Prolific
12-06-2007, 02:56 PM
How's it hangin everyone, it's 'Pro' after a long hiatus da boss is finally out of town for the day which means that today they'll be no 'cracking of the whip'. (that guy seems to not go anywhere anymore, sheeesh!!)
Which gives me a chance to get on here and dispense my worthless thoughts and opinions to the Ravens faithful to be ground into a fine powder to be eaten, but that's ok with me! (dripping with sarcasm...)
While I'm sure that like everyone else here it's been a foregone conclusion that the Ravens sure could use a top flight QB from the draft, I wouldn't be surprised if the Ravens went in a different direction.
Unfortunately 'Mac9' at best is a back-up next season if he even comes back at all, Troy Smith is a 'wild card' (I don't know, do you know?) and if the season plays out like I think it will, Boller's gonna get one more shot at da title.
Since the Ravens already have at least two guys in tow (3 if Mac9 is back), unless a premier QB shakes loose from another team they're less likely to draft a QB with their 'possible' top 15 draft pick.
Realistically speaking they're more likely than not to at the very least win 2 of their last four games which should knock them out of the top 5-10 and place them somewhere under the top 15 or so in next year's draft. (that's a fair estimate at this point of the season)
It's also fair to say that of the teams that'll more likely than not be picking ahead of our favorite team, three of them could possibly be gunning for a new signal caller as well.
Looking at the abysmal QB performances in Miami, Atlanta and K.C. to begin with, nevermind whatever 'darkhorse' team is willing to sell the farm to pick a guy right in front of the Ravens (happens every year), it's not a given that the Ravens will have a shot at the two top QB's by the time their on the clock.
There are varying opinions on this, but I'll throw in my 2 cents and say that the consensus two are Matt 'Matty-Ice' Ryan and Brian 'Cadillac' Brohm.
http://bp1.blogger.com/_DueLKzIZqOI/RwhdCUumKEI/AAAAAAAAAEY/7BrVpk3QIQU/s1600/capt.c404188fe08f47caa8cdcfef84ff4aad.bowling_green_boston_college_football_mawt101.jpg
Andre Woodson is in there somewhere, but he reminds me of a less athletic Jason Campbell and uh... I'm good... yeah... we're ok on that over here in Ravenstown. (no offense, just my worthless opinion)
Which means there has to be a 'plan B' right? Well let's take a quick look at what's left to choose shall we?
O-Line- Yeah, the Ravens could pick up another O-lineman, but they just got one this past draft in Ben Grubbs and he looks like he's gonna be a good one.
They may draft one, but not this high. They'd be more likely to sign a guy in FA if they felt they needed one than to draft an O-line guy with a top 15 pick, not with the solid nucleus of young guys they've got in place right now.
WR- I know my opinion isn't worth much, but from what I've seen this season, there isn't a huge difference betweeen a guy the Ravens could get in the 2nd-3rd round than there is in a guy who'd be there in the first round.
IMO, the Ravens need another guy who can become a legitimate #1 WR AND HAS SIZE. There's no one guy who's separated himself far and away from the pack at this point in the year to me. We'll see what happens, but for right now, NO MAAS.
TE- No player in this draft ranks that high, a lower round pick is a possibility for depth though, we'll see.
RB- I think they've got this covered, Willis IMO as the O-line gets better his numbers will as well. He was a great pick up for the Ravens and might make the Pro-Bowl this year if he keeps playing as well as he did in the Pats game.
THAT'S ALL OF THE OFFENSE, NOW LET'S LOOK AT THE 'D'...
LB- The Ravens have great depth and are one of the best teams at developing young unknown talents into Pro-Bowlers like Bart Scott and former Raven Adailus Thomas.
They've got Barnes, Burgess and E. Jones in the wings and it's starting to look like they've got somethin in Barnes right now. The chances they'd use a top pick on an LB is highly unlikely.
Safety- They've got great depth at safety with Reed and Landry starting and Sapp/Winborne and Prude when necessary. There's only one guy who's a possible top 15 pick, Kenny Phillips out of Miami and he's a junior who hasn't even decided if he's gonna declare or not.
Bottom line is that safety isn't a position of need to the point where I'd think they'd be willing to drop a first rounder on a guy. The best of the rest aren't even being considered until the 2nd round honestly.
