[News] Late For Work 9/1: 'Disappointing' Ravens Wide Receiver Competition

[RavensBaltimore]

I think it is for the same reason that Rodgers, Brady*, Peyton, and Brees are all throwing to no names..When your QB is that good, you can spend your money elsewhere on the team rather than spend big $ for the riskiest(mentally/boom-or-bust) position.

So Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Rob Gronkowski, and  Demarius Thomas are no names? Before that it was Driver/Jenkins, Moss/Welker, Harrison/Wayne. Brees never really had an elite WR, but he did have Jimmy Graham, who's probably right behind Gronk as the best receiving TE in the league. The qb's you mentioned have had some of the best receiving corps in the league.

[rmcjacket23]

For all the hoopla over wide receivers, it is a massive failure. Who, besides Steve Smith, is even worthy of starting? Perriman isn't now nor was he ever the answer. His "hands of stone" in college haven't gotten any better, and, now that he is injured, it is unlikely to improve should he return. Camanaro is a shame. They guy is good, but he can't stay healthy. I still think Marlon Brown is the best behind Smith, but he rarely gets a chance.

Not nearly enough information available to make any of these statements definitively.

 

Precisely no difference right now between what I hear about Perriman for now and what I heard about Jimmy Smith after year 1.

 

A bit short-sighted at this point.

[The Mom Gene]

What valid point? What's the solution to the problem?

 

As this particular thread has proven, a lot of fans base their assessment of what a player can do based on YouTube highlight videos from college, because the fans don't get to see even 10% of what the coaches see.

 

 

I'm only going to address this part...  the rest... ehhh.... this thread proves Nothing and I take offense to stating that I make my judgements based on youtube?.  I live in Central Florida.  I watched this guy for a few years.  I knew he was going to be a good pick.  I saw him win the title game against Eastern Carolina, and know that he can catch in coverage.  I don't base my opinions on "YouTube videos from college"...  I use them as references, and to calm down all of the negative stuff we are getting from people who actually don't know anything about the guy...

 

So to make that statement in the very beginning is so inaccurate on so many levels.

[RavensBaltimore]

I have been saying since last year that Campanaro was our best young receiver. So many fans on here argued with me, saying that Brown and Aiken were "beasts" and that one of them would be great as our #2 receiver. As I've said all along, Aiken would be a decent fill in at best as a starter, and Brown is nothing more than a solid 3rd/4th rotational guy. Perriman has all the tools to be a great playmaker for us, and if he can get and stay healthy, our receiving corps can be very good, especially if Camp can stay on the field as well. If they are both out, our receivers are going to have a hard time getting away from singe, man coverage, which makes it easier to stack the box against the run, double team SSS, and blitz.

[MichaelJ34]

So Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Rob Gronkowski, and  Demarius Thomas are no names? Before that it was Driver/Jenkins, Moss/Welker, Harrison/Wayne. Brees never really had an elite WR, but he did have Jimmy Graham, who's probably right behind Gronk as the best receiving TE in the league. The qb's you mentioned have had some of the best receiving corps in the league.

Brees had Marcus Colston he is plenty good i would argue elite... 

[The Greek]

i was teling my buddies during the skins game that our group of receivers are weak thus far and it is sad that a 36 year old has outperformed all of them. camp can be a force but he is built like rg3 and will always be hurt and marlon does not know how to use his big frame. everyone else we have is a dime a dozen. waller could be something but he is still raw. cannot say anything about perriman because he has yet to practice. some of these guys need to grab the bull by the horns

[dhartm2]

I actually feel good about top 6 WRs (SSS, Perriman, Camp, Aiken, Brown and Waller) The pre-season does not give an accurate picture of Ravens WRs. Snap count is limited, most of pre-season the offensive line was either hurt or starters pulled after brief appearances. No game planning (Keeping it basic and simple) which makes it easier for opposing defenses/cornerbacks. I think with all starters playing a full game, the WRs will do better under better protection and game planning. Joe proved it last year that the better the protection, the better he throws, no matter who is playing WR. We will definitely see better protection than we saw in pre-season. Using backup QBs under weaker protection is not a good barometer to know which receivers are good. While I would not be against adding a better WR who has been released. I still believe we are good at WR positions, only thing is I wished Perriman and Camp were not hurt, with them two playing alongside SSS, we can be much better at passing than last year.

When Perriman and Campanero are two of your top 3 WRs (with old man Steve Smith as the other) and you feel "good" about it, I have to wonder if our fan base truly is delusional.  You know those two guys can't stay on the field to save their life, right?

[dhartm2]

We're fine at receiver we just need to get healthy.

I don't really understand this mentality.  We aren't healthy at receiver though, so we aren't fine.  Right? 

[The Mom Gene]

I don't really understand this mentality.  We aren't healthy at receiver though, so we aren't fine.  Right? 

I think we are.

 

Smith

Perriman

Waller

Aiken

Brown

Campanaro

Crockett

Boyle

Maxx

Forsett

[dhartm2]

I think we are.

