[News] Courtney Upshaw Signs With Atlanta Falcons

[Ravensfansince03]

Wow, he left (or was allowed to leave) for just a 1-yr deal?  Won't be much of a comp pick there.  He wasn't a dynamic pass rusher, but he did set the edge dependably and was rarely hurt.

There's been a worrying trend during the Harbaugh era of draft picks not working out or sticking around past their rookie deals.  As a result, the team has gotten older at key positions as they backfill with veterans.  I sure a player like Dwight Freeney may be on his way to Baltimore to add depth behind Upshaw.  In a way, he'd be the anti-Upshaw; older and one-dimensional in favor of the pass rush vice the run.

Thought I was the only one that was aware of this. And also have you noticed that with harbaugh there has really been a lack of quality depth. He just keeps letting guys go without ALREADY having a proven player that we know will step up, he just keeps letting vets go and assuming another guy with little to no experience will just get the job done. Bet you we will be in the same position, whoever Upshaws replacement is will get injured early season smh. I really was hoping they'd do the right thing and keep him here.

[Ravensfansince03]

You guys assuming a rookie will just come in and take Upshaws place smh. Think about injury, production, experience, etc. Upshaw wasn't the best LB, but he was our most durable. I wouldn't be dissapointed if we had solid depth, but as of right now, idk who they expect to replace him with. It isn;t like our D was stacked with stellar LB's like it was years ago.

[billiejean]

You guys assuming a rookie will just come in and take Upshaws place smh. Think about injury, production, experience, etc. Upshaw wasn't the best LB, but he was our most durable. I wouldn't be dissapointed if we had solid depth, but as of right now, idk who they expect to replace him with. It isn;t like our D was stacked with stellar LB's like it was years ago.

Z smith was surprisingly good against the run last year (he was better against the run than the pass). And yes it is possible for a rookie to come in and take over Upshaws role. I mean Upshaw started his rookie year and that year was his most productive year as Raven. That was Upshaws problem. His play leveled off after his rookie year. He came in to training camp overweight multiple times and he never used the offseason to perfect his craft.

[ellicottraven]

Some comments are unfair to Upshaw. He only did what he was asked to do on this defense. Without complaining by the way. Yes he didn't have sacks but that wasn't his primary role. He was asked to contain the TEs and the run and set the edge mostly. That was his role. To do all the dirty work so others could get the stats. So, instead of piling on him, I suggest we wish him all the best in his new home. He deserves are respect.

[balfan23]

Courtney Upshaw - forever a member of the 2012 Ravens Championship. Thanks for your contributions to that achievement. Good luck in the future.

[ALPHA]

Great player and embodied the Raven ethos, but unfortunately he was an edge player who couldn't rush the passer. Alshon Jeffrey or Bobby Wager would have been better picks.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 3/26/2016 at 5:02 AM, hen826957 said:

@EdTgeMythicalOne My Goodness!!!!! You act like Uphaw hasn't done anything to help the team out since he been a raven. Rating on the PFF doesn't mean he wasn't a good player. People need to stop using PFF as rating a player because it's very irrelevant. Upshaw was a good player here and you act like he trash. Ozzie didn't want to sign him and that's fine. Hope Z Smith is ready for that role or our run defense gonna struggle leave it at that.

You misinterpret my posts. I never said he was useless or didn't do anything. You can't honestly sit here and tell me he was an absolute gem for being the highest drafted player the Ravens took that year, our first 2nd round pick (we didn't have a first rounder that year). Based on when he was taken and on expectations of him; being the opposite side rusher of Suggs so he wouldn't get game planned against, you have to consider him a bust if you are not being biased. Don't get me wrong, I love the Ravens and Courtney was a solid player. With your first couple of picks in the draft you aren't looking for solid players though, you find them later on. You are looking for franchise type players or stars in the best case scenario. Upshaw clearly wasn't that.

I don't agree that Upshaw was a good player. He was an average player that was strictly one dimensional. You can find guys like that later in the draft and on the free agent market for less than what it would have cost to retain Upshaw. I am not acting like he is trash, I am acting like he's exactly what he was. A run stopper only at a pass rush position. He was not a good pick based on where he was drafted. If he was a 3rd or 4th round pick then maybe we got good value out of that pick.

