Welcome to Baltimore: Darren Waller

[757RavensFan]

Aggregation of circumstances..."the big picture".

 

Separation will occur, "-  Rookie receiver Darren Waller beat Webb on a seam route down the sideline that went for about a 60-yard touchdown. Quarterback Joe Flacco hit Waller perfectly in stride and the big receiver cruised into the end zone."

 

It's not so much he caught a perfect Flacco pass. It's the size and speed to gain separation from our #2 corner.

 

Most of training camp is "yada yada".

 

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/News-And-Notes-810-Returner-Competition-Takes-Center-Stage-/349af751-8bcc-4226-a62a-e692823d82b0

 

But you're just going to overlook all of the other WRs TD catches made on our starting defense and make the assumption that Waller is that guy who can take us to the promise land?

 

Riddle me this, when is the last time a rookie WR led his team to the Lombardi trophey?

[757RavensFan]

Some have not been watching or paying attention. 

 

We lost Torrey Smith and Denis Pitta. Jacoby Jones was relegated to a pure returner last year, but we lost his take the top off the coverage function. There was high hope for Perriman but he's already looking to overcome some nicks. Hopefully he will, but that's not a good start.

 

Steve Smith is 36, he really looked tired at times last year. He's good, but he's not what he was.  Crampanero is injury prone. Marlon Brown has disappeared. Aiken was less than reliable. Butler was IR.

 

We need a receiver to replace a man we cut. A mistake we have yet to overcome.

 

Anyone who believes our receivers are a sure thing, has not been observing closely.

 

For those that can't yet ascertain which of our receivers is the future, it's a very good thing our Front Office made a decision others can't even recognize. 

 

My guess would be the one they drafted in the 1st round.

[Ravens4Real]

I just don't understand what the reasoning would be to the Ravens keeping 7 WR's. I understand most of you want to keep the guys that are at the flashy positions. But what's the point?

This is why these coaches and player personnel guys have jobs. Because they can see past what the fans want and know how to build a team. Do you guys really want to sacrifice one of DL or OL depth? One or two injuries happen to either one and we are royally screwed. It is so much easier to replace a WR over them.

Secondly, what is the point to keeping 7 WR's? Now I am talking about on our 53 man roster, not on IR or the practice squad. The Ravens most of the time run two WR sets and on third down will run 3 WR, 1 RB and 1 TE. They never run 4 WR. So that means your best 3 WR set is on the field at that point. Do we really need 4 WR's standing on the sideline? Or even 3 for that matter?

7 WR's is just too much to keep without taking a serious hit at another position. At the end of the day, I believe they will do the right thing. That would be to keep 6, IR 1 or practice squad 1. Then on game days, they will dress 5 guys.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Ravens4Real

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

Aggregation of circumstances..."the big picture".

 

Separation will occur, "-  Rookie receiver Darren Waller beat Webb on a seam route down the sideline that went for about a 60-yard touchdown. Quarterback Joe Flacco hit Waller perfectly in stride and the big receiver cruised into the end zone."

 

It's not so much he caught a perfect Flacco pass. It's the size and speed to gain separation from our #2 corner.

 

Most of training camp is "yada yada".

 

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/News-And-Notes-810-Returner-Competition-Takes-Center-Stage-/349af751-8bcc-4226-a62a-e692823d82b0

 

I guess you skipped over the part where they pointed out that Webb pulled up early because he "tweaked his hamstring." He left practice after that play.

 

Selective reading.

[ravensfan160]

I just don't understand what the reasoning would be to the Ravens keeping 7 WR's. I understand most of you want to keep the guys that are at the flashy positions. But what's the point?

This is why these coaches and player personnel guys have jobs. Because they can see past what the fans want and know how to build a team. Do you guys really want to sacrifice one of DL or OL depth? One or two injuries happen to either one and we are royally screwed. It is so much easier to replace a WR over them.

Secondly, what is the point to keeping 7 WR's? Now I am talking about on our 53 man roster, not on IR or the practice squad. The Ravens most of the time run two WR sets and on third down will run 3 WR, 1 RB and 1 TE. They never run 4 WR. So that means your best 3 WR set is on the field at that point. Do we really need 4 WR's standing on the sideline? Or even 3 for that matter?

