[News] Steve Smith Sees Young Randall Cobb In DeAndre Carter

[BR News]

The veteran receiver had high praise for the undrafted receiver out of Sacramento State.

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[trevorsteadman]

Hate to say it but if the coaching staff thinks the same way about Carter as Steve Smith does, Campanaro will be the odd receiver out even though I think that Carter will at least be attempted to move to the practice squad. Campanaro's injuries may be the downfall of his NFL career that just recently begun.

[alexbayrobin]

I think maybe Ozzie knew he was going to be able to get some good receivers to fight for jobs in august when he left Torrie go. But as my father says "someday I will learn how little I really know" and so on. But I do think this is the case.

[ittwasntme]

dont be surprised if Carter ends up on the roster and Camp hits the practice squad, or even the IR. Look camp isnt going to be in the top of the rotations at WR, Steve Smith SR and Perriman will be at top of the list with Marlon Brown and Kamar Aiken shortly behind them then you have Jeremy Butler, rookies Darren Waller and Carter, and then there's Michael Campanaro. Camp can't seem to get his thighs right for anything, maybe its nutrition, maybe its the fact he didnt rehab right the first go around, or maybe he didnt stay in shape going into OTA's. But Carter and Camp will both end up finding there spot first in returns, and if Carter can stay on the field, i expect camp to lose his roster spot if it comes down to it. I dont see any of these receivers not making it for an unhealthy Camp so far.

[budman]

Hate to say it but if the coaching staff thinks the same way about Carter as Steve Smith does, Campanaro will be the odd receiver out even though I think that Carter will at least be attempted to move to the practice squad. Campanaro's injuries may be the downfall of his NFL career that just recently begun.

I agree. I think that the coaching staff just does not have the "Trust" that Campanaro can stay healthy. He hasn't given any indication to the fact that he can so far. They like him a lot, but they have to believe that he can stay healthy and right now they do not.

[GO_Ravens]

The man had 17 TDs last season alone. I don't care if you do play at a small school that will open some eyes and get people looking. I say put him out the and let's see if he can get open like that against top talent.

[robbie29]

Sorry to be the one to bring this up, but the Ravens receiving corps is dangerously inexperienced and just one injury away from being in a very bad situation. God help us if Steve Smith were to go down. That would hit the offense the way Jimmy Smith's injury hit the secondary last year. Ultimately, Ozzie & Company know what's best, but I feel like we're almost flirting with disaster by not signing a WR with some experience. The ghosts of the Ravens' 2013 receiving corps are still very much in my mind. Receiver by committee did not work well at all that year.

[ittwasntme]

@robbie29 the reason why our passing game sucked in 2013 was there was no run game, teams new we had to pass it. if you look at the AFC Playoff game against the patriots, outside of that failed pass to torrey to seal the victory for the patriots. Flacco past it to i do believe 11 targets that game. We have 3 tight ends who should be able to attack the middle of the field and the soft spots of the opposing defense, thats not including the chance that pitta actually returns. We have 3 solid running backs under this zone blocking scheme should be able to succeed even more then last year, with Forsett leading the pack. Our receivers should be able to play there part aswell. dont expect gotti numbers from our receivers but expect the offense as awhole to produce more then any offense in ravens past.

[4evermore23]

If he tht good we need tht in the slot cause mike camp just seem like he cant stay healthy and carter is just gonna seize the moment i like camp but he just keep catching a bad break this traning camp is the most interesting ever alot of competition and some players have to prove themselves im excited

[balfan23]

Sorry to be the one to bring this up, but the Ravens receiving corps is dangerously inexperienced and just one injury away from being in a very bad situation. God help us if Steve Smith were to go down. That would hit the offense the way Jimmy Smith's injury hit the secondary last year. Ultimately, Ozzie & Company know what's best, but I feel like we're almost flirting with disaster by not signing a WR with some experience. The ghosts of the Ravens' 2013 receiving corps are still very much in my mind. Receiver by committee did not work well at all that year.

This is getting heavily negged, but honestly, you're making a fundamentally valid point. Our receiving corps (both WR and TE) is rather inexperienced outside of Smith Sr. I don't know that bringing up 2013 validates this point, but the fact remains, we are rolling out either rookies or guys who have seen relatively little of the field in their short careers. We're going to need 2 or 3 of those guys rise to the occasion or we may be disappointed with the results. 

