The good bad and ugly Pre-Season 1

[HomeoftheBRAVENS]

I only skimmed some of the longer post so I may be wrong,but how has nobody mentioned the name Zadarius Smith?I think we got special with him.He looks like he could be one of those rare late round picks that turn into probowlers.

[JoeyFlex5]

2 minutes ago, HomeoftheBRAVENS said:

I only skimmed some of the longer post so I may be wrong,but how has nobody mentioned the name Zadarius Smith?I think we got special with him.He looks like he could be one of those rare late round picks that turn into probowlers.

maybe it was somewhat expected after all the reports, and a bit of an obvious standout, people are pointing out lesser names maybe? he did look like a game changer out there though, i cant wait to see where he ends up by the end of the year

[EdTheMythicalOne]

11 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

maybe it was somewhat expected after all the reports, and a bit of an obvious standout, people are pointing out lesser names maybe? he did look like a game changer out there though, i cant wait to see where he ends up by the end of the year

I know I mentioned him.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

13 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

maybe it was somewhat expected after all the reports, and a bit of an obvious standout, people are pointing out lesser names maybe? he did look like a game changer out there though, i cant wait to see where he ends up by the end of the year

He messed up first play of the game. Lost the edge and over pursued the fake handoff on the reverse. 

But after that, he was disruptive. Hate to keep the McPhee narrative going... But it just makes sense. Except he's reminding me of the McPhee we got in late year 3, year 4 already. 

The strip sack was a thing of beauty. Power, burst, bend and finish. 

But I agree... I think it's going unmentioned bc it was obvious and somewhat expected. I don't think there's anyone who would say Z didn't look really really good tonight. Exciting where he's at this early. Validating that his final 3 games last year weren't a fluke. Something clicked and that may be what we can look forward to as soon as this year. 3rd pass rusher who can put up 10+ sacks and get consistent pressure from all over. 

Suggs is so key to this season. If he's Sizzle we are in business. 

[EdTheMythicalOne]

3 minutes ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

He messed up first play of the game. Lost the edge and over pursued the fake handoff on the reverse. 

But after that, he was disruptive. Hate to keep the McPhee narrative going... But it just makes sense. Except he's reminding me of the McPhee we got in late year 3, year 4 already. 

The strip sack was a thing of beauty. Power, burst, bend and finish. 

But I agree... I think it's going unmentioned bc it was obvious and somewhat expected. I don't think there's anyone who would say Z didn't look really really good tonight. Exciting where he's at this early. Validating that his final 3 games last year weren't a fluke. Something clicked and that may be what we can look forward to as soon as this year. 3rd pass rusher who can put up 10+ sacks and get consistent pressure from all over. 

Suggs is so key to this season. If he's Sizzle we are in business. 

McPhee had a great rookie season and then disappeared for two seasons. He regained form in his 4th season, also his free agent year.  I only wish his big play came against Cam Newton and not the living stone artwork that is Derek Anderson. He was in the backfield a lot, was disruptive, and hopefully he keeps it up because we're going to need to have depth for blitzers.

If we get anything close to what we expect out of Sizzle, Dum also has another good year, Z. Smith is the real deal, and we can get Correa showing up too...then if we can get some interior rush from Jernigan and perhaps a full time starter Guy, that will cause some problems. I mean for our opponents.

[JoeyFlex5]

1 minute ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

He messed up first play of the game. Lost the edge and over pursued the fake handoff on the reverse. 

But after that, he was disruptive. Hate to keep the McPhee narrative going... But it just makes sense. Except he's reminding me of the McPhee we got in late year 3, year 4 already. 

The strip sack was a thing of beauty. Power, burst, bend and finish. 

But I agree... I think it's going unmentioned bc it was obvious and somewhat expected. I don't think there's anyone who would say Z didn't look really really good tonight. Exciting where he's at this early. Validating that his final 3 games last year weren't a fluke. Something clicked and that may be what we can look forward to as soon as this year. 3rd pass rusher who can put up 10+ sacks and get consistent pressure from all over. 

