[News] Late For Work 5/10: Ray Lewis And ESPN Part Ways; Ravens Lose CB For Season

[FloridalovesRavens]

ESPN is cutting across the board.  Ray, Chris Carter, Skip Bayless and many are out in the next few months. Bayless is going to Fox Sports like Cowherd did. 

Ray should be fine.  Don't know if/where CC will land, but he always annoyed me w/ his "look at me" commentary. 

Glad to hear Skip Witless may be leaving. He always rubbed the wrong way. I don't listen to Fox that much.

[rmcjacket23]

20 minutes ago, TheConquerorWorm said:

The Ravens have pretty much started the year with 9 the last few years - Monroe, Stanley, Lewis, Zuttah, Yanda, Wagner, Urschel, Jansen & Hurst seem to be the front runners. If one of the other guys step up, then maybe we let Hurst go. Or if there is a quality FA LB or CB cut, then maybe we cut Monroe to make salary cap space. But in reality, I don't see that happening. That's a high quality list of O-linemen to have. We've seen how injuries can decimate a position, no need to cut Monroe to save his salary. The Ravens are currently almost $12 million under the cap minus Stanley (which should be about $3.4 million). $8 million is more than enough to sign a quality veteran....

In general, I agree.

To be honest, hard to see a path to Hurst making this team for me though. At worst, Stanley is basically the backup LT, and we also have Lewis who can play RT behind Wagner (and we know Yanda can play RT as well). So Hurst is really, at best, the 5th tackle. Just don't see how we carry that many tackles. Not that it matters a ton anymore, but he's also a UDFA signing, so its not like we're losing an investment this early.

I think if we keep 9, we will have three interior lineman and Lewis as the backups, since we already know guys like Stanley and Yanda are versatile. My guess is that we initially start with 8, depending on if somebody gets injured in camp/preseason. A significant injury to somebody can always derail that plan.

Plus, I think you're only seeing 7 or 8 dress on gameday regardless. Not really room for 9 offensive lineman on a 46 man gameday roster. I care about the 53 man obviously, but in general, I'm not overly concerned about our 9th offensive lineman if he's going to be a gameday inactive week after week until an injury occurs.

 

[fluffy201]

I think the Ravens will start Stanley at whatever position he plays best at. If he comes in to camp/pre-season and looks dominant at LT, we will release Monroe. If Monroe is clearly the better player at LT, we shuffle Stanley to his next best position, be it RT or LG and let him get a year playing in the NFL under his belt before moving him to LT. While I am sure Monroe's days are limited, I don't see the Ravens parting ways with him unless they're sure Stanley is up to the job. If he can prove it to the brass that he's ready from day one, Stanley gets the nod to start at LT.

I doubt the Ravens will cut Monroe, unless they can get a replacement at 2.1 million dollars which isn't going to happen.

[rmcjacket23]

1 minute ago, fluffy201 said:

I doubt the Ravens will cut Monroe, unless they can get a replacement at 2.1 million dollars which isn't going to happen.

Again, that $2.1M number is only good through May. After June 1st, current year cap savings is $6.5M, with $4.4M in dead money going to the 2017 books.

Also, note that money doesn't have to be spent on replacing Monroe... we already would have replaced Monroe. That money could be spent to upgrade our add depth to another position.

If a Daryl Smith-like player became available in July/August for around that price tag, wouldn't it be smart to have the funds available to pick him up at near that price?

Granted, we already do have some space for this, but we also probably want to be able to roll over some of this cap space into next season to help with extensions AND possibly also extend one of our own guys this year.

[ellicottraven]

Left tackle: Eugene Monroe, Ronnie Stanley, Alex Lewis
Left guard: Ronnie Stanley, John Urschel, Jensen
Center: Jeremy Zuttah, Ryan Jensen, Urschel
Right guard: Marshal Yanda, Jensen, Urschel
Right tackle: Ricky Wagner, Alex Lewis

If we carry Jarell Broxton, then it would be 9 O Linemen. Depending on other positional needs, we may carry only 8 and have Broxton and one other O-lineman in the PS.

