Roster Outlook – Preseason Game 4
Here is my updated roster prediction going into the final preseason game against the Falcons (starters in bold):
OFFENSE – 25:
- QB – 2 : Flacco, Taylor
- RB – 4 : Rice, R. Williams, Parmele, Allen
- FB – 1 : Leach
- WR – 6 : Boldin, Evans, D. Reed, T. Smith, T. Doss, M. Smith
- TE – 3 : Dickson, Pitta, Wilson
- OL – 9 : McKinnie, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda, Oher, LaVoir, J. Reid, Harewood, Mattison
DEFENSE/ST – 28:
- CB – 6 : C. Williams, J. Smith, Foxworth, Carr, Webb, C. Brown
- S – 4 : E. Reed, Zbikowski, Pollard, Nakamura
- LB – 8 : R. Lewis, Suggs, J. Johnson, McClain, Ellerbe, Kruger, Kindle, Ayanbadejo
- DL – 7 : Ngata, Cody, Redding, A. Jones, McKinney, Divens, McPhee
- ST – 3 : Cundiff, Koch, M. Cox
Roster Outlook – Preseason Game 3
Here is my updated roster prediction going into the third preseason game against the Redskins:
OFFENSE:
- QB – 3 : Flacco, Taylor
- RB – 4 : Rice, R. Williams, Parmele, Allen
- FB – 1 : Leach
- WR – 6 : Boldin, Evans, D. Reed, T. Smith, T. Doss, M. Smith
- TE – 3 : Dickson, Pitta, Wilson
- OL – 9 : Oher, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda, McKinnie, J. Reid, Cousins, Harewood, Mattison
DEFENSE/ST:
- CB – 6 : C. Williams, Foxworth, J. Smith, Carr, Webb, C. Brown
- S – 4 : E. Reed, Zbikowski, Pollard, Nakamura
- LB – 8 : R. Lewis, Suggs, J. Johnson, McClain, Ellerbe, Kruger, Gooden, Kindle, Ayanbadejo
- DL – 7 : Ngata, Cody, Redding, A. Jones, McKinney, Divens, McPhee
- ST – 3 : Cundiff, Koch, M. Cox
Roster Outlook – Preseason Game 2
Here is my updated roster prediction going into the second preseason game against the Chiefs:
OFFENSE:
- QB – 3 : Flacco, Taylor, Cantwell
- RB – 4 : Rice, R. Williams, Parmele, Allen
- FB – 1 : Leach
- WR – 6 : Boldin, Evans, T. Smith, T. Doss, M. Smith, D. Reed
- TE – 3 : Dickson, Pitta, Drew
- OL – 8 : Oher, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda, J. Reid, Cousins, Harewood, Mattison
DEFENSE/ST:
- CB – 6 : Foxworth, J. Smith, Carr, Webb, C. Williams, C. Brown
- S – 4 : E. Reed, Zbikowski, Pollard, Nakamura
- LB – 8 : R. Lewis, Suggs, J. Johnson, McClain, Gooden, Kruger, Ellerbe, Kindle, Ayanbadejo
- DL – 7 : Ngata, Cody, Redding, A. Jones, McKinney, Divens, McPhee
- ST – 3 : Cundiff, Koch, M. Cox
#Ravens Offense Ugly Against #Eagles. Trade For Lee Evans.
Last night the Ravens offense was downright ugly. The offensive line and the wide receivers units had especially bad performances which short circuited any promising drives for the Ravens starting with the first stringers and continuing throughout the game with the third string units.
Rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith had a tough night. At times he broke open behind the Eagles defense flashing the speed that helped him get drafted in the 2nd round of the 2011 NFL draft, but for most of the rest of the game he seemed lost/confused. On on play he stumbled coming out of his break which caused an interception. He has only practiced with the Ravens for two weeks, so he’s probably still thinking out there instead of reacting. In response the Ravens traded for wide receiver Lee Evans, who adds the speed element the team needed with the veteran experience that should help settle the offense.
The offensive line in general and in particular veteran backup O’Neil Cousins also had a rough nights for the Ravens in the loss to the Eagles. At the start of camp Cousins had initially been tabbed as the starter at right tackle while the coaches continue to evaluate rookie Jah Reid. Couple that with Michael Oher still looking shakey at left tackle, and it could spell disaster for the Ravens. They should consider brining in a proven vet tackle to at least to solidify one side of the line so that they can provide TE/RB blocking help to the tackle on the other side. Bryant Mckinnie who was cut by the Vikings comes to mind, but the Ravens may be waiting until camp ends to see who gets cut.
