Quarterback/Special Teams - Who Stays and Who Goes?

[rmw10]

The final edition! Then, next Sunday, I'll put together the board's 53-man roster! Both positions are a bit of a yawner, with the exception of kicker, so I figured I'd combine them. Without further ado, here's your groups!


Quarterback:
Joe Flacco - Obvious starter. Not much needs to be said.

Tyrod Taylor - He was our number 2 all last year and has apparently looked pretty impressive so far. Competition was brought in to push him a bit and he seems to have handled it well so far.

Curtis Painter - Brought in to "challenge" Tyrod for the number 2 spot. By all accounts, he has been pretty abysmal in camp so far. Some people think they might keep him around as the 3rd QB so the team has more flexibility with Tyrod in wildcat-like packages.

Chester Stewart - A UDFA that we signed after a tryout. He played at Temple, where his numbers weren't all that great. He's a QB who was often used as a runner, since he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. He impressed in the tryout, so here he is.



Special Teams:
Billy Cundiff (K) - We all know what happened with him. Can we attribute it to a rough year, or just an anomaly the year before that? Does he have the confidence in himself? He's been doing pretty well in camp so far.

Justin Tucker (K) - A UDFA that has impressed with a strong showing and mounds of confidence. He is also doing well in training camp, but has been given more longer chances than Cundiff. Do we risk having a rookie potentially push us into the championship?

Sam Koch (P) - He's been great in his time here, although last year was a little rough. Nothing to be concerned about, however. We'll be seeing Sam as our punter since he's the only one on the roster.

Morgan Cox (LS) - Has he screwed up at all in his time here? The guy played through a torn ACL and has been stellar as a long snapper. He'll be making the roster.

Patrick Scales (LS) - A camp body to share the duties with Cox.




This raps up the Who Stays and Who Goes? Series, and I'm looking forward to compiling all of the results by position. I'll have to make some decisions myself to put this list together, but that's more how many to keep at a position than picking one player over another. Hope you all enjoyed!



Previous Positions:
Offensive Line - [url="http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/47248-offensive-line-who-stays-and-who-goes/"]http://boards.baltim...s-and-who-goes/[/url]
Safety - [url="http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/47280-safety-who-stays-and-who-goes/"]http://boards.baltim...s-and-who-goes/[/url]
Wide Receiver - [url="http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/47152-merged-which-wrs-will-make-the-team/"]http://boards.baltim...-make-the-team/[/url]
Tight End - [url="http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/47301-tight-end-who-stays-and-who-goes/"]http://boards.baltim...s-and-who-goes/[/url]
Defensive Line - [url="http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/47355-defensive-line-who-stays-and-who-goes/"]http://boards.baltim...s-and-who-goes/[/url]
Cornerback - [url="http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/47394-cornerbacks-who-stays-and-who-goes/"]http://boards.baltim...s-and-who-goes/[/url]
Linebackers - [url="http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/47450-linebacker-who-stays-and-who-goes/"]http://boards.baltim...s-and-who-goes/[/url]
Running Back - [url="http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/47521-running-backs-who-stays-and-who-goes/"]http://boards.baltim...s-and-who-goes/[/url]

[arnie_uk]

Billy isn't perfect, he missed a 46 yarder yesterday

[CapoRocky]

Was the miss wide to the left?

[rmw10]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1343576771' post='1106123']
Billy isn't perfect, he missed a 46 yarder yesterday
[/quote]

Edited. Didn't get a chance to see the reports yesterday! My mistake.

[Purple Nurple]

Curtis Painter, lol. Smh. I will get clowned on so hard if we keep him on the roster.

[Ravenslifer]

Our quarterbacks will be Joe and Tyrod, with Brantley on the PS. The other two are TC fillers.

[Free Agent]

I think I would actually prefer to see Tucker win the kicker spot over Cundiff. Tucker could become our long term kicker, while Billy is older and as we all know, Billy isnt a guy we have a ton of faith in.

[BloodRaven]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1343576771' post='1106123']
Billy isn't perfect, he missed a 46 yarder yesterday
[/quote]

Hmmm, come to think of it does anyone know where Billy was when Aldon Smith got shanked...

[Bazooka Joe]

Flacco
Taylor
Koch
Cox
Tucker: pulling for upset.

[Gordo52]

Flacco
Taylor
Koch
Cox
Cundiff ---
I'm rooting for Tucker though, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make it.

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='BloodRaven' timestamp='1343586595' post='1106181']


Hmmm, come to think of it does anyone know where Billy was when Aldon Smith got shanked...
[/quote]try the right hash

[Blex64]

I could see us carrying Painter as well (unless Brantley actually outplays him). He's got a relationship with Caldwell and carrying 3 QB's is generally a good idea. Then again, I can also see him losing his spot to camp standout (Deonte Thompson seems to be a huge candidate for this).

I'll go with

Flacco
Taylor
Cundiff (hopefully its Tucker, but being realistic)
Koch
Cox.

