[News] Ravens Trade For Tampa Bay Offensive Lineman Jeremy Zuttah

[Purple Nurple]

If he gets beat out by Gino for the job in training camp, then apparently it doesn't go far enough.

This isn't happening. Ever.

[Ravensbest52]

Guys this is a good pick-up no matter how you look at it. This trade basically opens things up for the draft, we can go in several different directions that would benefit us due to this draft being one of deepest ever. There's some under-radar players out there that could get picked up due to several holes being filled pre-draft. Ryan Shazier from Ohio State is one, 6"1 240,ILB 4.4 40 at pro day could be a potential 2nd-3rd round pick. IMHO

[GO_Ravens]

Jeremy Zuttah check him out on YOUTUBE.......type in DOUG MARTIN 2012 HIGHLIGHTS.......it's the first one it's 7:15 he's number 76.

[Ravensuperfan1]

well this sounds good, sounds like he'll be an upgrade over Gino. He's big, tall and experienced. Plus doesn't give up sacks. Still curious at to why he was rated so low compared to other centers.

 

But just hope this helps to get the running game started again. No matter what anyone says we are a running football team the offense can survive a few games going all pass happy, but if we want to make it back to the big game we need to at least have an adequate run game. 

[bmorepizzy]

I like this pick up because honestly there is no Travis Fredrick or Alex Mac type center in this year's draft and you don't want to reach for a need. So I think this is the right move at worse he can come in and play guard. I think a 5th rounder in next year's draft is very little to give up for a proven young guy who is only been the league 6 yrs and is 27. As far as PFF is concern I trust Ozzie's grade far more better.

[Pharaoh]

don't know much about this guy other than what a few Bucs fans have told me, he was a decent blocker until they switched to a power-blocking scheme they also told me that just about everyone on their Oline is getting the axe either way he should do good with KO to his left and Yanda to his right

[ibleedpurpleandblack]

He's got to come in and win the position, it's not going to be handed to him...but I definitely love the addition!! Another on Oz's FA offseason!! Filling gaps during FA has me scratching my head as to what they have planned for the draft. Without having a true "need" I can definitely see them trading to grab another 2nd round and 3rd pick and I can see them deciding to take the Best Player Available approach as well. I bet Oz's phone is ringing non-stop from other teams trying to offer him the best deal for that #17 pick...I think it honestly depends on who is available

[BmoreB]

Well, we don't really know that, because he hasn't taken a snap for us yet.

If he gets beat out by Gino for the job in training camp, then apparently it doesn't go far enough.

I know enough to put money on it. Let me know if you're interested in losing some cash, I'll be glad to take it from you.

[Crusader]

Lets hope it works out better than Huff and Spears. If Stewart and Zuttah turn out the same way it will be another long season.

[ibleedpurpleandblack]

This isn't happening. Ever.

 

That's what was being said about Shipley last year...

[XLVII]

Fact: According to PFF we had the worst center in the league last year... Anything is an upgrade

[Stephenjr]

He appears to be an upgrade on what we have currently. Other than that, we don't really know anything about him. He could struggle, and we have no idea. Heck, he could get beat out for the job in training camp by Gino.

The point is... you shouldn't be sitting here saying that he was the reason Rainey exploded, because he wasn't. As is the case with every offensive line, there's pretty much no one player who will make or break it. We had a pretty good LT and RG on this team last season, and nobody noticed, because the O-line was bad.

He simply appears to be an upgrade at this time, but we really don't know anything else beyond that.

You don't know anything about him. Don't assume that I don't! I liked him when he went to Rutgers. He is one of the reasons Ray Rice had such a great college career. The world doesn't revolve around only your Knowledge, my friend! There was another  Running back that did very well in Tampa Before Rainey but was injured, then Rainey took over, And don't forget the Muscle Hampster. That is 4 RB that have done pretty well running behind Zuttah, including Ray Rice.

[Mystigo_Dragon]

A 3rd Rounder in 2008 who has played G, T and even 30 games at C expressly happy to be around some real pros in order to "rise and conquer", to play like a Raven!

 

No knock on Shipley but if Zuttah proves out as a better lineman than A.Q. then we've definitely upgraded!

 

Besides, think of the flexibility he brings! No knock on Gino but If we get a bona fide Center who can call protections effectively, then this guy may be the answer to our RT dilemma!

[riseNConquer81]

This is unlink Ozzie, to be in a position to have to plug so many holes via trade and losing draft picks in the process. This is indicative of some poor drafts over the last several years, and the Zuttah signing is the most glaring case in point. We are replacing a very poor center who was drafted too high for a merely below-average center, and have to lose a pick in the process. Hope some folks are being held accountable in the scouting department for getting the team in this predicament.

Gino was a 4th round pick, what are you talking about?