Suggs is so key to this season. If he's Sizzle we are in business. 

i dont think he reminds me of mcphee personally, with mcphee i think we got an exotic blitz package catalyst, he was extremely effective lining up inside and out and stunting and was very light on his feet, with ZDS i see a much more direct type of edge rusher, he doesnt need scheming to be maximized, he doesnt need to play a multiple style of game, he can line up at OLB and beat the man in front of him, he can fly off the ball, has a great stutter move, good over and underhook, and is far more powerful than i had ever seen from mcphee. mcphee gave OCs headaches because they had to predict where pees was gonna send him, ZDS will give OTs and QBs headaches because hes just lining up and flat out beating his man. both are valuable, but i think i like what ZDS is bringing to the table more, having suggs and doom as the top 2 rushers with a guy of ZDSs caliber as the rotation guy? thats looking pretty good.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

6 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

i dont think he reminds me of mcphee personally, with mcphee i think we got an exotic blitz package catalyst, he was extremely effective lining up inside and out and stunting and was very light on his feet, with ZDS i see a much more direct type of edge rusher, he doesnt need scheming to be maximized, he doesnt need to play a multiple style of game, he can line up at OLB and beat the man in front of him, he can fly off the ball, has a great stutter move, good over and underhook, and is far more powerful than i had ever seen from mcphee. mcphee gave OCs headaches because they had to predict where pees was gonna send him, ZDS will give OTs and QBs headaches because hes just lining up and flat out beating his man. both are valuable, but i think i like what ZDS is bringing to the table more, having suggs and doom as the top 2 rushers with a guy of ZDSs caliber as the rotation guy? thats looking pretty good.

Kinda like what we had going on early in Suggs career with Peter Boulware and Adalius Thomas starting. Suggs would come in on sub packages and cause havoc.

[Maryland]

sorry for the tl;dr but figured I'd dump my notes here if anyone cares

Defense

Jerraud (sp) Powers seemed pretty terrible in coverage, though he's better than Arrington, who was awful against 2nd/3rd teamers. 
Sheldon Price made some good plays (timely tackles and passes defended) and some bad plays (2 holding penalties near the endzone).
Sam brown, rookie UDFA CB, seems like he made some pretty good plays and maintained good coverage. Might develop into a decent player since he looks back for the ball.
Will Davis was kind of bad for the most part (he defended one pass but was not near the receiver on a few other plays). I'm pulling for him though.
Elam still seems to hit but not tackle. He was in the right place on 2 plays at least, diagnosed them correctly. Terrance Brooks made some tackles and defended a pass but generally always seems to be a split-second late getting to a play imo.

Orr looked a lot better than Arthur Brown, as expected.
Judon looks like he could be a good rush-LB. He seemed pretty disruptive, even if he didn't always get there. He made good effort to chase-down plays. 
Willie Henry seems really explosive for a DT. Just burst off the line and has quickness to get around guys and strength to bull-rush and collapse the pocket. Henry blew up two running plays and hurried a throw on another. Also assisted on a sack when he swim-moved the Panther's guard easily. Chased-down a WR on a screen pass, which showed really good effort--Harbs will love that.
Z.Smith made a nice strip, but he needs to seal the edge better (got burned on one of those end-arounds). Was a problem for him last year too.
Didn't really notice Correa much. He sealed the edge well on one play. 
And idk who Chris Carter is, but he was easily the best player of the night. Very explosive pass-rusher. Only knock is he's a veteran who's been passed-around between the Steelers and Bengals. Never heard his name before so maybe it's just an aberrational game. 


