Flacco said...they don't need to draft a WR early.

[RavensAllTheWay]

These comments don't mean much to me. I kinda read it as coach speak.

[ravensnick]

Well as of right now:

 

WR1: Steve Smith

WR2: Marlon Brown

WR3: Kamar Aiken

WR4: Micheal Campanero

 

Joe, are you sure that 35 year old Steve Smith, a second year 7th round pick, and two undrafted free agent WRs as your receiver corps doesn't bother you? Not at all? Are we running the triple option this year?

 

He's just saying what the team wants.

[Bruce_Almty]

That ESPN interviewer was just trying to get Joe with a "gotcha" question and some sort of throw your teammates under the bus response. Joe did a great job of deflecting the question and praising his teammates.

 

For the future, the Ravens are in desperate need of quality WRs. SSS' future production is highly questionable and our remaining  "big 3" have yet to be productive on a consistent basis. We would be foolish to AGAIN pass on the WR talent available this year.

[Militant X 1]

I really hope this is part of a smoke screen to throw other teams off. I also respect the fact that he has faith in the guys left, but come on Joe this is probably the best draft in your career that Oz can get you a true # 1 reciever. Hopefully, behind close doors your saying something different to Oz and Co.

"Obviously, without Torrey now, the one thing we probably don't have as much of is that speed, is that one guy who can stretch the field," Flacco said Saturday night at his charity event. "But I'm not going to say we need it. I think we got really good guys and I think we're good with who we have."

"It's that where we go, that's where we go," Flacco said of taking a wide receiver early. "I trust these guys to get somebody good. I think we've got a good group and we are good with where we are."

http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/19543/joe-flacco-doesnt-think-ravens-need-to-draft-a-wide-receiver

 

Oooooook!

[The Mom Gene]

I certainly wouldn't be opposed to another WR, but personally I think our need for one is more than a little overblown.

Give me a potent OL over a string of great receivers any day. I back Joe and I back the line enough to make it all happen, even with what we've got.

Another TE is a little more pressing imo, but I guess we'll see what happens once the season starts.

I agree...  I think we have a couple of guys at WR that can possibly bust out this year.  TE is a far bigger need.

[Ravenseconbeast]

That ESPN interviewer was just trying to get Joe with a "gotcha" question and some sort of throw your teammates under the bus response. Joe did a great job of deflecting the question and praising his teammates.

For the future, the Ravens are in desperate need of quality WRs. SSS' future production is highly questionable and our remaining "big 3" have yet to be productive on a consistent basis. We would be foolish to AGAIN pass on the WR talent available this year.

Foolish 'AGAIN'?

So what if we find a BPA and he just happens to happens to be something else?

[berad]

Joe's never been one to hold back on his feelings - whether they are PC or not. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. It falls in line with what Ozzie, Harbaugh, the players, etc have said before so... is it all a smokescreen or is it legit? Obviously guys like Brown, Aiken, Campanero, and Butler have potential.

If I was GM, a WR would be pretty high on my list... a WR or a pass-catching TE. But, then again, I'm not a GM and I'm certainly not Ozzie Newsome.

[elemento]

Honestly, I think that Flacco is just trying to be nice here.

 

I mean, he won't tell them: "Yeah, we need WRs badly because Aiken/Marlon with 36 y/o Smith won't cut it". 

 

He is just trying to give our WRs some confidence, but deep inside he knows that the Ravens need another deep threat for him.

[Cillmatic]

Joe has to say this, it's not like he can say "no, we need new receivers, the guys we have now suck". We need receivers though, one Phillip Dorsett and one Jaelen Strong is all we need.

[Bruce_Almty]

Foolish 'AGAIN'?

So what if we find a BPA and he just happens to happens to be something else?

If you feel we are set at WR for upcoming years....fine, great. I won't argue with you.

[EnVy_CaLiBeR]

I'd have to go with it's a smokescreen as well. Anybody can look at our WR pool and see that there will be at least one big addition coming from early in the draft.

[Purple Punishment]

did anyone else read the title in a bobby boucher voice?

Mama said muh muh mama said...foos ball is da devil

[Ravenseconbeast]

If you feel we are set at WR for upcoming years....fine, great. I won't argue with you.

Not saying we are set. But I feel like what you are saying is 'WR or bust'

We dont have a choice if our high picks are WRs or not. We don't 'need' a WR just like we dont absolutely need another corner. But I'd rather have a pro bowler than another Arthur brown(remember we grabbed him after ellerbe/lewis was gone?)

BPA..only way to go. I dont care if our 1st pick is a center. Long as he is a probowl-type player, at the end it will seem like it was worth it.

[ratedr]

Uhhhh what else is he gonna say?