Cornerback- This year's draft has alot of depth when it comes to this position and while there's alot of talent in this year's draft pool, there's also no consensus #1 guy out of the bunch at this point.
With the Ravens phenomenal scouting staff and the fact that it'll be less likely that their pick would start right away, they could get a guy in the top half of the 2nd round that'll develop into a starter for them without a doubt.
D-Line- Here they've got two great older players in Gregg/Pryce, one young one in Ngata and a few rotation players who are good but not spectacular players at their position. I'll get to Suggs in a moment.
Pryce has maybe one more season in him, Gregg possibly two. Ngata is the future and is progressing VERY well, but after him there's NO ONE ELSE.
I don't care what anyone says, Suggs is more effective rushing the passer from the LB spot so my silly way of thinking is why not play him more where he could possibly be more effective?
At LB, T-Sizzle creates more opportunities both for himself and for others as blockers have to kick further out to block him and that leaves more gaps for others to attack the QB.
What exactly would be ideal for our alignment at D-line, you ask? Why, the guy who I think was BORN to be a Raven and play on this defense, UVA's DE Chris Long.
http://www.thesabre.com/chrislong/images/long010b.jpg
I'm not only saying this because he's HOFer Howie Long's kid, that he plays the same position that Howie played OR that Chris has admitted that his favorite NFL player is future HOFer Ray 'Da G.O.A.T.' Lewis.
He's a legitimate top ten draft pick who may fall right into the Ravens laps due to the needs of the other teams that pick ahead of them.
So far up to today he's been:
ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2007)
Ted Hendricks Award Winner (2007)
Rotary Lombardi Award Finalist (2007)
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Finalist (2007)
Lott Trophy Semifinalist (2007)
Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist (2007)
Candidate for the Outland Trophy (2007)
AFCA Coaches' All-America Team (2007)
2007 Playboy preseason All-American
First-Team All-America Rivals.com
Started 24 games (prior to 2007)
Team co-captain for two consecutive seasons
In 12 games, Howie Long's kid made 75 tackles, including 22 for loss. He also racked up 14 sacks (3rd in the country in sacks with an average of 1.13/g)
, intercepted a pass, forced two fumbles and blocked a kick. More than 25 percent of his tackles (.280 to be exact) this season have been for a loss (his career rate is 25 percent)
http://www.thesabre.com/chrislong/images/long002b.jpg
And remember that Al Groh runs a 3-4 defense, sound familiar? Chris Long has operated out of this defense since Groh been at UVA, a PRO-STYLE Defense. (hint-hint)
That means that he can start right away. He's been playing in our style of defense his entire college career and EXCELLING. He's probably one of the few 'can't miss' prospects in this entire draft IMO.
While 'Mr. Overrated' LSU DT Glenn Dorsey wins all of the accolades, Chris Long will be the one who has the better rookie season, this much I can assure you. Especially if the Ravens pull the trigger and snatch up this phenomenal prospect of a kid who's only gonna get better as time goes on.
Chris Long is usually compared to former UVA DE/ 1st rounder Patrick Kerney. They have the same intensity, but Long is more like a bigger, stronger version of Kerney as his stats were similar to what Kerney put up in 1998 when he was a UVA.
For anyone interested, Kerney had 62 tackles and 15 sacks with 20 tackles for a loss in 1998 while Long had 75 tackles and 14 sacks and 22 tackles for a loss in 2007.
When the Falcons finally let Kerney start full time at LDE in 2002 he led the team with 12.0 sacks (9th NFL). Finished with 68 tackles (41 solo) and two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
If Chris Long and Patrick Kerney are similar players (although Long is more polished than Kerney was when he came out and has almost 20 more pounds of muscle packed on than Kerney did coming out) they could possibly put up similar numbers.
Imagine having a kid who can make an instant impact like that at LDE, The unstoppable Haloti 'You ain't gainin' Ngata destroying the middle and Trevor 'Pay Da' Pryce ripping through double teams at RDE. Can you say Holy SHYT, I'm sure opposing QB's willl be.
http://www.thesabre.com/chrislong/images/long004b.jpg
T-Sizzle would more often be in the spot that he's most effective in at LB, and you already know what the rest of the gang can do.
They say that games are won and lost in the trenches, that's the truest statement you'll ever hear.
