Baltimore Ravens Thread

helimachoptor

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

nerd69

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

nerd69 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)