[News] Ravens Will Take Chances On Some Players With Character Issues, Just Not Ones With Domestic Violence

[BR News]

GM Ozzie Newsome said the Ravens have in-house help for players that have had issues off the field. Owner Steve Bisciotti said the Ravens draw the line at certain offenses such as domestic abuse, but 'if you're not willing to take chances and give second chances, you'll be out in the cold.'

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[Raven in ATL]

sometimes the most squeaky clean characters have some of the dirtiest secrets hiding. knowing a player has some dirty laundry aired out in public isnt necessarily a bad thing. if he is willing to improve himself outside of football, its worth the risk extending a 2nd chance to him

[Chuckx999]

As bad as this team is becoming they should find as many wearing brass knuckles as they can.

[Tower of Power]

This team badly needs some "bad hombres" [as someone would say]

[reed20]

We took a chance on Will Hill and that worked for a while. Dumb move on releasing him. We could have really used him after 10 games.

Edited January 15 by reed20

[The Greek]

i agree with their stance on not drafting players with domestic abuse issues but they do need to take some chances with players that are rough around the edges as they say. we need at least one player on each side of the ball that can rally the troops.

Edited January 15 by The Greek

[BiggMack91]

more cheap talk can't wait to see some results for a change if it happens

[RaRaRavens]

Very interesting of Oz to say all that stuff, because it seems to me that the Ravens have completely lost their identity of being the nasty physically dominating bully on the football field. For years now we have been drafting mostly nice guys with stellar on and off the field reputation and it directly correlates to the attitude we see on the field.

It has been slowly happening ever since Harbaugh came aboard, and yeah-yeah I know, he is not making the draft decisions alone, but it seems to me that before Harbaugh-era our team was way more willing to draft those old-school mean and aggressive players.

Now our roster is filled with "choir boys" like someone on this board very shrewdly said it. Literally no one is afraid to play against us anymore and it's especially a factor on the defense. And now, with Smith Sr. gone, we just might be the softest politest team in the NFL.

That is not the Ravens Way! I really really hope that Oz will walk his talk and they will get back to drafting players who strike fear into their opponents, players who bring the pain, players who you don't want to play twice against.

But as I've expressed myself before, I have serious doubts of that happening until Harbaugh has any say in the matter. Here's to hoping that Oz will end this nonsense come April.

[b93333]

It's pretty clear that winning is not the organizational priority it once was. I have read numerous quotes from the organization that the PSL renewal rate... always near 100% does not drop when the team has an off year. Speaks volumes about the loyal fan base... but one has to wonder if it factors into organizational decisions that take those fans for granted.

[BiggMack91]

TANOH KPASSAGNON,JARRON JONES,MONTRAVIUS ADAMS,EDDIE VANDERDOES,Hunter Dimick would be great D lineman to draft

Sidney Jones,Kevin King,DAMONTAE KAZEE,Channing Stripling all good CB to draft

Josh Jones,Rayshawn JenkinsJohn Johnson would be good FS to draft

JON TOTH,Kyle Fuller,ZACH BANNER,DANNY ISIDORA,GREG PYKE
Donnel Pumphrey,COREY CLEMENT,DE'ANGELO HENDERSON are the RB that we could draft

ISAIAH FORD,NOAH BROWN,Malachi Dupre,Chris Godwin,Stacy Coley would be good WR to draft

Obi Melifonwu,Dallas Lloyd,Jadar Johnson,DANTE BARNETT would be good SS to draft

DEVOTE FIELDS,Jimmie Gilbert,Tashawn Bower,Dylan Donahue would be good OLB to draft

even if we only get one of these guys ill be happy

[GENE2407]

Let's just make this simple, we'll draft only players from Yale and Harvard. That should solve all our problems. Go get em Ozzie!

[GENE2407]

This bothers me big time. Basically saying they only take choir boys. Ravens will never be great again and feared again, until they come off this stupid issue.
Jerry Jones and Bob Kraft gave no problem taking in baddest of the bad seeds because they help them win.
Ravens passed on Noah spence and others...

I may hang up my Raven gear if they dont get back to taking Bad mo fos. Were not here for patty cakes, were here to win football games.
Keep your personal,political issues out of it.. unless were going to go through every team and kick off every druggy,murderer,abuserknucklehead etc. Ravens have to play by the same rules when they drafted red flag guys like McCalister, Ray, Sizzle and all of them turned up roses 1 way shape or form.

It's funny you bring this up, because Jerry was the ORIGINAL owner to take the choir boy stance. After Irvin got caught with the hookers and coke in the motel, Jerry listened to all the quacks who demanded he could not draft anyone with baggage ever again. The next few years, guys like Warren Sapp and Randy Moss were passed over for good guys like Greg Ellis, Ebenezer Ekuban, and David LaFleur. What did it get them? Last place (5-11 records) for 3 straight years. Parcells came on board after 2002, and Dallas became relevant again.

