='Fricknmaniac' timestamp='1323919824' post='907126']
And the Lord spoke to Ozzy and He said, "You shall go to Baltimore, you shall build and maintain a football team through the draft. Do this and you shall be rewarded with amazing players year after year."
[/quote]

Amen.

[PeRK82]

[quote name='eandb17' timestamp='1323913412' post='907076']
Watching the Ravens the past few weeks, every game people (most notably Pittsburgh fans) will say to me, "Man, there is no way your defense can hold up without Ray Lewis." These past few weeks though, have been fantastic and are great signs to the future. The obvious one is [u]Terrell Suggs[/u] who will have to step into Ray's shoes when he retires. [u]Ladarius Webb[/u] has been on a roll (lets just hope this toe turns out to be nothing.) First rounder [u]Jimmy Smith[/u] has also been coming into his own as of late. Others like [u]Pernell McPhee and Jameel McClain[/u] who nobody had thought of much before are playing as though they are five year veterans. Even some of the lesser known guys, i.e [u]Paul Kruger and Terrence Cody[/u] are playing some sensational football right now. Plus, Ozzie can easily fill any gaps using his draft skills. Our future defense is secure in these, and with plenty more great names to come, I see our "aging" defense still being one of the best in years to come. What do you guys think? Who are some names I forgot or we should draft.?
[/quote]


I agree with you, BUT, THATS A BIG BUT, How in the world did you leave out the one , the only CORY REDDING. He is our unsung hero. Also i've heard and read and watched him talk about how he keeps the younger guys on track and tells them what is expected of them playing as a RAVEN. Reminds me of Trevor Pryce but better. He is in everyone of my Montages with atleast 2 highlights everytime. Also, gotta love his Stomp on his big plays. (Hard hit, tackles and Sacks)

[PeRK82]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1324152114' post='908938']
Good read...thanks!
[/quote]


They also talked about him on PLAY BOOK AFC. And i thought they were going to bring up C.REDDING. Most underrated player imo

[Ball So Hard]

I really want Terrence Cody to step up and become a dominant nose tackle that way we can free up ngata and phee to hunt quarterbacks

[BloodRaven]

You simply can't replace a Ray Lewis or Ed Reed, but we've proven we can still dominate with a well drilled, well rounded defense.

[eandb17]

[quote name='PeRK82' timestamp='1324161787' post='909017']


I agree with you, BUT, THATS A BIG BUT, How in the world did you leave out the one , the only CORY REDDING. He is our unsung hero. Also i've heard and read and watched him talk about how he keeps the younger guys on track and tells them what is expected of them playing as a RAVEN. Reminds me of Trevor Pryce but better. He is in everyone of my Montages with atleast 2 highlights everytime. Also, gotta love his Stomp on his big plays. (Hard hit, tackles and Sacks)
[/quote]
Redding is 31 and I my guess is he has about three to four good years left. Everybody I mentioned should be great for 6-8 years and be key building blocks in our future defense.

[PeRK82]

[quote name='eandb17' timestamp='1324251961' post='909763']
Redding is 31 and I my guess is he has about three to four good years left. Everybody I mentioned should be great for 6-8 years and be key building blocks in our future defense.
[/quote]

Agreed, i think Redding is going to have a BIG Game tonight, like usual. I think ill catch some flack for this, but i think the dude has been playing better than my man Ngata and thats saying alot. LOVE Redding. I hope i see a few Stomps and hopefully a Karate kick, if you see the Kick, you know he just made a HUGE play.