[News] Late For Work 11/19: Just As Ravens Tight Ends Trio Heats Up, This Happens ...

[BR News]

Cost to franchise Tucker. Rosburg a bright spot. Chances of losing out. Concern for Rams' dirty hits?

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[MissRay27]

Oh no not Boyle now! What in the wide world of sports is going on?

[b93333]

At this point losing out makes a lot of sense... it would practically guarantee the first pick... we could either go for a sure thing or trade back for several picks. The organizational goal should be to make this year a ONE year disaster, not a long-term fall from competitiveness.

[Drew P]

Sad state of affairs when a fifth round rookie in a walking boot is a headline

[reed20fence]

I still think Juszczyk is the unsung hero of the group. He does the dirty work of a FB, and half the time he also lines up as a tight end. Will he ever get any love?

I was also thinking the other day... one bad season can't possibly get football fans in Baltimore down. Maybe it's fitting that a crappy year is happening in our 20th anniversary. It gives us pause to remember things like Baltimore being the only city to have teams that have won Lombardis, Grey Cups, and USFL championships. It's almost Thanksgiving so we could reflect on the blessing of having a world class franchise to root for in our city and state. I think we grew accustomed to constant success due to the 5 year long story that was written leading up to our last Super Bowl, but we should remember that there were teams that featured Hall of Famers like Ray, Ed, Suggs, and Ngata in Baltimore that had losing seasons. We still stuck it out as fans.

If we survived being robbed of a team for 13 years, we can survive a year here or there of bad luck. 

Edited November 19, 2015 by reed20fence

[mason85]

So now we have to see if someone takes Rosburg from us.

[merryjman]

There was serious pay inflation after the Ravens won the last super bowl, where we lost a lot of guys who got contracts they really didn't merit. Too bad there's not a lot of contracts up for renewal this year, so that we could benefit from the opposite effect.

[Purple Dawg 96]

Get well soon Nick! "Next "Men" up! Utilization is the word in regards to TEs and WRs they are not being utilized correctly Marlon is too tall for short passes should go long every other play or double moves and pump fakes are not in the repertoire post patterns to created separation and if this keeps up other teams will pick the Ravens apart taking our players and coming back beating us with them! Stop getting 6ft WRs and not using them correctly because Antonio Brown leads the league and he is not 6ft his heart is!

[iluvpurple]

Well, it's only fitting to have Nick Boyle in a boot and possibly with a serious foot injury the way this year is going, and has been....... At this point, nothing will surprise me...... However, it is very, very enjoyable though, to see that all of our young TEs are being recognized as 3 of the best in the league, but us fans already knew that ......

[iluvpurple]

I still think Juszczyk is the unsung hero of the group. He does the dirty work of a FB, and half the time he also lines up as a tight end. Will he ever get any love?

I was also thinking the other day... one bad season can't possibly get football fans in Baltimore down. Maybe it's fitting that a crappy year is happening in our 20th anniversary. It gives us pause to remember things like Baltimore being the only city to have teams that have won Lombardis, Grey Cups, and USFL championships. It's almost Thanksgiving so it's fitting to reflect on the blessing of having a world class franchise to root for in our city and state. I think we grew accustomed to constant success due to the 5 year long story that was written leading up to our last Super Bowl, but we should remember that there were teams that featured Hall of Famers in Baltimore that were losing seasons. We still stuck it out as fans.

If we survived being robbed of a team for 13 years, we can survive a year here or there of bad luck.

Awesome and perfect post......

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

This is the strength of the Offense. These guys are reliable pass catcherd and run blockers. We should be in 2 TE sets as a base offense, a scheme around them. Play your Aces.The wideouts are unreliable. Lets go with what works, not square peg in round hole

[JamesA119]

"There was serious pay inflation after the Ravens won the last super bowl, where we lost a lot of guys who got contracts they really didn't merit. Too bad there's not a lot of contracts up for renewal this year, so that we could benefit from the opposite effect."

Couldn't agree more. Jimmy Smith for instance wan signed in a haste. He was never a proven CB. All he ever had was a great fraction of a season. He then got injured, and before he even got back on the field he was rewarded with a huge contract. Same with Webb a few years back.

