Who has surprised you during this preseason?

[radicals]

Who has surprised you during these weeks of preseason so far?

I've been surprised at how good Daryl Smith and Chris Canty are doing. Now don't get me wrong, I was expecting them to be good, but they've gone past my expectations. I'm very happy we picked them up on our team.

I was also surprised with how lazy and lacking Tommy Streeter has been. I was expecting so much more from him and I've just been constantly disappointed watching him.

[cobrajet]

I agree with you on Daryl Smith. I have been surprised that Elam hits like Ronnie Lott. I also like our Special Teams so far.

[Ravenslifer]

Defensive additions - Smith was a great signing, Elam and Brown look like excellent choices, John Simon is impressing me.

 

Offensively - Aaron Mallette and LaQuan Williams are my standouts so far, despite it being only 2 preseason games.  Those two need more reps with Joe - I'm curious to see what they could do with more of the first-team offense in there.

[izvoodoo]

Probably Mellette, and Daryl Smith.

 

Smith looks like a probowler.  Dude is everywhere.

[charchboii]

Asa Jackson. Honestly nobody expected him to ball out like he did

[msufan]

Asa Jackson. Honestly nobody expected him to ball out like he did

yeah and the pressure that is on him to do well. There is a lot to begin with, and add the 8 game suspension if he mess up he is gone.

[Mt. Crushmore]

Defense:  Daryl Smith and Asa Jackson both in good ways

 

Offense:  Tandon Doss in a bad way and Aaron Mellette in a good way

[GrimCoconut]

So far? Terrence Cody, Tommy Streeter and Rick Wagner.

[jimmypowder]

Jacoby Jones as the No 2 receiver He's too sloppy a route runner to be a No 2 I guess the Texans were right . Keep him on returns and as a 3 or 4 receiver

[The Raven]

I'm extremely impressed by a player who I never thought would impress me.

 

Tyrod Taylor has been balling this preseason. He's improved a huge deal since last year, and I have considerably more confidence in him as our back up.

 

Happy Mili? :P

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

Defense:  Daryl Smith and Asa Jackson both in good ways

 

Offense:  Tandon Doss in a bad way and Aaron Mellette in a good way

 

This and I'll add that I'm disappointed in AQ Shipley, I thought he would emerge as a pretty good starting C 

[MTRavensFan]

I'm extremely impressed by a player who I never thought would impress me.

 

Tyrod Taylor has been balling this preseason. He's improved a huge deal since last year, and I have considerably more confidence in him as our back up.

 

Happy Mili? :P

 

This.

Sometime between the Cincinnati game and now that kid learned how to throw.

[ravens533]

Elam has impressed me the most. He just does not play like a rookie. That guy has so much natural talent for the game.

[JoeyFlex5]

biggest surprise of the preseason would probably be how bad jimmy smith has been.

on a positive note, aaron mellette seems to shock and awe all of us at least once a week, and i did NOT see that coming

[TheRavenouseD2008]

AQ I am in pa and I am not suprised he is from a runfirst line  definitely not what caldwell prolly wants

[Tank 92]

Some of the members on this board that still doubt Joe Flacco's abilities.

 

 

And Tandon Doss not stepping up.  I honestly thought the opportunity that was presented would up his game.

[easternshore97]

Jacoby Jones as the No 2 receiver He's too sloppy a route runner to be a No 2 I guess the Texans were right . Keep him on returns and as a 3 or 4 receiver

This surprises you?

[jimmypowder]

[quote name="easternshore97" post="1545434" timestamp="1376877931"] This surprises you?[/quote] Yes . I thought he would be better at the No 2 receiver position then he's showing . In fact ,right now I suspect we will be seeing Stokely at no 2 ,that's how bad he has looked . Jones will end up back at No 3 .

[rmw10]

Ricky Wagner.  I thought it was possible, but unlikely that he'd be able to play LT.  He's still got work to do, but I've been pleasantly surprised with how well he's done on the blind side.

[gabefergy]

So far? Terrence Cody, Tommy Streeter and Rick Wagner.

This. I'm also pleased with Simon and Hamilton at OLB.

[5aiah]

This and I'll add that I'm disappointed in AQ Shipley, I thought he would emerge as a pretty good starting C 

I'll second that, this is the only thing that has surprised me so far. I knew he wouldn't be the perfect guy for our zone running plays but he has been disappointing in other areas,especially after how well he did for the Colts. I thought with his experience he would be a lot better than what he has shown.

[Free Agent]

Daryl Smith for sure. The guy just has a nose for the ball. I've also been pleasantly surprised by Matt Elam and Arthur Brown in last week's game. Both of these guys are showing promise, which definitely has me excited.

[RavenFan28105]

Positive Surprise: Melette has impressed me. I know it was TD catches with the 2nd/3rd stringers but they were still tough TD catches to grab.

 

Negative surprise: a tie between Tommy Streeter and Jimmy Smith. I was expecting Streeter to maybe step up a little and see him at least in the red zone. and Smith I still have some confidence in but i'm losing the confidence as well.

[CalvinSmoke]

Tyrod Taylor. Gino Gradkowski and Daryl Smith for sure

[GermanRavensFan]

Positive: D.Smith, A.Jackson, A.Brown, T.Taylor

 

Negative: J.Smith, Doss, Shiancoe, Running game

[caljoe2]

I'm extremely impressed by a player who I never thought would impress me.

 

Tyrod Taylor has been balling this preseason. He's improved a huge deal since last year, and I have considerably more confidence in him as our back up.

 

Happy Mili? :P

Have to agree on this. He has become a much better passing QB then I remember from last year.

[billick]

TT looks real.  We can win a few games with him.

[arnie_uk]

TT and smith clear stabdouts. Mellette is much of what I thought you'd get. Same for Jacoby. Knew he wouldnt step up into the number 2 role

[The Raven]

A few other people said Wagner, and I'd agree. His pass protection has been great. However, his run blocking has been somewhere between mediocre and adequate. He needs to improve in that area. That's a surprise to me.

[Jalxsu]

I scouted Melette pre-draft and loved him. I had him mocked to us in around the fifth/sixth round, so I'm delighted we got him in the 7th... looks a real steal.

Really impressed with Tyrod. I was big on us drafting a back up QB (still would have liked us to have picked up someone like Bray/Sorensen though), but I'm really confident in him as a back up now, and if he continues to play like this, he could be decent trade bait next year.

As said, Jackson has impressed... and he had to. I expected us to release him after seeing he got such a long suspension, but I think now he has shown that he is worth keeping around. I could see him starting on a team with a poor secondary such as the Panthers, and if he wasn't suspended, I'd have him above Smith on the depth chart.

On a similar note, I could have seen Hamilton being cut, but I now see him as a lock to make the roster. I feel he adds real depth to our already talented pass rush.

Biggest disappointments have been the majority of our receivers and our poor run blocking. Hopefully that will improve when Yanda returns fully fit.

Unless we pull off a trade for a quality number 2 receiver (would have loved Avant, but no chance now Maclin has gone down), we should be a run first team. We have a top 5 back in Rice, and possibly the best back up in the league in Pierce so we have to play to our strengths. If the run blocking doesn't improve, I fear for our offense.