oldno82

I like Zrebiec and he usually has good information. But I too would like to see how the beginning of camp goes. Bradbury is already 29 years old and I don't know what the Bears would considerable reasonable in a trade. Besides Bullock, we've also got Pinter who deserves a good look.

A real tragedy...I don't know how you recover emotionally from that.

If he can't produce, I don't believe Minter and Doyle will play him.

There's a lot talent on the team. Question is how does creeping age affect Hendrickson, Henry, Andrews, Stanley, etc.? These guys have been defying Father Time and here''s to hoping they have one or two good seasons left. This year might be the last year a Super Bowl is attainable with the current group. Next year (this year?) Jackson could be in his last year with the team given the cap situation and that there is no extension so far this year. So it's hard to tell if the glass is half empty or half full. The front office, i.e., Decosta, has a lot of work to do between now and the end of camp. So 8 weeks to go for him to produce extensions for Flowers, Jackson, and to decide the Center position.

A new role coming for Simpson?:

Two positive evaluations for sure. The players have bought in to the new coaching.

That's freaking unbelieveable! It's disgraceful they would charge that much for a publicly funded stadium. I can see why the fans are pissed.

And the beat goes on: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49199010/brandon-aiyuk-blames-ex-agent-push-leaves-49ers-continues

As of right now you have to say the coaching staff has been on the mark with setting the right attitude for the players. They all seem hyped up from veterans to rookies. But of course, the real tests are coming...training camp, preseason games, and then the regular season. It all could fall apart quickly if they have key injuries or don't play well when things are for real. At this point, though, you couldn't ask for a better launch.

No doubt we could use a big guy in the center of the line but it doesn't sound too promising that it will be Okoye.

I like Lamar and I think he's a good quarterback. I just have a gut feeling he wants a record breaking, team roster busting contract. We'll see, but you are right...next year the Ravens have to determine if it's time to move on from him and pick the next franchise quarterback from a good class of candidates.

I tell ya, I shudder to think what Lamar is going to think he's worth to the Ravens when negotiations really get rolling.

There will always be a few teams that will overpay for any position. $25 to 28mil for a Center is almost as ridiculous as a half-billion for a quarterback who's best years are now behind him because of chilling effect on the rest of the roster as teams divvy up what's left of the cap for the other 52 players. I don't think Linderbaum is worth what he got even if he was considered the best Center in the league. And I don't think what Mahomes got leaves anywhere enough room for the rest of the team.

And the whole line played well coordinated football. D'Allesandris was the coach back then and after they got his replacement, the line was never the same.

When camp and the pre-season get going, we'll have a better feel for how the O-line will hold up this year. Right now I do think last year's sucky coaching and Faalele were the biggest issues. Vega will really help the line play. Depth is an issue. Center might be, but I'm willing to give Pinter and last year's backup a chance.

I'm confident that they'll know what to do. But not sure if they can execute it yet. Pre-season games and camp will be more important than usual this year.

Yeah I thought R's opinions were ludicrous. I have no fear of a Steeler team with an old, very old, Rodgers at quarterback and with Tomlin gone. Their team's window closed last year with a thud and this year's forecast for them is a dud. To me, Cincy has the best shot at having a successful season and that's only if Burrow can somehow stay healthy. The Ravens will still be in the mix as well.

or so says Rothelexxisburger: from the Ravens website: " Ben Roethlisberger Says Ravens Are 'Falling Apart, Window Has Closed' The Ravens are widely regarded by pundits as the team to beat in the AFC North and a Super Bowl contender, and the oddsmakers agree. One person who disagrees is former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. On his “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast, he didn't pull any punches about his belief that the Ravens are a team on the decline. "I think they're falling apart. I really … I don't think they're the same team," Roethlisberger said. "These feel different. They feel like their window closed. "To me, losing [John] Harbaugh … [Derrick] Henry's a year older, his body's taken a beating. You just feel like, 'What was going on with Lamar [Jackson] last year?' He just didn't seem like the Lamar that we've been used to seeing. Maybe he was injured. I think he took some shots last year that we didn't think about. So, maybe he'll have a bounce-back year and be great again." Roethlisberger did offer some hope. He predicted the Ravens and Steelers would split their meetings during the regular season. Ultimately, Roethlisberger had the Steelers going 12-5 and winning the division. He didn't predict final records for the other AFC North teams. As to Roethlisberger's suggestion that Henry could be slowing down, it's worth pointing out that the five-time Pro Bowl running back got stronger as the season went on last year. Henry had four consecutive 100-yard games – including a 216-yard output in Week 17 – to close out the season. In the season finale at Pittsburgh on Jan. 4 – Henry's 32nd birthday – he ran for 126 yards and a touchdown, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. And, yes, Jackson was injured for much of last season."

Amazing how a few guys had no problem at all and most couldn't do it.