Offense

Terrance West will definitely make the roster. Seemed to be the best RB on the field. 
Kenneth Dixon looks exciting, but he clearly needs to develop his pass-pro. Looks like he could break a big play on any carry. Got that Ray Rice center of gravity to keep his feet after getting hit. 
Buck allen made a nice TD reception, but it was mostly just well blocked. Allen didn't look great running between the tackles, though some of those plays were terrible blocking/good defense.

Waller was force-fed the ball a lot and made a lot of catches, but he really doesn't seem all that impressive to me. Seems like he wants to body-catch (the pick-6 that was called back hit him in the body), and he doesn't reel-in tough catches away from his body, though he does make good diving/sliding catches into his body. He doesn't use his size as good as he could. 
Boyle still seems like a pretty good TE, but I have to wonder if he'll make the roster when he comes off susp. after week 10 (it'll probably depend how many TEs are on IR).
Jeremy Butler made some decent catches and got open pretty well. He's going to be fighting with Campanaro for that final WR spot. 

Mallett and Josh Johnson both seemed like equal-caliber backups. Both made good plays and bad plays. Johnson was probably slightly better because he can run, and he made only 1 really bad throw from what I saw, whereas Mallett made a couple bad throws. Coaching staff will probably give Mallett the job anyway.

[Maryland]

I read most of the posts in this thread just to see if everyone else saw what I saw.

3 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

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

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.

Lol I feel the exact same way about Boyle! Kind of wish he'd just do poorly so I can not feel disappointed when we cut him after he comes off susp. Same with Waller (though I don't think Waller is anything special). 

Didn't mention KLM but he was pretty solid. Maybe he can be like a DeAngelo Tyson-caliber depth player. 

2 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

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. 

I didn't mention Urban, probably because I'm still in denial, but he did seem pretty pedestrian. His greatest talent seems to be having long, annoying arms that can bat passes. Sucks that he isn't the explosive talent we heard all about those first 2 years in TC.

2 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

2) I don't think Mallet looked as sharp as the announcers said he was. You know who looked sharp and silky smooth and was on the money with darn near every pass? Josh Johnson. He looked good save for the fumble.

6) Ducasse and Wesley did not look good at RG. On one of West's big runs Ducasse completely whiffed on his block and grabbed the guy's facemask and he held him, got away with it. Wesley was a revolving door who let some plays up in the backfield.

7) Butler looks like another Aiken. He'll catch most of what he should and get you what's there, but not explosive playmaker. You need guys that can catch so that is no knock on him.

Agree on Mallett. That one sorely-underthrown ball in the endzone would have been picked by a good CB. Josh Johnson had one bad underthrow to Clay and the fumble, but was otherwise pretty good. I really value mobility in a backup QB, since they have a lighter playbook, so running brings another threat to their game, plus it makes him different than Flacco, which would bring an element the opposing team didn't plan for.

Agree that Wesley was awful. He looked like easily the worst guy out there on the OL.

I'm not sure how to feel about Butler. He's not exciting, and we probably don't need another possession receiver on this team, but he seems like he could be worth a roster spot. Shame we can't stash him on PS for one more season and then have him replace Aiken next year when he leaves. 

1 hour ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

I think the secondary issues are being overstated. 

No BWill, Jernigan, Suggs, or Doom. 4 of our best 5 players in the front 7 were not playing when we went up against their 1's. We weren't going to get much pressure so it was always going to be an uphill battle on the back end. 

 

Chris Carter and Pierce were huge surprises. Both looked at times like the best players on the field. Granted against 3rd string for the most part, but they were the most consistently disruptive defensive players in purple tonight. Could we see one or both sneak their way onto the team?

I, too, am thinking the secondary issues might be a bit overstated. Outside of Powers, Arrington, and Wright, (2 of those guys you hopefully won't use much if they even make the team), I thought they played ok, and will play better with a competent pass-rush. Plus, like you said, playing a basic defense is going to hurt the defense, especially the secondary. 

Also, although I didn't mention him, Pierce was a pretty intriguing player. He really pushed the pocket on some plays and takes up a lot of space. There was only one play to my memory where he really got pushed back badly.

