68 replies to this topic

[Purple_ICE 81]

In the annual end of the year state of the Ravens address Ozzie was asked what he thought the team needs are and some of us fans were not far off.

He talked about it starting in the middle of the field with Defensive tackle and getting stronger up front. He also mentioned that of coarse Ray is retiring and Ellerbe is a free agent so ILB is a big need, and Ed Reed is also a free agent and may need to be replaced. So if you had to narrow them down in no particular order the top needs according to Oz are:

1. Inside Linebacker
2.Defensive Tackle
3. Safety

Ozzie also mentioned that if a big name on offense falls to us he would never hesitate to draft them. For example say if Cordarrelle Patterson fell to 32 for some reason (unlikely) Ozzie would have no problem drafting him and mentioned that you can never have too much depth on the offensive side of the ball.

Another thing Ozzie was asked about was the depth at LT. Ozzie mentioned that its not that big of a worry this offseason. He feels like there is a good chance Bryant Mckinnie could come back, and if thats not the case he feels there are a few OL guys with starting caliber talent already on the roster, and with the help of OL assistant Juan Castillo he could help mold them into starting talent.

Another big point to mention is that Ozzie and company will shy away from restructuring this offseason. They mentioned that you help yourself now but hurt yourself later when restructuring guys and he is not going to do anything drastic. He did mention that there are a few guys who could play for a few more years...(he was kind of getting at extensions but not directly saying it)... but he said its important to evaluate their longevity. He said you dont want to sign a guy then have their level of play fall of drastically the next season or 2 then have ti cut them and eat up money. So I think Ozzie will find some cap friendly extensions that will keep guys around and save money.

Finally a question that came up frequently was if they could retain any key FAs like Ed Reed. Steve Bisciotti said that its a tough situation and just like last year it was bad when we lost Ben Grubbs, Jared Johnson, Corey Redding, Tom Zbikowski, and Harukki Nakamura. Ozzie mentioned that once the cap situation is settled and they deal with Flacco, there will likely be a little money left and he said that he will try and negotiate cheap contracts...but ultimately there may be better situations out there for the players.

In my opinion I have said this a lot lately, I think this is going to be a tough offseason for the Ravens. I dont see us retaining a lot of guys and many players may have to get cut in order to save money. However we are blessed to have a great GM and cast of front office and talent evaluaters lead by Eric Decosta who can hopefully fill in a lot of the holes through the draft, that were voided through free agency losses.

Edited by Purple_ICE 81, 07 February 2013 - 11:32 PM.

[GrimCoconut]

Yeah, all that makes a lot of sense. I can see an ILB in the 1st or a really good DT if one drops to us. It really depends on who is there. I think the first three rounds really fit our needs pretty well. DT is a nice & deep draft this year, and so there should be some players available even in the 3rd round. Same goes for safety. ILB has some excellent prospects such as Manti Te'o, Kevin Minter, Arthur Brown, Alec Ogletree, Khaseem Greene to name a few. I'm not a fan of all those ILBs, but they are all good prospects. We all know the safeties like Elam, Vaccaro (probably won't be there) with others. I even like WR, as he said, as well as TE.

Overall, I think we can come out of this draft with some really good pieces. I like ILB, S, DT, TE, WR & OLB in this draft. I feel like we should get at least one of each. Maybe even a LT like Faulk if the FO wants to go that route.

Edited by GrimCoconut, 07 February 2013 - 11:37 PM.

[Ravens<3]

I would love if we could somehow come out of this draft with either Kevin Minter or Jesse Williams, or both somehow.

[ZIBBY28]

solid, informative post... I wasn't able to watch/listen (yet), so I appreciate it.

[Purple_ICE 81]

prospects. We all know the safeties like Elam, Vaccaro (probably won't be there)

Have you ever looked at FS T.J. McDonald out of USC? He looks like an excellent guy to grab in possibly the 3rd or 4th round. He is a hard hitter and has good instincts and is pretty good in coverage too. The more I watch him the more I like him. I wouldnt be surprised if we took 2 safeties in the draft seeing as how deep it is with good safeties, but only if we lost Ed Reed.

[Purple_ICE 81]

solid, informative post... I wasn't able to watch/listen (yet), so I appreciate it.

Yea thanks, I like to post one every year, the video of boring to some people to sit there and watch the whole 50 minutes of it, but it has great information in it that will give everyone better help to do there mock drafts and give everyone a general idea of what was mentioned in it, and of coarse where the Ravens are headed this offseason.

[Purple_ICE 81]

I would love if we could somehow come out of this draft with either Kevin Minter or Jesse Williams, or both somehow.

Yea I think Jesse Williams might be the one to fall to us in the first just because there are a lot of good DT prospects this year and he is definitely one of them. I see Alec Ogletree being the first ILB going first, Minter may go early but Monti Te'o could fall to us at 32.

[Ravens<3]

Yea I think Jesse Williams might be the one to fall to us in the first just because there are a lot of good DT prospects this year and he is definitely one of them. I see Alec Ogletree being the first ILB going first, Minter may go early but Monti Te'o could fall to us at 32.

Minters my favorite, but I wouldn't be upset if we got either one of them. I don't think Te'o gets past the Bears tbh.

[GrimCoconut]

Have you ever looked at FS T.J. McDonald out of USC? He looks like an excellent guy to grab in possibly the 3rd or 4th round. He is a hard hitter and has good instincts and is pretty good in coverage too. The more I watch him the more I like him. I wouldnt be surprised if we took 2 safeties in the draft seeing as how deep it is with good safeties, but only if we lost Ed Reed.

