tsylvester

We cannot know the inner workings,, speculate, sure. Who knows what or who. I am sure the head coach on every teams talks with personnel on what type of players they would like, personality wise, work ethic etc from the draft & free agency. The GM wants player A, the head coach player B, who wins that discussion on any team? In the end the coach has to find a way to coach a player, get the most out of them, help them reach their full potential. I would say, Harbs has done a pretty good job of it..

Well, it is a bit misleading. Yes, the aforementioned super stars retired/left, yes I am sure it had a slight detrimental affect on the team. However, you knee that was coming, right?! In that time, between 2012 and well, now, what has happened? Several bad drafts, or should I say mediocre ones, a change in front office personnel, especially the big cheese, scouts who moved on, all good reasons for slip ups in draft. One of the big ones. In the midst of the post 2012 Super Bowl, was a season ending injury to Flacco, followed by a change in qbs, starting a rookie/first year, a new offensive system. Oh yes, then there is the injury to the new qb, causing him to miss playoffs game/s. Look, I am not a huge fan of his, you know my reasons, mostly in game things, but he is far from a slub

Nice article from the home website. Let's hope it pays off on the field. Chuck Smith already had many players who were disciples of his teaching long before he became the Ravens' new outside linebackers coach. Smith had been a private coach in the Atlanta area since 2001, and his lengthy list of former clients included future Hall of Famers Von Miller and Aaron Donald. NFL pass rushers have flocked to see Smith every offseason for years, and his success earned him the nickname "Dr. Rush." "I always knew in the early 90s that I wanted to train pass rushers because there was no one really doing it," Smith said. "It wasn't really normal back then. People kind of looked like, 'Man, that's kind of weird,' I wasn't welcomed because it was a different culture with coaches. There weren't even iPhones, I was passing out flyers." Now Smith's career has taken another turn. Hired by the Ravens in March, he's being entrusted to bring out the best in an outside linebacker group that includes Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo, two young first-round talents who are already sold on Dr. Rush. "He's a guru," Ojabo said. "He's just bringing [out] the best side of us, and he brings a lot of energy. [He] lets us be ourselves, lets us kind of dance off the ball. I'm really excited just to see how our development comes." During his playing days, Smith spent eight of his nine NFL seasons with the Falcons and finished with 58.5 career sacks, including a career-high 12 sacks in 1997. With his NFL pedigree and his success working with former Pro Bowlers such as Osi Umenyiora and Carlos Dunlap, Smith brings credibility that helps players buy in. "He's giving us insight that a lot of guys, like me in particular, haven't had, because a lot of my coaches, they're great coaches, but they haven't really played the position," Oweh said. "He's played the position. He's trained a lot of guys that played the position at a high level. I'm getting little tidbits that I wouldn't have necessarily gotten." Smith first met Head Coach John Harbaugh in 2008 while working as a training camp consultant as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. That relationship has helped accelerate Smith's comfort level since taking the job. The transition has been easy because I know a lot of people here," Smith said. "I did the Bill Walsh minority coaching program, got my start here coach Harbaugh's first year. I was a lot younger. He was a lot younger. Everybody here, even guys on the staff – there are guys here who I trained. [General Manager] Eric [DeCosta], [Owner] Mr. [Steve] Bisciotti, I've known a lot of these people for a long, long, long time. If there was a perfect place for me to come and really kickoff my first year again, it was the Baltimore Ravens." https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/chuck-smith-dr-rush-new-practice-ravens-oweh-ojabo

Ack, it's all good. But it all depends on how much JK wants for money. If anything has shown, runningbacks are plug & play. So it is either the Ravens money or the highway. He has shown grit and the can do attitude...

& JK, Take it with a grain of salt I suppose

Man the potential this kid had coming out of college, never to realize it for one reason or another. Ravens add what is likely another camp body to guard against injury, is my guess as to why him. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/ravens-nfl/ravens-sign-wide-receiver-laquon-treadwell-R6WYU22I3JHLDOAS3KZ7KWDPFM/

Several teams have backed out of signing Hopkins, the Bill's just gave Oliver a big deal and signed Floyd to a one year deal, leaving them thin in cap space. Should be interesting to see which is the last team standing....

My 5th grade history teacher was a huge fan of the ball room dancing. Every Friday she would have us move the desks against the wall then teach us all of the dances

Man, am I dating my self or do people still do this dance? Any who, a nice piece on our young center https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/tyler-linderbaum-build-rookie-season-pass-blocking

I think the reason they didn't trade him for anything was his contract. Teams wanted the Cards to cover a portion of it, and they would rather just be done with the money this year. He is 30 going on time to lose a step or two. Not sure he is worth a long term, big money deal.

