SAM's Postgame Analyisis Preseason Thread #1

[5aiah]

I'm losing a little bit of faith in the WRs.
But I'll let the coaches decide if they're competent enough or not.

I mean which ones? All of them?

[gabefergy]

Defensive Game Ball - Daryl Smith

Offensive Game Ball - LaQuan Williams

To the people clamoring for a vet wr signing, it's probably not going to happen (Unless someone we like get's cut between now and week 1). Brandon Lloyd is the hot name and not many people bring up that he's a locker room cancer and has burned many bridges in his career. The guy is talented enough but if we were comfortable with his presence in the locker room he would've already been signed. Why do you think the Pats passed on bringing him back? Got a Bernard Pollard type personality. Like I've said all along Jacoby is a #3 wr at best. He's good for a home run here and there, he's clutch, but he's just not effective at running underneath routes and being the possession wr we need him to be when he's not running vertical routes and stretching the field. Torrey can do both.

I'm really starting to think LaQuan Williams might be the best possession wr we have going across the middle besides Torrey. Tandon Doss just hasn't shown up thus far, Doss actually got on the field a decent amount in the Playoffs last year but you would barely know it because he was invisible when he got his chances. I can at least remember LaQuan making a nice leaping catch on a curl on 3rd down vs the Steelers @ Heinz Field on that 90+ yd drive from Flacco to win the game in 2011. Doss has gotten far more opportunities and I can't ever remember him coming through for us. I think the best play of his entire career was drawing a PI against the Broncos in the playoffs. I'm not joking.

Torrey and LaQuan. 2 UMD guys at wr that can make plays and hold onto the football. Sounds good to me

Doss has made a few big plays in his time here, more than Laquan has that's for sure. You can't really compare them when they are going against different caliber defenders either. Laquan sure looked good tonight but he us the least skilled of the bunch IMO. He isn't very fluid and he doesn't have much quickness. ST will be his calling card if he makes the team again.

[SecretAgentMan]

I mean which ones? All of them?

Torrey
Shainco
Dickson
I trust.

Laquan is on the border.

The rest of them idk

[ghost1986]

No offense to Tyrod (cause he tore it up tonight), but I really wish we could see Doss, Mellette and Streeter more with the 1st string guys. I feel like we're holding them back by putting them in with 2nd and 3rd string QB's. But this was just the 1st pre-season game. And we still tore em up. I loved it. Especially after MulberryBuccaneer talked so much trash about how we "stole" the Super Bowl on YouTube. I sent him a message rubbing the victory in his face.

[The11thRaven]

Our team looks great. My only concern is WR. I'm getting a feeling Ozzie might take a look at a veteran late in August.

[5aiah]

Torrey
Shainco
Dickson
I trust.

Laquan is on the border.

The rest of them idk

Hmm. You and me in the same boat mostly. I trust Shiancoe but only to be a average TE at best. I'm hoping Furst can grow up fast. He keeps making plays on the second and third string defenses but we need to see it vs the big boys. Torrey I trust, he will be a top receiver in the league if he keeps improving. Dickson I also trust, to make big plays down field and expand his game horizontally. LaQuan isn't even on my border he is below Doss' level to me. I'm predicting DT to have a breakout season but i don't trust him(or any of the other young guys aside from Mellette) to stay healthy. Harbs said it best at the conference man, these guys have to be able to make it back onto the field. 

[SecretAgentMan]

Hmm. You and me in the same boat mostly. I trust Shiancoe but only to be a average TE at best. I'm hoping Furst can grow up fast. He keeps making plays on the second and third string defenses but we need to see it vs the big boys. Torrey I trust, he will be a top receiver in the league if he keeps improving. Dickson I also trust, to make big plays down field and expand his game horizontally. LaQuan isn't even on my border he is below Doss' level to me. I'm predicting DT to have a breakout season but i don't trust him(or any of the other young guys aside from Mellette) to stay healthy. Harbs said it best at the conference man, these guys have to be able to make it back onto the field.

