The good bad and ugly Pre-Season 1

[Moderator 2]

New Kicker Blech

[K-Dog]

Terrance West.

 

Is it too early to be a fan?

[RavensFan34950]

Matt Elam for MVP!!!!

[Cillmatic]

It was a really refreshing game, lots of talented depth players. I love that Levine is getting looks at inside LB.

[balfan23]

Did not get to see the game, so I'm looking forward to hearing who stood out. 

[sflegend89]

Impressive:

Terrence West

Kenneth Dixon

Ronnie Stanley

CJ Mosley

Jeremy Butler

Chris Carter

Matt Elam

Matt Judon

Willie Henry 

Pierce

Terrence Brooks

Tavon Young (in limited action)

 

Bad:

Jerraud Powers

Shareece Wright

Wesley

Clay

Buck Allen (Carries were unimpressive)

 

 

 

 

 

[Moderator 2]

6 minutes ago, balfan23 said:

Did not get to see the game, so I'm looking forward to hearing who stood out. 

There are some good write ups by our Forum guys

[rmw10]

Still some concerns with the secondary but I was pleasantly surprised by how well a lot of guys did elsewhere.

Chris Carter was a big standout on D with his first step and speed off the edge.  I know he's 27 going against a bunch of 2nd and 3rd stringers, but he's also a ST guy and don't overlook that.  Judon still needs some work in the pass rush department of course, but he was an animal at setting the edge.

On offense, obviously the RBs stood out the most.  Unsung heroes of the game for me were Alex Lewis and Vlad Ducasse.  Lewis really held his own at LT.  I didn't hear his name or notice much about him, which is always good on the OL.  Ducasse had several key blocks in the running game.

[Cville-Raven]

After watching this game I feel the 1st team defense needs some work but they're missing key players. I was very impressed with what I saw from the second and third team defenses. Outside of some stupid penalties I really liked what a saw from most of those players.

It was hard to really judge the first team offense with so many key starters out of the lineup. Ronnie Stanley looked really good so there is that. Our RB group is looking pretty ridiculous. Terrence West looks like a new player and I think has definitely put himself in the convo for RB 1. Dixon looked really good as well.

[kjbmore]

thought our first defensive effort was pretty ugly, our depth for the rest of the game was good. we're going to have the best 2nd and 3rd stringers going around but our 1st team defense won't be stopping anybody

 

[Moderator 3]

I think our secondary is too small.  They look like midgets out there. 

[Ravensfan23]

A lot of good for the young guys. All 3 RBs looked good. Chris Carter looked good rushing the passer, both Brooks and Elam played well. Henry and Judon played really well. Mallett played well and showed why the Ravens trust him as a backup. Though Butler and Maxx played well. Waller was impressive other then the drop leading to the int. ZDS and Carl played well. Will Davis had good coverage tonight and i'd place him ahead of both Arrington and Powers. Didn't here Stanley's name which is a great thing. It's a shame Boyle will be suspended for 10 games. 

The bad was the lack of size in the secondary. Pretty good coverage by everyone except Powers and Arrington, but the lack of size could hurt. Coverage unit wasn't stellar but decent. 

The Ugly was the muffed punt. That's enough to get Clay cut. I wouldn't be surprised if he no longer gets Punt opportunities in practice. 

 

[Edgar]

Not a good job by our "1st team" defense on the opening drive. Felt like underneath throws were too easily converted against our defense most of the night.

Mallett was inaccurate early but turned it around. No deep throws all night.

Stanley was terrific. Got out in front of running plays and made second level blocks. Stonewalled guys on the edge in pass protection. Need to closely rewatch but he was impressive.

West and Dixon were fun to watch. Buck Allen looked good in space with ball in his hands but seemed behind the other two running the ball.

Willie Henry, Matt Judon, Chris Carter all looked the part.

78 outplayed Carl Davis and got routinely into the backfield.

I thought Correa looked lost and was seldom around the ball. He did get good pressure off the edge once that I recall.

 

 

[kjbmore]

agreed thought davis looked good, powers looked ugly - starting corners jimmy n davis, young in the slot??

[jboy19]

Have to think Camp is our returner if he stays healthy. Clay wasn't impressive and Keenan Reynolds seems like he has a ways to go, hope he gets on the practice squad. 

[kjbmore]

dixon to return?? looked great on the return i saw

[Ravensfan23]

2 minutes ago, kjbmore said:

agreed thought davis looked good, powers looked ugly - starting corners jimmy n davis, young in the slot??

wouldn't have a problem with it. Wright can rotate in as well. 

[redrum52]

15 minutes ago, Moderator 3 said:

I think our secondary is too small.  They look like midgets out there. 