"These guys are trash we're taking one in the first"?

Like...come on.

[GrimCoconut]

I actually think he's right, even though I want Devin Smith at 26 or 58. 

[omar586]

in the FO we trust,

 

 

since the ravens have 10 picks & most are mid round picks, this draft should strength the ravens, depth wise. CBs, WRs, OLs, DEs, since the draft is weak in TEs & Safeties the ravens will wait until other teams cut players after draft.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I hope DGB falls and we get him in the 2nd/3rd round. If he matures and commits to football I think he'll be the best WR in the class.

I'd like to see us take advantage of talent dropping due to character concers. IMO the risk is worth the potential reward.

But I don't think the FO views wr as a big need. I see us picking up a bargain vet after cuts, or maybe someone like Reggie Wayne that can be a reliable chain mover or red zone threat in a limited role.

I think TE, an edge rusher and secondary depth are bigger needs than wr. I expect Camp to have a huge year. Aiken/Brown have great hands and have been reliable in big spots. I could see either putting up 700-900 yards with increased snaps and targets.

While I don't think the FO truly thinks we're set at WR and ideally like to add a player than can compete for a starting role; the situation isn't desperate to where they'll reach early in the draft. I think if a guy they covet starts to slide I could see a trade up in the 2nd or 3rd to land him.

[darklight1216]

I don't know about anyone else, but I was fully expecting Flacco to publicly trash his teammates and demand that the draft focus on pass catchers.

[ellicottraven]

What other possible alternative answers could he realistically give to that question? I thought hard but couldn't come up with one that had him say - "Yeah - our WRs are really our weak link. I am fighting hard for some top notch receivers in this draft"!

[Mad Puppy]

In case anyone's interested (no one is), I came up with some stats. The lowest for each is in red.

 

Torrey Smith = TS

Steve Smith Sr. = SS   

Marlon Brown = MB

Kamar Aiken = KA

Michael Campanaro = MC

 

Receptions per target - who comes up with the ball?:

TS = 53.36%  (49/92)

SS = 58.96%  (79/134)

MB = 77.41%  (24/31)

KA = 72.72%  (24/33)

MC = 77.78% (7/9)

 

Targets per snap - who do we trust?:

TS = 11.67%  (92/788)

SS = 16.30%  (134/882)

MB = 8.03%   (31/375)

KA = 12.09%  (33/273)

MC = 13.85%  (9/65)

 

Receptions per snap - who comes through?:

TS = 6.22%   (49/788)

SS = 9.61%   (79/822)

MB = 6.40%  (24/375)

KA = 8.79%   (24/273)

MC = 10.77% (7/65)

 

Yards per snap - who's productive?:

TS = 0.973  (767/788)

SS = 1.298  (1067/822)

MB = 0.680  (255/375)

KA = 0.978   (267/273)

MC = 1.569  (102/65)

 

% of yards after catch - who adds more?:

TS = 21.25%  (163/767)

SS = 32.15%  (343/1067)

MB = 39.21% (100/255)

KA = 22.47%  (60/267)

MC = 20.59% (21/102)

 

In other words, if Marlon Brown didn't come in to run block so often, and Camp had 1 more yard after the catch, Torrey would be our lowest ranked in all of these categories. Still, of 5 receivers, Torrey is in the bottom two in all of these - and I'm sure Jacoby would join him if I cared enough. 

 

Even if we assume Torrey had to go against the #1 CB every game (he didn't), this is not what you'd expect out of your best receiver. I love Torrey and Jacoby as Ravens but on the field they weren't as productive as the rest of the squad. That's why we don't need to add a receiver. We're adding efficiency.

Very nice analysis, and quite telling

[Mad Puppy]

We can all say that we are losing speed and that deep threat with Smith gone. We are also losing 11 td's and 12 dpi's for 258 yds. There is no one wr presently on this team that will make all that up. Have to go to the draft and hope to find someone to even come close and that isn't even guaranteed.

excellent point. I do think we will miss torrey if no WR is taken in the draft until after round 4....I would prefer a WR taken before Round 4....

[Drew P]

We don't need a WR, we have plenty of those. We need a playmaker, whether it's a WR or a TE. I prefer it to be a playmaker on WR as this draft is deep with them as apposed to TEs. The Ravens traditionally throw smokescreens and aren't interested in revealing their draft plans. I take everything that has to do with the draft with a grain of salt before April 30th. 

 

My ideal target at WR for the Ravens are Devin Smith and Philip Dorsett, I think those are the guys F.O will target in this draft. We're missing that deep speed that would complete this WR corps. 