[Jacquouille]

How did Mosley look?

[JoeyFlex5]

2 minutes ago, Jacquouille said:

How did Mosley look?

Business as usual is how I would put it. He brought the wood to somebody on the first drive if I recall correctly, no visible or memorable mistakes. Basocally looked how he should

[Alexanderwguy19]

Anyone else liking Michael Pierce the huge UDFA from Samford? I thought he was getting good push especially in the second quarter. I know Jernigan wasnt playing but I was really impressed with him,

[Sami84]

4 hours ago, Maryland said:

sorry for the tl;dr but figured I'd dump my notes here if anyone cares

Defense

Jerraud (sp) Powers seemed pretty terrible in coverage, though he's better than Arrington, who was awful against 2nd/3rd teamers. 
Sheldon Price made some good plays (timely tackles and passes defended) and some bad plays (2 holding penalties near the endzone).
Sam brown, rookie UDFA CB, seems like he made some pretty good plays and maintained good coverage. Might develop into a decent player since he looks back for the ball.
Will Davis was kind of bad for the most part (he defended one pass but was not near the receiver on a few other plays). I'm pulling for him though.
Elam still seems to hit but not tackle. He was in the right place on 2 plays at least, diagnosed them correctly. Terrance Brooks made some tackles and defended a pass but generally always seems to be a split-second late getting to a play imo.

Orr looked a lot better than Arthur Brown, as expected.
Judon looks like he could be a good rush-LB. He seemed pretty disruptive, even if he didn't always get there. He made good effort to chase-down plays. 
Willie Henry seems really explosive for a DT. Just burst off the line and has quickness to get around guys and strength to bull-rush and collapse the pocket. Henry blew up two running plays and hurried a throw on another. Also assisted on a sack when he swim-moved the Panther's guard easily. Chased-down a WR on a screen pass, which showed really good effort--Harbs will love that.
Z.Smith made a nice strip, but he needs to seal the edge better (got burned on one of those end-arounds). Was a problem for him last year too.
Didn't really notice Correa much. He sealed the edge well on one play. 
And idk who Chris Carter is, but he was easily the best player of the night. Very explosive pass-rusher. Only knock is he's a veteran who's been passed-around between the Steelers and Bengals. Never heard his name before so maybe it's just an aberrational game. 


Offense

Terrance West will definitely make the roster. Seemed to be the best RB on the field. 
Kenneth Dixon looks exciting, but he clearly needs to develop his pass-pro. Looks like he could break a big play on any carry. Got that Ray Rice center of gravity to keep his feet after getting hit. 
Buck allen made a nice TD reception, but it was mostly just well blocked. Allen didn't look great running between the tackles, though some of those plays were terrible blocking/good defense.

Waller was force-fed the ball a lot and made a lot of catches, but he really doesn't seem all that impressive to me. Seems like he wants to body-catch (the pick-6 that was called back hit him in the body), and he doesn't reel-in tough catches away from his body, though he does make good diving/sliding catches into his body. He doesn't use his size as good as he could. 
Boyle still seems like a pretty good TE, but I have to wonder if he'll make the roster when he comes off susp. after week 10 (it'll probably depend how many TEs are on IR).
Jeremy Butler made some decent catches and got open pretty well. He's going to be fighting with Campanaro for that final WR spot. 

Mallett and Josh Johnson both seemed like equal-caliber backups. Both made good plays and bad plays. Johnson was probably slightly better because he can run, and he made only 1 really bad throw from what I saw, whereas Mallett made a couple bad throws. Coaching staff will probably give Mallett the job anyway.

 

I see more priest holmes in dixon than ray rice..and thats a good thing

[Guest]

5 hours ago, HomeoftheBRAVENS said:

I only skimmed some of the longer post so I may be wrong,but how has nobody mentioned the name Zadarius Smith?I think we got special with him.He looks like he could be one of those rare late round picks that turn into probowlers.