 

However - I don't know that this justifies the need for adding a veteran WR or TE. The problem with that approach is that we then don't get a good enough look at our young players and we are then perennially adding vet WRs with little or no future value to the team and are letting young guys go without giving them a chance to succeed. I think the time was right to really try to get young at the receiver position. I'd call what you classify as "flirting with disaster" to really be a calculated risk that I think is a wise one that we need to take. If the risk pays off, we could be looking at a solid receiving corp that is young (aka cheap) and that can be in place for several years to come. 

[NNITRED]

As a UFA every bit of encouragement helps. I wouldn't add up Sr.'s words to be anything more than that. This kind high praise after a few games is a different story.

Edited May 29, 2015 by NNITRED

[ajf3030]

Seems like an awfully hard thing to balance and make everyone happy. Ozzie has resorted to signing veteran receivers so often, and the fan base is clamoring for him to draft a guy so we can actually develop a 'number 1' receiver who plays in Baltimore for a long time. Ozzie finally does that, now we want another veteran. You can only have so many guys at each position, as everyone on here knows, so there has to be some give and take. They've invested a lot into receivers in the past two years, and when you do that, you don't have space to sign Greg Jennings or some other veteran. I have a lot of belief in Aiken, and I think Brown is going to have a nice season too. Marlon Brown caught as many passes in his rookie season as Torrey Smith did last season. That's kinda crazy. With as many capable targets as they have, they won't need anyone to be having a huge season. Could see ALOT of guys catching 40-50 passes and the Ravens having an extremely successful passing game like that.

[Arch Mage]

I have a good feeling about Carter! Either he or Campanaro will have an impact on the Ravens this year. I hope Carter shows his hands and speed in thr kick return game too.

If we can attack all 4 levels (screen, short, middle, deep)with the passing game, it will complement our running. Running is key to keeping the other teams offense off the field and our defense rested. And "long hand-offs" in the passing game work with that. Then we hit them dowm field.

[ellicottraven]

If Steve Smith Sr. thinks so highly of him, who am I to question DeAndre's skills as a receiver?

[fusuymada]

The NFL is a game of countering your opponent to put yourself in position to be successful. In particular, I have been saying how the defensees have been moving towards bigger cornerbacks who may not be as mobile as the smaller CBs but are better to handle the bigger WR's like Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall and our new WR Perriman. However, who was the leagues leading receiver, 5'-10" Antonio Brown. Why, because now that the CBs are bigger they find it harder to cover the shifty, quick smaller slot WRs. Now teams are switching over to the smaller WRs who they know can exploit those bigger CBs that all the other teams have moved to. Next big thing in the NFL wont be those big receivers as defenses have changed to accommodate them, the next big thing will be the smaller WRs who can be successful. Anyway, Carter may have a place in the NFL as long as teams keep running tall, slow corners out there.

Edited May 29, 2015 by fusuymada

[ravensnj]

Can we keep all 8? To bad we usually only keep 6. We can only hope, they can make the practice roster and not be swept up by another team.

[GeeWallee]

Other than Jermaine Lewis and Torrey Smith ? We haven't really hit on a decent group of WRs......until now, I believe.

Carter has a chance to make some noise, just as Steve Smith once did.

I remember going.....Lane College? Had to look it up after that NFL Draft.....LOL

It is looking like we have finally found a good and complete group, with these youngsters.

Hopefully Campanaro can lose the "injury bug" because he can be dynamite in the Return Game, as well.

Wouldn't it be cool to see Perriman and Brown or Aiken or Butler or Waller out Wide.....and Steve Smith in the Slot ?

[757RavensFan]

If the coaches and front office feel that Carter is one of the deserving 53 that gives us the best chance to win, I'M ALL FOR IT!!

[Flamengo1265]

Kinda seems like Carter and Campanaro might be battling for the same spot on the 53.

[stampedehero]

Carter and Camp will battle for that last spot.  Carter has the advantage because he returned and had no injuries so far.

[huntrgathrr]

We kept 7 WRs in 2013. This will depend on Pitta being healthy and keeping a roster spot. Boyle wouldn't clear waivers so they will keep 4 TEs if Pitta is healthy and that means 6 WRs. They won't take a chance on losing Boyle in case Pitta goes down again.

