[News] Eisenberg: Ravens' Search For Playmakers Is Getting Interesting

[BR News]

It’s still early in training camp, but we can’t ignore the electric playmaking performances from several different offensive weapons.

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[fusuymada]

I have said from day one when people were bashing our draft, our free agent acquisitions and existing players, that we will cut people who I believe will start on other teams, not just be roster fill ins. I honestly believe that, however, the loss of tight ends due to suspensions, the loss of wide receivers to injury and the loss of running backs to the PUP list, that may actually make a lot of the decisions easier, but not easy. Flacco will finally after all his time in the league, be surrounded by a plethora of quality playmakers. Flacco has never experienced this before so it will be interesting to see if given those talents surrounding him will Flacco be able to make that next step. 4000+ yards passing, 90+ quarterback rating, 68% completion percent and limited sacks. I think if Flacco gets at least those numbers we will be 10-6 or 11-5. I look at what people said about the Orioles this year and I thought no way would we be that bad with the talent we have. I have to look at the Ravens and the pundits placing them third in the division and I have to think they must be nuts as well. I look at what the Steelers and Bengals have done and what they started with and I don't think they will even be able to compete with the Ravens this year.

[cbrook1862]

I have said from day one when people were bashing our draft, our free agent acquisitions and existing players, that we will cut people who I believe will start on other teams, not just be roster fill ins. I honestly believe that, however, the loss of tight ends due to suspensions, the loss of wide receivers to injury and the loss of running backs to the PUP list, that may actually make a lot of the decisions easier, but not easy. Flacco will finally after all his time in the league, be surrounded by a plethora of quality playmakers. Flacco has never experienced this before so it will be interesting to see if given those talents surrounding him will Flacco be able to make that next step. 4000+ yards passing, 90+ quarterback rating, 68% completion percent and limited sacks. I think if Flacco gets at least those numbers we will be 10-6 or 11-5. I look at what people said about the Orioles this year and I thought no way would we be that bad with the talent we have. I have to look at the Ravens and the pundits placing them third in the division and I have to think they must be nuts as well. I look at what the Steelers and Bengals have done and what they started with and I don't think they will even be able to compete with the Ravens this year.

I totally agree

[The Greek]

how is trent considered a legitimate rb. he is still young and things could turn around for him but he is not legitimate yet if ever

[PurpleRainRIP]

  37 minutes ago, fusuymada said:

I have said from day one when people were bashing our draft, our free agent acquisitions and existing players, that we will cut people who I believe will start on other teams, not just be roster fill ins. I honestly believe that, however, the loss of tight ends due to suspensions, the loss of wide receivers to injury and the loss of running backs to the PUP list, that may actually make a lot of the decisions easier, but not easy. Flacco will finally after all his time in the league, be surrounded by a plethora of quality playmakers. Flacco has never experienced this before so it will be interesting to see if given those talents surrounding him will Flacco be able to make that next step. 4000+ yards passing, 90+ quarterback rating, 68% completion percent and limited sacks. I think if Flacco gets at least those numbers we will be 10-6 or 11-5. I look at what people said about the Orioles this year and I thought no way would we be that bad with the talent we have. I have to look at the Ravens and the pundits placing them third in the division and I have to think they must be nuts as well. I look at what the Steelers and Bengals have done and what they started with and I don't think they will even be able to compete with the Ravens this year.

I totally agree

Second it. NFL Network had the Steelers sweeping us this year. We beat them with two different quarterbacks last year. Not to mention (a very capable) third string team. I'm stoked. I love Weedle and his leadership can take him from a bonafide Charger to a born again Raven in one season. Love to see him around in some form for the long haul.

[Purple Dawg 96]

This team is loaded to the teeth with talent and my ANTICIPATION IS ASTOUNDING! THIS OUR YEAR!

[robbie29]

1 hour ago, fusuymada said:

"Flacco will finally after all his time in the league, be surrounded by a plethora of quality playmakers."

Flacco has already been surrounded by a "plethora of quality playmakers" prior to this year. I'll argue that the supporting cast Flacco had in 2012 was more impressive than what he has now. This year's group has far more injury issues and less collective experience than what the 2012 offense had. The football gods really, really need to be smiling on the offense in order for this to be Joe's best year so far. Given the horrible luck the Ravens had with injuries last year, I think they deserve better fortune than 2015.