[eze17]

  39 minutes ago, eze17 said:

I think the Ravens will start Stanley at whatever position he plays best at. If he comes in to camp/pre-season and looks dominant at LT, we will release Monroe. If Monroe is clearly the better player at LT, we shuffle Stanley to his next best position, be it RT or LG and let him get a year playing in the NFL under his belt before moving him to LT. While I am sure Monroe's days are limited, I don't see the Ravens parting ways with him unless they're sure Stanley is up to the job. If he can prove it to the brass that he's ready from day one, Stanley gets the nod to start at LT.

I doubt the Ravens will cut Monroe, unless they can get a replacement at 2.1 million dollars which isn't going to happen.

If Stanley proves he is the better player at LT, it's his job. And we wouldn't keep Monroe as a back-up, or play him in another position. We didn't use the #6 pick in the draft for a developmental player, he will start on this line, and if he looks good at LT that's where he plays. If he looks overwhelmed at LT, we'll move him down to LG, or RT if need be. Stanley will be thrown in the fire from day one.

[TheConquerorWorm]

  40 minutes ago, TheConquerorWorm said:

The Ravens have pretty much started the year with 9 the last few years - Monroe, Stanley, Lewis, Zuttah, Yanda, Wagner, Urschel, Jansen & Hurst seem to be the front runners. If one of the other guys step up, then maybe we let Hurst go. Or if there is a quality FA LB or CB cut, then maybe we cut Monroe to make salary cap space. But in reality, I don't see that happening. That's a high quality list of O-linemen to have. We've seen how injuries can decimate a position, no need to cut Monroe to save his salary. The Ravens are currently almost $12 million under the cap minus Stanley (which should be about $3.4 million). $8 million is more than enough to sign a quality veteran....

In general, I agree.

To be honest, hard to see a path to Hurst making this team for me though. At worst, Stanley is basically the backup LT, and we also have Lewis who can play RT behind Wagner (and we know Yanda can play RT as well). So Hurst is really, at best, the 5th tackle. Just don't see how we carry that many tackles. Not that it matters a ton anymore, but he's also a UDFA signing, so its not like we're losing an investment this early.

I think if we keep 9, we will have three interior lineman and Lewis as the backups, since we already know guys like Stanley and Yanda are versatile. My guess is that we initially start with 8, depending on if somebody gets injured in camp/preseason. A significant injury to somebody can always derail that plan.

Plus, I think you're only seeing 7 or 8 dress on gameday regardless. Not really room for 9 offensive lineman on a 46 man gameday roster. I care about the 53 man obviously, but in general, I'm not overly concerned about our 9th offensive lineman if he's going to be a gameday inactive week after week until an injury occurs.

 

Lewis played strictly at LG during the ravens rookie practice - lining up next to Stanley. That left side looked opposing and dominated both in passing downs and run plays. I can easily see Stanley starting at LT and Lewis starting at LG. That would leave Monroe as the back-up, which at this point in his injury ridden career is probably a smart move. So you would have Monroe as the back-up swing tackle, Urschel as the back-up G & C and Jansen as the back-up G. We would still need another back-up tackle in case Monroe goes down (whether he's starting or not). As I said, right now that's Hurst. If Wesley or Clausell (the Wildling Giant) beat him out then I think they are in. I know the Ravens have a bunch of versatile players but having both Monroe & Zuttah coming off major injuries, I still see them carrying that 9th O-lineman especially after losing Flacco because of those injuries.

[rmcjacket23]

4 minutes ago, TheConquerorWorm said:

Lewis played strictly at LG during the ravens rookie practice - lining up next to Stanley. That left side looked opposing and dominated both in passing downs and run plays. I can easily see Stanley starting at LT and Lewis starting at LG. That would leave Monroe as the back-up, which at this point in his injury ridden career is probably a smart move. So you would have Monroe as the back-up swing tackle, Urschel as the back-up G & C and Jansen as the back-up G. We would still need another back-up tackle in case Monroe goes down (whether he's starting or not). As I said, right now that's Hurst. If Wesley or Clausell (the Wildling Giant) beat him out then I think they are in. I know the Ravens have a bunch of versatile players but having both Monroe & Zuttah coming off major injuries, I still see them carrying that 9th O-lineman especially after losing Flacco because of those injuries.

Well, realistically, the backup for Monroe would probably be just some shift of an already existing lineman. Probably something along the lines of Wagner playing LT.

