[News] Eisenberg: Following Draft, Cornerback Is Ravens' No. 1 Gamble

[jackrogers]

The Ravens two starting corners are as good as there is. They can only be considered a weakness if they don't play because of injury. Same can be said of all the CB tandems in the league.

[harfordravenfan]

Secondary crew takes time to come together. If the Ravens have to start swapping people in and out like last year and it will be a long season again. Honestly, Ravens have too many players coming off serious injuries for them to heal completely and get back to their "old" self. The Denver game could easily be a another blow out by Payton but most teams will try and run on the Ravens now that Ngata is not there.

 

I see teams trying to attack our secondary just as much as the run. We all know we faired pretty well when Ngata was suspended and I'm sure other teams noticed the same

[bioLarzen]

Letting corey graham walk is still biting us in the butt

 

... and so would have if Ozzie tried to match Buffalo's offer.

[ArsenalRaven666]

My only disappointment in the draft was that we never selected Ekpre-Olomu with our last pick. We could have put him on IR for this year to heal up and get him ready for the following season.

[bnyce52]

Problems at cornerback didn't "possibly" derail our Super Bowl bid. They derailed our Super Bowl bid. With one more healthy, capable corner, we would have won the Super Bowl. We blew two 14-point leads against the eventual SB champs because we couldn't contain Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman. Let those two names sink in for a few seconds. I understand drafting BPA is always a safe philosophy, but I don't think we struck as good of a balance with need this year as everyone thinks we did. We failed to address what we KNEW we needed as evidenced from the field last season and instead opted to address what we THOUGHT we needed as presumed on paper. We KNOW that our secondary doesn't have enough depth to win a Super Bowl. We don't KNOW that Kamar, Marlon and a mid-to-late round WR aren't good enough to replace Torrey. We just think that they aren't. We don't KNOW that Dennis Pitta won't come back and that Crocket Gillmore won't continue to get better (I thought he looked very good). We just think they might not. We don't KNOW that Timmy Jernigan and Brandon Williams can't hold down the middle of the defensive front without Haloti Ngata. We just think that they might not. We easily could have helped address the biggest certain question mark in one of the first three rounds. We didn't, and now there aren't any options left. We now have to HOPE that one of our current corners from last year just magically jumps up to the next level and plays out-of-their-mind better than they did last year. That's what we NEED. So of the current corners on our roster, WHO will that be? You've gotta think that Ozzie is counting on Asa Jackson, which means we're banking on players who ALL have a history with season-ending injuries. Knees and feet. We're taking a HUGE risk here. Sadly the truth still remains. Our secondary doesn't have enough depth to win a Super Bowl. If either Webb or Jimmy goes down, and let's not pretend that the odds aren't pretty high there (especially in Webb's case), then it may very well be all over for us again. Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman...

Edited May 5, 2015 by bnyce52

[hen826957]

Ya'll always taking about the negatives give a break LOL. This team is nearly perfect and ya'll complaining about what if this happen and so forth. This secondary is healthy and ready to go. I do agree we need a quality corner and that's it. I really see no weakness in this team. Alfonso Dennard is release so maybe Ozzie might take a look at him.

[The Greek]

i like tray walkers size. he could be someone that surprises as he becomes comfortable with the system

[hen826957]

@bnyce52 you worry too much. Don't talk about negatives. The corners are going to be fine.

[stixfix69]

Elam is going to be pushed hard this summer, Perry from Bama ain't no joke, and either is the kid from USC, both bring good size, and come from big time programs like Elam did....but i do see Lewis, and Hill manning the back end, unless Elam just has a super camp....

[ellicottraven]

Tray Walker will be one of those hidden gems that will shock the NFL in a year or two. Or that is what I'm thinking based on the excitement in DeCosta talking about him during the presser.

[NJ Raven]

Our cbs are better now then the group we won the Sb with... As long as they stay healthy

[NJ Raven]

Problems at cornerback didn't "possibly" derail our Super Bowl bid. They derailed our Super Bowl bid. With one more healthy, capable corner, we would have won the Super Bowl. We blew two 14-point leads against the eventual SB champs because we couldn't contain Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman. Let those two names sink in for a few seconds. I understand drafting BPA is always a safe philosophy, but I don't think we struck as good of a balance with need this year as everyone thinks we did. We failed to address what we KNEW we needed as evidenced from the field last season and instead opted to address what we THOUGHT we needed as presumed on paper. We KNOW that our secondary doesn't have enough depth to win a Super Bowl. 

We DO know that if J Smith was healthy we would have enough depth to win it all, our problem was we didnt have a serviceable #2 cb IF Webb  and J Smith stay healthy we're good with Levine, Melvin, Asa, and or Walker holding down the 3rd and 4th spots

[bnyce52]

@bnyce52 you worry too much. Don't talk about negatives. The corners are going to be fine.

Talking about concerns has a pretty deserving place in fan forums. We have a serious quality depth issue at an extremely important position that was the sole reason for the loss in Foxborough. Yes, it's something negative. It's also true. 

