Posts Tagged ‘Todd Heap’

Play Like a Raven – Week 7

Posted by darnold on Thursday, October 28th, 2010

PlayLikeaRayRice

Ray Rice had a solid, if unspectacular, day Sunday, rushing for 72 yards on 16 carries (4.5 ypc). Mike Preston wrote on Monday that Rice seems to be a bit slow hitting his holes, making too many cuts trying to find the “home run.”

Running back Ray Rice carried the ball 16 times for 72 yards against the Bills Sunday, but he is still slow hitting holes.

Rice had a similar problem the week before against the New England Patriots. The Ravens are opening holes, but Rice is hesitating, trying to bounce outside or cut back for the home run instead of just blasting through the hole.

Additionally, in the fourth quarter, when the Ravens could have really used some yards on the ground to put the game away, Rice was nowhere to be found, for the most part. His fourth quarter touches:

3-7-BAL 10 (9:09) (Shotgun) 5-J.Flacco pass short right to 27-R.Rice to BLT 11 for 1 yard (59-A.Coleman).
1-10-BUF 44 (4:54) 27-R.Rice right guard to BUF 43 for 1 yard (99-M.Stroud, 90-C.Kelsay).
2-9-BUF 43 (4:15) 27-R.Rice left guard to BUF 40 for 3 yards (95-K.Williams, 20-D.Whitner).

I still maintain that Rice is the most important piece to this offense, but his follow-up to his Pro Bowl 2009 season has been a bit disappointing. Let’s hope he picks things up in the second half of the season.

Played Like a Raven – Ed Reed

Mr. Reed made his triumphant return to the gridiron against the Bills, and had a huge say in the outcome of the game. Eddie picked off two Ryan Fitzpatrick passes and caused a Roscoe Parrish fumble. The Ravens had only two interceptions in six games without #20, and that total was already doubled after just 45 minutes of football with Reed on the field.

I’m imagining Tom Zbikowski standing on the sideline, muttering to himself “they never throw the ball to me like that, mehhhh…”

The goofy faction of Ravens fans that maintain the delusion that the secondary is better without Reed (due to his “wreckless” play) will point to the four long touchdown passes as evidence that their claim still holds water. To those people, I’d remind them of the big touchdown passes by Denver in Week 5, and the horrendous play by Ravens’ cornerbacks all day against Buffalo. The bottom line is, if Ed Reed doesn’t play Sunday, the Ravens are very likely 4-3 today.

Honorable Mentions: Ray Lewis, Todd Heap, Marshal Yanda

Did Not Play Like a Raven – Rest of Defense

Holy shitballs. Where to start?

Let’s go down the list, excluding the two players (#20 and #52, of course) named above.

Fabian Washington: “Toast” was burned again and again, to the point that, by Fabe’s own admission, Ryan Fitzpatrick was calling him out via audibles at the line of scrimmage.

“Once they start going after somebody, you’ve got to get them off you then,” said Washington, who wears No. 31. “[Sunday] was, ‘check, check 31.’ That’s what it was. This week, they got me, but please believe I will be back.”

After his great day against Denver, Washington has fallen off a cliff. In New England, he was simply ineffective, and, against the Bills, he had likely his worst game as a pro. Fabe looked completely shell-shocked by the end of his day, which came midway through the fourth quarter when he was benched in favor of Josh Wilson following Fitzpatrick’s final touchdown pass.

Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs: These two are counted on by the Ravens’ defense to be playmakers. Do you remember hearing either of their named called on Sunday? Suggs and Ngata can NOT be invisible, or this defense is in more trouble than any of us realize. Ngata’s play is somewhat excused by the rest of his body of work so far in 2010. Suggs needs to step up down the stretch, it’s just that simple.

Edit: Some guys that know a lot more about football than me say that Sunday was actually Suggs’ best day rushing the passer since the Washington game in 2008, despite his not recording a sack.

The seven total pressures (a hit, six pressures) Suggs recorded in this game was the most since he recorded eight (a sack, a hit, six pressures) in Week 14 of the 2008 season against the Washington Redskins.

Lardarius Webb: He was slowed by a groin wrap, but Webb was the one beaten on the 33-yard touchdown to Stevie Johnson.

Webb said he had his groin wrapped as a precaution, but took it off after Johnson beat him for a 33-yard score in the second quarter.

