"Who Stays and Who Goes?" - Wide Receiver Edition

[GrimCoconut]

Agreed, plus there are a decent number of guys that are in the last year of their deals that are still young so other teams could overpay for them (a la Ellerbe and Kruger), of course I think that is all part of Ozzie's plan as well because that leads to us getting more comp picks when we don't sign players in FA that have reached the end of their own contracts, but just signing guys that have been cut.

I entirely agree with this. Corey Graham, Jacoby Jones I see playing this role next year and perhaps Cody.

I do think we'll know what we have this'd year at wide receiver. That's a house thing because I like quite a few guys next year at the position

[Ravensfan23]

And not to ask too much, but do you have any info on Gerrard Sheppard?  I know he's not making the team, but I have a soft spot for the guys since I went to Towson as well, and I work right across the street from campus still.  I've met him a few times and he could not be a nicer guy.

 

And once again, thanks for giving all of this information.  I unfortunately do not have any luck.  I just want to go see the Castle lol.

 

he had a really bad day on Monday in my eye. But he and Marcus Rivers look the part physically but they drop far too many passes. There spacing on the field doesn't look good and they definitely need to improve on their routes. A guy like Marlon Brown needs to work on his routes as well, but the difference with him and Sheppard is that when the ball was in Browns area it was a catch.

 

Now I will say that his time on the field was limited with the first and second teams obviously. Then when the vets were allowed to either get ice cream(defense) or just sign for the kids or talk with the media, the young guys were given more attention from the coaches. They ran 11 on 11 drills with those guys getting all the reps but I wasn't watching. Maybe that was a less stressful portion of practice and he may have performed better there.

[CARavensFan]

I entirely agree with this. Corey Graham, Jacoby Jones I see playing this role next year and perhaps Cody.

I do think we'll know what we have this'd year at wide receiver. That's a house thing because I like quite a few guys next year at the position

 

Yeah, I'm guessing that we will ride with the guys we having (barring an injury or no one stepping up at all) for the season and then we can take a look at what we have next year. If there was going to be a year to add to the WR group, next year might be it because its looking like it could be a really deep group and with the quality QB group as well more talented guys at other positions we might be looking at (OT, WR, TE, etc.) could fall to us later in the rounds.

[rmw10]

he had a really bad day on Monday in my eye. But he and Marcus Rivers look the part physically but they drop far too many passes. There spacing on the field doesn't look good and they definitely need to improve on their routes. A guy like Marlon Brown needs to work on his routes as well, but the difference with him and Sheppard is that when the ball was in Browns area it was a catch.

 

Now I will say that his time on the field was limited with the first and second teams obviously. Then when the vets were allowed to either get ice cream(defense) or just sign for the kids or talk with the media, the young guys were given more attention from the coaches. They ran 11 on 11 drills with those guys getting all the reps but I wasn't watching. Maybe that was a less stressful portion of practice and he may have performed better there.

 

Yeah I didn't really expect much.  Thanks again!

[Ravensfan23]

To touch on the we keep draft picks topic. I think you have to first understand the philosophy of the Ravens. They strongly believe in building a team through the draft. So while other teams look to the FA market to fill in the perceived holes in their roster, Ozzie and company look at the talent of young guys and project it forward. There was a former Ravens scout who said that Ozzie spends more time scouting his own players then anyone else in the NFL. Also the Ravens believe in player development. So while fans may wonder why guys like Harewood was still or the team, then surprised by his strong performance at LG when given the opportunity, the Ravens see that potential in him already. The same thing for a guy like David Reed.

 

So when other teams are quickly shipping 2nd and 3rd year players out of the door because they want instant return on their investment into players, the Ravens rather develop those guys. Also the Ravens do a great job of using multiple players. If you look at the defense over the last 2 years, outside of injury, just look at the number of guys who the Ravens use in a rotation on game days.

