thundercleetz

The pipeline areas in Maryland with all the talent is coming from PG County high schools such as Northwestern and DeMatha. Despite CP's proximity to the area, this area has always been traditionally Hoya territory. It would be an uphill battle for anyone to get these prospects, but certainly not impossible. I believe a new, enthusiastic coach would certainly have a shot.

Good hire Rex, Cavanaugh is a Super Bowl-winning OC.

Rolle should definitely be back. He has played some good football the past two seasons. Not exceptional, but certainly solid. Cmac is probably gone because of his big salary, unless he renegotiates. In which case, I believe he could be a solid strong safety for us as well as a sub-package defender. Yes, there is plenty of depth available on the free agent market on corner. I am sure Ozzie will nab a guy or two. Here is another guy that could be a solid sub-package corner: Tramon Williams Green, Fuller, Bodden, Williams, and Greer are all lower to mid-tier guys who would make great sub-package corners, with good #2 starter potential. Here are a couple of upper mid-tier guys that shouldn't break the bank by demanding franchise deals, but will certainly demand a healthy starters, low #1 corner tier-type contract: Kelvin Hayden Bryant McFadden The Steelers have just as many UFA's to worry about as we do. I certainly would not mind taking McFadden off of their hands. Hopefully he will be on our radar. Hayden is another guy who could start for us as well. Then of course, we know who the top guys are who will probably break the bank. I doubt we will go after any of these three guys: Nnamdi Asomugha DeAngelo Hall Dunta Robinson This is the type of stuff I love before the draft, the free agent "bargain hunting." trying to find the guys that Ozzie will go for. This is a good topic, we should keep it going. This could become the official free agent topic where we ExtremeRavens try to find the "gems in the rough." There is certainly a lot of depth at corner, with guys who are still young and have starter potential, but at the same time have the experience from playing in the league. Basically, there are plenty of potential Fabian Washington's out there. If we can fill our holes at DB through free agency, it will give us wide open draft options. Granted, this type of depth is certainly not there on the receiver free agent market, whereas the receiver draft class seems pretty solid. I am sure Ozzie sees this.

Here is another guy who could provide solid depth: Jabari Greer

Not at all, Bodden had a great year for the Browns in '07. He is big, can jam receivers at the line, and is not afraid to come up and make a tackle.

Here is another guy who will be available: Leigh Bodden Like Fuller, Boddin is another hometown boy.

Demetrius Williams has a lot of talent, but he can never secure the ball when coming down for the catch. He certainly is aggressive and makes a great effort, he just needs to get stronger. I really hope D-Will will be 100% this year. The guy needs a full training camp, he needs to get insync with Flacco. We really need his depth. I love his talent to become a great deep threat for us, but he has not been healthy the last two seasons. This is certainly a make-or-break offseason for D-Will. Drafting a receiver early, and a healthy D-Will will give us four solid receivers, and more importantly, Joe more options to work with.

Mike Jones was a good recruit, but he was not a five star guy. He was ranked as the fourth best two guard coming out and was a four star recruit. Still, better than anything we have had in years. How did this guy never materialize? Anyways, we should get a young guy who is very active and enthusiastic in recruiting.

Scouts, Inc. scouting report: A grade of a 70 is considered a 'Good Starter.' Note that this scouting report was posted before this season. Since then he has been "dropped from the starting lineup to the healthy inactive list over the course of the 2008 season." According to the Arizona Republic, the Cards are not going to re-sign Green. Green sounds like he would be solid depth. Here is another guy I would look at: Vincent Fuller Vincent Fuller was Green's teammate at V-Tech. Fuller is listed as a safety, but he was an effective nickel corner for the Titans this season. Here is the article from the Sun before we played the Titans in the divisional playoffs stating how Fuller grew up a Ravens fan, and that his family and friends are all big fans as well: Baltimore native puts aside hometown feelings

Speaking of third base, here is a blog on Brandon Snyder. It sounds like he is really doing well and is primed to continue his hot streak.

Todd McShay, Scouts, Inc., 2/2/2009 As for Smith lacking elite speed, Smith's profiled on Scouts, Inc. rates him as having an "exceptional" closing burst (the highest grade): For the record, I hate looking at mock drafts before free agency. This is just all going to change in a month and a half. Just let it be March already!