If the Ravens were fortunate enough to land this kid in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, they'll have a solid foundation of impact D-linemen in Ngata and Long that'll all but guaran-freakin-tee Ravens dominance in the trenches for years to come.
Just my opinion-Pro-
Which gives me a chance to get on here and dispense my worthless thoughts and opinions to the Ravens faithful to be ground into a fine powder to be eaten, but that's ok with me! (dripping with sarcasm...)
While I'm sure that like everyone else here it's been a foregone conclusion that the Ravens sure could use a top flight QB from the draft, I wouldn't be surprised if the Ravens went in a different direction.
Unfortunately 'Mac9' at best is a back-up next season if he even comes back at all, Troy Smith is a 'wild card' (I don't know, do you know?) and if the season plays out like I think it will, Boller's gonna get one more shot at da title.
Since the Ravens already have at least two guys in tow (3 if Mac9 is back), unless a premier QB shakes loose from another team they're less likely to draft a QB with their 'possible' top 15 draft pick.
Realistically speaking they're more likely than not to at the very least win 2 of their last four games which should knock them out of the top 5-10 and place them somewhere under the top 15 or so in next year's draft. (that's a fair estimate at this point of the season)
It's also fair to say that of the teams that'll more likely than not be picking ahead of our favorite team, three of them could possibly be gunning for a new signal caller as well.
Looking at the abysmal QB performances in Miami, Atlanta and K.C. to begin with, nevermind whatever 'darkhorse' team is willing to sell the farm to pick a guy right in front of the Ravens (happens every year), it's not a given that the Ravens will have a shot at the two top QB's by the time their on the clock.
There are varying opinions on this, but I'll throw in my 2 cents and say that the consensus two are Matt 'Matty-Ice' Ryan and Brian 'Cadillac' Brohm.
http://bp1.blogger.com/_DueLKzIZqOI/RwhdCUumKEI/AAAAAAAAAEY/7BrVpk3QIQU/s1600/capt.c404188fe08f47caa8cdcfef84ff4aad.bowling_green_boston_college_football_mawt101.jpg
Andre Woodson is in there somewhere, but he reminds me of a less athletic Jason Campbell and uh... I'm good... yeah... we're ok on that over here in Ravenstown. (no offense, just my worthless opinion)
Which means there has to be a 'plan B' right? Well let's take a quick look at what's left to choose shall we?
O-Line- Yeah, the Ravens could pick up another O-lineman, but they just got one this past draft in Ben Grubbs and he looks like he's gonna be a good one.
They may draft one, but not this high. They'd be more likely to sign a guy in FA if they felt they needed one than to draft an O-line guy with a top 15 pick, not with the solid nucleus of young guys they've got in place right now.
WR- I know my opinion isn't worth much, but from what I've seen this season, there isn't a huge difference betweeen a guy the Ravens could get in the 2nd-3rd round than there is in a guy who'd be there in the first round.
IMO, the Ravens need another guy who can become a legitimate #1 WR AND HAS SIZE. There's no one guy who's separated himself far and away from the pack at this point in the year to me. We'll see what happens, but for right now, NO MAAS.
TE- No player in this draft ranks that high, a lower round pick is a possibility for depth though, we'll see.
RB- I think they've got this covered, Willis IMO as the O-line gets better his numbers will as well. He was a great pick up for the Ravens and might make the Pro-Bowl this year if he keeps playing as well as he did in the Pats game.
THAT'S ALL OF THE OFFENSE, NOW LET'S LOOK AT THE 'D'...
LB- The Ravens have great depth and are one of the best teams at developing young unknown talents into Pro-Bowlers like Bart Scott and former Raven Adailus Thomas.
They've got Barnes, Burgess and E. Jones in the wings and it's starting to look like they've got somethin in Barnes right now. The chances they'd use a top pick on an LB is highly unlikely.
Safety- They've got great depth at safety with Reed and Landry starting and Sapp/Winborne and Prude when necessary. There's only one guy who's a possible top 15 pick, Kenny Phillips out of Miami and he's a junior who hasn't even decided if he's gonna declare or not.
Bottom line is that safety isn't a position of need to the point where I'd think they'd be willing to drop a first rounder on a guy. The best of the rest aren't even being considered until the 2nd round honestly.
Cornerback- This year's draft has alot of depth when it comes to this position and while there's alot of talent in this year's draft pool, there's also no consensus #1 guy out of the bunch at this point.
