[News] Who Will Start Next To C.J. Mosley?

[NNITRED]

  On 3/26/2016 at 4:59 PM, NNITRED said:

An unseasoned MLB is a sitting duck as he's going handle communications. When the see a look he can exploit we're stuck with whatever the DC sent in. Even if an offense show a vulnerable look we can exploit that inexperienced MLB doesn't have the IQ to pick up on it ,communicate it ,or audible out. MLB isn't all about brawn and stats.

And that's why we have Mosley to handle communications.

A good offense will exploit inexperience at any position on the defense. 

Mosley isn't there yet. not by a long shot.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 3/26/2016 at 8:49 PM, hen826957 said:

@EdTheMythicalOne Upshaw wasn't useless he meant something on defense and that was the physicality on defense and was a good run stopper. He might have a bad game once in a while (like the Cleveland Browns you say) but he was great playing it that role. Now we gotta hope Z Smith is the answer to play run defense on 1st and 2nd down if he's not ready we are in trouble. Upshaw wasn't useless all those years as a Raven. By the way do you have a YouTube channel or something because you look very familiar if l'm mistaken? Is your channel is Austination TV? If it's not you look like him. LOL. ?

I don't think "useless" is the term I used in regard to Upshaw, I just stated he was below average which by the stats and all the things you can actually measure is absolutely true. All of the negative comments on my posts just show how uninformed some posters are. He wasn't a good edge setter or run stuffer. A matter of fact I think Suggs is a better defender against the rush than Upshaw is. As many plays as he might make, he also got exposed and would over pursue and fail to set the edge. If you don't think so or don't know that, you don't watch games like I do. When I pointed out to whomever would read my posts for another sports related website this fact, Courtney Upshaw and a college buddy of his messaged me privately and in some colorful metaphors explained to me what they thought of my opinion. The very next day in a prominent city paper Mike Preston essentially quoted me on how Upshaw stunk up the place. I forwarded his post to Upshaw and his co-conspirator and never heard from them again. So, there's some class for you as well.

Just because a player is a Raven doesn't make him good. If you put him in another team's jersey instead of the Ravens, state he was a second round pick (our first pick in that year's draft by the way), you would come away thinking, "Boy, that team missed the mark."

They didn't draft Upshaw to be a single-task player that would simply stop the run from time to time. They drafted him with the intention for him to be the opposite side pass rusher of Suggs. So not only did that draft pick bust, but we had to sign Elvis Dumervil who costs us quite a bit of money in order to get the player Upshaw was expected to be. It was quite telling that the coach didn't even speak to Upshaw and didn't even know where he was when he was asked about the free agent. Translation: We're just not that in to him.

You don't use your first pick in the draft (again, he was a 2nd round pick, but he was our first pick in that particular draft because we traded down if memory serves) on a guy that can stop the run from time to time. You can find guys like that much lower in the draft. I have faith that somebody else on the roster can step up and be a rotational player on the defense and do just as well as Upshaw did.

I am a Ravens fan and support the team just like most of you do. I just don't allow my personal affection for the team get in the way of analysis. That's what a good journalist is supposed to do.

[rmcjacket23]

3 hours ago, NNITRED said:

Mosley isn't there yet. not by a long shot.

Coaching staff clearly disagrees, since he did that plenty in 2015. He may have had some safety help in that regard, and he likely will again.

Remember, Daryl Smith wasn't on the field all the time last season.

Time change, teams adapt, players take on more responsibilities. That's how the NFL works.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 3/26/2016 at 11:20 AM, hn68wb4 said:

There will be a competition in training camp and preseason but I expect the FO to give Brown a real shot for the first couple games. I wouldn't mind Orr though, he really has done well so far and has proven some coverage skills.

 

On 3/26/2016 at 7:03 AM, billiejean said:

And I hate to tell you that, thats not true at all. If the OLB is not rushing the passer on a pass play (they rush most of the time) OLBs usually have the flats. ILBs or S cover the tight end. The OLB may chip the guy but he's not going to cover him down field. Moving Upshaw is not a good idea. The only way he would succeed is if the teams ran straight at him. His lateral quickness is not very good. Im sure he could stuff a hole but he wouldn't be good at scraping over the top in pursuit.  And its moot not mute.

Exactly. In recent years our problem has been covering tight ends or receivers that would come over the middle because our inside backers just didn't have the speed to keep up. Ray had lost a step or so and the other guys we plugged in to play next to him weren't much better. This improved a bit the first season Daryl Smith and Mosley played together, but then Smith lost a step and Mosley was playing hurt last year. This is why we saw Orr get some playing time in the middle and he held his own.

As another poster suggested there will be a fairly open competition to see who the other ILB will be unless we draft Myles Jack. If we do not and do not spend a top tier pick at this position, then Arthur "I am the God of misfire" Brown will get an honest look to see if he has anything that made the Ravens draft him so highly. Orr has earned the right of first refusal so to speak in my opinion...it is his job to lose as things stand right now.

Lastly, converting a safety to ILB is not a crazy idea and other teams have done it before. One of the best linebackers in the game; Brian Urlacher was actually a safety. I would think the process would be that this converted safety would come in on passing downs to help with coverage and just imagine all the schemes you could run with a set up on defense like that.