Z. Smith got some pretty significant playing time behind Dumervil and Upshaw and even though he wasn't a starter get this...he had more sacks as a rookie rotational player than Courtney Upshaw had in his entire career so far. I think we'll be okay with Smith out there and more than likely we're gonna add some other help either via draft or through FA.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 3/26/2016 at 6:43 PM, ellicottraven said:

Some comments are unfair to Upshaw. He only did what he was asked to do on this defense. Without complaining by the way. Yes he didn't have sacks but that wasn't his primary role. He was asked to contain the TEs and the run and set the edge mostly. That was his role. To do all the dirty work so others could get the stats. So, instead of piling on him, I suggest we wish him all the best in his new home. He deserves are respect.

You are wrong about something. He was drafted with the intention of him being the opposite side pass rusher to take pressure off of Suggs. He was asked to do other things later on when they realized he couldn't do what they initially drafted him for. You don't draft a "grunt work" player with your first pick in the draft (again, YES he was a second round pick, but the Ravens didn't have a first round pick that year, they traded down). You need to get franchise starters or stars with your first couple of picks. Courtney simply didn't live up to expectations. If he was as valuable to this team as some fans think, he wouldn't be in Atlanta right now. He got out performed by Z. Smith. In Smith's rookie season as a rotational player he got more sacks than Upshaw did his entire career. Some food for thought there.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 3/27/2016 at 10:36 PM, ALPHA said:

Great player and embodied the Raven ethos, but unfortunately he was an edge player who couldn't rush the passer. Alshon Jeffrey or Bobby Wager would have been better picks.

Great is way too much of a compliment for him. He was solid, nothing more and nothing less.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 3/26/2016 at 3:02 PM, Ravensfansince03 said:

Thought I was the only one that was aware of this. And also have you noticed that with harbaugh there has really been a lack of quality depth. He just keeps letting guys go without ALREADY having a proven player that we know will step up, he just keeps letting vets go and assuming another guy with little to no experience will just get the job done. Bet you we will be in the same position, whoever Upshaws replacement is will get injured early season smh. I really was hoping they'd do the right thing and keep him here.

The right thing was letting him go and trying all over again to get another edge rusher. This is a passing league and one of the best ways to disrupt a passing game and to create turnovers is to hit and pressure the QB. We're going to need some young blood in here very soon because we're going to have to find replacements for Suggs and Dumervil soon. Upshaw is certainly not the answer going forward.

I fully suspect the Ravens will make a run at Freeney depending on how the draft works out and if Freeney is still on the market by then. I know they won't stand pat with what they've got. Somebody is gonna be added to the roster for sure at most likely both OLB spots.

[rmcjacket23]

On 3/26/2016 at 3:05 PM, Ravensfansince03 said:

You guys assuming a rookie will just come in and take Upshaws place smh. Think about injury, production, experience, etc. Upshaw wasn't the best LB, but he was our most durable. I wouldn't be dissapointed if we had solid depth, but as of right now, idk who they expect to replace him with. It isn;t like our D was stacked with stellar LB's like it was years ago.

Depends on what happens in the draft. If we go through the draft and don't feel like we've got an upgrade, we can always look for training camp/preseason cuts like we always do.

If the draft goes as some expect and we end up with somebody like Bosa or even a 2nd rounder at that position, regardless of whether its more of a pass rusher or a run stopping-type LB, there just wouldn't be many snaps to go around if Upshaw were back.

Keep in mind that if we were to add an OLB early in the draft, we'd have four on our team right now, and all of them can play the run pretty effectively. Perhaps not as good as Upshaw, but still effectively.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 3/28/2016 at 2:21 PM, rmcjacket23 said:

Depends on what happens in the draft. If we go through the draft and don't feel like we've got an upgrade, we can always look for training camp/preseason cuts like we always do.

If the draft goes as some expect and we end up with somebody like Bosa or even a 2nd rounder at that position, regardless of whether its more of a pass rusher or a run stopping-type LB, there just wouldn't be many snaps to go around if Upshaw were back.

Keep in mind that if we were to add an OLB early in the draft, we'd have four on our team right now, and all of them can play the run pretty effectively. Perhaps not as good as Upshaw, but still effectively.

