Long Term Vs. Short Term

[theFRANCHISE]

Although this is a topic that is based around Anquan Boldin, this actually extends beyond just Boldin. Rather, this is a topic that encompasses all of the risk/reward decisions made with football personnel.

That topic is the eternal struggle between long term and short term benefits.

Whenever a transaction is made, the school of thought behind each move boils down to its long term and short term benefits. When an organization decides to draft a young, unproven player with loads of potential over a proven veteran whose future is in doubt, the team makes the acquisition with the hopes of reaping long term benefits. Conversely, a team that decides to sign that proven veteran over an unsure prospect, does so with the expectation of benefitting in the short term.

Other than money, the common denominator in the Anquan Boldin debate boils down to long term vs. short term; Ravens fans that support the signing of Boldin, expect the team to be immediately poised for a Super Bowl run, while fans that argue against Boldin, expect a receiver to be drafted that will help the team win multiple Super Bowls in the future.

However, the fallacy of that logic is the [i]assumption[/i] that a Super Bowl (or more) will even be won. Regardless of how playoff-ready a team is, there is [i]no guarantee[/i] that an acquisition will seal that team's fate, for better or worse.

In other words, the signing of Anquan Boldin [i]does not[/i] resign the Ravens to the fate of winning only [i]one[/i] Super Bowl, or even [i]reaching[/i] the Super Bowl for that matter. On the other hand, the drafting of a wide-receiver [i]does not[/i] guarantee that the Ravens will win [i]multiple[/i] Super Bowls, let alone [i]one[/i] at all.

No single transaction is a win-now or win-later proposition, as [i]one[/i] player does not make a team, no matter how large of a financial strain he is; the only way that [i]one[/i] player can have a negative effect is if he does not produce or does not fit with the locker room.

At the end of the day, the question that needs to be asked is, will the team improve regardless of the action taken? In this case, no matter what the Ravens do, the team is subjectively better (on paper) this offseason than it was in the last. The team has done nothing astronomically wrong to prevent itself from making another playoff run, and fans will still have a reason to cheer in Week 1.

[kash96ravenstotalfan]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' post='181739' date='Apr 18 2009, 08:09 PM']Although this is a topic that is based around Anquan Boldin, this actually extends beyond just Boldin. Rather, this is a topic that encompasses all of the risk/reward decisions made with football personnel.

That topic is the eternal struggle between long term and short term benefits.

Whenever a transaction is made, the school of thought behind each move boils down to its long term and short term benefits. When an organization decides to draft a young, unproven player with loads of potential over a proven veteran whose future is in doubt, the team makes the acquisition with the hopes of reaping long term benefits. Conversely, a team that decides to sign that proven veteran over an unsure prospect, does so with the expectation of benefitting in the short term.

Other than money, the common denominator in the Anquan Boldin debate boils down to long term vs. short term; Ravens fans that support the signing of Boldin, expect the team to be immediately poised for a Super Bowl run, while fans that argue against Boldin, expect a receiver to be drafted that will help the team win multiple Super Bowls in the future.

However, the fallacy of that logic is the [i]assumption[/i] that a Super Bowl (or more) will even be won. Regardless of how playoff-ready a team is, there is [i]no guarantee[/i] that an acquisition will seal that team's fate, for better or worse.

In other words, the signing of Anquan Boldin [i]does not[/i] resign the Ravens to the fate of winning only [i]one[/i] Super Bowl, or even [i]reaching[/i] the Super Bowl for that matter. On the other hand, the drafting of a wide-receiver [i]does not[/i] guarantee that the Ravens will win [i]multiple[/i] Super Bowls, let alone [i]one[/i] at all.

No single transaction is a win-now or win-later proposition, as [i]one[/i] player does not make a team, no matter how large of a financial strain he is; the only way that [i]one[/i] player can have a negative effect is if he does not produce or does not fit with the locker room.

At the end of the day, the question that needs to be asked is, will the team improve regardless of the action taken? In this case, no matter what the Ravens do, the team is subjectively better (on paper) this offseason than it was in the last. The team has done nothing astronomically wrong to prevent itself from making another playoff run, and fans will still have a reason to cheer in Week 1.[/quote]
Very interesting post. Long term vs. short term. IMO we have an established D, a QB who can throw deep and run, a decent O line and a good special teams. I think the most pressing need is to sign a deep threat receiver for Joe. Everything else is in place. We need to let Joe open up.
This season I think we should sign Boldin for the obvious reason that he would be a target for Joe. I think we can make a run at the SB this year.