I caught the video of his strip sack on NFL.com going over the Box Score.  Impressive, improvement and opportunity might explain him overpowering Stanley.

He's a big body could see him wear down quickly so fresh rushers might be important.

[trevorsteadman]

4 hours ago, Maryland said:

I read most of the posts in this thread just to see if everyone else saw what I saw.

Lol I feel the exact same way about Boyle! Kind of wish he'd just do poorly so I can not feel disappointed when we cut him after he comes off susp. Same with Waller (though I don't think Waller is anything special). 

Didn't mention KLM but he was pretty solid. Maybe he can be like a DeAngelo Tyson-caliber depth player. 

I didn't mention Urban, probably because I'm still in denial, but he did seem pretty pedestrian. His greatest talent seems to be having long, annoying arms that can bat passes. Sucks that he isn't the explosive talent we heard all about those first 2 years in TC.

Agree on Mallett. That one sorely-underthrown ball in the endzone would have been picked by a good CB. Josh Johnson had one bad underthrow to Clay and the fumble, but was otherwise pretty good. I really value mobility in a backup QB, since they have a lighter playbook, so running brings another threat to their game, plus it makes him different than Flacco, which would bring an element the opposing team didn't plan for.

Agree that Wesley was awful. He looked like easily the worst guy out there on the OL.

I'm not sure how to feel about Butler. He's not exciting, and we probably don't need another possession receiver on this team, but he seems like he could be worth a roster spot. Shame we can't stash him on PS for one more season and then have him replace Aiken next year when he leaves. 

I, too, am thinking the secondary issues might be a bit overstated. Outside of Powers, Arrington, and Wright, (2 of those guys you hopefully won't use much if they even make the team), I thought they played ok, and will play better with a competent pass-rush. Plus, like you said, playing a basic defense is going to hurt the defense, especially the secondary. 

Also, although I didn't mention him, Pierce was a pretty intriguing player. He really pushed the pocket on some plays and takes up a lot of space. There was only one play to my memory where he really got pushed back badly.

Powers and Wright are your starting nickel corner and a starting outside corner. But I still don't worry because Carolina had all the time in the world. We adjusted pretty well after their first drive (you could argue that it was because Cam sat afterwards but the defense as a whole looked better to me). Having your two starting outside linebackers would help out the pass rush tremendously. Powers hasn't been talked about as much as he used to be which is kind of unnerving but I still trust him in the nickel more than anybody else on our team at this time. 

[trevorsteadman]

3 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Business as usual is how I would put it. He brought the wood to somebody on the first drive if I recall correctly, no visible or memorable mistakes. Basocally looked how he should

I actually believe Mosley had a fantastic game. When he was in he was always around the ball. His pass rush was also noticed. He also never gave up an inch on his tackles.

[kjbmore]

After watching the game again - I'm encouraged by our offensive schemes, play calling - particularly regarding our short to intermediate stuff - given that we were fairly successful with no deep threats or deep shots and the only receiver that shows up on the stat sheet is butler, we were able to effectively move the chains today, mostly targeting our tight ends and backs.  Obviously it's preseason and all that but from what we showed today - with tight ends and receivers who may not even make the team - throw some legitimate receivers and deep threats in - we should have a nice balance across all 3 levels. from what I saw today I'm not even concerned with camp, if he doesn't show he can get on the field consistently just move on, we should be fine for short to intermediate targets

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

4 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Business as usual is how I would put it. He brought the wood to somebody on the first drive if I recall correctly, no visible or memorable mistakes. Basocally looked how he should

Exactly. Played really well, but thats exactly what i expect from him. Sound in every aspect of the game - no real jaw dropping plays, but made every play he was in position to make, and seemed to always be around the ball.

I know he gets a lot of credit - but i really dont think its enough. We've got a really, really good player on our hands. Maybe its just because we always had Ray in there, so we expect it - but that was a great pick. Really didnt seem like a need at the time, but where would this defense be without him. 

