[News] Late For Work 3/13: Ravens Monitor As WR Market Heats Up

[BallSoHard808]

It would be great to have steve smith but this draft has a lot of talented receivers and we don't want to pass them up I would really love to have Jordan Matthews

[Corvus]

So your basis for a #1 receiver then has how many yards, TDs, etc. he gets? Interesting.

Are you aware of what the word "subjective" means?

Well seing as I befuddled him with my use of the word when you quoted him quoting me, I'd say no. Its all good, you and I are capable of being OBjective which is the key here.

[donmccauley]

Probably not the only one, but I'm not in that camp. Of course, he's past his prime ... if he were in his prime, he'd be a clear-cut top FA who would command big money. As it stands, he could be just the right fit for us ... savvy, experienced, tough as nails and a good model for Brown and the WR to be selected in the draft (I have to assume we'll get one). 

 

We've been considering bringing in a vet WR all along, so I don't know that moving on Smith stops us from doing anything we hadn't already planned - except picking from the list of other FA WRs that have been known to be on the market.

 

Of course, it will still come down to price - but I'm pretty sure Ozzie won't just start forking over stacks of cash ... that's not his style. In that regard, it is not a done deal like so may wish to think, but I think it is a great fit and I hope we strike a reasonable deal and get him in. 

well for me i don't like the smith idea, 2 reason 1. his attitude and locker room approach, we dont have ray lewis to bring him down to size or make attitude adjustments and if i  remember correctly he likes to place blame, on players coachs etc. we dont need that going on ecspecially if our season starts  going down a lil we dont need him knocking down players confidence.

2. he's old.

How ever he may be old but he has gas left in the tank, so if we do pick him up, and from what i hear ozzie is doing the deal to get him (this is where ozzie excels) we'll probably get him as long as he can control his attitude he is a good fit for what the FO wants to do. just cause i dont like smith doesnt mean he cant play infact most of the players i hate in the NFL are really good and usually thats why i hate them (manning, brady etc.) but smith u know i do like how he plays but its all about his attitude it kills me for the guy.

[Pharaoh]

You keep talking about Mellette like he has proven something and deserves to be handed a spot on the roster. And you keep putting Mellette and Browns name together like Marlon didn't have a 600 yard and 7 TD rookie year. You are acting like he has to prove he can play. We already know he can and he will only get better. He dropped 2 or 3 potential TD's last year so he could have had around 10. And he also missed a few games with the hamstring injury. Not to mention our offense completely sucked and he and Torrey were the lone bright spots at skill positions.

it would be great if people would stop doing that brown has proven to be better than mellette and until mallette proves other wise in my eyes he is like another streeter

[bioLarzen]

If we sign Smith, and can retain D. Smith,  I think they are going offensive line in the first round...  and maybe FS in the second round....Our secondary was pretty solid last year.  Yeah, we lost Graham, but you still have Webby, Smith, Elam back there... and Asa Jackson ready to grow up..... 

 

Even if we land Steve Smith, he'll likely only be a solution to our slot woes for a couple of seasons. So, even if we get him, I think it could be a good decision to also pick his successor if there's such a guy still available when we're on the clock in the first round. This was we'd have a proven veteran to mentor him...

[JamesA119]

Up to this point, the Ravens haven't added any player to the last year's team.They have however lost 2 of the better players from last year - Arthur Jones and Corey Graham. It's hard to imagine us getting better if this trend continues. The best free agents at every position that were available appear to have already been signed. Are we then going to depend on the draft for a quick turnaround from last season? Generally rookies take a few years to become impact players. Even then it seems like we always develop them and let them walk in their prime.

[cushrinada1986]

If anyone would have a better connection than Flacco and pitta would be Flacco and Flacco. Also, getting Smith shouldnt dismiss us from getting eldmen. Jones could be our main return guy and 4-5 on the depth chart to save his energy on runbacks. Getting Smith and eldmen together would always keep a sure handed possesion guy on the field. You would have a poor mans Q with a poor mans welker mix in a good way. You add that with possibly Troy Niklas and Odell/Cooks/Matthews and you have a killer passing game.

