Can You Pinpoint A Weak Area On The Team?

[gabefergy]

LG is the only glaring weakness ATM, but that could potentially be filled nicely by Reid, Boren, or a draft pick.

We need to infuse some more youth along the Oline, but once again that will be accounted for in the draft.

Depth at OLB, D-line, and Safety need to be addressed but I wouldnt say any of those positions are weaknesses.

[harfordravenfan]

[quote name='codizzle' timestamp='1332707859' post='1034146']

So they're frauds? But u like em? Okay then
[/quote]

Yup, I was gonna say the weakest link was offensive coordinator but ain't gonna call the coaching staff frauds. Would not having more cap space be a weakness?

[Alexir]

Top 5 greatest needs
1. Guard
2. OLB
3. Center
4. LT
5. MLB

Although we have a starting LT for this season, I would definitely value that higher than a Guard or Center draft wise because it is so hard to find a great left tackle and much easier to find guards and centers. Same with Middle linebackers. Outside linebacker seems to haunt us in the 2nd round so maybe lets try the 3rd? Or we can always see what that McAdoo kid can do

[SizzleSuggs55]

Obviously o-line, waaay to much pressure surging through center of the line at times. Birk really concerns me going forward aging, injury etc. I also think we don't run the ball very sporadically. I often feel that our running schemes are too consistent and teams know this. I love the new zone stretch scheme but i'd like to see some more variety there, and finally our wide receiver separation. It seems like Joe is hung out left too dry a lot. Need a receiver that can separate on coverage so Joe doesn't look like a deer in headlights so often.

[bmore187]

Weak Areas........#1 Offensive Coordinator #2 Special Teams #O-line #4 Pass rusher opposite Suggs

[GrimCoconut]

Biggest areas of weakness? Hmm...

[b]Wide Receiver[/b]: I think Torrey will be our #1, despite the contrary popular opinion. Regardless, we could use another #1 (lol). We need to draft a red-zone talent, someone who can pluck the ball out of the air with some sure hands, decent speed, with good route-running & some nice hands who is a playmaker. Michael Floyd comes to mind, but he will probably be gone so Randle, Quick, Criner, & Childs are my top-dogs. Childs is my favorite of the bunch because we can get him in the 3rd easily, so he is good value. I believe Childs could be our #1 if Torrey does not.

[b]Pass Rusher[/b]: We must draft someone to be opposite of Suggs. Suggs needs someone to take pressure off of him. He is getting shut down by coordinators due to our lack of pressure from the other side. This inability to get pressure consistently on the right causes us to have a weaker secondary & puts more pressure on our linebackers & tackles. I can't emphasize enough how important I think this is.

[b]Return Specialist[/b]: I want a KR/PR combo specialist. I want one guy who can do both. I would want us to get a guy late, so it would really exclude a lot of guys that are very good like Hilton, Rainey, etc. If Rainey is there for us late (5th & beyond) I feel like we must take him. If not, anyone will do. I'm personally not sold on David Reed, but not because of his fumbles. Reed has been frequently injured. I think if you give Reed a better supporting cast on special teams he would break more TDs. He's a good return man, it's just he is made of glass or something. I also don't want Webb returning punts. I am scared to death when he does.

[b]Center[/b]: We must leave this draft with a center. I like Blake, Molk, Vlachos & Brewster. If we left with any of them I will be delighted. I really like Brewster a lot. He was a very good center the year before last, and was originally the #1 center in the draft before this season. I think people have forgotten a lot of what he did, & I hope that brings him down. Vlachos & Molk are also both very good. Any of those guys are very good centers. I don't want Konz because I don't want to burn a pick on a center that high unless it's freaking Mangold.

[b]Offensive Tackle[/b]: specifically, left tackle replacement for McKinnie. I don't see this as a higher priority than other areas, but this is pretty high. I want us to draft Nate Potter or even get McNeil, but I'm not sure those happen. This is a really weak OT class, honestly. If we leave the draft without a guy, I will be OK with it. I would rather have someone learning behind McKinnie, though. I don't think right tackle is a problem. Oher or Reid will be The Guy. Yanda is solid. Someone needs to replace Grubbs. So, to cut it short I feel RT is OK because it will work itself out between Oher & Reid. Yanda is locked. McKinnie is a lock, but I feel like we could use some depth who could replace him next year. As for LG, someone is welcome but I don't want us to get desperate. I like Boren, Reid, Oher, & even Harewood as LG. If we don't get a G, I will be OK with it. I would rather we draft Nate Potter than a guard. I do like the Brooks guy from Ohio, though.

[b]Defensive Tackle[/b]: No back-up for Cody. That's a problem. Need to get on.

[b]Safety[/b]: We just need some depth.

[b]Cornerback[/b]: Need depth.