I love TJ McDonald. I think he's really talented. He has a lot of potential, that's for sure. He doesn't seem overly quick, but I think he has some good instincts and seems to have a nose for the ball. He can tackle, and that's always a plus since you want a safety who can tackle. I think with some good coaching, he could be excellent. I am a big fan of Thomas as well from Fresno. Thomas is a play-maker and has some great instincts. He reminds me of Ed Reed with the way he gambles, though.

Eric Reid is another player I like as a S prospect. I also like Tyrann Mathieu, who I feel is a better FS than a CB.

My favorite safeties are the ones who can do returns. I feel like they have the best vision for taking an INT to the house.

[GrimCoconut]

Minters my favorite, but I wouldn't be upset if we got either one of them. I don't think Te'o gets past the Bears tbh.

I think Te'o, Minter & Brown are so comparable that there's no drop-off between them. There's something about each one that you can say gives them the advantage over the other. I won't be upset with any of them. With that said, if the Bears take Te'o they are incredibly stupid. They really need help at OL. That's their biggest problem on that team bar-none. They will not make the play-offs if they can't protect Cutler. I would hope the past two failed seasons & a fired head coach would make someone aware of that.

I think they have to address OL, whether that's with an OT, OG or C. Ben Jones would be a terrific pick for them if they can't get Warmack or Fisher. Cooper is another nice prospect, but I'm almost tempted to go with Jones because of versatility and they need help at virtually every position on the offensive line.

[Ravens<3]

I think Te'o, Minter & Brown are so comparable that there's no drop-off between them. There's something about each one that you can say gives them the advantage over the other. I won't be upset with any of them. With that said, if the Bears take Te'o they are incredibly stupid. They really need help at OL. That's their biggest problem on that team bar-none. They will not make the play-offs if they can't protect Cutler. I would hope the past two failed seasons & a fired head coach would make someone aware of that.

I think they have to address OL, whether that's with an OT, OG or C. Ben Jones would be a terrific pick for them if they can't get Warmack or Fisher. Cooper is another nice prospect, but I'm almost tempted to go with Jones because of versatility and they need help at virtually every position on the offensive line.

It's almost a perfect fit if Urlacher leaves. Or eventually retires next season. I agree they need o-line, I've been saying that for like 3 years it seems lol. I don't think they'll reach for someone though if Te'o is still available. I think if Lane Johnson is there they take him, maybe Jones or Cooper but I can't see them doing that if Te'o's still there.

They also need a TE badly and have needed one ever since getting rid of Olsen. Bears perfect draft would be Te'o, Abushi,Sims.

[GrimCoconut]

It's almost a perfect fit if Urlacher leaves. Or eventually retires next season. I agree they need o-line, I've been saying that for like 3 years it seems lol. I don't think they'll reach for someone though if Te'o is still available. I think if Lane Johnson is there they take him, maybe Jones or Cooper but I can't see them doing that if Te'o's still there.

They also need a TE badly and have needed one ever since getting rid of Olsen. Bears perfect draft would be Te'o, Abushi,Sims.

I hear you that they need a replacement for Brian. But it makes no sense at all to let the most valuable position continue to get hurt and stop your post-season. They can't make the playoffs without Cutler. I think if Warmack is there that's BPA over Te'o, and I like Te'o.

We'll see what happens, but I'm 90% sure they finally get an OL to protect Cutler. They can always get Greene or someone like him in the 2nd. Hell, even Arthur Brown in the 2nd.

[Ravens<3]

I hear you that they need a replacement for Brian. But it makes no sense at all to let the most valuable position continue to get hurt and stop your post-season. They can't make the playoffs without Cutler. I think if Warmack is there that's BPA over Te'o, and I like Te'o.

We'll see what happens, but I'm 90% sure they finally get an OL to protect Cutler. They can always get Greene or someone like him in the 2nd. Hell, even Arthur Brown in the 2nd.

Bears and Rams just don't seem to care about the oline lol. It would be smart to fix that oline up and that should be priority #1 but I don't think the Bears seem to believe that. Plus they seemed to favor defense more then offense even though they're starting to become more balanced.

[Bltravens]

Bears will go Oline because Trestmann is the new HC there. Bigtime offense guy from the CFL, his team the Alouettes always had all stars on the Oline each year because Trestmann knew his 40 year old QB needed time and couldn't afford to get hit much because he was frail. I'd bet Trestmann takes OT.

[CosmicRedPanda]

Just the idea that we're picking 32nd in this years draft makes me smile even more.

[Ravens<3]

Just the idea that we're picking 32nd in this years draft makes me smile even more.

I know what you mean, makes me smile too! We'll most likely trade back though knowing Ozzie.

[raybaby]

I love Joe but I don't have to love that we are basically putting most of our eggs in one basket. When he turned down that very reasonably offer it became clear 'sacrificing' wasn't happening. I'm preparing myself for the worst when it comes to losing our guys.

Edited by raybaby, 08 February 2013 - 02:50 AM.

[BloodRaven]

I smell a bit of misdirection, I think he wants a LT or safety.

Edited by BloodRaven, 08 February 2013 - 03:25 AM.

[H8R]

I HOPE Ryan McBean can get healthy! He's better the Cody, Kemo, and Hall. Though, Hall and Tyson showed some promise this year! McBean would have been the starter, IMO!

[H8R]

I love Joe but I don't have to love that we are basically putting most of our eggs in one basket. When he turned down that very reasonably offer it became clear 'sacrificing' wasn't happening. I'm preparing myself for the worst when it comes to losing our guys.

It's not putting eggs in one basket. The QB should be your highest paid player. Suggs is making 13m, Ngata 11... IMO, those guys are in the top 3 pay wise at their position in the NFL. We've had a bargain with Flacco for 5 years, and have gotten the hardware now to show it!