[rockhill24]

The depth of talent on this team is one for the ages plus you know current players from last year & Coach Harbaugh are on a mission to make this year team the best it can be EVER

[ellicottraven]

We’ll have a good offense but I really want our defense to play like the Ravens of old. I think I’m hopeful but we’ll see.

[lgcs27288]

This article lost credibility the moment Eisenberg said Trent was a legitimate rb. He had 1 decent year of production with a horrible ypc average. 

[Ravenous_Ravens]

This article lost credibility the moment Eisenberg said Trent was a legitimate rb. He had 1 decent year of production with a horrible ypc average. 

This article lost credibility the moment Eisenberg said Trent was a legitimate rb. He had 1 decent year of production with a horrible ypc average.

Last time I checked, only the best of the best ever make a roster and see game time in the NFL. Bit of a low blow. Not everyone is cut out to enjoy enduring success at this level, just a fact of life. At least he can say he went down swinging unlike a lot of others who simply give up and disappear in the night. I am not disillusioned, but the perspective of your criticism is extremely limited, biased and unfair.

[Ravenous_Ravens]

The tough calls this season are going to be a little extra tough to make and those pre-season games are going to be exciting to see who takes advantage of their reps.

The best part of this roster on offense is the fact the talent seems to be more evenly spread around which should allow to overcome injuries more effectively and also keeps teams honest and prevent them from making the Ravens offense one-dimensional as easily. Should result in an extra TD avg per game IMHO.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

I think it is a little bit late to be looking for playmakers now. I would hope that after they signed some guys to big money deals in free agency, got some guys back from IR last year, and the draft we just had that the playmakers would already be in house.

There is a lot of potential talent on this team, but the reason why it is potential is because there are question marks about it and the anticipated production hasn't materialized on the field yet for whatever reason.

I think Forsett will have another good season, not too worried about him. I think Buck Allen and Kenneth Dixon will make fine backups. Not worried about "Juice" either. I am not worried about Flacco, pretty much know what he is at this point. But his targets all have question marks and most of them are related to health. With Wallace, you just don't really know what you have yet. Looking good in practice is all well and good but we need to see what he does when the real lights turn on. At TE I think we are a solid group and potentially a very good one if Pitta can stay healthy and is anything like his old self. The O-line has some questions as two inexperienced guys will probably start on the left side, Zuttah is average if he's healthy...and he was hurt last season, and Rick Wagner is coming back from lisfranc injury too. Haven't heard a lot about how he's doing in camp yet.

Defensively the front 3 will look a lot like it did last year, Guy, Williams, and Jernigan. Guys like Carl Davis, Brent Urban, and rookie William Henry will have to step up in back up roles. The pass rush will be questionable depending on what Suggs can do. Correa may be an answer and if Z. Smith steps up his game a bit more, that could potentially be a very good pass rush. If you can finally sub in somebody for Suggs and Dumervil that gets respect from teams, that means they can't key on one guy and double him. The secondary lives and dies by the health of Jimmy Smith. Weddle and Webb over the top I think will give us more turnovers.

There is a lot to be excited about and I think this can be a 10-6 team provided we stay healthy.

[lgcs27288]

2 hours ago, Ravenous_Ravens said:

Last time I checked, only the best of the best ever make a roster and see game time in the NFL. Bit of a low blow. Not everyone is cut out to enjoy enduring success at this level, just a fact of life. At least he can say he went down swinging unlike a lot of others who simply give up and disappear in the night. I am not disillusioned, but the perspective of your criticism is extremely limited, biased and unfair.

I understand out of the world population he is in the 1%, but in the NFL it is a different story. I wish him the best, but let's not pretend he was immaculate when he wasnt.

 

I'm assuming by your logic, Ryan Leaf was a legitimate QB too right and everyone gets a trophy for participating?

 

Moreover, my post wasn't even about Trent Richardson, but about Eisenberg needing to be a little more grounded in what I am seeing as homerism. I want the real deal from our reporters and when I see something so blatantly false as that statement, it makes me wonder if I can trust him as a source for accurate information.

[mearzunkies]

Bonafide and legitimate? Sigh I did not even read anymore.