We have a better corps than most give credit for IMO.

Just one more guy.
Jacoby is a good #3. That #2 guy in the other hand

[5aiah]

We have a better corps than most give credit for IMO.

Just one more guy.
Jacoby is a good #3. That #2 guy in the other hand

Jacoby is excellent at what he does, using speed routes to stretch the defense or make big plays happen. Then he is a playmaker with the ball as well. Jacoby is definitely a good #3 but for now he is in over his head as the X and Z full time. He just can't run the routes well enough. We just need a #2 but they aren't looking good enough yet. DT's hands can't be trusted and Doss isn't that good on the outside where he can be pressed.

[sflegend89]

Doss has made a few big plays in his time here, more than Laquan has that's for sure. You can't really compare them when they are going against different caliber defenders either. Laquan sure looked good tonight but he us the least skilled of the bunch IMO. He isn't very fluid and he doesn't have much quickness. ST will be his calling card if he makes the team again.

 

Boldin didn't have much quickness either, it's not a requirement to be a slot possession wr. Granted Boldin probably has 20 lbs on LaQuan but they don't need to be exactly identical for LaQuan to get results in that role. I'm not all aboard the LaQuan Williams bandwagon over 1 preseason game but I've noticed that he's more aggressive then guys like Doss when he's out there.. Don't forget Williams had that huge grab as a rookie against the Steelers in crunch time against a top D like I mentioned, not like he's only had this 1 preseason game. There's plenty of guys that are extremely quick and fluid but still can't be effective coming over the middle short-intermediate, I'm looking at equally as important qualities like good hands, locating the ball in the air, attacking the ball in the air.

 

I want to see more from Deonte but I think LaQuan has more essential wr qualities then Doss outside of pure height and speed. Certain gritty-ness and aggressiveness to LaQuan that you can't teach like I eluded to earlier that's missing to an extent with Doss. Deonte has actually been my guy so far so we still have to see more from him, jury is still out on what exactly he can bring to the table as a wr. 

[5aiah]

I want to see more from Deonte but I think LaQuan has more essential wr qualities then Doss outside of pure height and speed. Certain gritty-ness and aggressiveness to LaQuan that you can't teach like I eluded to earlier that's missing to an extent with Doss. Deonte has actually been my guy so far so we still have to see more from him, jury is still out on what exactly he can bring to the table as a wr. 

You and me are on the exact same page. Doss just doesn't have "it" when it comes to being a possession receiver. The savvy route running,the blinding speed, or the toughness and strength just isn't there yet. I want to see tough catches in pouring rain from a guy like him.

[CapsSkins]

I'm a Redskins fan but I was in a club with Brandon Copeland at Penn. Never really knew him much at school but given we have a lot of common friends and Penn doesn't produce a lot of NFL guys I was wondering what you guys think of him and whether he has a chance of making y'alls 53?

[Ravenslifer]

Preaseason game 1 - you can't tell anything about the first team offense, given they only played 2 series.  It was raining, and yes some days we may have to play in the rain, but it still makes it harder for they players to play.  I keep hearing how this guy looked bad or that guy looked bad - just a reminder that in 2011, the preseason was enough for so many people on this board to call Torrey a bust before he took a single meaningful NFL snap, and in fact Doss was outshining him in the preseason.  The preseason is all about trying things, figuring out what the team is comfortable with and what they aren't.  I take absolutely nothing from any preseason game aside from the 3rd one, and even then it has almost no meaning.  In 2007 the Lions went 4-0 in the preseason, then went 0-16 in the regular season.  The Patriots went 2-2 in that preseason, including a 0-16 loss in game 1 to the Buccaneers. And I believe they got to 18-0 before being knocked off by the Giants.

