Ravens Training Camp News and Notes

At this point Woodrum has done more in my eyes than Mallet even if the offense today was utter shit. Mallet has more experience, but he doesn't look like he really wants to be out there. I really want to see start the last game.

 

I couldn't even finish watching the game today because 1) the streams I've found suck with the audio coming far ahead of the video 2) The one I was watching stopped and 3) the ones I tried watching after simply kept throwing in pop ups and viruses that got caught until I just shut it down.

So as of typing, I have no clue who won. I saw Mallet's offense and Woodrum's offense though past halftime when the score was 7-3, and both of them sucked balls. Too much dumping off to RBs, and then you have to wonder about the overall talent level there. I hope Flacco plans on having a transcendent season because that's the only chance the offense is going to have.

 

Looks like Onwuasor beat out Correa for the starting job. Seems like a waste of a 2nd round pick when 2 years in a row the position was handled by an undrafted guy.

I'm now focused on what the hell they'll do at b/u QB and OL. B/U QB is not a usual point of concern, but with Joe's back it's something that now has more gravity. Woodrum seems like he may have a higher ceiling at this point than Mallet. Mallet has familiarity with the offense and experience, but can he be trusted to deliver wins?

OL is a mess - again. From what little I saw of the game much of the garbage offense was because of the OL not holding up. Is Buffalo's D really that good or is it that our OL is just that bad? I'm guessing a bit of both with more of it falling on the being the latter. I really can't figure out why that every season this seems to be an issue. If Jerry Jones can build the trenches in Dallas even with bloated salaries and without ever having coached or played, Ozzie should at least have a solid or at least fair OL each year. That aspect is frustrating.

*EDIT - The only other position that I think is somewhat pressing is the slot CB. I'm not impressed with Boykin or Price in preseason or training camp. Hill's been far more impressive in that time. Cutting those other 2 won't have dead money implications and he'll be cap friendly for seasons to come.

 

here are my limited observations on the Buffalo game:

1. Correa is totally lost. He gets blocked and screened out of plays even by a single guy. I saw him get taken out of a play by a RB so he seems like a total miss at ILB. Now that McClellan is gone for the year, we are suddenly looking at Onwusor and Bradley as the ILB next to Mosely.

2. Chris Moore had some actual moments in the game where he looked like he knew what was going on and where he was supposed to be.

3. I love Jaylen Hill. What a lucky gem they found when they snapped him up. I think, for the first time in a long while, we actually have 5 solid NFL caliber CB's on our team in Smith, Carr, Hill, Humphrey and I include Webby as well. Throw Young and Cannady in that mix and , dare I say, we have true depth?

4. If Campanaro can stay healthy, we could actually have a good punt returner and he might be productive in the slot. With Perriman being so fragile, I can see Maclin and Wallace sitting on the outside and Camp in the slot.

5. Our front 7 are really really good. Actually our whole defense is really poised to shine. I would not rule out the fact that we could trade an extra d lineman for an ILB or some other position just to round out some depth issues.

6. I agree with the Flacco assessment above. He better have a superb year or our whole offense will be really terrible.

Who knows what cut downs will bring, I am sure there will be some decent players let go that we will snatch up and try to patch some of our holes.

 

I saw Terrence Brooks was just traded from the Eagles to the Jets. I remember not at all being excited when the Ravens drafted him. That's a big 3rd round pick bust.

I didn't know McClellan went down. That's another definite loss. He's not Mr Starter, but he's pretty much a do-it-all. He's a top backup and plug and play guy around defense and ST. That sucks to lose your blue collar workforce.

Hill is simply a ridiculous story and incredible luck for the Ravens. Let's call it what it is - extreme luck. If the Ravens or any NFL team thought he could do this, at the very least, he'd have been drafted. The Ravens missed him in the draft and in their undrafted calls. I don't even know what you call him - an undrafted undrafted rookie?

 

3. imagine that every one of those players are under contract next season also (except maybe Webb. I don't know his contract details). Maybe Canady. But Smith, Carr, Hill, Humphrey, and Young are all definitely slated to be Ravens in 2018

5. We don't have any ILB's to trade. If we think Correa isn't good, no reason another team will think he is. And nobody trades for an undrafted 2nd year player who's done nothing. Maybe D-line, but I wonder who could net some decent talent in return that we'd want to get rid of. I feel like Wliiams, Wormley, and Pierce are definitely safe. The rest may be fan favorites by us, but they haven't proven a lot to the whole like (Urban, Henry, Kaufusi). Player for player trades are rare anyway

 

Yes, for sure. That is what I meant, we would trade a guy like Henry for an extra ILB from another team. I see that The Bills shipped Reggie Ragland to the Chiefs for a draft pick. Wasn't he a guy that many Ravens fans liked and were potentially liking us to draft?