[ravens4life86]

I may turn in my Ravens gear..,if they dont get off this Choir boy bs

[ravens4life86]

Ravens need Fear Factor, Ravens need as much as people may dislike him a Vontez Burfict, a Pollard back again... you need guys who have a couple screws loose upstairs. Harbaugh and co. Can tell us bout leadership and Dumervil and thus guy and that guy, but they aint no leaders when there all yes men.

Bring in some Knuckleheads who can put Fear into the opponent..you need some loose cannons

[GENE2407]

sometimes the most squeaky clean characters have some of the dirtiest secrets hiding. knowing a player has some dirty laundry aired out in public isnt necessarily a bad thing. if he is willing to improve himself outside of football, its worth the risk extending a 2nd chance to him

Great point. Ray Rice would start out at top of everyone's "good guy" list under this new system. How did that turn out? There is good and bad, upsides and downsides to deal with in every potential player. Bischotti should go run another business if he no longer has the stomach for winning, caring only about his reputation.

[RavensDieHard21]

We so need leadership badly, but that does not mean that a clean player cannot be a leader, or that just because a guy has red flags that he will be a good player or a better leader. 

The problem with not drafting red flag players is that it narrows our draft board which will have us pass on talent. DV is a problem and multiple drug violations are too. You need players that can suite up on game day. 

If a player got into a fight at practice or got busted once for DUI or was dismissed by the team for having a temper then those guys shouldn't be immediately graded differently. With pick 16 though we need to grab a football player. Someone that we know will produce on the field on day 1, not a project. 

[JamesA119]

I think they are afraid of taking players with any issues. I also think that Harbaugh has significant input in it. Will Hill is the last player we know that had significant personal issues, but he was on the roster before the Ray Rice incident that started the whole thing. Waller is the only player on our roster now as far as I can tell whom issue might have been known prior to being drafted. Boyle's issue appear to have beeen as much a surprise to us as it was to them.

Why do I think Hatbaugh has significant input? Because he is all about choir boys. There were several reports that as soon the Ray Rice case broke he suggested releasing Ray Rice even before the investigation was complete, and way before the elevator images came to light.
Torrey Smith was the ultimate choir boy, and Harbaugh spoke of shedding tears just reading reading about Torrey. Bernard Pierce was released after one incident of DUI within 24 hrs. Not to mention the release of Bernard Pollard for no apparent reason.

As I was watching the Atlanta game I couldn't help but notice how many studs they have on that team. They seemed so much faster and more physical than us. SMH! We used to be the most physical team on this planet. Ray Lewis was unanimously considered the most feared NFL player.

[Obie]

You can have the best players in the world but if you're still calling hs plays you ain't going to win.

[BigUgly]

18 minutes ago, JamesA119 said:

I think they are afraid of taking players with any issues. I also think that Harbaugh has significant input in it. Will Hill is the last player we know that had significant personal issues, but he was on the roster before the Ray Rice incident that started the whole thing. Waller is the only player on our roster now as far as I can tell whom issue might have been known prior to being drafted. Boyle's issue appear to have beeen as much a surprise to us as it was to them.

Why do I think Hatbaugh has significant input? Because he is all about choir boys. There were several reports that as soon the Ray Rice case broke he suggested releasing Ray Rice even before the investigation was complete, and way before the elevator images came to light.
Torrey Smith was the ultimate choir boy, and Harbaugh spoke of shedding tears just reading reading about Torrey. Bernard Pierce was released after one incident of DUI within 24 hrs. Not to mention the release of Bernard Pollard for no apparent reason.

As I was watching the Atlanta game I couldn't help but notice how many studs they have on that team. They seemed so much faster and more physical than us. SMH! We used to be the most physical team on this planet. Ray Lewis was unanimously considered the most feared NFL player.

I agree.  A great coach like Belichick may have the luxury of drafting higher-character guys who are maybe not as athletic but fit his well-constructed scheme on both sides of the ball.  He actually gets a return on their relatively higher football IQ and "team-first" demeanor.  

When I look at the Ravens drafts since the Super Bowl, I see a lot of great guys, former team captains, and the occasional super genius (Urschel).  That hasn't translated into on-field success.  Heck, you'd expect the quantity of penalties to be far lower on the Ravens than just about any other squad, but the opposite has been true.  I hope Ozzie has more of a free hand this year - if it has been checked in any way by Harbs - to truly draft the best player available.  Great players make great Ravens.

[JamesA119]

Interesting isn't it. Ozzie and Billick and others built the Ravens that we the fans came to admire. In fact the rest of the league admired the Ravens. Remember Brady and Belichick were in awe of Lewis, Reed and Suggs. They considered those 3 the best in their respective positions. It's ironic that as other teams were trying to build teams like the Ravens, we are getting away from what we are. Now we have to play catch up.

[billiejean]

1 hour ago, JamesA119 said:

I think they are afraid of taking players with any issues. I also think that Harbaugh has significant input in it. Will Hill is the last player we know that had significant personal issues, but he was on the roster before the Ray Rice incident that started the whole thing. Waller is the only player on our roster now as far as I can tell whom issue might have been known prior to being drafted. Boyle's issue appear to have beeen as much a surprise to us as it was to them.