I think we really undervalue how lucky we are that we have Mosley to transition right in after Ray's retirement. Literally no drop off at the position (since Ray was declining and Mosley hit the ground running)... and hes clearly still an ascending player. Its great to think we've only scratched the surface with this kid.

[trevorsteadman]

I know Forsett is known as the starter.. And I know this is a premature bold prediction. But I really don't think Forsett starts for us halfway through the season unless he plays at that pro bowl level he did two years ago when he averaged over 5 yards a carry. Dixon looks so much more explosive and I understand that he was playing against non-starters but you can just see his burst even when he was on that kick return. He plays like he needs to find that end zone or the ball will explode.

Also for those looking for fantasy football backs this season I would look towards West. I'm not sure yet that either him or Dixon will become a workhorse but West was clearly favored in short yardage. And he made the most of it converting a few first downs and a pair of touchdowns.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

13 minutes ago, kjbmore said:

After watching the game again - I'm encouraged by our offensive schemes, play calling - particularly regarding our short to intermediate stuff - given that we were fairly successful with no deep threats or deep shots and the only receiver that shows up on the stat sheet is butler, we were able to effectively move the chains today, mostly targeting our tight ends and backs.  Obviously it's preseason and all that but from what we showed today - with tight ends and receivers who may not even make the team - throw some legitimate receivers and deep threats in - we should have a nice balance across all 3 levels. from what I saw today I'm not even concerned with camp, if he doesn't show he can get on the field consistently just move on, we should be fine for short to intermediate targets

You know - I was thinking this last night and wanted to post it but forgot.

Trestman deserves a ton of credit. This might be an exaggeration, but that might have been the best called offensive game in memory. Granted its easier against pre-season defense, but he consistently dialed up the right plays, kept a very good balance, created easy throws on 2nd and longs to get manageable 3rd downs... helped the QBs get into rhythm early on, and generally kept the defense on their toes all night.

Very, very encouraged by what i saw last night from mainly 3rd string and likely-to-be-cut offensive skill position players. It looked polished, well-organized, and kept the ball moving most importantly. Too often in the past we'd over commit to establishing the run and kill ourselves with a couple 3 and outs in a row, or try to pick up all of a 2nd and long which would lead to difficult to convert 3rd and longs...

Trestman made sure we got positive yards on 1st and 2nd down all night. We used more slants and shallow crosses to help both the QBs and WRs get involved and have some success. Never understood why we always seemed like the only team in the NFL that didnt know how to utilize those quick, short-to-intermediate timing routes for easy yardage.

 

This was clearly Trestman's offense and not Kubiaks with a sprinkle of Trestman. And I liked it - a lot. He clearly had a plan in mind, wasnt afraid to abandon it when necessary, and our situational offense was great. Really, really excited for what this offense can look like with Flacco, Forsett, SSS, Perriman, Pitta, Watson, Wallace, Camp, etc.... out there.

Mallet, Johnson, and guys like Waller and Butler were made to look good by Trestman. As  some have said - they really didnt play all that great. But they did what they were asked - which is important, not trying to understate their play.

Trestman just knew exactly how much he could ask of them, and when to ask it. Beautiful thing to have confidence in the offensive scheme and game plan. An OC that uses our guys to their strengths and maximizes their potential?? That exists?

Edited August 12, 2016 by BOLDnPurPnBlacK

[trevorsteadman]

3 minutes ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

You know - I was thinking this last night and wanted to post it but forgot.

Trestman deserves a ton of credit. This might be an exaggeration, but that might have been the best called offensive game in memory. Granted its easier against pre-season defense, but he consistently dialed up the right plays, kept a very good balance, created easy throws on 2nd and longs to get manageable 3rd downs... helped the QBs get into rhythm early on, and generally kept the defense on their toes all night.