[jravens1313]

We’ll have a good offense but I really want our defense to play like the Ravens of old. I think I’m hopeful but we’ll see.

Correra might actually be one of those dogs we used to have. Relentless.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

1 hour ago, ellicottraven said:

We’ll have a good offense but I really want our defense to play like the Ravens of old. I think I’m hopeful but we’ll see.

You're not really going to see a Ravens defense of old any time soon. The reason why those defenses were so good is because they stuffed the run like nobody's business and had the talent on the back end to stop the pass. You had once in a lifetime talents like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed on the field. Reed was like a shutdown corner only while playing CF as a safety. The team has made a concerted effort to become more of an offensive powerhouse and not so much of a defensive juggernaut like it once was. They think with a potent offense and at least an above average defense you can win more games in this era of the NFL. I guess they subscribe to the notion that the best defense is a great offense.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

2 hours ago, lgcs27288 said:

I understand out of the world population he is in the 1%, but in the NFL it is a different story. I wish him the best, but let's not pretend he was immaculate when he wasnt.

 

I'm assuming by your logic, Ryan Leaf was a legitimate QB too right and everyone gets a trophy for participating?

 

Moreover, my post wasn't even about Trent Richardson, but about Eisenberg needing to be a little more grounded in what I am seeing as homerism. I want the real deal from our reporters and when I see something so blatantly false as that statement, it makes me wonder if I can trust him as a source for accurate information.

I know this is the Raven's own website and all, but you have to admit that a lot of these articles here are written with at least a bit of home town bias in them. Some are a little more blatant than others. Trent Richardson if he made this team at all probably would have been a short yardage/goal line back. I doubt very seriously he would have actually knocked Forsett from his top billing. It would have taken a perfect storm of injuries for him to make the roster if he was healthy.

Also, basing what guys might do in the regular season based off of what they are doing in training camp is a bit of a stretch. You can't even take a whole lot of stock in pre season games. Mike Wallace is a big question mark. You really don't know what you're going to get. Even he's admitted he's slowed down, which for a speed merchant probably isn't the greatest news to be hearing. Glad he's excited...I would be too if I just got a big contract after the lackluster seasons he's put up. Glad he and Joe seem to be getting on the same page in camp.

I would prefer a little less fluff and a bit more real stuff as well. I am a fan of this team, you don't have to sell them to me. I can take the constructive criticism of this team.

[lgcs27288]

14 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

I know this is the Raven's own website and all, but you have to admit that a lot of these articles here are written with at least a bit of home town bias in them.

I understand this is the team site and bias is to be expected. I enjoy all of the writers on here especially Sarah's LFW. Maybe I'm asking for too much for some "fair bias." If someone makes a decent play talk it up, but don't call something it's not. I usually like Eisenberg's articles, but this one just seems off. He didn't even have his usual little quip at the end of it.

[dirtybird66]

I stopped reading the article when i got to CAMPANARO,if healthy,he will easily become the most dynamic slot recievers in the league,yes,the league,you must remember our secondary now is in the top 3 in the NFL. right now and he's making them look foolish,PERRIMAN still is a year away,even if healthy,PITTA is and is going to be the #1 TIGHT END.

[cbrook1862]

  8 hours ago, ellicottraven said:

We’ll have a good offense but I really want our defense to play like the Ravens of old. I think I’m hopeful but we’ll see.

You're not really going to see a Ravens defense of old any time soon. The reason why those defenses were so good is because they stuffed the run like nobody's business and had the talent on the back end to stop the pass. You had once in a lifetime talents like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed on the field. Reed was like a shutdown corner only while playing CF as a safety. The team has made a concerted effort to become more of an offensive powerhouse and not so much of a defensive juggernaut like it once was. They think with a potent offense and at least an above average defense you can win more games in this era of the NFL. I guess they subscribe to the notion that the best defense is a great offense.

I think we're trying to upgrade both of them equally. 2 of some of our main focusses this offseason was a heavy pass-rush and more turnovers from the secondary. The only thing we added on offense was more speed. So really despite what it seems, our defense is ore of the priority. Stuffing the run really hasn't changed we still do that. I think we're going for a faster, ball-hawking defense that thrives off getting making the QB uncomfortable.

