Ravens release then re-sign FB Vonta Leach

[airconteka1]

I guess this means Obama gets cut

[BaltimoreBean]

It does suck that the ravens finally had a complete offense that we all witnessed blossom in the playoffs, just to have it broken up. A little less now with the Leach signing. But I still hate the fact that we traded Boldin to the team that has a very good chance of being our opponent again if we make it back to the SB.

[Moderator 2]

Enough of the pictures and political comments thanks

[funky141]

Good sign to bring back Leach. The Ravens offense will be run heavy at first till some WR step up and
fill the holes left open by the injury to Pitta.

[Ed_Reed20]

Dickson's a good blocker!  I've heard good things about VS, too.

 

He's not. Never has been. 

[mg90]

I haven't seen any terms on the contract. How long we locking this guy up?

[itscbm5042]

This is a pretty sweet move for more than one reason, one which I think is being overlooked - Juice is going to play a very interesting FB/TE hybrid position now that Pitta has gone down. He played more of a TE role in college already, has good hands, and is extremely tough after the catch. So now there can be two TE sets with Dickson/Juice/Shiancoe with Leach still on the field and that gives an extreme amount of versatility to audible into a run play with two legit FB blockers or a check down to one of 3 backs out on the field and we get to see what Juice can do down field. Very excited to see this play out.

 

Flacco

Rice

Pierce

Leach

Juice/Dickson/Shiancoe

 

That is one hell of a run blocking game and also short red zone passing game!

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

This is a pretty sweet move for more than one reason, one which I think is being overlooked - Juice is going to play a very interesting FB/TE hybrid position now that Pitta has gone down. He played more of a TE role in college already, has good hands, and is extremely tough after the catch. So now there can be two TE sets with Dickson/Juice/Shiancoe with Leach still on the field and that gives an extreme amount of versatility to audible into a run play with two legit FB blockers or a check down to one of 3 backs out on the field and we get to see what Juice can do down field. Very excited to see this play out.

 

Flacco

Rice

Pierce

Leach

Juice

Dickson

Shiancoe

 

That is one hell of a run blocking game and also short red zone passing game!

 

Except you listed 7 guys... With 5 guys on the line you can only have 6 other players on the field.

[itscbm5042]

Except you listed 7 guys... With 5 guys on the line you can only have 6 other players on the field.

I think its pretty obvious that of the three TEs listed not all would be on the field at the same time... and its either Rice or Pierce, its just to show the options we have

[H8ME]

He's not. Never has been. 

 

IDK, all reports have been Dickson is kept back on the line to help w/blocking.  He's always been a good blocker.

[JohnnyBoy8102]

I am glad VL is back. Maybe Juice can show some versatility and play a "Delanie Walker" type role from last season for the 9ers. 

[Ed_Reed20]

IDK, all reports have been Dickson is kept back on the line to help w/blocking.  He's always been a good blocker.

 

Again, he's never been a good blocker. Two excerpts from PFF:

 

When you watch Dickson, who became a starter in 2011, the first thing you notice is just how bad a blocker he is. You could live with this if the guy was a difference-making receiving tight end, but he’s not.

 

Tight end Ed Dickson had a -8.9 Run Block rating over the regular season, which was the sixth-worst for tight ends in 2012.

[GrimCoconut]

IDK, all reports have been Dickson is kept back on the line to help w/blocking. He's always been a good blocker.

I think he was or is a better blocker than Pitta but that's not saying much.

[1/28/01]

He's not. Never has been.

C'mon...its Poe ;)

[RavensAllTheWay]

When I watch us play, I don't get the impression that Dickson is a terrible blocker.

[gabefergy]

When I watch us play, I don't get the impression that Dickson is a terrible blocker.

I notice he gets handled pretty well by DE/OLBs. I wouldnt say he is out there consistently missing blocks, but he is rarely taking his guy and moving him. I think that is generally considered a win for the defensive player.

[5aiah]

I notice he gets handled pretty well by DE/OLBs. I wouldnt say he is out there consistently missing blocks, but he is rarely taking his guy and moving him. I think that is generally considered a win for the defensive player.

