Baltimore Ravens Thread

helimachoptor

Such a long bloody time, and pre seaaon games are normally on a at stupid times!

helimachoptor

helimachoptor wrote: »

Such a long bloody time, and pre seaaon games are normally on a at stupid times!

the issue with preseason is i get all excited for the first game and quickly realise it means feck all

Realt Dearg Sec

Tyler Faint Speculator wrote: »

the issue with preseason is i get all excited for the first game and quickly realise it means feck all

It's awful. You just sit it out hope nobody important gets injured and wait for the real stuff to start.

kevohmsford

Great news that Jimmy Smith has signed a new deal. Hopefully Dennis Pitta can return aswell.
A big wide receiver and tight end needed in the draft. Need a cornerback too.

mikemac1

Pitta is back at the facility doing weight training

He still has a long road back and it's not certain will he play this year but I'm hopeful

kevohmsford

The Ravens normally go for the best available player at the draft. The fact we have specific positions to fill this year I wonder will the focus change.

kevohmsford

Breshad Perriman out of Central Florida looks like an ideal wide receiver.

pajc

I'm completely opposed to Perriman tbh. Way too many drops and hes doesnt play as fast as his 40 time suggests. I'd much rather go defense or rb in first round or maybe trade back for the likes of strong or agholar. Plenty of solid receivers in mid rounds.

kevohmsford

Justin Tucker has signed up. Great news.

kevohmsford

So the Ravens have selected Breshad Perriman in the 1st Round of the draft.

phatkev

What do you guys think of the Perriman pick? I look at him and I cant help but see Stephen Hill

pajc

I was really annoyed when the pick first went through but am starting to warm to him. if nothing else hes still faster, bigger and has better hands than torrey

Paully D

phatkev wrote: »

What do you guys think of the Perriman pick? I look at him and I cant help but see Stephen Hill

I'm relatively scared to be honest. The drops really worry me, but Ozzie said in his press conference that the drops are down to concentration and something Perriman has told him he's aware he needs to work on it. Most of the Ravens writers appear to be happy with the pick though, as do the likes of Kiper, Mayock etc and given our draft record over the years it's probably wise to say I'll reserve judgement for a season.

If nothing else he adds a deep, speedy threat that is clearly a need for us at WR. Very young in terms of development and high character. I'm crossing my fingers.

pajc

at worst hes a slight upgrade over torrey. he will be great for bubble screens which trestman loves and hopefully they can develop him into a true no.1

Paully D

Maxx Williams is our 2nd round pick. Two offensive players in the first two rounds :eek: Doesn't look good for Pitta's chances of a recovery, but I really like this pick and the reaction from the vast majority of analysts seems to be along the same lines which is a good sign.

Great read on him here. There's too many gifs etc to copy and paste but it's worth the click:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2441402-maxx-williams-is-rare-tight-end-worthy-of-first-round-pick

Also:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/04/14/cff-player-profile-maxx-williams-te/

As is becoming increasingly common at the position, Williams lined up all over the formation for the Golden Gophers, playing out wide and in the slot (29.2% of snaps), as well as inline (62.2%) and in the backfield. Interestingly, his slot snaps were more heavily weighted towards the second half of the season and he also graded a bit better at the end of the year with big games against Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.

While he’s not an exceptional athlete, Williams has the requisite size for the position, measuring at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds. He used that size to gain yards after the catch, averaging 8.4 YAC per reception, a figure that ranked seventh overall in this class and second when limiting that to players with at least 10 receptions. That ability was on display against Nebraska (4Q, 5:11) and Missouri (2Q 5:24).

Further looking at his physical traits, Williams isn’t a burner, but possesses enough speed to threaten the seam, as evidenced by his 4.78 40-yard time. He saw more targets (17) and gained more yards (166) on deep passes (20+ yards) than any other draft eligible tight end last season. One of the limitations I saw was stiffness changing directions and that he plays somewhat upright, which hindered his ability to gain separation at times. However, he made up for that with subtle leans and fakes (e.g TCU 1Q 5:09) as well as good hand use (MIZ 4Q 1.55) to create space when possible.