7 WR's is just too much to keep without taking a serious hit at another position. At the end of the day, I believe they will do the right thing. That would be to keep 6, IR 1 or practice squad 1. Then on game days, they will dress 5 guys.

Seven is high but they have done it before. I think they went thin at d-line as a result that year. It goes back to what sounds like coaches speak but is really true...they try to keep the best 53 men. Sometimes that means going light at one position and heavy in another.

 

It's not like the 53 men that start week 1 is the final roster. There are plenty of more roster changes to come any given year. Sometimes it boils down to keeping that 7th receiver for 1 week before releasing him and trying to get him through waivers since other teams are less likely to claim him now that the season has started.

[January J]

Hmmm...

267 yards....2014

Injured Reserve 2013

1 game no catches 2012

2 games no catches .

And How many times was he targeted? If anything I thought he was one of our MOST reliable receivers last year. With the way jacoby was dropping everything, Torrey caused several interceptions from falling down or poor route running, heck didn't even SSS lead the league in drops or somethin? Aiken took advantage of every single ball that was thrown his way and I wished his # was called more frequently. This year it will be.

Edited August 11, 2015 by January J

[Ravenseconbeast]

Waller is a beast! Sadly, it seems that the Ravens WR system will not allow him to be on the field much. Maybe in his 3rd season, we will see more of Waller, and what he can really bring to the table with Flacco.

Ravens WR's seem to have to get in line, and take a number. The guys they percieve that are ahead of him will get the reps, unless they telegraph a fade play in the endzone. Seen this movie before.

If Waller makes the team, he has to produce this season. 0%chance we will keep wallee to just 'develop' a late rd WR on his 3rd season just to see what he can show us.

[Guest]

I guess you skipped over the part where they pointed out that Webb pulled up early because he "tweaked his hamstring." He left practice after that play.

 

Selective reading.

 

Agree that reading is fundamental.

 

Hey, primacy / hierarchy. Maybe Webb tweaked his hamstring then came back in to cover Waller?

 

Or maybe he couldn't keep up with Waller's speed and that caused the tweak and he had to leave the game after the 6th round rookie bested him?

 

Or maybe it was something entirely different!

 

Time is on my side...and also on the side of the Baltimore Ravens.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Danny D

[cushrinada1986]

The more I hear about him the more I like, hope he can make the most of those rep Thursday...

 

http://russellstreetreport.com/2015/08/11/camp-notes/darren-waller-slow-day-at-training-camp/

[Cillmatic]

Well I think it's time to name this site the "Darren Waller appreciation forum".

[TDubbs]

The 'hype' around him is definitely interesting, and most of it comes from his size. At 6'6 245lb people are naturally enamoured w/ his size, and it would be nice to have a target like that for Flacco. If he could develop into a serviceable red-zone target and depth WR I'd be happy. 

Edited August 11, 2015 by TDubbs

[lgcs27288]

I wish the op would make best of the other Waller thread we've had since the draft.

[Moderator 3]

I wish the op would make best of the other Waller thread we've had since the draft.

Merged.

[GrimCoconut]

If Waller makes the team, he has to produce this season. 0%chance we will keep wallee to just 'develop' a late rd WR on his 3rd season just to see what he can show us.

Ryan Jensen?

[Crabcakes&Football]

Agree that reading is fundamental.

 

Hey, primacy / hierarchy. Maybe Webb tweaked his hamstring then came back in to cover Waller?

 

Or maybe he couldn't keep up with Waller's speed and that caused the tweak and he had to leave the game after the 6th round rookie bested him?

 

Or maybe it was something entirely different!

 

Time is on my side...and also on the side of the Baltimore Ravens.

 

Or maybe it went like this: "Crap, this guy is huge and fast. I can't keep up. Um 'Coach! Hammy!'".

[JoeyFlex5]

im glad the ridiculous hypetrain is being pointed out. 

 

we all have hopes of him becoming something special, we all like his potential, and yes he has looked better than tommy streeter, but so did every other 6'5" wr we've ever drafted. 

