MERGED: "Feelings" on How Free Agency is Going So Far

[JO_75]

If we sign Mathis, losing Grubbs won't hurt no more. If Kruger or Kindle show anything this year(especially Kruger who has had great plays on a part time basis) then losing JJ won't hurt, then if McPhee steps up big time in his second year, losing Redding won't hurt, and if we can somehow draft Kuechly or another LB and he turns out to be a great player, losing McClain won't hurt. In which all honesty, the only player I'm more concerned with was McClain. He stepped up big time when Ray went down and I'm sure Denver will sign him because of that, and they have more money to throw around.

Everyone will say the Ravens are doomed because so and so left but yet that just shows they don't pay attention to the Draft, what Ozzie does with finding undrafted Free Agents who become starters and don't pay attention to our team. We have younger guys in place that can replace Grubbs, Johnson and Redding. Once again, our young defense gets younger next year and even more talented.

[Militant X 1]

[quote name='Bltravens' timestamp='1331847488' post='1023552']
[u][b]After they offered him a contract similar to what Yanda got. Clearly they offered everything they could without handcuffing the team[/b][/u]. I'd say thats doing everything in your power to retain a player you really covet.
[/quote]

i know that they "offered" him a contract BUT just because an offer was made that doesn't mean that he "automatically" has to accept it! therefore, if he doesn't, he is free to "test" the market. he did and now he's gone!

~Mili

[SideStep77]

Oz likes too keep the fans on their feet, keeping us in suspense till we see what happens. In Oz we trust.

[Moderator 2]

Remember being a Ravens fan is not for the faint of heart lol

[Gtown Purple]

The ravens are one of the best teams at finding value in free agency. All of these loser teams who are signing big dollar free agents should heed the warning given by the Eagles last year. Big names don't win championships.....solid teams do. The ravens will keep their young core talent in place when feasible and will replace what leaves. None of the players that have left are going to sink us as a franchise. we either have a younger option on the roster already or good value prsopects in FA or the draft.

[rlh445]

[quote name='Purple Punishment' timestamp='1331860541' post='1023780']
Mad at him for what? Wanting to make money?
[/quote]

Mm yea. As usual, I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, the Ravens did everything they could to resign the guy, but obviously weren't going to give him 36 million bucks so that part of FA always makes me mad. On the other hand, the guy had what could be called a serious injury for a chunk of the season last year, so I could see him sitting at home thinking about how next time it could be more permanent, and wanting to get paid now. Bah. I hate it. I know it's reaaaaaaaallly stupid for me to be mad that we keep grooming awesome players (and on the offensive side of the ball less so) and people keep snapping them up. Just the way it works, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it

[Militant X 1]

[quote name='jazz1988' timestamp='1331861665' post='1023794']
grubbs is gone , jarrett johnson is gone, cory reddings is gone we are so doomed [img]http://content.boards.baltimoreravens.com//public/style_emoticons/default/sad.png[/img]
[/quote]

i wouldn't say that we are doomed BUT i definitely don't like the fact that our main defensive boys are "testing" the market and other teams are snatching them up like hotcakes. smh!

~Mili

[jazz1988]

[quote name='Militant X 1' timestamp='1331907397' post='1024086']

i wouldn't say that we are doomed BUT i definitely don't like the fact that our main defensive boys are "testing" the market and other teams are snatching them up like hotcakes. smh!

~Mili
[/quote]


I wasnt serious about the ravens being doomed but it does sucks that key defensive players are leaving. I hope Jameel McCalin doesn't leave

[757RavensFan]

Derrick Mason tweeted this yesterday, "BMore don't panic, y'all have the best GM in the business!"

We probably should listen to Mase!!

[TheRavenouseD2008]

dude realy , realy we are losing stars like crazy guess we are joining pitt in rebuilding

[AsianRice]

[quote name='757RavensFan' timestamp='1331910202' post='1024142']
Derrick Mason tweeted this yesterday, "BMore don't panic, y'all have the best GM in the business!"

[b]We probably should listen to Mase!![/b]
[/quote]
lmao....Mason had the experience; he thought for a sec we won't survive last year when he and Heap left Bmore.

Seriously, I don't feel panic at all after hearing all the news that our starters were snatched by other teams. I know Ozzie and the FO won't disappoint us like they have never before......

Every morning, I was relieved by not seeing Webb got stolen by other team........

[Gtown Purple]

Chillax Bro............


[quote name='TheRavenouseD2008' timestamp='1331911414' post='1024169']dude realy , realy we are losing stars like crazy guess we are joining pitt in rebuilding[/quote]

[TheSim]

I'll be honest, I thought given what happened last year and how that turned out, I really thought there'd be a lot less whining this off-season when guys inevitably went elsewhere.