[codizzle]

Dr. Franchise Phd in making dumb peoplelike me so incredibly much smarter

[Sizzle]

We can't hope for another playoff run based on last year because other teams are acquiring players through FA or draft, our team looks good right now but to be champions we need to be much better than last year and Anquan Boldin can grantee our this team will get better at least offensively so now its a matter of Luck, defense staying strong, and Special team staying strong to win a superbowl or simply the luck that other 32 teams will stay the same and the steelers will lose to us in the AFC championship game next year.

[Lets_Go_Joe]

Franchise, I agree, but... Long term vs short term is subjective. Yes Anquan may only be here for 4 years or so, but we know he is an established Pro Bowl wide out. Nicks, DHB, Britt have tons of potential and could be a Pro Bowler, but they could also be [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Williams_(wide_receiver)"]Mike Williams[/url].....

Many of the top wide outs in the game are over 30. Moss, TO, Chad Johnson, Mason, Driver.. etc.

My point is that TO is producing at 35 years old better than all but about 10 receivers. If we can assume Boldin can play until he is 33 or 34, that would give us 5 years at least with him. To me, that isn't a short term investment. He is proven and in the prime of his career.

The best thing in my opinion, when looking at a guy like Boldin, is the fact that he should be able to play his game much like Mason for a while. Boldin has good speed, but his game isn't reliant on the speed like some other guys. He gets in and out of cuts great, and knows how to run a route in order to get open. He isn't a one trick pony.

Guys in the draft will be hit and miss, we all know that. We could end up with the next Brandon Marshall, or Greg Jennings, but I don't see any Andre Johnsons or Larry Fitzgeralds in this class of WR's. DHB is RAW.. he could be as good as Boldin, but it will take time. Britt is the most solid guy imo, but there is almost zero chance he out performs Boldin's numbers any time soon either.

I understand that a 21 or 22 year old gives you more years, but if you're not sold on him being a true standout cant-miss #1 WR, it doesn't make sense to take him on the team.

If we draft a bust in the first round of this years draft, it will set our team back way more than if we were to get Boldin and he missed a game or two per year.

Just to look at some guys picked around 26 in the past few years.....
Robert Meachem 27th in the 2007 draft (Has done almost nothing for them)
Santonio Holmes - 25th - 2006 draft. Hes good, but it took him about 2 years to break out. Do we have time to wait while the Defense gets older?

2005 draft - Matt Jones, Mark Clayton and Roddy White picked between 21 and 27. One is a bust, the other is borderline bust. And White took 3 years or so to break out, again... can we wait for these guys while others are getting up there in age?

I guess basically it can all be summed up in this:
Boldin = Pro Bowl WR who is in his prime
Draftee = More then likely Raw, boom/bust candidate.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='Sizzle' post='181773' date='Apr 18 2009, 09:35 PM']We can't hope for another playoff run based on last year because other teams are acquiring players through FA or draft, our team looks good right now but to be champions we need to be much better than last year and [b]Anquan Boldin can grantee our this team will get better at least offensively[/b][/quote]
You're right that last year doesn't make another playoff run a certainty for this coming season for the reasons you listed -- but to say that Anquan Boldin can guarantee that the team will improve, is only something we know [i]on paper[/i]. We won't know for sure the impact he'll have until he's actually on the field in purple-and-black, hence my point: we [i]don't know[/i] what will happen whether we draft a receiver or sign Boldin, but as long as the team improves, it doesn't matter.

We don't know whether we'll win one more Super Bowl or multiple Super Bowls (or any at all), which is why we shouldn't worry so much about long term and short term in this scenario when a good portion of the roster is already built for the long term anyway.

[Ravnet]

[quote]Ravens fans that support the signing of Boldin, expect the team to be immediately poised for a Super Bowl run, while fans that argue against Boldin, expect a receiver to be drafted that will help the team win multiple Super Bowls in the future.[/quote]

I was about to disagree with you, but fortunately, my point was addressed later on in your post.

I don't think that drafting a young WR will help us reach multiple Super Bowls, I just think that drafting a young WR will help us reach one period. The likelihood of actually reaching the SB with Boldin isn't very high, and drafting a juvenile wide out gives us more time just to get to that one big game.

[20ReedsAll]

Ravenet, sometimes I question your fanhood (oh damn, I went there!). To me, you just dont seen to have that optimisim every sports fanatic has.

