thundercleetz

I see your point. There could certainly be a good receiver for us in the second round (Nicks, Britt, or Robiskie?), however the same might not be said about corner (could Butler or Sean Smith drop?). I think Alphonso Smith would be an excellent fit for us. However, what gets me about DHB is his pure speed. Speed, size, and receiving ability like that do not come along very often. If we have the opportunity to get such a player, I believe you kind of have to pull the trigger. The mismatches he would create on offense would be worth it alone. There is not another receiver (outside of Harvin and Maclin) with that type skillset in this draft, and we desperately need a deep threat. With the weak WR free agent class, if we do not grab DHB, then we will have to wait another year to get a deep threat. This could mean another year of being shutdown by a great defense such as the Steelers. So while we might not be able to nab an elite corner in the second round, I have confidence in Ozzie that he could get guys who are good fits for our system in the second and third rounds (i.e. quick-twitch corners who can turn and run with receivers). Lets see what happens in free agency first though. I have a feeling Ozzie will pick up a quality corner or two.

Thanks dc, I feel a lot better about the contract after reading this. How much longer until you are writing for the Sun? Speaking of payroll, we have A LOT of money coming off of the books next season: Gibbons- $6.2M Huff- $8M Mora- $9M Baez- $5.5M Ramon Hernandez- $2M Walker- $4.5M Freel- $4M Hendrickson- $1.5M --------------------- Total - $40.7M (http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/sho...ghlight=payroll) McPhail really has this team in a good position financially where we are able to re-sign our own stars. Outside of Matt Holiday, next year's free agent class does not look nearly as good as this one. Nevertheless, I like the direction this team is in.

I would say that an interior of Haynesworth and Ngata would be better than Goose and Adams. That is quite a pipe dream though. Speaking of Haynesworth, anyone see this? http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/

The DBs are not running fast at all. Only one DB broke a 4.4 unofficially, Lardarius Webb of Nicholas State ran a 4.36. Crav, your boy Alphonso Smith ran a 4.5-flat. Deion Sanders said he really liked Smith, stating he just has those instincts you need to play corner (21 INTs in his four year college career). What I like most about Smith is that Deion said that Smith would sit in on the QB meetings at Wake to better understand the passing tree and translate that when he plays corner. DJ Moore ran a 4.58, he looked really stiff and uncomfortable in his 40. He did not really have the burst off of the line like Smith had. Vontae Davis ran a 4.49 officially, and Sean Smith ran a very impressive unofficial 4.47 at 6'4" 214 pounds (a 6'4" CB!? ). I heard that Mike Jenkins was in the 4.5s (EDIT: 4.53 is his unofficial time).

I am basing my argument on the fact that Chester has had horrible training camps at center the past three seasons and was given every opportunity to beat out Mike Flynn but could not. Chester also looked bad in preseason action as well. Chester played solid at guard this season, but do you think he is ready to make all the calls along the line? I don't. Chester does not possess the strength that Jay Brown possesses. He will have a very difficult time with those 3-4 nose tackles.

We have enough run-stopping 3-4 interior linemen. Ngata, Pryce, Bannan, Douglas (great pickup!), and McKinney all were stout against the run. If we get Gregg back, we will be stacked. Weaver would be a good fit for the Jets though. I really like Weaver when he was here. Not flashy, but was a hard worker.

That Mike Flynn contract handicapped us with an average center for years. We had a good center in Casey Rabach, but we could not re-sign him because we had signed Flynn long-term the year before. We know we have a great center in Brown, lets just get it down and not have to worry about the center position for the next five years.

I fully believe that Brown is worth guard money. He is only 25-years old, is the leader of our line, and has played at a Pro-Bowl level the past two seasons. Also taking into account that last season was his first season at center in the NFL, and the guy's best football is certainly ahead of him. Chester was a solid fill-in at guard last season, but we saw how bad he can be at center. I am not willing to take that risk of making Chester the leader on this line. Let Chester and Yanda compete for the starting left guard spot. It will make them both better and give us solid interior depth. As for Suggs, I am not sure why everyone is so quick to trade him. Unless we are blown away with a Jared Allen-type deal (a first and two thirds), I would absolutely not trade him. He is a solid all-around player, and is an emerging leader on our defense. Pay the guy! I am still weary of the whole Ray Lewis situation. Is the whole thing with Ray leaving all smoke? I doubt Ray wants to leave. And if it came down to a couple million, I doubt Ray would leave as well. I tend to agree with max in that the market for Ray will not be as big as many think. If so, Ray will be back. If Ray does leave for the bigger deal, I am just fine with retaining Bart Scott.

I understand Coke's point. A second baseman with similar credentials to B-Rob, Orlando Hudson, signed for 1-year, $3.38 million with the Dodgers. There was minimal interest in Hudson this offseason, despite the fact he is only 31 (like Roberts), plays Gold Glove defense, and posted an average OPS of .817 the past two seasons (B-Rob has an average .819 OPS in that span). In other words, it is doubtful that B-Rob would have received something close to a 4-year, $40 million contract next offseason. Although, Roberts is a lead off man, and does steal bases, so he certainly would have gotten a little more interest than Hudson. I also agree with Coke's point when you have a $70 million payroll, $10 million is a big chunk of that. Is B-Rob worth that money? It is debatable, although I would say he is to this team. I would also say we did overpay for Roberts considering the second basemen market currently. It is certainly believable to say that McPhail over payed possibly to solve the problem of ongoing problem of B-Rob trade rumors, when the guy has been such a big part of our organization and community. Either way a good outcome arose. We ended the lingering distractions if B-Rob was going to be traded and got some good PR by signing a loyal Oriole who is a fan favorite and will continue to be a large part of the community. Like dc said, Roberts is a stellar lead off man and was rewarded for such past production. With Roberts' work ethic, he should be productive for most, if not, all of the contract. Which is why I am not worried about it and do not believe that this contract will become a burden. And yes, I am excited that we were able to lock Roberts up. Like many others, Roberts is one of my favorite O's and I hope we will be able to turn this ship around with Roberts on board. WOOOOOOO!!!!!