Very, very encouraged by what i saw last night from mainly 3rd string and likely-to-be-cut offensive skill position players. It looked polished, well-organized, and kept the ball moving most importantly. Too often in the past we'd over commit to establishing the run and kill ourselves with a couple 3 and outs in a row, or try to pick up all of a 2nd and long which would lead to difficult to convert 3rd and longs...

Trestman made sure we got positive yards on 1st and 2nd down all night. We used more slants and shallow crosses to help both the QBs and WRs get involved and have some success. Never understood why we always seemed like the only team in the NFL that didnt know how to utilize those quick, short-to-intermediate timing routes for easy yardage.

 

This was clearly Trestman's offense and not Kubiaks with a sprinkle of Trestman. And I liked it - a lot. He clearly had a plan in mind, wasnt afraid to abandon it when necessary, and our situational offense was great. Really, really excited for what this offense can look like with Flacco, Forsett, SSS, Perriman, Pitta, Watson, Wallace, Camp, etc.... out there.

Mallet, Johnson, and guys like Waller and Butler were made to look good by Trestman. As  some have said - they really didnt play all that great. But they did what they were asked - which is important, not trying to understate their play.

Trestman just knew exactly how much he could ask of them, and when to ask it. Beautiful thing to have confidence in the offensive scheme and game plan. An OC that uses our guys to their strengths and maximizes their potential?? That exists?

I agree and I was afraid to post something similar because I was afraid of it being pass happy next week lol. You could tell the playbook flowed really well throughout the game. 

[rmcjacket23]

9 hours ago, Moderator 3 said:

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

Noticed the same thing, but then I realized we probably should have known this already. I believe Jimmy is quite literally the only guy in our secondary who will play significant snaps who is taller than 6'0.

Granted, I think there's a lot of teams in the league that have smaller secondary players.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

1 minute ago, trevorsteadman said:

I agree and I was afraid to post something similar because I was afraid of it being pass happy next week lol. You could tell the playbook flowed really well throughout the game. 

I honestly dont even mind if its leans toward pass happy as long as we're utilizing a lot of those short timing throws to pick up the easy 3 and 4 yards that the defense gives.

We obviously have the run game to use, and i dont think Trestman will ever go full tilt with the passing game like he did in Chicago - Harbs lays down the blue print for what he wants, and hes very clear in what he wants. Trestman has the freedom and flexibility to diverge when necessary and i know Harbs trusts his expertise - he hired him for a reason - but if things get too far away from the Ravens DNA, he'll quickly get in right back in line.

But if Trestman is using the short, timing passing game almost like extended handoffs - im ok with it. We saw last night very limited players talent wise were able to pick that Panthers D apart on the short dump offs, screens, slants and shallow crosses. If we're talking lots of high percentage, easy 3-4 yard plays with the possibility to turn into big plays with good blocking like on Allens TD - im very much ok with Trestman airing it out a bit.

[trevorsteadman]

2 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Noticed the same thing, but then I realized we probably should have known this already. I believe Jimmy is quite literally the only guy in our secondary who will play significant snaps who is taller than 6'0.

Granted, I think there's a lot of teams in the league that have smaller secondary players.

Sheldon Price is an up and coming player. I'm excited to see him play more snaps. He is 6'2 and he played very well with the 2nd string. I wouldn't be surprised if he started carving a bigger role with the 1's.

[trevorsteadman]

2 minutes ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

I honestly dont even mind if its leans toward pass happy as long as we're utilizing a lot of those short timing throws to pick up the easy 3 and 4 yards that the defense gives.

We obviously have the run game to use, and i dont think Trestman will ever go full tilt with the passing game like he did in Chicago - Harbs lays down the blue print for what he wants, and hes very clear in what he wants. Trestman has the freedom and flexibility to diverge when necessary and i know Harbs trusts his expertise - he hired him for a reason - but if things get too far away from the Ravens DNA, he'll quickly get in right back in line.

