Concern of too many newcomers?

[varaven]

I don't know about you guys, but I feel like this offseason we have seen a considerable amount of free agent veteran signings by the ravens. I feel like we have seen more this year than most other years but I don't have the stats to back that up. Is anyone else a bit concerned as to what that may mean? I know the defense has already had communication issues in Tampa. Will all of these guys be able to gel by the regular season?  Other thoughts?

[Ravenseconbeast]

Not going to say anything until i see them on field.

[rmw10]

That's what preseason is for.  They have 3 weeks to work out the kinks, which is why I think Stokley and Clark were brought in now and not later.

[Free Agent]

The only concern would be the older guys taking away valuable reps from the younger guys who are trying to prove themselves. Besides that, the more competition, the merrier. More guys competing ensures that the very best 53 will be suiting up come week 1.

[Purple Nurple]

I say we all hold hands and breathe deeply until week one when we see the actual product on the field.

[TonyTone1192]

I agree... The Stokley and Clark signings each were head scratchers for me. The way that I see it, Oz and company either can't rely on our young guys to step up or they don't want them to get complacent thinking that they already have a spot reserved for them.

 

Doss and Reed can each play the slot so once Stokley was signed I felt that Harbs didn't feel comfortable with either of these guys. 

 

And we brought in VS after Pitta's season ending injury and according to Harbs, Dickson suffered a "slight hammy tear" which he said should keep him out of practice for a couple of weeks, so in that sense the Clark signing doesn't make sense to me. Once Dickson is back on the field, what then? 

 

All in all, I'm gonna sit back and watch the Black and Purple play Ravens football, but the past few signings have been head scratchers. 

[Sami84]

I agree... The Stokley and Clark signings each were head scratchers for me. The way that I see it, Oz and company either can't rely on our young guys to step up or they don't want them to get complacent thinking that they already have a spot reserved for them.

 

Doss and Reed can each play the slot so once Stokley was signed I felt that Harbs didn't feel comfortable with either of these guys. 

 

And we brought in VS after Pitta's season ending injury and according to Harbs, Dickson suffered a "slight hammy tear" which he said should keep him out of practice for a couple of weeks, so in that sense the Clark signing doesn't make sense to me. Once Dickson is back on the field, what then? 

 

All in all, I'm gonna sit back and watch the Black and Purple play Ravens football, but the past few signings have been head scratchers. 

 

The football IQ of stokely and Dallas is on a different stratosphere to that of Doss and thompson. They were natural route runners.. Doss and Thompson probably think too much about where to go while Dallas for example is automatic when it comes to routes.

[Stephenjr]

I understand what your saying,but Ozzie didn't just bring in any old veterans,sit back relax and enjoy the REPEAT!!!

[flaccopoe]

The more, the merrier!  Teams that sign a lot of STARS in the offseason usually fail because they usually overlook chemistry and tighten their cap space.

[Ravenseconbeast]

I agree... The Stokley and Clark signings each were head scratchers for me. The way that I see it, Oz and company either can't rely on our young guys to step up or they don't want them to get complacent thinking that they already have a spot reserved for them.
 
Doss and Reed can each play the slot so once Stokley was signed I felt that Harbs didn't feel comfortable with either of these guys. 
 
And we brought in VS after Pitta's season ending injury and according to Harbs, Dickson suffered a "slight hammy tear" which he said should keep him out of practice for a couple of weeks, so in that sense the Clark signing doesn't make sense to me. Once Dickson is back on the field, what then? 
 
All in all, I'm gonna sit back and watch the Black and Purple play Ravens football, but the past few signings have been head scratchers.

As someone mentioned in another thread. Caldwell has alotmof experience w/ Dallas & Stokley while they were w/ Colts.

[TonyTone1192]

The football IQ of stokely and Dallas is on a different stratosphere to that of Doss and thompson. They were natural route runners.. Doss and Thompson probably think too much about where to go while Dallas for example is automatic when it comes to routes.

 

I agree with what you're saying but Stokley is 37 and Clark is 34.. each are passed their prime. If they've been brought in to tutor and help our young players get a better feel for the game then that is understood. If they've been brought in place of Doss/Reed/Thompson/Dickson then it only hinders their growth. Did any of our receivers have a good first outing? No. But it was the first pre-season game and they are all VERY YOUNG. By week 3 if we didn't see any improvement out of them, then the signings would've made a bit more sense.

So answer this... What happens once Dickson is healthy again? 

[CorvusCorax]

Not worried, it's preseason. We haven't even started game 2 yet. No need to panic folks...