 

Harbaugh just got an extension of another year on his contract, and I think it's a good move for sure. Bisciotti is a realist and a football fan, so I guarantee when he sees all these injuries, he's losing his mind over it. He knows it's going to make winning all the more difficult, but this will shut up any hotseat or coach change talk before it even starts. The longer Harbaugh has been here, the better a coach I think he's become. Regardless of injuries or talent, or record, his teams simply never give up and will be a bear for any team to beat on a Sunday.

Now that being said, I do agree that some type of independent outside consultant needs to come in and test everything from the practices to equipment to the turf to see if they can figure out any possible way to stop these ridiculous injuries from happening.

 

Definitely learned from last year when it didn't go public until December. All that speculation is squashed now and John can just do his job.

 

It seems pretty simple. Bigger, faster, stronger. But....the joints in the knees, elbows, shoulder, ankles, can only withstand so much. Cartilage and ligaments are much more fragile than muscles and can only be stretched and pounded so much before they tear. Given the extreme circumstances of playing professional sports, particularly football, they will break down no matter how much they are "strengthened". With more and more athletes starting so much younger than ever before, many of the joints get injured or stretched to their limit early and are not given the chance to heal properly, so by the time these players are in their 20's, many are just a major injury waiting to happen.

Baseball has the same issue with the ulnar collateral ligament which is why so many pitchers need Tommy John surgery. Many are needing it a second time and it's now becoming more prevalent in some of the other positions besides pitchers. Now, pitchers have a new injury. Thoracic outlet syndrome which affects the shoulder and usually requires surgery. Unlike TJ surgery, not many pitchers have come back at full strength.

 

Who wants to bet people still bitch about Flacco's contract? Think about what Flacco did before he got his contract compared to what Carr and Stafford did for theirs.

 

I just saw a note that the Browns are looking to trade Cam Erving. The Ravens could surely use him at center and he is under his rookie contract at about 1.5 this year and about 1.7 next with a team option for the 5th year of his deal. Sounds like we could utilize the Hugh Jackson connection and perhaps work a deal?

I would like a solid, young guy who can fill the role for more than just a retread veteran

 

Irving is allowing 6 penalties a season and 5.5 sacks, which very is high for an interior lineman. Teams rarely trade guys on rookie contracts, and when they do it's for a reason (see Browns and Trent Richardson).

 

That is a great point.

 

Speaking to point #5, that is more accurate now than yesterday. Albert McClellan is out of the season with an ACL. He may've just been Mosley's b/u, but he's an ace on S/T. Wonder if Bam Bradley can step up his game and be the b/u?

 

These are literally verbatim words written by a blogger. I couldn't add any more fail if I tried.

 

I'm thinking about the 53 man, and it's really tough to guess. It depends on the severity of some injuries and the IR designated to return tag. Are Canaday and White's injuries healable? Is there anyone else who doesn't have a freaking ACL? haha If so, that means the Ravens need to add them to the initial roster.

Who would you keep between Smoke and Ortiz? I think the safer bet is keeping Smoke because Ortiz isn't getting picked up by anyone as a FB. ...I do not envy roster cuts.

 

Yeah, the ugliest part about this is that any player going on IR has to be on the initial 53 man roster for, I think, 24 hours. With as many injuries as we have, it means guys they want to keep will have to be cut and hope nobody picks them up before we bring them back. Forsett did it a few years back, but he had the chance to sign elsewhere but held true to his word. I think the team tried something similar with Trevor Pryce awhile ago and he ended up signing with another team instead of coming back. The gamble will be big

 

On a plus side, we won't have to play against Burfict in week 1. His 5 game suspension was reduced to 3, so he'll still miss week 1

 

I think it depends on Ricard and if they believe he can function as a reliable FB; blocking, rushing, receiving. It's not like the FB will get many opportunities to do anything but block, but it is nice to have someone they can give the ball to in short-yardage situations to p/u the 1st down or to have as a dump off out of the backfield. I see your point about Ortiz probably not getting picked up, but he has been valuable in all 3 of those area a well as ST's. I'd rather see them keep Ortiz and let Donnell go. Donnell is a good red zone threat, but that's about all he does (and I don't believe for one second he is the second coming of Chris Carter, LOL) as he can't block to save his life. With Flacco's now seemingly fragile body, combined with what has so far been a porous OL, as well as a better receiving corps, the Ravens will need all the blockers they can get. Being able to rotate Ricard & Ortiz in the FB/H-back/TE spots will give the Ravens a lot more flexibility, especially to use the TE's and receiving RB(s) more.

As for Smoke, I'd love to see them keep him also, not only as a receiver out of the backfield, but he's looked good as a KR too.

Because of injuries, the Ravens might keep these undrafted rookies/players: Smoke, Hill, Ricard, and Bradley. Has any team kept 4 UDFA's before, especially one that that has a shot at making the playoffs? If they do keep Ortiz, that would be 5. It's mind-blowing that the Ravens keep finding these gems.

As for the IR and being on the 53-man roster, is that all IR players or just the ones they might designate as IR-DTR?