Your Armchair Gm Offseason Plan

[The Prestige]

I want everyone's two cents on how the Ravens should attack the off-season.

1. Work with Ray about reducing his role, or trade him.

I hate getting tunnelvision about one game, regardless of importance - because Ray is still probably in the top 12 of MLB/ILB in TE/WR coverage -, but when a team like the Patriots goes empty backfield, blitz him or get him out of there. There were three instances where he's sitting back there and did not have the closing speed to get to Hernandez, Gronkowski and Welker as they went across the field. Others missed Patriots in the open field, but it was either fewer instances or they caught up to the Patriot. Ray didn't.

2. Re-sign Tom Zbikowski and extend Bernard Pollard.

Pollard was a main reason why the Ravens only gave up 11 passing touchdowns in 18 games. Will they eventually want to replace Pollard in the draft? Maybe, but he has the swagger and athleticism few strong safeties possess and who knows how long before Ed Reed retires?

3. Draft pass-rushing DE, OLB, DT and hybrids.

It's not like the Ravens are far off. They didn't get sacks down the stretch, but they still got pressure. I would use the first and second picks on pass-rushers, unless Jared Allen is available in trade.

4. Replace Cam Cameron with Titans quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Dowell Loggains, someone in-house, or anyone who will let Joe go shotgun.

Harbaugh has enough to worry about (like using timeouts), let's get him an offensive coordinator he doesn't have to feel uneasy about.

Joe isn't Brett Favre or Tony Romo in the short and intermediate game, but I would argue that he has to be used as a sort of gunslinger. In the end - just like in the Cardinals game and in the second Steelers game and Steelers 2010 divisional round game -, Joe spread out the Patriots, put the ball in the hands of his receivers, and gave the Ravens a chance. Joe's strength is downfield throwing, and/or maybe intermediate throws where you have the drive the ball into a tight window.

The next coordinator needs to work with Joe, and put him in a position to stretch the field. What Flacco haters don't realize is that if he has good protection, his deep arm could open up the run game to new levels. Rice and Williams could combine for 2800 yards rushing next year. He may throw a few more picks, but there will be a lot more punts, and a lot fewer INTs.

What would you do if you were GM? It doesn't have to have four points to it. Feel free to criticize mine. I'm just so over this loss (one of my best friends is an arrogant, blind Patriots fan) and I'm on to watching FSU basketball.

[flynismo]

Did you just say "trade Ray"? smh...

[flynismo]

I do like the idea of keeping Pollard around though. Love having that guy on our side.

[Gordo52]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1327357320' post='969716']
Did you just say "trade Ray"? smh...
[/quote]
I stopped reading right there.

[The Prestige]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1327357320' post='969716']
Did you just say "trade Ray"? smh...
[/quote]

Well, wasn't he the main player attacked on most of the big plays? I know Ellerbe is partly responsible for Green-Ellis' touchdown, with his stupid facemask.

I'm just curious. I just saw Ray sitting back there. When Welker or Hernandez would get by him, they are already faster than him, and they have a full head of steam. I'm not saying Tom Zbikowski or Haruki Nakamara would have done a lot better, but I'm talking specifically about plays where the Patriots were going with an empty set.

I know Cundiff and Evans (and the lack of review) deserve blame for the loss, too.

[cursona pirate]

1. dont resign cam cameron
Get someone!
2. have Ozzie do what he does in the draft
3.have kicking competition
4.free agency

[SizzleSuggs55]

I agree with that we need another pass rusher to compliment Suggs, but not another DT considering we have Ngata, Cody, and Arthur Jones
We also need to solidify our o line, whether it be the draft or what not. I'm also very confident in Jah Reid, he impressed me a lot at times this year. But what i would like the most is to draft a free safety or middle linebacker that Ray and Ed can kind of mentor for the future. Lets face it there's gonna be a day where there not here, and it would be nice to have a youngster ready to replace the role. Cam Cameron must go, and we need to completely re-vamp our offensive scheme, and stretch the field more like you stated, while still committing to the run. I'm sure as always that we will find a couple studs in the draft.
And forget about trading Ray or even diminishing his role, you cant teach the knowledge he has of the game.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='The Prestige' timestamp='1327357575' post='969727']
Well, wasn't he the main player attacked on most of the big plays? I know Ellerbe is partly responsible for Green-Ellis' touchdown, with his stupid facemask.