So, to cut it short our biggest weaknesses, in order: pass-rusher opposite Suggs, true #1 WR. The rest are all depth & people to learn. We have a very good team, it's just nobody seems to think so or thinks this is the end because we lost Grubbs. It sucks but life goes on. We need a LG, but it will work itself out. I would love it if we drafted the following:

1st: Courtney Upshaw
2nd: Nate Potter
3rd: Greg Childs
5th: Michael Brewster
6th: Marquis Maze
7th: Omar Bolden

It covers all of what we need. We get the pass rusher opposite of Suggs in Upshaw. We get the LT depth & replacement in Potter. We can shift Oher or Reid to LG & the other goes to RT. Brewster learns behind Birk & replaces him. Childs becomes our red-zone big threat & our #1. Marquis Maze improves our return game. Omar Bolden takes snaps on special teams & makes his way into the rotation as safety depth if necessary. We can get a DT as a UDFA.

We're a solid football team.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='Greatness' timestamp='1332728507' post='1034449']

That's the problem. Business and pleasure shouldn't go hand and hand. I'm glad Harbaugh and Cam are buddies and all, but if someone is holding down the team, he needs to go. However, there aren't any good choices to replace Cam. And once more, as I said before, we don't even have the talent to run Cams system correctly. Although he needs to learn to adjust which is why I said I question him and Harbs both. But whatevs![/quote]

Cam isn't here because he's harbs boy. As cool and trendy as people think that is, its just crazy to me. As much control as Harbs is given on this team, this organization is run from the top down and he marches to the beat of that drum.

Mr. B built his fortune by directly dealing with people. He's a very rich man because he knows how to manage people, so I just can't see him allowing a "friendship" between two of his employee, to become detrimental to his franchise.

Mr. B doesn't step in much, because he allows the people he hires to do the job hired for. However when things get to a point where changes much be made i.e Billick his last 2 years, Mr. B has not problem saying he's up happy.

Cam is here because while some within the Castle feel like the fans, the main decision makers are giving Cam their blessings.

The offense has shown flashes of being the type of offense Cam had in SD. The problem is consistency. As you mentioned, we don't have the talent, well we do, just not in the right places.

That brings me back to the original question. Our weak area is Oline. There has been way too much movement to our Oline over the last 4 years. The adage that the Oline is the engine of an offense is so true, and it really stands out for this offense.

Now I also fault Cam for not making "more" adjustment to the talent he has, but Cam has been hamstrung by this same inconsistent Oline as Flacco.

Over the last 2 seasons, this play-action heavy offense hasn't been able to use much play-action because the Oline doesn't he good movement in the running game against better teams. The Oline is what's holding this offense back, not Cam, and the will have to become better, for this offense to consistently be great.

Even though it won't be easy to replace him, losing Grubbs is the first step to rebuilding this Oline.

[Gtown Purple]

Offensive line is our biggest need.

[CapoRocky]

The O line is all a lesson in perception. I interpret many of the comments like this. Some of you may see a glaring hole on the left side between Old Man River and Quadruple-Big Mac. On the right side, you see Steady Marshall and Big Mike, who bounces around before the snap and misses outside rushers. Now, I see it as a challenge for them to improve and an opportunity for someone to come in to earn the job. Maybe it will be a rookie or a veteran cast-away from late in the preseason. We will have that hole filled come opening game.

[Gtown Purple]

Quad Big mac? That's wrong............

[quote name='CapoRocky' timestamp='1332772094' post='1034570']The O line is all a lesson in perception. I interpret many of the comments like this. Some of you may see a glaring hole on the left side between Old Man River and Quadruple-Big Mac. On the right side, you see Steady Marshall and Big Mike, who bounces around before the snap and misses outside rushers. Now, I see it as a challenge for them to improve and an opportunity for someone to come in to earn the job. Maybe it will be a rookie or a veteran cast-away from late in the preseason. We will have that hole filled come openning game.[/quote]

[CapoRocky]

Well he's not a triple, more like a quad to me. There is a ranking of the 10 fattest players in the NFL and McKinnie came in as #3 on the list. Sorry for the typo (opening not openning).

[CapoRocky]

Leonard Davis and Aaron Gibson topped the list.

[Suggs Package]

Overall, I'd say the five biggest weaknesses on the team are KR/PR/Gunners, offensive tackle play, QB play, WRs, and LG depth in that order.

We gave up too much yardage on returns and generally struggled on kick and punt returns. Signing Corey Graham and co solves so of those issues, but an explosive returner is still a need since we don't want to use Webb or Smith in those roles.

McKinnie wasn't very good in run blocking. Usually this wouldn't be a huge deal, but since the Ravens run the ball almost more than any team in the NFL, a LT who can run block is a necessity. Maybe some more weight loss helps him out.

