Most disappointing Ravens players

[purplepittabread88]

I haven't been on these forms sense about 2011 and decided to make a new account. Anyway, this topic is to discuss Ravens players who showed potential or had the skills to be a great player but never really panned out. I couldn't find any threads related to this but apologizes if I'm missing something. (Note: this isn't busts, but players who showed potential but it just didn't workout)  For me, here are some of my top options:

Marlon Brown. This guy was a beast his rookie season. Seven touchdowns in his rookie season with won of the worst ravens lines of all time. Not to mention that catch against the Vikings in the end zone I went crazy. 

Tandon Doss. For years we talked about him being the next Boldin and coming in the slot for a solid contribution, but he never panned. I remember Flacco hand picked him out of Indiana to play for us but he washed out and went to Jacksonville I think. 

And then Asa Jackson. He was always a fan favorite for me. He was never that good of a corner but He was a hard hitter and always got a ton of turnovers in the preseason. I will never forget him for special teams all his crazy blocks, even some this year I think he had 2 or 3. Also I could be mistaken but in the Super Bowl he forced a missed kick but it was called back on a questionable call. This guy was quick. Crazy to see him burn out so fast.

[K-Dog]

This list again?

It always ends up being a Boller bashing fest.

[JoeyFlex5]

Mark Clayton. He was an absolute monster in 06 and then injuries and dropped balls plagued him the rest of his career..

 

Also he magically blossomed in STL like instantly, he was one of the best in the league for nearly a month before tearing his acl and he never recovered. 

[BmoreBird22]

I didn't think Marlon Brown was more than a product of a completely devoid offense that needed to pass more than they'd like and he reaped the rewards of being a starter. I never thought he'd be good.

I'm going to go with a different receiver in Mark Clayton. He had an amazing second season for Ravens receiver standards in 2006 with Steve McNair, but dealt with numerous injuries that always seemed to keep him down. 

By the time Flacco got here, he was always dealing with some injury and it put him behind the 8 ball having to compete with Rice, Heap, and Mason. 

I know we say Ozzie has an awful record of drafting receivers, but this one could have been a great pick.

 

[BmoreBird22]

1 minute ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Mark Clayton. He was an absolute monster in 06 and then injuries and dropped balls plagued him the rest of his career..

 

Also he magically blossomed in STL like instantly, he was one of the best in the league for nearly a month before tearing his acl and he never recovered. 

I see we're on the same page...

[purplepittabread88]

1 minute ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Mark Clayton. He was an absolute monster in 06 and then injuries and dropped balls plagued him the rest of his career..

 

Also he magically blossomed in STL like instantly, he was one of the best in the league for nearly a month before tearing his acl and he never recovered. 

Something about WR's failing on us. Lets hope camp can change this.

[redrum52]

Michael Oher.  Want to mix things up.  Showed great promise early then seemed to regress each year after.  Did help us win a ring though and thank him for that.  Also, never complained about any of the moves along the line.

 

Edited July 20, 2016 by redrum52

[Jacquouille]

I'll go for Elam. I mean, watching his Florida tape, he was a monster. He was way better than Keanu Neal for example, and he brought that contageous agressiveness that made him an instant leader by example.

I'm among the few who still believe in him so I'll put him in the "disappointment" category until the end of next season.

[Somerset Ravens]

18 minutes ago, Jacquouille said:

I'll go for Elam. I mean, watching his Florida tape, he was a monster. He was way better than Keanu Neal for example, and he brought that contageous agressiveness that made him an instant leader by example.

I'm among the few who still believe in him so I'll put him in the "disappointment" category until the end of next season.

I have to agree with you on Elam being a disappointment after his strong play at the University of Florida, but my biggest disappointment was offensive tackle Leon Searcy. In 2001 Searcy signed a 6 year 31 million dollar contract. He had a tricep injury in training camp and never played in a regular season game for us. He was cut before the 2002 season.