[VA_Fan]

^ Agreed ..last year was so much more painful at the time but look how far we went with 20 new players o the roster. So this year I am not getting too upset if a few good players leave. Now if Webb leaves then I might get extremely depressed and swear that "I will never watch another Ravens game again" But then preseason will start and I will watch every game .LOL

[stormie]

I know the front office has a plan. And that every year we go through this period of change. We lose players we never thought we would and somehow the team grows.

But... I am starting to panic a little. Yes Joe and Rice are priority signings. But I sure hope WEBB is right up there getting signed. I just read that the Patriots were looking at him. I can't help but worry.

I'm not so much looking at the news to see who we signed. I'm avoiding the news to see who we lost!

*trying to be patient*

and I have read about Webb in a few places, here is just one (hope it's wrong) [url="http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2012/3/15/2873132/patriots-may-try-to-snare-webb"]http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2012/3/15/2873132/patriots-may-try-to-snare-webb[/url]

[Ravenslifer]

Great teams lose stars every year and rebuild. We were all so worried about CB coming into this season - so much so that they overpaid Carr, and suddenly Webb has come into his own and with the emergency of Jimmy he's become expendable. Our three key free agents were Rice, Webb, and Cary Williams to me - we're obviously set with Rice through this season, and retaining one of Webb or Williams is a win to me (especially if a desperate team pony's up a good second round pick for Cary) - we drafted Jimmy IMO for this reason - just like we drafted Todd Heap when we had Shannon Sharpe and when we took Jared Gaither when we still had J.O. And the growth of our young players - Jimmy, Torrey, Pernelle, Webb, the tight ends, etc. - always seems to offset the losses. I personally think that with a full offseason and a good fix of the o-line, we will be a much better team in 2012 than we were in 2011.

[stormie]

I don't want Webb to go anywhere.

And the draft can't get here soon enough.


Here's a questions: What was the biggest/best acquisition the Ravens have ever made in FA?

[Fricknmaniac]

[quote name='stormie' timestamp='1331920990' post='1024402']
I don't want Webb to go anywhere.

And the draft can't get here soon enough.


Here's a questions: What was the biggest/best acquisition the Ravens have ever made in FA?
[/quote]

Rod Woodson would probably be near the top of that list, if not the top. You could also make the case for Steve McNair, even though he only had one good season it was still the best regular season record for the Ravens in franchise history. Shannon Sharpe certainly could be up there as well.

But for me I'd have to say Derrick Mason. He's the Ravens leader in receptions, yards receiving, and second in receiving touchdowns.

[Purple Punishment]

[quote name='Fricknmaniac' timestamp='1331921564' post='1024417']

Rod Woodson would probably be near the top of that list, if not the top. You could also make the case for Steve McNair, even though he only had one good season it was still the best regular season record for the Ravens in franchise history. Shannon Sharpe certainly could be up there as well.

But for me I'd have to say Derrick Mason. He's the Ravens leader in receptions, yards receiving, and second in receiving touchdowns.
[/quote]

Until Torrey Smith takes all of that!

[reediddy]

[quote name='TheSim' timestamp='1331912110' post='1024187']
I'll be honest, I thought given what happened last year and how that turned out, I really thought there'd be a lot less whining this off-season when guys inevitably went elsewhere.
[/quote]

Yeah we never make the big splash no matter how much the media believes we should. Just resign our own guys, make a play at a few under-the-radar FA's, but otherwise our success in drafting allows us to lose some guys and have young guns step in right away, seamlessly

[dethdude420]

This is the time of year it's hard to be a Raven fan. But as the original post suggest, this is exactly how buisness is always conducted at the castle. We resign as many of our own that we can and those who leave for fame end up getting replaced. Gaither left and so many fans belly ached and Ozz brought in Mckinny, who in my oppinion is a definate upgrade. It happens time and time again, Landry left and he brought us Pollard, again in my oppinion an upgrade at the position. We still have the Draft to go people, keep your heads up. Have faith, Mason is right, we do have the best GM in the busness.

[GrimCoconut]

Let's see, who have we lost?

[b]Jarret Johnson[/b]: 30-year-old OLB who was a converted lineman from Alabama in the 4th round of the 2003 NFL Draft. We lost him for an average of 4.75M a year to the Chargers. He was an underrated player outside of Baltimore but we knew what he did.

[b]Cory Redding[/b]: another 30-year-old defensive player who was our 3-4 DE for the past two years. He was a player some of us last year didn't want back (I'm not including myself; I loved this guy). We lost him for 3.5M. We signed the guy off of the Seahawks, who cut him if I am not mistaken (though I may be, and if so it doesn't matter that much).

[b]Ben Grubbs[/b]: a 28-year-old interior offensive lineman whom we lost to the Saints for an average of 7.2M a year. He only recently missed games due to a turf toe. When he was out we missed him, when he was in we did much better.

