tsylvester

He was a running qb, who could throw, though his accuracy was in question. While he was on a bad Bucs team, he admits, openly, he needed to learn the way to play from the pocket and work on his passing. He tells it, the best thing to happen for him was to be traded to San Fran and be able to sit & learn. If you will step back you will clearly see Lamar trying to learn to do just that; be a pocket passer who can utilize his running ability. It doesnt happen over night. I have seen the improvement, I also see him struggling at times trying to do that.

I bet you said the same thing about Steve Young, when he was with the Bucs...

Again, why was he chased down? Because he rarely ran full speed last season. When he did, he darted in & out of possible tackles and went down to avoid hits, until his back injury. Why was he not running at full speed sideline to sideline? To give him self a chance at throwing deep. This goes back to my point; last season, for a reason we will not know, he was very hesitant, indecisive, on when to run even in making his reads. Why? Who knows, maybe still part of his learning to be a different type quarterback. Maybe because Bateman, who was nursing injuries, couldn't get separation and Flowers was double teamed. Don't get me started on the old man they brought in who hasn't been able to get separation on a route in five or 6 years. Why do you think KC let him go so quickly and easily.... So a lot went into last season's regression on offense, including the pass poor line play, all of which affects Lamar

I said it then, I will say it now. Lamar has been, clearly, working on becoming a pocket passer, primarily. We saw that the 1st year Monk was here, great competition % from the pocket, buying time, throwing on the run. The result? Top 5 offense in passing, in redzone in 90+ yard drives. But he will still leaving yards on field, either from not running or from holding the ball too long, getting sacked or throwing it away. He was clearly torn on when to take off and when to dump it down, often missing a wide open runningback in the flat. Shoot, his mother even went public telling him to run sooner. Last season, we do not know what the issue was, family life getting in his head, bad line, injuries, who knows, but he was clearly was not playing- throwing nor running- as he did previous years, especially the one before. Harbs blamed Monk, the Biscuit blamed all of them and here we are. I expect Lamar will have worked it out, the timing on running vs buying time, this season. Be more like other qbs in the league who can run, like Allen, but know when to...

To be fair, not the entire game, usually it is only a handful of plays that doom him, his fumbles, or holding the ball too long, or bad passes. But he does eventually play better, it is just usually too late and leads others to make mistakes as well.. As oldno said, it could be the coaching.

I would suspect, though do know for certain that it is standard language; teams like to keep as much control over a contract/player as they can away with. I don't know why he would not want to be here, 2, almost 3 maps, playoffs almost every year he has been here. The year before last the only thing to stop them from going to the Super Bowl was themselves with turnovers.

They mean years past that. They don't want to do that because he would no longer be under contract after the 28 season, so all of that money pushed into those years would become dead cap money. By the 27, 28 season, even under this current deal, he is still under contract until then, so conceivably, they can use those years and just restructure/sign a new deal before the end of the 28 season and absorb those cap hits into the new deal

That will come in handy. Here is a blurb from ESPN in the current Lamar contract; interesting https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/48045815/2026-nfl-combine-latest-buzz-news-rumors-free-agency-draft-qbs-trades-offseason

He has had a full year to heal and get stronger. Given his performance at the combine, I would say his foot is fully healed. Now, a lot depends on how it feel the day after doing the work out, but he would be my first choice at 14

Some player coverage at the combine Banks didn't need to finish the on-field workouts to rank as one of Thursday's winners. The 6-foot-6, 327-pound defensive tackle wowed with a 32-inch vertical jump and a 5.05-second 40. Banks missed most of last season because of a foot injury, but his upside is through the roof. He could have moved into the first round with his times Thursday. -- Miller https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2026/story/_/id/47978529/2026-nfl-combine-top-draft-prospects-workouts-risers-40-every-position

I'm sure the Chargers, Bozeman retired, will make him a higher offer. Bullock did pretty well both at guard and center, so...

Minter https://www.youtube.com/live/qqO1Sdgpny0?si=RlZcIbMlV2usPMBV

"That salary disparity would also be in play for the franchise tag, but DeCosta said on Tuesday that the Ravens are willing to make Linderbaum the highest-paid center in the league. He told reporters that the team has offered Linderbaum a “market-setting” deal as they try to hold onto the three-time Pro Bowler."

Eric's Eric DeCosta's 2026 NFL Scouting Combine Press Conference | Ravens Press Conference https://share.google/5BzWzhfZesnMbmUEZ

They will be on the you tube shortly after I'm sure. I'll keep am eye out, thanks for the heads up

