I'm Concerned...Really

[cravnravn]

Refer to your other thread about us being 3 mil under the cap, Birk came on the cheaps

[papasmurfbell]

A rookie is even cheaper.

[oldno82]

As I stated, 3 of the 8 picks will be impact players, immediate impact,

Hopefully all on the offensive line.

[papasmurfbell]

No they also need a couple of defenders.

[oldno82]

I think the defense will hold it together for one more year. We've got a good secondary now, the linebacking is good, and Ngata, McPhee, Jones, and Cody (I hope) will do their jobs.

 

But after next year with Ray Lewis and Ed on the decline it will get harder.

[pumpkinhead]

I'm concerned.

 

Harbaugh's concerned: “We have to upgrade it. I don’t even know if we have a full complement of linemen to be on our 53-man roster right now,” Harbaugh told reporters Tuesday at the NFL owners’ meetings in Florida. “We don’t have our five starters set. We have guys where you say, ‘Can they play a position or not?’”

“The thing I’ve learned over the years in Philadelphia and everywhere else, it starts with the offensive line on offense,” Harbaugh said. “The quarterback is obviously critically important but if you don’t have an offensive line, you can forget about it. We have to be able to build an offensive line.”

 

Now...Ozzie just has to pull off another miracle. Think back to last season. Foxworth goes down, Carr goes down. Jimmy Smith goes down. But wait! Webb and Williams did great getting the job done.

 

They lost Mason and Heap....but then Smith, Dickson and Pita rise to the occasion.

 

This is how the Ravens stay competetive. Solid drafting, developing 2nd and 3rd year players and signing free agents selectively to fill the holes.

 

I think Harbaugh was pretty much on spot - we ideally could have used an upgrade to the o-line after losing Grubbs.

 

Will Ozzie pull off another miracle? - near term no, long term yes. We will be better in 2014 than next year given our willingness to lose better players in 2012 (but not players who were the right price) in order to not block some fellas who will pay off (hopefully) in a few years.

 

That is how all franchises that hope to be relevant year in and out have to operate. But as fans, we should be prepared for the likely occurence that we will be worse (record wise) next year than last year. Still, so what? This year's champion was 9-7, so how relevant is the regular season record anyway?

 

The NFL has managed to craft a model similar to the NHL, the champ will earn their spurs more on a late season surge than an overall, season long, standard of excellence. So we go 10-6 next year, still have a shot at the trophy.

 

Bottom line (thanks Ray)? Last year and 06 were our years' (we were the most talented teams in the playoff field, IMO), but still we can get a trophy next year with a lesser talented team. Plus, we should be better off in 2014 since we let some kick ass players walk on this year (hand to God JJ). Plus, our front office boys get a chance to shine again in the upcoming draft. What a great time to be a Baltimore football fan, we are living the dream.

 

A lot of ifs this upcoming year - can Art Jones get physically better in the ofseason like he did last year...and be the ass kicker Cory Redding was? Can Kruger come close to setting the edge like JJ or AD or even the Rock (Boulware) did? [Talk about shoes to fill, holy shit]. Last but not least, how close can Reid come to filling Grubbs shoes (likely not very). Lots of good things to watch for even before the draft.

 

3/8 picks immediate impact - given the history, no reason not to expect that. God willing, we get it.

[yagersports]

I personally think a center would have the most impact for this team in the first round. I'm tempted with the playmaking ability of safety from Alabama, and I'm always intrigued by pass rushers, but I think the way to go is OL, notably center. It's the best way to improve this team in the first round.