Williams’ body control is also excellent, allowing him to bring in some spectacular highlight-reel catches (Iowa 2Q 8:34 and 0:35). With a 7.69% Drop Rate, he’s not the most natural hands catcher in this draft – Florida State’s Nick O’Leary might have him bested there – but he still flashed a wide catch radius with the ability to extend away from his body (including on the aforementioned plays) and was generally reliable catching the ball.

Given his level of involvement in the Minnesota pass offense, Williams was rarely asked to pass protect, though he ended with a clean sheet surrendering no pressure in his five snaps there.

He received plenty of work In the run game, though he doesn’t yet have the strength to drive defenders off the ball as an inline run blocker, rather he uses his size and mobility to wall off defenders. There was movement against smaller linebackers and defensive backs, but more often that came on down blocks where the defender didn’t see him coming.

He’s a very willing blocker, maintaining solid balance and hand placement for the most part when engaging at the second level. Moves his feet and actively tries to stay on and finish block. Take a look at Wisconsin 1Q 14.54 or Nebraska 3Q 11.20 for positive blocks. Conversely, he doesn’t fare as well against stronger players or when defenders see him coming and can square (Ohio State 4Q 14:36, Northwestern 4Q 15:00). It will be interesting to see how he handles the jump up to NFL level competition against players more adept at stacking, shedding at the second level.

While Williams may lack the elite athletic traits of a high first-round pick, his production, despite lackluster quarterback play, is hard to argue against. More than three quarters of his catches (28 of 36) resulted in a first down or touchdown (13 of those were caught short of the sticks) and against Power 5 opponents he gained 2.71 Yards per Route Run, ranking third among his peers in this class and besting Rob Gronkowski’s NFL-leading mark. He graded negatively overall just twice last season, both against teams in the top five cumulative defensive grades (TCU, Ohio State).

Whether Williams sneaks into the late first round or becomes a second day pick, he will likely be an appealing player that should be able to contribute as a rookie, potentially on all three downs if his blocking translates.

kevohmsford

Baltimore Ravens 2015 NFL draft picks

1 (26). Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF

2 (55). Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota

3 (90). Carl Davis, DT, Iowa

4 (122). Za'Darius Smith, DE, Kentucky

4 (125). Javorius Allen, RB, USC

4 (136). Tray Walker, CB, Texas Southern

kevohmsford

Happy with the picks. Looking forward to seeing the players in action. Perriman and Williams should make an instant impact. CB position was addressed late though.

pajc

hes a long way off it yet but walker is being compared to sherman. apparently dan quinn and the seahawks were very high on him

kevohmsford

Nick Boyle, Robert Myers, Darren Waller also selected. TE, G and WR.

kevohmsford

Kyle Arrington has been signed up. Great pick. We struggled on secondary last season.

Paully D

Jeremy Butler (WR) apparently tore up mini-camp. The more weapons for Flacco, the better.

mikemac1

The front office will have to make some cruel cuts at wide receiver this year, we are loaded with young talent.

The memories of unreliable vets like Housmanzadeh or Lee Evans a distant memory

Derrick Mason excepted - he remains a Ravens legend :cool:

Paully D

mikemac1 wrote: »

The front office will have to make some cruel cuts at wide receiver this year, we are loaded with young talent.

The memories of unreliable vets like Housmanzadeh or Lee Evans a distant memory

Derrick Mason excepted - he remains a Ravens legend :cool:

Luke Jones had a nice post-minicamp breakdown of how things are looking at each position. This is what he said re: receivers:

http://wnst.net/baltimore-ravens/sizing-up-the-post-minicamp-2015-ravens-roster/

WIDE RECEIVERS (11)
LOCK: Steve Smith, Breshad Perriman, Kamar Aiken
BUBBLE: Marlon Brown, Michael Campanaro, Jeremy Butler, Darren Waller, DeAndre Carter
LONG SHOT: Aldrick Robinson, Daniel Brown, Cam Worthy

Skinny: There are many questions beyond the reliable 36-year-old Smith, but there is intrigue and upside with this group of young wide receivers. You’re always waiting for Brown to take his game to the next level while the oft-injured Campanaro struggles to stay on the field, making it difficult to deem either a lock at this point. Butler was very impressive during spring workouts and Carter offers ability as a returner, making them two names to watch closely this summer.