Make it happen Ozzie!

Actually, Nicks probably solidified his spot in the first round with his 4.5-flat 40-yard dash. People were expecting him to come in around 4.55-4.6 Kenny Britt is another guy who might have moved into the first round as well with a 4.49 40-yard dash. In relation, Jeremy Maclin ran a 4.46 and Percy Harvin ran a 4.41. This is going to be a very competitive group of receivers leading up to the draft, especially factoring in the Crabtree injury. Hopefully we can end up with DHB.

Yes, Williamson and Ashlie Lelie are certainly the projected downside of DHB. However, DHB has an upside of an Andre Johnson/Marcus Robinson (prime)-type receiver. I completely agree with you on the ever-so-close deep balls to Clayton which would have been touchdowns to someone like DHB. This is why we need DHB. I think DHB gets a really bad rep for being a raw receiver who cannot run routes and was inconsistent in college. While DHB does let the ball hit his body and will drop some catchable balls, he has progressed during his time at Maryland as a route runner. DHB is a big, physical guy, he is not soft (put up 16 reps on the bench press), with some more technique training, he will become very difficult to jam. DHB's best football is ahead of him. As for the inconsistency, look at the Terp's QBs the past three years. Not only the QBs, but DHB's fellow receivers. Teams would double DHB all day. Put him in Cam's offense, give him a couple of reverses, screen passes, and we are in business.

I think I am starting to agree with you on Robiskie. I would not mind him on my team at all. Robiskie proved that he is an all-around solid athlete, and a polished receiver. I see Robo moving up into the second round. He may never be a dominant WR, but he should certainly have a very productive career.

Other wideouts that posted impressive days: Kenny Britt 6'3" 218 pounds, 23 reps on the bench, 37-inch vertical, 4.48 40-yard dash Dominique Edison 6'2" 199 pounds, 37-inch vertical, 4.4 40-yard dash Hakeem Nicks 6'1" 212 pounds, 4.49 40-yard dash Brian Robiskie 6'3" 209 pounds, 4.49 40-yard dash, 37.5-inch vertical Mike Wallace 6" 189 pounds, 4.33 40-yard dash, 40-inch vertical

Crav and I have been on this bandwagon since the beginning. Yes, I acknowledge that DHB is a very risky pick, but it is a risk that I think will pay a team major dividends.

Imagine DHB's speed with Flacco's arm strength. DHB is exactly what this team needs!

The WRs are flying (all unofficial times): DHB - 4.29 (at 6'2" 196 pounds!) Harvin - 4.37 Maclin - 4.4 Deon Butler - 4.26 Johnny Knox - 4.25

What do you mean is does not guarantee us a top WR? If anything, Crabtree getting injured will push back the run on receivers. And say DHB does move up a slot, you wouldn't take Crabtree at #26?

Ozzie thinks that Leonhard will not be back.

More on Crabtree: Foot to shelve Crabtree 8-10 weeks Between Crabtree's smaller size and his surgery, could Crabtree fall in effect causing the run on receivers to fall?

The tight-end class looks very strong this year. Pettigrew is the only all-around blue chip tight-end prospect, but there are plenty of big play tight-ends in the draft that we should be looking at in the second or third rounds. Here is what Eric DeCosta said on tight-end: Here of some of the guys that are standout receivers: Travis Beckham, Wisconsin Cornelius Ingram, Florida Jared Cook, South Carolina On Cook: By the way, Steve Spurrier compared Jared Cook to Calvin Johnson. Maybe he could be there in the second round for us or if we trade down. EDIT: Cook just jumped a 41-inch vertical leap, besting his reported 39.5-inch leap in 2007. Did anyone else hear that Michael Crabtree checked in at only 6'1" 215 pounds? There goes the Fitzgerald comparisons in my opinion. Jeremy Maclin came in pretty small as well, 6" 198. Suddenly Harvin's 5'11" 195 does not look so small.

Granted, ExtremeSkins consistently have 500+ page game threads while we barely get in the double digits some weeks.

I have not read anything in this topic, but after reading the title all I have to say is: America is never raped, we DO the raping!

I know this might be jumping the gun, but after the Roberts and Markakis signings and some of the smaller moves that McPhail has made, does anyone feel like this team is finally starting to turn around? I understand we are not going to be in the playoff race, but is .500, or a couple of game over .500, really out of the question? I do not think it is.

Great points all around, max! I was thinking about this situation the other day, if Ray leaves, it might not necessarily be a bad thing to bring back Scott. I think Scott is more than ready to take over a leadership position on this team. Of course he will not be a Ray Lewis, but if we sign him to a four-year deal, he will be productive over the length of the contract. Like you stated, you cannot be sure about that with Ray. Now, Scott is not going to take a hometown discount by any means, but he should come at a lower rate then Ray. Either way, one of them needs to come back. I believe that Ray will be more highly pursued as a free agent then Scott, so if Ray runs off and takes the money, we should have a chance to retain Bart. Bart wants to be a Raven, and I am sure he will give us every opportunity to re-sign him.