How good could this defense be??

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

Overall, I've been critical of Ozzie lately because...Well the Jernigan trade sucked and frankly I'm pissed that he's ignored the oline(which is the biggest concern with the team by far). 

 

But let's be positive. Because frankly, although I've disagreed with a few of the value, I like the players we've drafted so far.

So Ozzie Newsome's mindset has to be that the pass rush and secondary were faulty. When Jimmy was healthy, the secondary was good, but when he went down... So did the secondary.

 

I know certain members here will blame Pees... But he isn't the issue. If you watched the last drive vs. Pittsburgh we were blitzing a lot. We just couldn't get any pressure. This draft was meant to fix that, because frankly.. This defense is probably the deepest and most talented defense we've had since 2011..Possibly 2006.

I'll update as we go along because frankly... Ozzie is probably going to take another corner at some point.

 

So let's start off here. This is my projected starting lineup.

DE: Bronson Kaufausi, Willie Henry, Carl Davis

NT: Brandon Williams, Micheal Pierce 

DE: Chris Wormley, Brent Urban

Possible cuts: Carl Davis. Sorry, I think he's the odd man out.

Overview: I think Brent Urban at worst is a solid role player and has a spot as a rotational defenseive linemen who will be similar to Lawerence Guy of last year. We know what we have in Williams, he's a damn good player who is a big part of the run defense. I don't think we should have given him the money we did, but ultimately, he helps us establish an identity. Likewise, I think Pierce's ability to play on every down from the NT spot allows us a good rotation. He provides rush from the middle, and we'll get to that later. 

 

Then..Well we have a lot of young talent here that could develop into above average players. Namely in Kaufausi and Henry. Both are very athletic and have pass rush potential as well as being good run defenders. I think Kaufausi is a bonafida stud/attack dog who can seriously help out with the interior pressure. If he reaches his potential then we have an absolute athletic specimen playing the 5T. Which is deadly considering our other pass rushing talent. Likewise, I think Chris Wormley is a jack of all trades master of none type who is a spot starter, and is also a Lawerence Guy type. Which is a good thing even if I think he's an overdraft. Henry has loads of talent similar to Jernigan, and if we can get a solid player out him.. This is a damn good rotation on the defensive line. 

 

OLB: Terell Suggs, Matt Judon 

ILB: CJ Mosely, Albert Mclellen 

ILB: Tyus Bowser(will be moved around a lot), Correa

OLB: Tim Williams, Za'Darius Smith

 

Possible Cuts: Za'Darius Smith. He's raw as all hell. Great effort guy, but all in all,. He really has no place here.

 

Overview: We have a top 10 ILB in CJ Mosely, who could honestly be a top 5 one. He's damn impressive, and is quietly the best player in the front seven. We also know what we have in Suggs. Savvy veteran type who came on towards the end of the previous season, is still a very good run defender and a mentor player for the young guns. Correa will likely be a good rotational ILB, I don't like him as an edge rusher, but as an ILB I think he could be a very solid piece.

 

Now for the young edge guys. Let's start off with Judon since he's flashed. He's a power rusher who's a damn good athlete and showed a lot of promise. I think he has a future as a starter for the team, who can net a lot of pressures and 6-8 sacks a season. All in all, he's a good young to have going forward. Bowser, has excellent coverage abilities off the bat, and is an athletic freak. He plays with a hell of a motor and shows a lot of upside. I see him becoming what Correa SHOULD HAVE. A guy who can play the SAM, and occasionally switch to the edge. And finally.. Tim Williams. If he can stay out of trouble, and if he improves his run defense, we have a superstar difference maker on our hands that so many have been claimoring for. He's a pass rushing technician who has excellent bend, burst, and a plethora of pass rushing moves. If he plays in Dumervil's old spot, I think that RIGHT NOW most RT's cannot contain him as a pass rusher.

 

All in all this LB corps has the potential to be elite.... By year's freaking end. I think Bowser is going to be a contributor faster than most give him credit for, and will have a big impact. I think there's a decent chance Tim Williams notches 6-10 sacks this season and a boatload of pressures. We know what we have in Mosely, and I think Suggs has one more good season in him. The pass has improved with the Bowser and Williams picks.