Paully D

Robert Klemko and Peter King of The MMQB attended camp in Baltimore last week. A good read from what they observed below:

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/07/31/believe-baltimore

On another note it seems Matt Elam has torn his biceps, while Kamar Aiken and Jeremy Butler are flying in camp.

EDIT - Elam's done for the year.

Paully D

Mike closed his account

kevohmsford

Paully D wrote: »

Mike closed his account

Pity to see Mike gone. Boards has lost a lot of posters over the last few months.

Looking forward to the start of the NFL season.

kevohmsford

Catching up on the Saints vs Ravens game now. Lorenzo Taliaferro did very well in the opening drive. A great option to have.

Paully D

Very poor form from Harbaugh in his half-time interview last night. The interviewer is only trying to do his job, no need to make him feel like crap and in any case the questions were fine. I didn't like that at all:

https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/637797549290704896

Brian017

I hate the way sports managers treat the media with such contempt. They need to remember they're the reason that they're on such high wages. Take the media away and they'd be out of a job most likely

Realt Dearg Sec

Brian017 wrote: »

I hate the way sports managers treat the media with such contempt. They need to remember they're the reason that they're on such high wages. Take the media away and they'd be out of a job most likely

Yeah that was pretty scummy, and he would, of course, not be a multi-millionaire football coach without media. At least when his brother is dismissive of media questions he's funny and usually polite (even if it's fake politeness)

kevohmsford

So who will be the return specialist this season for the Ravens ? Campanaro, Jackson and Carter have been mentioned.

Paully D

Perriman could be out until around October now:

http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/21688/ravens-mail-when-will-breshad-perriman-return

@jamisonhensley: This is the winner for the most asked question by Ravens fans on Twitter. Conspiracy theories abound because coach John Harbaugh initially called it a bruised knee for first-round pick Breshad Perriman and was told the rookie wide receiver was day to day. Again, this is the information that Harbaugh was simply conveying from doctors and training staff. Now, 37 days since Perriman fell on his right knee, he still remains sidelined. So, when will Perriman return? A posterior cruciate ligament sprain can take six to eight weeks to recover. Under that timetable, the earliest Perriman would start practicing is after the season opener. It could take an additional couple of weeks. Of course, this is speculative because the Ravens aren't giving an exact timetable. But no one should be surprised if Perriman misses the first couple of games and comes back sometime in October.

Not a good sign at all that we have had no information. It's a heck of a day to day injury if it has kept him out over a month :rolleyes:

kevohmsford wrote: »

So who will be the return specialist this season for the Ravens ? Campanaro, Jackson and Carter have been mentioned.

None of the above IMO. We'll pick someone up I reckon.

Paully D

The cut down to 53 has been made and our roster is as follows:



On the practice squad we have:

S Nick Perry
WR Jeremy Butler
QB Bryn Renner
OLB Brennen Beyer
OL Kaleb Johnson
OL De’Ondre Wesley
TE Konrad Reuland
WR Daniel Brown

And in a Hard Knocks spoiler for this week -

we've added the very entertaining Charles James

to the practice squad.

I think we've done well getting Perry and Butler as well as the above mentioned spoiler onto the practice squad. The only one we released that I'd imagine the front office will be slightly disappointed not to have got through waivers was 5th round OL Robert Myers, but then again if they were that bothered they wouldn't have released a 5th rounder that quickly. I personally was disappointed to see Nick Easton traded as he had looked very good, but you can't keep everyone and Ryan Jensen is only 24 and his versatility of being able to play numerous positions on the O-line won out for the backup spot.

I suspect we'll do a bit of tinkering and get a KR/PR in over the next few days. We could also badly do with a backup veteran RB so those are two areas I'd keep an eye on.

kevohmsford

Team is looking strong. Few question marks about our receivers. Marlon Brown will hopefully step up. Hopefully we can get a good result against Denver.
Campanaro receiving should be interesting. Pity Perriman is still out.