[redrum52]

6 minutes ago, Somerset Ravens said:

I have to agree with you on Elam being a disappointment after his strong play at the University of Florida, but my biggest disappointment was offensive tackle Leon Searcy. In 2001 Searcy signed a 6 year 31 million dollar contract. He had a tricep injury in training camp and never played in a regular season game for us. He was cut before the 2002 season.

Not one of the Ravens shining moments.

[Willbacker]

Bernard Pierce is one guy that I thought could have a great career for us.

[The Raven]

Mike Oher, Jah Reid, Courtney Upshaw, Marlon Brown, and Tandon Doss for me.

Oher shower incredible promise in year one. Even in year two - the flip-flop year people blame for his later struggles - he was pretty damn solid. That he never reached his potential here disappoints me. I really liked him, but when he left, I was pretty damn happy.

Jah Reid was more or less the same, but showed less potential. We traded up to get him, and he was a violent mauler in college. There are linemen who are tough, there are linemen who are strong, and there are linemen who are just violent brutes. Reid could have been a violent blocker. I wish he would have shown up in better shape, and I wish he could have stayed healthy. There were some reports that many scouts felt he could have been a top five RT, and some even thought he had potential at LT with the right coaching. 

Courtney Upshaw was a one dimensional edge player in an era where edge players need to be run stoppers AND pass rushers. Whether it was a bad pick by Ozzie or terrible work ethic by Upshaw, this was a disappointment to me. Upshaw set us back if you ask me.

Marlon Brown... Yeah, his production came because he was force-fed the ball. But many players would still struggle. He got right into the mix and did well. I wish he could have learned to use his size better. I wish he would have bulked up to be a Marques Colston type. I wish he could have been the tall, big threat that we need.

Tandon Doss was the anointed one, hand-picked by the GOAT. For whatever reason, he just couldn't get on the field or stay on it once he got there. I partly blame him, and I partly blame the offensive coordinators - Cam and Caldwell - who sucked so bad at personnel use I'm surprised they've lasted in the NFL.

[purplepittabread88]

46 minutes ago, The Raven said:

Mike Oher, Jah Reid, Courtney Upshaw, Marlon Brown, and Tandon Doss for me.

Oher shower incredible promise in year one. Even in year two - the flip-flop year people blame for his later struggles - he was pretty damn solid. That he never reached his potential here disappoints me. I really liked him, but when he left, I was pretty damn happy.

Jah Reid was more or less the same, but showed less potential. We traded up to get him, and he was a violent mauler in college. There are linemen who are tough, there are linemen who are strong, and there are linemen who are just violent brutes. Reid could have been a violent blocker. I wish he would have shown up in better shape, and I wish he could have stayed healthy. There were some reports that many scouts felt he could have been a top five RT, and some even thought he had potential at LT with the right coaching. 

Courtney Upshaw was a one dimensional edge player in an era where edge players need to be run stoppers AND pass rushers. Whether it was a bad pick by Ozzie or terrible work ethic by Upshaw, this was a disappointment to me. Upshaw set us back if you ask me.

Marlon Brown... Yeah, his production came because he was force-fed the ball. But many players would still struggle. He got right into the mix and did well. I wish he could have learned to use his size better. I wish he would have bulked up to be a Marques Colston type. I wish he could have been the tall, big threat that we need.

Tandon Doss was the anointed one, hand-picked by the GOAT. For whatever reason, he just couldn't get on the field or stay on it once he got there. I partly blame him, and I partly blame the offensive coordinators - Cam and Caldwell - who sucked so bad at personnel use I'm surprised they've lasted in the NFL.

I forgot about Jah, I believe he is doing very well in K.C right now. I remember in 2013 we thought Doss would be the new A.Q but he couldn't even beat out JJ for the 2nd receiver. Disappointing he was so strong and had pretty nice hands.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Jacquouille said:

I'll go for Elam. I mean, watching his Florida tape, he was a monster. He was way better than Keanu Neal for example, and he brought that contageous agressiveness that made him an instant leader by example.