[Ravnet]

[quote name='20ReedsAll' post='181785' date='Apr 18 2009, 10:21 PM']Ravenet, sometimes I question your fanhood (oh damn, I went there!). To me, you just dont seen to have that optimisim every sports fanatic has.[/quote]

And we all know that to be a true fan you have to disregard every other factor and be blindly optimistic.

[jonnyloback]

I just can't wait and only think about one thing in the offseason really, DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE.....The Ravens have been AMAZING on D for years now and I can never wait for the next season to start to watch them organize again when the other team takes the field.

I think Flacco is poised for a franchise year already. Another wideout would definetely help, but as a rookie, he showed extreme patience in and out of the pocket. One thing that I have ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS wondered about football over the last few decades is the two minute drill. At the end of a game, almost any given team can just drive down the field from 20 yards in their own territory to either put the game away or try to take the lead; I never understood why this is not implemented during EVERY minute of EVERY game. Run, back to the line, throw, back to the line, throw, back to the line, run, back to the line, etc....

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='Ravnet' post='181784' date='Apr 18 2009, 10:08 PM']I was about to disagree with you, but fortunately, my point was addressed later on in your post.

I don't think that drafting a young WR will help us reach multiple Super Bowls, I just think that drafting a young WR will help us reach one period. The likelihood of actually reaching the SB with Boldin isn't very high, and drafting a juvenile wide out gives us more time just to get to that one big game.[/quote]
The point I made in that particular statement was just a generalization based on the majority of posts I've seen. When the argument is made that a drafted WR = long term gains, the main reward of which most people (again, generalizing) speak is the possibility of winning multiple Super Bowls. On [i]that[/i] basis, the generalization is made that if a drafted receiver equals [i]multiple[/i] rings, then Boldin will only bring the team [i]one[/i] -- and that's just [i]assuming[/i] that the team will even win another Super Bowl based on the course of action taken [i]this offseason.[/i]

The point I'm getting at, overall, is that there is no guarantee of another Super Bowl, therefore, there's no point in putting all of our eggs (as fans) into one basket and [i]assuming[/i] that the team is in a now-or-never proposition, aging defense be damned. My stance is that whatever happens, happens, and there's nothing to truly get worked up over because the team has already played this offseason smartly and could've done much worse.

[BloodRaven]

Hypothesis: To prove before the end of the day, that the proclamation that there is no guarantee of a Superbowl is purely a nihilistic moot point and not nearly as pointless as this topic

Data: Subjects #3100021 at first showed signs of mass hysteria and confusion. With the current state of rampant speculation usercodename: B.L.O.O.D has found use of harsh ridicule and satire to be largely ineffective. So in essence, a scientific endeavor was in question. How do you prove anything to a nihilist? and how could we effectively weed out the weak?

The first task was to get users on board with the concept as a whole.

Subject #F.R.A.N unhappy with user B.L.O.O.D's wise musings, went on to scour social interaction networks on the uh... 'twitscape' and found said user nourishing and sustaining a small African nation with his rousing rhetoric. Although an unforeseeable variable, it ultimately proved in favor of the hypothesis as it consisted mostly of rambling arm swinging. The people need a way out, not a handout.

Conclusion: Although subjects #3100021 have never been the most cerebral group, this experiment was not overblown at all, but that was the assumption. The tasks included merely seeing if the subjects would be confused yet proclaim that they "concur" mostly because as a whole we have developed attention spans of plankton due to Raven withdrawl symptoms.

So in summation, subjects #3100021 proved to a point that NFL sensory deprivation is dangerous and may require rehab.

Social Experiment 590943: Would you like some madness with your Sparta!?

[Alexir]

I rather win now when we have Ed Reed and Ray Lewis on our roster.

[justifythegame]

I am not sure why people think Anquan Boldin is a short term investment at all. He is 28, how is that old? When people draft rookies, there comes a point when their contract is up and teams either let them go into FA or resign them. And many players cash in on that, like whoseyourmama this season. Anquan's contract is not even up yet, with 2 years left i believe, which is when he turns 30. Mason is what, 36? And he says he wants a 2 year extension. T.O is still playing and producing at a high rate even. Right now if we got Boldin, we would probably get 6 or 7 years from him. I just don't understand how that is really a short term investment. In that case, Derrick Mason must've been extremely short term and he has been the best WR - the ONLY good WR the Ravens have ever had.