Someone sounds like they were heart broken by their role model's actions. :lol:

Two-years, $6 million for a guy who posted an .876 OPS last year in 110 games and is a career .790 OPS hitter that can play both corner infield and outfield spots and second base? Sign me up! He is only 31 years-old as well, so he should be a good replacement for Melvin next season granted Snyder or anyone else doesn't take over. He could also end up being a good short term BRob replacement should he get traded. Good job Andy! EDIT: Here is an interview with Ty: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/sch..._his_own_w.html Interesting...

Completely agree. That is the difference between the Steelers receivers and ours. Ben runs around, his receivers get open. Joe runs around, our receiver cannot get open. As for Harvin or Nicks, give me either guy. I think both guys could be great in our offense. How do you like this comparison for Harvin: Santonio Holmes. Harvin is certainly a high risk guy, but he has potential to be a great deep threat and a guy with scary YAC ability. Like Holmes, Harvin has the ability to take screens and short passes and turn them up field for a big gain in a hurry.

As of right now, I like our schedule a lot. I feel we much up excellently against the NFC North. That is a division that is supposed to be about tough defense and running the football. However those teams are no match for us in the toughness category. We should be able to bully those teams. The AFC West teams are pretty one dimensional, poor defense with a hit or miss offensive attack. Denver, KC, and Oakland should not be a problem with our defense and physical run game. The Indy game is going to be rough, even at home. Going to New England is always difficult, although I do think we can give them a run for their money. San Diego is a toss up, they either play like world champs or bottom feeders. And of course, the two Pittsburgh games at this point have to be seen loses. They were clearly better than us this season. Lets see if we can play some catchup this offseason. A split with Pittsburgh would be a nice start. How we do this season will depend on Joe Flacco and if he can take that next step. I am fully confident that Ozzie will retain the players that need to be retained, while at the same time acquiring talent to make this team better. I do not see any reason why this team can not be as competitive as last season.

I definitely agree, but like you said, I doubt that was Phelps' first time. :P

I do not see this as a big deal either. To all the kids that are disappointed in Phelps, that's life. It's not like all of those kids were never going to smoke weed sometime as a teenager. And for those that never do, it's not because they looked up to Michael Phelps or any other athlete.

I agree. Even though Hill only had five starts last season, he did horrible in the minors last season, and as you said, is doing horrible in winter ball. However, the hope is that reuniting Hill with pitching coach Rick Kranitz and bullpen coach Alan Dunn will get him back on track. At the very least, this is certainly a low-risk, how-reward deal. Great trade! Especially considering the Cubs would not give us Hill and Pie for B-Rob last season when we asked. We got both guys for dirt cheap! Here is a great analysis about what might be wrong with Hill: http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/sho...ead.php?t=75840 Here is the trade from the Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/basebal...0,4148580.story

Very good point. However, Boldin and Fitz are not exactly burners themselves, but they know how to get deep because of their route running ability and understanding of coverages. Then their athletic ability, size, and aggressiveness lets them make a play on any ball. That is where the threat comes from, not exactly from being a typical deep threat. I believe Nicks is this type of receiver. Like Fitz, Nicks is considered NFL ready coming out of college. Nicks might not have deep threat speed, but I believe he is a complete receiver who will be able to get open anywhere on the field.

Yes, after seeing the game last night, Nicks should certainly be the guy. We need a football player, not a guy with just nice measurable's.

While we might need a deep threat, that is not how the Cardinals were effective. The Cards receivers were effective last night by having receivers who could go across the middle on crossing routes and make catches in traffic, then turn up field. The Cards receivers also have a very good awareness on how to get open in zone coverages when the QB is under pressure. Derrick Mason is a tough receiver who does go over the middle, but he just doesn't have the size and relative aggressiveness of Fitz and Boldin. With that said, Hakeem Nicks sounds like the perfect receiver for us. He is very polished, has soft and extremely strong hands, size, and has a great understanding of route running and how to get open. I would much rather have Nicks than DHB or Harvin.

After sleeping over it, I tend to agree. Pittsburgh played a great game and earned their win. However, I still think that Warner did not fumble on that last play and you at least have to look at it no matter what. If that was not a fumble, then with the fifteen yard penalty, the Cards are in good position for one last shot at the endzone. Apparently the refs did not think so.

I am not sure how you missed the clear punch to the side, dc, it hasn't a 'hit.' And I am pretty sure that third "block" happened after the play had expired.

Polamalu's Coca-Cola commercial was funny.

So true! :P