But if Trestman is using the short, timing passing game almost like extended handoffs - im ok with it. We saw last night very limited players talent wise were able to pick that Panthers D apart on the short dump offs, screens, slants and shallow crosses. If we're talking lots of high percentage, easy 3-4 yard plays with the possibility to turn into big plays with good blocking like on Allens TD - im very much ok with Trestman airing it out a bit.

And I am okay with him passing the ball as well. But I want to see what kind of plays are called when the game is down 14. I remember watching the Bears on Thanksgiving a couple years ago and they completely abandoned the run when Forte was probably their best player. When you are down 14 and it is only the 2nd quarter the way you climb back into the game is still sticking to the game plan. I am okay with screens and small dump passes because those are like extended runs. The heavy tight end sets last night looked fantastic.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

2 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Noticed the same thing, but then I realized we probably should have known this already. I believe Jimmy is quite literally the only guy in our secondary who will play significant snaps who is taller than 6'0.

Granted, I think there's a lot of teams in the league that have smaller secondary players.

Yea - Webb, Weddle, Wright, Powers, Arrington, Young... all smaller guys.

I really liked how Price played last night. Thought he played great technique, was consistently tight in coverage, and in position to make plays. When he allowed the catch, he was right there to make the tackle. Now, he missed on i think 2 plays where he needed to get his head around and see the ball - shouldve made two plays there that turned into sizeable completions... but he was at least in position to make the play - which is more than I can say for some other members of our secondary.

And that PI call on him was BS. 

Need to see more, but i think he can be a contributor back there. Some more confidence and experience and he could be a play maker. And he'd give us some more size/length on the outside. Think he's like 6'1"-6'2", 200 lbs.

Was probably more impressed with him than anyone else in the secondary last night... though I liked what I saw from Tavon and for an UDFA Brown looked decent too.

[rmcjacket23]

3 minutes ago, trevorsteadman said:

Sheldon Price is an up and coming player. I'm excited to see him play more snaps. He is 6'2 and he played very well with the 2nd string. I wouldn't be surprised if he started carving a bigger role with the 1's.

Maybe, but I think he's a long way off from making the team. I think we carry a max of 6-7 corners this year, and probably 3-4 of those spots are already locked in.

I do want to see what he can do against first team offenses and talent though.

[trevorsteadman]

Just now, rmcjacket23 said:

Maybe, but I think he's a long way off from making the team. I think we carry a max of 6-7 corners this year, and probably 3-4 of those spots are already locked in.

I do want to see what he can do against first team offenses and talent though.

I actually think he makes the roster and Canaday goes to practice squad. Call me crazy but with Canaday's injury taking up some of his OTA practices and the way they were talking about Price all throughout the process. I wouldn't be surprised if he was ahead of Will Davis on our depth chart at this point.

[BmoreBird22]

2 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Maybe, but I think he's a long way off from making the team. I think we carry a max of 6-7 corners this year, and probably 3-4 of those spots are already locked in.

I do want to see what he can do against first team offenses and talent though.

I see Young, Jimmy, Wright, and Powers as a lock. Leaves, in all likelihood, only two spots open with Webb's ability to play corner.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

2 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Maybe, but I think he's a long way off from making the team. I think we carry a max of 6-7 corners this year, and probably 3-4 of those spots are already locked in.

I do want to see what he can do against first team offenses and talent though.

I actually dont see it that way at all. I think Price has a high percentage chance of making the team.

I see Smith, Wright, Powers, and Young as the only real locks. So, 2-3 spots up for grabs between Price, Arrington, Will Davis, Sam Brown, and Canady.

Out of those names Arrington is the only sure fire cut imo. But, at this point from what ive seen and from the reports coming out of camp I'd put Price ahead of the other 3. When Smith wasnt practicing, Price was the starter. Ultimately I think its Price and Davis who make it, Arrington's cut, and Canady/Brown are PS candidates.