 

we are just anointing this guy wayyyyy too much, hes like the new barry church around here.

[ravensdan]

im glad the ridiculous hypetrain is being pointed out.

we all have hopes of him becoming something special, we all like his potential, and yes he has looked better than tommy streeter, but so did every other 6'5" wr we've ever drafted.

we are just anointing this guy wayyyyy too much, hes like the new barry church around here.

Barry church can play every secondary position by himself. I don't know what hype you speak of.

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

Barry church can play every secondary position by himself. I don't know what hype you speak of.

He's the best player in the NFL easily. Waller has yet to play a down. what a chump

[rmw10]

im glad the ridiculous hypetrain is being pointed out. 

 

we all have hopes of him becoming something special, we all like his potential, and yes he has looked better than tommy streeter, but so did every other 6'5" wr we've ever drafted. 

 

we are just anointing this guy wayyyyy too much, hes like the new barry church around here.

 

I'm with you here.  I like Waller and am in no way putting him down, but he's not there yet.  It's great that he's stacking good days at camp, and it sounds good for his future, but the guy has yet to play a down.  I'll gladly hold off on calling him the next Calvin Johnson, which would seem to be the comparison based on recent posts.  I recognize that he has some great potential, but I also recognize that he has a ton to work on.

[JoeyFlex5]

all great points and ill be sure to be more careful on future comparisons... 

[GrimCoconut]

Waller seems to put in the work to be a good WR. I like that. A big problem I had with Tommy Streeter was his work ethic. He seemed lazy and uninterested in football when I watched him play. I would've picketed outside the Castle had he made the team the year we cut him. He was horrible and deserved to go. 

 

Waller seems like a guy who wants to get better. Not saying he's Megatron, because guys practice great and then choke when the lights appear. You can see Tandon Doss & Torrey Smith for a recent example of that here at the same position group. 

 

I'm optimistic for Waller and understand anyone's excitement for him. I won't personally go beyond excitement and optimism for him, though, at this point. It is admittedly too early. 

[52520Andrew]

we are just anointing this guy wayyyyy too much, hes like the new barry church around here.

Shots fired

Edited August 12, 2015 by 52520Andrew

[Guest]

You see a guy with hands like cotton or soft as silk.  You view the stats from the NFL combine. You hear Waller's "wonderlic" numbers, see his improved route running, high pointing and box outs.  It's the latter that make me believe we have our next Anquan Boldin and that's all I ever wanted, but in his case he'll be a Red Zone Boldin. Never said he was a Calvin Johnson, in fact pointed out upon the measureables that he was not, but that he would fit us like a glove.

 

And all that separates him from our destiny is health and a small batch of receivers that never were. There are no Calvin Johnsons in our line up, although we do have a Steve Smith.

 

You can't coach size and speed.

I'm with you here.  I like Waller and am in no way putting him down, but he's not there yet.  It's great that he's stacking good days at camp, and it sounds good for his future, but the guy has yet to play a down.  I'll gladly hold off on calling him the next Calvin Johnson, which would seem to be the comparison based on recent posts.  I recognize that he has some great potential, but I also recognize that he has a ton to work on.

 

 

all great points and ill be sure to be more careful on future comparisons... 

Edited August 12, 2015 by Danny D

[jazz1988]

Agree that reading is fundamental.

 

Hey, primacy / hierarchy. Maybe Webb tweaked his hamstring then came back in to cover Waller?

 

Or maybe he couldn't keep up with Waller's speed and that caused the tweak and he had to leave the game after the 6th round rookie bested him?

 

Or maybe it was something entirely different!

 

Time is on my side...and also on the side of the Baltimore Ravens.

 

 

Great or good cornerbacks can get beat.. Revis got beat by Ted Ginn for a touchdown  and I don't think Ginn is a real polished receiver at all. I have nothing against Waller and he definitely seems to be showing he can be more than a project receiver.. I hope he continues to improve and hopefully he can  show something in preseason.

