[News] Ravens Breaking The Mold At Safety With Eric Weddle And Lardarius Webb

[BR News]

With two smaller, but faster, safeties on the back end this year, Baltimore is hoping to improve on the their league-low six interceptions last season and cut down on big plays.

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[dirtybird66]

well their wiser and will get everyone lined up,i just wish we had intimidators like BERNIE POLLARD,when your thinking of getting your cleats knocked off,your not thinking about catching the ball!!

[MadStorkSociety]

well their wiser and will get everyone lined up,i just wish we had intimidators like BERNIE POLLARD,when your thinking of getting your cleats knocked off,your not thinking about catching the ball!!

I still appreciate Pollard's hit on Patriot's Ridley. FUMBLE!!!

[b93333]

Question is... will they both line up on obvious/probable running plays?

[The Greek]

just stay healthy

[mettro79]

What we're doing with our DBs this year seems so unorthodox, especially with the perceived overabundance of people at the safety position, but with the amount of talent we have to choose from it's hard not to be excited about this upcoming year.

[purpledown]

Brooks and Elam have to show up this year.

[Ravenous_Ravens]

well their wiser and will get everyone lined up,i just wish we had intimidators like BERNIE POLLARD,when your thinking of getting your cleats knocked off,your not thinking about catching the ball!!

i just wish we had intimidators like BERNIE POLLARD,when your thinking of getting your cleats knocked off,your not thinking about catching the ball!!

True, but that why they brought in a guy like KC who can cover and roam and from what I have heard/read he is a bull in a china shop. In reality though you do not need to be those on field bully types. It eventually costs your 15 yards a ding and playing time each time you rack up another. It is much better to be flowing to the ball and timing your hits/tackles,etc. That timing is also what leads to INT's and turnovers.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Let's hope the mold is the only thing that gets broken this year. The NFL has transitioned to a passing league and that has seen a lot of innovations over the years. Going from an old school 4-3 to a "new wave" 3-4...the Nickel Defense, the Dime Defense.

Just like the traditional fullback is being phased out I think the old school plodding thumper safety will be phased out as well. I like a good BOOM here and there just like I am sure most Ravens fans do, but I really hate it when "thumper" gets torched deep on a pass for a score.

My old high school coach once said to the team, "Everybody on this team needs to learn to tackle, even the defensive backs. But, let me tell ya, if our defensive backs are making a whole lot of tackles, that means a whole lot of other people aren't doing their jobs!"

We can now give both of our corners some serious over the top help now. They can gamble a bit more knowing that Webb and Weddle are back there and have their backs. I think Weddle is going to surprise some people with some of the hits he delivers too.

I think this is a good change and allows us to call a lot more coverage schemes.

[bigcatfrank1]

Starting a DB combo probably doesnt mean a lot, except that we have Weddle and Webb, big additions, however I expect to see a lot of combinations in the Defensive Backfield. With Levine, Elam and Brooks the Safety core is looking very solid, add in some very physical play by the CB's Smith, Brown, Powers, Wright and Young with even more depth. Correa should really help the nickle and the dime protections because he is so versitile. Teaming Correa up with Z dSmith and McClellan for multiple looks will be a huge intimidating factor, the three of them look incredible so far at practice. This hopefully allows Suggs and Dumervil to share some reps too!
The Defense looked really good today at the open practice, and that was without Weddle, Suggs and Dumervil. Good to see Brandon Williams back on the field.
One last thing is I am glad that I dont have to make the cuts because this years 90 man has so much talent. There are some tough decisions with very limited spots once you really look at the core/returning roster.

[HomeoftheBRAVENS]

For the past three years the best secondaries in the league have won the superbowl.Lets hope Webb and Weddle combine to form a top 5 saftey tandem,Jimmy returns to being a top tenish CB,Wright continues to play the way he did towards the end of last season and Powers turns back into being a beast slot CB because that might be the only way we're able to win a SB this year.

[TheConquerorWorm]

well their wiser and will get everyone lined up,i just wish we had intimidators like BERNIE POLLARD,when your thinking of getting your cleats knocked off,your not thinking about catching the ball!!

Except in Today's NFL, hitting a WR is a 15 yard penalty and automatic 1st down. So, WRs don't have to worry about getting their cleats knocked off anymore, instead they can run right by the Pollards, Will Hills of the NFL for 80 yard TDs....