[Sami84]

I agree with what you're saying but Stokley is 37 and Clark is 34.. each are passed their prime. If they've been brought in to tutor and help our young players get a better feel for the game then that is understood. If they've been brought in place of Doss/Reed/Thompson/Dickson then it only hinders their growth. Did any of our receivers have a good first outing? No. But it was the first pre-season game and they are all VERY YOUNG. By week 3 if we didn't see any improvement out of them, then the signings would've made a bit more sense.

So answer this... What happens once Dickson is healthy again? 

 

look id have preferred Llyod and Dallas. Having the oldest WR in the league isn't cool. Id much prefer Doss or thompson to play major roles. However, they may just not be very good.

 

Obviously Boldin and pitta > then what we have now. But if dallas can play a retro like season then all the better.

 

Next Years draft is simple WR TE TE WR lol

[TonyTone1192]

As someone mentioned in another thread. Caldwell has alotmof experience w/ Dallas & Stokley while they were w/ Colts.

 

I thought of that as well, Caldwell knew them personally and saw each of their production w/ the Colts first hand. But timing, rhythm and trust all play a MAJOR factor in an offense. For anyone to think that Stokley and Clark will have their timing routes down pact w/ Joe in 3 weeks is a VERY naive thinker. Can it happen? Sure. But then that leaves less work with our other TE's and WR's.

[varaven]

I'm not saying I'm panicking, this just doesn't seem like the typical Ozzie offseason to me. We have seen the purge of vets before, and that always hurts but I trust it because we have had success with previously. What we haven't seen from Ozzie until this year is the influx of new vet free agents. I mean more than a third of the starting defense is new, and now with the offensive haul with stokley clark and shank. I cannot remember the last time we brought in this many free agents. I just hope this free agency binge doesn't cost us like it did with the eagles' "dream team" a few years back. I know these are all talented guys so I guess we will just have to wait and see.

[GrimCoconut]

Lol, Ozzie is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. People beg for solutions and when Ozzie gives them they act surprised. I'm not saying the OP is saying this. It just seems to be a general, consensual feeling around here. People say we don't have enough veteran presence on the team at WR. We sign Brandon Stokley. People complain. If we signed Lloyd and he gave attitudes or got lazy, people would complain. If we traded for Washington (for example), people would complain because we gave up a pick for another veteran castoff from a team. If we traded for Hakeem Nicks, people would be upset because he's always injured. Lmao. 

 

I just don't know what to say anymore. I really don't. If Ozzie stays with the status quo or gets a few new guys for the team, then we're the same team as last year and everyone is concerned about that. If Ozzie signs a bunch of new guys, will our team be good with all these new components? 

 

I don't know. I don't have these answers. It's fun to discuss. I enjoy it. That's why I come here. Just making an observation about the judgments we make about Ozzie Newsome and his managing of this team. 

[rmw10]

I'm not saying I'm panicking, this just doesn't seem like the typical Ozzie offseason to me. We have seen the purge of vets before, and that always hurts but I trust it because we have had success with previously. What we haven't seen from Ozzie until this year is the influx of new vet free agents. I mean more than a third of the starting defense is new, and now with the offensive haul with stokley clark and shank. I cannot remember the last time we brought in this many free agents. I just hope this free agency binge doesn't cost us like it did with the eagles' "dream team" a few years back. I know these are all talented guys so I guess we will just have to wait and see.

 

Most aren't high dollar guys though.  They are all relatively cheap outside of Dumervil.  It's not like we're going out and blowing every dollar we have an overpriced free agents.  By all accounts, we're getting these guys at bargain prices.  If you can fill a team with quality vets at the price we have, you do it.

[GrimCoconut]

Most aren't high dollar guys though.  They are all relatively cheap outside of Dumervil.  It's not like we're going out and blowing every dollar we have an overpriced free agents.  By all accounts, we're getting these guys at bargain prices.  If you can fill a team with quality vets at the price we have, you do it.

Ozzie is shopping at Good Will while others go to Macy's & Nordstroms. I think he's the guy in the Thrift Shop video, right? 

[Malkavian Raven]

Only the best players will play; just waiting for Week One to see how "the best" stack up.

[varaven]

Lol, Ozzie is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. 

That's just the nature of being an NFL exec I guess. I seem to remember Cam Cameron saying something to the effect of "people will hate me no matter what call I make" referring to Rice getting the ball at one point. But I guess this is the fun part of being a fan. 

[jaege]

I agree with what you're saying but Stokley is 37 and Clark is 34.. each are passed their prime. If they've been brought in to tutor and help our young players get a better feel for the game then that is understood. If they've been brought in place of Doss/Reed/Thompson/Dickson then it only hinders their growth. Did any of our receivers have a good first outing? No. But it was the first pre-season game and they are all VERY YOUNG. By week 3 if we didn't see any improvement out of them, then the signings would've made a bit more sense.
So answer this... What happens once Dickson is healthy again?

