thundercleetz

Davon Drew was a wreck. He showed up to training camp completely out of shape and he flunked his conditioning test. If you remember we tried to IR him but he wanted none of it, so we released him outright. The Dolphins actually signed him to their roster, but then released him for the same reasons: he was lazy and out of shape. That is when we signed him back to the practice squad. Drew has a lot of natural talent: he is strong and already a good blocker, and the athleticism is there for him to develop into a good pass catcher. However, his head is just not in it. As far as I am concerned, Drew is a non-factor and lost cause until he proves us otherwise.

Good job Ozzie!!!! Just need to get a tight-end and we are good to go!!!

Yeah, that is a really bad contract for Bengals, kudos to Bryant's agent. I bet the Bengals are going to be regretting that one in a year or two.

Bryant is a good fit for the Bengals. He is kind of similar to Chad: both are do-it-all receivers with similar size, good playing speed with the ability to get deep, and soft hands. Chad runs better routes than Bryant and has better concentration, but they should make a dangerous tandem.

He is going to play FS for them, so no big loss. After two ACL surgies safety is probably a better fit for Jackson.

Agreed! I want Gresham!!!!

YES!!!! Mason is going to thrive playing against the single coverage!!! Great move Ozzie! I could definitely see a receiver in the early rounds. There is a lot of depth at receiver and there is a good chance one of those guys will be the BPA. If someone like Thomas drops to our second round pick, we would be all over that. Boldin and Mason are possession receivers, if we trade back into the third round, I could see us drafting a speedster like Emmanuel Sanders from SMU or Taylor Price from Ohio University to fill a Mike Wallace role on our team. Anyways the point is that Ozzie and co. has put this team in a position where we can draft BPA being we don't have any gaping holes. As far as I am concerned Ozzie set the bar for our first round pick, find a player who can make a Michael Oher-impact on this team. I do not care what position that guy plays, if he plays as well as Oher did this past season, our team will be much better regardless.

Take this for what it is worth, but the insider over on the Orioles Hangout Ravens board posted this about Cam Cameron. His info is usually legit, he tracked the whole Boldin situation before it happened. Here is what he said:

Bill Barnwell on ESPN Insider gave 10 potential, logical CAP casualties. I will put the text of the interesting names: Berrian to me would seem like a solid pickup, but he may be too similar to Donte Stallworth. Gholston might be worth taking a flyer on, but if Rex couldn't get him to play, what makes you think we could? Clement might be a solid corner for us. What do you guys think of these names? Reggie Brown (who we considered trading for at the trading deadline) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are also on this list.

I have a strong feeling that Mason will be back, if he does not retire. Where else would he go? No one else is going to give him the money he wants. Ozzie is playing this like the Ray Lewis situation last year. Let TO get his contract first to set the market. Flacco really wants Mason back, the chemistry between those two is very important, our front office recognizes that as does D-Mase. If D-Mase went somewhere else, he would have to learn a new offense and get used to a new QB. Does he want to do that at this point in his career? He must realize the opportunities he will have in this offense with Q on the other side and Flacco moving into his third year. It is only a matter of time before Mason re-signs, IMO. The good thing about getting a guy like Q is that it will open up so many opportunities for other players. Q does everything on the field, and if Mason comes back, it will be easier for a speed guy we draft to find his nitch in our offense. Look at the Steelers with Ward and Holmes, Mike Wallace was able to find his spot in the offense and contribute immediately as a deep threat. Even if Stallworth does not pan out, if we get a speed guy in the draft like Emmanuel Sanders or Taylor Price, they will have an easier time getting deep with Q and Mason at WR. Although I have heard that Stallworth is working very hard. If we can use Stallworth like the Pats used him as a #3 receiver back in 2007, he will be very effective for us stretching the defense and catching drags to pick up YAC. You have to think we are going TE sometime early in this draft. Gresham definitely seems like an Ozzie-pick. He is a big body with big-time blocking potential. At the same time he is an excellent athlete with superb, natural pass catching abilities. For 2010, I think this matter is pretty much settled: Gaither will be the LT and Oher will be the RT. What we do beyond 2010 is anyone's guess. I would like to lock-up Gaither long-term, but Ozzie might be inclined to play this one out. What if Gaither struggles with injuries again and Oher does an outstanding job of playing LT? Or even better, Oniel Cousins could do a great job at RT. I can see why Ozzie would play this one out, as risky as it is. Gaither should be staying put this season however, I hear there is no interest in a team giving us their #1 to sign him.

It is still early to be asking this question. We still have the rest of free agency, we still have the NFL Draft. What if we bring back Mason, then add a pass catching tight-end like Greshem? Our offense looks a lot differed then.

I don't think Washington is being considered. We could also easily cut D-Will. Between him and Clayton, one of those guys will probably end up IR eligibe.

He tore his ACL and was never the same. Then there was the Darrant Williams situation that really shook him up mentally.

Good points guys, you swayed me. Lets keep Gaither and hope that he gets the long-term deal.