[cobrajet]

I like Taylor. He should be our solid #2. I think I would gamble and keep a Josh Bynes type player on the team over a #3 QB, but I like to roll the dice and hope for the best. Maybe even keep a second kicker on the squad over a #3 QB (just kidding there, I'd rather save a baller like Bynes, even though some teams do it).

[scrock]

QBs - Joe, Tyrod

K - Billy

....whoever else I'm sure we'll retain the players we had last year unless we lost someone or they got/get injured

[CapoRocky]

The Browns may be interested in Painter if they can't find a starter in that bunch of QBs they've accumulated.

[Free Agent]

[quote name='CapoRocky' timestamp='1343614182' post='1106358']
The Browns may be interested in Painter if they can't find a starter in that bunch of QBs they've accumulated.
[/quote]

I doubt even the Browns are desperate enough to even consider attempting to start Curtis Painter. They'd be better off starting Josh Cribbs at QB than Painter.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1343579279' post='1106152']
Our quarterbacks will be Joe and Tyrod, with Brantley on the PS. The other two are TC fillers.
[/quote]

I was out at practice today. Chester Steward looks a lot better then Brantley right now. He actually seems more sure of himself then even Painter does. I'm not sure who has the edge, although Steward seemed to get more reps then Brantley, could have just been for this practice, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Steward on the PS.

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='Ravensfan23' timestamp='1343699053' post='1107098']
I was out at practice today. [b]Chester Steward[/b] looks a lot better then Brantley right now. He actually seems more sure of himself then even Painter does. I'm not sure who has the edge, although Steward seemed to get more reps then Brantley, could have just been for this practice, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Steward on the PS.
[/quote]

Really? Obviously I haven't seen any of the practices so I just go by college stats, and two things about Steward immediately drew red flags for me. Now I'm not by any means an expert on quarterbacks, but completion percentage in college really concerns me because I notice that for most guys their NFL completion percentage gets worse (for obvious reasons). Steward was a 53 percent career passer, and even though his stats LOOKED great this year he only threw the ball 83 times in 10 games. Brantley on the other hand completed 60 percent of his passes this year and 61 percent last year on a Florida team that didn't have nearly the weapons Tim Tebow did (Percy Harvin, Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper, Louis Murphy, Cornelius Ingram). If I were choosing a guy I'd be basing my opinions more so on college production than anything else, especially since this is going to be at best a PS developmental position. Painter I don't even look at - I think he has the least upside of the three and we've seen what he can do. Now neither of the rookies have even what I'd consider adequate TD/INT stats, but Steward had 2 passing TDs last year - 2.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1343705560' post='1107136']
Really? Obviously I haven't seen any of the practices so I just go by college stats, and two things about Steward immediately drew red flags for me. Now I'm not by any means an expert on quarterbacks, but completion percentage in college really concerns me because I notice that for most guys their NFL completion percentage gets worse (for obvious reasons). Steward was a 53 percent career passer, and even though his stats LOOKED great this year he only threw the ball 83 times in 10 games. Brantley on the other hand completed 60 percent of his passes this year and 61 percent last year on a Florida team that didn't have nearly the weapons Tim Tebow did (Percy Harvin, Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper, Louis Murphy, Cornelius Ingram). If I were choosing a guy I'd be basing my opinions more so on college production than anything else, especially since this is going to be at best a PS developmental position. Painter I don't even look at - I think he has the least upside of the three and we've seen what he can do. Now neither of the rookies have even what I'd consider adequate TD/INT stats, but Steward had 2 passing TDs last year - 2.
[/quote]

I didn't see a lot of Stewart in college either, actually didn't see any of him, but i did pay attention to UF a bit. A lot of Brantley passes were to his RBs and screen passes to his WRs, so your completion precentage tends to be higher in that type offense.

It was only one practice so Chester could have just be having a really strong day, but he just seemed much more confidence then both Painter and Brantley. His passes had more zip on them then the other 2, and he was more decisive in where he wanted to go with the ball. Now, he was often the 4th guy in the rotation so i didn't pay too much attention to him, but #1 definitely caught my eye at times today. Up close to me, Painter seemed like a guy who didn't have a lot of arm strength, but also didn't have the timing and anticipation needed to complete tight throws. Often times the ball came out of his hands way too late.

Joe and Tyrod are cleary the best 2 QBs on the roster, but based off what I saw today, I'd place Chester Stewart as the #3 guy. But ultimately Preseason will determine if he makes the PS or not.

[Yatagarasu]

we're going to use the 2 QB system again with Flacco and Taylor.

I think Painter is just a camp arm unless he somehow wow the coaches with dramatic improvements from his awful season last year.

For the ST, I hope Cundiff is driven to the edge by Tucker.

I like the young guy Tucker with his swagger, which might help him get the edge over Cundiff.

I don't know how we structured our contract with Cundiff, but Cundiff might be on the roster bubble.