[donmccauley]

There is finally good talent out there now to get that is younger instead of getting smith for a year or two.. kill two birds with one stones or else your re visiting the same issues every off season.

and this is why i think we should go nicks and not smith plus draft a wide out 

[rmcjacket23]

not aware of what we gave for him but i am extremely aware of the performance he gave in baltimore, i know i may be off the mark on what he was worth but based on the performance he gave in baltimore to me was at-least a 5 and 6 or a 4th alone. look at the quality of receiver he is, he doesnt catch every single ball that comes his way but i rank him up there with likes of megatron when it comes to contested catches in traffic and balls thrown off the mark, big, physical Wr. whom will make the play in the most clutch situations,it's hard to find good wide outs like that. That you could keep around. granted im not in the nfl as player or front office and know nothing about the economics of the business but as a fan i would have rather seen the ravens keep him for 1-2 yrs longer then trade for even a 3rd rounder had it been offered

Except you wouldn't be able to trade him after two more years, because he's about 2-3 years from being out of the league completely.

Nobody offered a 4th or a 5th round pick for him, therefore its just silly to pretend like he's worth that price. Its like people pretending like they know how much a player should get on a contract. No person is actually overpaid, because the "market value" of a player is, by definition, the amount that somebody is willing to pay for them.

If Boldin was placed on the trade market to every single team (which he was) and nobody offered more than a 6th round pick, then he's worth a 6th round pick.

[Tru11]

pretty sure beason played for the giants.

not sure how he re signed with the jets......

[rmcjacket23]

What are you even talking about who are these 2 people you speak of? Steve Smith and who? Another rookie WR? You really think we would draft a WR high if Steve Smith is signed? No. It would be Torrey and Steve on the outsides with Marlon in the slot. Period.

 

You keep talking about Mellette like he has proven something and deserves to be handed a spot on the roster. And you keep putting Mellette and Browns name together like Marlon didn't have a 600 yard and 7 TD rookie year. You are acting like he has to prove he can play. We already know he can and he will only get better. He dropped 2 or 3 potential TD's last year so he could have had around 10. And he also missed a few games with the hamstring injury. Not to mention our offense completely sucked and he and Torrey were the lone bright spots at skill positions.

1. There is no doubt in my mind that this team is drafting a pass catcher in the first three rounds of this draft, regardless of whether they add a Steve Smith or not. Adding a veteran is putting a band aid on a broken bone, because he's essentially a short-term player. If Steve Smith gets signed, its going to be for the short-term. Beyond Torrey (who isn't even under contract next season currently) and Pitta, there are gigantic question marks with every single pass catcher on this roster currently, including Brown (who I will now address).

2. When you say "he will only get better"... that is defined by one word... guess. You are guessing he will get better. The list of players just like him who ended up with 3 or 4 total years in the NFL is a mile long. Could he get better? Absolutely. Will he? Time will tell. Me personally... I think its entirely possible we've seen the best of him. I know its fun for fans to project that somebody who had 600 yards in year 1 is going to have 1200 yards by year 4, but theres really no evidence to suggest that. Just like thinking since he scored 7 TDs in year 1 that he will be scoring 10+ next season? If they bring in Steve Smith and another rookie (which is likely), how often do you even think Brown is going to be on the field? In a 2 WR, 2 TE set, which is what Kubiak runs most often, Torrey and Smith are on the field, and Brown is on the sideline.

The only chance I even remotely see of Brown being an integral part of this offsense next season is via injury. I see him as a role player in the redzone, just like I see Jacoby (who is also competing with Brown for snaps on offense) as a role player on offense.

The fact that the FO is even addressing this idea both in FA and in the draft, to me, is indicative of their views of the talent of the younger guys in this receiving core.