If Mason does not come back, how about bringing back Kelly Washington? We would have a WR corp of Boldin, Washington, Stallworth, Clayton, and a rookie most likely.

I could not see Ozzie getting both Holt and Mason, I think Ozzie wants to add a rookie to our WR corp to develop for the future. However, Holt would be a great option should Mason not re-sign. Holt has a career YPC average of 14.5, and did not miss a beat last year with the average at 14.2. He may have lost a little physical ability, but he can still play his game at a high level.

Ozzie says every year that there are targets of potential players that could be cut, Williams could be one. However I think Ozzie is waiting for TO to sign his contract, that will set the market for Mason.

You are overlooking the question here. Obviously Gaither is a great talent, but down the road it might be hard to carry two LT contracts on our roster. So the question is: If you know you cannot keep Gaither after next season, do you keep him just for this season and end up with no compensation afterwards? Or do you take the first round pick and get rid of him now?

Yeah, Orlando Brown only helped Jamal Lewis run for 2,000 yards, Pashos was good enough to earn a top contract on the market, and Marshall Yanda was a bad right tackle. I am not saying any of these guys are better then Gaither, they aren't. I am just saying if we do not intend to offer Gaither a long-term deal, we might as well take the first round pick instead of losing him next year for nothing. Like max said, LTs make nearly as much money as QBs nowadays. Do we have room for two big-time LTs on this team? How much is Bisciotti willing to spend?

Well, Gaither is a RFA. So if a team were to go after him, they would sign him to a long-term deal. They do not need to ask permission to talk to him like we did with the Cards. We would automatically get the other team's number one pick, no negotiation involved. As for having two left tackles, it all depends on how much Bisciotti wants to spend. There is currently no salary cap, we should take advantage of this and lock our own guys up. If the cap is going to come back, it will come back at a very big number where we would not have much to worry about. Best case scenerio for me is that we sign Gaither to a long-term some time before he hits the market in 2011. He is only 23-years old, a Pro-Bowl talent, and a Marylander born and bred. Keep him in Maryland!

Tony Pashos and Orlando Brown? These guys were very solid for us. No, not as good as Gaither. But remember my initial point, if Ozzie does not want to sign Gaither to a long-term deal, then one-year of Gaither is not worth losing a first round pick. Obviously we would see a decline. The question is, is that decline enough to let a first round pick slip away. Now, if we truly want to sign Gaither long-term this is irrelevant. I just am not sure if Ozzie intends to sign Gaither to that big contract. Yes, I have heard multiple comments from inside sources about the team being worried about Gaither's work ethic. I don't care if you believe me, so take it for what it is worth. However, it is to the point where other teams that are considering Gaither right now are worried about his work ethic. Experience is a bad word, what I mean is that Gaither is very young in football years. He did not start playing football until his junior year of high school and he was only a two year starter at Maryland. His body has not taken much punishment, he should not be having nagging injuries the way he does. He should not be missing every practice during the season, Harbaugh has said this much. The guy still played in 14 games, which is why he got a first round tender, all I am saying is that giving a guy who is always hurt (key word, not injured) a long-term deal is worth thinking about. Gaither is not the same player when he has to play through pain. I have heard the team is concerned about his toughness. I am not doubting any of these points at all, I completely me agree. I love Gaither as a football player. He has unlimited potential and is already very close to being a Pro-Bowl talent. I want Gaither as a Raven long-term. This is what I am asking, if you know you are not going to sign Gaither to a long-term deal (remember, his agent is Rosenhaul), is one year of Gaither worth a first round pick? Because if Gaither hits the free market next offseason, he is gone and we will not get anything.

I wonder how serious Ozzie is about signing Gaither long-term. Honestly, Gaither's work ethic and durability scares me. He gets injured way too much for someone as young and with as little football experience as him. Add in the fact that Oher is an ideal left tackle. Oher was a first round pick, and with as talented as he is you have to believe he will be the LT eventually. If Ozzie is not serious about signing Gaither long-term, trade him now for the first round pick. One year of Gaither is not worth letting a first round pick slide out of your grasp. It is not hard to find a quality RT, Cousins might be ready as is. Gaither is good, but one year of Gaither is not better than a first round pick. Now if Ozzie is serious about signing Gaither long-term, sign him! I would have no problem with that.

I absolutely do not want to see Marshall on the Bengals with Palmer and Chad. Hopefully the Seahawks get him.

Boldin in 2003 caught 101 receptions for 1377 yards and 8 TDs without any receiver help. In 2005 he had 102 catches for 1402 yards and 7 TDs in only 14 games. In 2006 Fitz only played in 13 games and Boldin had 83 receptions for 1203 yards and 4 TDs. In 2007 Boldin had 89 receptions for 1038 yards and 11 TDs in only 12 games. Boldin was definitely a #1 receiver in 2003, and the other years he put up legit #1 numbers. If anything, he was more of a 1b to Fitz's 1a. I do agree with your point though, the WR corp is still unfinished. We need to bring back Mason or get Bryant. But we definitely have a #1 guy now.