[Baltimore Bandwagon]

This is unlink Ozzie, to be in a position to have to plug so many holes via trade and losing draft picks in the process. This is indicative of some poor drafts over the last several years, and the Zuttah signing is the most glaring case in point. We are replacing a very poor center who was drafted too high for a merely below-average center, and have to lose a pick in the process. Hope some folks are being held accountable in the scouting department for getting the team in this predicament.

Strongly disagree with you there... Ozzie's constantly plugging holes because the rest of the league overpays for our free agent players. Ozzie drafts them, the coaching staff develops them into decent players, and the rest of the league blows up their salary cap numbers.  Gino is a young guy, and everyone knows that centers need more time to develop. He may yet turn out to be a good center.

[Crusader]

Fact: According to PFF we had the worst center in the league last year... Anything is an upgrade

 

Could remain the same. At least Gino knows the system.

 

[burnbigben]

I like this pick up because honestly there is no Travis Fredrick or Alex Mac type center in this year's draft and you don't want to reach for a need. So I think this is the right move at worse he can come in and play guard. I think a 5th rounder in next year's draft is very little to give up for a proven young guy who is only been the league 6 yrs and is 27. As far as PFF is concern I trust Ozzie's grade far more better.

 

Frederick had a 3rd round grade from Mike Mayock and turned out to be a great pick at the end of the 1st round even though it was a "reach" at the time according to almost all the pundits. I really don't think anyone can say there isn't a quality center in this draft class at this point, there are so many quality players at high-profile positions that alot of really solid players may be overlooked.

[ittwasntme]

We dont know much of any system as we have another NEW OC this year, what we get out of Zuttah is a guy who knows how to play center, and call things out to the rest of the linemen, which is a complete 180 degrees from what gino gave us last year. i think our offensive line will probably start out going into preseason with Monroe/Shipley/Zuttah/Yanda/KO and i wouldnt be surprised by season if its Monroe/KO/Zutta/Yanda/Wagner. IMO Shipley and Gino are more depth then starters.

[bmorepizzy]

Frederick had a 3rd round grade from Mike Mayock and turned out to be a great pick at the end of the 1st round even though it was a "reach" at the time according to almost all the pundits. I really don't think anyone can say there isn't a quality center in this draft class at this point, there are so many quality players at high-profile positions that alot of really solid players may be overlooked.

 

Your right no one knows when it comes to how a player will pan out once drafted, but what I do know is we have strong sample size of Zuttah at the pro level to grade him against the best of the best competition. Secondly I feel the biggest problem with line was no continutity. By OTAs we should have our hold line in tact and those guys along with Flacco and Zubiac will have time to get on the same page. We may still draft a center but it will be BPA draft pick and not reach type situation. If anyone of the centers fall are on the board in 3rd round or later and Ozzie feels like its the BPA I'm sure he will not hesitate because of this move.

[ittwasntme]

Its Technique, its preparation, its IQ of the Center Position, and its the System and couches that will make or break a center. and lets face it between IQ and the System we have, GINO just doesnt seem to fit it, atleast yet, his play showed it, and is part of our Oline suffering. Obviously you cant put all the blame on him, but he just doesnt seem confortable yet at Center in the NFL. Running Backs behind zuttah have excelled, now i get its not depended on one player. But when you have a center that can set up the Oline in the best possible position to excell, and he kept his QB upright, i think before even training camp starts. They plan to make him a long term fix on our Oline somewhere, and im willing to bet its at center. And if he plays to his potential this year, dont be surprised if we lock him in long term, to sure up out OLINE.

[riseNConquer81]

Could remain the same. At least Gino knows the system.

Kubiak doesnt even "know the system" yet, last i heard, he's still writing the playbook.

[rmcjacket23]

You don't know anything about him. Don't assume that I don't! I liked him when he went to Rutgers. He is one of the reasons Ray Rice had such a great college career. The world doesn't revolve around only your Knowledge, my friend! There was another  Running back that did very well in Tampa Before Rainey but was injured, then Rainey took over, And don't forget the Muscle Hampster. That is 4 RB that have done pretty well running behind Zuttah, including Ray Rice.

Flawed logic. Was Zuttah the only guy that blocking ahead of them? If not, then why are you giving him 100% credit for it? Seems a bit short-sighted to me.

Obviously, I don't really care about how great a blocker he was in college, because Gino was equally as effective in college. Once you become a veteran in this league, nobody should care one bit about what you did or didn't do in college. In general, the game films of college prospects are all the same.

At the end of the day, if you OBJECTIVELY look and see what is going on, you would be left with a certain amount of questions... such as...

1. He has started 9 out of 44 games at center.. is that a good or a bad thing? During your claims that he single-handedly led Doug Martin to a big season, he played guard mostly. Do you know for certain which position he will be playing on this team? I don't... and neither do you.