“That’s not an excuse,” Webb said. “I’m still supposed to make that play. I took it off then, and didn’t have any problems. I’m thinking I never should have put it on in the first place. It’s the NFL. Everybody makes plays.

Webbie also whiffed on several tackle attempts.

Dawan Landry: Sure, he had 9 tackles, but how many did he miss? Unfortunately, they don’t keep that stat on NFL.com (well, fortunately for Dawan). Landry has been sub-par in pass support, run support, and general tackling all season. Maybe during his week off, he can go work out with, and get some pointers from, his brother LaRon, who is having a stellar season down in Landover for the Redskins.

Jarret Johnson, Paul Kruger, Brandon McKinney, Terrence Cody, Cory Redding: Buffalo averaged 3.8 yards per rushing play for the day, and had 132 total yards on the ground. Fitzpatrick was sacked only once, and it was hardly a true sack (he rolled out on a 4th-and-1 bootleg, and was stopped behind the line by Lewis). Nobody on the defense escapes blame for the Bills’ 64% 3rd-down conversion rate on the day.

Just an ugly, ugly performance all around.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Ravens | No Comments »

Play Like a Raven – Week 6

Posted by darnold on Thursday, October 21st, 2010

PlayLikeaRayRice

On Sunday in Foxborough, Ray Rice was again the Ravens’ most important weapon on offense, as evidenced by his 36 (!!) touches. However, all credit must be given to Bill Belichick and the Patriots defense, who figured out a way to keep Rice from going buck wild on them despite getting the ball nearly 40 times. His 28 carries went for only 88 yards (a 3.14 average), his longest run of the afternoon was 8 yards, he managed just 38 yards on 8 receptions (4.75 ypc), and he never really sniffed the end zone.

So, with Rice having a bit of an off day, who stepped up to pick up the slack?

Played Like a Raven – Derrick Mason

The 36 year old wide receiver notched his first 100-yard performance since Week 11 of last year, when he caught 9 balls for 142 yards in a loss to the Colts. Sunday, D-Mase was the Ravens’ most consistent weapon, catching 8 passes for exactly 100 yards. It appeared that he may have made the play that was ultimately going to lead to a win for the Ravens when he had his biggest gain of the day, a 20 yard reception down the left sideline with about 10 minutes left in the overtime period. That reception set the Ravens up at their own 48 yard line, where another two or three first downs (or one big play) would have put them in long Billy Cundiff field goal range.

Unfortunately, that was not to be the case, as the Ravens’ next three plays went:

1-10-BAL 48 (9:37) 27-R.Rice left guard to BLT 48 for no gain (55-B.Spikes).
2-10-BAL 48 (8:59) 5-J.Flacco pass short middle to 27-R.Rice to NE 48 for 4 yards (50-R.Ninkovich, 55-B.Spikes).
3-6-NE 48 (8:16) (Shotgun) 5-J.Flacco pass incomplete deep right to 86-T.Heap (32-D.McCourty).

One knock on Mason’s day, however: If he hauls in that likely touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Ravens are probably 5-1 right now.

Honorable Mentions: Joe Flacco, Haloti Ngata, Todd Heap

Did Not Play Coach Like a Raven – John Harbaugh, Greg Mattison, Cam Cameron

This isn’t the first time the coaches have found themselves in this spot. The last time I decided to pin some blame for a loss on John Harbaugh & Co. was the aforementioned Indianapolis game in Week 11 of 2009. That day, it was clock management from Harbaugh, and short-yardage failures from offensive coordinator Cam Cameron that drew my ire.

As for this loss to the Patriots, no coach escapes blame.

My buddy Glenn Clark damn near gave himself an aneurysm this morning on “The Morning Reaction” on WNST, going off on the “idiotic” notion that the Ravens lost the game due to conservative playcalling on both sides of the ball.

Well, I’m going to respectfully disagree here and instead side with the long list of people who are chalking this loss up to the Ravens “taking their foot off the pedal” after going up 20-10 early in the fourth quarter.

From the fishy situation of not giving Willis McGahee a single snap, to punting on 4th-and-a-football-length from the New England 47 late in the first half, to punting from their own 48 with 9 minutes to play, Harbaugh clearly made some questionable decisions Sunday.