 

Smith

Perriman

Waller

Aiken

Brown

Campanaro

Crockett

Boyle

Maxx

Forsett

You named 6 receivers, 2 of which are currently injured and not playing or practicing.  33% of the receivers you listed are out, you consider that healthy?  If 36 year old Steve Smith got injured our 3 WR sets would be Waller, Aiken, and Brown.  We all know you are 100% behind the Ravens in every single decision they make, you defended Ngata's BS Adderall excuse last year, so I know you're going to say we're fine.  But step back a second.  Now look at that sentence again.  "If 36 year old Steve Smith got injured our 3 WR sets would be Waller, Aiken, and Brown."  You think that's "fine?"  Truly? 

[JoeyFlex5]

who saw this disappointment at wr coming?.... this guy. aiken and brown are not #2s, and if they see a snap count that a #2 normally sees, then we are in BIG trouble.

[The Mom Gene]

You named 6 receivers, 2 of which are currently injured and not playing or practicing.  33% of the receivers you listed are out, you consider that healthy?  If 36 year old Steve Smith got injured our 3 WR sets would be Waller, Aiken, and Brown.  We all know you are 100% behind the Ravens in every single decision they make, you defended Ngata's BS Adderall excuse last year, so I know you're going to say we're fine.  But step back a second.  Now look at that sentence again.  "If 36 year old Steve Smith got injured our 3 WR sets would be Waller, Aiken, and Brown."  You think that's "fine?"  Truly? 

We have 2 weeks til opening day in Denver.  Time to heal.

You could have said some of the very same things last year.    Torrey and Jacoby couldn't catch a cold last year.  Smith had dropped 8 balls in his first few games with the Ravens.  People were jumping off bridges last season too.   Aiken caught almost everything thrown his way last season.  He dropped very few.   

I will still defend the Ngata thing... How much time has he spent in camp this year... and trust me, I loved Ngata, but it's what he does.  We went deep into the playoffs last year.  So yeah,  The sky isn't falling... despite what people think.

 

Our 1's have had very limited reps.  There is no way that any fan can make an educated guess about what we are or are not going to do at this point.

 

Ya just gotta move the ball down the field....  and we (our 1's) can do that RIGHT NOW.  Even with what we got.

 

#mediahype

[The Mom Gene]

And Dhartm2.....  That is a very BIG...    "IF".

I don't worry about stuff until it happens.  If that's a bad thing...  then I guess I'm considered a "glass half full" kinda person.

[dhartm2]

We have 2 weeks til opening day in Denver.  Time to heal.

You could have said some of the very same things last year.    Torrey and Jacoby couldn't catch a cold last year.  Smith had dropped 8 balls in his first few games with the Ravens.  People were jumping off bridges last season too.   Aiken caught almost everything thrown his way last season.  He dropped very few.   

 

Starting the season with Steve Smith, Kamar Aiken, and Marlon Brown isn't the same as starting it with Torrey Smith, Steve Smith, and Jacoby Jones.  I'm not saying we aren't going to make the playoffs, I'm saying it's an area of concern where I wouldn't define us as "fine."  There is definite room for improvement there.

[The Mom Gene]

Luckily, the FO thinks otherwise. Its their job to analyze possible scenarios and put us in a position to overcome them.

 

In fact, it was the most important takeway from the offseason. The very foundation of the word DEPTH is based on the premise of accounting for when unexpected things happen, good and bad.

 

Correct, THEIR job....  not ours.

[huntrgathrr]

Butler would have made the team but the injury to Taliaferro requires them to keep Toussaint (or Magee, a 4th back regardless)so he goes to the practice squad. Once Taliaferro is healthy then they will cut the 4th back and bring Butler back if he clears waivers.

Either Brown or Orr gets cut, IMO it will be Orr.

Hard to believe but they have to keep Reid, they need at least 9 offensive lineman. I think they cut Robert Myers???

[The Mom Gene]

The first bolded sentence completely contradicts the second bolded sentence.

 

You can't say "there is no way we can make an educated guess about what we are or are not going to do" and then say definitively that "our #1s can move the ball down the field right now".

 

Its one or the other... it can't be both. Either we can move the ball down the field, in which case you are making an educated guess about that, or we can't make an educated guess, and therefore we can't possibly know if we can move the ball down the field or not.

Yes, you actually can...  and I did...

 

I said our 1's had limited reps...  and in the time that they did have on the field, they DID move the ball down the field in all three preseason games, and actually scored numerous times, against the Saints, and the Redskins... and could have against the Eagles.

 

I'm not going to argue with you guys over what I believe we are "capable of".  Obviously, you don't have that same degree of faith.

[Ngataninch]

I received a lot of red in this forum when I said that except for Smith Sr. and Perriman we have a lot of receivers who might be number threes at best, but now it seems the writers agree... hmmm...

[RavensBaltimore]

I don't really understand this mentality.  We aren't healthy at receiver though, so we aren't fine.  Right? 