I'm among the few who still believe in him so I'll put him in the "disappointment" category until the end of next season.

Funny......on those same tapes I was absolutely convinced he was going to be a high risk selection. Never believed he'd be our choice.  What I saw was a safety with absolutely no ball skills. Balls that were "redirected" his way almost invariably went "Clank", "Clank", "Clank" as they ricocheted off his hands.  He appeared eager to pop receivers and there was a fair amount of tape showing him lining up receivers for a big hit.  But they were crisis plays where the Gator Defense had flushed the quarterback or forced him into an off balance lame duck pass.  Elam was good at getting in on a play that the rest of his defense had orchestrated, but those tapes did not show a nose for the ball or making a good closely contested play a la Ed Reed.  I don't know for sure who got hoodwinkled on that film, but whoever it was had no business evaluating a Safety. (By the way, if you believe him, Newsome said Elam was "At the very top of his board".)  Elam is listed at 5ft 10in. I don't believe it. He's got arms like a T-Rex, (virtually no arms at all), now they are big arms.  Big arms like a turtle has. But if he can scouch himself up to 5ft9inches and change on a tape measure, he plays much smaller.

Gotta be careful in drafting a secondary player with a big league front seven in front of him. That situation can make a secondary player look very good.  You also gotta be careful in drafting a lineman from a big league school that has played the vast majority of its games against the little sisters of the poor.

Elam

Upshaw

Kindle

Perriman, hopeful here

A. Brown

Max Williams, carl davis, tim Jernigan, terrance brooks.

We've had a boatload of bad picks lately.  Now some at the bottom of this list could improve, especially perriman, but they are longish shots after their established play.

 

Edited July 20, 2016 by Danny D

[RAYvenFan20]

1 hour ago, Jacquouille said:

I'll go for Elam. I mean, watching his Florida tape, he was a monster. He was way better than Keanu Neal for example, and he brought that contageous agressiveness that made him an instant leader by example.

I'm among the few who still believe in him so I'll put him in the "disappointment" category until the end of next season.

Same draft, different player. Arthur brown was my favorite player (in realistic range for us to get). So pumped when we got him, can't find his way in the field. 

[purplepittabread88]

Just now, RAYvenFan20 said:

Same draft, different player. Arthur brown was my favorite player (in realistic range for us to get). So pumped when we got him, can't find his way in the field. 

I remember being mad when we didn't take him in the first round. But also being mad we didn't take Keenen Allen. When we traded with I think Seattle I knew we were going to get a side line to side line backer with great coverage skills. Boy was I wrong. To be fair however, look at the 2013 draft class. Possibly the worst in the last 20 years.

[RaineV1]

I'll go with someone that isn't mentioned as much, wide receiver Clarence Moore. 6'6', 220, blazing speed. Seeing Boller trying to connect with deep passes to him made me hype about what this athletic freak could do. But he just couldn't adjust to the ball in the air. Like, he made Torrey look like a technician in comparison.

[Steve0x]

Boller & Billick 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, purplepittabread88 said:

Interesting fact, Kyle Boller went to my current high school. Killed all the records and I believe he got us a title around 98 or 99. Joe Kapp and Matt Moore also went here. I was talking with my science teacher (who had Boller too) and he told me that Ray Lewis had a huge effect on Boller, killing his confidence and bashing him behind the scenes. Not sure what thats worth but its an interesting concept. Not only the pressure of a first round pick from a team that just recently won the Super Bowl, but to turn the offense around and keep up with a legendary defense. Always has been interesting to me. 

 

Another fact, in I think a foothill championship game, he intercepted a pass with one minute left to win the game. (he played safety) I guess he has always been getting interceptions in clutch times lol.

So Ray was the reason?   Boller completed 52% of his passes with the Ravens in year one.

Did you know that Boller was 47.8% for his lifetime Cal completion rate?

Ray was merciless when on the case of a slacker though....he followed Boller to Berkeley and harangued him there as a Golden Bear without respite.