As for Mattison, well…when Tom Brady knows you only have one of two defenses that you play in a given situation (third-and-goal), you clearly need to switch things up:

“They either blitz you or they play eight guys in a zone.”

Mattison had the perfect blueprint to work with on how to beat Brady – the one he engineered in the Wild Card Playoff game in January. Pressure, pressure, and more pressure. However, in the fourth quarter and overtime, the Ravens were routinely bringing only 3 or 4 men at Brady, and he easily dissected the secondary as a result.

Mattison’s game plan wasn’t the only one the Patriots had figured out, though. According to 105.7 The Fan’s Casey Willet, the Patriots secondary has said in the days following the game that by the fourth quarter and overtime, they knew exactly what routes the Ravens’ receivers were going to run. They switched to Flacco’s kryptonite, the Cover 2, shut off those routes, and the result was the endless train of fruitless checkdowns to Ray Rice.

How the hell do the Ravens and Cam, after 2.5 years of Flacco struggling against this defense, not have a “OK, they’re in Cover 2, let’s use this package and tear that shit up” plan? Boggles the mind.

Even if you agree with Harbaugh’s assessment (and Clark’s mouth-frothing rant) that the Ravens did NOT get too conservative, when the other team comes out and says that they knew pretty much exactly what you were trying to do on both sides of the ball, there is no denying that you were thoroughly out-coached.

This one, like the one last November, is as much on the guys in polo shirts as the guys in jerseys.

Dishonorable Mentions: Michael Oher, Le’Ron McClain

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Ravens | No Comments »

Patriots 23 Ravens 20 OT (The GOTTA PLAY/COACH ALL FOUR QUARTERS Game)

Posted by darnold on Monday, October 18th, 2010

On Sunday, the Ravens lost.

They lost to a very good football team.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare, on the road.

All of that, I can deal with.

What makes this loss so difficult to stomach is what I neglected to mention above…

On Sunday, the Ravens lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare, on the road…in a game in which they held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

Yeah. That last point is the inexcusable part. For the first 45 minutes of the game, the Ravens beat the Patriots up and down the field, building a 20-10 lead with 14:57 remaining. What was unfortunate, and what ultimately proved to be the difference in the game, was that in the four plays prior to Billy Cundiff’s 25-yard field goal gave the Ravens what would be their final points for the day, Ravens’ receivers dropped two potential touchdown passes. On the first, Anquan Boldin was separated from the ball by a New England safety after a perfect strike from Joe Flacco from 20 yards out. On the second, Derrick Mason heard footsteps and couldn’t haul in what should have been a seven-yard score.

Sure, both plays would have required impressive, if not spectacular, catches. But both Boldin and Mason got two hands on the ball, and in the NFL, those passes should have been caught – especially by veterans like those two. If they are, this recap likely has a much different tone.

Compounding the problem was that, after that series, the Ravens offense (both playcalling and execution) seemed to climb aboard the plane back to Baltimore. With the exception of an 18-yard pass from Flacco to Boldin on the opening play of their next drive, the Ravens offense went 3-and-out, 3-and-out, 3-and-out on their next three possessions of regulation and overtime. The aforementioned Boldin completion came with 10:24 left in the fourth. The Ravens would not pick up another first down until the 10:17 mark of overtime – over a full quarter of play.

Three plays after that 10:24 first down, a sequence that could likely be pointed to as the pivotal one of the game unfolded.

On 3rd-and-1 from their own 47, leading 20-17, Cam Cameron called for a quarterback sneak. A play which, for anyone watching, was obviously doomed from the start. Flacco attempted to go through Pats’ defensive linemen Vince Wilfork and Greg Warren, and didn’t have a prayer.

The talk radio lines will no doubt be lighting up this week with people blaming Cameron for the odd call, and Flacco for not recognizing the defense and audibling out of the play. What is likely to be an even greater point of contention this week in B’More, though, is what happened next.

Facing 4th-and-the length of the football, Coach John “you have to put teams away when you have the chance” Harbaugh elected to punt. To punt the ball back to Tom Brady and the Patriots offense, who were fresh off an 8-play, 60-yard drive where they faced only a single third down, in that situation…puzzling, to say that least. To say a bit more, it was the kind of decision that we just aren’t used to seeing from Harbaugh, who has proven during his 2+ years as the head coach, that he has plenty of “balls” in those type of situations. This time, though, he went timid, and the Ravens paid dearly.