[cbrook1862]

  8 hours ago, ellicottraven said:

We’ll have a good offense but I really want our defense to play like the Ravens of old. I think I’m hopeful but we’ll see.

Correra might actually be one of those dogs we used to have. Relentless.

Agreed, Correa has been a beast in camp and he has an edge

[sizzlingdoom]

This team is loaded to the teeth with talent and my ANTICIPATION IS ASTOUNDING! THIS OUR YEAR!

seriously though. So stacked it's ridiculous. If our roster is healthy, it's easily the nastiest in the league. I can't wait for this year. Time for SSS and Sizzle to finish off their career with a ring ( number 2 for Suggs).

[sizzlingdoom]

  11 hours ago, fusuymada said:

"Flacco will finally after all his time in the league, be surrounded by a plethora of quality playmakers."

Flacco has already been surrounded by a "plethora of quality playmakers" prior to this year. I'll argue that the supporting cast Flacco had in 2012 was more impressive than what he has now. This year's group has far more injury issues and less collective experience than what the 2012 offense had. The football gods really, really need to be smiling on the offense in order for this to be Joe's best year so far. Given the horrible luck the Ravens had with injuries last year, I think they deserve better fortune than 2015.

I respectfully disagree. Flacco's weapons were very good in 2012 but not great. He's also never had a legitimate number 1 WR. His entire career and stats and perception would be completely different if he would been working with someone like A. Brown or AJ Green or even Josh Gordon throughout his career. Torrey made big plays for us but the number of times he would slip on a "route" or not fight for a contested catch backfired on us just as much as his big plays helped us. Less collective experience? SSS, Watson, Pitta, Mike Wallace, Forsett, that's about as much experience as a team could have from the skills players. If Stanley plays well and our health holds up- i know i know, I think Joe has his most efficient year by far. Probably best stats too. Stats aren't everything though. I'll take a W with Joe having the worst stats ever. As long he gets the W. I do agree about deserving better fortune

[sizzlingdoom]

I think it is a little bit late to be looking for playmakers now. I would hope that after they signed some guys to big money deals in free agency, got some guys back from IR last year, and the draft we just had that the playmakers would already be in house.

There is a lot of potential talent on this team, but the reason why it is potential is because there are question marks about it and the anticipated production hasn't materialized on the field yet for whatever reason.

I think Forsett will have another good season, not too worried about him. I think Buck Allen and Kenneth Dixon will make fine backups. Not worried about "Juice" either. I am not worried about Flacco, pretty much know what he is at this point. But his targets all have question marks and most of them are related to health. With Wallace, you just don't really know what you have yet. Looking good in practice is all well and good but we need to see what he does when the real lights turn on. At TE I think we are a solid group and potentially a very good one if Pitta can stay healthy and is anything like his old self. The O-line has some questions as two inexperienced guys will probably start on the left side, Zuttah is average if he's healthy...and he was hurt last season, and Rick Wagner is coming back from lisfranc injury too. Haven't heard a lot about how he's doing in camp yet.

Defensively the front 3 will look a lot like it did last year, Guy, Williams, and Jernigan. Guys like Carl Davis, Brent Urban, and rookie William Henry will have to step up in back up roles. The pass rush will be questionable depending on what Suggs can do. Correa may be an answer and if Z. Smith steps up his game a bit more, that could potentially be a very good pass rush. If you can finally sub in somebody for Suggs and Dumervil that gets respect from teams, that means they can't key on one guy and double him. The secondary lives and dies by the health of Jimmy Smith. Weddle and Webb over the top I think will give us more turnovers.

There is a lot to be excited about and I think this can be a 10-6 team provided we stay healthy.