We on the other hand keep letting proving talents walk out the door - McPhee, Corey Graham, etc. The Jimmy Smith phenomenon is very glaring. Here's a guy whose most memorable play was that play against Crabtree in the Super Bowl. Prior to then, he was near being labelled a disappointment. Boom! $20 M guaranteed.

[salamander]

Sad state of affairs when a fifth round rookie in a walking boot is a headline

That may be so but that 5th round rookie happens to be good enough to be considered in the top 12 TE's per Pro Football Focus. Boyle has exceeded all expectations, has made contributions and is worthy of a mention regarding an injury, at least in my book. Our TE group is dynamite. Hope Nick's injury isn't serious.

[jravens13]

More 2 TE sets! Get physical and run the ball. Control the clock, win field position, and let the defense rest. -Trestman has no clue how to win football games. Here we are at 2-7 with a soft schedule.

[thieverycorporation]

This anomaly of a season IMHO is probably the best way cap wise to rebuild this aging team going forward. To address this state of affairs within the teams structure, we should be hopeful at best. Seeing the development of players whom may have never sniffed the field because of their status's (practice squad,doghouse,limited due to injuries/practices) should help in the pre 2016 season. It can only help us going forward to see firsthand both (team and fans) what the newly introduced players may have to offer.

 

I'm not wishing for a total meltdown but to the contrary. I'm looking for the total evolution of the teams dynamic. Every one organizational wise is now put on notice that if you keep doing what you've always done the result will probably be the same. No one can cast a blind eye and not be held accountable. Sure somethings work and don't work. Now's a prime opportunity to gauge their process and address it. The likelihood of missing the problems should (significantly) diminish. It's a litmus test that will provide information as to whom has outlived their time here, those whom need to be retooled in the process, those that need to be advanced and those that need to go. Seven games is plenty of time to see the start of this happening. That's another avenue to get better. Treading into un-charted water's can only help us. We obviously don't know what's ailing the team aside from the injuries. That's an in house comment. As Harbaugh says, "We have to find a way to get it done".

 

A lot of fans have seen this coming and they are from afar. So I'd suggest the organization convene a fan based/level headed panel and get direct feedback as to what they see weekly. I say this because they (Ravens) have come out publicly, stating they don't really consider our view points as valid because we are not in their shoes. They probably wouldn't have to pay many of us because we love the team so much. At least our adrenaline isn't clouding our perspective every waking moment during the season.

[Smoke0121]

I still think Juszczyk is the unsung hero of the group. He does the dirty work of a FB, and half the time he also lines up as a tight end. Will he ever get any love?

I was also thinking the other day... one bad season can't possibly get football fans in Baltimore down. Maybe it's fitting that a crappy year is happening in our 20th anniversary. It gives us pause to remember things like Baltimore being the only city to have teams that have won Lombardis, Grey Cups, and USFL championships. It's almost Thanksgiving so we could reflect on the blessing of having a world class franchise to root for in our city and state. I think we grew accustomed to constant success due to the 5 year long story that was written leading up to our last Super Bowl, but we should remember that there were teams that featured Hall of Famers like Ray, Ed, Suggs, and Ngata in Baltimore that had losing seasons. We still stuck it out as fans.

If we survived being robbed of a team for 13 years, we can survive a year here or there of bad luck. 

I was going to make a post similar to this, but this one sums it up pretty well.  Nicely done.

[MDguyCeCo]

So, how well did Trestmans offense work out for Chicago past couple years????

And to the (management?) in the castle? just a reminder how (Good?) a job y'all are doing.... two(2) of our three (3) most recent first round picks are NOT suiting up Game day...Elam? Perriman? would LOVE to hear our (Scout?) dept next performance appraisals.... hehe THANKS Guys.. Great Work on your part...

[rmcjacket23]

"There was serious pay inflation after the Ravens won the last super bowl, where we lost a lot of guys who got contracts they really didn't merit. Too bad there's not a lot of contracts up for renewal this year, so that we could benefit from the opposite effect."

Couldn't agree more. Jimmy Smith for instance wan signed in a haste. He was never a proven CB. All he ever had was a great fraction of a season. He then got injured, and before he even got back on the field he was rewarded with a huge contract. Same with Webb a few years back.