So it looks like Carter and Camp will be fighting with Butler for a 6th WR spot. Plus they will keep one of them as a returner to go along with Jackson. Due to injuries they might keep Camp on the practice squad as he will clear waivers.

This will be a tough call but it is a good problem to have. Joe has a lot of big, fast targets. Much better than last year. Perriman changes everything.

[Grapple Raven]

Interesting the article mentions 8 WR's by name, left out the other three Brown,D., Robinson, and Worthy.  Let the competition begin!

[RavenManiac#7]

This really pains me to say, but this latest injury to Campanaro has caused me to begin to have my doubts about him. It hurts because I've been one of his biggest supporters and I've been extremely impressed with his abilities. I see his consistent ability to get separation, his great hands, his good ability to gain yards after the catch, and I see how good he is as a third down receiver with a very consistent ability to move the chains. What's not to like? He's so quick, too. Well, the obvious answer has been his inability to avoid injuries and stay on the field. I didn't, and don't want to give up on him too soon, but we just Have to be able to depend on him to be durable enough to stay on the field. All that ability he possesses does us No good if he's constantly on the sideline due to injuries. And this year, with Carter, we may have someone who could possibly have the same type of abilities. Of course, the jury is still out on Carter. After all, he hasn't taken even one NFL snap, or even one major college snap. Just what are the rules on PS moves? If a player does not clear waivers, can he be pulled back and put on the regular roster, or is the player lost for good? I ask because, despite his early injuries, I do not believe that Camp would clear waivers if we tried to get him onto the PS. I'd really hate to lose him because, again despite the early injuries, with a better training regiment perhaps Camp could strengthen his thighs and shake off his trend to get these thigh injuries. First it was his hamstring, then his quad. Maybe with better conditioning he could still come around and fulfill his potential. Rather than the PS, I think I would be more inclined to place him on IR to protect our rights to him while we tried to work with him to see if there is Any chance that we could find a way to utilize his immense potential. Of course, this idea is all contingent on Carter proving himself at the NFL level, and Camp,also, showing that he just does not have the ability to shake off these two early injuries and, finally, put together enough injury free games to show that all this was just a rare case of early bad luck and not a harbinger of things to come. I know he hasn't been on the field much, but when he has been I think it has been pretty obvious that the kid is loaded with talent. Man, I would really hate to find ourselves in a "Dolphin kind of situation", where we would get rid of a guy (Wes Welker) only to see him put together a great career elsewhere. This could really be a sticky situation that has the possibility to come back and haunt us for years to come.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

DeAndre,

Just take what SSS says to heart he has basically worn the same shoes you are in now and he knows a thing or two about how to prove the nay-sayers wrong and make them eat their words. Your carrer is ahead of you and it's an unwritten book its up to you to write it.

[Purple&Black]

I love Camp. He's a friend, but his injury history makes me nervous he will make the team. Maybe he's be placed on IR so he doesn't take up a roster spot but still remains with the team to compete next year. My hope is he gets healthy quick and shines, but Carter sounds like a beast too. Going to be tough to keep them both

[jravens13]

Steve Smith knows what it takes to make it in the NFL as an undersized WR. Apparently all the buzz throughout the draft process was that Carter belongs in the NFL; in the slot and as a returner yet he still goes undrafted because he is 5'8". I want this kid to make the team and I think the Ravens are still looking to find that go to slot WR that NE, Denver, and GB utilize. Whether its Camp or Carter I think we could turn them into impact players.

[harfordravenfan]

"If" Carter continues to impress... Could Camp be put on Pup? Or knowing it was reported that he'd be ready for either training camp or preseason would that not be an option? As mentioned above, I would hate to cut/lose Camp seeing his talent but also would like to really see what Carter was all about before making any rash decisions

[Mr.Incredible]

@robbie29, SSS is a veteran, M.Brown is entering his junior year, I have confidence in B.Perriman to continue the trend of solid rookie WR production, K.Aiken is on his 3rd team and entering his 4th NFL season, if returns fully healthy D.Pitta is entering his 6th season an was considered Joes safety blanket and M.Campanaro and C.Gillmore are both entering their sophomore year in the NFL. So if you think about it this receiving corps is really not that inexperienced. The group will be fine.

[Popeye the sailor man]

I hate to say this way, but if some of the injury prone player gets hurt so much, why keep them

[n#7]

Somehow they'll figure a way to keep Camp & Carter. Camp may end up on the IR but they'll keep him.