So, in summary, NO, Marlon hasn't "proved he can play". I'm never going to claim anybody has "proved they can play" based on one season with the team. To me, Marlon is a JAG player... "just another guy".

[phillipm182]

All these reports about pursuing Steve smith. Gigantic waste of money to bring in a guy who has optimistically one season left. Wouldn't be surprised if he only played a few games before taking an injury and sitting out the rest of the season. Look at how much Clark and stokely did for us last year....

[bioLarzen]

All these reports about pursuing Steve smith.  Gigantic waste of money to bring in a guy who has optimistically one season left.

 

I hope it's not a tragedy for you if I still take Ozzie's opinion over yours

[riseNConquer81]

There is finally good talent out there now to get that is younger instead of getting smith for a year or two.. kill two birds with one stones or else your re visiting the same issues every off season..

there's good talent every year, we just dont land it very often and more often than not, we arent trying very hard. THAT's why we have the same problems every season. It makes no sense for this team to bank on a draft pick stepping up given our history picking up receivers in that manner.

[burnbigben]

Except you wouldn't be able to trade him after two more years, because he's about 2-3 years from being out of the league completely.

Nobody offered a 4th or a 5th round pick for him, therefore its just silly to pretend like he's worth that price. Its like people pretending like they know how much a player should get on a contract. No person is actually overpaid, because the "market value" of a player is, by definition, the amount that somebody is willing to pay for them.

If Boldin was placed on the trade market to every single team (which he was) and nobody offered more than a 6th round pick, then he's worth a 6th round pick.

 

It's hilarious to me that you think he was put on the block for "every single team". Harbaugh and the FO traded him to brother Harbaugh as a favor and also to protect themselves from payback. If he was cut(like they were threatening) then he would likely have gone somewhere in spite like New england or Pittsburgh. It's very stupid to think that rivals of the Ravens had any real chance to trade for him.

[rmcjacket23]

It's hilarious to me that you think he was put on the block for "every single team". Harbaugh and the FO traded him to brother Harbaugh as a favor and also to protect themselves from payback. If he was cut(like they were threatening) then he would likely have gone somewhere in spite like New england or Pittsburgh. It's very stupid to think that rivals of the Ravens had any real chance to trade for him.

The rivals? Of course not, because nobody trades people to their own division.

Can you explain then why the Vikings were able to offer a 7th rounder for him though? I thought he was only allowed to be traded to "little brother"?

But, as always, I'll go ahead and put the challenge out there... please provide a source for this claim that Harbaugh would only trade Boldin to his brother. I suspect this is one of those cute little fan generated conspiracy theories, but I'll await the source of your information.

Here's my source...

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/11/vikings-made-a-play-for-anquan-boldin-too/

[phillipm182]

I hope it's not a tragedy for you if I still take Ozzie's opinion over yours

Ozzie is the best gm in pro football but everyone makes mistakes. Would rather see us get a receiver for the future instead of a stop gap for one season and then having to go thru this again next yr

[rmcjacket23]

Ozzie is the best gm in pro football but everyone makes mistakes. Would rather see us get a receiver for the future instead of a stop gap for one season and then having to go thru this again next yr

Whats stopping them from doing both? Its actually what I see them doing.

[bioLarzen]

Ozzie is the best gm in pro football but everyone makes mistakes. Would rather see us get a receiver for the future instead of a stop gap for one season and then having to go thru this again next yr

 

I do think we can do both: if we get a veteran slot receiver - like Steve Smith or Edelman, for example - and draft his successor... T%his way we'd have a short term solution and the long term solution's mentor, and also the long term solution...

[phillipm182]

Whats stopping them from doing both? Its actually what I see them doing.

