Great Article On Nfl.com About Upshaw And Ozzie's Draft Philosophy

[ratedr]

Surprised it hasn't been posted already, it's a great read.

[quote]A tape measure doesn't always possess the answer, and neither does a stopwatch or scale. So much of scouting in football is based on measurables, but what Ozzie Newsome focuses on while watching game film can't be measured.

"You have to just see it," Newsome said.

The Baltimore Ravens general manager has built a perennial playoff participant through the draft, and he's done so by spotlighting the kinds of players the organization is now known for: Those who play like they'd do it for free.

Gritty, tough and with a love of the game. Hard-nosed, nasty and with a certain violence. If you were choosing sides for a street fight, think about how many Ravens you'd want on your team. Terrell Suggs. Ray Lewis. Haloti Ngata. And that's just the defense.

Outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw, the team's highest draft pick in 2012 at No. 35 overall, is only the latest example.
[/quote]

The rest: [url="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82915227/article/rookie-courtney-upshaw-looks-like-another-prototypical-raven?module=HP11_content_stream"]http://www.nfl.com/n..._content_stream[/url]

[BMORElegacy]

The reason the playoff window will never close is because of Ozzie and Eric's success in the draft.

We're privileged to have them.

[Gordo52]

[quote name='BMORElegacy' timestamp='1337039335' post='1077737']
The reason the playoff window will never close is because of Ozzie and Eric's success in the draft.

We're privileged to have them.
[/quote]
We're privileged, blessed, lucky, prosperous and fortunate to have them!

[Rav'n Maniac]

You are right. That is a great article!

[izvoodoo]

I truly feel blessed to support an organization as well run as the ravens. Thank god I was not born near DC.

[BloodRaven]

Maybe we should stop telling the entire world how we draft.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='BloodRaven' timestamp='1337044749' post='1077770']
Maybe we should stop telling the entire world how we draft.
[/quote]

I don't think this is really a secret, but just because people know doesn't mean they're going to get it right.

[Blex64]

[quote name='BloodRaven' timestamp='1337044749' post='1077770']
Maybe we should stop telling the entire world how we draft.
[/quote]

Everyone knows how we draft, the difference is in player evaluations.

The vast majority of the league subscribes to a scouting service (the same one). We don't, and employ in-house scouts. I'd bet a lot that if you look around the league at the other teams that DON'T use that service, they'll also be the better drafting teams. That and most people don't go for BPA regardless.

[BloodRaven]

[quote name='Blex64' timestamp='1337047715' post='1077785']
Everyone knows how we draft, the difference is in player evaluations.

The vast majority of the league subscribes to a scouting service (the same one). We don't, and employ in-house scouts. I'd bet a lot that if you look around the league at the other teams that DON'T use that service, they'll also be the better drafting teams. That and most people don't go for BPA regardless.
[/quote]

It's not just this one, during the draft process they were giving in-depth insights into player evaluation, scouting, moving up or down, philosophy, reasons why we didn't pick certain players etc the only thing we didn't give away was exact names, not that they would be difficult to deduce.

[Yatagarasu]

This brings tears to my eyes.

Courtney Upshaw fell like Ray Lewis because of measureables, however no one can deny that they are football players.

Just look at Upshaw and how he just terrorized LSU in the National Championship.

Ozzie said that he wanted to land an Alabama player and he did even when traded down from the 1st round.