Good of you to notice bro. Dickson is a BAD blocker. People just have to get over that even though he spent most of the season being the "TE who blocks", he wasn't that good at it and I kind of felt like he was unwilling as well. I don't think people know what a good blocking TE is and that is why they don't appreciate Billy Bajema. Dickson did what the coaches told him to do(which was go out there and try to make a dent while getting pushed and laughed around the field) and for that I am thankful, but his blocking is so overrated by Ravens fans who don't know what good blocking is.

[gabefergy]

Good of you to notice bro. Dickson is a BAD blocker. People just have to get over that even though he spent most of the season being the "TE who blocks", he wasn't that good at it and I kind of felt like he was unwilling as well. I don't think people know what a good blocking TE is and that is why they don't appreciate Billy Bajema. Dickson did what the coaches told him to do(which was go out there and try to make a dent while getting pushed and laughed around the field) and for that I am thankful, but his blocking is so overrated by Ravens fans who don't know what good blocking is.

I think the general assumption is because he was asked to block more, that must mean he was good at it. In actuality, he was asked to block more because Pitta was by far the better receiving option and was flexed out more frequently while Dickson stayed "in-line" as a blocker.

[5aiah]

I think the general assumption is because he was asked to block more, that must mean he was good at it. In actuality, he was asked to block more because Pitta was by far the better receiving option and was flexed out more frequently while Dickson stayed "in-line" as a blocker.

I know, it kills me when fellow fans ask me why Bajema is on the team when we have Dickson. 

[flaccopoe]

He's not. Never has been. 

 

IDK, all reports have been Dickson is kept back on the line to help w/blocking.  He's always been a good blocker.

 

Me and H8ME stand by Dickson!   We shall hopefully continue to see him act as a wall at the line all season.

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

Me and H8ME stand by Dickson!   We shall hopefully continue to see him act as a wall at the line all season.

i beg to differ, we should want him to be flexed out more this season with either Shiancoe, Juice or Bajema playing his role from last season; do read the posts above on this page, pretty obvious and clear explanations there

[rmw10]

Yeah I wouldn't say Dickson is a good blocker, but he's more than adequate.  I'd much rather have him running routes and catching balls, though.  Leave the blocking to Bajema this year.

[flaccopoe]

i beg to differ, we should want him to be flexed out more this season with either Shiancoe, Juice or Bajema playing his role from last season; do read the posts above on this page, pretty obvious and clear explanations there

 

True.  Dickson will take on a more Pitta-esque rule in the passing game.

[K-Dog]

Except you listed 7 guys... With 5 guys on the line you can only have 6 other players on the field.

 

 

One is invisible...

[beasy2487]

I know, it kills me when fellow fans ask me why Bajema is on the team when we have Dickson. 

 

Question: If Dickson is that awful as a blocking TE, and Bajema is that "good", why was Dickson's primary role last year as a blocker while Bajema was on the team. Wouldn't it stand to reason that if Pitta was a god awful blocker, Dickson was fairly awful, and Bajema is proficient then we would've put Bajema in the game as the primary blocking TE and rotated Dickson and Pitta? Or taken them both out of the game altogether in running situations?

 

On topic, I really don't understand why people are calling the Leach signing a "move", and then going on to imply that it has implications for our scheme. This contract has been on the table for Vonta since he was released, and before he was released he was on the Ravens(as in, we planned to have him here)...so I really don't see how his signing changes anything. It makes our run game stronger, but I don't think it impacts the scheme at all. It would be one thing if we had put an offer on the table for Leach when Pitta went down, but it was already out there. If anything, Leach pulled the trigger when he did out of the goodness of his heart to give us some good news in the locker room, but the ball was totally in his court. It's highly likely that he would've signed that contract at some point whether Pitta went down or not. The only argument I could see making sense is that because there are incentives in Leach's contract, Pitta going down increases the likelihood that he'll see the field more and thus makes it more likely that he will obtain the incentives causing him to sign when he did. However I still don't think that's a strong argument because Vonta has no idea what the Harbs' master plan is.

[gabefergy]

Question: If Dickson is that awful as a blocking TE, and Bajema is that "good", why was Dickson's primary role last year as a blocker while Bajema was on the team. Wouldn't it stand to reason that if Pitta was a god awful blocker, Dickson was fairly awful, and Bajema is proficient then we would've put Bajema in the game as the primary blocking TE and rotated Dickson and Pitta? Or taken them both out of the game altogether in running situations?