It wasn’t just Harbaugh that went into a shell in the fourth quarter and overtime though. He took the entire Baltimore coaching staff with him.

Cam Cameron stopped picking on the Patriots’ secondary.

Greg Mattison gave Brady the short underneath stuff in the passing game, and Brady took it eagerly.

Now, give New England credit. As mentioned, they have a great coaching staff of their own, and those guys made the necessary adjustments. They took away Flacco’s passing lanes. They threw quick screen after quick screen on offense. They did what was necessary to win the game. What the Ravens’ coaches were up to is anybody’s guess.

Flacco played very well all day, going 27/35 for 285 yards and two touchdowns. I don’t know if the Ravens’ coaches’ tentative mentality was preached to Joe on the sideline during the fourth quarter or what, but he wasn’t the same after those two dropped touchdown passes. He seemed much more willing to check down to Ray Rice, even though Rice was routinely swarmed by New England linebackers.

That’s another area where New England must be commended – they were not going to let Rice destroy them like he did in the two 2009 meetings. Although there seemed to be some nice holes on the Ravens’ opening drive, ultimately Rice ran the ball 28 times for just 88 yards, and his long of the day was just eight. He added eight receptions for 38 yards, but really wasn’t a major factor in the game.

Which brings us to the next puzzling thing about the gameplan of the Ravens’ staff…

Where the hell was Willis McGahee???

McGahee did not see a single touch in Foxborough, and I’m not even positive he was at the stadium. Sure, I was calling for Rice to take over goalline duties from Willis, but to just leave #23 on the sideline all afternoon? Especially considering the relative lack of success that Rice was having? It just makes absolutely no sense to me that McGahee was never even inserted as a sort of change-of-pace, and I’ll be anticipating how Cameron and Harbaugh explain that fact this week.

Before we wrap up, we can’t excuse the Ravens’ defense or special teams here either. While it’s commendable to hold New England to just 23 points, after they had put up 38 in each of their prior two home games, there were some disturbing signs from the “D.”

First off, what the hell is it with the Ravens’ inability to stop white running backs? We all remember Peyton Hillis running roughshod over them in week 2, and in Foxborough, Danny Freakin’ Woodhead had 63 yards and 5.7 per carry. They also had a hell of a time tackling Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, and Deion Branch, allowing the Pats to rack up an incredible amount of YAC, after doing such a great job against the Denver Broncos last week.

Next, Mattison’s insistence to only rush three men so often is starting to cost the team. By now we know not to expect the kind of blitzes that we saw when Rex Ryan was in town, but giving Tom Brady 5 or 6 seconds to find a receiver down near the end zone isn’t a recipe for success in any universe. I don’t care if the Ravens emptied the bench and put 12 guys in the end zone covering Pats’ receivers, if Brady can basically take his helmet off back there and stand flat footed, he’s going to find someone. And that’s exactly what he did to get New England to within 20-17. With the exception of Haloti Ngata, the Ravens’ pass rush was disturbingly non-existent, especially considering the past success they have had against the Patriots.

Finally, we come to special teams. While they never came up with the huge game-breaker that we feared, and that they used to beat Miami in week 4, New England was clearly the superior unit on Sunday.

Jalen Parmele needs to be out of a job. His indecision/terrible decisions cost the Ravens a good bit of field position on at least two occasions.

Neither Chris Carr nor Tom Zbikowski can generate anything on punt returns. And when it seems like they just MIGHT, it’s always because someone else is illegally blocking or holding. On top of that, their refusal to come up and field punts that aren’t hit directly to them cost the team additional field position several times. It’s a sad state of affairs for the Ravens’ return games.

Even Billy Cundiff, despite his three touchbacks, had a costly gaffe. After going up 20-10, Cundiff’s ensuing kickoff squirted out of bounds at about the two yard line…two yards too soon, which resulted in the Patriots starting at their own 40-yard line.

The Ravens outplayed the Patriots for three quarters Sunday. Despite the Pats having two weeks to prepare, the Ravens appeared ready to take their best shot and bring a 5-1 record back to B’More.

Unfortunately, they were outplayed and (thoroughly) outcoached during the final quarter and the overtime period, and 4-2 is the result.

Still not a terrible place to be, after four tough road games, and with only a home game against Buffalo standing between us and the bye week.