We're not keeping two kickers.

[Ravensfan23]

John Brantley was just released today, so it doesn't look like he'll be a Practice Squad guy.

[rmw10]

[quote name='Ravensfan23' timestamp='1343844603' post='1108059']
John Brantley was just released today, so it doesn't look like he'll be a Practice Squad guy.
[/quote]

Well I was wrong haha. Still baffling why they signed him to a 2-year deal.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='rmw10' timestamp='1343855133' post='1108210']
Well I was wrong haha. Still baffling why they signed him to a 2-year deal.
[/quote]

Did they? I wasn't aware of that. I would guess that it was a typo by someone, because I can't imagine a UDFA getting a 2 year deal.

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='Ravensfan23' timestamp='1343856405' post='1108218']
Did they? I wasn't aware of that. I would guess that it was a typo by someone, because I can't imagine a UDFA getting a 2 year deal.
[/quote]

So you think it will be Stewart over Painter for the PS? Only things Painter has going for him IMO is that he has been in the league for 3 seasons already and Caldwell knows him well, but I could see that being enough for a 3rd string guy.

[rmw10]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1343859394' post='1108240']
So you think it will be Stewart over Painter for the PS? Only things Painter has going for him IMO is that he has been in the league for 3 seasons already and Caldwell knows him well, but I could see that being enough for a 3rd string guy.
[/quote]

By the NFL rules, which I can't recall exactly, Painter can't be on the PS. He's been on the active roster for an entire season, which makes him ineligible, I'm pretty sure.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1343859394' post='1108240']
So you think it will be Stewart over Painter for the PS? Only things Painter has going for him IMO is that he has been in the league for 3 seasons already and Caldwell knows him well, but I could see that being enough for a 3rd string guy.
[/quote]

Yea I think it will be Stewart over Painter, and like mw10 siad, Painter isn't able to be placed on PS. Stewart is a lot like Tyrod, he's just not as good imo. He has a good arm and he's a strong runner. He just carries himself better then Painter imo.

Painter often times looked like he was thinking way too much, and he overthrown the ball in terms of effort. For Chester is just seemed like he often times knew where he wanted to go and got the ball out of his hands once he made up his mind.

Now of course he still looks like a rooke QB much of the time, locked in on 1WR, running if that guy isn't open, and just mistiming things, but the potential to be a solid backup is there imo.

I think if he continues his play, he'll be the 3rd QB, but placed on PS.

[ClintLB8]

Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor will be our 1 and 2.
Painter will get released.
Stewart will wind up on the practice squad.

I'm pulling for Tucker. He is clearly out performing Cundiff on a day in day out basis.

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='rmw10' timestamp='1343859680' post='1108243']
By the NFL rules, which I can't recall exactly, Painter can't be on the PS. He's been on the active roster for an entire season, which makes him ineligible, I'm pretty sure.
[/quote]

Oh, I didn't know that. Thanks.

[berad]

Flacco and Taylor

Painter, no, sorry. He's been pretty bad in practice, he'll have to do well in PS. Stewart was ok but the Ravens rarely let him run team drills, he's mostly just used as the hand-off QB during running practices.

Cundiff, Koch, and Cox.

Tucker's been nice but I'm anxious to see the PS games. Still, it's way too hard to unseat Cundiff - even after his 2011 massive struggles. The team is giving him a lot of money and he's still talented.

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='berad' timestamp='1343912739' post='1108538']
Flacco and Taylor

Painter, no, sorry. He's been pretty bad in practice, he'll have to do well in PS. Stewart was ok but the Ravens rarely let him run team drills, he's mostly just used as the hand-off QB during running practices.

Cundiff, Koch, and Cox.

Tucker's been nice but I'm anxious to see the PS games. Still, it's way too hard to unseat Cundiff - even after his 2011 massive struggles. The team is giving him a lot of money and he's still talented.
[/quote]

They gave Stewart a little more opportunities to throw on Monday when I was out there, and he looked better then both Brantley and Painter imo. The PS is were he'll have to earn his spot.

I found this pretty fun regarding Painter.

Matt Vensel overheard this fun line at practice yesterday: “‘We’ve got no damn pass rush and you’re pump-faking like Jordan out there,’ cornerback Cary Williams to quarterback Curtis Painter, who was hanging onto the ball too long in 7-on-7 drills.”[The Baltimore Sun]

That fits exactly what I saw on Monday, Painter is a guy who doesn't really seem sure of himself of the offense. I agree that it'll take a lot to unseat Cundiff, but Tucker is well on his way imo. I don't think the money will be a issue because the Ravens would save 2.2M and only at a 600K hit this year and a 1.8M hit next year. So I don't think they'd view that 600K as the deciding factor this year.

Yea Cundiff is talented and Tucker will either push him to be better or push him off the team. But if Cundiff is misses a couple kicks in the preseason while Tucker does, do you think that' would be enough to win the job for Tucker?