"We certainly have rushers, right?" Weaver said. "I think it took a hit with losing Madubuike. I think we all know the effect that losing him had on this defense, but from a talent standpoint, we certainly have some dudes that can get there." Weaver, new Head Coach Jesse Minter, and the entire defensive staff are eager to work with players to help them realize their full potential as pass rushers. Jones, Tavius Robinson (4.5 sacks), and Mike Green (3.5) are the returning sack leaders from last season. All have room to grow, and both Minter and Weaver have strong track records helping players develop. Under Minter, former Raven and pending free agent outside linebacker Odafe Oweh came to life for the Chargers after the Ravens traded him. He had 7.5 sacks for Los Angeles in 12 games during the regular season and added three more sacks during a playoff loss to the New England Patriots. In five games with Baltimore in 2025, Oweh had zero sacks. At his most recent press conference, Minter was asked about his approach to helping Oweh blossom. "I think we just created an environment for him where he played with a lot of confidence," Minter said. "We simplified some things that we were asking him to do. We allowed him, at times, to have a little more freedom as a pass rusher." Oweh may never reach free agency if the Chargers re-sign him, and he's also being mentioned as a potential candidate to be placed under the franchise tag. However, no matter who the Ravens pursue, Baltimore's pass rush will have a different look under Minter, including some new personnel. Several key members of the front seven are set to become free agents, including Kyle Van Noy, Dre'Mont Jones, and David Ojabo. The Ravens may acquire a new pass rusher or two via free agency or trade, and they've had past success signing veterans like Van Noy, Jadeveon Clowney, and Justin Houston. Meanwhile, the Ravens will have a keen eye on edge rushers at next week's NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Pass rushers who have been linked to Baltimore in recent mock drafts include Keldric Faulk of Auburn, Cashius Howell of Texas A&M, and Akheem Mesidor of Miami. This year's class is loaded with intriguing edge rushers, which works to the advantage of the Ravens, who hold the No. 14 overall pick. https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/pass-rush-ravens-improve-how-draft-travis-jones-jesse-minter-scheme-anthony-weaver

https://www.youtube.com/live/JnW1VCP5xgc?si=MiqpkiA_q_1_j14W

Ha, my favorite all time play by Ray was when he took the ball away from Eddie George, and returned it for a touchdown

The gauntlet has been thrown down

Interesting tid bit from Espn The restructuring, first reported Wednesday by Over the Cap, converts $54.45 million of Mahomes' 2026 salary into a signing bonus and lowers the star quarterback's cap number to $34.65 million. The Chiefs, who missed the playoffs in 2025 after reaching the Super Bowl in each of the three previous seasons, created $43.65 million in cap space. It marks the fourth consecutive year that Kansas City has restructured Mahomes' contract.

A lot of that has been Harbs allowing it, now will Minter put his foot down?

Tell us oh mighty Kreskin

Good stuff, thanks "That trust is going to be earned through time," Doyle said. "It's not like I can call up Lamar and say, 'Hey, I need you to trust me.' We'll earn that over time, and it's really going to be a two-way street. He's got to earn my trust [and] I have to earn his trust, and that goes for every player that we have. "It's a huge piece of what we envision here. Trust is built off communication and accountability to that communication. Accountability is us saying something and doing what we say."

He did the best anyone could do with that hot mess of a roster. I expect great stuff on defense here with him and Minter collaborating.

Anthony Weaver is no stranger to instilling a cutthroat mindset. He did it in Miami, where he was the Dolphins' defensive coordinator for the past two seasons and made headlines for his honest assessment at a press conference. "I'm old school - I may sit up here, I'm a nice guy, I smile, I do all those things - but all of our problems that we need to solve can be solved through violence," Weaver said. "Defensive football, at some point you draw a line in the sand, and you say, 'I'm going to set the edge. I'm going to stick my helmet under this guy's chin and I'm going to set the edge.'" Weaver is now returning to Baltimore with that same mentality, only this time as the Ravens' defensive coordinator. Ahead of his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Weaver sat down with "The Lounge" podcast. He said, "It means everything" to return to Baltimore after spending four seasons as a defensive lineman and three seasons as a coach with the Ravens. Weaver also described what he wants the Ravens defense to look like this fall. "I want out guys, when they finish the game, to [give] 60 minutes of hell," Weaver said. "When you play us, you're going to know you left a fight. We're going to try and hit everything, fly around, play connected, play together, and just do all we can to make sure that you play a game that was 60 minutes of hell." The Ravens defense was often on the losing end of those fights last season, giving up multiple fourth-quarter leads. None were more costly than the Week 18 AFC North title game against the Steelers, when the Ravens allowed two go-ahead touchdowns in the final four minutes. Weaver said he'll talk about the late-game miscues with his unit, but the only way to prevent them is repeated preparation and execution. He's taking the same approach as new Head Coach Jesse Minter, who said in his introductory press conference that the Ravens "will be at our best when the best is needed." "From a situational standpoint, we'll be so locked in in what we need to get done at those particular points in the game, that it'll become habitual," Weaver said. "When we're in it, we won't feel that pressure. We won't rise to the occasion, we're just going to be what we are, which will be plenty good enough." Weaver turned around the Dolphins' defense in his first year. Miami went from 22nd in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed in 2023 to 10th in points and fourth in yards in 2025. Miami took a step back in 2025, but that downfall was partially due to trades that shipped out some of the best players on the Dolphins defense. Weaver will hope to provide the same spark for the Ravens defense, which allowed the 24th most yards and tied for the third-fewest sacks last season. Minter will be the defensive play-caller, but Weaver will be a valuable asset for the first-year head coach. The partnership between the two defensive savants is already beginning to bud. https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/anthony-weaver-ravens-defense-coordinator-punish-jesse-minter-return