[Purple_City39]

You see a guy with hands like cotton or soft as silk.  You view the stats from the NFL combine. You hear Waller's "wonderlic" numbers, see his improved route running, high pointing and box outs.  It's the latter that make me believe we have our next Anquan Boldin and that's all I ever wanted, but in his case he'll be a Red Zone Boldin. Never said he was a Calvin Johnson, in fact pointed out upon the measureables that he was not, but that he would fit us like a glove.

 

And all that separates him from our destiny is health and a small batch of receivers that never were. There are no Calvin Johnsons in our line up, although we do have a Steve Smith.

 

You can't coach size and speed.

My feelings are pretty much this.  Size wise, he's almost Calvin but I don't think anybody said his skills were on the same level.

And why is it a problem for anyone to be hyped about a player?  Do you mean to tell me that none of the "stop hyping Waller" people have ever been excited for a rookie before he played?  Conversely, none of you ever thought one was a bust before the regular season **recalls all the Torrey hate after the second preseason game of his rookie year**

 

As stated above, Waller has already shown improvement in just a few weeks/months of being drafted.  It was already said months ago that he was following around Perriman, and I think Engram, to get as much knowledge as possible.  He's actually rather intelligent so he shouldn't struggle with the playbook.  We already knew he had decent hands, was a good blocker, had ridiculous size and very good speed to match.  His route running was the problem and we've heard enough about how that's improved.  Let people be excited just like many of us are about Means or Davis.

 

P.S. this wasn't meant to come off as as rant but I don't feel like editing now 

[rmw10]

My feelings are pretty much this.  Size wise, he's almost Calvin but I don't think anybody said his skills were on the same level.

And why is it a problem for anyone to be hyped about a player?  Do you mean to tell me that none of the "stop hyping Waller" people have ever been excited for a rookie before he played?  Conversely, none of you ever thought one was a bust before the regular season **recalls all the Torrey hate after the second preseason game of his rookie year**

 

As stated above, Waller has already shown improvement in just a few weeks/months of being drafted.  It was already said months ago that he was following around Perriman, and I think Engram, to get as much knowledge as possible.  He's actually rather intelligent so he shouldn't struggle with the playbook.  We already knew he had decent hands, was a good blocker, had ridiculous size and very good speed to match.  His route running was the problem and we've heard enough about how that's improved.  Let people be excited just like many of us are about Means or Davis.

 

P.S. this wasn't meant to come off as as rant but I don't feel like editing now 

 

There's excitement about a player, but there's also saying that the player is the missing piece to a SB run and that he'd cut every WR not named Steve Smith in order to keep him.  That's a big difference.  I'm all for hyping our players if they deserve it, but there are limits.

 

Also, this type of hype comes with every one of our big and fast receivers.  The threads on Tommy Streeter, Justin Harper, and the likes are pure gold now.

[Guest]

My feelings are pretty much this.  Size wise, he's almost Calvin but I don't think anybody said his skills were on the same level.

And why is it a problem for anyone to be hyped about a player?  Do you mean to tell me that none of the "stop hyping Waller" people have ever been excited for a rookie before he played?  Conversely, none of you ever thought one was a bust before the regular season **recalls all the Torrey hate after the second preseason game of his rookie year**

 

As stated above, Waller has already shown improvement in just a few weeks/months of being drafted.  It was already said months ago that he was following around Perriman, and I think Engram, to get as much knowledge as possible.  He's actually rather intelligent so he shouldn't struggle with the playbook.  We already knew he had decent hands, was a good blocker, had ridiculous size and very good speed to match.  His route running was the problem and we've heard enough about how that's improved.  Let people be excited just like many of us are about Means or Davis.

 

P.S. this wasn't meant to come off as as rant but I don't feel like editing now 

 

I feel the excitement also and truth be told I'm vested in Waller. 

 

I informed this board very early on that I considered him special. Very early on, in fact pre draft.  I was calling his number before he was given much of a call anywhere at all. I was on him for this board and I'll tell you why. 