Only so much space on a football field, seems like the number 3 receiver position is already a race between jones, brown, malette, what we need is a number two and I don't think Steve smith is the answer

[phillipm182]

I do think we can do both: if we get a veteran slot receiver - like Steve Smith or Edelman, for example - and draft his successor... T%his way we'd have a short term solution and the long term solution's mentor, and also the long term solution...

From everything I've heard about Steve smith since his release the word distraction is thrown around more than mentor. Edelman is a pure slot receiver with a different skill set then what u want in a number 2. However, you are right in that the best plan is a vet to tutor a rookie but which one

[rmcjacket23]

Only so much space on a football field, seems like the number 3 receiver position is already a race between jones, brown, malette, what we need is a number two and I don't think Steve smith is the answer

Correct, doesn't mean a draft pick has to play much or at all this season. But something tells me that a draft as deep and talented as this one is at the WR/TE position that Ozzie is certainly going to get somebody.

Plus, I don't think the FO really views Brown, Mellette or Jacoby as viable options long-term in this offense.

[410BmoreRaven4L]

I like Kenny Britt in this system

[Rants N Ravens]

Yes, but keep in mind... the mantra from their supporters on this team is that they should basically be handed a job, just like they couldn't understand why Tommy Streeter wasn't given a starting job two years ago.

Competition brings out the best in everybody... with one caveat. The loser of the competition doesn't get to play on Sunday's, which is the goal of the whole thing. There is no minor league baseball system in the NFL. If Mellette gets beat out by a rookie and/or a veteran for a spot on this roster, he doesn't play. He practices on the practice squad, and he competes at a high level during training camp.

Mellette and Brown could turn out to be very good players... but if they can't beat out the person in front of them, we will never have any idea of whether they are very good players or not, because they won't be playing.

You bring in somebody like Steve Smith and then use a first or second round pick on a WR, they are essentially handed gigs on this team, while guys like Brown and Mellette aren't. There's a big difference there.

 

Well of course if you sign a Steve Smith or draft a first round (even second round) WR they are going to get every opportunity to play ahead of Brown & Mellette....BUT...teams typically keep at least 5 WRs and sometimes have 4 on the field at the same time (3 of them a high percentage of the time).  Thus they'll still have a chance to contribute and develop, plus I still honestly believe Harbs when he says "the best guys play."  If for some reason the rookie WR struggled while Brown or Mellette outshined him in practices/preseason, Harbs isn't going to sit them just because...

[fusuymada]

Correct, doesn't mean a draft pick has to play much or at all this season. But something tells me that a draft as deep and talented as this one is at the WR/TE position that Ozzie is certainly going to get somebody.

Plus, I don't think the FO really views Brown, Mellette or Jacoby as viable options long-term in this offense.

I am amazed that anyone would think that our 6'5" touchdown leader who was a favorite target of Flacco in the redzone is not what the FO thinks of as a long term viable option. Marlon Brown WAS the only viable option for Flacco in the redzone. Ask the Vikings, who did Flacco go to with seconds left when he absolutely needed a touchdown, I remember Lee Evans dropping a much easier pass than Brown caught. Yeah, why would they want to keep him, he is only a big, good receiver with great hands. Oh, did I mention cheap. In addition they gave Jacoby a four year contract, yeah they can cut him but that's not Ozzie's style.

[RavenManiac#7]

How can you say the Ravens are 3 for 3 in retaining their players? They're actually 3 for 5, are they not? A Jones Did sign with the Colts, and Graham Did sign with the Bills. That sounds more like 3 for 5, not 3 for 3, unless you're implying we had No interest in the two players that left. Everyone assumed A Jones was leaving, but I thought the numbers he would receive, from the way people were talking, would be much higher. When I Did hear his numbers, my very first thought was, "Wow, was that really All that undoable for us"? Now, as much as I would have liked to see Graham stay, I didn't feel the same way about him. I don't think he was worth what he got; at least from us he wasn't. Just my opinions. I don't have good "vibes" about D Smith, but after seeing what happened with Monroe, I'm not counting anything done, or not done, until it actually is. It appears pretty obvious that the FO is Very interested in bringing Steve Smith here, and I think he could help, but I would Much rather see D Smith than S Smith signed. Of course, I recognize that I'm in the minority here, because I honestly have Much more interest in Edelman than Steve Smith, although Smith Would be my second choice for FA WR help. I can just really envision Edelman being extremely effective picking up first downs coming out of the slot. Smith's age and injuries from last year, contributed to the drop off in his numbers last year, I believe. That really influences my feelings that Edelman would be the better choice. Again, just my opinion. We'll all just have to wait to see how everything pans out. Overall, I think Ozzie has done real well so far this off-season.