Anyone we draft has a huge potential to be a bust, that is IF we draft a WR. IMO, there is NO WAY at 26 the best player on the board is a WR. Crabtree and Maclin will be long gone. The Ravens working out DHB and all is all just a smoke screen. The workout was just to help the Ravens know if he is worth a pick in the 2nd round should he be available (which he won't because some team reaches for a reciever like Matt Jones and the countless others). We can either pick the best on the board at 26 or trade it for Boldin along with next years 3rd or 4th for Boldin. Choose the latter and we can compete for the SB immediately and for years to come without being pressured to address WR for the next several seasons. Sooner or later we will draft a good WR who was actually the b.p.o.t.b that emerges, but getting Boldin now will help us compete without having to reach desperately for WRs (ahem...Clayton, Taylor) every single year. Short term is giving Mason a 2 year extension, not trading for Boldin.

[jonnyloback]

There are a lot of teams out there that can produce right off the bat though; I don't know if it's all about scouting or what?. Take for instance the running backs that Denver produces year in and year out.....there has to be a reason behind that. I think Rice is a top option as running back because of his agility and cutback speed. I just watched so many games last year where I was sitting there thinking 'THROW IT, THROW THE BALL' when runs were used on 3rd down. Or other teams that constantly produce WRs year in and year out.

Mason is also a HUGE asset because he knows how important he is. Remember the last 4-5 games or whatever it was of last season where he had that thick brace on his shoulder? It's because he's the number one go to guy. All in all it has a lot to do with cap space as well. I want to see Suggs retire in a Ravens uni; if Boldin was to come in and he WOULD (most likely) require an extension of 9 million a year for however many years (like he is with the Cards), then that is eating up probably close to 16 million in cap space a year in itself. All though Boldin would undeniably be a HUGE asset for this coming season, how much lee-way or wriggle room does it give the team in the future when it comes to cap room? Just say the Ravens have a losing record and end up with a top ten pick next year - would they even be able to afford that pick (or the one thereafter) if too many players are being granted extensions?

[RavensIQ]

Great thought Franchise, and well put! Here's my take on the matter:

I don't think long-term/short-term is really the underlying issue here when you talk about Anquan Boldin. I think the problem with fans is [i]Value[/i]. Are we getting enough bang for our buck? But I'll address this later on in my post, so back on topic with your question.

To a certain extent I think both areas have to be addressed every single year if in hopes you plan to be a successful organization. In the end, "Right Now" is always what it boils down to; after all this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league.

When you choose between signing a young player with upside vs an older veteran with proven experience, I think the reasoning of whom you ultimately select is determined by who can help improve your [i]current[/i] team the most.

For example, if the Jaguars sign Torry Holt instead of addressing the WR position with the 8th overall selection in this years draft, are they not still trying to somewhat fix a depleted WR corps that is in desperate need of a makeover this year? Either way, whatever decision they make; who knows they could do both, will solve an immediate problem in some form or fashion. The idea being that we have a problem, and we need to figure out which way is the best way to resolve it. I don't think the Jaguars are looking at the situation as, which player would give us the best chance at filling a need short-term vs long term. It's all about giving your current team the greatest opportunity to be successful.

Now this does impact they way people will view the Anquan Boldin trade, so you do have a valid case in bringing the subject up. You can make an argument for either case; Value vs longevity, but each go hand-in-hand with each other. Sure we could draft a WR to grow with Joe Flacco that would allow us to have a great tandem for years to come, but couldn't we do that in any round? Who's to say that the only way for this scenario to come to fruition is to draft a 1st round WR? If the point being made is to have a young WR to develop alongside Joe Flacco to establish a long lasting relationship, then in any round can you bring in a young WR. Where the debate arises from, is the [i]Value[/i] a 1st round WR can bring over the value of a later round prospect, and what that would mean in terms of productivity/upside.

So whether or not Boldin or a 1st round draft prospect can brings us short-term/long-term benefits, whatever route Ozzie and company decide to take will be bcuz it gives this team the best Value to be great NOW. And I don't think the goal is to just be great for a short period of time, but rather to be consistently good and always constantly improving.

[jonnyloback]

It also makes me wonder if Marvin Harrison or Koren Robinson would fit in? As veterns of the game, I was rather surprised to see either hit FA. If Marvin Harrison would come cheap he would probably work out really well to give Flacco almost another TE option when it comes to short routes or slot receivers. I know he's 36 or whatever, but his YAC has pretty much been consistant for his entire career. Heap, Boldin, Harrison, Clayton, Mason, McGahee and McClain would make for a pretty interesting tandum. Who is the FB supposed to be this year? Cory Ross going to slide into that spot, or Parmele?

