Instant Coffee

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

People lately have become upset because we didn't add "instant coffee" this offseason like Ozzie said. Well, we did, but not every pick we made was instant coffee. Hell, the acquisitions we made were instant coffee as well. Let's go through it shall we. 

Instant Coffee(Immediate Editions to the team that will make the team better from the get-go)

Benjamin Watson- I hate to inform most of you..Crockett is overrated. I like him, I do. But I think he's peaked. He's good, but Maxx honestly has a higher ceiling. And I think Maxx is going to better. Crockett isn't durable though, and Watson normally is. He's reliable and can have big games. He helps the WR corps out a lot. We needed a guy like him. At worst he's depth. Best he's a good #2 TE. 

Eric Weddle-A guy who could be an elite safety at either safety position came to our team? Hell yeah this is great. Putting him back there with everyone is a very good move. We have captain back there now, a leader, and a damn good player who's got a few good years left. He's good in coverage, has good instincts, and good ball skills. Sound tackler. He's the perfect edition we needed to a defensive core.

Terelll Suggs- Listen, I see the achilles injury. But if he comes back even remotely close to what he used to be, he's going to have an impact. Suggs at worst will help out the pass rush even just a little bit, and will help out with the run defense as well. He missed all last year, we need him back. 

Mike Wallace-Yes, this is instant coffee. We lacked a true deep threat. Wallace might not have had a spectacular past three years, but his QB's don't exactly do well with the deep ball. He's going to inject speed which is what we need. He's a blazer, and someone defenses will have to respect. Flacco's deep ball accuracy may be spotty, but his arm + Wallace's speed will still have to be respected which opens up many things for the offense. He's always been an overrated player, but as a #3 here, he could be very useful. 

Breshad Perriman- Say what you want about him. His tape has a few horrid drops, but also spectacular catches. His route running may need some work, but he's big, strong, fast, and is a hands catcher. He's physical. He's got traits that could allow him to become a good route runner. Should he be healthy this season, we should/could put him at the #2 WR position. He's got potential to be a star in this league, and at the very worst provides us with a good deep threat. 

Ronnie Stanley-Hello instant improvement at pass protection. His tape is so good in that regard that I fell asleep. He was boring. Great thing for an olinemen. Needs work on his run blocking, but he's a high floor and ceiling player. Instant coffee= improvements potentially to the pass game and run game because of improvement on the line. Not an impact player? lmao. 

Bronson Kaufausi-So let's look at our front 7 before

Brandon Williams

Jernigan

Davis

Guy

ZDS

Mosley

Dumervil 

Suggs

 

There was a distinct lack of pass rusher and depth right here. And Davis and Guy are unproven as starters. Ozzie brought in a guy who's probably starting day one. He's got skills when it comes to both pass rush and run defense. His game needs tweaking, but the ceiling is there to make an impact day one both as a pass rusher and run defender.

 

Tavon Young-say hello to the future slot corner. He's fiesty and plays like a raven. Physical with damn good ball skills, and good athletic ability. He's got skills in coverage. His size is a concern, but in the slot he's got a future. Lots of teams now use slot WRs. Could be a day one starter, but will probably start down the line if/when Arrington dissapoints. 

Kenneth Dixon-Forsett is a product of Kubiak's scheme, Allen is a guy I liked and could be a starter but Dixon is honestly better. Tal is hurt and probably won't make the team, and West is a question mark. Watching Dixon's tape it would not surprise me if he started day one. He's a violent runner with great hands and skills in pass pro. No breakneck speed, but he is built to make teams pay. He begs to be hit. I predict early on in the season they put him in and he just breaks out, and wins the starting job from then on. 

 

You ask me, if the only needs right now are MLB and possibly OG(I think we bring in Slauson), then we've done a good jobs. This draft was about getting one thing: Depth. Our defense has a pretty good core as I've said in the past

Williams

Jernigan

Mosley

Weddle

Jimmy

Dumervil

Suggs(if healthy again)

We added another potential member to the core in Kaufausi. We also have Carl Davis who's got the ceiling to be there as well, and ZDS flashed towards the end of last season. But this offseason was about adding depth. We lacked a pass rush, so we went and got guys like Kaufausi, and Correa, and Judon, and Henry, and picked up Victor Ochi. Put those guys in with Dumervil, ZDS, Suggs, Jernigan, and Guy and we suddenly have a deep front 7 that can get creative with blitz's and what not. We bolstered the front seven's depth which is beyond valuable in today's nfl. That may not be instant coffee, but long term that could be very deadly for us. 