Oher wasn't very good in pass protection, which is mainly a concern against 3-4 teams like Houston and Pittsburgh. But for all of you who think Oher was the worse tackle of the two, watch the game tape again and you'll see how McKinnie was the worse of the two last year overall.

Flacco was one of the weaker players on the team last year. I'm not saying Flacco is a bad quarterback by any means, but the Baltimore Ravens are a VERY good team with top talent stacked across the board. Since we have at least one top-five player at almost every position on the team, the mere fact that Flacco not being a top-five QB makes him a weak link, which has to be a lot of pressure on him.

In terms of WRs, Torrey was just a rookie who will get better and Boldin isn't a gamebreaker of yesteryear. In terms of WR depth, when Boldin was out those last few weeks, our offense [profanity deleted]s. Even when we was healthy, we didn't have the ability to scare teams in our 3WR sets. Our wide receivers aren't bad by any means, both Torrey and Anquan, are above average, but aren't in the top ten in their positions.

Its hard to say Left Guard is a weakness because we have no idea who's going to be the starting LG come September. We lost a pro-bowler at the position, so it wasn't a weakness until this off-season.

Overall, the weaknesses are all relational to one another for the most part. You improve the offensive line, the QB and WR play improves. You improve the WRs and the QB and OL look better and so on and so forth.

[bmorefan444]

I would definitely agree that our biggest weakness is the offensive line. Who remembers going into last season worrying about our secondary? We ended the season with one of the strongest units in the league. Oz can and will work some magic.

[Tank 92]

It is as it was last off season, the O line. Not only with personnel, but continuity and the team play that develops with that continuity.

Put Oher somewhere and leave him. Draft Konz and give us a center that will be here for a few years. Find a beast to play LG and lock him up. etc. etc............. We need to build the O from the inside out. All of the talent at QB and other "skill" positions is just wasted without protection and run blocking.

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='Suggs Package' timestamp='1332776313' post='1034622']
Overall, I'd say the five biggest weaknesses on the team are KR/PR/Gunners, offensive tackle play, QB play, WRs, and LG depth in that order.

We gave up too much yardage on returns and generally struggled on kick and punt returns. Signing Corey Graham and co solves so of those issues, but an explosive returner is still a need since we don't want to use Webb or Smith in those roles.

McKinnie wasn't very good in run blocking. Usually this wouldn't be a huge deal, but since the Ravens run the ball almost more than any team in the NFL, a LT who can run block is a necessity. Maybe some more weight loss helps him out.

Oher wasn't very good in pass protection, which is mainly a concern against 3-4 teams like Houston and Pittsburgh. But for all of you who think Oher was the worse tackle of the two, watch the game tape again and you'll see how McKinnie was the worse of the two last year overall.

Flacco was one of the weaker players on the team last year. I'm not saying Flacco is a bad quarterback by any means, but the Baltimore Ravens are a VERY good team with top talent stacked across the board. Since we have at least one top-five player at almost every position on the team, the mere fact that Flacco not being a top-five QB makes him a weak link, which has to be a lot of pressure on him.

In terms of WRs, Torrey was just a rookie who will get better and Boldin isn't a gamebreaker of yesteryear. In terms of WR depth, when Boldin was out those last few weeks, our offense [profanity deleted]s. Even when we was healthy, we didn't have the ability to scare teams in our 3WR sets. Our wide receivers aren't bad by any means, both Torrey and Anquan, are above average, but aren't in the top ten in their positions.

Its hard to say Left Guard is a weakness because we have no idea who's going to be the starting LG come September. We lost a pro-bowler at the position, so it wasn't a weakness until this off-season.

Overall, the weaknesses are all relational to one another for the most part. You improve the offensive line, the QB and WR play improves. You improve the WRs and the QB and OL look better and so on and so forth.
[/quote]
Lmao, stopped reading when you didnt have Oline as your top need. How is a KR more important than keeping your QB upright or opening holes for your RB that struggles if he has bodies around him at LOS. He isnt a big brusies than can break a tackle if someone gets in the back field, he needs a wee bit off a hole too hit before RR abilities can really kick in.

[GrimCoconut]

I was going to write a long post here, but I changed my mind & deleted it. This is what I want to say about our offensive line problem.

The biggest problem we have on the line is LT. We have nobody who can play the role behind McKinnie. Oher is not a LT. Leave Oher at RT, I think he will be our future there. RG is solved with Yanda. Birk is our center & we will draft one but it won't be in the 1st round with Konz. LG is a question mark but for God's sake we have Boren, Reid, Harewood & Barbieri who could play the position. Don't forget that Steinbach is still a FA & is getting few looks, so he could probably be had cheap if still available after the draft.