None of our receivers have any structural damage that is projected to keep them out long term, so barring any new injuries, we have a reasonable chance to be fine when the real games start, or at least some point early in the season. You said that 2 of our receivers are out, but only one is. Camp is a full participant in practice now. He certainly hasn't proven that he can stay on the field, but Perriman is still recovering from his one injury, so I don't think it's accurate to say he can't stay on the field to save his life. Anyone can get injured once, and if they would have diagnosed it properly from the start, he'd still be in a typical time frame for a knee sprain, which is usually around 4-6 weeks.

 

Am I saying there is no cause at all for concern? No. If Perriman's issue lingers longer than expected and Camp continues to get hurt, we could have some problems, but based on what doctors have said about Perriman's knee, I'm still confident he will won't miss many, if any real games, and if Camp could stay on the field, it would be a nice bonus.

[towens2921]

The receivers would have made more plays if Flacco was throwing to them. Schaub has shown that he is no longer a legitimate NFL quarterback. Too bad our previous backup is now a starter somewhere else. Maybe we can grab RG3 when he gets cut.

[Ravensfansince03]

The receivers would have made more plays if Flacco was throwing to them. Schaub has shown that he is no longer a legitimate NFL quarterback. Too bad our previous backup is now a starter somewhere else. Maybe we can grab RG3 when he gets cut.

 

Everyone please pay this person no attention. and join me as I pray for this person

[Ravensfansince03]

I kind of see why people in the Panthers organization called SSS a "locker room distraction". I love what he brings to the table, and his intensity during plays. If he could just maintain his discipline on the sideline and not feed into so much nonsense he would basically be the Ray Lewis of WR.

[Ravensfansince03]

I never was excited to see our WR COMPETITION. because i knew there was already favoritism for Aiken, who I still don't think is starter material. I root for the underdogs, like Daniel brown. The guys that rarely get a chance to make a play and when given the slight opportunity they actually make a play. I was actually ecstatic to see Waller, but he plays as if he only weighs 150lbs. then again he was deemed as "raw talent" when we drafted him so I think he'll just need a full season under his belt to build on his maturity and physicality.

Edited September 1, 2015 by Ravensfansince03

[stampedehero]

My curse words are still hangin the air over the pile drive tackle on Aiken. He took abuse and got the ball back after that vicious hit. I still hope Aiken and Brown succeed.

[The Mom Gene]

I kind of see why people in the Panthers organization called SSS a "locker room distraction". I love what he brings to the table, and his intensity during plays. If he could just maintain his discipline on the sideline and not feed into so much nonsense he would basically be the Ray Lewis of WR.

I have yet to see Steve as a locker room distraction.... it has been said that he has been nothing short of a great team member, coach, and teacher for the young guys

[RavensBaltimore]

The receivers would have made more plays if Flacco was throwing to them. Schaub has shown that he is no longer a legitimate NFL quarterback. Too bad our previous backup is now a starter somewhere else. Maybe we can grab RG3 when he gets cut.

Saying that our receivers haven't stood out because Flacco doesn't throw them the ball is a lame excuse. Flacco gets the ball to players that get open and make plays. How many other qbs can you name that threw 6 playoff td passes with 2 undrafted players and a 7th rounder in the rotation? Kamar Aiken played a season with Tom Brady and had ZERO catches. But it's Flacco's fault if he doesn't become a quality starter? And who is this backup WR of ours that is now a starter somewhere else? Most of the WRs that can't make it with Flacco and the Ravens don't even last in the NFL.

[4everraven]

I know it won't happen but isn't Nelson a carbon copy of Campanaro, shifty and quick slot receiver, but w/o the injuries? It would be a shame to hang onto Camp and see him injured every other game and cut someone who seemingly could fill the same role. All the WRs aside from SSS have disappointed this preseason. Aiken, Marlon, Camp, & Butler should've shined.

[ravensnj]

I Really hope Cater can get another shot at making the team. He was a stud in college with tons of catches. Sr didn't call him little Cobb for nothing.

[RavensFootballFan]

When Perriman and Campanero are two of your top 3 WRs (with old man Steve Smith as the other) and you feel "good" about it, I have to wonder if our fan base truly is delusional.  You know those two guys can't stay on the field to save their life, right?

 

I can understand your take on Camp but writing off Perriman just because he is hurt before his first NFL game is too soon. There are many players who get hurt and then go on to do great things after they healed. Camp showed when healthy he is hard to stop and I believe Perriman will be the same way when he is healthy. Both are working hard to bounce back from their injuries. We are 12 days away from the first regular season game so it is too early to throw in the towel. I have no doubt Perriman will bounce back. "The Burner", Perriman's nickname will set the NFL on fire when he comes back, count on it.

[Ravensfolyfe]

I don't get it all these receivers and still the same problems from years back,except Smith Sr.When are we gonna have 2 reliable receivers at the same time in a season.Becoming a broking record at this point.