2015 Training Camp Updates

[Sami84]

Who are the better GM's to you in recent years? There's gotta quite a few in mind to convince yourself that we've been drafting badly.

 

by recent you mean 2010 onwards..draft wise? plenty

 

we bridge the gap in FA and trades

 

draft wise though..i feel we have been below average since 2010.

[beanfigger]

If you want to look at how well Ozzie drafts, just look at the players being honored this year at our home games. Those top ten Ravens were all drafted by Ozzie, except for Stover (replace with Jarret Johnson, who will also be honored). I defy you to find any GM with a list of top draftees like that in the last 20 years.

[Drew P]

by recent you mean 2010 onwards..draft wise? plenty

 

we bridge the gap in FA and trades

 

draft wise though..i feel we have been below average since 2010.

Its not just Ozzie it is also the scouting, the head coach and the FO assistants that lobby for picks as well...remember DeCosta stating his favorite pick a few years back was Gino Gradkowski? yikes

[BmoreBird22]

Ozzie done? Okay... Let's do this crap. Time to put this to rest.

2012 draft

Courtney Upshaw. We drafted him to play the run. That's it. All he's good for. Damn good at it. Good pick, not great. Some will deem it horrible, but I am glad we have him.

Keliche Osemele. One of the best young guards in the nfl.

Bernard Pierce- Had one good season for us. Changed schemes/injury prone. But we still got one productive year out of him. Could've been worse.

Gino Gradkowski-was a terrible center for us, but Elway traded a fourth rounder to get him. I'd say that's a win. Within itself. Who made the trade? Oh yeah Ozzie. But he's still done right?

Christian Tomphson- Non-factor. I'll give you that.

Asa Jackson- Has been servicable if less than average if injury prone. In the later rounds that's not too terrible.

Tommy Streeter- Risk worth taking at that cheap that didn't pay off.

Deangelo Tyson- Classic Ozzie Newsome pick who has turned into a quality rotational dlinemen for us. We couldn't ask more.

Overall: Not bad. Not great. We got a stud(Osemele) and a few temporarily servicable players. Could've been sigificantly worse.

2013 draft:

Matt Elam- Terrible. No disputing it. Ozzie fixed the issue almost immediantly afterwards by getting Hill. Who's not going anywhere.

Arthur Brown- Never has seen the field but looking like a bust.

Brandon Williams-Stud. One of the best players in football that no one talks about.

Kyle Juszczyk- Good fullback. Good blocker, better pass catcher. He's a swiss army knife. One I'm very happy to have

John Simon-High effort player we didn't have room for(but I thought Ozzie sucked?)

Ricky Wagner-One of the best RTs in football right now.

Aaron Mellete-Injury risk that didn't work out.

KLM- Injury prone. Didn't work out

Marc Anthony- He sang to me and it sucked. So Ozzie cut him

Overall: While it sucks to miss hard on your first two picks(in a terrible class mind you), Ozzie still hit big on two of the mid round picks. and got a good player in Juice. This draft is a success. We got 3 players that are positive contributors here. Two in which are already some of the best at their position already. The future is high for Wagner and Williams.

2014

CJ Mosley- Future anchor of the defense. One of the 15 (if not 10) best MLBs in football right now witha high football IQ. If he learns how to cover he's going to be an elite player.

Timmy Jernigan- Showed great pass rushing and run stuffing ability. Could become a key player on the dline for years to come. Very good replacement choice for Ngata.

Terrance Brooks- He had some bad plays last year but also did impress at times. He could be a very good safety one day. Future is bright for him.

Crockett Gillmore- Say what you want about it. Looks like we made the right pick. He's a tough as nails blocker with good hands. He's just tough as nails in totality. He coud be a Heath Miller TE for us. Which is a great thing.

Brett Urban-TBD. But looks like Injury prone.

Lorenzo Taliafero-Had a few high quality runs last year and looked like a good option for the goal line this year. Probably will be nothing more than a #2 RB but that's fine. We need one of those.

John Urschel- A huge steal. He played at a high quality for any player when asked to fill in at guard. Could be a starting center in the near future.