On topic, I really don't understand why people are calling the Leach signing a "move", and then going on to imply that it has implications for our scheme. This contract has been on the table for Vonta since he was released, and before he was released he was on the Ravens(as in, we planned to have him here)...so I really don't see how his signing changes anything. It makes our run game stronger, but I don't think it impacts the scheme at all. It would be one thing if we had put an offer on the table for Leach when Pitta went down, but it was already out there. If anything, Leach pulled the trigger when he did out of the goodness of his heart to give us some good news in the locker room, but the ball was totally in his court. It's highly likely that he would've signed that contract at some point whether Pitta went down or not. The only argument I could see making sense is that because there are incentives in Leach's contract, Pitta going down increases the likelihood that he'll see the field more and thus makes it more likely that he will obtain the incentives causing him to sign when he did. However I still don't think that's a strong argument because Vonta has no idea what the Harbs' master plan is.

Pitta >>> Dickson as a receiver. That's the point. Dickson > Bajema as a receiver, hence significantly more snaps.

[beasy2487]

Pitta >>> Dickson as a receiver. That's the point. Dickson > Bajema as a receiver, hence significantly more snaps.

 

That I understand. I was more honing in on the point that 5aiah made regarding Bajema being on the team due solely to his blocking prowess in relation specifically to Dickson. If Dickson was a total liability as a blocker, and you already have Pitta on the field to catch passes, wouldn't you put Bajema in to block? I'm just not buying that Dickson is a bad a blocker as he's being made out to be. Great no? Serviceable? Yes, in my opinion. PFF may say otherwise, but I don't like to use PFF to measure an entire season, would rather look game-by-game. There are always outliers and in a 16 game season stats can be dramatically skewed by one or two games.

 

That said, Dickson definitely needs to improve in all facets of his game. This year he will have every opportunity to do so.

[gabefergy]

That I understand. I was more honing in on the point that 5aiah made regarding Bajema being on the team due solely to his blocking prowess in relation specifically to Dickson. If Dickson was a total liability as a blocker, and you already have Pitta on the field to catch passes, wouldn't you put Bajema in to block? I'm just not buying that Dickson is a bad a blocker as he's being made out to be. Great no? Serviceable? Yes, in my opinion. PFF may say otherwise, but I don't like to use PFF to measure an entire season, would rather look game-by-game. There are always outliers and in a 16 game season stats can be dramatically skewed by one or two games.

That said, Dickson definitely needs to improve in all facets of his game. This year he will have every opportunity to do so.

Bajema is a non-factor in the passing game. He was basically only used in heavy/short yardage situations. If you play him instead of Dickson you are only hurting yourself.

[GrimCoconut]

That I understand. I was more honing in on the point that 5aiah made regarding Bajema being on the team due solely to his blocking prowess in relation specifically to Dickson. If Dickson was a total liability as a blocker, and you already have Pitta on the field to catch passes, wouldn't you put Bajema in to block? I'm just not buying that Dickson is a bad a blocker as he's being made out to be. Great no? Serviceable? Yes, in my opinion. PFF may say otherwise, but I don't like to use PFF to measure an entire season, would rather look game-by-game. There are always outliers and in a 16 game season stats can be dramatically skewed by one or two games.

That said, Dickson definitely needs to improve in all facets of his game. This year he will have every opportunity to do so.

Billy is best used as a blocker. While it's true that Dickson isn't a very good blocker he's better than Pitta. Pitta is a very good receiver. Dickson is probably an above average receiver that has the ability to block but that's not his ideal role.

The problem with using Billy full time is that you lose out on a receiver. Billy can't really fill that role. So teams aren't really going to cover him. It makes you one dimensional.

In the end Billy didn't play as much because he's less versatile. That's why Dickson saw more snaps. He gave us an option.

[GrimCoconut]

Bajema is a non-factor in the passing game. He was basically only used in heavy/short yardage situations. If you play him instead of Dickson you are only hurting yourself.

Yes. This right here. Nobody is going to really trust Billy to make that catch. Lol. At least Dickson gave you a 50/50 shot and teams had to dedicate somebody to covering him if he rolled out.