If we stay healthy and the Oline holds up, I think 10-6 is the very worst case scenario with a lot of bad bounces included. If we are completely healthy, and that would include Sizzle and SSS at 90%-anything more is a massive bonus, I think we're a 12-4 team easy.
I think health, and the left side of the line are the only questions marks at all. Right now, I'm confident about Stanely, esp considering how confident our front office is with him considering everything. I also think Guard and ILB are the 2 easiest positions to fill with inexperienced or players that might not be looked at as huge talents. Not to say that they're not important positions, every one is obviously. I think Urshel or Lewis can man that left guard spot with competence. I also think Lewis might be an awesome long term solution for LG with Urshel hanging around being a great and versatile back up O lineman. ILB is really the biggest ? to me as to who will start and play most of the snaps. I had high hopes for Arthur Brown when we drafted him. I really hope he can step up but I have severely tempered those expectations at this point. I think KC will be on the field almost all the time. Whether he's playing in the middle next to Mosely, screaming off the edge on his way to de-cleating Ben and Andy, or straight up setting the edge with an attitude. I think Brown and Orr will occasionally get mixed into the ILB every so often to see what they have to offer as well. Looks like KC has all the tools though, as well as between his ears. I think Z steps up and completely takes over that Upshaw/JJ role, yet he has WAY more pass rushing ability than both those 2. That will allow KC to focus on rushing the passer, and learning the traditional ILB role and pass coverage. He is a quick, fast, and explosive LB which really makes me believe he can learn and take on that role in a huge way. He also seems very dedicated. If we have KC and Mosely manning the middle for years to come, that will suck for opposing teams. Also with that versatility to send KC at anytime..lookout. Also who knows, maybe KC will just help at ILB this year then take over Doom's role. I could see that. Also I have so many thoughts on the team, and they seem to be written down without a bunch of organization, sorry bout that. Can't help it, just have a lot of passion for this team and endless thoughts on it. Esp this year with all the talent and depth

[ellicottraven]

Anybody know the deal with Bronson Kaufusi? I thought he was going to be a starting type DE no?

[J.O.14]

Anybody know the deal with Bronson Kaufusi? I thought he was going to be a starting type DE no?

I understand we haven't heard much, but we have only had a week of practices really. We haven't even played our first preseason game yet. He may not be ready to start this season, but don't write him off after one week. He could still be a starting DE.

[OUravensfan]

19 hours ago, fusuymada said:

I have said from day one when people were bashing our draft, our free agent acquisitions and existing players, that we will cut people who I believe will start on other teams, not just be roster fill ins. I honestly believe that, however, the loss of tight ends due to suspensions, the loss of wide receivers to injury and the loss of running backs to the PUP list, that may actually make a lot of the decisions easier, but not easy. Flacco will finally after all his time in the league, be surrounded by a plethora of quality playmakers. Flacco has never experienced this before so it will be interesting to see if given those talents surrounding him will Flacco be able to make that next step. 4000+ yards passing, 90+ quarterback rating, 68% completion percent and limited sacks. I think if Flacco gets at least those numbers we will be 10-6 or 11-5. I look at what people said about the Orioles this year and I thought no way would we be that bad with the talent we have. I have to look at the Ravens and the pundits placing them third in the division and I have to think they must be nuts as well. I look at what the Steelers and Bengals have done and what they started with and I don't think they will even be able to compete with the Ravens this year.

Agree somewhat but on paper both those teams are better. We need to see this potential pan out before we make assertions the top division opponents can't compete with us. Doubt we go 4-0 against them, highly doubtful, I hope you're spot on though. 

[balfan23]

28 minutes ago, J.O.14 said:

I understand we haven't heard much, but we have only had a week of practices really. We haven't even played our first preseason game yet. He may not be ready to start this season, but don't write him off after one week. He could still be a starting DE.

He has been on the shelf and anytime that happens to a rookie, it is a concern, since practice time is so limited and rookies need all the time they can get to start to mesh with the team and learn the system. 

Honestly, the D line seems to be one of the least talked about parts of this team and is a group that concerns me a little. Williams is a rock (or should I say, boulder) in the middle, but we need some disruptors. Jernigan is a player who I feel should be under pressure to perform like a 3rd year 2nd round DT. He's really got to get it going. Guy is serviceable, but not inspiring. Urban and KLM have always been talked about as having promise, but injuries are a constant issue.

I'm not even sure what this starting group is going to look like. Because of this, we're all hoping that Kaufusi can be a relatively quick impact player, but we have to see him first.  

[OUravensfan]

8 hours ago, sizzlingdoom said:

seriously though. So stacked it's ridiculous. If our roster is healthy, it's easily the nastiest in the league. I can't wait for this year. Time for SSS and Sizzle to finish off their career with a ring ( number 2 for Suggs).

Way too many unproven players in this system to make that assertion. 

But obviously I hope you're right.