Keith Weinning- Instead of Weinning we lost and found a better QB in Renner.

Micheal Campanaro- Another potential steal. He has a rapport with Joe from the few looks I've seen and great playmaking ability.

Overall: If we win another SB soon this draft class will be a major part of it. We missed on two picks. One is a backup QB who will never contribute to a SB team anyway, and another is injured. Who physically cannot contribute.

So wait? That's Upshaw, Osemele, Williams, Juice, Wagner, Mosley, Jernigan, Brooks, Gillmore, Taliafero, Urschel, Camp. They've all made positive contributions? 12 players in the past three drafts? Sure, only one is a superstar. But here's the thing. Not every player has to be a superstar.High quality players are high quality players. Osemele, Williams, Wagner, Jernigan, Urschel, and (if he stays heathy probably) Camp. All high quality.

Ozzie has lost his touch... Please. Let's go through his FA acquisitions too.

We never went after a big name(cept Dumervil). There were those that did not work out(Spears and Huff). But lets look at the ones who did past 2 years.

Steve Smith Sr.

Owen Daniels

Chris Canty

Daryl Smith

Elvis Dumervil

Justin Forsett

Will Hill..

So everyone except for Daniels is still on the team and a high quality contributor on that list?

Ozzie is so done.

Trades?

Eugene Monroe

Jeremy Zuttah(who have both played parts in making the line what it is rn).

TLDR: We've acquired 21 additional quality players not counting this year's FA or draft in the past three years. That's pretty good. If you think Ozzie has lost his edge. You're wrong.

People seem to fail to realize that if you get three starters from a draft class, that's really pretty awesome, especially if those starters play their entire rookie contract. Judging a draft because the first few picks were misses isn't fair when you hit dynamite in the later rounds. I don't care when a starter is found, just as long as one is found.

[Ravensfan23]

The Ravens have either been 1 play or a few key injuries away from playing in the AFCCG/Super Bowl or actually won the SB in 5 out of the last 7 seasons. Some might even argue that with a healthy Flacco the Ravens may have won the 2009 Colts playoff game.

I don't care if that's a result of good drafting, trades or adding FAs, the Ravens have something special and it'd be foolish to change anything. If Ozzie or Eric ever became available I'm sure their phones would blow up with offers within minutes.

The Ravens might not be drafting as many pro bowlers as they did before, but how many games did those pro bowlers win? Also in today's NFL you can barely afford to keep guys like Pernell Mcphee who is just a good backup imo, but other teams throw good money at them. But it's those type of players who really make the team imo. The Ravens do a great job of maximizing role players. Guys like Hurst and Urschel may never be Pro bowlers and they certainly weren't last season but without their contributions this team doesn't even come close to beating the Pats.

The greatest evidence of how good Ozzie and company are is the fact that technically the Ravens are still in "rebuilding" or "retooling" mode or whatever you want to call it and despite that they're still one of the top 10 teams in the NFL. Ravens fans are spoiled with success and that's a direct result of the work Ozzie and company have done.

Imho the Ravens would have to suffer through a decade of losing for me to turn on Ozzie. Is he perfect? No, but i wouldn't trade him for anyone.

[Purple_City39]

by recent you mean 2010 onwards..draft wise? plenty

 

we bridge the gap in FA and trades

 

draft wise though..i feel we have been below average since 2010.

Who are these GMs that have been better drafters the last 5 years?  And in addition to answering that, please tell what your criteria of a good draft consists of.  I'm praying you don't say popularity contests probowls

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

*facepalm*.

Pro bowler? That dumb popularity contest. As said in the post above. Any draft where we get 3 starters is good. Meaning 2014 could potentially be phenomenal.

He's not slipping. You could clearly see it in the team if he was.

And 2010 we got a Pitta, Art Jones. David Reed lead the NFL in kickoff return average one year and even Dickson had a career year. I don't care if it was for one year. We got production out of them.

2011 we got Jimmy, Torrey, McPhee. All of them got big contracts. And Jimmy btw, should be a pro bowler if healthy.

