B'more Sun Article

[stormie]

[url="http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-ravens0427,0,5724678.story"]Baltimore Sun[/url]

[quote]By Jamison Hensley | jamison.hensley@baltsun.com
8:28 PM EDT, April 27, 2009
The Ravens didn't trade for Anquan Boldin and didn't select one of the 34 drafted wide receivers this weekend.

In fact, they were one of only four AFC teams not to take a wideout wide-out.

But this draft wasn't about building a passing attack around quarterback Joe Flacco. This weekend was about loading up on players who have the mindset to overtake the Pittsburgh Steelers in the gritty AFC North.[/quote]


Article is longer (check it out), didn't see it posted here but great read. Can't wait for mini-camps and more info. Want to get a look at these guys in action.

[mhead66]

Not sure I agree with the gist of the article - mental & physical "toughness" is what the Ravens drafted, as in Oher's troubled youth, Kruger's ability to recover from a car accident/stabbing, Webb's drug addict parents. Their value wasn't necessarily their talent, but their "toughness".

The Ravens didn't lose the Championship Game because they weren't "tough" enough. The Colts are soft. The Jets are soft. The Ravens are anything BUT soft.

Adding talent is what the draft is about. You look for hungry, intense, driven athletes when you draft, but there are plenty of intense individuals cut every late August.

It's about talent.

[rayven98]

exactly....it doesn't matter if a player plays as hard as humanly possible, someone with more talent will win 9 times out of 10. When you get a player with talent that plays all out is when good things happen

[Mahatma_Sloth]

[quote name='mhead66' post='187985' date='Apr 28 2009, 09:12 AM']Not sure I agree with the gist of the article - mental & physical "toughness" is what the Ravens drafted, as in Oher's troubled youth, Kruger's ability to recover from a car accident/stabbing, Webb's drug addict parents. Their value wasn't necessarily their talent, but their "toughness".

The Ravens didn't lose the Championship Game because they weren't "tough" enough. The Colts are soft. The Jets are soft. The Ravens are anything BUT soft.

Adding talent is what the draft is about. You look for hungry, intense, driven athletes when you draft, but there are plenty of intense individuals cut every late August.

It's about talent.[/quote]


[quote name='rayven98' post='188011' date='Apr 28 2009, 10:28 AM']exactly....it doesn't matter if a player plays as hard as humanly possible, someone with more talent will win 9 times out of 10. When you get a player with talent that plays all out is when good things happen[/quote]
I'm pretty sure we look for mental toughness and raw attributes(like speed and strength) because of the amount of faith we have in our coaches to teach technique that will in turn become talent