Ravens Draft Thoughts

[vmax]

This draft...the Ravens drafted for need and still could stay true to their board. Pure, solid luck.

 

I was able to hear Jimmy Smith talk at length on Saturday on WBAL and he sounded mature and like he has his head on straight.

I like him as a person. He's been in no trouble for 2 years and has a college degree in Criminology.

The Ravens are lucky the league didn't do their homework on him...they got a top 10 pick at 27.

He's going to be huge for this defense with his range, size, speed and heart.

 

I would have liked to see the Ravens draft a linebacker...Ray has to have 1 more good year left in him. The Ravens have nobody to step in.

Speaking of Ray....what an incredible man! Did you hear what he did this weekend?

NEW YORK -- NFL linebacker Ray Lewis and former cornerback Reggie Howard are helping a 10-year-old New York boy whose mother drowned herself and three children by driving a van into the Hudson River.

The surviving child, La'Shaun Armstrong, attended a Manhattan fundraiser Saturday night for the United Athletes Foundation, which is supported by the Baltimore Ravens star. Some of the proceeds will go to create a relief fund to provide him with mentoring, counseling and tutoring.

 

Lewis reached out to the child as soon as he heard about the April 12 tragedy. The boy escaped through a van window after the car plunged into the water in Newburgh, N.Y., and was rescued by a passing driver.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6456351

 

The pass rush. Ravens struck out. Smith will help because QB's will have to look longer to find a receiver, but unless Kindle can play and make the impact predicted for him,

then the pressure will be the same as last year. Maybe Pagano has an answer. I know Ozzie will be shopping.

 

Reid could be the answer at RT. Cousins isn't and they need Yanda back at guard. Reid has a nasty mean streak that Ozzie loves.

The guy I hope develops is Harewood. He would be an out and out beast.

Got to get everybody on that line playing in their best, natural position.

 

I love the drating of Torrey Smith. My hopes were the Ravens would get Jimmy and Torrey with their first 2 picks.

I saw plenty of Torrey Smith at Maryland and he's a flat out playmaking threat every down. The guys with incredible blazing speed can never seem to catch the ball.

Torrey has great speed but he catches anything near him and then dusts the defender. Blink or slip and it's 7.

His career numbers would have been incredible if he didn't have Napoleon Dynamite throwing to him for 2 years.

 

Doss supposedly is one tough Ninja...he mysteriously shows up in the open holes of the zones and has great hands.

Flacco wanted him...Flacco got him.

So long TJ, Stallworth and some of the back ups who have had more than enough time to develop and haven't.

This is now a well loaded offenhse...don't forget Pita and Dixon...they will continue to get better.

 

Tyrod Taylor???? I don't get it. What am I missing?

 

CB Chykie Brown of Texas and defensive end Pernell McPhee of Mississippi State...just don't see them making the final roster.

 

Anthony Allen...has the size but doesn't look like a Jamal Lewis to me...we'll see...he should make the roster.

Edited May 1, 2011 by vmax

[oldno82]

Pretty much agree with everything you said. The first two picks can't be criticized unless Jimmy Smith gets in trouble. Not sure what to think of the OT in the 3rd round. Just seems like a reach to me. Doss was a good pick. After that one, I've got a feeling we can write off the rest of the draft.

 

We needed a lot this year. I think we still need an OT unless Reid is a lot better than I expect and as you mentioned we did nothing for the pass rush. It was probably too much to ask to be able to address all our needs in this one draft.

 

If Kindle can play that would help a whole bunch. But the silence around his prospects of playing is disheartening. I hope he can play.

 

The other problem is the lockout---its going to interfere with these draft picks getting up to speed no matter how good they are. Whenever the dust settles on the labor front, the teams are going to need some real training camp time but they may not get it if this drags on into September.

 

Still, the Ravens draft came out with real playmakers in the CB and WR positions. Thats a very good thing.

[BMoreHon]

Tyrod Taylor???? I don't get it. What am I missing?

 

I think for all intents and purposes, Bulger is out. So we need a backup. I get a Troy Smith type of feel from this pick; Suggs packages, etc. Kiper's analysis is that he can play in the NFL but if not has the athleticism to change to RB.

 

And Ray? He still makes my heart melt!

[colincac]

I go to IU and can tell you that Doss is a man. Guy played all of last year with 2 torn groins (I know one of the athletic trainers), and still led the Big Ten in All-Purpose yards. He is, without a doubt, a younger, fresher version of the Housh we thought we were getting last year.

 

Love the Jimmy Smith pick as well. Whether or not they got caught, nearly all these guys in the draft have smoked pot and drank underage, these are football players we talking about, after all. Jimmy has flat out amazing measurables and shows great tackling and hands on film, I'm surprised he fell to 27.

 

Obviously a fan of Torrey Smith, I just hope we got a burner that contributes, for once.

 

Reid HAS to come in and play immediately unless we find a LT/RT in Free Agency, so we better hope Ozzie hit the nail on the head with him.

 

Tyrod Taylor looks GREAT to me. I know he is seen as a 'runner', but the guy was the ACC Offensive Player of the year, and if you watch his highlights (Yes, I know they are highlights for a reason), you see that unless it's a called QB run, he legitimately sits back as a pocket QB and only runs if necessary. We won't have Boller syndrome where he takes off without need. Not to mention, with Bulger going to Arizona, we need a backup, and if Taylor can't be our backup, he certainly can be our 3rd QB while we see if he can play WR and run the Wildcat formation.

[yagersports]

I'm disappointed we went with someone that has character issues, however I'm pretty confident our FO did some homework. Hopefully this guy is every bit the cover corner he's projected to be. I really like the selection of the speedy WR as well, we need someone to get open deep! Lastly, I like the tackle pick