In this case, you'd have to have injuries to both Monroe and Stanley in order to need a backup for Monroe, because there's nothing that says Monroe would automatically be the backup RT either. Historically, that spot has gone to Yanda often, with whoever the backup Guard replacing there.

Similar to what we did last season and in prior years. KO (the starting LG) ended up being the better option at LT as the backup, and Yanda has ended being the better backup at RT.

That's kind of my whole point... we generally keep whoever we think the best lineman are, regardless of position. I don't think we've ever really been interested in assigning specific "backups" position by position on the Oline. Hurst was the "backup" LT last season, and he didn't even start many games there when the incumbent (Monroe) was injured.

Cap impact being what it is... I'm not convinced the FO will be interested in paying Monroe $6.5M to be a backup LT exclusively.

Again, not saying we won't carry 9, but I don't see 9 dressing on gameday, and I also don't know that Hurst will be one of the best 9 either.

Edited May 10, 2016 by rmcjacket23

[Ravenous_Ravens]

  54 minutes ago, TheConquerorWorm said:

Lewis played strictly at LG during the ravens rookie practice - lining up next to Stanley. That left side looked opposing and dominated both in passing downs and run plays. I can easily see Stanley starting at LT and Lewis starting at LG. That would leave Monroe as the back-up, which at this point in his injury ridden career is probably a smart move. So you would have Monroe as the back-up swing tackle, Urschel as the back-up G & C and Jansen as the back-up G. We would still need another back-up tackle in case Monroe goes down (whether he's starting or not). As I said, right now that's Hurst. If Wesley or Clausell (the Wildling Giant) beat him out then I think they are in. I know the Ravens have a bunch of versatile players but having both Monroe & Zuttah coming off major injuries, I still see them carrying that 9th O-lineman especially after losing Flacco because of those injuries.

Well, realistically, the backup for Monroe would probably be just some shift of an already existing lineman. Probably something along the lines of Wagner playing LT.

In this case, you'd have to have injuries to both Monroe and Stanley in order to need a backup for Monroe, because there's nothing that says Monroe would automatically be the backup RT either. Historically, that spot has gone to Yanda often, with whoever the backup Guard replacing there.

Similar to what we did last season and in prior years. KO (the starting LG) ended up being the better option at LT as the backup, and Yanda has ended being the better backup at RT.

That's kind of my whole point... we generally keep whoever we think the best lineman are, regardless of position. I don't think we've ever really been interested in assigning specific "backups" position by position on the Oline. Hurst was the "backup" LT last season, and he didn't even start many games there when the incumbent (Monroe) was injured.

Cap impact being what it is... I'm not convinced the FO will be interested in paying Monroe $6.5M to be a backup LT exclusively.

Cap impact being what it is... I'm not convinced the FO will be interested in paying Monroe $6.5M to be a backup LT exclusively.

Exactly. With contracts that need attention for next season, FO will be looking for ways to make good long term deals that are team friendly and competitive to retain talent. You can only justify so much to a backup before the team is losing out.

[rmcjacket23]

28 minutes ago, Ravenous_Ravens said:

Cap impact being what it is... I'm not convinced the FO will be interested in paying Monroe $6.5M to be a backup LT exclusively.

Exactly. With contracts that need attention for next season, FO will be looking for ways to make good long term deals that are team friendly and competitive to retain talent. You can only justify so much to a backup before the team is losing out.

I mean I see both sides.

On the one hand, from a football spending perspective, cap spending is all that matters. So, from a cap perspective, its kind of hard to justify letting him go, unless there's a significant player you would want to spend that money on. Given we will likely have space to spend if we need it and that any FA signings at this point are largely of the "bargain" variety, that's likely not an issue.

On the other hand, as a business owner, paying $6.5M to a guy who ideally won't even play for you is a tough expense to swallow... especially when you have the option of not paying him. In the grand scheme of things, probably just a drop in the bucket for the organization, so that's probably not a factor. 

There's also, in theory, something to be said for if Stanley wins the job outright, not having to look over his shoulder at what would easily be the best backup LT in the league. If he wins that job, the FO could show extreme confidence and support in him by cutting the high paid guy he just beat out.

Ultimately, I think he stays, but the only scenario that surprises me is Stanley not being a starter at some position. Monroe being cut, traded, benched, or even the starting LT for 16 games wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

Edited May 10, 2016 by rmcjacket23

[billiejean]

  2 hours ago, Ravenous_Ravens said:

Cap impact being what it is... I'm not convinced the FO will be interested in paying Monroe $6.5M to be a backup LT exclusively.

