Starting middle LB next to CJ. Mosley...

[JoeyFlex5]

16 minutes ago, Winchester said:

The ravens could run a lot of 4-3. In that case I would guess Correa plays olb and Brown or somebody cut will play weak side olb. Mosley and Correa will be a fine tandem at mlb and strong side lb. Fast to drop in coverage and great blitzers. Weak side olb could be the position up for grabs

And here's where the problem lies.. We don't have an answer for either lineup. Who's the Will in the 43? Who is next to Mosley in the 34?

[Jacquouille]

49 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

And here's where the problem lies.. We don't have an answer for either lineup. Who's the Will in the 43? Who is next to Mosley in the 34?

I really like Orr, he's a playmaker. Can he be a 3-down LB? I'm not sure, but the guy deserves a chance.

Reportedly A Brown finally made some progress but Orr is still my guy.

[Winchester]

4 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

And here's where the problem lies.. We don't have an answer for either lineup. Who's the Will in the 43? Who is next to Mosley in the 34?

Should of drafted jatavis Brown to play weak side. A. Brown could be good at weak side backer. Are any lbs candidates to be cut or traded?? Would Willis consider coming out of retirement??

[BmoreBird22]

Just now, Winchester said:

Should of drafted jatavis Brown to play weak side. A. Brown could be good at weak side backer. Are any lbs candidates to be cut or traded?? Would Willis consider coming out of retirement??

49ers would retain the rights to Willis

[Winchester]

26 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

49ers would retain the rights to Willis

When will that contract expire?? I would be in favor of trading a draft pick for a competent 3 down lb. Mosley At mlb Correa at olb and somebody like Willis or Bowman,anybody that is a 3down hard hitting LB would be pretty awesome. Correa is going to be an awesome lb that excels at blitzing. He has the athleticism and speed to at least be good at zone cover responsibilities. Correa could be an ilb but is better at olb in a 4-3. Where his blitzing will give teams big problems cuz TEs would not be able to handle him.

[443hurricane]

On 5/4/2016 at 1:01 PM, Deflated Football said:

I really hope Arthur Brown steps up and takes it. He has so much potential. 

BUST

[RaineV1]

I think there's a good chance the undrafted ILB the Ravens picked up, Luckett, becomes the next starter. He has good size and range. Plus it's not like the Ravens haven't started undrafted linebackers before, such as Orr.

[Darhk_Raven]

33 minutes ago, RaineV1 said:

I think there's a good chance the undrafted ILB the Ravens picked up, Luckett, becomes the next starter. He has good size and range. Plus it's not like the Ravens haven't started undrafted linebackers before, such as Orr.

There is also the other UDFA Patrick Onwuasor, he's listed as an ILB after playing Safety at Portland State and Arizona before that.

[RaineV1]

13 minutes ago, Darhk_Raven said:

There is also the other UDFA Patrick Onwuasor, he's listed as an ILB after playing Safety at Portland State and Arizona before that.

Yep, he has a real shot at it too. It's a very open competition at the moment.

[Darhk_Raven]

29 minutes ago, RaineV1 said:

Yep, he has a real shot at it too. It's a very open competition at the moment.

If he is willing to come up and play the run he could be a nice compliment to CJ Mosley.

[JoeyFlex5]

Mosley is such a dominant run stopper that I don't even want a 2nd  ilb, I really want a sslb hybrid. I think it would be the ideal situation to get a big guy who can hold down the seam and blow up drags and slants far more than getting a traditional LB. Our run defense would be good Even if we ran a 6 man front as our base, we have 2 safeties who I think are going to excel and turn our defense around completely BUT I still think we'll be very vulnerable to tight ends because those safeties are undersized for that job. 

 

I think killebrew or cash would have been huge pickups and that could be the one mistake of our draft, not getting a guy who can handle TEs. Was killebrew on the board when we took Alex lewis?

[RaineV1]

4 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

I think killebrew or cash would have been huge pickups and that could be the one mistake of our draft, not getting a guy who can handle TEs. Was killebrew on the board when we took Alex lewis?

Yep, I wanted them as small linebacker hybrids too. Would have been great. And no, the Lions took him earlier in the fourth before we took Lewis.

