Rebuilding the secondary Who do you want to see stay and Who do you want to see leave?

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

We all know this is a must I am just curious what other Raven fans think about who should stay and who should go in the defensive backfield this off season.  I want Hill, Smith and Melvin back and Webb at the right price. What do you guys think?

[GrimCoconut]

I say bring back everyone if it's possible on cheap deals. I'd even consider Stewart on a cheap deal as competition. Worst case scenario is you just cut guys at final cuts. Best case is some of them develop and look better and the cream will rise to the top. I don't think any of them are great, but I think some of them could have improved this year. I was actually impressed by what Stewart showed us at times later in the year. 

[redlobster]

Webb due to contract

Melvin

Jimmy

Hill

Brooks

1st or 2nd round cb

Another rookie corner

Maybe Stewart to back up hill and brooks.

[ravensnick]

Melvin and Hill obviously. Stewart for STs at worse, maybe he can do a little bit more. I'd rather get rid of Webb, but he is too expensive to cut. Jimmy should be signed to a longer term extension. Signing a midlevel corner like Thurmmond or Maxwell would be welcome. I don't thin our CB answer is in this draft, unless we get a shot at a guy like Williams from FSU  or Johnson from Wake in the second round. 

[MoveThoseChains]

Who should go? Matt Elam. I can't watch one more missed tackle from him.

[Kakybaby1]

Who should go? Matt Elam. I can't watch one more missed tackle from him.

Amen

[Kakybaby1]

I say bring back Webb for the right price. Put him in the slot. Pay Jimmy ,pay hill, Brooke Will shine with time under his belt. And my man Melvin with grow into his own also draft a cb in 2nd or 1st.

[JetLife94]

Who should go? Matt Elam. I can't watch one more missed tackle from him.

Truth right yhere

[blitzking33]

Hill, Smith, Webb, Melvin are all who I want to see back..

 

Elam's gotta go.. He's a weak link and he gives up too many big plays.

[rmw10]

What I'm expecting in the secondary...

 

CB: Jimmy Smith, Lardarius Webb, Vet FA, Draft Pick, Asa Jackson, Rashaan Melvin

S: Will Hill, Terrence Brooks, Jeromy Miles, Darian Stewart, Matt Elam (unfortunately)

 

Stewart has played well recently and I think we might be interested in retaining him, but he's a guy that could leave if Spags leaves as well.  If so, you can enter Trawick or Levine for ST purposes and you might see Miles with more of a role on D.  Brooks may or may not be ready for the season but I'll keep him there for now.  I'd be interested in adding a more consistent S, but I'm not seeing us doing it, personally.

 

I've been saying that's how CB would play out for weeks and I'm going to stick to my guns on that one.

[I AM LEGEND]

Jimmy

Webb (I guess)

Melvin

Asa

Draft a rookie (2nd or 3rd)

F.A. CB

I love proven F.A. CBs over and young unproven CBs.

At safety keep hill,Stewart,draft another safety,Brooks. And tell Elam thanks but no thanks

[PurpleSnowman]

A lot of people are knocking Elam, and rightfully so, but I think that if he actually commits to one position this season he can excel and hopefully get rid of his bust label. He should not be playing nickel, but if he consistently plays SS I think that he can prove some people wrong. If Pollard had to cover he would've looked a lot worse too. 

[Kakybaby1]

A lot of people are knocking Elam, and rightfully so, but I think that if he actually commits to one position this season he can excel and hopefully get rid of his bust label. He should not be playing nickel, but if he consistently plays SS I think that he can prove some people wrong. If Pollard had to cover he would've looked a lot worse too.

I hope so. I was so pumped when we draft Elam and the a. Brown. But a.Brown haven't really had a chance to show he can do but elam o, the other hand will do something good on second and then single handedly loose the game for us the next by simply. Not tackling

[K-Dog]

I am a Webb fan. Always will be.

Jimmy SHOULD be a star in 2015.

I like Will Hill. I am hoping with training camp and a full season I will like him even more.

[redlobster]

Elam will almost 100% be back for two reasons.

#1. He was a first round pick

#2. He will actually cost money to cut

I think he comes back in a depth role for one more year, maybe put him on special teams and see if he can learn to tackle.

[KnowNoLimits]

Kendall Fuller... CB from V Tech, watched half the games. If we get this guy the league will be in trouble.

[JO_75]

Under Contract for next season:

 

CB: Webb, Jimmy, Asa, Melvin(ERFA), Tramain Jacobs(ERFA)

 

S: Matt Elam, Terrance Brooks, Brynden Trawick(ERFA)

 

Free Agents:

 

CB: Antoine Cason Danny Gorrer, Chris Greenwood

 

S: Darian Stewart Jeremy Miles, Will Hill(RFA)

 

Bold = Keep

 

That right there would give us good depth. We could be set in the secondary just by bringing Stewart, Miles and Hill back. Looking at it, it truly was a case of the injury bug killing our secondary. Jimmy, Asa were already coming back for 2015. Brooks is under contract, we just got stung by the injury bug. If we hadn't, we'd be preparing for Indy this week. Melvin and Jacobs will already be here as ERFA, so it seems our secondary depth is set. Now it's a matter of seeing who out there in FA/Draft could prove to be an upgrade depth wise.

 

If our starting secondary is this come week one, it would be our best case scenario.

 

CB: Jimmy Smith

CB: Webb

Nickel: Asa/Melvin

FS: Terrance Brooks Darian Stewart

SS: Will Hill Matt Elam

[The Raven]

Bring back Melvin, play Elam exclusively at safety next year.

[redrum52]

Kendall Fuller... CB from V Tech, watched half the games. If we get this guy the league will be in trouble.

Hear he's better than his brother.