 

CB: Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey

CB: Brandon Carr, Tavon Young Sheldon Price

Slot CB: Tavon Young, Ladarius Webb

 

Overview: Jimmy Smith is a #1 CB when healthy. Almost nobody disputes this. Likewise, Tavon proved himself to be a very good outside corner. I'm kind of upset that we are moving him to the slot full time, but I understand it. But, whenever Jimmy goes down.. So does the secondary. To solve this issue we signed Brandon Carr, a durable veteran who had a very good season last year, but is overall inconsistent. I hope he excells here, especially since that we might have a very good pass rush next season to help him out. But we did draft and insurance policy. 

 

Marlon Humphrey: as stated previously. I hated the pick because we passed on Jonathan Allen. That said, I like Humphrey a lot as a player. He's got skills on breaking on the ball, and is excellent when the ball is in front of him. He's also a good run support player who blows up screens(which we've struggled with) and hits like a truck. I think he needs less developmental time than most do. I think he takes over Carr's spot towards mid season and DOES WELL. I also put Webby here because if Jimmy goes down I could see us bump Tavon to the outside if we feel Humphrey isn't ready yet.

 

All in all, the CB group has improved significantly. Although I would like to draft one more.

 

FS: Eric Weddle, Ladarius Webb

SS: Tony Jefferson, Anthony Levine

 

It's rare to have two safeties who are held in high regard Weddle has the potential to be a borderline hall of famer, and Jefferson is likely to make a few pro bowls while he's here because he's likely to get more recognition. It's even rarer to have three safeties who are held in high regard. Webb's high football IQ makes him a very good option at FS, and we could honestly do so many different schemes because of this because of Jefferson's ability to go play ILB on nickel packages. Best safety duo in the league? Possibly. Best Safety trio? Absolutely.

 

Overall. This defense is insanely talented and we are not done yet. Even with Pees, whom I think is average, this defense could be good enough to win a SB. 

 

Now go draft some offense Ozzie

[Tru11]

mood right now : 

[arnie_uk]

9 minutes ago, Tru11 said:

mood right now : 

And your offense mood just for giggles 

[Tru11]

3 minutes ago, arnie_uk said:

And your offense mood just for giggles 

[arnie_uk]

3 minutes ago, Tru11 said:

In agreement on both then haha

Edited Saturday at 08:47 AM by arnie_uk

[Tru11]

1 minute ago, arnie_uk said:

In agreement on both then haha

tbh im really not worrying that much.

flacco seems to play much better when he has veteran players around him with just a few inexperienced players.

there will still be cuts so we might find some guys who will fit in.

heck barnidge just got cut who would be an upgrade over what we have at TE for instance.

 

 

[arnie_uk]

31 minutes ago, Tru11 said:

tbh im really not worrying that much.

flacco seems to play much better when he has veteran players around him with just a few inexperienced players.

there will still be cuts so we might find some guys who will fit in.

heck barnidge just got cut who would be an upgrade over what we have at TE for instance.

 

 

I'd sign barnidge as well. I'd also float correa and all our tight ends except pitta to see what oline or wide receivers we could get

[rossihunter2]

1 hour ago, arnie_uk said:

I'd sign barnidge as well. I'd also float correa and all our tight ends except pitta to see what oline or wide receivers we could get

I feel like after the draft ozzie is going to have some interesting conversations with nick mangold, anquan Boldin and Gary barnidge - maybe king Dunlap as well

[JoeyFlex5]

Not sure I see twill starting at strong side while bowser starts at ilb. Bowser strikes me as much more the starting OLB who moves in a lot, rather than starting ilb who moves out. But I'm splitting hairs here. 

This should be the best defense in the league, there is no reason not to think so and no excuses for us being any less than top 3, no excuses for blown leads either. This should be a championship defense, we need to just hope we work out some stuff with free agents and camp cuts for offense. 