I said this too.  Wright looked like a boy next to Benjamin.  Would like to get bigger, but nothing we can do now.  Also, I think the team is more focused on building for our toughest comp.

[Ravensfan23]

4 minutes ago, jboy19 said:

Have to think Camp is our returner if he stays healthy. Clay wasn't impressive and Keenan Reynolds seems like he has a ways to go, hope he gets on the practice squad. 

a ways to go how exactly? He only had two opportunities and made good decisions on both that I recall. The first punt they kicked short and away from him. He did his job by not getting overzealous trying to make a play that wasn't there. Just alerted his teammates it was short and got away. Then on the 2nd opportunity he made another good judgement by calling a fair catch on a Punt that looked like he might have room to make something happen but he made the smart decision. He just got blasted and wasn't able to make the catch. 

As a WR there definitely were moments he seemed lost. Mainly locating blocking assignments and one time he didn't have his head on a swivel while running a shallow cross. I don't think there was anything to get excited about with Reynolds right now, but he didn't do anything to that was too negative. I'm sure things will pop up on tape. 

[ravensdfan]

Limited playing time and some key guys missing, this is understood, but I'm not seeing any improvement in our secondary at this point. In fact, they looked pretty typical for Pees time here.

But, we'll have the best 2nd & 3rd string defense around. Hoping to see some improvement as pre-season rolls on.

[jboy19]

13 minutes ago, Ravensfan23 said:

a ways to go how exactly? He only had two opportunities and made good decisions on both that I recall. The first punt they kicked short and away from him. He did his job by not getting overzealous trying to make a play that wasn't there. Just alerted his teammates it was short and got away. Then on the 2nd opportunity he made another good judgement by calling a fair catch on a Punt that looked like he might have room to make something happen but he made the smart decision. He just got blasted and wasn't able to make the catch. 

As a WR there definitely were moments he seemed lost. Mainly locating blocking assignments and one time he didn't have his head on a swivel while running a shallow cross. I don't think there was anything to get excited about with Reynolds right now, but he didn't do anything to that was too negative. I'm sure things will pop up on tape. 

I don't think he did anything during the game specifically, just going off of practice reports from camp so far. I hope we get to see some more from him in the next couple games to get a better look. 

Edit: Also a little concerned for the guy that he might not have seen the field had Perriman or Moore been playing. 

Edited August 12, 2016 by jboy19

[JoeyFlex5]

we have RBs and TEs in the 4th quarter in preseason that could be 2nd options on most teams, we have DL depth that wont even make the team that would be rotational guys in many teams, we have a solid starting OL unit but we need depth at OT, our wr corps seriously needs to get healthy, and we need to better implement our TEs in our starting unit. we appear to have very strong 2nd string pass rushers, that could be a key upgrade over last year. our secondary still worries the hell out of me because jimmy looks tentative and wright is outmanned when facing big guys, i mean he looked really bad out there in 1v1 situations. perhaps a proper pass rush, and our safeties being out there playing 100% in our scheme will change things for the secondary, and i think we will see better during the regular season, but seeing a cb2 get abused like that is unsettling. 

 

my individual standouts: 

matt judon, pleasant surprise, i thought he would be outmatched and too meh across the board to make an impact, but his get-up was better than i expected and he was playing powerful and savvy, pretty quick to react and works well with his hands, still needs to get more explosive and play lighter on his feet though, but good promise. 

willie henry, he was the willie henry from his college tape and not the one weve heard about in camp, maybe he needs to get up to NFL speed because once he came in and was facing weaker competition he appeared unblockable at times, come year 2 this guy could be legit. 

kamalei correa, didnt make any plays but was always around the ball, he is just the guy who is never caught with his pants down, he is always there and when he gains a step mentally he will be making plays left and right, instincts through the roof. he was also getting pressure quite a bit when lined up on the edge but he couldnt seem to finish. 

west/dixon, these are the backs of the future, i think we carry 4 this year and forsett is gone next year, west/allen are the workhorses and dixon is a home run threat so getting him the ball in space OFTEN is key, and i mean very often, like 15+ designed dumpoffs a game. 

ronnie stanley, in the small sample size i saw a lockdown LT, he was a stonewall in the pass game, his man never once looked like he was even close to gaining an inch around either side of stanley. 

chris carter, who is he? he was an animal against the backups, if he builds on that and plays half as well against starters we got ourselves a dog for cheap, antwan barnes flashbacks. 

zach orr, ok, i see why hes running with the starters, he was a savage beast. im comfortable with him out there for now, he looks very comfortable and plays with fire, looks llike hes really appreciating this opportunity, was weary of this but he looks like he deserves the job 100% 

nick boyle, honestly i dont wanna like the guy, but he  keeps making plays. 

jeremy butler, hes somewhat living up to the hype from TC, id like to see us finally churn out some solid journeymen guys instead of getting projects and watching them fade into obscurity. 

ryan mallett, he wasnt terrible. 