 

Suggs, Ngata, Cody, Jones, Mcphee, Tyson, Upshaw, Kruger, Ray, McClain, Ellerbe, Smith, Webb, Pollard, Reed, Graham, Kemo, BA, Cary and Redding. That's about 20 players that the Ravens will rotate on defense on any given Sunday. That doesn't even count guys like Chykie Brown, Digg, Bynes, McClellan, Omar Brown and other who played mainly because of injury. So when you consistently use that large number of players on defesne, your backup young players have to practice as if they are gonna play on Sunday's and that helps them develop quicker imo. So I don't think it's as simple as saying of the Ravens don't cut draft picks, it's that the Ravens actually use these young guys. But on the other hand these young guys have to perform and show they deserve a spot as well.

[GrimCoconut]

To touch on the we keep draft picks topic. I think you have to first understand the philosophy of the Ravens. They strongly believe in building a team through the draft. So while other teams look to the FA market to fill in the perceived holes in their roster, Ozzie and company look at the talent of young guys and project it forward. There was a former Ravens scout who said that Ozzie spends more time scouting his own players then anyone else in the NFL. Also the Ravens believe in player development. So while fans may wonder why guys like Harewood was still or the team, then surprised by his strong performance at LG when given the opportunity, the Ravens see that potential in him already. The same thing for a guy like David Reed.

So when other teams are quickly shipping 2nd and 3rd year players out of the door because they want instant return on their investment into players, the Ravens rather develop those guys. Also the Ravens do a great job of using multiple players. If you look at the defense over the last 2 years, outside of injury, just look at the number of guys who the Ravens use in a rotation on game days.

Suggs, Ngata, Cody, Jones, Mcphee, Tyson, Upshaw, Kruger, Ray, McClain, Ellerbe, Smith, Webb, Pollard, Reed, Graham, Kemo, BA, Cary and Redding. That's about 20 players that the Ravens will rotate on defense on any given Sunday. That doesn't even count guys like Chykie Brown, Digg, Bynes, McClellan, Omar Brown and other who played mainly because of injury. So when you consistently use that large number of players on defesne, your backup young players have to practice as if they are gonna play on Sunday's and that helps them develop quicker imo. So I don't think it's as simple as saying of the Ravens don't cut draft picks, it's that the Ravens actually use these young guys. But on the other hand these young guys have to perform and show they deserve a spot as well.

You make a good point here. I agree wholeheartedly that Ozzie scouts his players more vigorously than any other team. Part of the reason I suspect he does that is to prevent talent from leaving the team. I'm glad he does it. I think it's a big reason why guys who leave us never perform quite the same as they did here. Granted there are exceptions but this is a generalization.

I'll touch more on this later as I plan on posting a topic later on this and some other things but you really need to understand how the Ravens operate to see why they do what they do. You also need to see the team structure and hotter the team is built. Our team is no longer ground and pound defensive shutdown team. That's not to say it's unbalanced.

We're getting off topic a bit here. I'll post a topic later on this for this discussion.

[Edgar]

 We won't have an inkling about any of these guys until we see something in the pre season.( Those of us who aren't at practice particularly). I can only form an opinion based on what I have seen and unfortunately with this bunch, we have yet to see much.

 Tandon Doss? I would love to be wrong about this guy and see him blossom but if his ability doesn't manifest itself in a major way over the first three pre-season games then I don't think it will and it bothers me that we seem to have a lot riding on this guy as fans.

Deonte Thompon? Looked great in last years pre-season and in my opinion appears to have an upside and may, with opportunity... ah, who knows?

   Perhaps we catch lightning in a bottle with one of these guys. I'm betting Ozzie brings someone else in.

 

 

[Ravensfan23]

 We won't have an inkling about any of these guys until we see something in the pre season.( Those of us who aren't at practice particularly). I can only form an opinion based on what I have seen and unfortunately with this bunch, we have yet to see much.

 Tandon Doss? I would love to be wrong about this guy and see him blossom but if his ability doesn't manifest itself in a major way over the first three pre-season games then I don't think it will and it bothers me that we seem to have a lot riding on this guy as fans.