We on the other hand keep letting proving talents walk out the door - McPhee, Corey Graham, etc. The Jimmy Smith phenomenon is very glaring. Here's a guy whose most memorable play was that play against Crabtree in the Super Bowl. Prior to then, he was near being labelled a disappointment. Boom! $20 M guaranteed.

Several different factors:

 

1. He's largely been a good corner when he's on the field. The biggest knock on him had been injuries, which is valid. However, if you are a team that refuses to give out respectable contracts to players with some injury concerns, then you'll find other teams will and you won't have that many quality football players anymore, since everybody for the most part is injury prone by label.

 

2. Mostly a product of an increasingly high demand position with an increasingly low supply position. Therefore, you pay more for players at a certain position.

 

3. I can't even fathom what our DB core would look like this season without Jimmy. It can be a lot worse.

[Dorota]

I still think Juszczyk is the unsung hero of the group. He does the dirty work of a FB, and half the time he also lines up as a tight end. Will he ever get any love?

I was also thinking the other day... one bad season can't possibly get football fans in Baltimore down. Maybe it's fitting that a crappy year is happening in our 20th anniversary. It gives us pause to remember things like Baltimore being the only city to have teams that have won Lombardis, Grey Cups, and USFL championships. It's almost Thanksgiving so we could reflect on the blessing of having a world class franchise to root for in our city and state. I think we grew accustomed to constant success due to the 5 year long story that was written leading up to our last Super Bowl, but we should remember that there were teams that featured Hall of Famers like Ray, Ed, Suggs, and Ngata in Baltimore that had losing seasons. We still stuck it out as fans.

If we survived being robbed of a team for 13 years, we can survive a year here or there of bad luck. 

Juice is great! Not as featured as our TEs, as a FB he does more blocking than catching, but he can do that too and has made some impact plays for us this year. He can also line up as a TE and has some experience playing the position at school. I've said before, he's by a wide margin the most featured fullback in the league. Decent blocking skills, soft hands and when he can't avoid a hit, then his mindset is for the defense to hurt worse than he will. It's very visible and well appreciated.

Obviously, he has responsibilities of his own, but where a 3 TE set would be helpful, he can step in.

[salamander]

Impressive job by Jerry Rosburg with Special Teams. Ranked top 1-5 in the league in every category in Special Teams. Amazing job by Jerry to bring that level of excellence and consistency.

[ebonynivory]

Get well soon Nick! "Next "Men" up! Utilization is the word in regards to TEs and WRs they are not being utilized correctly Marlon is too tall for short passes should go long every other play or double moves and pump fakes are not in the repertoire post patterns to created separation and if this keeps up other teams will pick the Ravens apart taking our players and coming back beating us with them! Stop getting 6ft WRs and not using them correctly because Antonio Brown leads the league and he is not 6ft his heart is!

I agree, thing is Marlon plays scared and quite frankly is just not that good. Not the way he's playing this year, out of all the receivers his mistakes and drops are the most glaring! No wonder Flacco was looking for a 5ft nothing Steve Smith in corner of endzone rather than him. Speaks to the confidence the team has in him.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

So, how well did Trestmans offense work out for Chicago past couple years???? And to the (management?) in the castle? just a reminder how (Good?) a job y'all are doing.... two(2) of our three (3) most recent first round picks are NOT suiting up Game day...Elam? Perriman? would LOVE to hear our (Scout?) dept next performance appraisals.... hehe THANKS Guys.. Great Work on your part...

 

They're injured. Not like they arent performing and cant get on the field. What, our scouts are supposed to see injuries that occur 1-3 years after they draft the player? 

 

And the special post of the year award goes to....

[rmcjacket23]

I agree, thing is Marlon plays scared and quite frankly is just not that good. Not the way he's playing this year, out of all the receivers his mistakes and drops are the most glaring! No wonder Flacco was looking for a 5ft nothing Steve Smith in corner of endzone rather than him. Speaks to the confidence the team has in him.

Correct, Marlon can't catch. 

 

Really don't care about size, speed, etc. after that. If you can't catch as a WR, you can't play. Nothing else matters.

[gabrielgrissom]

"There was serious pay inflation after the Ravens won the last super bowl, where we lost a lot of guys who got contracts they really didn't merit. Too bad there's not a lot of contracts up for renewal this year, so that we could benefit from the opposite effect."