[b]Tom Zbikowski[/b]: a 26-year-old boxer-football player strong safety. His career was a back-up SS. He backed-up Dawan Landry & this year he backed up Pollard. He was solid on returns because he had sure hands, but he wasn't anything special returning the ball. We lost him for an amount I currently do not know.

[b]Haruki Nakamura[/b]: a 25-year-old safety who was a star on special teams & was involved in dime packages. He was a gadget player who performed very well when we saw things on special teams we could take advantage. He showed some flashes of brilliance, but he never really got to see the field due to Pollard & Reed being so dominant. He doesn't really have the frame to be a SS, so he was buried by depth here. He also had his bouts with injuries.

In all reality, out of the guys we lost, I don't think any of them are truly crucial to our team. I love Jarret Johnson, he's one of my favorite players on this team. I loved what he did on & off the field & I am going to really miss him. It's just we have McAdoo, Kruger, & Kindle on this roster. JJ doesn't offer MUCH for pass-rush (though he offers something) but he is very solid against the run. He also hits hard, as evidenced by his hit on Hines Ward. He isn't going to take the pressure off of Suggs, however, and that is what we really need. It's time for us to part ways with the Double J. We need a player opposite of Suggs who makes teams focus on him. We need a Woodley to our Harrison. Hate to reference the Steelers, but it's a good example.

Haruki Nakamura? He's a great guy. Love him. I always liked his interviews, but you could tell after we lost in the interview he did that he wasn't coming back. He said something along the lines of "The team will never be the same" & when he was asked if he was returning he seemed uncommitted. It wasn't as if he didn't WANT to return, but that he didn't think he would. At the time I felt he would return because it seemed to be more him thinking Ozzie didn't want him. I think it's actually that he wants to try to be something, and he can't do it under Reed's shadow. Unless Reed has some serious injury, Nakamura wouldn't be more than a situational player who sees the field on special teams. He was a gadget player, a guy I really liked a lot because of that time he ran the ball for the 1st down & all the other gadget plays he did on special teams. He also had some good plays on defense, where he got that interception that was a pretty remarkable interception. Harbaugh was high on him, too. Ultimately, he needed to go. He was buried behind Reed & there was no hope of him getting the playing time he deserved.

Tom Zbikowski? I really don't like the guy. I mean no disrespect, but I think he has a better career in boxing than football. I'm not very impressed by him as a football player. He doesn't really offer much on special teams (he has some very nice hands; can't remember him dropping a return, could be wrong). He was very Carr-esque with his returns. Bland & unimpressive. He also didn't look great in the game. He was pretty decent in coverage but not the best against the run. Pollard showed why he is better than Zbikowski for our team, and if he thinks he can start elsewhere he should. Indy is a good fit for him[b].[/b]

Losing Cory Redding is hard, because I really grew to love this guy. I liked his play his first season, but my favorite play of his & what made me love him as a player was when he just picked up the fumble off the ground & walked into the end-zone for a humiliating touchdown. One of the best plays I ever saw. With that said, he taught a lot to Jones & McPhee. I like what they bring to the game. I feel like it's their chance to shine. It's their chance to show the FO why they belong here. We need to give them a shot.

And finally, I will end this with Ben Grubbs. Yes, our offense did suffer when Grubbs was out. But part of that could be attributed to the fact that Gurode played out of position (really a center not a guard) & he had NO chemistry with the offensive line at that point. He did get better towards the end, but there was no way we were keeping him in there over Grubbs. Let's not talk about LeVoir. Bottom-line: Grubbs is a very good player we will miss, but he can be replaced & he will be. We will either use Boren, Harewood, Oher (hope not), or Reid (hope not) to replace Grubbs or just get a guy in FA like Mathis or some other guard who is a free agent or soon will be.

In the end, everyone we lost was either getting towards the end of their career & got paid very well (JJ, Redding) or they were a back-up looking for a chance to make a name (Zbikowski, Haruki) & you can't blame either guy for that or the Ravens. Losing Grubbs was the worst because of the chemistry & his talent, but we will replace him I am certain. I believe by next year we will not miss Ben Grubbs.

Hopefully we can relax as Ravens fans, take a deep breath, and reduce some of that anxiety. Everything will be OK. We still have Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed here on defense and the younger guys of Lardarius Webb, Jimmy Smith, & even Terrence Cody as well as Paul Kruger to a certain extent.

On offense we have Marshall Yanda, Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, Torrey Smith, Anquan Boldin. We even have Matt Birk & Bryant McKinnie, as well as some promising guys in Boren & Reid. We have Michael Oher, love him or hate him, he can still be a good talent if given the chance. He might even tear it up as a RT this year and show that is where he belongs--we don't know.