[Devastat1on]

[quote name='jonnyloback' post='181807' date='Apr 19 2009, 12:20 AM']Who is the FB supposed to be this year? Cory Ross going to slide into that spot, or Parmele?[/quote]

I believe it'll be McClain.. He liked FB more than RB.. We could use him as a Mike Alstott type fullback where he'll see a good number of touches while we still have mcgahee and rice..

[jonnyloback]

[quote name='Devastat1on' post='181808' date='Apr 19 2009, 12:34 AM']I believe it'll be McClain.. He liked FB more than RB.. We could use him as a Mike Alstott type fullback where he'll see a good number of touches while we still have mcgahee and rice..[/quote]

I hope so. The Ravens should go out and try to get Brandon Jacobs, LOL. Between Rice/McGahee and McClain they could couple up as a pair like Bush and McCalister were. McClain even has some decent agility/catching and blocking abilities.

[Shadowalker]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' post='181739' date='Apr 18 2009, 08:09 PM']Although this is a topic that is based around Anquan Boldin, this actually extends beyond just Boldin. Rather, this is a topic that encompasses all of the risk/reward decisions made with football personnel.

That topic is the eternal struggle between long term and short term benefits.

Whenever a transaction is made, the school of thought behind each move boils down to its long term and short term benefits. When an organization decides to draft a young, unproven player with loads of potential over a proven veteran whose future is in doubt, the team makes the acquisition with the hopes of reaping long term benefits. Conversely, a team that decides to sign that proven veteran over an unsure prospect, does so with the expectation of benefitting in the short term.

Other than money, the common denominator in the Anquan Boldin debate boils down to long term vs. short term; Ravens fans that support the signing of Boldin, expect the team to be immediately poised for a Super Bowl run, while fans that argue against Boldin, expect a receiver to be drafted that will help the team win multiple Super Bowls in the future.

However, the fallacy of that logic is the [i]assumption[/i] that a Super Bowl (or more) will even be won. Regardless of how playoff-ready a team is, there is [i]no guarantee[/i] that an acquisition will seal that team's fate, for better or worse.

In other words, the signing of Anquan Boldin [i]does not[/i] resign the Ravens to the fate of winning only [i]one[/i] Super Bowl, or even [i]reaching[/i] the Super Bowl for that matter. On the other hand, the drafting of a wide-receiver [i]does not[/i] guarantee that the Ravens will win [i]multiple[/i] Super Bowls, let alone [i]one[/i] at all.

No single transaction is a win-now or win-later proposition, as [i]one[/i] player does not make a team, no matter how large of a financial strain he is; the only way that [i]one[/i] player can have a negative effect is if he does not produce or does not fit with the locker room.

At the end of the day, the question that needs to be asked is, will the team improve regardless of the action taken? In this case, no matter what the Ravens do, the team is subjectively better (on paper) this offseason than it was in the last. The team has done nothing astronomically wrong to prevent itself from making another playoff run, and fans will still have a reason to cheer in Week 1.[/quote]

In a sense I agree but it kind of gets redundant...

[theFRANCHISE]

I think that, at the heart of this discussion, there's been a train of thought built by the media that teams are [i]always[/i] looking towards the future, and that good teams are always building for the future. Though this is true, it's only to an extent, because if every team were to [i]exclusively[/i] build for the future, there would be no present when the future actually arrives. In other words, you can't keep making the team younger at the expense of the veterans already there, because that youth will eventually age as well. It's like having peripheral vision whenever possible.

This then goes back to what IQ was saying to follow up on my thought. Value is the key to every transaction; does each team get what they want out of a trade or signing, and are they getting their money's worth? Though value is subjective, it is a tangible concept when placed in the realm of dollar signs and statistical production. After all, no one will argue with a 1,000-yard receiving season, even at a high-dollar price tag. There temporarily is no such thing as "too expensive" or "too cheap" if winning immediately follows. But once the wins subside, that's when teams sit back and realize the value of their acquisition, and that's where they assess my original point of long term vs. short term benefits: was the acquisition worth it, and how does it benefit the team now and later?

[jonnyloback]

After reading some of these scouting reports, I think Chip Vaughn from Wake Forest or Sean Smith from Utah MIGHT be solid later picks. Anyone know anything about these two? The reason I like them is because of their size; the can be pulled from their S/CB roles and slid into LB roles if either one can put on about 20 pounds. They both appear to be VERY physical players. Heyward-Bey seems to be more of a lock assuming the Boldin trade doesn't go through.

