[News] Late For Work 12/17: Injuries Ravage Ravens' Roster And Financial Investments

[BR News]

McShay has Ravens taking top DB with No. 4 overall pick. Could this be Ryan Mallett's last chance?

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[bioLarzen]

LOL, the Browns appear twice on the "Players out for the season as of Dec. 10 (through Week 13), per NJ.com." list - once instead of the Bengals 

Edited December 17, 2015 by bioLarzen

[Raven1995]

Kudos. If Cleveland has only 3 or 8 Players out for the year and only 3 wins, with all those Tip 10 first round picks, that's sad.

[EliteRavens]

Jalen Ramsey would be a great draft pick!

[RavensDieHard21]

This team is already in redemption mode. Once Ozzie can can some dead money taken care of and has a little room to maneuver I think he'll build another playoff squad. I still think some crazy voodoo witch doctor put a curse on the Ravens. Still trying to decipher if the witch doctor is a Patriots, Steelers, or Browns fan though.

p.s. Ramsey for the win! Please, Playmakers is what we need

[Fastynart]

They should have taken a DB last year. Why the hell they took a wide receiver who was not even a worthy wide receiver still mystifies me. The drafting has been horrible. The defense is comprised of people who can't rush the passer, can't cover, don't make plays, and have no leadership. Look at the Ravens drafts over the last 4 or 5 years then tell me how many of those guys were really worth the high draft pick the Ravens used to pick them. Kindle? Elam? Cody? Jah Reid? Perriman? All wasted picks. You can't blow that many and stay competetive.

[reed20fence]

It's not always about the number of guys on IR. Sometimes it's about the QUALITY of guys on IR. Like Sarah says, last year we ended with 19 guys on IR but were still 4 points away from an AFC Championship. That's because a crap ton of those guys were practice squad cornerbacks from other teams that we cycled through during the year trying to fill the void that Jimmy's lisfranc and Webby's chronic back issues left when they were out.

This year it's not just mediocre guys that fill roles that are hurt. It's guys that are the bedrock of our offensive and defensive schemes that are on IR. QB1, RB1, RB2, WR1, WR2, WR3, TE1, C1, LT1.. and of course, Sizzle.

It is definitely concerning however that the loss of just one starter on Defense, even if it is a former DPOY, caused the whole house to come tumbling down. At the start of the season Suggs was even hinting that he's pondering wrapping up his career, so we've got some really really serious work to do to find guys that can create pressure using just the front 4.

Edited December 17, 2015 by reed20fence

[crazyboutravens]

I think the witch doctor was the NFL. Between the schedule 5 of 7 on the road mostly out west and the horrible officials we have had to deal with says it all about 2015.

[gabrielgrissom]

They should have taken a DB last year. Why the hell they took a wide receiver who was not even a worthy wide receiver still mystifies me. The drafting has been horrible. The defense is comprised of people who can't rush the passer, can't cover, don't make plays, and have no leadership. Look at the Ravens drafts over the last 4 or 5 years then tell me how many of those guys were really worth the high draft pick the Ravens used to pick them. Kindle? Elam? Cody? Jah Reid? Perriman? All wasted picks. You can't blow that many and stay competetive.

Its WAAYYYY to early to start saying perriman was a wasted pick... that being said we got jimmy KO BWill CJ Maxx looks like a good tight end crockett was a third rounder... jernigan if he is consistent can be tremendous... im still willing elam another year... torrey... not to mention the udfas and late round picks we have hit on

[gabrielgrissom]

I think the witch doctor was the NFL. Between the schedule 5 of 7 on the road mostly out west and the horrible officials we have had to deal with says it all about 2015.

I still feel bad for the chargers... they have gone through stuff like this for at least a good 5 6 years

[iluvpurple]

It kind of makes me really happy to see Tyrod Taylor be pretty successful in Buffalo (but also glad he is not playing for a hated opponent.) He also seems to very much value his time as one of our Ravens, and carry those great values with him. I think I will always stay a fan of his.

[Bohica5]

mallets last chance was with jerry.....and No he didn't make it........Hahahaha and perriman is already getting his injury excuses lined up for next year(he really has been excelling at handing out towels though from what i hear)so don't even think he's going to ever contribute.....And i just hope we take best available OL....with our draft pick and we need our future qb also so i wouldn't mind using our #1 pick for a star young qb....

Edited December 17, 2015 by Bohica5

[Ravensfansince03]

WHAT?!??!? Eugene MONROE and PITTA are taking up all that CAP SPACE?!!?!? MONROE!!?!?! REALLY??!?!?!?