Bring back Melvin and Hill, develop Brooks and draft talent/depth.

[52520Andrew]

Kendall Fuller... CB from V Tech, watched half the games. If we get this guy the league will be in trouble.

Not eligible until next year sadly

[Ravenslifer]

I would much prefer that Elam be playing for someone else next season, but I suppose he deserves one more shot.  I'd pretty much keep everyone currently on the roster unless a free agent signing or a draft pick outplays them in TC.  I think the majority of the issues in the secondary were from the ridiculous number of injuries, but I also think that Webb has maybe a year or two of starting ability left in him at most, if it's not already completely gone.  We need someone across from Jimmy.

[757RavensFan]

A lot of people are knocking Elam, and rightfully so, but I think that if he actually commits to one position this season he can excel and hopefully get rid of his bust label. He should not be playing nickel, but if he consistently plays SS I think that he can prove some people wrong. If Pollard had to cover he would've looked a lot worse too. 

 

If he can't tackle at the nickel, moving him to SS is not going to make him a better tackler.  Would you not agree that one of the keys of being a SS is the ability to help stop the run, which involves tackling. 

[cursona pirate]

Jimmy

Webb (I guess)

Melvin

Asa

Draft a rookie (2nd or 3rd)

F.A. CB

I love proven F.A. CBs over and young unproven CBs.

At safety keep hill,Stewart,draft another safety,Brooks. And tell Elam thanks but no thanks

This is me pretty much, i dont think Elam is a bust yet.

I feel we get a RB

[757RavensFan]

I honestly think we have the talent on the books NOW to field a very good secondary.  Getting them to stay healthy

and communicating properly is the key.  With that being said, I would like to see the following guys stay: 

 

CBs: Webb (restructure deal), the Jimmy, Asa Jackson, Danny Gorrer, Rashaan Melvin( an offseason to work w/ the DBs and coaches will help him tremendously) and Cason.   

 

Safety: Hill (love this dude), Stewart, Miles, Brooks, Elam (only b/c we lose out big time if we cut him).

 

Aquire a FA CB and safety in March and a maybe a mid round guy in the draft. 

 

If 100% healthy, I wouldn't mind these current Ravens starting: Webb, the Jimmy, Asa (or Melvin), Hill and Brooks.

[PurpleSnowman]

If he can't tackle at the nickel, moving him to SS is not going to make him a better tackler.  Would you not agree that one of the keys of being a SS is the ability to help stop the run, which involves tackling. 

 

I think part of the reason he wasn't able to tackle as well was because he was forced to tackle in wide open space. He looked confused in the game, like he didn't know what angle to take. If he tackled more from the SS position, it would be closer to the box and therefor less space for the runner to juke him or move away. All this said he still needs to work on his tackling because the performance he put out there was pathetic, especially for a first round pick.  

[rmw10]

I think part of the reason he wasn't able to tackle as well was because he was forced to tackle in wide open space. He looked confused in the game, like he didn't know what angle to take. If he tackled more from the SS position, it would be closer to the box and therefor less space for the runner to juke him or move away. All this said he still needs to work on his tackling because the performance he put out there was pathetic, especially for a first round pick.  

 

There's no difference in tackling between positions.  It's not that he has trouble tackling in the open field.  It's that he jumps and lunges at guys with weak shoulders rather than trying to wrap up.  That's an issue no matter what position he's playing.  He's struggled tackling behind the LOS just as much as he has in the open field.

[GrimCoconut]

I think someone on our defensive coaching staff needs to get fired. I'm not calling for Pees' head so please don't confuse my comment. I'm seeing us have issues with tackling for years now. That's a coaching issue. There's no reason we should still be struggling with tackling.

[757RavensFan]

I think someone on our defensive coaching staff needs to get fired. I'm not calling for Pees' head so please don't confuse my comment. I'm seeing us have issues with tackling for years now. That's a coaching issue. There's no reason we should still be struggling with tackling.

 

After watching Seattle's DBs finish almost all of their tackles, I would have to agree with you. They don't flail around hoping an arm tackle will bring down someone.  They actually put their head and shoulders in there and finish the play.  I'm wondering if it's a mental thing w/ our guys.  Since so many DBs went down w/ injuries this year, I'm starting to think Elam (specifically) was apprehensive to put his nose in there out of fear of getting hurt. 

[GrimCoconut]

After watching Seattle's DBs finish almost all of their tackles, I would have to agree with you. They don't flail around hoping an arm tackle will bring down someone. They actually put their head and shoulders in there and finish the play. I'm wondering if it's a mental thing w/ our guys. Since so many DBs went down w/ injuries this year, I'm starting to think Elam (specifically) was apprehensive to put his nose in there out of fear of getting hurt.

Nope. I'm not buying that idea of it being mental, although I applaud you for trying. Not being sarcastic either. Our technique is horrible. After three seasons starting in 2012 when we won it all, our tackling has slowly gotten worse. That's coaching.

[The Raven]

I think someone on our defensive coaching staff needs to get fired. I'm not calling for Pees' head so please don't confuse my comment. I'm seeing us have issues with tackling for years now. That's a coaching issue. There's no reason we should still be struggling with tackling.

 

Is it an NFL coach's job to teach tackling, though? If you can't tackle by the time you get to the NFL, I don't think you can be fixed. To me, tackling issues in the NFL are about ability, not coaching.

 

If we were to fire someone, who? Tackling drills are done in position groups, not as an entire defense. The linebackers and defensive linemen don't really seem to have tackling issues, and I doubt Spags would be a bad position coach. So who is it?

 

Moreover, Pees emphasizes every camp how much time goes into the fundamentals. So, I'd bet they do tackling drills. And tackling isn't exactly rocket science. Wrap up, drive, and get him down. I really think the tackling issues are personnel based.