You cannot convince me otherwise. 2010 was a bad year.

But 1. Kindle wasn't ozzies fault. How in gods name would he predict the future about the injury? And if you say "we could've taken gronk". Gronk went a pick before and most TEs don't go in the first. Or shouldn't.

I'll give Ozzie crap for Cody and Dickson, but honestly, we got two good starters out of there. It could've been worse.

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

Who are these GMs that have been better drafters the last 5 years? And in addition to answering that, please tell what your criteria of a good draft consists of. I'm praying you don't say popularity contests probowls

I think he believes that a team must be loaded with superstars in order to succeed.

Not the case. In order to have a SB caliber team you need good trenches, solid secondary play, a good running game, and a franchise qb.

If our secondary is mediocre we can probably do it. It doesn't have to be great.

Not every player can be a superstar. You need role players. It's true of every sport really. We have a lot of good ones

[mg90]

by recent you mean 2010 onwards..draft wise? plenty

we bridge the gap in FA and trades

draft wise though..i feel we have been below average since 2010.

Do you feel that way because you've compared to other teams? I'm just curious. If you could mention 16 teams who have done better (ball park estimates perhaps, not necessarily in depth with player analysis) I could decide for myself how true that is. 17th out of 32 teams would be below average and I find it hard to believe we are there. But I have doubts that you are just trolling and maybe I can be wrong.

[jazz1988]

Upshaw has been dissapointing. A below average selection for a first pick.

 

Before you sing the praises of some of the guys on that list..how about we see how they actually do this year. There have been plenty of one year wonders/promises who who get worse. I like the potential of gilmore but this year is the year you actually grade him. Juice? I haven't been that impressed..he's a fullback and to be honest we could have used it on another pick..brooks..? nothing..a few bad games a big hit on walker and an injury...

 

Overall not so great. You didn't count the diabolical 2010 draft. 

 

We have only had 1 drafted pro bowler on defense...in the late 90's and early 00's...that was not the case.

 

he is slipping somege

 

Upshaw isn't impressive to you because he's not  getting the sacks but overall he was  drafted to be Jarret Johnson replacement and has done  a solid job  so far. Juice is more than a fullback and I think he was quite solid his first year as a starter .

[January J]

Upshaw has been dissapointing. A below average selection for a first pick.

Before you sing the praises of some of the guys on that list..how about we see how they actually do this year. There have been plenty of one year wonders/promises who who get worse. I like the potential of gilmore but this year is the year you actually grade him. Juice? I haven't been that impressed..he's a fullback and to be honest we could have used it on another pick..brooks..? nothing..a few bad games a big hit on walker and an injury...

Overall not so great. You didn't count the diabolical 2010 draft.

We have only had 1 drafted pro bowler on defense...in the late 90's and early 00's...that was not the case.

he is slipping some

you would say somethin like that. Smh

[gabefergy]

Upshaw has been dissapointing. A below average selection for a first pick.

 

Before you sing the praises of some of the guys on that list..how about we see how they actually do this year. There have been plenty of one year wonders/promises who who get worse. I like the potential of gilmore but this year is the year you actually grade him. Juice? I haven't been that impressed..he's a fullback and to be honest we could have used it on another pick..brooks..? nothing..a few bad games a big hit on walker and an injury...

 

Overall not so great. You didn't count the diabolical 2010 draft. 

 

We have only had 1 drafted pro bowler on defense...in the late 90's and early 00's...that was not the case.

 

he is slipping some

Please don't use the Pro-Bowl as any kind of measuring stick if you want to sound credible.

 

Ozzie has had his fair share of misses, especially in the early rounds, but he has also done a great job of supplementing the draft with cheap quality free agents.

 

He's also hit on a number of mid to late round picks and UDFAs. The Ravens roster is one of the best in the NFL and the credit has to go to Ozzie.

 

For every Upshaw and Matt Elam there is a Pernell McPhee and Brandon Williams. The number of quality starters that have been drafted is still high: Wagner, KO, Juice, Gillmore, Williams, Jernigan, Mosley, Jimmy, and he has used draft picks to trade for others like Monroe and Zuttah.