[RavenManiac20]

1. There is no doubt in my mind that this team is drafting a pass catcher in the first three rounds of this draft, regardless of whether they add a Steve Smith or not. Adding a veteran is putting a band aid on a broken bone, because he's essentially a short-term player. If Steve Smith gets signed, its going to be for the short-term. Beyond Torrey (who isn't even under contract next season currently) and Pitta, there are gigantic question marks with every single pass catcher on this roster currently, including Brown (who I will now address).

2. When you say "he will only get better"... that is defined by one word... guess. You are guessing he will get better. The list of players just like him who ended up with 3 or 4 total years in the NFL is a mile long. Could he get better? Absolutely. Will he? Time will tell. Me personally... I think its entirely possible we've seen the best of him. I know its fun for fans to project that somebody who had 600 yards in year 1 is going to have 1200 yards by year 4, but theres really no evidence to suggest that. Just like thinking since he scored 7 TDs in year 1 that he will be scoring 10+ next season? If they bring in Steve Smith and another rookie (which is likely), how often do you even think Brown is going to be on the field? In a 2 WR, 2 TE set, which is what Kubiak runs most often, Torrey and Smith are on the field, and Brown is on the sideline.

The only chance I even remotely see of Brown being an integral part of this offsense next season is via injury. I see him as a role player in the redzone, just like I see Jacoby (who is also competing with Brown for snaps on offense) as a role player on offense.

The fact that the FO is even addressing this idea both in FA and in the draft, to me, is indicative of their views of the talent of the younger guys in this receiving core.

So, in summary, NO, Marlon hasn't "proved he can play". I'm never going to claim anybody has "proved they can play" based on one season with the team. To me, Marlon is a JAG player... "just another guy".

1. First of all what offense in todays NFL doesn't run through 3 WRs? You're acting like Marlon Brown is never going to see the field at the same time as Torrey Smith and Steve if he were to sign here.

2. You're jumping to the conclusion that Steve Smith would be the #2 wideout and not Marlon Brown... which like you said... is a pure "guess".

3. "Marlon hasn't proved he can play" - Then what do you call 600 yards and 7 TDs? I am not saying he will be a 100 catch, 1000 yard 10 TD perennial all pro player. But he has proven he can play with little experience and a very slim chance to make the roster. If they didn't think highly of him he wouldn't have made it past training camp last year.

4. Even if he stays as a 600 yard 5 TD catch guy for the rest of his career, that's a hell of a lot more productive than the #2 WR's we have had in our history outside of what Torrey Smith did his first 2 years.

[MTRavensFan]

I do think we can do both: if we get a veteran slot receiver - like Steve Smith or Edelman, for example - and draft his successor... T%his way we'd have a short term solution and the long term solution's mentor, and also the long term solution...

Exactly!

 

Steve Smith is that tough physical Boldinesque receiver we've been missing, a crisp route-runner who's not afraid to go up in traffic and fight for the catch. Still leaves room for Jacoby and Marlon in those 4 WR sets I bet we see a lot of this year.

 

Also gives us the option of drafting someone like Evans or Benjamin, a "raw" prospect who needs some time to develop, but has tremendous up-side and the potential to become that #1 we've been looking for.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

Trust in Oz.