Edited May 5, 2015 by bnyce52

[Tru11]

Richard Sherman had same questions marks as tray walker and both scouting reports and measurements and such are about the same.

Sherman was drafted a round later.

who knows tray might end up being a gem just like him.

[redrum52]

I highly doubt our entire CB will get hurt again like they did last year. I was just one of those years man. I think our DB's will be fine with Smitty and Webby leading the pack. Give Tray a chance jeez.

 

Do me a favor and tell me the last time we made it through a season with our starting secondary basically injury free...  I have faith it happens for some reason, but think about that.

[harfordravenfan]

Talking about concerns has a pretty deserving place in fan forums. We have a serious quality depth issue at an extremely important position that was the sole reason for the loss in Foxborough. Yes, it's something negative. It's also true.

I think a few cb's already on the roster will impress/improve, may pick up a vet after cuts, and think our pass rush will be as good or better this year so not too worried yet. Besides, not like a team can carry 4-6 high quality cbs (just in case someone I'd injured)

Edited May 5, 2015 by harfordravenfan

[burnbigben]

Pats just cut Dennard, prob an upgrade over most of our reserves

[RavensBaltimore]

Do me a favor and tell me the last time we made it through a season with our starting secondary basically injury free...  I have faith it happens for some reason, but think about that.

I don't remember having significant injury problems to our secondary in 2013. Anyway, we don't need to stay injury free to avoid last year's situation. We can withstand 1 or 2 injuries, but last year we had 6 DBs on IR, plus Webb's injury, which was a fluke and too much to overcome. When was the last time we had 6 players on IR in one position group? The only way to combat that is to have 10 starting caliber DBs on the roster, which is obviously unrealistic.

 

 

Talking about concerns has a pretty deserving place in fan forums. We have a serious quality depth issue at an extremely important position that was the sole reason for the loss in Foxborough. Yes, it's something negative. It's also true. 

We didn't have a quality depth issue at CB last year. We actually had good starters and decent depth, but the starters got hurt,  the backups got hurt, and the backups to the backups got hurt. I don't care how much depth you have in August, nobody can withstand all that and still put a quality secondary out there. Like I mentioned above, the chances of all that happening again are extremely small, and the only way we could be prepared for that situation is if we had 8 or 9 quality CBs, which is not going to happen. If we have 5 CBs and a S on IR again, our secondary will not be good next year, but neither will anyone else's under those circumstances.

[fusuymada]

Pats just cut Dennard, prob an upgrade over most of our reserves

He's a tough little guy who plays physical. We have some corners with a good bit of size to them, adding a smaller, quicker corner may be that starting corner we need that also frees up Webby to play the slot where he excels. I like Dennard and although he had some legal issues early in his career I think his has managed to keep his nose clean while knocking the snot out of receivers.

[Purple&Black]

He's a tough little guy who plays physical. We have some corners with a good bit of size to them, adding a smaller, quicker corner may be that starting corner we need that also frees up Webby to play the slot where he excels. I like Dennard and although he had some legal issues early in his career I think his has managed to keep his nose clean while knocking the snot out of receivers.

 

6'0 isn't exactly small though

[redrum52]

I don't remember having significant injury problems to our secondary in 2013. Anyway, we don't need to stay injury free to avoid last year's situation. We can withstand 1 or 2 injuries, but last year we had 6 DBs on IR, plus Webb's injury, which was a fluke and too much to overcome. When was the last time we had 6 players on IR in one position group? The only way to combat that is to have 10 starting caliber DBs on the roster, which is obviously unrealistic.

 

 

We didn't have a quality depth issue at CB last year. We actually had good starters and decent depth, but the starters got hurt,  the backups got hurt, and the backups to the backups got hurt. I don't care how much depth you have in August, nobody can withstand all that and still put a quality secondary out there. Like I mentioned above, the chances of all that happening again are extremely small, and the only way we could be prepared for that situation is if we had 8 or 9 quality CBs, which is not going to happen. If we have 5 CBs and a S on IR again, our secondary will not be good next year, but neither will anyone else's under those circumstances.

 

 

You're right about 2013, just try to forget that season because of how bad the offense was.  Besides then, the last time before that was 11.  My point being, for some reason, we always seem to lose our top corner.  Regardless, I don't think we have the same problems this year and I'm pretty sure Ozzie picks someone up during camp cuts.

[howardarobins]

The Pats just released CB Donnell who is a decent 4 year player can be had for $1.5MM. The Ravens ought to pick him up, imo. Could be a reasonably good backup corner.

[Saxxin]

What are the odds of that many CB's going down again this year. In 2013 it was the O-line and everyone was saying we needed to get a couple more. All it took was one and the line was one of the best in football because we didn't lose a bunch of starters again. Same with the CB's. this year. All this talk of we need more isn't needed. Ozzie will get at least one more veteran before the season starts. The secondary should be fine if that happens. Ozzie wants a SB every year and this one is no different. I really like the ravens chances of playing in SB 50 this year. If Perriman pans out the offense will be racking up points. I don't see many teams that will keep up against a healthy ravens defense.