 

Pre 2013 draft, my view was that we would make another Championship run with our 2012 team and that 2013 would be Ed Reed's last year.  Thus in 2013 we needed to draft a Safety for Ed to train up his final season so Ed could hang up his golden hands after that year and bequeath the new Safety his slot.  In that regard I scoured the available safeties in that draft to determine who was best and thus who Oz and his staff would draft.  There was no doubt that Eric Reid was the best Free Safety available. None whatsoever. To top matters off, the man's last name was Reid and like Ed, he was a Cajun from Louisiana. It was Fate!

 

And then the Impossible happened.

 

We purged primary pieces of our Championship Team and Ed Reed was one of those purged pieces. (I believe he defended 15 passes and had 4 picks his final year, but they say he wasn't tackling!) 

 

Then, San Francisco was slated to pick 31st to our 32nd on the basis of the Championship Final. But they moved up to 18 to snag our prize. But that wasn't the worst of it.  There were other safeties, albeit, no Eric Reid's and then we selected a guy I had at the very Bottom of my list talent wise. Worse yet, Oz said, Elam was "At the very top of his board".

 

I'd watched Elam film where "clank....clank....clank"...was the sound of the ball bouncing off his fists of stone. The man literally could not catch. Not in the least. He couldn't defend a pass either, despite having a pretty good combine vertical jump. He just didn't jump at the right time on the field. But he was up against it playing that position at 5' 9".  There was some film of him laying good hits on overmatched opponents. I noted most of those were on slower receivers and some that had slipped. His collegiate career highlight hit is on a Louisville Cardinal, who lost his footing. Nice hit Elam! 

 

Anyway someone  dubbed him "Cleats Elam" because those one inch cleats are the only way he gets near his listed height of 5' 10". Not only was he too small for the position, he literally has arms like a tyrannosaurus rex.  Teeny little no wrap up tackle arms.  There was a lot of argument here in Elam's early days about his fitness for our team. But to my mind he was a clear mistake from the inception.

 

My problem was posters here were chastising me because I was critical of Elams selection with no pre draft posts upon his unfitness for our team.  In that regard I pledged to myself I would comment upon our next clear need pre draft. When I realized Boldin was two years gone and we had allowed Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones to depart, with Pitta clearly on retirements doorstep, it was clear Wide Receiver had become as compelling a need. Our Championship receivers were gone and so I posted upon my picks, once again after significant research.  And below is that pre draft post. Three receivers for Oz:

 

http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/topic/63056-3-wrs-for-oz/

 

I never expected to move up high enough for Kevin White and didn't write much figuring him to be long gone.  There was a post were I commented upon his pigeon towed alignment. Interestingly he just began running for the Bears after an injury.

There's excitement about a player, but there's also saying that the player is the missing piece to a SB run and that he'd cut every WR not named Steve Smith in order to keep him.  That's a big difference.  I'm all for hyping our players if they deserve it, but there are limits.

 

Also, this type of hype comes with every one of our big and fast receivers.  The threads on Tommy Streeter, Justin Harper, and the likes are pure gold now.

 

All I will say is that I now consider that we have 3 viable receivers and a host of others that have proven nothing.  We were in a very needy position and that is why I offered up my selections.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Danny D

[beasy2487]

_{I can't wait to tell my grandkids about the day we discovered the next Ravens General Manager on these forums. Praise.}

Edited August 13, 2015 by beasy2487

[1/28/01]

_{I can't wait to tell my grandkids about the day we discovered the next Ravens General Manager on these forums. Praise.}

Ha, hey, I scored a 1580 on my SATs as well.

[Tru11]

Waller seems to put in the work to be a good WR. I like that. A big problem I had with Tommy Streeter was his work ethic. He seemed lazy and uninterested in football when I watched him play. I would've picketed outside the Castle had he made the team the year we cut him. He was horrible and deserved to go. 

 

Waller seems like a guy who wants to get better. Not saying he's Megatron, because guys practice great and then choke when the lights appear. You can see Tandon Doss & Torrey Smith for a recent example of that here at the same position group. 

 

I'm optimistic for Waller and understand anyone's excitement for him. I won't personally go beyond excitement and optimism for him, though, at this point. It is admittedly too early. 

 

you seriously putting torrey with the likes of tandon???

 

no idea what the guy did to deserve this but this is just ridiculous.......