2. Perhaps the biggest question... why was he traded to begin with? I mean we know the Bucs acquired Dietrich-Smith in FA, but why acquire him if they already have somebody they clearly liked in Zuttah? It couldn't have been the money, because Zuttah just signed a new deal last season, and for a guy who mostly played guard, his salary was pretty affordable.

These are the things that YOU don't know, because nobody knows these things. You may THINK you know, but you don't.

[ittwasntme]

@riseNconquer81 agreed the only thing that will stay the same is that zone blocking scheme i think, because Kubiak is known for that

[ittwasntme]

@rmcjacket23, what he is saying, is it starts with center. Each play & each block starts with the Center, the center sets up the Oline in best position possible to win. So his argument is as center, his Running backs florish, as center, he has help kept his qbs upright, how many times was out line blown up at the line of scrimmage last year? look at the production in tampa with zuttah at center, look at the numbers compared to gino as center all year. you cant argue production.

[balfan23]

They plan to make him a long term fix on our Oline somewhere, and im willing to bet its at center. And if he plays to his potential this year, dont be surprised if we lock him in long term, to sure up out OLINE.

I have a feeling they are not going to wait to see how he does this year to make a commitment - I think they made a commitment by trading for him. He's carrying a $4.5M hit to the 2014 cap and that is substantial for his overall pay grade. I foresee us working out an extended deal sooner, rather than later. 

[Crusader]

Gino has line up across from defense in our division something the new guy will have to learn. That's why Burk was so good he knew a lot of their moves.

[Baltimore Bandwagon]

It would not surprise me if Gino ended up starting at center next year. I'm not saying it's gonna happen... but what I am saying is that he will get the chance to come in and show whether he has grown or not. After having that rough year under his belt and behind him, he may have a lot more confidence, and a lot more comfort at playing the position. If that translates well on the field, that would surely be a huge lift for this team. This is not something I'm betting on, lol... but it could happen. Just think how much better the O-line could be if Gino grew to be a solid center.

 

And, who knows, but maybe Kubiak's scheme will be a better fit for Gino? We shall see.

[rmcjacket23]

@rmcjacket23, what he is saying, is it starts with center. Each play & each block starts with the Center, the center sets up the Oline in best position possible to win. So his argument is as center, his Running backs florish, as center, he has help kept his qbs upright, how many times was out line blown up at the line of scrimmage last year? look at the production in tampa with zuttah at center, look at the numbers compared to gino as center all year. you cant argue production.

Right but thats my point... Zuttah has about 9 games under his belt as a starter at center, and most of them came last season, when the Bucs struggled to run the ball (ranked 22nd in the league at doing so).

His production needs to be noted that much of it was while playing guard. To me, this tends not to matter very much, because I'm not just annointing him as the starting center right away. I annoint him as a likely starter, but I honestly don't know what position it will be at.

Its possible the coaching staff finds a line of Monroe/Zuttah/Gino/Yanda/KO to be more effective than a line of Monroe/KO/Zuttah/Yanda/Wagner or rookie.

If we were to draft somebody like a Zach Martin in the 1st round, then yes, it would appear the center job is Zuttah's to lose. But if the Ravens did very little in the draft in terms of O-lineman, then its possible he ends up starting at LG.

Does he appear to be an upgrade? Without seeing him with our players, yes he appears to be. But maybe he's only marginally better than Gino. If so, that doesn't mean the offensive line will struggle. I'm hoping we have a more effective RT than we did last season. If we do, then at the very least, we've upgraded our two biggest areas of weakness on the line. That alone should make us better.

Perhaps not 2008-2010 run the ball 40 times a game for 200 yards good, but better.

[ibleedpurpleandblack]

It would not surprise me if Gino ended up starting at center next year. I'm not saying it's gonna happen... but what I am saying is that he will get the chance to come in and show whether he has grown or not. After having that rough year under his belt and behind him, he may have a lot more confidence, and a lot more comfort at playing the position. If that translates well on the field, that would surely be a huge lift for this team. This is not something I'm betting on, lol... but it could happen. Just think how much better the O-line could be if Gino grew to be a solid center.

 

And, who knows, but maybe Kubiak's scheme will be a better fit for Gino? We shall see.

 

And who knows, maybe KO won't have a back injury; maybe Yanda won't have a shoulder injury; maybe our LG won't be "learning" as he goes along...there was a lot of factors that went in to the offensive lines performance last year and it wasn't just Gino.

 

And just so you all know, the QB is the one who starts it all - he tells (or is supposed to) the center what coverage he wants and then the center relays that to the rest of the line...

[Ryan Stahley]

He hasn't allowed a sack in the past 2 seasons and he is still only the 22nd best center in the NFL... Centers are better than I thought they were.