Dumervil isn't really stout against the run.

[rmcjacket23]

2 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Dumervil isn't really stout against the run.

He's pretty underrated in that regard, but he'd also be the 3rd or 4th guy in that role.

Ideally, he's probably playing somewhere around 60% of snaps, compared to the 75% he played last year.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

21 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

He's pretty underrated in that regard, but he'd also be the 3rd or 4th guy in that role.

Ideally, he's probably playing somewhere around 60% of snaps, compared to the 75% he played last year.

Dumervil doesn't tally a lot of tackles and that isn't due to a lack of playing time. Suggs is much more complete as a player. I agree with you that both Suggs and Dumervil need to have some capable depth behind them to start limiting their snaps so they can stay fresher throughout the season as their ages creep past the 30 year barrier. The problem has been that we haven't really had capable depth that can create at least some form of pressure. Za'Darius Smith and the addition of Dwight Freeney might be just what the doctor ordered. I am going to guess that the Ravens will attempt to get an edge rusher somewhere in the draft and if Freeney doesn't become a Raven that they will probably bring in a veteran that gets cut in the off season.

I am also seeing Reggie Nelson's name continue to be out there on the FA list. I know he'll be 33 and I know we have a lot of bodies in the mix already, but dang, if you are looking for a back end playmaker who gets interceptions it is hard to do better than Nelson. I have no idea if it is his asking price that is keeping teams away or if there was something on tape late last season that showed he was losing a step or two, but if he's still floating out there for much longer I want the Ravens to call him up and ask him what it would take to get him in Baltimore. Nelson would become our best option at FS because Webb would be playing the position for the first time since his college days. Kendrick Lewis was underwhelming, Terrence Brooks is always hurt, and Matt Elam I see as more of a SS than FS anyway.

[rmcjacket23]

11 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Dumervil doesn't tally a lot of tackles and that isn't due to a lack of playing time. Suggs is much more complete as a player. I agree with you that both Suggs and Dumervil need to have some capable depth behind them to start limiting their snaps so they can stay fresher throughout the season as their ages creep past the 30 year barrier. The problem has been that we haven't really had capable depth that can create at least some form of pressure. Za'Darius Smith and the addition of Dwight Freeney might be just what the doctor ordered. I am going to guess that the Ravens will attempt to get an edge rusher somewhere in the draft and if Freeney doesn't become a Raven that they will probably bring in a veteran that gets cut in the off season.

I am also seeing Reggie Nelson's name continue to be out there on the FA list. I know he'll be 33 and I know we have a lot of bodies in the mix already, but dang, if you are looking for a back end playmaker who gets interceptions it is hard to do better than Nelson. I have no idea if it is his asking price that is keeping teams away or if there was something on tape late last season that showed he was losing a step or two, but if he's still floating out there for much longer I want the Ravens to call him up and ask him what it would take to get him in Baltimore. Nelson would become our best option at FS because Webb would be playing the position for the first time since his college days. Kendrick Lewis was underwhelming, Terrence Brooks is always hurt, and Matt Elam I see as more of a SS than FS anyway.

Couple issues I have with this:

1. I'm not exactly sure that Freeney solves anything. He is 100% specific to basically being a 3rd down pass rusher, which is precisely the role you would want Dumervil to be in also, and probably even Suggs. So its hard to envision all three of them being on the field at the same time. A run stopping type linebacker or a three down player (possibly at the top end of the draft) would be more beneficial, particularly long term. Freeney mostly is just putting a band aid on a broken bone.

2. The FO is clearly all in on Webb as a starting safety, and that's not going to change. If we signed Nelson, it would be as a reserve safety, which I doubt he is interested in. I've seen nothing linking him to Baltimore, and I don't suspect I will either. 

Will Hill didn't help the matters, but I would bet that the FO is pretty happy with Lewis and Elam as reserve safeties as opposed to starters. In the grand scheme of things, in this league, that's actually pretty good depth.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

3 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Couple issues I have with this:

1. I'm not exactly sure that Freeney solves anything. He is 100% specific to basically being a 3rd down pass rusher, which is precisely the role you would want Dumervil to be in also, and probably even Suggs. So its hard to envision all three of them being on the field at the same time. A run stopping type linebacker or a three down player (possibly at the top end of the draft) would be more beneficial, particularly long term. Freeney mostly is just putting a band aid on a broken bone.

