[News] Eisenberg: Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

[BR News]

After a 5-11 season, the Ravens uncharacteristically signed three free agents early … and they should help.

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[Drinkmore Beer]

The best is yet to come with Trent Richardson. He's so motivated, he's set his alarm for 11:30 am!

[BigUgly]

Agreed that these older free agents make the Ravens better on paper, but they are an indictment against the team's recent ability to draft and develop players worth starting or retaining during Harbaugh's tenure as coach.  It is uncharacteristic of an Ozzie-run team, which begs the question of how much influence Harbs has on draft day or how well the coaching staff prepares or schemes for the use of talent they do have.

[rmcjacket23]

1 minute ago, BigUgly said:

Agreed that these older free agents make the Ravens better on paper, but they are an indictment against the team's recent ability to draft and develop players worth starting or retaining during Harbaugh's tenure as coach.  It is uncharacteristic of an Ozzie-run team, which begs the question of how much influence Harbs has on draft day or how well the coaching staff prepares or schemes for the use of talent they do have.

Plenty of factors at play here that could influence this...

1. Outside of Weddle, the deals are short term, affordable deals, which Ozzie always prefers. It's not like we went out to the top of the market and signed guys.

2. Maybe the FO thinks overall this is simply a poor draft class.

3. We were 5-11, which means we've got a lot of holes to fill. Doing all of it through the draft isn't realistic.

4. There is some reported perception of a big spike in the salary cap in the next year or two, which means teams will have more money to spend. We spend to the cap every year, and draft pick compensation doesn't change nearly as much as FA markets. Basically, if we want to continue to spend to the cap, we'd probably be forced to invest more in FAs and extensions for our own guys.

Given that we haven't been overly successful recently with draft picks, there aren't a ton of extensions to be handed out in the short term.

[PalmBayRaven]

Agreed that these older free agents make the Ravens better on paper, but they are an indictment against the team's recent ability to draft and develop players worth starting or retaining during Harbaugh's tenure as coach.  It is uncharacteristic of an Ozzie-run team, which begs the question of how much influence Harbs has on draft day or how well the coaching staff prepares or schemes for the use of talent they do have.

I agree. Our high draft picks especially have been bust more or less except CJ. Elam, Arthur Brown and even Courtney Upshaw. Yes, we have had some good 3&4th rounders that have produced like Brandon Williams but all in all you should expect your 1st & 2nd round picks to produce right away and that has not been the case the last few years. Makes you wonder what has happened to the scouting department? Then you wonder how the Steelers consistently find good receivers in lower rounds and we can't find 1.

[edthehead]

The best is yet to come with Trent Richardson. He's so motivated, he's set his alarm for 11:30 am!

too funny

[ellicottraven]

'Weddle', 'Watson', 'Wallace' = 'Winning'

That is the calculus of the front office.

[hen826957]

I'll give the Ravens 2 years to compete for the Super Bowl. I believe we are a playoff team but not a Super Bowl team just yet. We have too many holes to fill in one year and l don't think one draft will fix all of that. But we will see what's yet to come. ?

[Halshayeji]

2 hours ago, Drinkmore Beer said:

The best is yet to come with Trent Richardson. He's so motivated, he's set his alarm for 11:30 am!

 

You sir just won the Internet!

[RavensFanMania]

54 minutes ago, ellicottraven said:

'Weddle', 'Watson', 'Wallace' = 'Winning'

That is the calculus of the front office.

The three 'WWW's'

[rmcjacket23]

1 hour ago, PalmBayRaven said:

I agree. Our high draft picks especially have been bust more or less except CJ. Elam, Arthur Brown and even Courtney Upshaw. Yes, we have had some good 3&4th rounders that have produced like Brandon Williams but all in all you should expect your 1st & 2nd round picks to produce right away and that has not been the case the last few years. Makes you wonder what has happened to the scouting department? Then you wonder how the Steelers consistently find good receivers in lower rounds and we can't find 1.

Also need to consider where we selected those players. Historically, the later you pick, the less likely the player is to pan out.

Steelers are great at drafting receivers...not so great all the time at other positions. Their secondary is arguably weaker than ours and hasn't been good for years.

They've drafted nine defensive backs in the last five years and I'd argue not one of them could start for this team right now.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

All these signings will help the team in more than just one way. Every one of these guys can and will come in and start from the first day of training camp and threw the season and every one of these guys will also help the younger guys out in there development so the younger players and coaches get help with these signings as well. Weddle, Wallace and Watson will play a big part for this team and will be a factor in the Ravens improving on their W/L record from last season. Oz and his staff have done a great job this off season so far and if they maneuver the draft like they have free agency up to this point I really believe playoffs are a serious possibility.

[Minionhunter]

  3 hours ago, PalmBayRaven said:

I agree. Our high draft picks especially have been bust more or less except CJ. Elam, Arthur Brown and even Courtney Upshaw. Yes, we have had some good 3&4th rounders that have produced like Brandon Williams but all in all you should expect your 1st & 2nd round picks to produce right away and that has not been the case the last few years. Makes you wonder what has happened to the scouting department? Then you wonder how the Steelers consistently find good receivers in lower rounds and we can't find 1.