Deonte Thompon? Looked great in last years pre-season and in my opinion appears to have an upside and may, with opportunity... ah, who knows?

   Perhaps we catch lightning in a bottle with one of these guys. I'm betting Ozzie brings someone else in.

 

I'm betting he doesn't. Or at least not some big named game.

[Sami84]

So you have been at practice?

 

 

 We won't have an inkling about any of these guys until we see something in the pre season.( Those of us who aren't at practice particularly). I can only form an opinion based on what I have seen and unfortunately with this bunch, we have yet to see much.

 Tandon Doss? I would love to be wrong about this guy and see him blossom but if his ability doesn't manifest itself in a major way over the first three pre-season games then I don't think it will and it bothers me that we seem to have a lot riding on this guy as fans.

Deonte Thompon? Looked great in last years pre-season and in my opinion appears to have an upside and may, with opportunity... ah, who knows?

   Perhaps we catch lightning in a bottle with one of these guys. I'm betting Ozzie brings someone else in.

[Edgar]

I'm betting he doesn't. Or at least not some big named game.

 I feel it's more likely to be someone let go from another teams roster which to me is a frightening proposition. That someone else's cast off is a better option than what we have on the roster. Would Stokely be a possibility as a 3rd down posession receiver?

[Ravensfan23]

 I feel it's more likely to be someone let go from another teams roster which to me is a frightening proposition. That someone else's cast off is a better option than what we have on the roster. Would Stokely be a possibility as a 3rd down posession receiver?

 

I just think we as fans fear the unknown. Our young WRs haven't had much game time reps so we fear they aren't as good. But I was out at practice and even though it's only one day, these guys are talented and the ball rarely hits the ground unless it's just a strong defensive play. Doss looks much more explosive and it's probably because he's 100% healthy this year. The guy has had a lower body injury every year, now he seems to have his legs under him and he's looks really good.

 

Dickson looks like he's attacking the ball much better and being physical. Thompson is not only fast but he does good job of working over the middle of the field making tough catches with his hands and getting up for when he can. Believe it or not Jacoby was the same way. I still think he's more of a specialist WR, but the guy made a ton of tough catches against tight coverage at practice. Torrey is being moved around and used to work all areas of the field not just get deep. Reed didn't practice in 11 on 11, but early in practice you could see his explosion and shiftiness. The interesting part of it all was that the defense looked far better then the offense. So i'd say just wait until the preseason when you get to see all these guys work in unison before casting them off based on what you've saw in previous years, because those guys really haven't had legit opportunities.

[beanfigger]

As CARavensFan said, I think this is more due to the fact that we picked quality players.  In years past, pretty much all of our draft picks didn't have anyone behind them to really push them, and they didn't have anyone in front of them to overtake.  This year, with 10 picks and a slew of depth, I see that changing.

 

 

Agreed, plus there are a decent number of guys that are in the last year of their deals that are still young so other teams could overpay for them (a la Ellerbe and Kruger), of course I think that is all part of Ozzie's plan as well because that leads to us getting more comp picks when we don't sign players in FA that have reached the end of their own contracts, but just signing guys that have been cut.

 

I am not arguing this.  I agree with all this.  I know we can't continue to keep all our draft picks, and we most likely have to part with a few this year.  I was just pointing out that the notion of us not parting with our draft picks easily in the past is based in fact.

 

As for Streeter vs Mellete, I think this might go down to the final preseason game.  It is possible neither one make the team, but if we don't make any additions to our roster before the season, that isn't a very likely scenario.

[CARavensFan]

As for Streeter vs Mellete, I think this might go down to the final preseason game.  It is possible neither one make the team, but if we don't make any additions to our roster before the season, that isn't a very likely scenario.

 

If it were to come down to these two, I would guess Streeter would have a better shot, if they are even, because he brings a different look to the offense, while Mellette is similar to Doss at 6'2" possession-type receiver.