2. The FO is clearly all in on Webb as a starting safety, and that's not going to change. If we signed Nelson, it would be as a reserve safety, which I doubt he is interested in. I've seen nothing linking him to Baltimore, and I don't suspect I will either. 

Will Hill didn't help the matters, but I would bet that the FO is pretty happy with Lewis and Elam as reserve safeties as opposed to starters. In the grand scheme of things, in this league, that's actually pretty good depth.

Freeney would be just what you said. He'd simply take some snaps in a pure pass rushing situation for either Suggs or Dumervil. I am not expecting him to take a huge amount of snaps away from both, but every breather you can give to Suggs and Dumervil right now is a bonus. Arizona didn't ask Freeney to do anything more than what we'd want him to do here. Adding him would give us a legitimate pass rusher that teams have to account for so they simply can't double Suggs or Dumervil when the other one is not on the field. We need more pass rushers. You wouldn't have three OLB on the field at the same time anyway, so not really sure what your comment means. I think Smith can be a 3 down player in the future if his rookie numbers hold true.

I know they seem all in on Webb making the conversion, but what choice do they have? Signing Nelson would allow them to move Webb around the field a bit more and for the right price I think Nelson would take the job as a rotational safety rather than not be playing in the NFL. There are plenty of snaps to go around in the secondary. I doubt it will happen, but I would be happy if it did.

I don't know why they'd be happy with Lewis and Elam. Elam got called out for not living up to expectations and Lewis was a flop. Anthony Levine is a better all around player than those two.

[rmcjacket23]

2 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Freeney would be just what you said. He'd simply take some snaps in a pure pass rushing situation for either Suggs or Dumervil. I am not expecting him to take a huge amount of snaps away from both, but every breather you can give to Suggs and Dumervil right now is a bonus. Arizona didn't ask Freeney to do anything more than what we'd want him to do here. Adding him would give us a legitimate pass rusher that teams have to account for so they simply can't double Suggs or Dumervil when the other one is not on the field. We need more pass rushers. You wouldn't have three OLB on the field at the same time anyway, so not really sure what your comment means. I think Smith can be a 3 down player in the future if his rookie numbers hold true.

I know they seem all in on Webb making the conversion, but what choice do they have? Signing Nelson would allow them to move Webb around the field a bit more and for the right price I think Nelson would take the job as a rotational safety rather than not be playing in the NFL. There are plenty of snaps to go around in the secondary. I doubt it will happen, but I would be happy if it did.

I don't know why they'd be happy with Lewis and Elam. Elam got called out for not living up to expectations and Lewis was a flop. Anthony Levine is a better all around player than those two.

Right, but I don't know if that's what we want. I don't think you want him taking snaps for Dumervil in a pass rushing situation, and maybe not even from Suggs. The way to reduce their snap counts isn't by taking them off the field in pure pass rushing situations... its by taking them off the field in mostly running situations, largely first down.

The point of not having three OLBs on the field is that one of them would be off the field in pass rushing situations, and my guess that guy would be Freeney most of the time. So if he's not going to be on the field in pass rushing situations... why is he here? He's not nearly the kind of player that other teams are going to lose sleep over. I get it... he had a good season last year, which probably had a lot more to do with the fact that he took half the season off. He also wasn't very good for a couple years before that, and he doesn't seem to be drawing much interest this offseason from ANY NFL team. That's kind of a red flag. Not saying he doesn't have value, but he's not the kind of guy you bring in and all of the sudden teams are like "o no, its Freeney".

As far as Webb, the choice they have is clear... go forward with the guys we have. I don't think they have any interest in moving Webb around the field. I think they want him playing safety and safety only.

I think they're happy with Lewis and Elam as backups, not as starters. Again, look around the league. There aren't many teams who have somebody like Kendrick Lewis as a third or fourth safety. They have Levine type players as a third or fourth safety, which is a downgrade for that position. Levine is valuable as a ST player. If he wasn't good at that, he wouldn't be here.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

5 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Right, but I don't know if that's what we want. I don't think you want him taking snaps for Dumervil in a pass rushing situation, and maybe not even from Suggs. The way to reduce their snap counts isn't by taking them off the field in pure pass rushing situations... its by taking them off the field in mostly running situations, largely first down.