[Halshayeji]

Why wait for the cuts?

Brandon boykins from the Eagles has been on the block for about a week now and everyone is just waiting for the eagles to straight up cut him. At this point, I bet the Eagles would take peanuts for him. I can see us trading one our developing WRs or Dlinemen. I can even see some value in A.Brown in a trade.

Boykins will instantly have the 3rd CB spot to lose. We may even get a comp pick next year if he outplays his contract and out prices himself.

I say make the deal Ozzie and enjoy a team with zero weaknesses going into the season.

[Halshayeji]

Here is the problem Sami. Sometimes when guys get hurt they do not come back as good as before their injury. Webb has had numerous injuries and so has Jimmy. These are our two best players and they can't seem to stay healthy. Our secondary was decimated last year and I am gun-shy that it could happen again. I would have felt better if Marcus Peters was there in the first and we grabbed him, but I did not get my wish. I know most are happy we grabbed Perriman, but I really like the young guys we have on the team in Aiken, Brown, Butler, and Campanero. They all have great hands and looked like they were coming into their own last season. Therefore, I would have taken Byron Jones at #26. He has great potential and was projected to go in the first round. I just agree with Eisenberg, that we are taking a gamble and I am a little worried.

Starting Aiken Brown Butler or Camp alongside of SSS would be an extremely unfair gamble to the players and Flacco. They showed a lot of promise and I love their potential but us moving on without an other WR was never an option.

Byron jones was my fav corner in this draft. But I believe that's a bit of a reach. Who do you think out of the 2 has the better chance of making a probowl on this squad? Your right it's perriman. When was the last time a rookie CB played lights out or made it to the pro bowl? Il wait....... And when was the last time a rookie WR made it to a pro bowl or had 1000 yards? Every year.

We're all gunshy after what happened last year. But seriously lightning is not going to strike twice at the same spot. The weakest links are all gone and I won't say any names. The guys that are still here showed potential before they got hurt too. We are just one 3rd CB and we are set. No need to reach in the first.

I'm not advocating we are set at secondary. There's only one way Ozzie goes into the season without adding a proven vet. That's if a youngster just goes lights out in preseason and locks in the 3rd spot. No need to panic.

[ellicottraven]

Do all of us really believe that the Ravens brass don't understand the situation of our defensive backs better than us? And that they don't plan for contingencies? They are the Ravens front office widely regarded as the best front office in the NFL. Yet, we continue to second guess them with regard to our CB situation.

Remember when Ozzie compared our CB situation to our O-line situation last year? That told me they know they are good at CB and we shouldn't worry. I stopped worrying after that.

[huntrgathrr]

Our secondary boils down to this: Hill and Lewis are locked in at safety. Elam and Levine will back them up.

The key piece at corner is Jimmy Smith. He is a shutdown corner that takes out the offenses best player. After that you have Webb,Jackson,Melvin,Gorrer,and Brooks when he gets back from the PUP all competing for the final corner and nickel spots. Actually, any of these guys can handle that role. But without Smith the secondary has no shutdown corner and the weaknesses of all the other guys get magnified. With Smith this is a very good secondary. Without Smith it is below average.

If we had another shutdown corner like Smith it would be one of the best secondaries in the NFL. Too bad Webb deteriorated because he was headed in that direction before the last of his injuries. He looked pretty helpless out there last year. Can he regain his old form? No idea. So this year we'll be keeping our fingers crossed hoping Smith stays healthy. IMO his injury last year cost us a trip to the Super Bowl.

[huntrgathrr]

Ozzie should be looking hard to trade for an upper tier CB to pair with Jimmy Smith. We have all the second tier players we need. We could afford to trade Arthur Brown or Marlon Brown as well as a draft pick if we get the right guy. Having the season hinge on Jimmy Smith staying healthy just is too big a risk to take considering the high quality of the rest of the team and the considerable effort it took to assemble it.

[LunarRover]

"By not selecting a cornerback until the fourth round, the Ravens made it clearer than ever that they%u2019re going to depend mostly on returning players" ...and why would they bank on that happening again, its uncommon and unlikely to happen that way again. Id be more upset that we stacked that position early with likely a 3rd or 4th Cb, instead of a immediate starting TE and WR. All our starters will be back and ready. Even if lightning struck twice, then we make adjustments then, not starve the rest of the team from growth due to the unlikely happening again. Ravens dont get many drafts if any like this one that go our way and they played the draft perfectly this yr

[stampedehero]

Ladarius Webb has to play better and I think he will.  In the undrafted lot, we picked Morrisey from Iowa State and Wilson from Oklahoma.  These two along with round four pick Tray Walker could compete for a L Webb backup spot.   We picked up veteran Kendrick Lewis to remind Elam his days are numbered. Undrafted player Nick Perry from Alabama can also remind Elam about his requirement to step up since Elams excuse was he can play the natural safety position.