Oh, and a certain guy who wears #20 is rumored to be coming back this week.

Things could be worse.

Let’s not melt down like a bunch of complete morons, please (these comments make me embarrassed to be a Ravens fan).

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Ravens | No Comments »

Ravens Look Formidable in Final “Dress Rehearsal”

Posted by darnold on Monday, August 30th, 2010

Bad Ass O

Baltimore Sun Photo

Someone tweeted last night something along the lines of “if this is the New York Giants’ dress rehearsal, they had better hope for a whole new wardrobe come Week 1.”

Well, if that was the case for Tom Coughlin’s team, then the exact opposite rings true for John Harbaugh’s squad. The Ravens came out firing on all cylinders in Week 3 of the preseason (save for the opening drive 3 and out), ultimately disposing of the Giants by a final of 24-10. While each team’s starters were in the game though (the entirety of the first half), the Ravens outscored Eli Manning and company 17-3. It probably should have been worse, as the dominant display put on by B’More would have seemed likely to result in greater than just the two touchdown advantage.

While Cam Cameron’s game plan in every contest this preseason has obviously been to hone the passing game of his starters, for the first time in three games that plan was finally executed to his, and Ravens’ fans’, satisfaction. Joe Flacco was 21-34 for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns. He spread the ball around very efficiently, using all parts of the field. Todd Heap was the Ravens’ leading receiver, looking like a half-decade younger version of himself while hauling in 6 passes for 69 yards and Flacco’s second score. Derrick Mason had five catches and Mark Clayton made just one, but for a 20-yard gain.

Flacco’s newest weapon, Anquan Boldin, also had his most impressive showing as a Raven to date. Boldin caught 4 passes for 52 yards and the team’s first touchdown, a brilliant catch in which he bailed Flacco out a bit. Joe made a beautifully executed read at the line of scrimmage, calling an audible to check out of the original play call on 4th-and-3 from the Giants’ 9. Flacco dropped back, looked the safety off nicely, and Boldin had two steps on his man headed to the end zone when Joe Cool’s gaze returned to that side of the field. Flacco, though, put the ball a bit behind Boldin, who adjusted his body to make the catch anyway.

Boldin also showed the dimension he brings to the Ravens’ WR corps that had been completely absent: a physical, yards-after-catch element. On the first play of the Ravens’ second drive, Boldin caught the ball near the sticks with two Giants closing quickly. No disrespect to Derrick Mason or Mark Clayton, but those two are hit-or-miss to get the first down in that situation, likely to go down to the first defender to get a hand on them.

Not Boldin.

Q stiff-armed and dragged his way for an additional 3-4 yards, leaving no doubt that it was time to “move those chains.” A beautiful thing to watch.

To show just how focused the Ravens were on the passing game, look no further than the fact that Flacco also led the team in rushing yards against the Giants. Joe looked much more mobile than we remembered from the last half-dozen or so games of 2009, when he was dealing with the much talked-about hip/leg bruise. He avoided pressure nicely several times, and while he won’t be confused with a Drew Brees or Tom Brady yet when it comes to pocket presence, the third-year quarterback is far from the immobile water buffalo back there that injuries made him during times last year.

When Ray Rice finally was called upon to tote the rock, he looked a bit rusty at times, while also appearing to struggle a bit with the new playing surface at M&T Bank Stadium. He also dropped a pass down the seam that Flacco dropped in beautifully, which, had he caught it, would have set the Ravens up with a 1st-and-goal at about the 5 yard line. I’m not terribly concerned about #27, and it is pretty obvious from his lack of carries in game action that the coaching staff isn’t either. Rice also seemed to hear the coaching staff’s “ball security” message loud and clear this week, securing the ball nicely on each of his 9 touches. The same cannot be said for Le’Ron “Pain Train” McClain, who fumbled after a nice gain on one of his only three touches. Not exactly great ammo for his “MCCLAIN 4 RB” campaign moving forward.

On the whole, the Ravens offense was very impressive. They showed that opposing defenses will not be able to focus on just Ray Rice or Derrick Mason in 2010, as Flacco seems quite comfortable with all of his weapons entering the season. Once they actually start game-planning for teams, and putting together a more balanced attack (which they most certainly will), this offense just might have a chance to live up to the hype.