The point of not having three OLBs on the field is that one of them would be off the field in pass rushing situations, and my guess that guy would be Freeney most of the time. So if he's not going to be on the field in pass rushing situations... why is he here? He's not nearly the kind of player that other teams are going to lose sleep over. I get it... he had a good season last year, which probably had a lot more to do with the fact that he took half the season off. He also wasn't very good for a couple years before that, and he doesn't seem to be drawing much interest this offseason from ANY NFL team. That's kind of a red flag. Not saying he doesn't have value, but he's not the kind of guy you bring in and all of the sudden teams are like "o no, its Freeney".

As far as Webb, the choice they have is clear... go forward with the guys we have. I don't think they have any interest in moving Webb around the field. I think they want him playing safety and safety only.

I think they're happy with Lewis and Elam as backups, not as starters. Again, look around the league. There aren't many teams who have somebody like Kendrick Lewis as a third or fourth safety. They have Levine type players as a third or fourth safety, which is a downgrade for that position. Levine is valuable as a ST player. If he wasn't good at that, he wouldn't be here.

Taking a snap is taking a snap. Suggs and Dumervil need to take breathers and the worst thing you can have on the field is a tired pass rusher. So yeah, he would sub in on rushes from time to time to keep our pass rush fresh. Remember, we have no proven edge rusher save for Suggs and Dumervil at this time. And even at his advanced age if you don't account for Freeney he will make you pay and that's exactly what we need. We also don't really know how well Suggs will be after coming back from another Achilles injury, so it wouldn't hurt to have some insurance.

As far as Webb goes, oh yes they do and they even said as much. They mentioned that he would roam a bit as a safety and in nickel or dime packages you might see him move in as the nickel or "slot" corner. Anthony Levine actually played some corner last season as well and looked fairly good doing it. To me that makes him better than Elam and Lewis. As far as Lewis goes, he should have been a starter. The fact that he dropped down to a third or fourth option should mean something.

[rmcjacket23]

26 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Taking a snap is taking a snap. Suggs and Dumervil need to take breathers and the worst thing you can have on the field is a tired pass rusher. So yeah, he would sub in on rushes from time to time to keep our pass rush fresh. Remember, we have no proven edge rusher save for Suggs and Dumervil at this time. And even at his advanced age if you don't account for Freeney he will make you pay and that's exactly what we need. We also don't really know how well Suggs will be after coming back from another Achilles injury, so it wouldn't hurt to have some insurance.

As far as Webb goes, oh yes they do and they even said as much. They mentioned that he would roam a bit as a safety and in nickel or dime packages you might see him move in as the nickel or "slot" corner. Anthony Levine actually played some corner last season as well and looked fairly good doing it. To me that makes him better than Elam and Lewis. As far as Lewis goes, he should have been a starter. The fact that he dropped down to a third or fourth option should mean something.

They also said that about Webb BEFORE they released Will Hill. That was when we had two legitimate safeties on the roster in Hill and Weddle and we were dreaming of the scenarios where we could get all three on the field at once. As far as Levine, he played 10 defensive snaps last season, and I don't believe any of them were at corner. If they were, again, it was 10 snaps. I'm not judging anybody off 10 snaps, good or bad.

He played corner in 2014 when we had like 8 corners and safeties get hurt. I wasn't impressed, and apparently neither was the FO. The fact that Lewis dropped down to 3rd or 4th safety is because that's what he is... a 3rd or 4th safety. He's not a good starter, but he's quality depth. The fact that we can even get a safety who multiple NFL teams have thought was starter worthy is good enough depth for me. 

I'm fine with signing Freeney... but not before the draft, because I don't see the point. I'd rather add a rush or run setting linebacker with potential in the 3rd or 4th round. At least then we are actually attempting to solve a problem that isn't solvable in one season.

Me personally, I think its generally just an overreaction to Freeney by the fanbase for choosing Babin over him last season. I think if he gets 2-3 sacks the whole year for any team this season it'd be a good season for him.