 

[52liveforever]

"Mount Cody" he was supposed to be this absolutel black hole in the middle of our defense and ended up being a huge bust. 

 

Sergio Kindle. He was an absolute monster. Who knows what could've been.

[Passepartout]

Kyle Boller the so called savor of the team. But really came out a dud. Joe F helped rescued them at QB.

[purplepittabread88]

3 minutes ago, Passepartout said:

Kyle Boller the so called savor of the team. But really came out a dud. Joe F helped rescued them at QB.

second times the charm

[Ravenseconbeast]

Starting to think Breshad Perrimen might be another one if he doesn't play a even half a season this year.

[jdynamite]

I'm going with :

1. Jared Gaither - we got this raw prospect in the supplemental draft. 2 years later he's playing some solid football at LT, looks like we have our Offensive tackles set with Gaither at LT and Oher at RT. Then all the Gaither drama began ( I can't remember it all as clearly now ) but he was injuried then up for a new contract playing hard ball never suited up for the team again, flamed out really fast. 

2. Bernard Pierce - he without a doubt showed true potential his rookie year. He ran hard, tough, and downhill, I felt Pierce would destinied to be our future RB. Nagging injuries were a question but after his rookie year, he seemed to never run the same again. 

3. Gino Gradkowski - drafted by the team to backup and eventually replace  Matt Birk.  G.Grad was suppose to be a versatile lineman capable of playing both Guard and Center and the transition to starting Center should have been simple.  But once he manned the Center position he was like a fish out of water most of the time.  It was definitely a case of Potential & Expectation outweighing the players on field play. 

[jdynamite]

5 hours ago, 52liveforever said:

"Mount Cody" he was supposed to be this absolutel black hole in the middle of our defense and ended up being a huge bust. 

 

Sergio Kindle. He was an absolute monster. Who knows what could've been.

Yeah I like these 2 great picks. 

 

Mount Cody never did clog middle like we hoped, he seemed to lack the strength and physicality needed to play NT in the NFL at a high level.  ( I have no way of knowing or proving this but to me, Cody seemed like a guy that thought oh I have a big body, dominated in college just by being my size, so eventually it will work in the NFL. )  His body wasn't in the same mold of a Sam Adams, Vince Wilfork, Ted Washington, Kelly Gregg type. Those guys were big men as well but their arms & upper body looked big and strong, I recall seeing Cody and his upper body looked like he never touched a weight. 

 

 

[Tiznut]

Not sure how an undrafted player  can actually been the most disappointing player we've ever had. 

 

I will go with Arthur brown , Sergio and Dan Cody my top three. 

 

Brown because he was picked high when we needed lb help and still doesn't see the field. 

Sergio for obvious reasons 

Dan Cody because he played in less games than kindle [profanity deleted] and he was also a second rd pick 

[Moderator 3]

The Water Buffalo.  Our hopes were so high.

[rmcjacket23]

If we are legitimately talking about disappointment, then one would certainly have to take expectations into account. 

For me, that eliminates a lot of the late round or undrafted players. I saw a guy like Marlon Brown on this list... really? What were the expectations for him to begin with?

Even if you for some absurd reason projected his 7 TDs in 2014 into meaning he was going to be a future stud (which you should have known and pretty much now know that TDs aren't a good predictor of a WRs talent or production), how many receivers literally EVER catch 1 out of 7 passes for a TD consistently in their career? For me, him being "disappointing" is almost exclusively due to fans not understanding what makes a good WR.

For me, you've got to look at high draft picks or FA signings for this list. Grbac was a major disappointment, as was Boller. The WR list is a mile long.

The 2004 and 2005 Ravens pretty much entire draft classes were major disappointments, as was the 2nd round of the 2010 draft. 

Michael Oher probably ranks pretty high on this list. He was viewed as the replacement for Ogden by many. Might have been because expectations were too high.

[Jacquouille]

I'm surprised no one mentionned Stover

[K-Dog]

54 minutes ago, Jacquouille said:

I'm surprised no one mentionned Stover

There is a reason for that.