Most teams carry more than one TE. I would think that Dickson plays as he was supposed to before the hammie tear. As to the other young guys, the coaching staff sees these guys in action a lot more than we do, as hard a concept it is for many fans to grasp, maybe none of them are very good. Most are not rookies anymore and collectively they have not seen much play time. I am sure there is a reason.

[cursona pirate]

Doss and espically Reed I don't feel are working out honestly. Reed does good in camp but he always gets injured or gets suspended (if i remember correctly). Doss seemed to drop some passes in the regular season last year. Maybe the FO is just looking for a plan to put some fire underneath them or have back up trusted players. They come at a cheap price so it's not like we are loosing anything by bringing them in. 

[Ravenseconbeast]

i dont have much concerns.   im more relived now than i was a week ago.

 

obviously there are 3 weeks to see who goes on top in terms of position battles of who starts & who gets cut.   But we are better today than we were since FA started.

[TonyTone1192]

Most teams carry more than one TE. I would think that Dickson plays as he was supposed to before the hammie tear. As to the other young guys, the coaching staff sees these guys in action a lot more than we do, as hard a concept it is for many fans to grasp, maybe none of them are very good. Most are not rookies anymore and collectively they have not seen much play time. I am sure there is a reason.

 

I agree, but now we have 3 pass catching TE's. Not to mention what about Juice? We didn't bring in LEACH to run a two full-back set, I believed that after Pitta went down and we re-signed LEACH then it was to involve Juice in the passing game a bit more seeing how he led his team in receptions last season. 

I'm all up for position battles b/c I believe it'll bring out the best in each player, the Stokley signing made more sense than the Clark signing but I don't see how it's beneficial 

[billick]

It is Caldwell's offense, to do as he pleases. He is the Coach that put us over the top, The Lombardi, get it.

 

We have one NFL starting WR on the roster. One. That is why we are hunting for receivers. We are looking for FA's because we only have one WR, and one TE.

 

Get used to it.  No one but most of the fans are fooled by the young guys. We need more than a  #2 wr.

 

People were so busy saying I was wrong for predicting this during the draft will never admit they were wrong. I am always right.

[Fred Sanford]

I'm a bit concerned for the back end of the defense.  Two new starting safeties takes a while to get used to, training camp or not.  Ihedigbo at least has some familiarity.

 

Joe even had some miscommunications with Torrey, Boldin, and Pitta last year so you'll expect more this year.  Birk departing might hurt the o-line's chemistry but Gino being his understudy (unless AQ scores the job) and the other four spots remaining intact is good. 

 

Our D-line chemistry wasn't even good last year with all guys who'd played together.  If you watched the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Super Bowl, where Jamaal Charles, DeMarco Murray/Felix Jones, and Frank Gore killed us, it wasn't the D-line getting destroyed so much as just having no coherency in forming a wall against the run.  Ngata would loop way outside, Cody would get washed out by a double team (or a single blocker 60 lbs. lighter than him at times), McPhee would shoot upfield away from the ball carrier.  There were literally 10 yard gaps between two guys on a line sometimes, and McClain couldn't get off any blocks much less several blockers.  Pollard would just take wrong angles and have the guy blow past him.

 

If these were such problems last year, I imagine we'll be seeing much of the same and then some this year.  Then again, that's how it is with every team in the league whether they've been the same unit for 5 years or all new, just to different extents.

[ellicottraven]

Not going to say anything until i see them on field.

Me neither!

[Militant X 1]

The only concern would be the older guys taking away valuable reps from the younger guys who are trying to prove themselves. Besides that, the more competition, the merrier. More guys competing ensures that the very best 53 will be suiting up come week 1.

boom!  that's how i feel!

 

~Mili

[harfordravenfan]

Lol, Ozzie is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. People beg for solutions and when Ozzie gives them they act surprised. I'm not saying the OP is saying this. It just seems to be a general, consensual feeling around here. People say we don't have enough veteran presence on the team at WR. We sign Brandon Stokley. People complain. If we signed Lloyd and he gave attitudes or got lazy, people would complain. If we traded for Washington (for example), people would complain because we gave up a pick for another veteran castoff from a team. If we traded for Hakeem Nicks, people would be upset because he's always injured. Lmao.

I just don't know what to say anymore. I really don't. If Ozzie stays with the status quo or gets a few new guys for the team, then we're the same team as last year and everyone is concerned about that. If Ozzie signs a bunch of new guys, will our team be good with all these new components?

I don't know. I don't have these answers. It's fun to discuss. I enjoy it. That's why I come here. Just making an observation about the judgments we make about Ozzie Newsome and his managing of this team.

Well said, guess the real questions is why haven't our young guys stepped up yet versus questioning why we bring in guys with proven hands that will take reps from the new guys.