[rmw10]

Something odd I noticed this year is that we haven't shuffled the roster near as much.  I think we've only made 2 roster moves since camp started - Lovelocke/Steelman and Walker/Reynolds.  It seems we always used to shuffle UDFAs and even some veterans on and off the roster.  We've had the opportunity to clear some roster spaces as well - Reisner, Wesley to IR and Pitta to Reserve/PUP.  Instead, we've been running short at some positions in camp.  Just seems weird compared to what we're used to around here.

[gabefergy]

Something odd I noticed this year is that we haven't shuffled the roster near as much.  I think we've only made 2 roster moves since camp started - Lovelocke/Steelman and Walker/Reynolds.  It seems we always used to shuffle UDFAs and even some veterans on and off the roster.  We've had the opportunity to clear some roster spaces as well - Reisner, Wesley to IR and Pitta to Reserve/PUP.  Instead, we've been running short at some positions in camp.  Just seems weird compared to what we're used to around here.

My only thought on this is perhaps they already know what the final 53 is going to look like, give or take 1 or 2 players and no signficant injuries. Considering the depth the team has at most positions this makes sense.

[rmw10]

My only thought on this is perhaps they already know what the final 53 is going to look like, give or take 1 or 2 players and no signficant injuries. Considering the depth the team has at most positions this makes sense.

 

Perhaps.  Still seems weird that we'd keep some of these injured guys on the active roster though, especially with how thin we've been at a few positions throughout camp.

[757RavensFan]

My only thought on this is perhaps they already know what the final 53 is going to look like, give or take 1 or 2 players and no signficant injuries. Considering the depth the team has at most positions this makes sense.

I agree that they probably know what the first 45 look like, but 46-53, probably won't be determined until next week when other teams start releasing players.

[K-Dog]

Something odd I noticed this year is that we haven't shuffled the roster near as much.  I think we've only made 2 roster moves since camp started - Lovelocke/Steelman and Walker/Reynolds.  It seems we always used to shuffle UDFAs and even some veterans on and off the roster.  We've had the opportunity to clear some roster spaces as well - Reisner, Wesley to IR and Pitta to Reserve/PUP.  Instead, we've been running short at some positions in camp.  Just seems weird compared to what we're used to around here.

Someone told me a few weeks ago, that this is the first time in Ravens history we have had the some o-line for more than one year.

I cant validate that, but it is in fact what I was told.

[lgcs27288]

Someone told me a few weeks ago, that this is the first time in Ravens history we have had the some o-line for more than one year.

I cant validate that, but it is in fact what I was told.

 

If Im not mistaken, Sandusky or Q said it during one of our preseason games, but I definitely heard the same thing.

[gabefergy]

I agree that they probably know what the first 45 look like, but 46-53, probably won't be determined until next week when other teams start releasing players.

I've been listening to some former NFL FO people saying teams know well before the end of the preseason who will be making the team. They probably leave 2-3 spots in flux because of chance of injury and new players that may come available, but the roster is mostly set at this point. It probably varies a little bit team to team based on what kind of depth they have.

[rmw10]

I've been listening to some former NFL FO people saying teams know well before the end of the preseason who will be making the team. They probably leave 2-3 spots in flux because of chance of injury and new players that may come available, but the roster is mostly set at this point. It probably varies a little bit team to team based on what kind of depth they have.

 

Yeah I've heard that most teams have nearly every roster spot decided by the end of the 2nd preseason game.  That's usually when the end of camp, and thus the end of player evaluation, comes.  The 3rd preseason game is when game planning usually starts, and at that point, there really isn't much splitting of reps in position battles anymore.

[balfan23]

Upshaw has been dissapointing. A below average selection for a first pick.

 

Before you sing the praises of some of the guys on that list..how about we see how they actually do this year. There have been plenty of one year wonders/promises who who get worse. I like the potential of gilmore but this year is the year you actually grade him. Juice? I haven't been that impressed..he's a fullback and to be honest we could have used it on another pick..brooks..? nothing..a few bad games a big hit on walker and an injury...