Also need to consider where we selected those players. Historically, the later you pick, the less likely the player is to pan out.

Steelers are great at drafting receivers...not so great all the time at other positions. Their secondary is arguably weaker than ours and hasn't been good for years.

They've drafted nine defensive backs in the last five years and I'd argue not one of them could start for this team right now.

Tomlin was a WR coach, knows what to look for and personally goes to scouting sessions and runs the drills himself. Look at what he does he knows what fits into his team. If you want to improve drafting WR study what Tomlin does. This year or best chance is going after Kolby Listenbee in the fourth round. Yes we are picking high but he won't last. And he might be taken by NE with one of their 3rd round comp picks. KL is Raven tough and has unteachable speed.

[bozo]

if pita can play and perrimen can play well , fix the offensive line and repair the secondary mabe the can win the north.

[billiejean]

  3 hours ago, rmcjacket23 said:

  5 hours ago, PalmBayRaven said:

I agree. Our high draft picks especially have been bust more or less except CJ. Elam, Arthur Brown and even Courtney Upshaw. Yes, we have had some good 3&4th rounders that have produced like Brandon Williams but all in all you should expect your 1st & 2nd round picks to produce right away and that has not been the case the last few years. Makes you wonder what has happened to the scouting department? Then you wonder how the Steelers consistently find good receivers in lower rounds and we can't find 1.

Also need to consider where we selected those players. Historically, the later you pick, the less likely the player is to pan out.

Steelers are great at drafting receivers...not so great all the time at other positions. Their secondary is arguably weaker than ours and hasn't been good for years.

They've drafted nine defensive backs in the last five years and I'd argue not one of them could start for this team right now.

Tomlin was a WR coach, knows what to look for and personally goes to scouting sessions and runs the drills himself. Look at what he does he knows what fits into his team. If you want to improve drafting WR study what Tomlin does. This year or best chance is going after Kolby Listenbee in the fourth round. Yes we are picking high but he won't last. And he might be taken by NE with one of their 3rd round comp picks. KL is Raven tough and has unteachable speed.

im not sure where you come up with this stuff. Tomlin coached WR for one year. It was his first year of coaching experience at the Virginia Military Institute. After that he was a DBs coach for multiple teams. He then became a Defensive Coordinator. The Steelers have had luck drafting receivers way before Tomlin coached there.

[Barry S]

This shows that Steve Bisciotti was not happy being the owner of a team with a 5-11 record. I knew that he was going to chew some butt at that meeting in Florida and this also shows he respects the fans and the city of Baltimore.

[rmcjacket23]

11 hours ago, Barry S said:

This shows that Steve Bisciotti was not happy being the owner of a team with a 5-11 record. I knew that he was going to chew some butt at that meeting in Florida and this also shows he respects the fans and the city of Baltimore.

Except he didn't do that, so...

[Ugly Ball]

I would like to see the coaches getting more aggressive this season too.
Pulling out all the stops, is the only way to attack "every" season.!
Defense has been the identity of the Ravens from the beginning
and that's become our weak link. Whenever defense plays like it's trying not to lose, instead of playing like it's going to dominate, that's not enough. We have gone from having league high turnover ratios to almost getting none. That, I think has more to do with coaching than individual player skills.

[robbie29]

Perhaps more than anything, we need to improve in the secondary. Just 5 INTs last year by all DBs combined (and only 6 the year before)- unacceptable. Nice to see a new secondary coach hired. Great step in the right direction. Another area needing loads of improvement- keeping players healthy. Part of that is on the players themselves but our strength & conditioning guys need to be held accountable too- we've had too many guys land on IR each of the two years. There's only so much you can blame on bad luck.

[MadStorkSociety]

37 minutes ago, robbie29 said:

Perhaps more than anything, we need to improve in the secondary. Just 5 INTs last year by all DBs combined (and only 6 the year before)- unacceptable. Nice to see a new secondary coach hired. Great step in the right direction. Another area needing loads of improvement- keeping players healthy. Part of that is on the players themselves but our strength & conditioning guys need to be held accountable too- we've had too many guys land on IR each of the two years. There's only so much you can blame on bad luck.

Agree - agree and agree on all 3 points.

[Fastynart]

The Ravens had to "uncharacteristically sign free agents" because their drafting over the last 5 years stinks. They have taken so many lame players in the first few rounds, compared to those worth it, that they had no choice. Elam and Perriman, the latest busts, both wasted number one picks. Let us not forget the immortal Kindle and Cody. Who is scouting these guys and why on earth would the Ravens waste high picks on any of them?

[OzzieBisciotti]

The Ravens had to "uncharacteristically sign free agents" because their drafting over the last 5 years stinks. They have taken so many lame players in the first few rounds, compared to those worth it, that they had no choice. Elam and Perriman, the latest busts, both wasted number one picks. Let us not forget the immortal Kindle and Cody. Who is scouting these guys and why on earth would the Ravens waste high picks on any of them?