[Darhk_Raven]

11 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Mosley is such a dominant run stopper that I don't even want a 2nd  ilb, I really want a sslb hybrid. I think it would be the ideal situation to get a big guy who can hold down the seam and blow up drags and slants far more than getting a traditional LB. Our run defense would be good Even if we ran a 6 man front as our base, we have 2 safeties who I think are going to excel and turn our defense around completely BUT I still think we'll be very vulnerable to tight ends because those safeties are undersized for that job. 

 

I think killebrew or cash would have been huge pickups and that could be the one mistake of our draft, not getting a guy who can handle TEs. Was killebrew on the board when we took Alex lewis?

Killebrew was already gone by the time we picked Lewis. The one video I did find on Onwuasor makes me think he might be able to do what is needed. 

[Willbacker]

13 hours ago, Darhk_Raven said:

There is also the other UDFA Patrick Onwuasor, he's listed as an ILB after playing Safety at Portland State and Arizona before that.

Could be an interesting guy to keep an eye on. I do believe the characteristics of the 2nd ILB is changing in todays football into more of a coverage guy and sometimes blitzer instead of 2 run oriented guys.

[Darhk_Raven]

43 minutes ago, Willbacker said:

Could be an interesting guy to keep an eye on. I do believe the characteristics of the 2nd ILB is changing in todays football into more of a coverage guy and sometimes blitzer instead of 2 run oriented guys.

I agree, it would just be a plus for the second ILB to be good at stepping up to make tackles. 

[Jacquouille]

Anyone has some tape of Onuwasor? All I could find was some highlights, but he got me interested, he fits what we need. 

[Deflated Football]

16 hours ago, 443hurricane said:

BUST

He just never really got an opportunity with CJ and Daryl. Throw him into the fire and see what he can do. He wasn't being compared to NaVorro Bowman coming out of college for no reason. Some guys just take some time to develop. 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Deflated Football

[Darhk_Raven]

27 minutes ago, Jacquouille said:

Anyone has some tape of Onuwasor? All I could find was some highlights, but he got me interested, he fits what we need. 

No, that's all I've been able to find. I also want to see more of what he can do.

[JoeyFlex5]

10 hours ago, Deflated Football said:

He just never really got an opportunity with CJ and Daryl. Throw him into the fire and see what he can do. He wasn't being compared to NaVorro Bowman coming out of college for no reason. Some guys just take some time to develop. 

A concern of his in college was that he lacked the mental capacity and the passion for football. 2 things that have shown up in a lot of the footage we have seen of him. 

 

He's supposed to be a coverage guy but he gets toasted in the open field on simple dumpoff breaks every time he takes the field.

[Jacquouille]

3 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

A concern of his in college was that he lacked the mental capacity and the passion for football. 2 things that have shown up in a lot of the footage we have seen of him. 

 

He's supposed to be a coverage guy but he gets toasted in the open field on simple dumpoff breaks every time he takes the field.

Wasn't he a captain in college?

[ant2ney]

14 hours ago, Darhk_Raven said:

No, that's all I've been able to find. I also want to see more of what he can do.

No tape, but some background on him....

 

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/7/23/4550860/patrick-onwuasor-arrest-felonies-arizona

 

Kicked out of Arizona due to drug and weapons charges. 

 

Surpised we went near him given our recent stance on off the field issues

[JoeyFlex5]

1 hour ago, Jacquouille said:

Wasn't he a captain in college?

Even if he was, I'm not sure it has any bearing on his current situation

[Darhk_Raven]

4 hours ago, ant2ney said:

No tape, but some background on him....

 

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/7/23/4550860/patrick-onwuasor-arrest-felonies-arizona

 

Kicked out of Arizona due to drug and weapons charges. 

 

Surpised we went near him given our recent stance on off the field issues

Yeah I've seen this already. From what I've seen he has completely turned things around. In an interview it talks about the first time he met with the coach at Portland State. The coach says the first thing Patrick said to him wasn't anything football related, but about how he knows that he put himself in a bad situation and how he let his family down. 

[GrimCoconut]

9 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

A concern of his in college was that he lacked the mental capacity and the passion for football. 2 things that have shown up in a lot of the footage we have seen of him. 

