The Board's 53-Man Roster - Who Stays and Who Goes?

[rmw10]

Right before the first game, we're finally able to put everything together to see the board's choices for the Ravens' final, 53-man roster. Of course, there will likely be more signings and such, but this is a good gauge to see if we, as a group, evaluate talent well. Without further ado, here's your roster, with some notes to go along:

[b]Quarterback:[/b]
1. Joe Flacco
2. Tyrod Taylor

Notes: Curtis Painter got a couple of votes to stay on as a 3rd QB, but for the most part, everyone voted for Joe and Tyrod. Chester Stewart garnered some attention as a PS guy.


[b]Running Back:[/b]
1. Ray Rice
2. Bernard Pierce
3. Anthony Allen
4. Vonta Leach

Strong Consideration: Damien Berry

Notes: Damien Berry drew a lot of attention, but the fact that he is still PS eligible made him expendable for the final 53. Bobby Rainey drew very little attention, since there really isn't much of a spot for him.


[b]Wide Receiver:[/b]
1. Anquan Boldin
2. Torrey Smith
3. Jacoby Jones
4. Tandon Doss
5. LaQuan Williams
6. Tommy Streeter
David Reed (PUP)

Strong Consideration: Deonte Thompson

Notes: Deonte Thompson pulled a lot of votes and came very close to Streeter, but in the end, the tall guy wins. 7 receivers is a possibility that was brought up a lot, but it's all dependent on the other position battles. Devin Goda got a couple of votes. Logan Payne was a recent addition that wasn't discussed, but I'm going to assume people are still taking Streeter and Thompson ahead of him.


[b]Tight End:[/b]
1. Ed Dickson
2. Dennis Pitta
3. Billy Bajema

Strong Consideration: Davon Drew

Notes: Myself along with a couple of other members made the assumption that Bajema was brought in due to concerns over Drew being a backup in the event Pitta misses extended time. He might be interchangeable with Drew, but for now, Bajema stays. Balasavage and Figgins both received a few votes as well.


[b]Offensive Line[/b]:
1. Bryant McKinnie
2. Bobbie Williams
3. Matt Birk
4. Marshal Yanda
5. Michael Oher
6. Kelechi Osemele
7. Gino Gradkowski
8. Jah Reid
9. Justin Boren

Strong Consideration: Ramon Harewood

Notes: Regardless of what happened with McKinnie, he seems to have earned the trust back and seems like he'll make the roster at this point. Ramon Harewood also received a lot of votes, but 10 lineman doesn't seem necessary. Jack Cornell burst onto the scene lately, but still doesn't seem able to take a spot away from anyone (minus maybe Boren and McKinnie) before him.


[b]Defensive Line:[/b]
1. Haloti Ngata
2. Terrence Cody
3. Pernell McPhee
4. Arthur Jones
5. DeAngelo Tyson
6. Ma'ake Kemoeatu
Ryan McBean (SUSP)

Strong Consideration: Bryan Hall, Ishmaa'ily Kitchen, Nick Jean-Baptiste

Notes: Defensive line held the most variance in who would make the team. Bryan Hall, Ishmaa'ily Kitchen, and Nick Jean-Baptiste all got a tremendous amount of votes, but lost out by a few to Kemo. This is one of the few positions that seemed like it could go anyway.


[b]Inside Linebacker:[/b]
1. Ray Lewis
2. Jameel McClain
3. Dannell Ellerbe
4. Brendon Ayabadejo
5. Nigel Carr

Notes: Carr stood out, and you guys have noticed. He received a lot of votes, and many of you feel the talent there is too much to risk losing. No one else really got any votes for inside linebacker.


[b]Outside Linebacker:[/b]
1. Paul Kruger
2. Courtney Upshaw
3. Albert McClellan
4. Sergio Kindle
Terrell Suggs (PUP)

Notes: Again, outside linebacker was pretty straight forward. There were a couple of other guys, but they received no votes, or very little. Carr (ILB) is also able to bounce to the outside in the event he's needed there.


[b]Cornerback:[/b]
1. Lardarius Webb
2. Jimmy Smith
3. Cary Williams
4. Corey Graham
5. Danny Gorrer
6. Chykie Brown
7. Asa Jackson

Notes: The debate here was whether or not to keep 7 CB's. The fact that Chykie Brown has been swinging between corner and safety made you guys feel that we had enough room for 7. Jordan Mabin received no votes, but is thought of as a PS guy.