Exactly. With contracts that need attention for next season, FO will be looking for ways to make good long term deals that are team friendly and competitive to retain talent. You can only justify so much to a backup before the team is losing out.

I mean I see both sides.

On the one hand, from a football spending perspective, cap spending is all that matters. So, from a cap perspective, its kind of hard to justify letting him go, unless there's a significant player you would want to spend that money on. Given we will likely have space to spend if we need it and that any FA signings at this point are largely of the "bargain" variety, that's likely not an issue.

On the other hand, as a business owner, paying $6.5M to a guy who ideally won't even play for you is a tough expense to swallow... especially when you have the option of not paying him. In the grand scheme of things, probably just a drop in the bucket for the organization, so that's probably not a factor. 

There's also, in theory, something to be said for if Stanley wins the job outright, not having to look over his shoulder at what would easily be the best backup LT in the league. If he wins that job, the FO could show extreme confidence and support in him by cutting the high paid guy he just beat out.

Ultimately, I think he stays, but the only scenario that surprises me is Stanley not being a starter at some position. Monroe being cut, traded, benched, or even the starting LT for 16 games wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

I think it is going to be tough for Stanley to beat out Monroe (unless Monroe is MIA like last year). Don't get me wrong I would love to see Stanley starting over Monroe, but it is rare for a rookie LT to come in and play at a high level.

[Maryland]

Honestly, I appreciate everything Ray Lewis did for our franchise, but he was a bad commentator.

[usmccharles]

11 hours ago, billiejean said:

I think it is going to be tough for Stanley to beat out Monroe (unless Monroe is MIA like last year). Don't get me wrong I would love to see Stanley starting over Monroe, but it is rare for a rookie LT to come in and play at a high level.

I would almost rather have Stanley take over KO's position at the beginning and see how Monroe's health is.  If Monroe stays healthy then its an improvement from last year at the LT  and Stanley would most likely be pretty good at G. 

[bozo]

now that ray lewis is free smarten up ravens grab him as a linebackers coach

[usmccharles]

11 minutes ago, bozo said:

now that ray lewis is free smarten up ravens grab him as a linebackers coach

I think this would be a terrible idea. 

[rmcjacket23]

14 hours ago, billiejean said:

I think it is going to be tough for Stanley to beat out Monroe (unless Monroe is MIA like last year). Don't get me wrong I would love to see Stanley starting over Monroe, but it is rare for a rookie LT to come in and play at a high level.

I don't expect him to either. However, we never know what will happen with Monroe in terms of injuries, and Monroe doesn't play at a high level when he is healthy. He's a serviceable LT when he is playing, but its not like he's a top 5-10 LT I don't think.

Frankly, if Stanley plays even close to the level of Monroe, they may decide to cut bait.

[usmccharles]

5 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

I don't expect him to either. However, we never know what will happen with Monroe in terms of injuries, and Monroe doesn't play at a high level when he is healthy. He's a serviceable LT when he is playing, but its not like he's a top 5-10 LT I don't think.

Frankly, if Stanley plays even close to the level of Monroe, they may decide to cut bait.

In the middle of the year? what benefits would that have for us?

[rmcjacket23]

Just now, usmccharles said:

In the middle of the year? what benefits would that have for us?

Would be in camp or preseason, not middle of the season. 

[usmccharles]

Just now, rmcjacket23 said:

Would be in camp or preseason, not middle of the season. 

Whats the savings on that?

[rmcjacket23]

Just now, usmccharles said:

Whats the savings on that?

About $6.5M.

[757RavensFan]

38 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

I think this would be a terrible idea. 

Agreed. Ray is a GREAT motivator, but I don't see him being a great coach. 

[usmccharles]

Just now, 757RavensFan said:

Agreed. Ray is a GREAT motivator, but I don't see him being a great coach. 

Well, I could see him being a good mentor to players in the sense of teaching guys how to watch film.  Im sure if the Ravens wanted him to work there they could find a position more suitable, but not as a LB coach, or at least start very small. 