 

He's supposed to be a coverage guy but he gets toasted in the open field on simple dumpoff breaks every time he takes the field.

I don't recall any concerns on his mental capacity and passion for football in the scouting process leading up to the draft. I recall concerns about him transferring from a big school like The U to Kansas State and wondering why he chose to not make try to be the guy at The U buy those were character concerns regarding his maturity and not questions on his capacity nor passion. There were some football IQ questions but there weren't many, mainly his angles and I recall personally wondering about his ability to make plays but I'll admit I loved him as a prospect. 

[Ravensfan23]

I think that Orr and Brown take over to form a nice 3 man ILB crew. I feel Orr will be the guy who starts next to Mosley, and Brown will be a sub package guy. I was really impressed with Brown's ability to blitz to get pressure and even cover backs a couple years ago. I think that'll be his role and he'll see plenty of time unless he just can't handle that role. 

Orr is that next UDFA ILB in a lone line of guys to go from unknown to a quality player in the Ravens defense. I really like the prospects of he and CJ together. Orr just built more and more confidence as the season wore on and I believe his play was a factor in letting Buck walk. He did a really good job in coverage towards the end of the season and a better pass rush will just help him in that department. I really think the Dline will make anyone who starts at ILB look much better because the DLine has the potential to be one of the best in the NFL and if they are as disruptive as I think they'll be, it'll be hard for offenses to move via ground or air. 

I've been cutting Mccellean off this roster for the last 2 years, so i'll say he'll make the team this year lol 

 

[Willbacker]

16 minutes ago, Ravensfan23 said:

I think that Orr and Brown take over to form a nice 3 man ILB crew. I feel Orr will be the guy who starts next to Mosley, and Brown will be a sub package guy. I was really impressed with Brown's ability to blitz to get pressure and even cover backs a couple years ago. I think that'll be his role and he'll see plenty of time unless he just can't handle that role. 

Orr is that next UDFA ILB in a lone line of guys to go from unknown to a quality player in the Ravens defense. I really like the prospects of he and CJ together. Orr just built more and more confidence as the season wore on and I believe his play was a factor in letting Buck walk. He did a really good job in coverage towards the end of the season and a better pass rush will just help him in that department. I really think the Dline will make anyone who starts at ILB look much better because the DLine has the potential to be one of the best in the NFL and if they are as disruptive as I think they'll be, it'll be hard for offenses to move via ground or air. 

I've been cutting Mccellean off this roster for the last 2 years, so i'll say he'll make the team this year lol 

 

I have to admit I didn't really notice this last year But I did notice CJ seemed to improve in coverage toward the end of last year. This is something our ILBs have to work on this year

[GrimCoconut]

56 minutes ago, Ravensfan23 said:

I think that Orr and Brown take over to form a nice 3 man ILB crew. I feel Orr will be the guy who starts next to Mosley, and Brown will be a sub package guy. I was really impressed with Brown's ability to blitz to get pressure and even cover backs a couple years ago. I think that'll be his role and he'll see plenty of time unless he just can't handle that role. 

Orr is that next UDFA ILB in a lone line of guys to go from unknown to a quality player in the Ravens defense. I really like the prospects of he and CJ together. Orr just built more and more confidence as the season wore on and I believe his play was a factor in letting Buck walk. He did a really good job in coverage towards the end of the season and a better pass rush will just help him in that department. I really think the Dline will make anyone who starts at ILB look much better because the DLine has the potential to be one of the best in the NFL and if they are as disruptive as I think they'll be, it'll be hard for offenses to move via ground or air. 

I've been cutting Mccellean off this roster for the last 2 years, so i'll say he'll make the team this year lol 

 

We just extended McClellan to a 3-year deal this off-season on 3/1/16. I don't normally make these absolute statements, but there's literally  no way we cut him. None. We've never cut a guy like that ever before after just extending them to a multi-year deal. Obviously you said he makes it, but I want to put this out in case anyone doesn't realize that we just extended him and think he could be gone. McClellan will make this team. He may even take over for Upshaw, which I recall him being used last year to set the edge. 