I agree 110%. Weddle is decent but Wallace hasn't been productive as of late and Watson is 40 years old- he should go well with SSS. We need to get younger if anything... Poor drafts and bad salary cap management have led us to where we are today- I can bet that we won't make the playoffs next year- we needed to address the offensive line better or come up with a better scheme- that's why we can't run. Without running, Flacco isn't close to elite.

[OzzieBisciotti]

if pita can play and perrimen can play well , fix the offensive line and repair the secondary mabe the can win the north.

LOL- Who is Pitta and who is Perriman? Do these guys even exist? They've seen more grass on a chia pet as opposed to the playing field.

[OzzieBisciotti]

  On 3/26/2016 at 9:21 AM, BigUgly said:

Agreed that these older free agents make the Ravens better on paper, but they are an indictment against the team's recent ability to draft and develop players worth starting or retaining during Harbaugh's tenure as coach.  It is uncharacteristic of an Ozzie-run team, which begs the question of how much influence Harbs has on draft day or how well the coaching staff prepares or schemes for the use of talent they do have.

Plenty of factors at play here that could influence this...

1. Outside of Weddle, the deals are short term, affordable deals, which Ozzie always prefers. It's not like we went out to the top of the market and signed guys.

2. Maybe the FO thinks overall this is simply a poor draft class.

3. We were 5-11, which means we've got a lot of holes to fill. Doing all of it through the draft isn't realistic.

4. There is some reported perception of a big spike in the salary cap in the next year or two, which means teams will have more money to spend. We spend to the cap every year, and draft pick compensation doesn't change nearly as much as FA markets. Basically, if we want to continue to spend to the cap, we'd probably be forced to invest more in FAs and extensions for our own guys.

Given that we haven't been overly successful recently with draft picks, there aren't a ton of extensions to be handed out in the short term.

Well said. At least you understand what everyone agrees upon- that our past drafts haven't been successful. We don't have a good young base of players due to 5 years of poor drafts.

[usmccharles]

12 minutes ago, OzzieBisciotti said:

I agree 110%. Weddle is decent but Wallace hasn't been productive as of late and Watson is 40 years old- he should go well with SSS. We need to get younger if anything... Poor drafts and bad salary cap management have led us to where we are today- I can bet that we won't make the playoffs next year- we needed to address the offensive line better or come up with a better scheme- that's why we can't run. Without running, Flacco isn't close to elite.

Wallace was in Miami, which is a dumpster fire and Tanahill does not have a deep ball.  Same can be said about the Vikes, maybe less of a dumpster fire but Bridgewater didn't have a deep ball either.  Watson was added due to the injury concern and adds a veteran presence, hes actually 35, you were close....kind of.  We are getting younger, its called the draft, your optimism is overwhelming

Side-note, Perrimen isn't a bust....

 

Edited March 29, 2016 by usmccharles

[rmcjacket23]

29 minutes ago, OzzieBisciotti said:

Well said. At least you understand what everyone agrees upon- that our past drafts haven't been successful. We don't have a good young base of players due to 5 years of poor drafts.

I wouldn't say we've had poor drafts. I'd say we've done poorly with our early draft picks.

If you realize analyze it over the last five years:

2011: A decent draft. We got Jimmy, who signed a long term extension, and we got Torrey and McPhee, who were pretty good players for us when they were here. Unfortunately, Torrey never really got much better, and we weren't able to retain McPhee. The rest of the class was a bust, but three quality players in any draft is a good draft.

2012: No question... this draft was largely garbage. KO was a great player for us, and Upshaw was decent in a certain role. Rest of that draft just flat out sucked. With Upshaw signing in Atlanta, there are zero players remaining from this draft class on the roster. Best player we got that year was Tucker as an UDFA.

2013: This draft is the prime example of being poor early, but getting some good players later. Elam and Art Brown haven't done much in the last three years, but we did get a steal in Brandon Williams and a quality RT in Rick Wagner in the middle rounds. We got a starting FB too, though nothing special. All in all, I'd say this draft was average.

But if you really think about it... if we had drafted different players in different spots, would people complain about this draft? If we took Williams in the 1st, Wagner in the 2nd, and then drafted Elam and Brown in the middle rounds... would fans still consider this draft class to be a poor one?

I think 2013 is a textbook example of how fans generally evaluate a draft specifically based on how our like top 2-3 picks in the draft perform, but don't look at the draft in its entirety.

2014: Jury is still out on this class, but Mosley looks like a good player, Jernigan looks like a solid player, and there's still players we think we like, such as Gillmore, Urban and Campanaro. Probably need one more year to fully evaluate this group.

2015: Obviously way too early, but there's some signs of this group having large potential. Davis and Zadarius played significant roles, Buck Allen showed he's capable of being a good 2nd RB, and we got a WR and a TE who we still haven't seen much out of.

Edited March 29, 2016 by rmcjacket23