I'm just curious. I just saw Ray sitting back there. When Welker or Hernandez would get by him, they are already faster than him, and they have a full head of steam. I'm not saying Tom Zbikowski or Haruki Nakamara would have done a lot better, but I'm talking specifically about plays where the Patriots were going with an empty set.

I know Cundiff and Evans (and the lack of review) deserve blame for the loss, too.
[/quote]
Thats because primarily we played alot of cover 1 to allow Lewis to sit in a shell zone spying the middle of the field. There was a couple times we put Ray in man on a TE to disguise and switch coverages but all in all, Ray wasn't completely exploited, not by a long shot. He also had textbook coverage on Welker in the endzone about 15-20 yards down field. Reduce Ray's role, come on guy. McClain shows some flashed of being extremely physical, but Ellerbe is about half the player Ray is at 37.

[The Prestige]

[quote name='Bltravens' timestamp='1327358123' post='969750']
Thats because primarily we played alot of cover 1 to allow Lewis to sit in a shell zone spying the middle of the field. There was a couple times we put Ray in man on a TE to disguise and switch coverages but all in all, Ray wasn't completely exploited, not by a long shot. He also had textbook coverage on Welker in the endzone about 15-20 yards down field. Reduce Ray's role, come on guy. McClain shows some flashed of being extremely physical, but Ellerbe is about half the player Ray is at 37.
[/quote]

I appreciate the perspective, and nuggets of info. That's what this thread is about: solutions, and raw assessments going forward. God's been able to get me through this bitter loss, and I want everyone's player and scheme evaluations

What I'm talking about, though, is specifically when a team does not have any running back on the field. I'm not saying it has to be a LB, S or CB replacing Ray. I'm only saying that I expected the Ravens to give up fewer than 23 points yesterday, and the main culprit on defense seemed to be Ray (I do believe you win and lose as a team, but that doesn't mean there should be a player who can't come off the field to counter personnel changes),

[reediddy]

[quote name='cursona pirate' timestamp='1327357758' post='969737']
1. dont resign cam cameron
Get someone!
2. have Ozzie do what he does in the draft
3.have kicking competition
4.free agency
[/quote]

[quote name='cursona pirate' timestamp='1327357758' post='969737']
1. dont resign cam cameron
Get someone!
2. have Ozzie do what he does in the draft
3.have kicking competition
4.free agency
[/quote]

this, to be honest. Our defensive personnel are just dandy right now. OL and WR are the positions of most immediate need, followed by LB and S for obvious reasons

[arnie_uk]

ray cant be traded, hes out of contract, but he has a one year rolling extension built into his contract if he decides to come back

[Ravens Beast]

1. Hire a good OC.
2. Re-sign Webb, Rice, Evans, Grubbs, and Zibi.
3. Cut Foxworth, Carr, and whoever else is needlessly taking up cap space.
4. Get our ST straightened out. Our ST was terrible this year. Kicking, receiving, and covering.
5. Draft young talent for the defense and an OT. Safety or ILB preferably in the first rd. So they may work behind the greatest that there has ever been at either position.
6. Sign another Center and some other experienced OL.
7. See if Cundiff still has it in him. If he even has an inkling of jitters left I do not want him on this team.

[TreTheRaven]

Talking about "[i]trading Ray[/i]" on a Baltimore Ravens website should be banned.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='The Prestige' timestamp='1327358573' post='969764']
I appreciate the perspective, and nuggets of info. That's what this thread is about: solutions, and raw assessments going forward. God's been able to get me through this bitter loss, and I want everyone's player and scheme evaluations

What I'm talking about, though, is specifically when a team does not have any running back on the field. I'm not saying it has to be a LB, S or CB replacing Ray. I'm only saying that I expected the Ravens to give up fewer than 23 points yesterday, and the main culprit on defense seemed to be Ray (I do believe you win and lose as a team, but that doesn't mean there should be a player who can't come off the field to counter personnel changes),
[/quote]
It wasn't Ray though Pollard gave up some plays, Ellerbe gave up like 5 or 6, Ray had a couple plays running across his face but not alot he can do when he's standing in a zone. Ray was not the main culprit.