In the end, we are still the Ravens. The important cogs that make this team turn are still here. Ozzie keeps the pieces we need to keep going & he lets those we can afford to lose walk. Losing a Pro Bowl guard hurts, but we will be fine.

Good teams know when to part ways with their talent, and this is one thing that makes the Patriots a very good team. Belichick knows when to let the talent go. We do, too.

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='stormie' timestamp='1331920990' post='1024402']
I don't want Webb to go anywhere.

And the draft can't get here soon enough.


Here's a questions: What was the biggest/best acquisition the Ravens have ever made in FA?
[/quote]

Mase was definitely the FA that had the longest impact. He was really the only starting caliber wide receiver on this team from 2005-2009. But for free agents that had the most impact, pretty much all the guys from 98-00 - Rod Woodson, Michael McCary, then we added Shannon Sharpe and Sam Adams in 2000 (really have to thank Seattle twice for McCrary and Adams), and went on to win the whole thing. (Oh, and shout out to Trent Dilfer for giving us a body to replace Tony Banks with - I don't think even that 2000 defense could have overcome an entire season of Tony Banks.) Of course, it could be Boldin if he starts getting used more in the slot like he should - this franchise has a history of not really adding too many big name free agents year after year, unlike, say, a certain franchise down I-95.

[MikeMike]

First and foremost Baltimore I love you but what is going on? We have lost alot of defensive assests for one and two why havent you been in negotiations with any of the good free agent receivers. are we gonna add another reciever that drops an important pass for us to drown in sorrow for another off season! That what happens when you budget, Evans and housh explain why we need to step up and pay someone reliable. Flacco can only do so much and put the ball in your numbers its up to you to catch it. Baltimore if anything we need to boost this reciever core. You get these recievers that literally drop the ball when it matters. Enough already dig in your pocket and get a reliable reciever cause I guarantee boldin dont stay healthy as always. Smith has a bright future but if one of them goes down who do we have? hurry and get the deals done with flacco and rice cause the team is in limbo . oh and back up rb for rice hmm maybe tolbert? Lets go bmore enough.

[rmw10]

Typical overreaction.

[TDubbs]

We`re not on a budget at all lol. We have had to let these players go because others teams paid a premium for them, and it wasnt in our best interest to over pay for their services. We`ll be right up against the cap once we get our corners Lardarious Webb and Cary Williams signed, as well as Rice and Flacco.

There was never any point in us going after a FA Wideout and coughing up big dollars for one, when we can look to the draft where there is plenty of options. We will be fine lol have a little faith in Ozzie and crew this is nothing that they didnt predict would happen. When you draft and develop as many quality players as we do it is a given that you will lose some to free agency when you have teams who cant draft well and need to buy.

[CapoRocky]

We don't need a FA WR. We need to draft someone good in the 1st or 2nd rounds. Doss will be better with OTAs and training camp experience. We are in a good position on offense. The TEs are going to have a better year than last year as they grow more comfortable with the schemes.

[The Raven]

[quote name='MikeMike' timestamp='1332009922' post='1025624']
First and foremost Baltimore I love you but what is going on? We have lost alot of defensive assests for one and two why havent you been in negotiations with any of the good free agent receivers. are we gonna add another reciever that drops an important pass for us to drown in sorrow for another off season! That what happens when you budget, Evans and housh explain why we need to step up and pay someone reliable. Flacco can only do so much and put the ball in your numbers its up to you to catch it. Baltimore if anything we need to boost this reciever core. You get these recievers that literally drop the ball when it matters. Enough already dig in your pocket and get a reliable reciever cause I guarantee boldin dont stay healthy as always. Smith has a bright future but if one of them goes down who do we have? hurry and get the deals done with flacco and rice cause the team is in limbo . oh and back up rb for rice hmm maybe tolbert? Lets go bmore enough.
[/quote]

Defensive assets? Lol, okay. Redding? JJ? Assets? Cmon man!

Why haven't we negotiated with any WRs? Why does Dan Snyder overpay in FA every year to miss the playoffs? We build through the draft and get [b]value players[/b] in FA, and make the playoffs. Also, I guess you're not too aware of out cap situation; we are a little tight there.

Team is in limbo? Get real.

Backup for Rice? Simple! Anthony Allen and Damien Berry. Sorry to disappoint you, but we don't sign big name players too often, especially not for backups...

[EdReedFTW]

Feel free to checkout any of the other "We're DOOOOOOMED" threads that are all over the forum. This happens every year. This isnt news. We'll be fine.

[GrimCoconut]

Yep. You're 100% right. Forget that we have Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, & T-Sizzle. As well as Lardarius Webb, Jimmy Smith,Bernard Pollard & even Terrence Cody. We're finished as a team we will be lucky to be a top-15 defense this year. Might as well star over after losing an old OLB who couldn't effectively rush the passer & another old DE who was solid contributor to our team but was only here two years.