Couldn't agree more. Jimmy Smith for instance wan signed in a haste. He was never a proven CB. All he ever had was a great fraction of a season. He then got injured, and before he even got back on the field he was rewarded with a huge contract. Same with Webb a few years back.

We on the other hand keep letting proving talents walk out the door - McPhee, Corey Graham, etc. The Jimmy Smith phenomenon is very glaring. Here's a guy whose most memorable play was that play against Crabtree in the Super Bowl. Prior to then, he was near being labelled a disappointment. Boom! $20 M guaranteed.

I couldnt disagree with you more. We cant really expect a shutdown corner in his rookie year... the superbowl year he was battling a sports hernia all year and turned it on down the stretch... i think you forget about how good he was during the 2013 season and you saw our secondary last year after last year... if hes healthy last year we go to the superbowl... this season you cant tell me different that his foot is still injured ... he cant plant and explode off that foot in off coverage which is mainly when teams attack him... McPhee there was no way we were going to keep him even with we did have the money... like paul kruger i believe that he wanted a bigger role in the defense... after the superbowl... we signed canty dumervil and daryl smith... i dont believe those guys are overpaid right now do you?

[Minionhunter]

I was worried about just that (injured TE) when we signed the unexpected TE to the 53 man roster and think I commented on that. Signing a TE right away is not good news for Boyle who looks like the steal of the draft. I think we could have had Karlos Williams or Boyle, I was kind of sad we didn't get Karlos at the time, but Ozzie looks like he knew what he was doing. Buck Allen is looking better and better with time and experience now. Plus we got a good surprise with TW and he is already on the roster, which speaks well I think. I really liked how he looked in CLE last year at the beginning before the issues with time share with Crowell, only because of fantasy football or I wouldn't have paid that much attention. We may have stolen him back from CLE for nothing.... Even being in this division, it is hard not to feel the waves off of the Factory of Sadness, hopefully they won't drown us next week. Maybe West will get some payback....

[ciro]

when you measure special teams plays as to whether or not they scored a touchdown, you can get why i was not impressed with their play. seeing the info about how they measure up in the league though, it seems that i was doing them a disservice. Good job special teams! inconsistent guys like jackson and unfortunately ross have been giving you guys a bad rep

[ellicottraven]

I cannot believe the Ravens will lose out. In a way it may end up being helpful with top draft picks that will help solidify our team with talent for a good time to come, but on the other hand, who amongst the front office or the coaching staff will survive through next year? I can't see changes not being made if we go 2-14 for the season (or 3-17 including preseason). That is almost Detroit Lionesque!

Edited November 19, 2015 by ellicottraven

[fusuymada]

PFT is reporting that next year the NFL is finally going to let teams trade compensatory draft picks to encourage more trades during draft weekend. Once again the Ravens are expecting multiple compensatory picks and may have as many as 11 or 12 picks again this year to work with. With that many picks, Ozzie could be picking twice in the first 20 or so picks especially since he will have number 1 or 2 in the second round he can trade to move up. We could see a killer draft like the Lewis/Ogden draft with what Ozzie may have to work this.

[reed20fence]

It's just a little ironic that in an article that's lamenting the injury to a 5th round find in a rookie tightend we've got folks questioning our granting of second contracts to players that are labeled 'busts.' It's like we love the front office for finding guys no one else believed could contribute in one breath, but then dogging the same front office for not being able to predict injuries to other players.

Maybe someone should take on that project of going back and recounting the context that we were faced with making a decision on Pitta, Jimmy or Webby and it'll tell us exactly why we had to make those extensions. I remember Jimmy's because it was the most recent, but there weren't too many people calling it a bad move on our part the day the news was released that he extended.

And I agree with RMCs point.. only to add that if the Baltimore Ravens get in the business of punishing guys that get hurt by releasing them and not even entertaining the possibility of signing contracts to extend them, LOOKOUT, because veteran free agents will not look favorably upon a franchise in a bidding war when they know one isn't loyal to its players and will abandon them the moment they get hurt... which, you know, tends to happen in a contact sport.

Edited November 19, 2015 by reed20fence

[Zeus]

Ravens community photo has a few people holding a shovel. Can we replace Marlon Brown with one of them as they can at least hold onto something?