One area they will certainly need to improve though, is on 3rd down. They were just 4/15 on the night, although they were an impressive 3/3 on fourth downs.

As for the defense, they had an up-and-down first half despite holding the Giants to just the three points. New York running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 63 yards on just 13 carries in the first half, including a 29-yard scamper by Jacobs. The Ravens missed several plays on defense due to poor tackling, which everyone from Haloti Ngata to Jarret Johnson to Dawan Landry was guilty of at times.

One play that will have Ravens fans talking this week was Bradshaw’s seemingly innocent 12-yard scamper midway through the first quarter. On the play, he appeared to be bottled up in the backfield before eluding Johnson and then running away from Ray Lewis in a way that made the 35-year old linebacker’s age show like it rarely, if ever, has before. It was a play that Ray has made countless times in his career, and one that he may have even made last season. You hate to take too much from any one game, let alone one PLAY, but it was a painful reminder that #52′s best days are getting further and further behind him, and us.

Of course, knowing Ray, he’ll simply log that play in his mental playbook, adjust his angle appropriately next time, make the tackle, and all will be appear to be right in Ravenstown. You have to admire the way Lewis continues to use his knowledge of the game and film study expertise to prolong his career, but his football IQ won’t make up for his diminishing physical abilities forever. Just something to keep an eye on.

On a more positive note, the Ravens’ much-maligned secondary played very well. Fabian Washington whiffed on one wide receiver screen, but was all over two others. Chris Carr recorded a sack and was not really picked on at all by Eli Manning. Tom Zbikowski was beat badly over the top on the Giants’ second drive by Steve Smith, but Manning underthrew him; overall though, Zibby had another solid night. He had better watch out for Haruki Nakamura though. His fellow third-year safety was all over the field, picking off one Manning throw and nearly getting another. “Rooki” is making a strong case for more playing time, and looks to be completely healed from his nasty broken leg suffered against Cleveland last season.

Even those wide open men over the middle that were there for the Redskins a week ago seemed to disappear this week. I expected Giants’ tight end Kevin Boss to have a field day, but he had as many catches as you and I did. Boss was making his first preseason appearance of 2010 after offseason ankle surgery, and probably had some rust. Still, the gaping holes in the Ravens’ coverage that were there last week appeared to have been addressed, at least for one night. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe dropped into coverage impressively and was able to tip the pass that was ultimately intercepted by Nakamura. Despite Jameel McClain again getting the starting nod at inside linebacker next to Ray Lewis, I still think more and more that Ellerbe will be the team’s best option moving forward.

One final note from last night comes from the injury front. Donte Stallworth suffered a broken foot late in the first half, and will need surgery. According to John Harbaugh, the team does not expect to have Stallworth back until at least the Bye week. It’s a shame, as Stallworth was having a strong camp in his attempt to return to the NFL after missing all of 2009, but it’s not a completely devastating blow to the Ravens’ offense. While Stallworth was the team’s purest “deep threat,” he was nowhere to be found when Flacco was doing all that above-mentioned passing all over the field. Stallworth did appear to be the team’s first option at punt returner, but Mark Clayton seems to have secured his spot as the #3 wideout. With Stallworth out, Demetrius Williams and Marcus Smith see their chances to make the roster and impact the team increase, and we have to hope they embrace the “next man up” philosophy and make the most of their chances. Smith admitted that he was energized in the second half last night after watching Stallworth go down earlier (I read that somewhere, but can’t find the quote right now).

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Ravens | No Comments »

Post-Combine, Post-Boldin Mock Drafts: Gresham is the Word

Posted by darnold on Friday, March 12th, 2010

With the Ravens having largely addressed their wide receiver issues over the last week by trading for Anquan Boldin and resigning Derrick Mason, the next look at the experts’ mock drafts promises to have a fully different feel than last time, when just about everyone had the Ravens going WR at pick #25.

All of the following mock drafts were published since the Boldin trade.

Walterfootball.com

Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma

Gresham

AP File Photo

Todd Heap had four touchdowns in a two-game span toward the end of the season, but I wouldn’t rely on him going forward. Who knows when he’ll break down again?

Jermaine Gresham is one of the top players on the board and fills a big need for Baltimore. The Ravens really have to concentrate on finding weapons for Joe Flacco, so wide receiver is an option as well.