[b]Safety:[/b]
1. Ed Reed
2. Bernard Pollard
3. Christian Thompson
4. Emanuel Cook

Strong Consideration: Sean Considine

Notes: This was probably the closest vote in the whole series. Cook edged Sean Considine slightly, based on age and versatility. They're pretty interchangeable, but you guys voted Cook, so that's what you got. Quarles was voted as a PS guy. Omar Brown didn't receive any attention.


[b]Special Teams:[/b]
1. Justin Tucker
2. Sam Koch
3. Morgan Cox

Strong Consideration: Billy Cundiff

Notes: Probably the most interesting battle of camp, and it was won by the rookie. Both received a lot of attention, but in the end, a lot of you felt that Tucker's confidence and showing in training camp gives him the edge over Billy.



With the board's roster intact, it will be interesting to see how close we get to the actual roster. I will not be revisiting each position's page individually, so if there's anyone you guys collectively feel strongly about, I'll go in and make the necessary changes. Just post any opinions on this thread and I'll keep tabs on it. It was a fun activity for the slow offseason, and I hope you guys enjoyed!

[ravensfan520]

One thought about Berry that people forget is that he can play special teams since he did play defense before switching to offense. So don't overlook him to much. We will get a better read on everyone once preseason starts.

[big hits and ball hawks]

I'd be happy with this. Things could change throughout the preseason, but I think this is a strong, deep roster the forum has put together. I will say, Rainey was one of the stand outs at yesterday's open practice. I'd still take Allen over him, but I just thought I'd bring that up.

[hawkprey]

How does Considine not make it? He's our "special-teams QB". Logan Payne probably deserves a roster spot, and I'd take Kitchen over Tyson at this point. Chavis Williams will be there at OLB.

[rmw10]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1344206576' post='1110695']
How does Considine not make it? He's our "special-teams QB". Logan Payne probably deserves a roster spot, and I'd take Kitchen over Tyson at this point. Chavis Williams will be there at OLB.
[/quote]

I've kept my opinion out of this for the entirety of this roster breakdown, but where does Payne fit? He's an oft-injured veteran who has had a good camp, yes, but would you really take him over the potential of Streeter or Thompson?

[berad]

I thought this was going to be a topic about the top 53 posters on the forum

[hawkprey]

[quote name='rmw10' timestamp='1344208041' post='1110713']
I've kept my opinion out of this for the entirety of this roster breakdown, but where does Payne fit? He's an oft-injured veteran who has had a good camp, yes, but would you really take him over the potential of Streeter or Thompson?
[/quote]
We could go into the season with 2 TEs (how much has our 3rd TE really done?) or better yet, get rid of Jacoby.

[rmw10]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1344210377' post='1110735']
We could go into the season with 2 TEs (how much has our 3rd TE really done?) or better yet, get rid of Jacoby.
[/quote]

If we go with 2 TEs and 7 WRs, there's still not going to be room, since Streeter and Thompson are ahead of Payne. Also, Jacoby isn't going anywhere.

[PurpleReign92]

Coaches like Marvin Lewis and Rex Ryan are going to look at our waiver wire for some selections so be aware when we start releasing players... The worst part is Marvin is still in our division and we would see the released guys twice this year maybe if they perform well for the Bengals...

[NaveSenrag]

Pagano will probably try to snag some, too. If I recall correctly, two-thirds of his roster has one or fewer years of NFL experience.

[rmw10]

Just to update, here's how we ended up!

QB:
Correct

RB:
Had Anthony Allen, missed Bobby Rainey. This was before Rainey's preseason blowup, however.

WR:
Had Tommy Streeter, missed Deonte Thompson. Again, before Thompson's blowup. He hardly lost out to Streeter at the time. Pretty much a wash.

TE:
Correct

OL:
Had Justin Boren, missed Ramon Harewood. Another close one that had Boren just edge Harewood. Could have gone either way.

DL:
Missed Bryan Hall. He received some votes, but was edged by Nigel Carr at LB. Hard to compare the 2.

ILB:
Had Nigel Carr. Stood out in camp, but stayed quiet during preseason. Put up stats but nothing flashy, while Hall showed versatility.

OLB:
Correct

CB:
Correct

S:
Had Emanuel Cook, missed Sean Considine. Cook seemed like he was going to make the roster if he didn't get hurt. This one's a wash.

ST:
Correct


Totaled up, we missed 5. 4 of those 5 we had voted on ended up very close, but ultimately lost out by no more than a few votes. The only surprise (at the time) would have been Rainey over Allen, but no one really saw that one coming.

Overall, we did really well collectively. Hope to continue this next year!