The Baltimore Ravens were one of several teams rumored to be interested in trading for DeAndre Hopkins, but they opted not to pursue a deal before he was released by the Arizona Cardinals on Friday. Per The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec, the Ravens "did their homework" on a potential Hopkins trade but "backed off" of a deal. Among the things Baltimore looked into were the 30-year-old's "personality fit" with the club and "what it would take in terms of draft capital and salary-cap space to make a deal work." There was an April 26 report from Reet Manfred of 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore (h/t Kevin Eck of BaltimoreRavens.com) claiming the Ravens were "close" to trading for Hopkins. According to Zrebiec, it didn't appear a potential trade with Arizona ever really got close to happening. It seems as if Hopkins' contract, which had two years remaining, was a major stumbling block for clubs that wanted to acquire him. He was set to count $30.75 million against the cap in 2023, the highest amount for a wide receiver. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on the May 19 episode of SportsCenter that Hopkins was also hesitant to take a pay cut after the Ravens gave Odell Beckham Jr. a one-year deal with $15 million guaranteed. While the Ravens could pursue Hopkins as a free agent, they've already invested a lot of resources into upgrading their receiving corps. In addition to signing Beckham, they used their first-round draft pick (No. 22 overall) to select Boston College wideout Zay Flowers. https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10077656-deandre-hopkins-rumors-ravens-did-their-homework-on-wr-and-backed-off-on-trade.amp.html

Both Kc and Buf have to get real creative with their caps. The Browns are now a front runner?

Yeah people see things like, run less and think that means 35-40 passes per game. That would be wrong. It means less called quarterback runs, same amount of passes, 27 -30, but more importantly, better route combinations, which means, if Lamar is as accurate as say 2019, = more first downs, clock running, more scoring. Sure, there will still be some called qb runs, he will also have to scramble from the pocket, but this offense should run smoother he should be healthier, key word, should.

A snippet of good news from the latest Ravens website

Kc, Buffalo, Jets, Ravens, are the teams he named in a pod cast the other day. Dallas, a dark horse I heard mentioned today, since they are the only ones with both a chance to win and the cap space

A little more coverage Very excited about Monk,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith, a former Bulldogs star, said after practice. He tuned in for plenty of their wins during last year’s national championship season. “Obviously, watching the Dawgs — even though they made it look easy a lot of the times — just how he utilizes everyone in their position, a lot of eye candy and things like that, I’m like, ‘Man, if some of this stuff was brought to the league, it’s going to create some problems.’ Because I know it made me think a little bit.” Monken’s building blocks already look different from Roman’s. He has not waited long to port over elements of his Georgia offenses to Baltimore. The hallmarks of those powerhouse Bulldogs attacks — a mix of shotgun and under-center formations, a diverse screen game, a quicker tempo between plays, run-pass-option plays, presnap motion that can change the offense’s entire look or probe the defense for one particular clue — have been evident through three weeks of workouts in Owings Mills. Notes It was a good day for new faces. Cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, signed this month, had a pass defense on a throw to wide receiver Tarik Black. Flowers, the team’s first-round pick, was active as a runner and receiver. Wide receiver Nelson Agholor, signed in March, also had a handful of catches. https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2023/5/26/23737310/ravens-news-5-26-otas-report-roquan-smith-patrick-queen-morgan-moses-ronnie-stanley-lamar-jackson

He's gonna cost....

A nice move, while he had lost a few steps and couldn't stay healthy here, he was a very good team leader, a true Raven type person. Nice to see him move into scouting, maybe even into coaching one day https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2023/5/25/23737635/tony-jefferson-retiring-from-nfl-play-will-join-baltimore-ravens-as-a-scout

Yeah, it is nice to hear that Lamar is staying late, diving into this new playback. I also love how Todd is teaching proper routes, spacing, and the why, it is important. He has always been a great teacher