 

We did upgrade the secondary. Will Hill was a loss(but that was his fault, not ours), but Weddle does more than offset it. Wright was a good CB last year and could be a #2. Jimmy played like his old self again down the stretch, and he's a clear cut #1 when that happens. For whatever reason the team trusts webb at safety. Not a fan but okay. Harbaugh and Ozzie know more than we do. If we can go get maybe Donte Whitner and move Webb back to nickel corner then suddenly our defense has the potential for a mass turnaround. 

 

This team may not be sb ready yet(in a draft like this it would be hard). But this is the kind of draft that could take you back to a SB if you nail it. Every player here has the potential to contribute even if they're not starting. I don't think they'll be ready this year, but give it a year or two and let the depth develop and holy crap we'll look good.

 

You gotta look at the big picture. 

[usmccharles]

5 hours ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

 

Benjamin Watson- I hate to inform most of you.. Crockett is overrated. I like him, I do. But I think he's peaked. He's good, but Maxx honestly has a higher ceiling. And I think Maxx is going to better. Crockett isn't durable though, and Watson normally is. He's reliable and can have big games. He helps the WR corps out a lot. We needed a guy like him. At worst he's depth. Best he's a good #2 TE. 

This team may not be sb ready yet(in a draft like this it would be hard). But this is the kind of draft that could take you back to a SB if you nail it. Every player here has the potential to contribute even if they're not starting. I don't think they'll be ready this year, but give it a year or two and let the depth develop and holy crap we'll look good.

 

You gotta look at the big picture. 

I really like everything you said, only thing I highly disagree with is your statement about Gillmore.  In Pitta's best year, he put up 670 yards with 7 TDs in all 16 games, solid production.  Crocket in his best year (2nd year, same as Pitta) put up 410 yards and 4 TDs in 10 games.  The difference of average per game is .6 yards in Pitta's favor.  Basically they were on track to have a very identical year, obviously Gillmore being hurt changed that.   

Most people and their love for Pitta comes from our SB run, which is deserved because he came up huge.  But imo, if your going to say Gillmore is overrated I think you have to say Pitta is/was as well, but don't forget Gillmore has 3' and a solid 25lbs on him.   I really do think Gillmore can be a beast of a TE and be Joe's security blanket, his ability to make plays after the catch are why he's amazing.   

Maybe you know more about Trestman's offense than I do, but is two TE sets ideal for his setup, rolling with Gillmore and Maxx could be massive mismatches.

But I agree about this draft is a great  building block for the future, a lot of young talent infused and added depth.  Obviously we don't know what these new players will be but even if the returning guys and Weddle and Wallace play to their potential and we stay healthy, there is no reason to think we cant have a good deep season run.  We drafted 4 pass rushers who we could easily two make an instant impact, I see no reason not to be optimistic.  Great post. 

Edited May 6, 2016 by usmccharles

[Halshayeji]

Great post! 

I agree with almost everything you stated.

my only concern here is that we are going to be forced to put 4 or 5 guys on the PS that won't last a day. I hate giving away free players to other teams. Like Jon Simon a few years back.

when you look at it from Harboughs perspective. What an awesome problem to have.

we did great in FA and had a very good draft. Now we're heading into the final stage of the offseason and this is where Ozzie does the most damage.

looking forward to a great season

[Jaybirds]

I like the post, I agree with a lot of your points, but  I think there's one basic disagreement that spoils it for me.  I believe "instant coffee" and "depth' are opposites.  Yes, we need both, and I think we got both.  But a guy playing a necessary backup role (Kaufusi and Watson, for example) this year is not the same as instant coffee for me. 

I do consider Wallace, Stanley, Young, and possibly both Correa and Dixon to be instant coffee.  I think they'll get the most playing time, and make major contributions right away.

It just seems like two different conversations, though:  We added instant coffee as one thread, and we added depth as another. 

Edited May 6, 2016 by Jaybirds

[Purple_City39]

3 hours ago, usmccharles said:

I really like everything you said, only thing I highly disagree with is your statement about Gillmore.  In Pitta's best year, he put up 670 yards with 7 TDs in all 16 games, solid production.  Crocket in his best year (2nd year, same as Pitta) put up 410 yards and 4 TDs in 10 games.  The difference of average per game is .6 yards in Pitta's favor.  Basically they were on track to have a very identical year, obviously Gillmore being hurt changed that.   

