Corey Graham Signs

[1/28/01]

Awesome!! I mean, who?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-bears-corey-graham-sign-ravens-20120323,0,1240580.story

[Gtown Purple]

Not a household name here but his track record shows he's good on special teams. That is something we lacked last year for sure.

[Gtown Purple]

Now all the people crying about not signing an FA can shut up, lol................

[RAYvenFan20]

good sign. probowl ST player, not sure how he plans on contributing on our d tho

[Gtown Purple]

Depth most likely


[quote name='RAYvenFan20' timestamp='1332506217' post='1031957']good sign. probowl ST player, not sure how he plans on contributing on our d tho[/quote]

[GrimCoconut]

And so Chris Carr has been replaced.

It looks like he wants more PT on defense. He played some nickel. Sounds good. It will take pressure off of us to draft CBs, or at least to draft any high.

[Clutch Ravens]

Awesome signing. He was a special teams monster, like a legitimately exceptional Special teamer, not like one or two guys we had wasting roster spots last year that were special teams "aces".

[callahan09]

[quote name='RAYvenFan20' timestamp='1332506217' post='1031957']
good sign. probowl ST player, not sure how he plans on contributing on our d tho
[/quote]
I doubt he was signed to immediately contribute anything to defense. He was signed because he is good at special teams coverage, an area where the Ravens' severely lacked in 2011 (24th on punt return coverage, 31st on kick return coverage). I'm glad to beef up special teams. I know we have what seems to be a weak offensive line right now and we could use some defense depth at virtually every position, but those things are just a matter of trying to beef our team back up to levels that were more or less acceptable or even very good in 2011. The one area that this team truly lacked in 2011 was special teams, and it needed to be addressed, even if it isn't as glamorous, and it wasn't a headline need because we didn't really *lose* any important special teams players this offseason; rather, we had need for them to begin with.

[jazz1988]

Wow we finally got our shut down cornerback[img]http://content.boards.baltimoreravens.com//public/style_emoticons/default/banana1.gif[/img]

[arnie_uk]

ST Ace, will hopefully go a long way to improving our STs this year

[T-ray]

6', 200 lbs. Great tackler. ST ace. 3 INT's in the 3 games he was the nickel corner for the Bears, with one INT in each game. With Teryl Austin, this dude may surprise a lot of people if he's called on to do so.

[Yatagarasu]

Good under the radar signing.

We needed to replace Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Also he has some potential to be a quality back-up CB, in case, we lose our CBs to free agency or injuries.

[POE]

I like the signing as well. It fills holes where we had some mediocre play last year in ST. I wonder if he has ever played safety or is possibly willing to learn it to help with our depth there. With Haruki and Zibi out in FA, we need some depth there, and as I know you can never have enough CB's we have quite a few on the roster as it is.

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

Helps us to kill the two birds of CB depth and ST players. Sounds like a typical, solid Ozzie signing. Welcome aboard Corey

[Ravenslifer]

Good signing. And a typical Ravens' signing. Not flashy but helpful.

[Bazooka Joe]

Cory replaces Nakamura. We have another ST Ace coming in as well. Good depth signings.

[Bazooka Joe]

[quote name='jazz1988' timestamp='1332507717' post='1031973']
Wow we finally got our shut down cornerback[img]http://content.boards.baltimoreravens.com//public/style_emoticons/default/banana1.gif[/img]
[/quote]

Yeah, to replace Webb and Jimmy Smith and Cary Williams.

[dirtybird10]

I like this pickup. We need special teams help, it was just that bad the last few years. Plus it adds some more corner depth. Nice pickup!

[52Strong]

[quote name='T-ray' timestamp='1332508148' post='1031980']
6', 200 lbs. Great tackler. ST ace. 3 INT's in the 3 games he was the nickel corner for the Bears, with one INT in each game. With Teryl Austin, this dude may surprise a lot of people if he's called on to do so.
[/quote]


On paper this looks to me like another great Ozzie signing! Love the move!