 

Overall not so great. You didn't count the diabolical 2010 draft. 

 

We have only had 1 drafted pro bowler on defense...in the late 90's and early 00's...that was not the case.

 

he is slipping some

The quality of a GM is not limited to the draft, though that is certainly a major part of it. Read Ravensfan23's post ... it is about the GM's work within the organizational team and then, the success of that team.

 

In your opinion, Ozzie used to be great, but now he's slipping. The team's success over the past 8 years doesn't support your claim. I think you'd have to admit the team has been as successful, if not more so, in recent years than they were in the early 2000s. You can argue that this is due to Harbaugh/Flacco ... but how did they get here? Someone hired/drafted them. They didn't just fall from the sky. 

 

As long as this team fields a consistent winner and is knocking at the door for a championship, I'm pretty sure the person who matters - Steve Bisciotti - will disagree with you as well. I think Ozzie's job is safe, despite the fact that a lowly fan like yourself has better player evaluation skills than he. 

[Guest]

The quality of a GM is not limited to the draft, though that is certainly a major part of it. Read Ravensfan23's post ... it is about the GM's work within the organizational team and then, the success of that team.

 

In your opinion, Ozzie used to be great, but now he's slipping. The team's success over the past 8 years doesn't support your claim. I think you'd have to admit the team has been as successful, if not more so, in recent years than they were in the early 2000s. You can argue that this is due to Harbaugh/Flacco ... but how did they get here? Someone hired/drafted them. They didn't just fall from the sky. 

 

As long as this team fields a consistent winner and is knocking at the door for a championship, I'm pretty sure the person who matters - Steve Bisciotti - will disagree with you as well. I think Ozzie's job is safe, despite the fact that a lowly fan like yourself has better player evaluation skills than he. 

 

I'm positive on the coming year and for a number of reasons this will be my last post critical of Ozzie until the year is over, but I don't believe you can outright dismiss what Sami 84 has stated.

 

I'm going to write about the positive things Ozzie has done recently first. 

 

I love his 2015 NFL Draft, especially

Perriman

Williams

Boyle and

Waller

 

Firmly believe that we now have the athletes and chemistry to excel in the passing game. Time will tell.

 

Initially skeptical of Mosely, he excelled. 

Jernigan looks a keeper.

Upshaw, a keeper, even if he doesn't wow with statistics.

Brandon Williams...ditto

 

Ozzie has been good at drafting Defense and don't see a problem the last two years.

 

But there can be no doubt, that Ozzie about single handily took a Championship team and set it back a full year.

 

We have a situation now where Steve Smith is imparting wisdom and knowledge to a couple of young talented receivers. Somehow the value of mentors was lost on Oz when he purged our safeties and drafted an ill suited replacement.  But even if Reed was there, the student Oz selected wasn't proper.  Oz compounded the problem by letting a key piece of our receiving corps go to purchase a safety on the Free Market.  That safety was also ill suited to our defense and Oz then further compounded the problem by throwing the ill equipped student into the fray.

 

All this because Oz stated the lesson he learned from the 2000 championship was that he tried to hold the Championship Team together through resigns that didn't pan out.

 

Oz's premise was flawed, but he went beyond that premise when he did wrong by Boldin, who was under contract.  Oz took it one step too far and clearly didn't understand the receiving corps chemistry we had.  He should have, but he didn't.  He's addressed that error substantially in our 2015 draft. He appears on the right track. But for a year he totally lost it and if honest, he'd tell you he had a brain cough.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Danny D

[DenverRaven]

We have a situation now where Steve Smith is imparting wisdom and knowledge to a couple of young talented receivers. Somehow the value of mentors was lost on Oz when he purged our safeties and drafted an ill suited replacement.  But even if Reed was there, the student Oz selected wasn't proper.  Oz compounded the problem by letting a key piece of our receiving corps go to purchase a safety on the Free Market.  That safety was also ill suited to our defense and Oz then further compounded the problem by throwing the ill equipped student into the fray.