Im very excited about this Team. This defense should look a lot like denvers SB defense

[ALI624]

Quarterbacks beware. Hopefully there are some O-linemen and a wide receiver to take, though there are so many good defensive players still out there can't blame them if they take more defense.

[Cville-Raven]

Last year's defense was tied for 1st in the league in ints and created a bunch of turnovers overall. Now that was done with little pass rush and shareece wright playing a lot so imagine what this defense could do with this new group of guys and no wright.

Edited Saturday at 12:13 PM by Cville-Raven

[JoeyFlex5]

13 minutes ago, Cville-Raven said:

Last year's defense was tied for 1st in the league in ints and created a bunch of turnovers overall. Now that was done with little pass rush and shareece wright playing a lot so imagine what this defense could do with this new group of guys and no wright.

Seriously this defense is going to be a monster for the next 4 years at least. When guys really start to catch on around their 2nd and 3rd years we should be topping the league in every category nearly

[ALI624]

Humphrey move reminds me of the Bradley Roby move the Broncos did a few years ago. Look at it this way you zig, we zag.

[AsianRice]

good enough to stop NE ding dong against us?

[rafahash]

I love that we're going all in on defense. Back to Ravens football. Just get to the QB and let this D win games for us.

[The Raven]

Mosley, Correa, and Bowser at LB.

Judon and Suggs/Williams at DE.

Brandon, Willie Henry, Kaufusi, and Wormley at DT.

Yeah, this defense is gonna be good. If Henry and Kaufusi become what I think they will, we're gonna set the team sack record this year.

[Cillmatic]

Could be on par with 2006. I think we'll be seeing a lot more 4-3 defense too.

[PurpleCity5]

I expect this defense to be top 3. Simple as that. 

[rafahash]

7 minutes ago, Cillmatic said:

Could be on par with 2006. I think we'll be seeing a lot more 4-3 defense too.

I thought of that too. When I see our roster, it just screams 4-3 to me.

[RaineV1]

1 hour ago, AsianRice said:

good enough to stop NE ding dong against us?

Humphrey actually excels at stopping short passes. It seems like our defense is now perfectly built to stop the Pats.

[jar2260]

The defense better be ready to score some points, Joe will be running for his life, and the run game will be non existent!

we pay Joe $20 some million, and don't protect him, WHY?

[GrimCoconut]

17 minutes ago, RaineV1 said:

Humphrey actually excels at stopping short passes. It seems like our defense is now perfectly built to stop the Pats.

I'm sure the Patriots are worried.  Jefferson on Gronkowski and Weddle on any other TE they have (Allen), and Young and Humphrey should be able to cover guys like Hogan and Cooks.  Then we got pass rushers galore in Williams and Bowser.  I like what we did here.

[polynesian15]

3 hours ago, Cville-Raven said:

Last year's defense was tied for 1st in the league in ints and created a bunch of turnovers overall. Now that was done with little pass rush and shareece wright playing a lot so imagine what this defense could do with this new group of guys and no wright.

Word, although Wright played out of his mind the first 2-3 games IIRC.

38 minutes ago, jar2260 said:

The defense better be ready to score some points, Joe will be running for his life, and the run game will be non existent!

we pay Joe $20 some million, and don't protect him, WHY?

Good question, obviously the FO is aware of this and they obviously know more than we do. We should consider that there are talks with Mangold (and perhaps Dunlap) behind the scenes. Furthermore, we should see at least one OL drafted today. UDFA should also contribute along with unproven guys currently on the roster.
I'm comfortable with a mix of Dixon/West/Woodhead.
 

[January J]

5 hours ago, rossihunter2 said:

I feel like after the draft ozzie is going to have some interesting conversations with nick mangold, anquan Boldin and Gary barnidge - maybe king Dunlap as well

Not sure about barnidge but certainly the other 3. 

2 hours ago, rafahash said:

I love that we're going all in on defense. Back to Ravens football. Just get to the QB and let this D win games for us.

Yes sir!

2 hours ago, PurpleCity5 said:

I expect this defense to be top 3. Simple as that. 

Pshh #1 or bust. If we were #1 the majority of last year with shareece wrong and no pass rush imagine what this year will be like.