[kjbmore]

8 hours ago, dirtybird66 said:

well their wiser and will get everyone lined up,i just wish we had intimidators like BERNIE POLLARD,when your thinking of getting your cleats knocked off,your not thinking about catching the ball!!

was just watching our superbowl winning run again - pollards hit on ridley seals the new england game for us.

i hope we get back to having that thumper in the backfield, hitting hard and just bullying the other team, thats ravens football for me too - pollards hit on ridley exemplified that - meet him in the hole and just hit harder than they do, yes sometimes we get flagged but sometimes good things come of it too, like fumbles, maybe this is another reason we aren't getting as many interceptions - guys have no hesitation laying out for catches or running with our db's or defense anymore. i dont mind giving up a 15 yarder early on if it sets the tone and receivers are going to be hearing footsteps, or pulling up short after we've laid the wood a few times

i look at the best secondaries and safeties and i think kam bam bam and tj ward - obviously there is still a place for hard hitting play - i hope we can find that balance between smart play and coverage and aggression and hard hits and instilling that fear in the opposition

i feel, just looking at how we are lining up for this season with webb in the secondary - we are going away from ravens football, almost playing scared, lining up scared because we havent had the talent we needed to play ravens football and we got burnt, so we're just going to play it safe - hopefully brooks and elam can develop because we obviously drafted them with that hard hitting ravens football blueprint in mind

get back to being that bully, hard hitting, smart football - that carried us to our last superbowl

[fluffy201]

well their wiser and will get everyone lined up,i just wish we had intimidators like BERNIE POLLARD,when your thinking of getting your cleats knocked off,your not thinking about catching the ball!!

I miss Pollard so much. I thought he was such a good fit with the Ravens and even though he wasn't the greatest in coverage, he made up it by killing receivers across the middle. Towards the end of the game the receivers didn't even wan't to catch the ball for fear of getting annihilated. I was so sad when they released him.

[fusuymada]

In 2012, Pollard was a critical component of the Ravens defense and I loved his passion and what he did on the field. However, let's not let our love for him change the facts regarding Pollard and his release. Where everyone wants to blast Harbaugh for not keeping Pollard because he was "outspoken", in reality, with the concussion settlement, the changes in rules, and the protection of wide receivers, he had become a walking personal foul. Combine that with his scuffles with opposing benches and taunting on the field, he had become detrimental to the team. What happened to Pollard when he left? He played one full season in Tennessee, where they learned he was a liability on the field. He played in only 5 games the next year and has been out of the league since early 2014. Prior to 2012, every team needed a Pollard, but after that and the rule changes, you just can't have a headhunter anymore.

[jravens1313]

Denis Pitta is a matchup nightmare. Those routes are vicious. Pitta embarrassed Weddle twice. If he comes back and shines, we have a serious X factor. Pitta was such a huge part of our SB run. Don't forget he catches everything. Fantasy sleeper last round of the draft. Denis Pitta...

Edited August 6, 2016 by jravens1313

[The Mom Gene]

  18 hours ago, dirtybird66 said:

well their wiser and will get everyone lined up,i just wish we had intimidators like BERNIE POLLARD,when your thinking of getting your cleats knocked off,your not thinking about catching the ball!!

I miss Pollard so much. I thought he was such a good fit with the Ravens and even though he wasn't the greatest in coverage, he made up it by killing receivers across the middle. Towards the end of the game the receivers didn't even wan't to catch the ball for fear of getting annihilated. I was so sad when they released him.

I think it had everything to do with attitude. Even and up until that Super Bowl, the Ravens were still being viewed as having dirty players on their roster by so many people. Florida is such a melting pot of people from all over. The Sportsbar on Sundays was clear evidence of that mentality. The game has changed. Teams that once had hard core smash mouth players, just don't anymore. There are a few left, and they aren't looked favorably upon. Guys like Harrison, Burdick, and the like.

[kjbmore]

I understand the rules have changed and what was allowed previously draws flags but when I think of dominant teams last few years, I think of Seattle and then look at the Denver sb winning side. 

I think everybody quick to say the game changed but then I look at those 2 sides - won 2 of the last 3, should of been 3

am I wrong in labelling or thinking of those sides as hard hitting, smash mouth teams?

[Ravens Raver]

Good for Webby, willing to take instruction from Weddle. If not for injuries Webby would be a much bigger star, and I'm sure he knows it, but here he's showing that he's a team player, no prima donna.

[757RavensFan]

While I'm excited about our two new safeties, I would be lying if I said that I didnt want a Kam Chancellor type safety back there. 

[sizzlingdoom]

On August 5, 2016 at 5:43 PM, b93333 said:

Question is... will they both line up on obvious/probable running plays?

Weddle can definitely tackle. Webb...not bad. But I'll tell you what, if Elam replaces Webby as a box/run defender I'll lose my mind. Elam's inability to tackle is what cost us a shot at another superbowl