54 replies to this topic

[SecretAgentMan]

As you probably know, I love the NFL draft, and mocks all together. However, I have been too busy to study this year. Our D is among the worst in the nfl, and we need to step up. I still think we win the SB, but we need playmakers. What I say we do is pull of an Atalanta Falcons, or a NO saints.
We have enough firepower to trade players, and still be contenders. I think Oz is willing to trade a lot for a top pick. So I have two possible scenarios.

Atalanta stlye (woop, woop woop, opaa Atalanta Stlye )
We trade up to pick ten.
There we take the best defensive player availible.
I think that will be Teo.
I am confident that Teo will be a star in the NFL, and will thrive in the system. He still needs help.

1. Teo. I like risks, we give up close to what Atlanta gave up, but still manage to have a second and third in the draft.
2. William Gholston
Oz finds steals in the second, here is another one. He is a freak of nature DE. That is not fun for anyone going one on one with him.
3. Datone Jones.
Cody is a good run stuffer, a pro bowl one, but Datone provides a damn good pass rush that will complement Ngata and Cody well.
We trade the other picks, and a first rounder for next year.

[SecretAgentMan]

Thats it for the Atalanta style, which is unlikley. Now if we do it NO style (we need a big draft)
We trade for the 20th pick.
The Ravens need a MLB, but run stuffing, and pass rush are most important
1.Kwann Short
1b. Alex Orkafor
2. CJ. Mosley
3. Datone Jones (my Tommy Streeter this year)
4. Nico Johnson. Thats all, comment below.

[Cville-Raven]

I like the Gholston pick for what we need. Question is, will he be there?

[T3hRaven]

I'm not trading up into the top 10 for an ILB no matter how much I like Teo. It's a big need, but it's also a low impact position.

[SecretAgentMan]

I'm not trading up into the top 10 for an ILB no matter how much I like Teo. It's a big need, but it's also a low impact position.

Now that Lewis may be done forever will you do it?

[Cville-Raven]

Now that Lewis may be done forever will you do it?

It's a triceps injury, Who said it will end his career. He has to much pride for something like that to happen. He would come back and play next year if he ends up being out for the rest of the season.

[SecretAgentMan]

It's a triceps injury, Who said it will end his career. He has to much pride for something like that to happen. He would come back and play next year if he ends up being out for the rest of the season.

The man loves football, but I think he should call it quits. Time to hire him as the D Cordinator.

[T3hRaven]

Now that Lewis may be done forever will you do it?

My assessment remains the same. ILB is not a high impact position. If we're trading up into the top 10 I want an LT, a corner, or a pass rusher.

[SecretAgentMan]

I like the Gholston pick for what we need. Question is, will he be there?

Maybe. But he could be a dominant defender in the NFL.

[Ravenslifer]

Now that Lewis may be done forever will you do it?

I would agree with T3hRaven, when was the last time an inside linebacker drafted highly had an impact on a team. Maybe the best is Patrick Willis. Others include D'Qwell Jackson, Ray, Urlacher, Fletcher, Cushing, Bowman, Weatherspoon, etc. How have any of those guys helped their teams to a Superbowl recently? Ray still makes a lot of plays and is a terrific leader, but at the end of the day this is a passing league and the primary job of an inside linebacker is to stop the run. Put it another way, in the first round of the draft in the 20s in recent years, guys like Clay Matthews, Dwayne Bowe, Mike Jenkins, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Britt, Jermaine Gresham, Devin McCourty, Dez Bryant, Jonathon Baldwin, Nick Perry were all taken there. I can't seriously justify passing on any one of those guys for an inside linebacker on the level of a Brian Cushing or a Sean Weatherspoon. If we got a shot at Mani Te'O I'd take it no questions asked, but he's the only one worthy, and he'll be gone.

Edited by Ravenslifer, 14 October 2012 - 07:29 PM.

[Miami Hurricane]

I would agree with T3hRaven, when was the last time an inside linebacker drafted highly had an impact on a team. Maybe the best is Patrick Willis. Others include D'Qwell Jackson, Ray, Urlacher, Fletcher, Cushing, Bowman, Weatherspoon, etc. How have any of those guys helped their teams to a Superbowl recently? Ray still makes a lot of plays and is a terrific leader, but at the end of the day this is a passing league and the primary job of an inside linebacker is to stop the run. Put it another way, in the first round of the draft in the 20s in recent years, guys like Clay Matthews, Dwayne Bowe, Mike Jenkins, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Britt, Jermaine Gresham, Devin McCourty, Dez Bryant, Jonathon Baldwin, Nick Perry were all taken there. I can't seriously justify passing on any one of those guys for an inside linebacker on the level of a Brian Cushing or a Sean Weatherspoon. If we got a shot at Mani Te'O I'd take it no questions asked, but he's the only one worthy, and he'll be gone.

Why wouldn't you take Cushing? He's a dominant linebacker both defending the pass and stuffing the run. At least in my mind he's better than Jenkins and Perry.

[SecretAgentMan]

Why wouldn't you take Cushing? He's a dominant linebacker both defending the pass and stuffing the run. At least in my mind he's better than Jenkins and Perry.

He is a frackin idiot. Thats why.