[Corvus]

The thing that kills me with everyone who pushes for the Boldin trade is that a lot of them seem to think he is the 1 missing part to guarantee us a Super Bowl berth. Yes, we were 1 quarter away from it last year, but we had some less than ideal scenarios even then with our team. Our right tackle situation is by no means sorted out, we are getting a little long in the tooth on the defensive line other than Haloti and could really use some help in that rotation. We still have work to do, Boldin doesn't immediately solve everything.

[rastaman831226]

Reality check. (A) Ravens FO has already been drafting long term at wide receiver for the last few years. Do not the names Mark Clayton, Yamon Figurs, Demetrrius Williams, Justin Harper, Marcus Maxwell, Marcus Smith, and Earnest Wheelwright not ring a bell? All of whom with the exception of Clayton and Figurs. are the big, 6'1' to 6'5" 205 to 215 pound prototype receivers of current and future NFL football. ( Will the acquisition of an impact player such as Boldin improve the Ravens offense and will the improvement in offense improve the team? This one's a no brainer- absolutely yes and yes. Boldin changes the way defenses will have to approach our offense thus leaving open areas for Mason and gapping holes for our running game. Impact players do that and yes, Boldin is, without a doubt, an impact player. © Will the improvement of our offense to go along with our always stellar defense improve our chances of taking the Lombardi Trophy. Another no brainer- absolutely yes. Especially coming off of last year's performance of getting to the AFC Championship game despite having played 19 straight games and with 19 players on IR. Without a player of Boldin's talent, the Ravens will be healthy, deep, and a dangerous team that may go deep into the playoffs the next 2-3 years. With a player of Boldins' talent, the Ravens become a healthy, deep, and dangerous elite team that will vie for the Trophy for the next 3-5 years.

[Ravensman5220]

People get to wrapped up in free agents and the draft as the only way to improve your team. They forget that players improve at they get older and eventually decline as they get to old. Even if we kept the players we had last year we would still be better or possible worse depending on how players improve and decline.

[jonnyloback]

[quote name='rastaman831226' post='181980' date='Apr 19 2009, 03:27 PM']Reality check. (A) Ravens FO has already been drafting long term at wide receiver for the last few years. Do not the names Mark Clayton, Yamon Figurs, Demetrrius Williams, Justin Harper, Marcus Maxwell, Marcus Smith, and Earnest Wheelwright not ring a bell? All of whom with the exception of Clayton and Figurs. are the big, 6'1' to 6'5" 205 to 215 pound prototype receivers of current and future NFL football. ( Will the acquisition of an impact player such as Boldin improve the Ravens offense and will the improvement in offense improve the team? This one's a no brainer- absolutely yes and yes. Boldin changes the way defenses will have to approach our offense thus leaving open areas for Mason and gapping holes for our running game. Impact players do that and yes, Boldin is, without a doubt, an impact player.

[rastaman831226]

Don't get hung up on time and agility stats for potential WR's. It takes more than speed and agility to become an NFL receiver. Yamon Figurs' times were off the chart a few years ago, but it will take him a few years to develop into the player the Ravens have projected him to be. Anquan Boldin does not posess eye popping speed yet he is an established game changing impact player because of his great hands, ability to run exacting routes, and his ability to punish whole secondarys after a reception. There's no getting around it, Boldin is a proven commodity and his acquisition would be a huge upgrade for the Ravens' offense and a great boost to our chances of winning the Big Prize.

[jonnyloback]

[quote name='rastaman831226' post='182050' date='Apr 19 2009, 08:42 PM']Don't get hung up on time and agility stats for potential WR's. It takes more than speed and agility to become an NFL receiver. Yamon Figurs' times were off the chart a few years ago, but it will take him a few years to develop into the player the Ravens have projected him to be. Anquan Boldin does not posess eye popping speed yet he is an established game changing impact player because of his great hands, ability to run exacting routes, and his ability to punish whole secondarys after a reception. There's no getting around it, Boldin is a proven commodity and his acquisition would be a huge upgrade for the Ravens' offense and a great boost to our chances of winning the Big Prize.[/quote]

I always wondered why they didn't use Figurs more. I am also looking at jump balls and height; it sometimes seperates the WR from the CB that is covering them. Doesn't Calvin Johnson have over like a 4 foot vertical, LOL, I remember it being somewhere up there from that draft? I wouldn't be surprised to see Demetrius Williams play more of a role this year. It just seemed like the Ravens were running a good deal more last year, I could be wrong though.