Roster Outlook – Preseason Game 1
Below is how I see the Ravens roster going into the first preseason game against the Eagles. So far I have 51 players I think are on the team (of course that could change):
OFFENSE:
- QB – 3 : Flacco, Taylor, Cantwell
- RB – 4 : Rice, R. Williams, Parmele, Allen
- FB – 1 : Leach
- WR – 5 : Boldin, T. Smith, T. Doss, M. Smith, D. Reed
- TE – 3 : Dickson, Pitta, Drew
- OL – 8 : Oher, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda, J. Reid, Cousins, Harewood, Bartholomew
DEFENSE/ST:
- CB – 6 : Foxworth, Carr, Webb, J. Smith, C. Williams, C. Brown
- S – 4 : E. Reed, Zbikowski, Pollard, Nakamura
- LB – 8 : R. Lewis, Suggs, J. Johnson, McClain, Gooden, Kindle, Kruger, Ellerbe, Ayanbadejo
- DL – 6 : Ngata, Cody, Redding, A. Jones, McKinney, Divens
- ST – 3 : Cundiff, Koch, M. Cox
Ravens Offseason Moves: Method to Their Madness?
The makeup of the Ravens roster going into their first preseason game is concerning to many Ravens faithful. The cuts of four veterans Mason, Heap, McGahee and Gregg and loss of several other players via free agency has some fans even questioning the wisdom of Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens front office considering the only unrestricted free agents the Ravens retained were Marshall Yanda and Chris Carr.
With compensation shifting from younger players to veterans in the new CBA, some teams will be relying on their ability to draft well to stay younger and cheaper, while other teams will choose to spend their money on proven players rather than newly drafted players. The Ravens appear to be attempting to get younger and cheaper relying on their stellar draft record and building for the future. Some teams like the Eagles, Panthers and Bucs already had low payrolls in the old system and decided to add some veteran pieces by signing players to make their teams better in a buyers market. Other teams like the Jets are adding veteran pieces to short contracts in order to help get them over the hump.
Woohoo the #NFL Lockout Over!
Thank goodness sanity prevails. The NFL lockout is over! Now for the chaos of free agency, trades and eventually training camp. This should keep me interested until it’s time for preseason games and eventually the impending week 1 grudge match game against the Steelers at M&T.
#Orioles Bergesen Notches First Win With Complete Game 6-0 Shut-Out of #Rays
Brad Bergesen pitched his best game of the year and got 6 runs of support to notch his first win and the first shut-out of the Rays this season. When Bergesen has confidence and gets on a roll he has proven to be a pretty dependable pitcher, but on the other hand when he’s bad he tends to be really bad. He’s like the pitching version of Luke Scott. The Rays have been the hottest team in the AL since the O’s swept them to start the season and rocked Bergesen a week ago for 5 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.
With this excellent outing it also completed a string of 5 straight quality starts by the entire starting 5 of the staff. You have to wonder if Tillman and Bergesen are looking over their shoulders at the impending return of Brian Matusz.
Yankee Cap Stack
Check out this funny picture of empty cups stacked on the head of what I assume is a sleeping Yankees fan (originally found on reddit.com). There is also a youtube video of the delicate operation.
#Ravens Rolling Along at 9-4, Still Looking For Complete Game.
The Ravens are not the same team they were at the beginning of the season, but it’s hard to say they’ve improved. In reality most of the problems they had early in the season are not the same problems now. Early in the season it was about how the team started slow. Middle of the season the issue was the conservative offense including too many check downs to the running backs and tight ends. Lately it’s been the stagnant running game and allowing too many sacks. The one issue that has been an issue the entire season is holding onto leads late in the game. The Ravens have given up 8 leads in the 4th quarter, but still only lost 4 of those 8 games.
In retrospect, I think the most troubling problem lately is the issue protecting the QB. I’d rather go back to the offense that seemed overloaded with check downs instead of the rash of sacks we’ve seen lately. I’ll admit I was getting frustrated with the check downs, but as a fan it’s not always obvious why a game plays out the way it does. I think the Ravens knew they had some holes in their offensive pass protection and played it safe. It makes a lot of sense in hindsight especially after watching teams throw the kitchen sink at the Ravens with success the past few weeks including the Steelers setting up their winning TD with a strip sack.
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