[drillem]

I see the patriots have a similar number of players on ir. How come their record is so much better? Same with steelers. No. There is something else wrong. Not sure whether it is coaching, schedule or whatever. How many games were decided by our own penalties? Lack of execution is another factor. Dropped passes, poor passes, interceptions. Who is in charge of teaching these fundamentals? Why don't our players attach the ball more often? Why the large give away yardage we give other team's wide receivers? "Keep the ball in front of you" when you can tackle on initial contact. Who's teaching those fundamentals? I could go on....

[drillem]

That is "Keep the ball in front of you" when you cannot tackle on initial contact.

[FastEddie]

This team is already in redemption mode. Once Ozzie can can some dead money taken care of and has a little room to maneuver I think he'll build another playoff squad. I still think some crazy voodoo witch doctor put a curse on the Ravens. Still trying to decipher if the witch doctor is a Patriots, Steelers, or Browns fan though. p.s. Ramsey for the win! Please, Playmakers is what we need

 +1 for profile pic

[Purple Hazard]

To draft this high is a opportunity. DB, passrusher, WR, whatever, just draft an instant playmaker but since our defensive backfield was a problem even when we had a great passrush I could easily see Ozzie taking a DB in the 1st round.

[reed20fence]

WHAT?!??!? Eugene MONROE and PITTA are taking up all that CAP SPACE?!!?!? MONROE!!?!?! REALLY??!?!?!?

Well, I mean here is the article Mink posted announcing Munroe's contract in March of last year. As you can see, not a single commenter was complaining about the signing back then. So is it really fair to blame Ozzie for his inability to predict that the guy would spend half of the next two seasons on the sideline with injuries?

[reed20fence]

I see the patriots have a similar number of players on ir. How come their record is so much better? Same with steelers. No. There is something else wrong. Not sure whether it is coaching, schedule or whatever. How many games were decided by our own penalties? Lack of execution is another factor. Dropped passes, poor passes, interceptions. Who is in charge of teaching these fundamentals? Why don't our players attach the ball more often? Why the large give away yardage we give other team's wide receivers? "Keep the ball in front of you" when you can tackle on initial contact. Who's teaching those fundamentals? I could go on....

Let's look at that argument and compare apples to apples and see what the Patriots look like if the equivalent level of players were hurt on their roster:

Flacco --- take away Brady

Suggs --- take away chandler Jones

SSS/Pitta --- take away Edelman/Gronk 

Forsett -- they just lost Blount last week

Taliafero -- they had lost Dion Lewis so that's fair

Perriman - take away Lefell

Camp -- I guess the closest is Amendola

Zuttah -- take away Stork

Munroe -- take away Vollmer

Now what do the Patriots look like?

It's one thing to have a buncha no-names in IR. It's another to have the key players on your franchise on IR.

Edited December 17, 2015 by reed20fence

[The Greek]

if the fo and harbs go into the off season thinking suggs and doom will each have 8-12 sacks a piece and wreak havoc on qb's and an injured rookie receiver will have a pro bowl season and a 36 year old receiver will carry the receiving corps and the secondary coaches, o-line coach, and dc deserve another year than we will be drafting in the top 5 in 2017. they need to hit on these draft picks and make the right moves in free agency if they are to return to the playoffs. need new fiery blood running the defense. im not sold on forsett or buck being the full time backs either. they provide solid depth but neither one is a game changer. would love to find another jamal lewis.

[Ravensfansince03]

So they say they see us taking a DB in the first round. But what DB? And is he worth getting in the first round? I feel like this team is missing a spark, and leadership. So instead of trying to draft for a specific position, which this team has failed to do recently, we need to simply draft "the best players on the board". I know some of you guys don't like it, but I would really like to see us grab that Heisman winning RB from Alabama Crimson Tide. I don't expect us to make a complete turn around by next season, so the smartest thing for our staff to do is have patience and rebuild brick by brick.

[Ravensfansince03]

if the fo and harbs go into the off season thinking suggs and doom will each have 8-12 sacks a piece and wreak havoc on qb's and an injured rookie receiver will have a pro bowl season and a 36 year old receiver will carry the receiving corps and the secondary coaches, o-line coach, and dc deserve another year than we will be drafting in the top 5 in 2017. they need to hit on these draft picks and make the right moves in free agency if they are to return to the playoffs. need new fiery blood running the defense. im not sold on forsett or buck being the full time backs either. they provide solid depth but neither one is a game changer. would love to find another jamal lewis.

 

-Based on the fact that Ozzie tried to talk SSS into retirement before this season, then SSS gets sent to IR, I don't think its in Ozzie's interest to bring him back, although he did prove to be arguably our most productive WR.... while its lasted

 

-And I couldn't agree with you more about the RB position, Forsett makes an outstanding back-up. He's def a solid #2 and can start when needed. But this team needs a disciplined down hill running back. Buck has impressed, but what RB that comes in midseason with fresh legs doesn't impress? He's had some bright spots but we have Def seen better RB's.

