oldno82

I wonder if we can get Jim Caldwell to use this play for Stokley? http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000097004/Stokley-31-yard-TD-grab (and could somebody show this video to our 'slot' receivers, whoever they are?)

Well you've got to have somebody that can go and does go over the middle successfully and I don't think we had any guys like that without Pitta and Boldin. Doss was supposed to that guy but he hasn't shown up yet. IF these guys can still find the open areas in the middle and don't get hurt they could help. We'll see.

Yup, its sad but it had to be done.

This is all very disturbing. I'm not sure either of these guys has anything left in the tank...but I'll give Caldwell the preseason to find out. Not comfy by any means at this point.

Could be, Max. I think very highly of Steve.

We need to get Bisciotti and the remaining old Colts on our side to push this. Steve's been around a while now, won a Super Bowl, and is respected. It would be nice if he got the ball rolling.

It says reams about about our current receiver crop that they felt they had to make this move.

A lot of the players like it too.

We ought to get together and lobby the f'in league to return the records before 1984.

Good find, Max.

Austin might be a good option. He had 66 catches for over 900 yards last year. Is he a burner or a possession type receiver? I think his contract would have to be restructured though...his cap number this year is over 3 mil.

Yeah...all of them because I have no idea who's going to be #2 or #3.

I can't believe they'd do this...this guy should be retired. Even when he was younger he was injury prone.

I hope so but past performance of Houshmanzadeh and Lee Evans makes me skeptical. I'd much prefer a trade like the one we made for Boldin if our guys don't step up. I wonder who's available and what the cost might be.

I don't want to pick on Jacoby because he's a proven talent as a number 3 receiver and there's plenty of preseason left. But he didn't show me anything at all yesterday as a number 2. And then I read this quote about him from the Ravens website: The two Jones targets ended in disappointment. The first was intercepted, and Jones deserved “at least half the blame” for it, tweeted The Baltimore Sun’s Matt Vensel. “[it was a] decent ball by Joe, but Jacoby has to come back to the ball there,” he added. The second was a short pass in the middle of the field on third-and-2, where Boldin excels, but the ball clanked off Jones’ hands with tight coverage.

1) Wasn't happy to see Jacoby drop one and he didn't catch any either. 2) Didn't see Doss do anything either. 3) LaQuann was a bright spot. 4) Juscykkkzt can't block. That I noticed. He does seem to tackle well, 5) Defense with Smith was impressive and Dumerville and Suggs got good pressure.

Right! I've seen enough of that in the past. The reserves on the OL have to hold up.

Hey Money, I agree with you and have been saying this for the last 2 years. I'd really like to see us get a better #2 who preferably is a pocket passer. Taylor would make a decent #3.

Right! And regardless of where the personnel strengths were.

A lot of us noticed that Cam didn't like the middle of the field. Here's some proof from the Ravens website. The diagrams are particularly telling. Caldwell’s ‘Tweak’ That Changed Cam’s Offense When Jim Caldwell took over Cam Cameron’s post as offensive coordinator following the Ravens’ 31-28 overtime loss to the Redskins in Week 14, there was no way he could completely overhaul the offense. Caldwell said at the time he would only make “tweaks,” but those tweaks seemingly made all the difference in the world as the Ravens offense and quarterback Joe Flacco went on a historic Super Bowl run. MMQB’s Greg A. Bedard pinpointed one of the tweaks. “So what was Cameron’s problem?” Bedard asked. “His offense didn’t use all the threats in unison, or to their full potential. The Ravens had the pieces to attack all three levels to the defense—Rice, Pierce and fullback Vonta Leach in the short field; Boldin and Pitta in the middle; and Smith and Jones deep—but synergy never materialized because Cameron failed to use Boldin and Pitta in the best way possible.” The specific area that Bedard says Cameron didn’t use was the middle of the field. Bedard outlined Boldin’s routes in blue and Pitta’s routes in black from two different games before Cameron was fired in the graphic below. He compares those to the routes the two receivers made under Caldwell in the AFC championship and Super Bowl. Cameron Caldwell Look at how many routes run toward the sidelines under Cameron, and then how many break toward the middle of the filed under Caldwell. Lots of shorter seam routes toward the edges of the field (Cameron) versus in-breaking routes down the middle of the field, often deep (Caldwell). “It’s almost the exact opposite approach,” Bedard noted. “[T]his was a major tweak to the routes being run by Boldin and Pitta.” He added: “Even if the passes weren’t completed, these routes were complementary to the other offensive weapons. Threatening the mid- to deep-level of the field between the hashes with Boldin and Pitta put pressure on a defense. It made safeties stay closer to home, which opened up the outside for Smith and Jones, and/or it caused the linebackers to drop a little deeper, which helped give Rice, Pierce and Leach a little more room to make a play once they caught the ball. Under Caldwell, the Ravens used all of their weapons in unison, and it was a beautiful thing to watch.” If using the middle of the field was the key to opening up the Ravens offense and utilizing all its weapons, and Pitta and Boldin are now gone, what will become of the Ravens 2013 offense? Born is the post-Pitta/Boldin problem. In an article scheduled to run later today, our own Ryan Mink will examine howDeonte Thompson and Tandon Doss can become the Ravens next slot machines in the middle of the field.