[beasy2487]

Guys like Jacoby have to learn to make a play on the ball. A lot of that is timing, anticipation and communication. Joe alluded to it in his presser. JJ was clearly supposed to comeback to that ball but instead he waited for it and got beat to the spot.

It annoys me when people say Joe throws the ball late. Our receivers are coached beat the ball to the spot. His strategy lowers the chance of YAC because receivers are forced to break a tackle to continue gaining, but if executed correctly it also dramatically decreases the chance of INTs because the receiver's body becomes an obstacle for DBs that try to jump the route.

If one of our guys other than Torrey doesn't figure that out we need to bring someone in. I'm not too concerned but it definitely needs to be addressed in practice.

[Purple Punishment]

I just hope Deonte Thompson isn't the new Justin Harper. Could play like randy moss......in practice

Real games the hands of some curse appeared

[PuRock]

I just hope Deonte Thompson isn't the new Justin Harper. Could play like randy moss......in practice

Real games the hands of some curse appeared

Well Florida fans have always been disturbed by hands.  Just look at this thread they created last year when he was doing well in PS w/ us.  http://thegatornation.freeforums.org/deonte-thompson-t28705.html?mobile=mobile

 

"Deonte could not catch his girlfriend if she was thrown at him."

 

"Yeah...wait till gametime and when it really counts. I bet he still drops a few."

[Gordo52]

Can Rainy catch the ball? Make him into a WR lol

[ravens533]

Special team really showed up last night. I loved some of those returns. Justin hitting that long kick. At least that part of the game looked really good.

[ravensfan2430]

Intrested to see how this pans out. My guess is we pick up a WR somewhere.  I don't think there is a reliable 2 on the team.  Doss hasn't been able to get open since we drafted him and he has dropped a few over the past few seasons. Jacoby isn't aggressive and doesn't have good hands.  Deonte -haven't seen enough, but it doesn't help that he completely bricked that first pass. Laquan has been the most consistant over the past few seasons IMO. Excited to see the 2nd game.

[rmw10]

Intrested to see how this pans out. My guess is we pick up a WR somewhere. I don't think there is a reliable 2 on the team. Doss hasn't been able to get open since we drafted him and he has dropped a few over the past few seasons. Jacoby isn't aggressive and doesn't have good hands. Deonte -haven't seen enough, but it doesn't help that he completely bricked that first pass. Laquan has been the most consistant over the past few seasons IMO. Excited to see the 2nd game.

And where do you expect to find a reliable #2 right now? There aren't any out there.

[ravensfan2430]

And where do you expect to find a reliable #2 right now? There aren't any out there.

Teams can still release players, we could trade (unlikely), and Llyod who can catch, is still out there. I'm just not sure Llyod is a Ravens kinda player.

[rmw10]

Teams can still release players, we could trade (unlikely), and Llyod who can catch, is still out there. I'm just not sure Llyod is a Ravens kinda player.

 

Teams aren't going to release reliable #2's.  If they're reliable #2's, they're going to be that for the team they're already on.  As you said, a trade is highly unlikely due to our cap situation.  The Lloyd topic has been beaten to death around here, and it's been discussed so many times why he's not a fit.

 

There's just no one out there that is going to fill this "need" as everyone says.  In fact, I doubt there's even much out there that's any better than what we already have.

[BloodRaven]

Go back and watch Ngata during the Canty sack, he throws the centre to the ground and bulldozes the guard into Freeman and Canty.

 

Thats the Ngata we all know.

[gabefergy]

Intrested to see how this pans out. My guess is we pick up a WR somewhere. I don't think there is a reliable 2 on the team. Doss hasn't been able to get open since we drafted him and he has dropped a few over the past few seasons. Jacoby isn't aggressive and doesn't have good hands. Deonte -haven't seen enough, but it doesn't help that he completely bricked that first pass. Laquan has been the most consistant over the past few seasons IMO. Excited to see the 2nd game.

Actually Doss was wide open on third down and Joe completely missed him, forcing a throw to Jacoby instead.

