Post Draft Thoughts

[vmax]

Like everybody I was really caught off guard day 1 and 2 with all the defensive picks. There were so many difference making receivers available, the O line still is very weak and the Ravens have no RB IMO.

But...I get it. It was a draft loaded with offensive players, few good QB's that could have been taken in the top 10 to help the Ravens land a premier receiver or O lineman at 17. Dallas took Martin. When their pick came, it was Mosley and off they were feasting on the defensive players the offensive minded league over looked.

They happily scarfed them up saying "Thank you very much!" They got great value at the spots they selected.

So...In retrospect....The more Ozzie strengthened the "spine" of the defense, the more I saw how important these picks are. Suggs is fading. Ngata has faded IMO, Smith has 11 years of NFL mileage. They had to get younger and faster to hang against all the high powered offenses they will face.

And they did.

Remember '96 and '97. Great scoring Ravens offense but they couldn't win games. Ozzie learned from this. He moved to build a smashmouth, dominant defense. That has kept the Ravens competitive year in and year out....with a lot of weak offensive play.

One thing you could count on: they would stop the run and make opponents one dimensional.

Not anymore. Not the Ravens defenses of the last 2 years. Teams ran on them and put up a ton of points.

Ozzie saw his opportunity to fix this when everybody was focused on other team weaknesses. He knows his personnel so it wasn't hard to stay true to his draft board when his highest rated players were defensive personnel.

 

The Ravens definitely got better.

Not they way some of us wanted, but as a fan, I love great defense. It is very important to have it to make the playoffs and advance. When the defense is playing to the Ravens standard, I love knowing the Ravens can play anybody, go into any stadium and have a decent chance to win.

It is real hard watching this team give up leads and blow games. Harder to watch them get run over.

 

[varaven45]

Max, your 1st paragraph his spot on. But I don't get it and am still scratching my head.

[RavenousBG]

I'm ok with it. It was BPA and you got it right, other teams left good defenders on the board for chasing all the offensive talent. The Best Players Available became defenders. We didn't reach for guys and let's face it, all of these wide outs won't make it in this league for one reason or another. There will be some studs but plenty of duds.

 

I think we did want West but it may have been best not to get him. The pressure to succeed at home may have been too much.

 

Lastly, after Martin, I'm not sure there was a RT better than we already have or could sign later (Winston). The Oline was horrible last yr but with a different center (Zutta), healthy KO, and a simplified Zone scheme , we should be better. Now I valued Oher but he had a bad yr so Wagner may have a better one than he did last yr.

 

We will see how it goes but I'm good with it. We don't really do it flashy in Bmore. I trust Ozzie and crew. We are solidified on D for the future. We will be younger but experienced over the next few yrs. We will hit the offense more next yr and I expect to see Mellette make us feel okay about not drafting a WR in the first 3 rounds.

[cravnravn]

Bpa my ass, our first pick was a reach and a half, this kid is not Ravens material he is very very soft, I bet he doesn't see the field this year, or if he does we are desperate

[cravnravn]

And as a grade? D-,

 

Not the draft that any of us expected. we took 3 giant steps backwards

Edited May 11, 2014 by cravnravn

[RavenousBG]

Say that if you like. But if you find out different and I believe you will, just jump on and enjoy the ride. Our guys do this and we are fans. I think they know better and believe In them. We like the names we know. They know all their secrets and why they're risks

[Tornado700]

Defense wins championships and that's the Raven way. I think these "professionals" know a little bit more about these picks than all of us fans put together. In this very competitive AFCN, defense is what wins and brings conference cahampions. All in all, I like this draft. B

[krf82]

A starting FS was a better choice for the Ravens. I'm afraid that we swung for a starting ILB and missed a starting free safety in Clinton-Dix. The Packers did not hesitate to strengthen their secondary with a Ha Ha.

[cravnravn]

A starting FS was a better choice for the Ravens. I'm afraid that we swung for a starting ILB and missed a starting free safety in Clinton-Dix. The Packers did not hesitate to strengthen their secondary with a Ha Ha.

Wasn't just Ha Ha, how bout Pryor, Jets snagged him real quick

[tsylvester]

Time will of course, tell if this was a good draft or not. Time has told the story of the past few drafts as C's at best. They didn't reach? Jernigan was a reach in the 2nd, no reach in the first I suppose, though the ranking and position of need met one pick after the Ravens. Based on what I know of these players from seeing most of them actually play in numerous games, I think we are in for a long 2 or 3 years; I hope I am wrong.