 

All this because Oz stated the lesson he learned from the 2000 championship was that he tried to hold the Championship Team together through resigns that didn't pan out.

 

Oz's premise was flawed, but he went beyond that premise when he did wrong by Boldin, who was under contract.  Oz took it one step too far and clearly didn't understand the receiving corps chemistry we had.  He should have, but he didn't.  He's addressed that error substantially in our 2015 draft. He appears on the right track. But for a year he totally lost it and if honest, he'd tell you he had a brain cough.

 

Sorry, but I don't see the justification for this. Boldin would have cost way more than this team was willing to pay, and would have done almost nothing to secure another championship. This is not MLB, where players can be signed for whatever price, and in turn teams can build contenders year-in, year-out. In fact, the only teams in the NFL who have perrenial contenders are those with great GMs, who understand the value of the 80/20 rule, and know when a players costs too much for their production.

 

The 2013 season was the low point of the last eight seasons, and let's be honest, 8-8 after a SB win is not bad. In the NFL you get 1-3 year windows for each competitive team. To have a team which has competed for the last eight seasons is a rare gem in this league. There are very few teams who can hang in there year-after-year, and the Ravens are one of those teams.

 

That reason? Ozzie Newsome, building through the draft, and understanding how the salary cap works.

Edited August 29, 2015 by DenverRaven

[Guest]

Sorry, but I don't see the justification for this. Boldin would have cost way more than this team was willing to pay, and would have done almost nothing to secure another championship. This is not MLB, where players can be signed for whatever price, and in turn teams can build contenders year-in, year-out. In fact, the only teams in the NFL who have perrenial contenders are those with great GMs, who understand the value of the 80/20 rule, and know when a players costs too much for their production.

 

The 2008 season was the low point of the last eight seasons, and let's be honest, 8-8 after a SB win is not bad. In the NFL you get 1-3 year windows for each competitive team. To have a team which has competed for the last eight seasons is a rare gem in this league. There are very few teams who can hang in there year-after-year, and the Ravens are one of those teams.

 

That reason? Ozzie Newsome, building through the draft, and understanding how the salary cap works.

 

The dollar argument in this matter was specious.  Been there, bought the T-shirt and am not going back again. 

 

Let's see what this year brings.

 

I'm excited about the game tonight. 1:30 Fantasy Draft as well.

[ravensdan]

Sorry, but I don't see the justification for this. Boldin would have cost way more than this team was willing to pay, and would have done almost nothing to secure another championship. This is not MLB, where players can be signed for whatever price, and in turn teams can build contenders year-in, year-out. In fact, the only teams in the NFL who have perrenial contenders are those with great GMs, who understand the value of the 80/20 rule, and know when a players costs too much for their production.

The 2013 season was the low point of the last eight seasons, and let's be honest, 8-8 after a SB win is not bad. In the NFL you get 1-3 year windows for each competitive team. To have a team which has competed for the last eight seasons is a rare gem in this league. There are very few teams who can hang in there year-after-year, and the Ravens are one of those teams.

That reason? Ozzie Newsome, building through the draft, and understanding how the salary cap works.

Your assessment of the safeties here is flawed. Ed was Finnished. Unfortunately he didn't go out on top like Ray. It's sad he went for the bigger pay day with Houston and did nothing. Pollard was a type of player we smartly wanted to move away from. The problem is the supply of safeties coming into the league is extremely scarce second to QB or mAybe worse. Look around the league. There aren't enough safeties and especially capable single high FS to come close to going around. Elam is not good but no great safeties have been drafted by anyone in recent years. They don't exist. Now Will Hill was a great get. As long as he can continue to stay available he is a top 10 or better safety in the league. I don't want to go into details on Boldin again as it has been beaten to death it the fact is he is highly overrated here. Probably the most overrated player by Raven fans.

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

Boldin was missed(for one season). But with that money we added a few additions that retooled the front 7(Canty, Dumervil, Daryl Smith). We lost a damn good wr and got a great pass rusher, a top mlb, and a good dlinemen as a return. In the long run it actually benefitted us more.