1 hour ago, jar2260 said:

The defense better be ready to score some points, Joe will be running for his life, and the run game will be non existent!

we pay Joe $20 some million, and don't protect him, WHY?

The OL will be addressed. Several players in FA left as previous poster mentioned- King Dunlap and Mangold still sitting out there, and they are seasoned vets as opposed to grooming more young guys beside Stanley and lewis. Imagine a line of Stanley- Lewis- Mangold- Yanda - Dunlap. We also are very high on on Deondre Wesley and Nembot. So we will have good depth as well. Remain calm and let Ozzie work.

Edited Saturday at 04:18 PM by January J

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

Dude, I am freakin jacked about this draft so far! 

Its time to get back to playing Ravens football, where we beat the snot out of you, and win 13-6!

I dont care what weapons Cincy or the Squeelers have, if they are blanketed, and we cream their qb's, game over.

You younger newbie Raven fans just dont appreciate how we won our first sb,  but Ozzie does, and finally we are getting back to a vaunted defense. See youtube

The need is still on offense, however the defensive picks fell our way. We may still be 1-2 years away, or not, but at least our defense will finally be set. 

I would love to see a bell cow running back chew up clock and defenses to help everybody on both sides of the ball, but that has to be a philosophical decision going forward. I thought we were way too pass happy last year, and never fully committed to the run game, and maybe its because our offensive brain trust has never relied on a strong running game in the past, in favor of passing to backs, ie. Priest Holmes or LT.

 

 

[Prophet93]

You forgot Canady at CB. Also, do Bowser and Tim Williams play the same position? I don't know much about them

[trevorsteadman]

2 minutes ago, Prophet93 said:

You forgot Canady at CB. Also, do Bowser and Tim Williams play the same position? I don't know much about them

In my mind you have Bowser at OLB and rotate him in to ILB on 3rd down and have Tim Williams play OLB on 3rd down. 

[JoeyFlex5]

4 hours ago, AsianRice said:

good enough to stop NE ding dong against us?

Absolutely. We have the ideal defense for stopping the short pass. One thing Humphrey does well, is get downhill and absolutely lay the hammer on guys, jimmy does it well also, and with our safety tandem we have the support in place for it. Guys like Mosley, bowser, Jefferson, Judon, and urban are all great pass defenders in their own ways, they play close and some shallow drop really well to cut off hot reads, urban is a monster at getting tall and cluttering throwing lanes, judon does it well also. 

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

Bold Prediction:

If Correa is not a starter this season, calling it another high pick draft bust....I remember hearing crickets last year after the pick, what can we do with this high motor guy?

[redrum52]

10 hours ago, Tru11 said:

mood right now : 

If this defense isn't top 3 I'll be sick.  Finally a pure pass rusher and another CB for WHEN Jimmy goes down.  Will still be able to keep Young in the slot too with the addition of Carr.  Even if we didn't pick up a DE that was the position I was least worried about.  We have a great young core on defense now and like the old teams, we now have leaders at each level from DL to S.

9 hours ago, arnie_uk said:

And your offense mood just for giggles 

Our approach to the offense seems to be just don't mess up.

9 hours ago, Tru11 said:

tbh im really not worrying that much.

flacco seems to play much better when he has veteran players around him with just a few inexperienced players.

there will still be cuts so we might find some guys who will fit in.

heck barnidge just got cut who would be an upgrade over what we have at TE for instance.

 

 

The OL needs milk.

9 hours ago, arnie_uk said:

I'd sign barnidge as well. I'd also float correa and all our tight ends except pitta to see what oline or wide receivers we could get

I don't want another TE.  We have these young guys so let em battle it out.  Don't know if you've seen the presser, but they said something along the lines of "what we like to do with first time OC's is draft defense."

 

And to answer the question I'll say the defense can be 2011 good.  Next year I'd fully expect them to compete with maybe an 08 defense.  06 will be hard to match.  OT it's like the Steelers saw what we were doing and figured they'd counter with more weapons.

Edited Saturday at 06:40 PM by redrum52