 

We truly can't judge a player now on another team as each team developes players differntly and even uses them in different ways, so there is now no true way of knowing if they would have worked out better here. There is no or little doubt that the Ravens could have both filled the needs and drafted best player, but we will never know their rankings, we can only go off our feelings and the rankings of Mel & the like.

 

Mosley, high praise from many in the proffesion, possible defensive player of the year, ok, sure, we shall see.

[varaven45]

I'm with Crav; by not addressing the true needs and still with many holes on the OL and secondary; we took steps back in this draft.

 

It's really disappointing that we passed on the RBs and QBs that were available earlier in the draft. Instead, we picked up 2 no names who probably won't even sniff the field. We could have easily picked the RB from Towson or BC, and we damn sure could have used one.

 

I guess another year of Tyrod as backup to Joe.

And Ray and Pierce as our featured backs.

 

No, not what I expected and no where near what was hyped up over the past few months.

[Dunno]

There are a few things in this draft that scare me, but otherwise it seems fairly good.

 

I don't like first round picks with injury histories. Now he did play through most, if not all, of them, to his credit but still.

 

The TE, Crockett Gillmore, to me seems similar to Quinn Sypniewski who the Ravens drafted in the 5th round. So drafting Gillmore in the 3rd seems like reaching by at least one round, but it is impossible in hindsight to tell whether he would have lasted another round or not.

 

At the press conference after the draft when talking about the RB Lorenzo Taliaferro, his best attribute was described as pass protection... If it is pass protection you want then draft a h-back or a FB.

[RavenousBG]

Ha Ha and Pryor were the name guys. But the Ravens felt like Mosely was a top ten pick, falling to them at 17 was a windfall in their eyes. Then Terence Smith was a 2nd round rated player and the fastest Free Safety in this draft plus he's a former corner and has cover skills.

[RavenousBG]

Defense wins championships and that's the Raven way. I think these "professionals" know a little bit more about these picks than all of us fans put together. In this very competitive AFCN, defense is what wins and brings conference cahampions. All in all, I like this draft. B

 

You got that right Tornado. Defense is the Raven way.

[vmax]

 

“As you all well know, we’re not done as far as building this football team,” General Manager Ozzie Newsome said trying to remind crav that all is not lost.

“There are a lot of players out there,” Assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta said. “[scouts] Mark [Azevedo] and Joe Douglas are working very hard with the scouts and coaches to get everybody organized and we think it will end up being very effective.”

Unlike the draft where players have to go wherever they get selected, prospects have more control in free agency. They can select between multiple offers, and teams have to recruit to get them to Baltimore.

The scene during the recruiting process is somewhat chaotic.

“If anybody has ever seen the Wall Street floor during heavy volume trading, that is kind of what it’s like,” DeCosta said. “You have scouts and coaches on the phones, guys on the white board writing names down, talking signing bonuses, negotiating, talking to agents, talking to players, trying to get deals done. The contracts are flying. Coaches do a hectic job of recruiting, and it’s a hectic environment.”

The Ravens can use the pool of undrafted players as an opportunity to fill any remaining needs on the roster. Cornerback is a likely spot to add players, as the Ravens currently have just four on the roster and did not draft one.

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Ravens-Begin-Mad-Dash-For-Undrafted-Players/8d1586a4-8e14-43a5-9c27-339a34f25c77

[thundercleetz]

Raven fans just like to complain. If we drafted Ha Ha or Pryor in the first round we would be complaining how we reached for a need and these guys aren't as good of safeties as previous first rounds (they aren't). Look at 49er fans complaining about taking Jimmie Ward (I like better than Ha Ha and Pryor btw). They are now the team that has taken two safeties with their past two first round picks. Eric Reid was bad last year too.

 

No one on this board is a pro, or we'd be making good money working for one of these NFL teams. What is a fact is that we had a run of five straight playoff appearances with a win, as many playoff wins in that time as anyone else, and a Super Bowl.

[ravinmaniac52]

You think we can trade Terrence Cody?

[papasmurfbell]

They are filming Ghostbusters 3. Maybe the Stay Puff Marsh-mellow Man is back.