Most people and their love for Pitta comes from our SB run, which is deserved because he came up huge.  But imo, if your going to say Gillmore is overrated I think you have to say Pitta is/was as well, but don't forget Gillmore has 3' and a solid 25lbs on him.   I really do think Gillmore cant be a beast of a TE and be Joe's security blanket, his ability to make plays after the catch are way he's amazing.   

Maybe you know more about Trestman's offense than I do, but is two TE sets ideal for his setup, rolling with Gillmore and Maxx could be massive mismatches.

But I agree about this draft is a great  building block for the future, a lot of young talent infused and added depth.  Obviously we don't know what these new players will be but even if the returning guys and Weddle and Wallace play to their potential and we stay healthy, there is no reason to think we cant have a good deep season run.  We drafted 4 pass rushers who we could easily two make an instant impact, I see no reason not to be optimistic.  Great post. 

I agree with all of this.  The OP was great outside of the Gillmore comment.  Let's not forget Gillmore is also the best blocking TE we've had since Heap, in addition to how much extra yardage he got after the catch.  The guy was a tank out there.

in terms of the instant Coffee, Stanley, Moore, Dixon, Kaufusi, and likely Correa will all give you that, in my opinon.  I think the complaints really come from not getting those big named drafted players more-so than who we did get.

[trevorsteadman]

I really have enjoyed this offseason more than I have in a long time. Why? Because we added solid players in free agency and had a draft I can see an immediate impact more than most drafts. Looking back I always questioned Elam, Upshaw, and some of our other first picks in drafts to be guys to turn a team around. I even questioned Mosley, but he proved me wrong. 

Starting in free agency.. Weddle is one of the top 3 safeties in the league if not THE best. I don't care what you say about his age, Utah players age like fine wine, even ask Steve Smith. Before an injury riddled season last year, he had back to back 100 tackle seasons. He was all over the field. Let me tell you I am sure Eric when signing here realized he won't have to do everything on defense like he did for the Chargers. He might even play at a higher level with more defensive talent around him.

Next you have Watson who was a monster last season at finding openings in defenses and this signing proves we will be using dual tight end sets a majority of what we do next year and we have amazing depth at the position. Watson, Gillmore, Williams, and Pitta will be a huge reason why we will do better on 3rd down next season, along with in the redzone. 

Wallace was the receiver burning us twice a year before he went to Miami for his monster contract. No he is not a #1 receiver. Torrey did the same thing getting a monster contract in San Francisco. Him and Perriman on the outsides will open the slot for Steve Smith in the middle, along with the tight ends. That is two of the fastest guys in the league on the same team. 

A sleeper I am looking forward to seeing is Trent Richardson. He was taken 3rd overall in the draft. That says a lot to how talented this guy was. He finally got his life on track and he may give Forsett and West a run for their money depending on how many running backs we decide to keep on the roster. I see Dixon and Allen as safe for now because they were recently drafted. I think people need to ignore his NFL tape because he is starting new here and he finally is in a healthy workout routine which he struggled getting into right after he got drafted.

Then looking at the draft Stanley is an immediate improvement wherever we put him. He is great in both pass protection and he has the feet to develop better into a run protector. This will give Flacco more time to throw the football deep to Perriman and Wallace, along with us getting the run game more involved this season. Moore will likely back up Perriman and Wallace as a deep threat. Reynolds will back up Steve Smith and Aiken but may give Aiken a run for his money, he likes finding the end zone. Kenneth Dixon is a dark horse for the starting running back job. He looks like Allen but runs meaner which would give us more run after contact yards, he too likes finding the endzone. Add in Kaufusi taking over the DE spot for aging Canty (who seems to hate us now that he is a commentator since we declined his 2016 option). On top of that adding Correa, Judon, and possibly Ochi into our pass rushing mix to give Suggs and Dumervil some breathing time will mean our pass rush will not stop coming next season. 

Some may say I have higher hopes than I should after an 5-11 season. But just think the year before we went 10-6 and we almost knocked off the eventual Super Bowl champions that season. We were ahead the entire game until the very end. We have a bunch of talent and I am very excited about this season. On paper I think we have a top 10 talent of a roster as long as no one gets hurt. Add in the great coaching staff we have we may have a chance if we stay healthy we can make a good run in the play offs. We need depth at inside linebacker though. If Mosley went down I am not comfortable in having both Brown and Orr start at both inside linebacker positions. One of them is fine, but both would be a complete disaster.