[sliceanddic3]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1327357320' post='969716']
Did you just say "trade Ray"? smh...
[/quote]
As soon as I saw that, I, instinctively, looked down to see how many negs he had hahaha

[scrock]

Find more depth for the OL, draft a safety, draft a LB

free agency i'll have to see what out there, lol....seriously...we need another pass rusher, we could use a big target WR

I think our secondary will be top 5 next year based on their talent, then it depends on how much pressure we put on the QB

our offense will be AFC North for sure with the Steelers saying they are going back to running the ball more but we have a QB that can make plays so its still a balance

[I AM LEGEND]

Love what Pollard brought to the team this year....played like a raven


Get Webb locked up long term

Figure out why our defensive line disappears in huge games

Figure out why our offensive line hasn't played above average in a couple years

[chesapeakeaviator]

1. Do everything we possibly can to get Ray Lewis out there for opening day. We have what no one else has. There are few players who have ever lived with his gift of leadership and his ability to read offenses. As long as he can strap up, I want him at ILB.

And I would rather have a limb amputated than trade him. Some things are even bigger than football, man.

2. I want the OL and Special Teams focused on. If we can do those two things, I firmly believe we could get another crack at this next year. A dedicated KR would be good, and we need guys who are actually going to cover. Draft picks focused on OL. Get an ILB and perhaps a pass rush guy mid-round. Ozzie can make those third and fourth round picks count, and if we can do that again, we'll be cookin' with gas.

3. A WR capable of getting separation would be nice, but those two things above need to be addressed first.

4. Just resign Rice, Webb, and Grubbs first and foremost. Get Flacco taken care of. These guys need to be Ravens for life--or at least until there's nothing left in the tank.

5. Figure out the Kindle situation once and for all. If he's not going to be able to go, that's truly a shame, but I feel we could be signing guys who could fill in better when there are deficiencies or injuries during the season. If we could sign and keep on the practice squad a guy who could fly when covering kicks, for example, I would take that over a "maybe, probably not" prospect, even of that caliber. If he truly is showing enough to stick around, I want to see a heck of a lot of him in preseason. It's put up or shut up time there.

And if for no other reason so we can stop talking about it [img]http://content.boards.baltimoreravens.com//public/style_emoticons/default/Sports_sport04.gif[/img]


That's what I would do. Not an insider. Don't know jack, but that's how I see it. The extent of my front office experience was one year I scouted some JV football games. Single A. "That number 27 can sure kill you if you give him the edge" kind of stuff. Which makes me slightly more qualified than Cam Cameron. Giggity.

[Npane171]

We need to get Brett Favre, a.s.a.p

[flynismo]

[quote name='sliceanddic3' timestamp='1327359812' post='969824']
As soon as I saw that, I, instinctively, looked down to see how many negs he had hahaha
[/quote]

lmao! that's funny because I did the same thing!

[flynismo]

Speaking of negs, I dont think he should be getting negged lol ... the trading Ray stuff was just crazy talk brought about by a BS loss yesterday. Other than that, no gripes with his opinions.

Well, we really dont need anymore OLB either, and depending on how confident we are in McPhee being a three down player (unlikely -- he's a great pass rusher though) we may not need a DE either.

[flynismo]

[quote name='The Prestige' timestamp='1327357038' post='969707']
4. Replace Cam Cameron with Titans quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Dowell Loggains, someone in-house, or anyone who will let Joe go shotgun.
[/quote]


This x 1000


[quote name='The Prestige' timestamp='1327357038' post='969707']
1. Work with Ray about reducing his role, or[b] trade him.[/b]
[/quote]


sigh ....

[arnie_uk]

if you mention ray and trade, you get negged, just like you did fly for sticking up for him... ha

[Npane171]

On a more serious note;

(1) Cameron needs to be replaced. I think other posts allude to the most realistic possibilities right now. I think a lot of people favor Hue. Cam, though, has failed to get this offense firing on all cylinders consistently. Baltimore is ready for a change now. Best wishes, Cam.


(2) Re-sign Flacco. He's our guy. With better offensive play-calling and possibly some o-line adjustments, he's going to shine!

(3) Tag Rice.

(4) I think we should release JJ. I'm not sure whether we could trade him or not. I personally think he's slowed down a bit, and he isn't adding the pressure we need from that side of the ball. He hasn't performed well in the run game either. Hopefully with a full year of training and practice, Sergio will become "our guy". We'll see though. A premier pass rush is key, though.