And another QB Lamar jackson Talking about Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken's system, Lamar Jackson sounds like someone who loves a new car after taking a test drive. After arriving at the Under Armour Performance Center Tuesday to begin working with coaches, Jackson took the field at Ravens OTAs Wednesday for his first practice in Monken's offense. "The new offense is smooth," Jackson said. "I'm loving it so far. Coach is basically just giving us the keys to the offense." Jackson said there's more verbiage in Monken's offense. There's also more verbiage coming from his coordinator's mouth. Monken is very energetic on the field, and Jackson said that's also the case in the classroom. "Coach is very active," Jackson said. "He's talkative and you're enjoying it – the learning process of what he's saying [when he's] teaching us the new offense. It's fun." Playing in a different system with new weapons Odell Beckham Jr., Zay Flowers and Nelson Agholor, Jackson clearly believes Baltimore's offense will be more versatile and explosive. The Ravens have run the ball more often than any NFL team since Jackson became the starting quarterback in 2018, and much of that running has been done by Jackson. However, the NFL's 2019 Most Valuable Player is clearly looking forward to having more opportunities to move Baltimore's offense through the air. "Running can only take you so far," Jackson said. "I feel like, with this new era of teams and offenses in the league, I feel like we need that. And Coach Todd Monken, what I'm seeing in his offense so far is looking tremendous." Jackson also believes he'll have more freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage, and that the offense will have a faster pace between plays. Getting to the line of scrimmage faster would also give Jackson more time to audible. "You can change whenever you want to," Jackson said. "You see the defense and it's not looking right to you, you see a guy blitzing, [or] you might want your receiver to do something different. Coach is giving you the freedom to do whatever you want to." Jackson said the new offense is one reason he decided to arrive at voluntary OTAs this week rather than waiting longer. Being at the Under Armour Performance Center gives Jackson a chance to spend extra time face-to-face with Monken and Quarterbacks Coach Tee Martin. "I'm studying, being in the meeting rooms, staying after," Jackson said. "When everybody is leaving the building, I'm still here with Coach Tee and Coach 'Monk' and going over things. Mental preparation is a large part of what Jackson is doing at this point. Jackson threw during the early portion of practice, but Josh Johnson, Anthony Brown and Tyler Huntley handled the 11-on-11 reps on Wednesday while Jackson watched and took mental notes. Head Coach John Harbaugh said they'll "ramp up" Jackson with his conditioning and learning the offense. Jackson said he planned to participate throughout the remainder of OTAs, which will give him even more reps to familiarize himself with Monken's system. While he has quipped about "throwing for 6,000 yards" in the new offense, Jackson emphasized that winning will always be his primary concern, and he is embracing the challenge of doing that in a new system. "I'm not really worried about the (throwing) yards," Jackson said. "It's about us winning." https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/lamar-jackson-todd-monken-offense-loves-keys-audibles-less-running

A nice read, Lamar Jackson's first impression of the Baltimore Ravens' new offense: more freedom and less reliance on his legs. After his first practice with new Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Jackson said he was extremely pleased with the direction of the new scheme and believes a philosophy change was needed to be successful going forward. "Less running and more throwing," Jackson said when asked what this offense will allow him to showcase. Jackson is the most prolific running quarterback in NFL history. His 4,437 career rushing yards are the most by any quarterback in their first five seasons -- 1,230 yards more than Cam Newton, who ranks second. Baltimore is 16-1 when Jackson runs for 90 or more yards, but the quarterback has also taken an NFL-high 877 hits over the past five seasons. Jackson flashed a big smile when asked if his rushing attempts will be scaled back this year. "Absolutely, absolutely," Jackson said. "Especially with the receivers we have." The Ravens revamped a group that ranked last in the NFL last season in receiving yards. Baltimore signed Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor in free agency and then drafted Zay Flowers in the first round. Jackson indicated the improved supporting cast will change the focus of the offense. In four seasons under former offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the Ravens ranked first in rushing attempts (2,194) and second to last in passing attempts (1,945). "Running can only take you so far," Jackson said. "And I feel like with this new era of teams and offenses in the league, I feel like we need that. Coach Todd Monken, what I'm seeing in his offense so far, is looking tremendous." Wednesday's practice was Jackson's first since he became the NFL's highest-paid player at $52 million per season. He missed the last two weeks of voluntary on-field workouts and skipped the first organized team activity on Monday before reporting Tuesday. The Ravens held out Jackson from team drills, but coach John Harbaugh said the team will "ramp him up" moving forward. "I'm excited that he's here, of course," Harbaugh said. "He was into the meetings. He was locked in the last two days, been completely locked in. So it's a good thing." In addition to a five-year, $260 million contract, the Ravens are giving Jackson more leeway at the line of scrimmage. He pointed out that Monken is "basically just giving us the keys to the offense, really." "You can change things when you want to," Jackson said. "You see the defense, and it's not looking right to you. You see some guy blitzing, you might want your receiver to do something different. Coach is giving you the free will to do whatever you want to." https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/37722923/ravens-lamar-jackson-expects-less-running-more-throwing

First injury of the year, wide out hopeful Mike Thomas, torn labrum, surgery needed...

Ack, he likely had too much gluten and was on the potty all day yesterday

Heeeees back, reported today..yippie