Good attitude from Lamar towards all the changes this year. Nice to know he's not a diva at quarterback. This from Brian Wacker at The Sun: "Lamar Jackson took the snap, pitched the ball to Derrick Henry and rolled the other direction. The only problem was that the play called for a naked boot action, and the quarterback was supposed to keep the ball. New offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was incredulous. “Lamar, what the f–k are you doing?” he shouted at the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. Jackson laughed on Wednesday as he recounted the exchange, which came during Tuesday’s first day of the Ravens’ two-day mandatory minicamp in Owings Mills. “I wasn’t used to that,” Jackson said. “He was just being a coach. Nothing more, nothing less. “I love that coaching. I’m a coachable player. Sometimes he sees things that I don’t see, and sometimes I see things that he might not have thought of, and it’s great to piggyback off each other. I feel like we need that.” The moment lasted only a few seconds, but it offered a glimpse into what has become a defining theme of the Ravens’ offseason: Details matter, and a new regime means pressing new buttons the way they hadn’t been in the past. Getting the play correct is a big one, and Jackson acknowledged that one was on him. But no matter how small or tedious, the details are things coaches are obsessing over in June because they know they’ll matter in January. For Doyle, a 30-year-old first-time play caller installing a new offense, there has been little room for shortcuts. For first-year coach Jesse Minter, the message has been equally clear: If the Ravens are going to become the team they believe they can be, it will happen through precision and long before there needs to be production. “When you get in the quote-unquote big moments in a game, you sink to the level of detail and training and focus that you’re able to have,” Minter said. “You don’t all of a sudden go and do something different. “It’s how you operate, it’s how you do things. These guys have bought into that.” No detail has been considered too trivial or trite. How Jackson gathers the huddle. The exact direction his toes are pointed on a run-pass option. Where his eyes go before and after the snap. The route depth within a play call. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson runs wind sprints with teammates after practice during mandatory minicamp. (Ryan Bowie/Staff) When Doyle was formally introduced earlier this year, he described his offensive non-negotiables as physicality, detail and explosiveness. The physicality won’t truly emerge until pads come on during training camp. The other two have already become visible. This offseason has brought more than new coaches. There is a new language to learn. The terminology is different. The concepts are different. The structure is different. When the Ravens moved from offensive coordinator Greg Roman to Todd Monken before the 2023 season, there was at least some carryover in plays and verbiage. Jackson wasn’t starting from scratch. This time he is. “It’s a different system than I’m accustomed to being in,” Jackson said. “I feel like it’s going to be a lot of exposiveness going on this year because the way [Doyle] calls plays and his creativity with his mind and how detailed he is, it’s mind-blowing. I’m excited.” Jackson has been careful not to reveal much about the offense’s specifics. But he acknowledged there is significant emphasis on spacing and generating explosive plays. Just as notable has been his embrace of the process. The attention to detail has resonated with Jackson in a way that teammates and coaches have noticed. Aside from missing the first week of voluntary practices last month, Jackson has spent the offseason at the facility and has emerged as one of the program’s leaders. He has described the new coaching staff as a “breath of fresh air” and has spoken openly about the importance of being present and engaged. That level of engagement wasn’t always consistent in previous years under John Harbaugh, who had been Jackson’s only NFL coach until Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti fired him in January after a dismaying 8-9 season that ended without a playoff berth for the first time since 2021. History also suggests Jackson often thrives when everything feels new. Doyle is already his fourth offensive coordinator, and Jackson’s best seasons have frequently come during the first year or two of a coordinator’s tenure. In 2019, his first season under Roman, Jackson threw a league-high 36 touchdown passes and rushed for 1,206 yards, then an NFL record for a quarterback. The Ravens finished 14-2, and Jackson won his first NFL MVP award. Four years later, in his first season under Monken, Jackson posted a career-high 3,678 passing yards, led Baltimore to the NFL’s best record, an appearance in the AFC Championship game and captured his second MVP trophy. The following season, he threw a career-high 41 touchdown passes and finished runner-up in the MVP voting. Then came last year. The offense regressed sharply. Jackson missed four games because of injuries. Questions surfaced about the dynamic between Jackson, Harbaugh and Monken. Jackson endured one of the most difficult seasons of his career. But that was then. Related Articles Ravens’ Tyler Loop reflects on that miss in Pittsburgh: ‘Reset and reload’ 3 things we saw and heard from Ravens’ final day of mandatory minicamp Ravens’ Calais Campbell enters likely final season still loving the game Josh Tolentino: Maybe Mike Green is on to something with Ravens’ new staff | COMMENTARY 5 things we saw and heard from Ravens’ first day of mandatory minicamp “There’s no one I’d rather have as the quarterback, the leader of this team,” Minter said. “He’s been everything.” Optimism is abundant across the NFL this time of year, the product of new staffs and new systems. Yet there is a noticeable energy around Baltimore’s offense, fueled in large part by how quickly Jackson has connected with Doyle’s approach. “I’m being challenged right now,” Jackson said. “This system is different. It’s all Dec. I feel like everybody’s hands-on. We dialed in.” That includes Jackson, the player around whom the entire operation revolves. “I wanna be detailed as well, keep the defense honest,” Jackson said. “We doing everything right, the little things right. Defense don’t know what we’re doing, what we’re capable of on offense any given play. “With the type of coaching Declan is bringing, the sky’s the limit.”"

Hmmm...I think we have now reached the point of insanity. There are no NFL players worth anywhere near that especially given the risk of injury that exists.

So not only is the guy an asshole, he gets his facts wrong to boot. He doesn't even know what year this is? Like you initially said, what team is going to pick this guy up now?

I'm not concerned. At this point. While some didn't practice, everybody showed up and was there.

Pretty neat!

It's going to be a long 6 weeks before TC starts...damn!