[gabefergy]

Go back and watch Ngata during the Canty sack, he throws the centre to the ground and bulldozes the guard into Freeman and Canty.

Thats the Ngata we all know.

Yup Ngata was dominant. So was Canty and Jones looked good too. That DL is going to be nassty.

[gabefergy]

Boldin didn't have much quickness either, it's not a requirement to be a slot possession wr. Granted Boldin probably has 20 lbs on LaQuan but they don't need to be exactly identical for LaQuan to get results in that role. I'm not all aboard the LaQuan Williams bandwagon over 1 preseason game but I've noticed that he's more aggressive then guys like Doss when he's out there.. Don't forget Williams had that huge grab as a rookie against the Steelers in crunch time against a top D like I mentioned, not like he's only had this 1 preseason game. There's plenty of guys that are extremely quick and fluid but still can't be effective coming over the middle short-intermediate, I'm looking at equally as important qualities like good hands, locating the ball in the air, attacking the ball in the air.

I want to see more from Deonte but I think LaQuan has more essential wr qualities then Doss outside of pure height and speed. Certain gritty-ness and aggressiveness to LaQuan that you can't teach like I eluded to earlier that's missing to an extent with Doss. Deonte has actually been my guy so far so we still have to see more from him, jury is still out on what exactly he can bring to the table as a wr.

Let's not compare Boldin to Laquan lol. Its night and day. Williams has been a good ST, but he just doesn't possess the skills that Doss has IMO. Laquan is fast in a straight line, but his route running, especially hua footwork, needs a lot of work. Maybe he has more "want to" but I don't really see that and its not something I can look at and quantify. If Laquan makes the team it will be in ST, I doubt he will see many significant reps on offense.

[rmw10]

Let's not compare Boldin to Laquan lol. Its night and day. Williams has been a good ST, but he just doesn't possess the skills that Doss has IMO. Laquan is fast in a straight line, but his route running, especially hua footwork, needs a lot of work. Maybe he has more "want to" but I don't really see that and its not something I can look at and quantify. If Laquan makes the team it will be in ST, I doubt he will see many significant reps on offense.

 

This is how I see it.  LaQuan is pretty much average in everything he does.  However, the guy comes to work everyday and plays hard.  He'll be primarily on ST, with a few offensive reps here and there.  He's a quality backup incase one of our other guys go down.  I do think he earned his spot last night, though.

[BloodRaven]

Yup Ngata was dominant. So was Canty and Jones looked good too. That DL is going to be nassty.

 

No doubt, and we've got good depth too, Williams and Tyson are both studs in the making.

[RavenDomination87]

Let's not compare Boldin to Laquan lol. Its night and day. Williams has been a good ST, but he just doesn't possess the skills that Doss has IMO. Laquan is fast in a straight line, but his route running, especially hua footwork, needs a lot of work. Maybe he has more "want to" but I don't really see that and its not something I can look at and quantify. If Laquan makes the team it will be in ST, I doubt he will see many significant reps on offense.

 

If he has another good game, you might need to revise that statement. Also...what qualities does Doss have exactly? I haven't seen them apparently.

[RavenDomination87]

No offense to Tyrod (cause he tore it up tonight), but I really wish we could see Doss, Mellette and Streeter more with the 1st string guys. I feel like we're holding them back by putting them in with 2nd and 3rd string QB's. But this was just the 1st pre-season game. And we still tore em up. I loved it. Especially after MulberryBuccaneer talked so much trash about how we "stole" the Super Bowl on YouTube. I sent him a message rubbing the victory in his face.

 

Doss DID play with the first string...you didn't even know it did you lol? 

[gabefergy]

If he has another good game, you might need to revise that statement. Also...what qualities does Doss have exactly? I haven't seen them apparently.

He is quick and can get open underneath as well as on the outside. Good hands and size. He isnt a great route-runner, but he has definitely improved in this area.