Edited May 15, 2016 by GrimCoconut

[Ravensfan23]

12 minutes ago, Willbacker said:

I have to admit I didn't really notice this last year But I did notice CJ seemed to improve in coverage toward the end of last year. This is something our ILBs have to work on this year

Yea the entire defense improved in pass coverage towards the end of the season imo. It wasn't a numbers thing in terms of PDs or INTs, but you could see his confidence and comfort level growing in terms of playing his assignment and not being a weak link which Buck often was last year. I don't see him running stride for stride with TEs or splitting out wide to cover them, but his instincts in zone and short area quickness was impressive. It takes a small school guy time to adjust and I thought the extra playing time he got towards the end of the season helped him build confidence to know he can start and play a major role in the NFL. 

They definitely need to improve their coverage no matter who starts next to Mosley. I think a better pass rush will help obviously but i'm sure that'll be a major focal point for the ILB group to improve coverage. 

[Ravensfan23]

6 minutes ago, GrimCoconut said:

We just extended McClellan to a 3-year deal this off-season on 3/1/16. I don't normally make these absolute statements, but there's literally  no way we cut him. None. We've never cut a guy like that ever before after just extending them to a multi-year deal. Obviously you said he makes it, but I want to put this out in case anyone doesn't realize that we just extended him and think he could be gone. McClellan will make this team. He may even take over for Upshaw, which I recall him being used last year to set the edge. 

Yea I have completely undervalued McClellan and what does for this team. He brings a ton of versatility to the defense and the Ravens love that. He's a strong ST guy and might even be our ST Ace. He was used to help set the edge once Suggs went down and I definitely he'll be used to help fill in for Upshaw along with Correa. I just never really liked McClellan and i have no reason why lol. 

I didn't realize he was signed this offseason and because of that my i've instantly changed my opinion of how the ILB position will play out. There's a part of me that really wants to see Brown make good on the promise of a 2nd round pick, but the reality is he just really hasn't been apart of the Ravens plans. Orr may just be used in the fashion many have envisioned Brown being used. He's not as athletic as Brown but he definitely has the sideline to sideline fast and short area quickness to be used as a 3 down backer. He can attack the LOS as a blitzer and there wouldn't be much need to replace him with Brown other then just wanting Brown to be involved. Brown may very well be replaced by another UDFA with coverage ability who can contribute on ST. 

With McClellan I would like to see him move back to ILB compete with Orr because I think the Ravens have some young guys who can really make this team at the OLB position and with Suggs nor Doom not being cut options imo, that position will be crowded. won't go into that position here, but maybe I'll create a OLB thread because I'm very intrigued by the young talent at that position. 

[ellicottraven]

1 hour ago, GrimCoconut said:

We just extended McClellan to a 3-year deal this off-season on 3/1/16. I don't normally make these absolute statements, but there's literally  no way we cut him. None. We've never cut a guy like that ever before after just extending them to a multi-year deal. Obviously you said he makes it, but I want to put this out in case anyone doesn't realize that we just extended him and think he could be gone. McClellan will make this team. He may even take over for Upshaw, which I recall him being used last year to set the edge. 

Here’s McClennan’s contract. I think if they cut him they’ll have dead money in the amount of 600K and save 500K in cap savings. So, who knows who’ll be on the final roster. However, I don’t see us cutting him either not because we signed him to a 3 yr deal, but because he’s extremely versatile and can play inside LB, outside LB and special teams.

Contract Details

Total Value: $3,750,000 (avg. $1,250,000/year; $600,000 fully guaranteed)

42nd highest of 111 34OLB contracts

Year	Base Salary (Guaranteed)	Bonuses				Cap Number		Dead Money & Cap Savings Cut (pre-June 1)Cut (post-June 1)Trade
		Prorated	Roster	Workout	Other
2012	$465,000	$0	$0	$0	$0	$465,000
2013	$555,000	$0	$0	$0	$0	$555,000
2014	$800,000	$200,000	$0	$0	$0	$1,000,000
2015	$1,000,000	$200,000	$0	$0	$0	$1,200,000
2016	$900,000	$200,000	$0	$0	$0	$1,100,000		$600,000	$500,000
2017	$1,000,000	$200,000	$0	$0	$0	$1,200,000		$400,000	$800,000
2018	$1,250,000	$200,000	$0	$0	$0	$1,450,000		$200,000

Edited May 15, 2016 by ellicottraven