[Edgar]

I just think we as fans fear the unknown. Our young WRs haven't had much game time reps so we fear they aren't as good. But I was out at practice and even though it's only one day, these guys are talented and the ball rarely hits the ground unless it's just a strong defensive play. Doss looks much more explosive and it's probably because he's 100% healthy this year. The guy has had a lower body injury every year, now he seems to have his legs under him and he's looks really good.

 

Dickson looks like he's attacking the ball much better and being physical. Thompson is not only fast but he does good job of working over the middle of the field making tough catches with his hands and getting up for when he can. Believe it or not Jacoby was the same way. I still think he's more of a specialist WR, but the guy made a ton of tough catches against tight coverage at practice. Torrey is being moved around and used to work all areas of the field not just get deep. Reed didn't practice in 11 on 11, but early in practice you could see his explosion and shiftiness. The interesting part of it all was that the defense looked far better then the offense. So i'd say just wait until the preseason when you get to see all these guys work in unison before casting them off based on what you've saw in previous years, because those guys really haven't had legit opportunities.

Thanks for the insight. keep us posted. Any thoughts on seeing laquann?

[GrimCoconut]

Changing my vote, lol.

 

1. Torrey Smith

2. Jacoby Jones

3. Brandon Stokley

4. Tandon Doss

5. Aaron Mellette

6. Deonte Thompson 

 

PS/IR. Marlon Brown

 

No particular order. 

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

Changing my vote, lol.

1. Torrey Smith

2. Jacoby Jones

3. Brandon Stokley

4. Tandon Doss

5. Aaron Mellette

6. Deonte Thompson 

PS/IR. Marlon Brown

No particular order. 

i'm starting to think Deonte might just get the IR with the amount of time he's now missed

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

i'm starting to think Deonte might just get the IR with the amount of time he's now missed

 

I don't know, John Eisenberg handicapped Deonte and Mellette as the favorites to win a job behind Torrey, Jacoby, and Stokley. And hes only in the facility every day.

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

I don't know, John Eisenberg handicapped Deonte and Mellette as the favorites to win a job behind Torrey, Jacoby, and Stokley. And hes only in the facility every day.

he might be around, but not getting reps with the first team like Mellette and Brown does hurt him badly right now

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

he might be around, but not getting reps with the first team like Mellette and Brown does hurt him badly right now

 

oh no, you could absolutely be right.... but think about it this way. If everyone else is showing poorly, ie not making catches, not getting open - then by default Deonte looks better even if sitting out.

 

Not doing anything looks better in comparison to doing poorly.

[ravensfan160]

I bet all the people who voted for David Reed feel silly now. :th_shemademe-2:

[CARavensFan]

I bet all the people who voted for David Reed feel silly now. :th_shemademe-2:

 

He apparently has enough talent that another team wants him, its just the Stokley fills his role better now.

[beanfigger]

I bet all the people who voted for David Reed feel silly now. :th_shemademe-2:

I don't. This poll went up well before we picked up Stokely. He takes Reed's spot on my ballot, but I still feel confident in my other choices.

[ravensfan160]

I don't. This poll went up well before we picked up Stokely. He takes Reed's spot on my ballot, but I still feel confident in my other choices.

Tongue was firmly in cheek when I made that post.

[RavenzOz]

Marlon Brown's stock is certainly on the rise

[Ravenslifer]

At this point I'd say Smith, Jones, Thompson, Mallette, Brown, Stoke, Williams sounds solid.

[radicals]

Marlon Brown's stock is certainly on the rise

He's looking great tonight

[Grapple Raven]

Bobby Rainey is doing all he can to earn a spot tonight. Little dynamite!

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

Bobby Rainey is doing all he can to earn a spot tonight. Little dynamite!

not as a WR though lol...

[Ravenseconbeast]

Marlon in, Doss outtttt

[rmw10]

Good thing I left time for this final vote.  I'll think I'll do it tomorrow instead of Saturday to give some extra time since there will be a lot of discussion.