Paully D

So we fall in the opener to the Broncos in Mile High, 13-19. Despite the loss, there were some positives there.

The offense was really, really bad, but yet we managed to come within a whisker of winning the game. Smith really should have made the catch, and we probably should have had a PI call on the INT at the end. Perriman coming back from injury will make the offense much more dynamic as there was no outside threat without him today. The defense was also superb. The Denver TD came on a pick-6, so the D actually held the Broncos to 4 field goals all game which is one hell of an effort.

Suggs' injury is a killer though. We are extremely light at OLB and after Upshaw, it's the rookie Za'Darius Smith who was drafted out of Kentucky in the 4th round. That's Suggs' second achilles tear in 3 years and he's 33 next month. A tough break for him and us and there's a very real possibility he may never be the same player again. The only positive there is that he recovered in 6 months the last time without it impacting too much on his play, and it is the opposite achilles.

Despite the disappointment of the loss and that injury, this comment gave me a laugh :pac:

https://twitter.com/NealCoolong/status/643196830411563008

We face the Raiders on the road next week. So the team are actually not flying back to Baltimore which makes sense. With all due respect to the Raiders, it would be criminal if we're not 1-1 this time next week. Our schedule is brutal however. After that it's vs Bengals, @ Steelers, vs Browns, @ 49ers, @ Cardinals. It's mid-November before we have a kind run, and our last 4 games are vs Steelers, Chiefs, Steelers and @ Bengals. :eek:

kennyb3

I know Denver have a good D but I think last night was just a snippet of how Trestman is going to be a disaster for you guys.

Here is what bears fans think of him and our players had a good go at our last staff[/URL] after yesterdays game.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25300936/matt-forte-takes-shots-at-previous-coaching-regime-after-bears-loss

Paully D

kennyb3 wrote: »

I know Denver have a good D but I think last night was just a snippet of how Trestman is going to be a disaster for you guys.

Here is what bears fans think of him and our players had a good go at our last staff after yesterdays game.

Last night was certainly concerning and Kubiak's a huge loss, but I wouldn't hit the panic button just yet.

The Broncos D is pretty nasty and they have a very good defensive coordinator running the show. In addition to that, we lost our starting LT to a concussion early on and had absolutely no outside threat with Perriman sidelined. Once he comes back, we should be a lot more dynamic, or rather there'll be no excuse for not being.

All that said, we still would have won the game if Smith had made a catch he makes in his sleep and grabs 99 times out of 100 in a game situation.

Jolly Red Giant

Paully D wrote: »

Last night was certainly concerning and Kubiak's a huge loss, but I wouldn't hit the panic button just yet.

The Broncos D is pretty nasty and they have a very good defensive coordinator running the show. In addition to that, we lost our starting LT to a concussion early on and had absolutely no outside threat with Perriman sidelined. Once he comes back, we should be a lot more dynamic, or rather there'll be no excuse for not being.

All that said, we still would have won the game if Smith had made a catch he makes in his sleep and grabs 99 times out of 100 in a game situation.

The Ravens have a good team - a very good defence and a much better balanced team than the Broncos at the moment. The Ravens should have won the game last night - and from the perspective of a Broncos fan it was positive that they could dig in and grind out a win (the Broncos have never won with Manning when he hasn't scored a TD).

Most people are underestimating how good the Broncos defence actually is - Broncos fans know what it is capable of and every QB this season is going to dread going up against it.

The loss of Sluggs is a setback for the Ravens and they don't have a lot of depth at OLB - but the Ravens will be there or thereabouts at the business end of the season. The Broncos will have to make major improvements on the offence to be a factor in post-season.

kevohmsford

Losing Terrell Suggs for the season is a huge loss. Defense looks stronger overall. Great having Webb and Smith back. Kendrick Lewis, Kyle Arrington are great additions. The problem now will be to shuffle people around to fill in for Suggs.
We came up against a tough defense in Denver. Important now for the offense to get going against the Raiders. As already pointed out we miss the deep threat of Torrey Smith. Need to get Perriman playing and maybe Marlon Brown starting.