[GeeWallee]

I can see an O-Line of Monroe and Stanley on the Left side.
Having Wagner and Yanda on the Right side with Zuttah at Center.
We'll see how Monroe's health stacks up. He was good when healthy.
On Ray Lewis' future ? I think he would make a good Scout or potential Front Office Person of interests. Not sold on his wanting to Coach, but you never know. I just don't see many HOF Players become coaching candidates.
I didn't see his Broadcasting career ,as a highlight reel. Wasn't his knowledge of the game that held him back, there. He is too opinionated, and that is understandable. Not a fault, but it isn't one of the finer ingredients for an announcer to put forward. May be an analyst, on a TV Network, could work for him. I think he'd do well . However, would he be able to accept being a "Second Fiddle" on the national stage ? That would be my most poignant question.
He does have a solid and well versed "football mind", though and should put it to good use ......sooner rather than later.

[billiejean]

3 hours ago, 757RavensFan said:

Agreed. Ray is a GREAT motivator, but I don't see him being a great coach. 

agreed.  Ray is a great motivator for certain kinds of people.  If you have ever played any type of sports you notice that guys like to do different things to get ready for a game.  There are those ra ra guys that like to but heads and scream (Ray would definitely be good for them).  But on the other end of the spectrum there are guys that get ready for a game by meditating while visualizing what they are supposed to do during the game.  And of course there are guys everywhere in between those two extremes.  Usually the guys toward the quieter side of the spectrum are thought by fans to be soft or not in the game.  Which is just not true at all.  There is this same spectrum for the people doing the leading.  Some are screamers and others like to talk to each player individually to make sure their head is in the game.  There really is not a correct way to do it.

[steelcityraven]

I really do not believe that we will keep Monroe. IDK.... maybe bc cutting him would create a depth issue but I can see it. Stanley is our T for the future and Urschel has played great when he has been in. In fact Urschel and Jensen look like they can both be starters in this league. Plus a post June 1 cut would mean significant cap room -if we were to let Monroe go then! I feel like the guys is trying to get cut and don't want to be here... I just don't see him back in 2016.... and with the cap room he would clear we can address depth at T and CB (and maybe even ILB). I think Monroe played his last game in BMORE (just nobody can remember when that was)!

[steelcityraven]

Rick Wagner - Marshall Yanda - J Zuttah - J Urschel - R Stanley
Alex Lewis - J Broxton Ryan Jensen (Broxton) - J Hurst

[757RavensFan]

12 minutes ago, steelcityraven said:

Rick Wagner - Marshall Yanda - J Zuttah - J Urschel - R Stanley
Alex Lewis - J Broxton Ryan Jensen (Broxton) - J Hurst

You threw me off by putting them in this order.  I was like why in the heck is Wagner at LT?  LOL. 

Since Jensen got the call at LG a few times last year, I have him higher than Urschel.  

[balfan23]

I really do not believe that we will keep Monroe. IDK.... maybe bc cutting him would create a depth issue but I can see it. Stanley is our T for the future and Urschel has played great when he has been in. In fact Urschel and Jensen look like they can both be starters in this league. Plus a post June 1 cut would mean significant cap room -if we were to let Monroe go then! I feel like the guys is trying to get cut and don't want to be here... I just don't see him back in 2016.... and with the cap room he would clear we can address depth at T and CB (and maybe even ILB). I think Monroe played his last game in BMORE (just nobody can remember when that was)!

I think it is a hard call on whether we'll keep Monroe. I think it comes down to how we think he's progressing health wise. From what it sounded like, he's still dealing with injury and if that's the case, we've got to be just waiting it out and will cut bait if he's still ailing and not fully participating in team activities. If we have any reasonable hope that he could contribute, we'd keep him, but if not - we just don't need the constant injury headache.

[usmccharles]

5 hours ago, balfan23 said:

I think it is a hard call on whether we'll keep Monroe. I think it comes down to how we think he's progressing health wise. From what it sounded like, he's still dealing with injury and if that's the case, we've got to be just waiting it out and will cut bait if he's still ailing and not fully participating in team activities. If we have any reasonable hope that he could contribute, we'd keep him, but if not - we just don't need the constant injury headache.

Maybe a plan would be to cut ties with him and wait for another veteran LT to be cut and pick one up for depth...but one thing is for sure, without the Stanley pick, we don't have any options. 

[JimmyBlack]

I would love to see Ray return to the Ravens in some capacity.