My take:

Wait for it….

NewNFLdraft.com

Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma

I previously had Aaron Hernandez going here in this 2010 NFL Mock Draft. After watching Gresham run well and workout well and the combine I think he takes over the top TE slot in the draft again. Look for him to stretch the field well and be an above average blocker for a Tight End.

My take:

…wait for it…

ESPN’s Mel Kiper (subscription required)

Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma

The Ravens aren’t finished in their mission to find weapons for Joe Flacco. Gresham is the best pure tight end in the draft and answered physical questions in Indy. The heir to Todd Heap is the perfect weapon for a young passer.

My take:

…wait for it…

ESPN’s Todd McShay (subscription required)

Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma

Baltimore addressed its wide receiver need by trading for Anquan Boldin and signing unrestricted free agent Donte’ Stallworth. Gresham is the best pass-catching tight end on the board and would be a great addition to an already upgraded receiving corps.

My take:

Phew.  So that’s 4/4 of the updated mock drafts surveyed, including the two ESPN “super” experts (who can never seem agree on anything, for ratings sake if nothing else) that have the Ravens going with the 6’5″, 261 lb Gresham.  Scouts, Inc. describes Gresham as having exceptional production and ball skills, but just average competitiveness/toughness.  There are also durability issues – Gresham played in all 42 games through his first three seasons at OU, but missed the entire 2009 season due to a knee injury suffered in summer practice.

Despite the knee injury that canceled his senior campaign, Gresham is still listed as the top TE on just about every board out there.  His combine results were as follows:

Bench Press: 20 Reps (Tied for 8th among TEs)

Vertical Jump: 35 (5th)

Broad Jump: 9’5″ (T-5th)

3-Cone Drill: 7.07 (5th)

60-Yard Shuttle: 11.88 (4th)

40-Yard Dash: 4.73 (Outside Top 5)

Gresham obviously did not blow anyone away at the combine.  NFLSoup.com had this to say, following his sub-par performance:

After undergoing season-ending surgery at the start of the ‘09 season, Gresham had questions and concerns surrounding his ability to still play ball. Many still consider him a top contender, but a slow 40-yard and marginal numbers in other categories didn’t look like the Gresham everyone expected.

With more publicity comes more expectations, and Gresham just didn’t meet them at the Combine. He finished near the bottom of every category and will need to put up a good showing at his Pro Day if he expects to keep his position as the top tight end in his class.

However, at OU’s Pro Day, which was earlier this week, Gresham impressed, according to CBSSports:

Tight end Jermaine Gresham drew plenty of eyes. He hasn’t been on the field in this capacity since September, when he underwent knee surgery. Offensive tackle Trent Williams also is projected to be drafted in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft.

Gresham measured at 6-5 3/8 and 259 pounds. He appeared completely recovered from knee surgery performed last September but declined to be interviewed, saying only “I’m getting better and better every day.”

Given that Ozzie Newsome admitted to us last week that he focused too much on “measurables” when passing over Anquan Boldin in 2003, I get the feeling that he will make no such mistake by focusing on Gresham’s combine results when making a decision this April.  If anyone knows tight end talent, it’s Ozzie.  If he feels that Gresham is indeed fully recovered from his knee issues, and can be the kind of NFL playmaker that he was for three years in college, the Wizard of Oz will not hesitate to pull the trigger on Draft day.

From a fan’s standpoint, a scenario in which Joe Flacco fakes to Ray Rice and then looks downfield to Derrick Mason, Jermaine Gresham, and Anquan Boldin is the stuff of purple dreams.  If that situation materializes, the “sea change” will be pretty much complete in B’More.  It will be Flacco’s team at that point, and one that will have no more excuses to not consistently strike fear in opposing defenses.

Of course, just because everyone is predicting it, by no means makes it a foregone conclusion.  Gresham could very well fly off the board before the Ravens get a shot at him.  Alternatively, like last year when all the experts had the Ravens going WR, they could again surprise everyone and take an Earl Thomas (S, Texas) or Terrance Cody (DT, Alabama).

Gresham in purple is a tantalizing prospect though.  We Ravens fans should be eager to stand and applaud if we hear his name at 25 on April 22.   Let’s watch some “Gresham porn” just to hammer that point home a little more:

YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in NFL Draft, Ravens | 11 Comments »