[goldenboldin]

well for those of us who are belittling or mocking this signing.. let's keep one thing straight -- we have [i]very limited [/i]money to do make any major moves. The Ravens front office will not go into debt just to make a free agency splash this year to appease a few fans. They've got bigger fish to fry. They are thinking about retaining cap money for signing draft picks, matching potentially another team's higher offer to retain Webb. These are the things the Office is worried about. No Ravens fan will help them out of debt. They're handling thier own business. That's what they get paid to do. So give them some support, for the love of...

[Yatagarasu]

Nah, we have plenty of money, but we're saving it to lockup Flacco and Webb, who are probably more valuable than any free agents out there.

We must not let Webb test the market because he is a bona fide #1 CB, who's ranked higher than Carr, Finnegan, or Grimes. It's good that he is still under the radar from the media, so we might be able to lock him up a reasonable contract.

If Ngata, Suggs, Reed, and Lewis got top contracts of their time, I believe Flacco and Webb will too.

[52Strong]

[quote name='goldenboldin' timestamp='1332510528' post='1032019']
well for those of us who are belittling or mocking this signing.. let's keep one thing straight -- we have [i]very limited [/i]money to do make any major moves. The Ravens front office will not go into debt just to make a free agency splash this year to appease a few fans. They've got bigger fish to fry. They are thinking about retaining cap money for signing draft picks, matching potentially another team's higher offer to retain Webb. These are the things the Office is worried about. No Ravens fan will help them out of debt. They're handling thier own business. That's what they get paid to do. So give them some support, for the love of...
[/quote]

Coudn't agree more. I would much rather make news in Jan/Feb then make news in March....

[Corvus]

Very good signing, a pro bowl special teams guys who can start in a pinch, and I'm sure we didn't break the bank for him, good work Oz and company!

[jazz1988]

[quote name='Bazooka Joe' timestamp='1332509771' post='1032005']
Yeah, to replace Webb and Jimmy Smith and Cary Williams.
[/quote]

awesome [img]http://content.boards.baltimoreravens.com//public/style_emoticons/default/minioiseau1.gif[/img]

[Alexir]

Great Special teams signing and with that: Webb,Smith,Williams, Graham, Gorrer, Brown

Think we can safely scratch CB off the to do list. Ozzie will probably still grab a guy but we have definitely filled our biggest need of the last couple of years for a while (if he gives them freakin' extensions! PAY WEBB! lol He will, just got to wait for Rice to realize he isn't getting AP money)

[J-man]

Strictly specail teams, basically the reason why we never got to that next level, our ST last year was terrible

[rmw10]

A typical Ozzie move. Nothing flashy, but something that will definitely help the team. Welcome Corey and bye BA.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='52Strong' timestamp='1332511360' post='1032038']

Coudn't agree more. I would much rather make news in Jan/Feb then make news in March....[/quote]

Not to fond of the Redskin way huh?

As for the signing, its typical Ozzie. He's already a pro bowl ST, so he immediately adds value. He also started 8 games his 2nd year, so he'll probably be able to provide quality defensive depth.

Another thing this signing does is add competition to a young talented secondary. The last thing we wanna have is these young guys get complacent and have a dip in play, like we saw with Ellerbe.

This guy could be another Cary Williams. A solid STer just waiting to breakout on defense when given the opportunity. Or he could just be a pro bowl caliber STer with is just as valuable to the Ravens.

One thing I really hope this signing and the Cook signing from last season does is take Jimmy and Cary off the cover team. I love the willingness to work and play teams, but those guys are more valuable as 2 of your top 3 CBs then STs.

[jaege]

Guy looks pretty good on paper. Sounds like a typical Ozzie good deal. Our special teams sure could use the help.

[CapoRocky]

[quote name='Corvus Amplus' timestamp='1332508417' post='1031981']
Good under the radar signing.

We needed to replace Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Also he has some potential to be a quality back-up CB, in case, we lose our CBs to free agency or injuries.
[/quote]

It's ironic that I was thinking the same thing, but shortly afterwards they announced Ayanbadejo's resigning.