 

-Check out Derrick Henry Running Back at Alabama, he just won the Heisman. We really need a guy like him to take the load off of Flacco.

[Ravensfansince03]

Well, I mean here is the article Mink posted announcing Munroe's contract in March of last year. As you can see, not a single commenter was complaining about the signing back then. So is it really fair to blame Ozzie for his inability to predict that the guy would spend half of the next two seasons on the sideline with injuries?

 

Yea its sad. Im cant help but think...if Pitta and Monroe weren't taking up that cap space, do you think we would have been able to keep Ngata.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Ravensfansince03

[The Greek]

To draft this high is a opportunity. DB, passrusher, WR, whatever, just draft an instant playmaker but since our defensive backfield was a problem even when we had a great passrush I could easily see Ozzie taking a DB in the 1st round.

unfortunately ozzie will trade the pick and draft the bpa towards the end of the 1st rd who will end up with an injury that will get him cut in 2 or 3 years or end up being just avg.

[757RavensFan]

 

Tyrod Taylor has played in 82% of snaps this season. If he stays over 80%, he’ll earn $2M extra that will count against Bills’ 2016 cap.

— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) December 16, 2015

 

 

And we'll gladly take that comp pic for Taylor.  Great job Tyrod, way to stay patient and make the most of your opportunity. 

[rmcjacket23]

So they say they see us taking a DB in the first round. But what DB? And is he worth getting in the first round? I feel like this team is missing a spark, and leadership. So instead of trying to draft for a specific position, which this team has failed to do recently, we need to simply draft "the best players on the board". I know some of you guys don't like it, but I would really like to see us grab that Heisman winning RB from Alabama Crimson Tide. I don't expect us to make a complete turn around by next season, so the smartest thing for our staff to do is have patience and rebuild brick by brick.

Luckily for us, we are at a position where we could easily take somebody from at least 4-5 different positions in the first round.

 

WR, RB, Tackle, DL, Pass rusher, Safety, Corner. Could easily see us taking a player from any of those positions, and it'd be completely justified.

 

That's the life you live when you have a 4-5 win team. There's plenty of holes to fill, and you can make a valid case for any of them.

 

I personally would rank RB low on that list, and I suspect our first round pick would either be a DB, a WR, or a Tackle. 

[rmcjacket23]

unfortunately ozzie will trade the pick and draft the bpa towards the end of the 1st rd who will end up with an injury that will get him cut in 2 or 3 years or end up being just avg.

That's a bit of a stretch. Could trade the pick, but it likely wouldn't come from a bottom of the draft team. 

 

Keep in mind also that, if it did, it would easily be for multiple first rounders, which is obviously a good thing. Its not like the Ravens are one draft away from fixing all the problems this team has.

[n#7]

Pass rusher must be a top priority and it should be a legit D Lineman, not a hybrid LB/DL. You can have the best DB's on the planet but if the QB has the time to "lite a cigar" or "drink a cup of java" standing in the pocket, it's just another wasted high draft pick.

[Ravensfansince03]

Luckily for us, we are at a position where we could easily take somebody from at least 4-5 different positions in the first round.

 

WR, RB, Tackle, DL, Pass rusher, Safety, Corner. Could easily see us taking a player from any of those positions, and it'd be completely justified.

 

That's the life you live when you have a 4-5 win team. There's plenty of holes to fill, and you can make a valid case for any of them.

 

I personally would rank RB low on that list, and I suspect our first round pick would either be a DB, a WR, or a Tackle. 

 

I agree with you, but you don't think we need a top notch RB to help out Flacco and this team? The only reason why I said that is because of the RB at Alabama. Apparently he's one of the best in years, and if its one thing I miss, its seeing us have a RB that can straight run people over.

 

I also feel like, with the way this season, and players have gone down, we don't have the luxury to be picky anymore, we just gotta get players in here that can really bring it.

[rmcjacket23]

I agree with you, but you don't think we need a top notch RB to help out Flacco and this team? The only reason why I said that is because of the RB at Alabama. Apparently he's one of the best in years, and if its one thing I miss, its seeing us have a RB that can straight run people over.

 

I also feel like, with the way this season, and players have gone down, we don't have the luxury to be picky anymore, we just gotta get players in here that can really bring it.

Sure, but I think there's plenty of top notch RBs who you could draft in the 2nd round or later. In my opinion, RB has the least differential in terms of production and talent as you descend down the draft board.

 

There's a gigantic number of really good RBs in this league, and most of them are day 2 picks.