Why do I think Hatbaugh has significant input? Because he is all about choir boys. There were several reports that as soon the Ray Rice case broke he suggested releasing Ray Rice even before the investigation was complete, and way before the elevator images came to light.
Torrey Smith was the ultimate choir boy, and Harbaugh spoke of shedding tears just reading reading about Torrey. Bernard Pierce was released after one incident of DUI within 24 hrs. Not to mention the release of Bernard Pollard for no apparent reason.

As I was watching the Atlanta game I couldn't help but notice how many studs they have on that team. They seemed so much faster and more physical than us. SMH! We used to be the most physical team on this planet. Ray Lewis was unanimously considered the most feared NFL player.

Don't forget about Alex Lewis... I think whats difficult is that even before the Ray Rice thing there was sort of this impression that we were a team of thugs, for multiple different reasons. I don't see how the Seahawks don't get that kind of label (well i guess I do, I never here about any of them being arrested). But when they win they jaw their mouths and try to antagonize the other team after, before, and during the game. And when they loose and they get a taste of their own medicine there seems like there is a scuffle every other play. That said I don't see how they get away with drafting a guy like Frank Clark. We certainly would never hear the end of it if we drafted a guy like that.  Tyreek Hill also fits into that category.  Both of them are producing though (Frank has 10 sack this year as a back up), so Im sure that takes a little bit of heat off of them from their own fan base at least.

 Totally different subject but a similar topic........

This is geared toward anyone. I know we have guys that live in the Steel City on here. I would love to here what they have to say. What in the world is the deal with this JOEY PORTER incident. It smells pretty rotten to me.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_25390118/alex-lewis-ex-cu-buffs-lineman-sentenced-45

Edited January 15 by billiejean

[Moderator 3]

Did you people actually read the article?  It clearly states we WILL take players with past indiscretions as long as it isn't domestic abuse. Everybody draws a line somewhere and apparently that's our line.

Also, I repeatedly see comments claiming Harbaugh is behind our "rules" when it is clearly Bisciotti himself who draws the line.

[JamesA119]

Did you people actually read the article?  It clearly states we WILL take players with past indiscretions as long as it isn't domestic abuse. Everybody draws a line somewhere and apparently that's our line.

Also, I repeatedly see comments claiming Harbaugh is behind our "rules" when it is clearly Bisciotti himself who draws the line.

I'm happy for you. You take everything at face value. Good for you.

[Crusader]

Interesting isn't it. Ozzie and Billick and others built the Ravens that we the fans came to admire. In fact the rest of the league admired the Ravens. Remember Brady and Belichick were in awe of Lewis, Reed and Suggs. They considered those 3 the best in their respective positions. It's ironic that as other teams were trying to build teams like the Ravens, we are getting away from what we are. Now we have to play catch up.

Remember the video, Brian Billick said he had to accept the team as it was but after 2012 this team took a different path. Not sure who really was responsible but its obvious its not advancing much and stuck at 8-8 playing bad divisions. Would you see John accepting as Brian did ?

[Crusader]

Baltimore is a BLUE collar team but its turning into a hoity-toity club. There still defending their decisions made years ago. How long has Boldin been gone from the team and their still bringing it up in the State of the Ravens? The first thing they have do in Florida is realize they are they Blue collar team and not a high flying passing team because that is not Joe. This organization needs to learn to take criticism better and get out of this "Dog House" mentality.

[jravens1313]

Eric Berry should be our number 1 priority in free agency if the Chiefs don't tag him. He is an enforcer, and playmaker on the back end. If we waived Webb we could add Berry even with a big contract. This guy is everything you want in a football player. Well worth the $.

[phil3197]

if this was true, Noah Spence would be a Raven. Instead, we throw away our high second round pick to get a "good guy" in Correa...

[TheConquerorWorm]

if this was true, Noah Spence would be a Raven. Instead, we throw away our high second round pick to get a "good guy" in Correa...

Noah Spence is not that good....5.5 sacks this year - Za'Darius Smith had 6 his rookie year. Didn't look that good on his college game tape either - he would rush the passer and if he couldn't get there or the play went the other way, he just quit.

[TheConquerorWorm]

Eric Berry should be our number 1 priority in free agency if the Chiefs don't tag him. He is an enforcer, and playmaker on the back end. If we waived Webb we could add Berry even with a big contract. This guy is everything you want in a football player. Well worth the $.

Agree but Eric Berry, LeVeon Bell, Chandler Jones & Kirk Cousins are all expected to get the Franchise tag.

[hen826957]

  23 minutes ago, phil3197 said:

if this was true, Noah Spence would be a Raven. Instead, we throw away our high second round pick to get a "good guy" in Correa...

Noah Spence is not that good....5.5 sacks this year - Za'Darius Smith had 6 his rookie year. Didn't look that good on his college game tape either - he would rush the passer and if he couldn't get there or the play went the other way, he just quit.

Yeah but we could've use that 5.5 sacks production rather than having a player just to play special teams. But l just hope Correa can step it up and play to his potential or that 2nd round pick was a waste.