 

Why is everyone in love with Devin Smith? the guy is a one trick pony a la Torrey couldnt win a fight for a ball against Bruce Jenner. They need another Q or a bigger SSS get a physical identity on offense established to match that O line

[jazz1988]

Why is everyone in love with Devin Smith? the guy is a one trick pony a la Torrey couldnt win a fight for a ball against Bruce Jenner. They need another Q or a bigger SSS get a physical identity on offense established to match that O line

 

Actually that's not correct at all. It's already been mention by sport analyst that Devin Smith is more than a  deep threat.

[sflegend89]

If I've learned anything about the draft process if a GM/Coach/Player says anything about the draft the opposite is probably true. This was simply a show of good faith to his teammates, do you expect Joe to come out and basically say his teammates, who he sees nearly every day aren't up to par for the entire world to see? Joe isn't the type of player who pours his heart out to the media, he says the typical "safe" answer more often then not. Joe's role in the draft process is extremely minimal and probably doesn't go beyond Ozzie saying "Hey Joe, these are the WR's we're considering drafting, let's watch some tape and you can tell me what you think".

 

Trust me Joe isn't sitting in Ozzie's office saying "We don't need a WR, go ahead and draft defense for the 5th year in a row". At the end of the day Joe is an offensive player, his success hinges on the playmakers he has to work with and he just lost two of his favorite targets in Torrey and Daniels. Joe might not be out right campaigning to Ozzie for a pass catcher but I'm sure he would welcome a 1st or 2nd round WR with open arms.

[sflegend89]

Why is everyone in love with Devin Smith? the guy is a one trick pony a la Torrey couldnt win a fight for a ball against Bruce Jenner. They need another Q or a bigger SSS get a physical identity on offense established to match that O line

 

That is not true at all, DS can run the full route tree, light years ahead of Torrey running routes coming out. DS's body control and ability to track the ball are also far better then Torrey's when we drafted him. Torrey had straight line speed but he was not much of a threat with the ball in his hands, his YAC was weak for a player with his speed. DS is far more elusive after the catch similar to a guy like Desean Jackson. You can't call him a one trick pony, that is just such a misrepresentation of his game.

 

DS can't fight for the ball? Go to 1:07, 1:42, 2:04

 

[Bruce_Almty]

Yesterday on NFL Insider, Bill Polian said Breshad Perriman and Devin Smith are taylor made for the Ravens offense. fwiw

[Gtown Purple]

We are going defense in the first round. All the top flight guys are gone at 26 unless you want to mortgage an entire draft oin 1 or 2 guys. We pick a WR in round 2 or 3.

[757RavensFan]

I hope DGB falls and we get him in the 2nd/3rd round. If he matures and commits to football I think he'll be the best WR in the class.

I'd like to see us take advantage of talent dropping due to character concers. IMO the risk is worth the potential reward.

But I don't think the FO views wr as a big need. I see us picking up a bargain vet after cuts, or maybe someone like Reggie Wayne that can be a reliable chain mover or red zone threat in a limited role.

I think TE, an edge rusher and secondary depth are bigger needs than wr. I expect Camp to have a huge year. Aiken/Brown have great hands and have been reliable in big spots. I could see either putting up 700-900 yards with increased snaps and targets.

While I don't think the FO truly thinks we're set at WR and ideally like to add a player than can compete for a starting role; the situation isn't desperate to where they'll reach early in the draft. I think if a guy they covet starts to slide I could see a trade up in the 2nd or 3rd to land him.

 

I would love for this to happen, but he's entirely too talented to fall that far.  I honestly see him drafted before our 26th pick. 

[Drew P]

That is not true at all, DS can run the full route tree, light years ahead of Torrey running routes coming out. DS's body control and ability to track the ball are also far better then Torrey's when we drafted him. Torrey had straight line speed but he was not much of a threat with the ball in his hands, his YAC was weak for a player with his speed. DS is far more elusive after the catch similar to a guy like Desean Jackson. You can't call him a one trick pony, that is just such a misrepresentation of his game.

 

DS can't fight for the ball? Go to 1:07, 1:42, 2:04

 

 

Highlight reels are simply that. 2nd rounder at best

[sflegend89]

Highlight reels are simply that. 2nd rounder at best

 

Don' brush off a logical discussion with a cop out like that. You said DS is a one trick pony and that's just not true at all. You said he can't fight for the ball and I provided you with multiple examples of him doing so. Don't know if you realize this but WR's don't typically have games where the "fight for the ball" multiple times. It was far more convenient to post a HL tape with multiple examples then to post a bunch of different game films and clog up the thread to just showcase one play from each video.

 

Use logic and facts to construct replies about a player, speaking in brief definite statements like that does absolutely nothing for your argument.