We have NOBODY behind McKinnie. That needs to change. We need to have someone behind him. If we leave this draft with only a LT project & a C for o-line I will consider it a HUGE success. Drafting a guard is a nice idea but it's not a priority. There are guards still available in FA. We need a future LT to groom & replace McK next year unless we plan to keep Big McK next year.

[Suggs Package]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1332781019' post='1034693']
Lmao, stopped reading when you didnt have Oline as your top need. How is a KR more important than keeping your QB upright or opening holes for your RB that struggles if he has bodies around him at LOS. He isnt a big brusies than can break a tackle if someone gets in the back field, he needs a wee bit off a hole too hit before RR abilities can really kick in.
[/quote]

I hate to get into semantics, but "weakness" is different than "need". If this was based on "need", the order would be completely different since certain positions are much more valuable than other positions. Just wanted to clear that up. O-line is our top need, but Special Teams was our greatest weakness last year.

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='Suggs Package' timestamp='1332786607' post='1034771']

I hate to get into semantics, but "weakness" is different than "need". If this was based on "need", the order would be completely different since certain positions are much more valuable than other positions. Just wanted to clear that up. O-line is our top need, but Special Teams was our greatest weakness last year.
[/quote]
the OP talks about "weakness heading into the 2012 season" so by that i assume he meant our biggest need

[Suggs Package]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1332788825' post='1034821']
the OP talks about "weakness heading into the 2012 season" so by that i assume he meant our biggest need
[/quote]

Oh OK, sometimes I can take things too literally haha.

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='Suggs Package' timestamp='1332792028' post='1034881']

Oh OK, sometimes I can take things too literally haha.
[/quote]
wasnt clear what he meant, but thats how i took it anyway, and i thought you meant KR was our main need lol

[baltravens]

[quote name='awholelottahaloti' timestamp='1332777449' post='1034646']
It is as it was last off season, the O line. Not only with personnel, but continuity and the team play that develops with that continuity.

Put Oher somewhere and leave him. Draft Konz and give us a center that will be here for a few years. Find a beast to play LG and lock him up. etc. etc............. We need to build the O from the inside out. All of the talent at QB and other "skill" positions is just wasted without protection and run blocking.
[/quote]
Yes sir!
Cease this stop-gap crap and finally establish a powerful line that we could finally ride by the legs of Rice and the arm of Flacco to the Super Bowl.

[gametyme]

LG, C, T.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='baltravens' timestamp='1332805964' post='1035250']
Yes sir!
Cease this stop-gap crap and finally establish a powerful line that we could finally ride by the legs of Rice and the arm of Flacco to the Super Bowl.
[/quote]

That's not as easy as it sounds. Stop-gap options are usually your last resort. Very rarely can you lose quality-top of the line guys and quickly replace them. We've tried to replace JO, but its not that easy. The Ravens draft Gaither and Oher, both had first round talent. Gaither didn't have JO's work ethic and Oher doesn't have his natural talent. So where forced to bring in a stop-gap like McKinnie and hope he can give us 2-3 years. Why? Because top LTs usually go before the mid 20s where the Ravens normally pick.

Jason Brown was a pretty good Center, but thought he was worth more then we could offer. We saw him as a pretty good Center, the Rams saw him as one of the best. 3 full seasons later he was cut because of salary. Can't fault Ozzie for not matching that ridiculous contract. So we're forced to bring in a stop-gap like Birk.

We probably would have liked to have Birk replaced by now, but Chester wasn't the answer. We brought in a young guy last year who was pretty good in Ryan Bartholamew, but backup Centers don't usually make the final roster unless they are pretty good guards. We tried to stash him and the Cardinals snatched him up. I think he's starting for them now.

Grubbs is the next guy who we are forced to let go. The draft is pretty deep at G so well probably be able to land a starter and a decent backup as a UDFA.

So the Ravens have tried, the problem is, the oline is much like dominate pass rushers, teams just don't let the good ones hit the market. Then when quality guys do hit you gotta usually over pay and we know Ozzie doesn't do that much.

[cobrajet]

[quote name='Mr. Irrelevant' timestamp='1332713151' post='1034186']
Left Tackle
Left Guard
Center
WR 3
[/quote]
100% agreed.

[display name]

O-line and secondary. Hopefully they can be fixed. Also, Cam Cam!!!

[Gordo52]

Offensive Coordinator, LT,LG,C,rt,LB depth & S depth, and we need another pass rusher + speedy,big WR.
But by this time next year, Caldwell will be our new OC. Book it!

[Sizzlebshu]

offensive coordinator is a glaring need

[Tank 92]

[quote name='Sizzlebshu' timestamp='1332889693' post='1036077']
offensive coordinator is a glaring need
[/quote]


Maybe I'm being naive, but I think Callahan's presence is going to make Cam shine.

There's always hope. [size=2]Right?[/size]

[Militant X 1]

quite a few.

~Mili