Paully D

0-3, and with that comes a 2% chance of making the playoffs. With our division and given the start the others have had, it's realistically less than that. In other words, our season is over and September hasn't even ended yet.

Very disappointing.

Sure, we've been unlucky in some ways. A large part of our offense is built around the deep threat and the player we drafted for exactly that in the 1st round was clearly more injured than us fans were led to believe which was pretty insulting, but more importantly a huge loss to our gameplan. Then Suggs goes down for the year in the first game of the season and with it essentially there goes our pass rush too. The schedule has also been tough, but there's no excuse to have lost to the Raiders under any circumstances. We should be 1-2 at worst.

I also think this could be the culmination of a few poor drafts. Ozzie is widely considered as one of, if not the best drafter in the game, but there's no doubting that our draft classes from 2010-2013 have turned out to be poor overall.

I know it's never going to happen as people are playing for jobs, bonuses etc, but I'd love to see us just **** the season away now. I have no interest in finishing 8-8 or similar. I'd rather just throw it and get a high draft pick. There's some exceptional defensive players in the 2016 draft and a high pick would give us a shot at one of the top rushers or corners. As I said, I know it'll never happen.

Before I finish my rant I'll say I feel for Steve Smith. The man has played his heart out the last few weeks and if we had 53 Steve Smith's on our roster with the passion and determination he shows we certainly wouldn't be 0-3. A real shame his final season is going to finish this way.

It's going to be a long 12 months until next season kicks off.

kevohmsford

It is very disappointing. Steelers up next. Big Ben injured but we need to tighten up defense.
We still have no deep threat on offense. Steve Smith and Crockett Gillmore are Flacco's go to guys.

kevohmsford

The pressure must be mouting on Dean Pees and Marc Trestman.

I thought Flacco would have decent options this year. Everything seems to be going through Steve Smith and Crockett Gillmore. Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown have hardly seen the ball. We have problems with our defensive line but it just seems to me the offensive line could be working better.

Paully D

@ Steelers tonight.

We're 0-3 and our season is done, they have no Big Ben. It's just not the same, is it?

kevohmsford

Not the same without Suggs and Big Ben. Might be a chance for us to get a win.

Pudsy33

Any time I begin to feel confident about the game this evening, I remember the time Charlie Batch came to Baltimore and won

Paully D

Breshad Perriman has had surgery and is out indefinitely. According to Rapoport he re-injured his PCL pre-game on Sunday and Dr Andrews performed the surgery.

The Ravens have had a complete and utter disaster PR wise with this one and it's not helping Perriman either. At 0-3 and obviously lacking the deep threat he would provide at the WR position, fans are going to start getting on his back and it's completely unfair to him.

The Ravens either made a bollocks of diagnosing the initial injury or the medical team missed on something pre-draft. Either way, keeping fans in the dark is not the way to go about it.

Seriously, if we don't get out of this trainwreck of a season with a top 10 draft pick. :pac:

kevohmsford

Crazy game last night. Only got to see the highlights. Great to get the win. If the Steelers had a decent kicker they would have won it.

The offensive line is really struggling. Flacco sacked about 5 times. Will we trade up for a new wide receiver soon ?

Paully D

kevohmsford wrote: »

Crazy game last night. Only got to see the highlights. Great to get the win. If the Steelers had a decent kicker they would have won it.

The offensive line is really struggling. Flacco sacked about 5 times. Will we trade up for a new wide receiver soon ?

I personally don't think we will. At 1-3 there's not much point really, if we were 2-2 at this stage or 3-1 and looking like contending then I think it'd certainly be an option but I doubt they'll do it when the season is as good as over.

kevohmsford

Ravens have traded for Chris Givens from the Rams for a 2017 draft pick. Campanaro injured now. He will probably see lots of action at punt returner and slot receiver. So many injuries.

Paully D

kevohmsford wrote: »

Ravens have traded for Chris Givens from the Rams for a 2017 draft pick. Campanaro injured now. He will probably see lots of action at punt returner and slot receiver. So many injuries.

Good call on the trade Kev. Steve Smith has apparently got 4 broken bones in his back/broken ribs depending on what report to believe. We may not be done yet.