Besides being a hell of a football player, he was an outstanding story teller and so funny.

Good find, Crav.

Nice job, Money, on the concrete facts. I was trying to find them myself to see how 'bad' Dickson is. He is the better blocker from several reports I've read about him over the years. He just has to become as aggressive as Pitta in fighting for the ball. He's got the potential and he's had some positive experience. We might just be OK at TE. I was also heartened by this video: http://www.baltimoreravens.com/videos/videos/Dickson_Looking_Solid_In_Larger_Role/1f3dbd33-8cfa-4418-b1f9-f3a18003d9ce

OK...after reading this, I'm inclined to change my mind: Late For Work 8/1: Projecting How WR Depth Chart UnfoldsPosted 9 hours ago Sarah EllisonBaltimoreRavens.com Editor & WriterAll Sarah Ellison ArticlesCan Ravens continue playoff streak? Dickson has best practice. Making Elam earn starting job. Ferrari is back! Projecting How WR Depth Chart Unfolds The Ravens' first wide receiver depth chart can’t come quick enough for curious Ravens fans. Until then, the next best thing is an educated guess. Jamison Hensley, the ESPN AFC North blogger who opened up his camp tour in Baltimore, was asked to give his projection on how the receiver battle will unfold. Here’s how he sees it: 1) Torrey Smith 2) Tandon Doss 3) Jacoby Jones 4) Deonte Thompson 5) David Reed or LaQuan Williams Smith, 2011 second-round draft pick6-foot-0, 205 pounds, 24 years oldCareer stats (2011-12): 32 games played, 30 starts, 99 receptions, 1,696 yards, 15 touchdownsThird-year Smith is a no-brainer as the top dog of the group. He’s one of the most experienced and is explosive, stretches the field and is working on becoming a more complete receiver. His route running appears to have come a long way. Doss, 2011 fourth-round draft pick6-foot-2, 207 pounds, 23 years oldCareer stats (2011-12): 20 games played, 0 starts, 7 receptions, 123 yards, 1 touchdownWhy put Doss at No. 2 over Jones and Thompson? Hensley says it’s because Doss complements Smith better than the other two. Since Smith is an outside burner that takes the top off defenses, Doss can take over shorter and intermediate routes as a slot receiver, finding soft spots in the defense and getting the tough yards to move the sticks. Smith and Anquan Boldin were a similar complementary duo last season. Jones, 2007 third-round draft pick6-foot-2, 215 pounds, 29 years oldCareer stats (2007-12): 91 games played, 24 starts, 157 receptions, 2,147 yards, 12 touchdownsNot only does Doss complement Smith better than Jones, says Hensley, but keeping Jones at No. 3 allows him to be a full-time returner on special teams. Jones notched three touchdowns in punt and kickoff return duties last year, and added one more in the Super Bowl. It could be tough to give up that kind of play-making ability on special teams in order to get more snaps at receiver. Thompson, 2012 rookie free agent6-foot-0, 200 pounds, 24 years oldCareer stats (2012): 6 games played, 0 starts, 5 receptions, 51 yards, 0 touchdowns While Thompson has created the most buzz this offseason, Hensley’s top three naturally pushes Thompson to No. 4. He’s another burner, arguably the fastest player on the team. The former rookie free agent out of Florida can work both the outside and the middle of the field, but Doss may have the edge as the possession/slot receiver. For Hensley, that leaves Reed and Williams clamoring for the fifth and final receiver spot (unless coaches decide to keep more). The ESPN blogger says this is really more of a special teams competition than a receiving battle. Reed has experience as a kickoff returner, but Hensley “gets the feeling” that even if Jones isn’t the primary kickoff returner, Thompson will get a crack at the role. Williams’ role on special teams has helped him earn a roster spot the last two seasons. He finished with a career-high five special teams tackles last season before being placed on injured reserve in late December. Regardless of which receivers fill the spots behind Smith, Baltimore Beat Down’s Jason Butt explains that many of them will be involved in the passing game because the Ravens appear to be rotating them more than they ever have in years past. Jones, Doss, Thompson and Reed have all gotten reps with the first and second teams. "More so this year there's going to be more of a rotation based on plays and situations in games with who's going to be in," Doss said, per Butt. "We have a talented group this year and we all bring something different."

"For the first time in 17 years, the Ravens are looking for a new starting middle linebacker. A handful of players are vying for the two open inside linebacker spots during training camp, but it’s clear where defensive leader Terrell Suggs stands on the matter. “Ravens Nation make sure ya’ll follow our new starting Mike linebacker [Josh Bynes] @bynestime56,” Suggs wrote on Twitter last week. “This kid is the truth!!!!!!” Suggs has a knack for pointing out up-and-coming talent. He was driving the Joe Flaccobandwagon long before the Super Bowl MVP and $120 million contract, and he started singingDennis Pitta’s praises before the tight end’s breakout 2012 season. Now he’s pointing to Bynes as the Ravens’ next man in the middle." High praise indeed. Read more here: http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Terrell-Suggs-Endorses-Josh-Bynes-As-Starting-MLB-/cbdc7cb3-5db3-4fd2-9964-243370465f31