Especially since we got an above adequate replacement in Steve the year after. What really screwed us over during that season was that Pitta was hurt, and the oline was trash. If pitta had been healthy and the oline had been decent, we would've probably made the playoffs. But we had a bad season(for our standards. Sorta like Kershaw's 2.63 ERA is bad for his standards). It happens. Every team has to have a down year in some way.

If you want to use the "he used the old talent to win" argument. Get ready for me to blow your mind.

1. Flacco

2. Yanda

3. Osemele

4. Ngata

5. Suggs

6. Jacoby

7. Torrey

8. Jimmy

9. McPhee

10. Webb

11. Upshaw

(I'm not counting pitta hurt),

Were the only players that played a significant role leftover in our SB last year. Only 11 guys. And most of them are not old. Most of them have been drafted past 6 years or so. And we still made the playoffs last year!

We're fine. If healthy we'll probably do it again.

[JoeyFlex5]

I'm positive on the coming year and for a number of reasons this will be my last post critical of Ozzie until the year is over, but I don't believe you can outright dismiss what Sami 84 has stated.

I'm going to write about the positive things Ozzie has done recently first.

I love his 2015 NFL Draft, especially

Perriman

Williams

Boyle and

Waller

Firmly believe that we now have the athletes and chemistry to excel in the passing game. Time will tell.

Initially skeptical of Mosely, he excelled.

Jernigan looks a keeper.

Upshaw, a keeper, even if he doesn't wow with statistics.

Brandon Williams...ditto

Ozzie has been good at drafting Defense and don't see a problem the last two years.

But there can be no doubt, that Ozzie about single handily took a Championship team and set it back a full year.

We have a situation now where Steve Smith is imparting wisdom and knowledge to a couple of young talented receivers. Somehow the value of mentors was lost on Oz when he purged our safeties and drafted an ill suited replacement. But even if Reed was there, the student Oz selected wasn't proper. Oz compounded the problem by letting a key piece of our receiving corps go to purchase a safety on the Free Market. That safety was also ill suited to our defense and Oz then further compounded the problem by throwing the ill equipped student into the fray.

All this because Oz stated the lesson he learned from the 2000 championship was that he tried to hold the Championship Team together through resigns that didn't pan out.

Oz's premise was flawed, but he went beyond that premise when he did wrong by Boldin, who was under contract. Oz took it one step too far and clearly didn't understand the receiving corps chemistry we had. He should have, but he didn't. He's addressed that error substantially in our 2015 draft. He appears on the right track. But for a year he totally lost it and if honest, he'd tell you he had a brain cough.

except for a few things... boldin wouldnt have saved that awful 2013 team.

7mil for one year followed by him leaving for a bigger payday anyway was not the preferable choice

we got something for him, which is better than the 2nd option i listed.

sure we wouldve loved to keep boldin, but money is involved in anything NFL related and money prevented that from being a fruitful option.

[rmw10]

Even though it's not technically training camp anymore, I don't want to create a new thread.

 

Jeff Zrebiec ‏@jeffzrebiecsun  1m1 minute ago

Ravens also hopeful that Webb and Campanaro will return to practice early this week. Both moved well, looked healthy during pregame workout

[Rav'n Maniac]

Even though it's not technically training camp anymore, I don't want to create a new thread.

 

Jeff Zrebiec ‏@jeffzrebiecsun  1m1 minute ago

Ravens also hopeful that Webb and Campanaro will return to practice early this week. Both moved well, looked healthy during pregame workout

That's good news! I'd still wrap them both in bubble wrap & lock them in the equipment cage until they leave for Denver, but that's just me.

[GrimCoconut]

Even though it's not technically training camp anymore, I don't want to create a new thread.

 

Jeff Zrebiec ‏@jeffzrebiecsun  1m1 minute ago

Ravens also hopeful that Webb and Campanaro will return to practice early this week. Both moved well, looked healthy during pregame workout

How convenient...a veteran out for training camp then suddenly is ready to go it seems for the regular season. Lol, I'm slightly skeptical here that he just wanted to get out of training camp.