[K-Dog]

Are we no longer using the word "starter"?

[Tru11]

never been a fan of coffee myself.
 

 

[trevorsteadman]

49 minutes ago, K-Dog said:

Are we no longer using the word "starter"?

I think starter and "instant coffee" is different. I guess it all depends on who you ask. I think instant coffee means they will play a vital role on the team. Starter is playing a majority of the snaps if not all, where as instant coffee can be anything like a 3rd wide receiver on your depth chart, back up running back that still gets 12 carries a game, or a pass rusher in nickel situations. If they play a good amount of snaps.

[Prino61]

Great Post

[GrimCoconut]

Instant Kauf-usi, you say?

[TurkishRaven]

1 hour ago, Tru11 said:

never been a fan of coffee myself.
 

 

Instant coffees taste bad anyways. 

 

I think Crockett is one of the most underrated TEs in the league. I trust his hands more than I trust Maxx's. Plus he can knock down couple of defenders before he goes down. He is a beast. 

[trevorsteadman]

16 minutes ago, TurkishRaven said:

Instant coffees taste bad anyways. 

 

I think Crockett is one of the most underrated TEs in the league. I trust his hands more than I trust Maxx's. Plus he can knock down couple of defenders before he goes down. He is a beast. 

I definitely think Gillmore has his best football ahead of him. He has flashes of looking like a Kelce/Gronk tight end. But some games he also disappears. I would like some consistency I think now is better than ever with all the depth we have all the tight ends should be fresh to go.

[flynismo]

Agreed, I think Gillmore still has room to grow, especially in the pass game. He just needs to be more consistent, but given that he has to share snaps with two other TE, that's being a little harsh as well.

[flynismo]

1 hour ago, GrimCoconut said:

Instant Kauf-usi, you say?

Kona is definitely elite coffee

[usmccharles]

1 hour ago, GrimCoconut said:

Instant Kauf-usi, you say?

You win the Internet for the day sir 

[ellicottraven]

I think we are going to start hating instant coffee because how many cups of that nonsense can you actually drink. While the Ravens shot for a cup or 3 of instant coffee, they got like 8-9 cups of instant coffee in 3 days!

[K-Dog]

I am gonna start using random beverages to describe players.

That should be fun.

[Winchester]

The ravens best rookie this year we will nickname him "EXPRESSO" This is year ravens get an impact rookie!!

[ellicottraven]

12 hours ago, Winchester said:

The ravens best rookie this year we will nickname him "EXPRESSO" This is year ravens get an impact rookie!!

With your suggestion in mind, why don't we come up with Starbucks names for all our rookies?

[berad]

6 minutes ago, ellicottraven said:

With your suggestion in mind, why don't we come up with Starbucks names for all our rookies?

Your local barista would have an aneurysm if Kamalei and Bronson went in together for coffee.

[RavensDieHard21]

Haha both sound like more sophisticated blends than plain ol instant coffee

[Jaybirds]

Now I'm curious to see how much Kamalei Kaufusi Andy Dalton's bladder can stand. 

[ALPHA]

Im a big fan of Gillmore but he's made of glass and probably wont reach his potential, same with Jernigan. Then you have injury deadweight like KLM and Urban.

[ellicottraven]

25 minutes ago, berad said:

Your local barista would have an aneurysm if Kamalei and Bronson went in together for coffee.

Why? Wouldn't you like a cup of fresh "Correan Koffessee"?

Edited May 11, 2016 by ellicottraven

[Winchester]

The Caribbean Kufusi QB blend

[TurkishRaven]

Can I get  Moore Kamaleian coffeesi please?

[ALPHA]

Chairman and Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Correa

[redrum52]

Love the Watson pick up and though I'm not a Mike Wallace fan, he will serve his purpose here.  Can't hurt having Perriman out there.  The guys who benefit from this are the TEs and Aiken/Smith.  Don't forget the run gsme either.  

 

On the defense, at worst, I see Suggs being Upshaw.  If he can come back and produce at 75%, the pass rush should be OK with the rotation and Doom only having to take care of passing situations.  I'm honestly not worried about the front 7 much, except for the other ILB position.  Still have some concerns about the secondary, because for in this on the 4th year on a row, NEW SAFETY COMBO.  DAMN it, Will Hill!

[K-Dog]

Justin Tucker is Yoo-Hoo.