With the Ravens phenomenal scouting staff and the fact that it'll be less likely that their pick would start right away, they could get a guy in the top half of the 2nd round that'll develop into a starter for them without a doubt.
D-Line- Here they've got two great older players in Gregg/Pryce, one young one in Ngata and a few rotation players who are good but not spectacular players at their position. I'll get to Suggs in a moment.
Pryce has maybe one more season in him, Gregg possibly two. Ngata is the future and is progressing VERY well, but after him there's NO ONE ELSE.
I don't care what anyone says, Suggs is more effective rushing the passer from the LB spot so my silly way of thinking is why not play him more where he could possibly be more effective?
At LB, T-Sizzle creates more opportunities both for himself and for others as blockers have to kick further out to block him and that leaves more gaps for others to attack the QB.
What exactly would be ideal for our alignment at D-line, you ask? Why, the guy who I think was BORN to be a Raven and play on this defense, UVA's DE Chris Long.
http://www.thesabre.com/chrislong/images/long010b.jpg
I'm not only saying this because he's HOFer Howie Long's kid, that he plays the same position that Howie played OR that Chris has admitted that his favorite NFL player is future HOFer Ray 'Da G.O.A.T.' Lewis.
He's a legitimate top ten draft pick who may fall right into the Ravens laps due to the needs of the other teams that pick ahead of them.
So far up to today he's been:
ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2007)
Ted Hendricks Award Winner (2007)
Rotary Lombardi Award Finalist (2007)
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Finalist (2007)
Lott Trophy Semifinalist (2007)
Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist (2007)
Candidate for the Outland Trophy (2007)
AFCA Coaches' All-America Team (2007)
2007 Playboy preseason All-American
First-Team All-America Rivals.com
Started 24 games (prior to 2007)
Team co-captain for two consecutive seasons
In 12 games, Howie Long's kid made 75 tackles, including 22 for loss. He also racked up 14 sacks (3rd in the country in sacks with an average of 1.13/g)
, intercepted a pass, forced two fumbles and blocked a kick. More than 25 percent of his tackles (.280 to be exact) this season have been for a loss (his career rate is 25 percent)
http://www.thesabre.com/chrislong/images/long002b.jpg
And remember that Al Groh runs a 3-4 defense, sound familiar? Chris Long has operated out of this defense since Groh been at UVA, a PRO-STYLE Defense. (hint-hint)
That means that he can start right away. He's been playing in our style of defense his entire college career and EXCELLING. He's probably one of the few 'can't miss' prospects in this entire draft IMO.
While 'Mr. Overrated' LSU DT Glenn Dorsey wins all of the accolades, Chris Long will be the one who has the better rookie season, this much I can assure you. Especially if the Ravens pull the trigger and snatch up this phenomenal prospect of a kid who's only gonna get better as time goes on.
Chris Long is usually compared to former UVA DE/ 1st rounder Patrick Kerney. They have the same intensity, but Long is more like a bigger, stronger version of Kerney as his stats were similar to what Kerney put up in 1998 when he was a UVA.
For anyone interested, Kerney had 62 tackles and 15 sacks with 20 tackles for a loss in 1998 while Long had 75 tackles and 14 sacks and 22 tackles for a loss in 2007.
When the Falcons finally let Kerney start full time at LDE in 2002 he led the team with 12.0 sacks (9th NFL). Finished with 68 tackles (41 solo) and two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
If Chris Long and Patrick Kerney are similar players (although Long is more polished than Kerney was when he came out and has almost 20 more pounds of muscle packed on than Kerney did coming out) they could possibly put up similar numbers.
Imagine having a kid who can make an instant impact like that at LDE, The unstoppable Haloti 'You ain't gainin' Ngata destroying the middle and Trevor 'Pay Da' Pryce ripping through double teams at RDE. Can you say Holy SHYT, I'm sure opposing QB's willl be.
http://www.thesabre.com/chrislong/images/long004b.jpg
T-Sizzle would more often be in the spot that he's most effective in at LB, and you already know what the rest of the gang can do.
They say that games are won and lost in the trenches, that's the truest statement you'll ever hear.
If the Ravens were fortunate enough to land this kid in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, they'll have a solid foundation of impact D-linemen in Ngata and Long that'll all but guaran-freakin-tee Ravens dominance in the trenches for years to come.
Just my opinion-Pro-