[oldno82]

I'm with Crav; by not addressing the true needs and still with many holes on the OL and secondary; we took steps back in this draft.

 

It's really disappointing that we passed on the RBs and QBs that were available earlier in the draft. Instead, we picked up 2 no names who probably won't even sniff the field. We could have easily picked the RB from Towson or BC, and we damn sure could have used one.

 

I guess another year of Tyrod as backup to Joe.

And Ray and Pierce as our featured backs.

 

No, not what I expected and no where near what was hyped up over the past few months.

Drafting for BPA is actually the easy way out. It would seem to me that a team has to reach a balance between BPA and actual needs. And we had plenty of needs that didn't get failed.

 

All in all, a dismal and disappointing draft.

[papasmurfbell]

http://nfl.si.com/2014/05/10/2014-nfl-draft-grades/

 

 

Baltimore Ravens

From a strict talent-and-value perspective, the Ravens may have done as well as any other team in the draft. LB C.J. Mosley, if he’s healthy, could be a Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner; DT Timmy Jernigan had mid-Round 1 potential, only to fall to pick 48; safety Terrence Brooks may be an instant starter. Baltimore also landed some of the better role players available, like TE Crockett Gillmore and underrated QB Keith Wenning. The lone knock here comes from Baltimore’s inability to really address its offensive line.

Grade: A-minus

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl-mock-draft/2014/5/10/5705040/2014-nfl-draft-team-needs-johnny-manziel-browns-packers

 

 

Baltimore Ravens

• 17. C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama
• 48. Timmy Jernigan, DT, Florida State
• 79. Terrence Brooks, S, Florida State
• 99. Crockett Gilmore, TE, Colorado State
• 134. Brent Urban, DT, Virginia
• 138. Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB, Coastal Carolina
• 175. John Urschel, G, Penn State
• 194. Keith Wenning, QB, Ball State
• 218. Mike Campanaro, WR, Wake Forest

Grade: B+

The Ravens got a lot younger and a lot faster in the 2014 NFL Draft, especially on defense. Their front seven should be quite a bit better with the additions of C.J. Mosley, Timmy Jernigan and Brent Urban. Another tackle or wide receiver would have been nice, but overall this is another nice haul for Ozzie Newsome.

[papasmurfbell]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl-draft-scout/24558260/nfl-draft-grading-each-team-within-its-division

 

 

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens: Ozzie Newsome rarely has flashy drafts but when your roster is stacked that's going to happen. His 2014 class is another example of solid additions that re-stock the shelves at important positions. CJ Mosley offers the instincts, athleticism and physicality and instantly upgrades the defense. Defensive linemen Timmy Jernigan and Brent Urban are tough run-stuffers with upside and safety Terrence Brooks could be the centerfielder to complement last year's first round in-the-box hitter Matt Elam. I also like the upside of TE Crockett Gillmore and RB Lorenzo Taliaferro. Don't be surprised if WR Michael Campanaro makes this club as a slot receiver. Grade: B+

[papasmurfbell]

Funny how the national people think they did so great.

[vmax]

Great list of UFA's....

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-sammy-seamster-james-hurst-headline-ravens-undrafted-free-agent-class-20140511,0,4226635.story

 

It's going to shake out good.

[papasmurfbell]

Great list of UFA's....

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-sammy-seamster-james-hurst-headline-ravens-undrafted-free-agent-class-20140511,0,4226635.story

 

It's going to shake out good.

 

North Carolina OT James Hurst

Size: 6 feet 5, 300 pounds

Background: A former blue-chip recruit who chose the Tar Heels over Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame, Hurst was once projected as a potential third-round draft pick. However, he broke his left fibula in a bowl game and was unable to work out at the NFL scouting combine. He wasn't back to 100 percent by his campus Pro Day workout, consequently running the 40-yard dash in 5.59 seconds. Hurst's medical outlook is good, and he started a school-record 49 games at left tackle. He was known for his aggressiveness and ability to finish blocks and block downfield.

I wonder if the IR him come the end of camp. Look for a way to sneak him into 2015 with a yr of exp.

[colincac]

 

I wonder if the IR him come the end of camp. Look for a way to sneak him into 2015 with a yr of exp.

 

That's a fantastic pick up, feel a lot better about not drafting someone already. Still hoping they bring in Winston on a 1 Year deal.