[PolishRifle]

Our offense needs to get better at converting 3rd downs. Our problems in this area come from scheme, some can be fixed through better execution, but it would also help to use a high draft pick on th OL. I am mostly happy with how the OL is right now with the exception of Bobby Williams, who is fairly old and has a history of injuries. One high OL draft pick might turn our OL into an impressive unit.

Pieces to stop the run are much easier to find later in the draft, because teams care less about establishing the run in the first place, so I much rather spend our 1st round draft pick on someone, who can help Flacco and Rice. Afterall we depend on both heavily this season.

[Ravenslifer]

Why wouldn't you take Cushing? He's a dominant linebacker both defending the pass and stuffing the run. At least in my mind he's better than Jenkins and Perry.

Perry is a better pure pass rusher, and I'd rather have all the pass rushers I can get. We've seen what happens when we lose Suggs. Perry as a rookie seeing limited snaps already has more sacks than Cushing. Undrafted free agent Jameel McClain has turned out to be an excellent ILB for what we need him for. Donnelle Ellerbe has shown flashes. Why would I take someone highly when I know a late round pick could do the same job in today's NFL and I could get an impact player somewhere else? It's not always about who is the better pure player, to me it's about what we need and how this player could help us. IMO this league is about passing and defending the pass, and if you have an average run defense but a great passing defense its better than having a great run defense and a so-so passing defense. Nobody's quite sure how well Suggs will bounce back from his injury - I expect him to be fine, but there's always a chance he won't be. And then, this is his 10th year in the league, he'll be 32 at the end of his contract, and there's no telling when he might decide to hang it up.

And as for Cushing specifically, who do you think is more valuable to the Texans, Cushing or Brooks Reed? Cushing or JJ Watt? If you could take only 2 of the three, would Cushing seriously be one of the two you picked?

Edited by Ravenslifer, 15 October 2012 - 06:46 AM.

[arnie_uk]

You don't understand football if you think its smart to trade multiple picks for a non impact position like ilb!

[Ed_Reed20]

If the team traded up to the 10th spot, they'd be much better off drafting a defensive lineman or hybrid pass rusher. Capable ILBs can be found anywhere in the draft.

[Dubs]

I dont wanna get into the pummelling of bad idea to trade up but I do agree that the ILB position usually has better value in the 2nd round or later - This year Bobby Wagner looks like one of those guys as does Mycheal Kendricks, Demario Davis could be another in a year or two.

Next year I think there is a ton of talent in round 2. I would rather us get a guy like Kevin Reddick, Shayne Skove, Chase Thomas and if any of Andrew Jackson, Alec Ogletree or Tom Wort declare we may get rather lucky

[GrimCoconut]

I have to agree with those who say it's a bad idea to trade up for Manti. I am one of the biggest Manti fans around. I wouldn't touch him until around 15, and that's early. It's not that he's bad--it's that defensive linemen are just more valuable. Now if something bizarre happened and no QBs were taken early and all these studs were flying off the board, then yeah, you trade up.

I don't see that happening. Manti might go top 10, it's possible. Then again he could go in the 20s, too. I'd trade one pick, like a 3rd, to move up to get Te'o. I wouldn't do anymore than that, though.

[Ravenslifer]

I dont wanna get into the pummelling of bad idea to trade up but I do agree that the ILB position usually has better value in the 2nd round or later - This year Bobby Wagner looks like one of those guys as does Mycheal Kendricks, Demario Davis could be another in a year or two.

Next year I think there is a ton of talent in round 2. I would rather us get a guy like Kevin Reddick, Shayne Skove, Chase Thomas and if any of Andrew Jackson, Alec Ogletree or Tom Wort declare we may get rather lucky

I don't think the issue would be trading up, it would be trading up for Manti Te'O specifically. All I am trying to say is, regardless of how good they are, Ray, Patrick Willis, etc., I just don't see ILBs having the same impact they did a decade ago. If I traded up, there are a ton of guys, Jarvis Jones, Bjoern Werner, Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo, DeMarcus Milliner, William Gholston, Eric Reid, Justin Hunter, Robert Woods, Keenan Allen, etc., that I would take over Manti Te'O. He may be better than some of them, but I feel any of them would have more of an impact and help our team more than Manti would.

[Miami Hurricane]

Perry is a better pure pass rusher, and I'd rather have all the pass rushers I can get. We've seen what happens when we lose Suggs. Perry as a rookie seeing limited snaps already has more sacks than Cushing. Undrafted free agent Jameel McClain has turned out to be an excellent ILB for what we need him for. Donnelle Ellerbe has shown flashes. Why would I take someone highly when I know a late round pick could do the same job in today's NFL and I could get an impact player somewhere else? It's not always about who is the better pure player, to me it's about what we need and how this player could help us. IMO this league is about passing and defending the pass, and if you have an average run defense but a great passing defense its better than having a great run defense and a so-so passing defense. Nobody's quite sure how well Suggs will bounce back from his injury - I expect him to be fine, but there's always a chance he won't be. And then, this is his 10th year in the league, he'll be 32 at the end of his contract, and there's no telling when he might decide to hang it up.

And as for Cushing specifically, who do you think is more valuable to the Texans, Cushing or Brooks Reed? Cushing or JJ Watt? If you could take only 2 of the three, would Cushing seriously be one of the two you picked?

ya I would take Cushing and Watt because I believe the players around Reed make him look better than he is but thats just my personal opinion.