(5) O-line issues: Michael Oher, I think, needs to be traded. One person suggested we trade for a 3rd round draft pick. Seems like a good bet. Oher has slowed down, and is horrible in pass protection. Besides, he has a room devoted to all the flags he's collected over the years. Now that we're discussing potential O-line adjustments, I think we keep Ben Grubbs and Yanda obviously. Matt Birk is always going to be a hero in Baltimore. He did well for us, but he is banged up and old. He's come to the end of his career. He knows it, we know it. I think he's going to retire. Right now, we need to look for a replacement center. Whether that's Gurode, or someone else will be left up to much better men than us I'm sure. That being said, center is a position we need to look at with priority. I personally liked McKinney. I thought he performed pretty well this year in run blocking, though he cannot pass-block to save his life. Joe is getting hit from behind because both Oher and McKinney let these DE/OLB get by so much. It's unacceptable. It needs to be addressed.

So, re-sign Grubbs. Keep Yanda obviously. Address the issue of a center and look to establish a better blocking RT/LT.

(6) Secondary: I think we're going to be beast next year. Hopefully Ed returns. I think RL52 talks him into coming back. Webb, Cary, and especially Jimmy, Danny and Chykie get even better in the off-season. We try trading Foxworth and Carr. That frees up a lot of cap space and gives us some room. Maybe we can address some issues on the oline for these guys. We keep Zbi and Pollard. Looking forward to a great secondary next season.

[flynismo]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1327361878' post='969899']
if you mention ray and trade, you get negged, just like you did fly for sticking up for him... ha
[/quote]

haha, fair enough!

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1327362556' post='969926']

haha, fair enough!
[/quote]
howd you lose my neg? what mod are your sleeping with?

[flynismo]

[quote name='Npane171' timestamp='1327362222' post='969911']
(5) O-line issues: Michael Oher, I think, needs to be traded. [b]One person suggested we trade for a 3rd round draft pick[/b].
[/quote]


hmm....that person sounds very smart. And must be extremely handsome... lol

Yeah really though, I dont even want to think about anything other than this OL. It is the one thingthat has held us back more than anything on this team -- even more so than Cam.

[flynismo]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1327362667' post='969932']
howd you lose my neg? what mod are your sleeping with?
[/quote]

Nevermind I'm erasing this before I get yelled at lol....

[ThePurpleWall]

[quote name='The Prestige' timestamp='1327357038' post='969707']
I want everyone's two cents on how the Ravens should attack the off-season.

1. Work with Ray about reducing his role, or trade him.

i dont think so

I hate getting tunnelvision about one game, regardless of importance - because Ray is still probably in the top 12 of MLB/ILB in TE/WR coverage -, but when a team like the Patriots goes empty backfield, blitz him or get him out of there. There were three instances where he's sitting back there and did not have the closing speed to get to Hernandez, Gronkowski and Welker as they went across the field. Others missed Patriots in the open field, but it was either fewer instances or they caught up to the Patriot. Ray didn't.

2. Re-sign Tom Zbikowski and extend Bernard Pollard.

i agree with this

Pollard was a main reason why the Ravens only gave up 11 passing touchdowns in 18 games. Will they eventually want to replace Pollard in the draft? Maybe, but he has the swagger and athleticism few strong safeties possess and who knows how long before Ed Reed retires?

Replace Cam Cameron with Titans quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Dowell Loggains, someone in-house, or anyone who will let Joe go shotgun.

thats fine or norv

Harbaugh has enough to worry about (like using timeouts), let's get him an offensive coordinator he doesn't have to feel uneasy about.

Joe isn't Brett Favre or Tony Romo in the short and intermediate game, but I would argue that he has to be used as a sort of gunslinger. In the end - just like in the Cardinals game and in the second Steelers game and Steelers 2010 divisional round game -, Joe spread out the Patriots, put the ball in the hands of his receivers, and gave the Ravens a chance. Joe's strength is downfield throwing, and/or maybe intermediate throws where you have the drive the ball into a tight window.

The next coordinator needs to work with Joe, and put him in a position to stretch the field. What Flacco haters don't realize is that if he has good protection, his deep arm could open up the run game to new levels. Rice and Williams could combine for 2800 yards rushing next year. He may throw a few more picks, but there will be a lot more punts, and a lot fewer INTs.

What would you do if you were GM? It doesn't have to have four points to it. Feel free to criticize mine. I'm just so over this loss (one of my best friends is an arrogant, blind Patriots fan) and I'm on to watching FSU basketball.
[/quote]

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1327362945' post='969955']

Nevermind I'm erasing this before I get yelled at lol....
[/quote]awh right, she was ON TOP of that neg