KLM, he was solid whether it was against the 1s or 2s. he isnt exactly a standout but he looks to be solid starting material, he could be a very good run stopper and he came for cheap, i dont recall him ever getting pushed off the ball, he just doesnt give up ground and he plays very strong and stout.

Edited August 12, 2016 by JoeyFlex5

[Alexir]

We are deep at RB and TE, would like to see us trade someone to shore up some other positions (Center for example?).

[JoeyFlex5]

disappointments: 

brent urban, looks like the injuries have taken a toll, he looks like hes been sapped of the agility and burst he was rumored to have in last years camp, i often saw him slow off the ball and try to do nothing more than bullrush and failing to do so, no initial moves, no 2nd moves, no engagement skills, sigh. 

carl davis, where was he? 

shareece wright, ugly performance, needs to be about a foot taller lol 

keenan reynolds, hes got some work to do, looks nervous out there. 

darren waller, body control hasnt gotten any better, neither has his first step or agility, keep him in the seam or dont even use him at all, he is suspended and doesnt look like he has the natural ability to play wr in the nfl. also let a perfect chest pass bounce right into a defenders hands for a pick-6 brought back for a bad block. 

matt elam, still looks late to the party in coverage far too often, brought the wood and made some good form tackles though, if he shook that bug he can progress into a solid rotation guy.

arthur brown, looked like JAG against players who will never play a regular season snap. 

 

 

[balfan23]

Sounds like the 1st string secondary is the biggest worry. I have been really hopeful that the addition of Weddle and J. Smith being 100% would be the answer. That also we'd have one of the rest of the spare parts we're throwing out there at CB would stick. Basically, we only got to see 1 possession with those guys, right? So hopefully, that is not enough to mean much. 

The secondary and the pass rush will need to play hand in glove ... hopefully that will break us out of what looked to me like we played scared on D much of last year. Too scared to bring heat because the secondary was weak and the secondary too weak to allow a standard rush package to get pressure. That needs to change if we are to contend for the division. 

[balfan23]

7 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

nick boyle, honestly i dont wanna like the guy, but he keeps making plays.  

The more plays he makes, the madder I get at him for putting himself (or I should say, The Ravens) in this position. 

[JoeyFlex5]

1 minute ago, balfan23 said:

The more plays he makes, the madder I get at him for putting himself (or I should say, The Ravens) in this position. 

thats exactly how i feel lol. also im kinda mad that maxx isnt standing out, i mean he got limited reps with the 1s and made some good blocks and a nice possession catch, but i feel like he was finished by the 2nd quarter and boyle played all night, so maybe its unfair. but ive been really pulling for maxx and i hate to see a guy on his 2nd PED suspension outshining him. and ill also mention that the TEs were not being used nearly enough early on, maybe that changes in the future.

[JO_75]

We made it through without any injuries. That's really what preseason is, hold your breath while watching and hoping a key starter doesn't get taken out for the season in a meaningless preseason game.

The Awesome... Stopping the game to watch Michael Phelps win another gold medal. Also he won his 22nd Gold Medal, we scored 22 points!

 

[balfan23]

2 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

thats exactly how i feel lol. also im kinda mad that maxx isnt standing out, i mean he got limited reps with the 1s and made some good blocks and a nice possession catch, but i feel like he was finished by the 2nd quarter and boyle played all night, so maybe its unfair. but ive been really pulling for maxx and i hate to see a guy on his 2nd PED suspension outshining him. and ill also mention that the TEs were not being used nearly enough early on, maybe that changes in the future.

Yeah, I'm trying to be patient with Maxx ... he's still really a pup. I think they used him more sparingly because he was looking a bit hobbled out there. Nonetheless, Boyle would be a smash hit as a 5th rounder ... if ... and then you wonder, once he gets clean - is that still what he will look like? 

[Willbacker]

7 minutes ago, balfan23 said:

Sounds like the 1st string secondary is the biggest worry. I have been really hopeful that the addition of Weddle and J. Smith being 100% would be the answer. That also we'd have one of the rest of the spare parts we're throwing out there at CB would stick. Basically, we only got to see 1 possession with those guys, right? So hopefully, that is not enough to mean much. 

The secondary and the pass rush will need to play hand in glove ... hopefully that will break us out of what looked to me like we played scared on D much of last year. Too scared to bring heat because the secondary was weak and the secondary too weak to allow a standard rush package to get pressure. That needs to change if we are to contend for the division. 

Games 2 and 3will tell us a lot more.

West is ahead of Allen imo.

Defense needs to disguise their defense a little better. We commit and show our hand a little too early. Need to be able to audible out of it.