RavenMad Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I'm a little worried about this upcoming season. Last year we never really suffered that major injury that forced a player who wasn't ready into the starting line up. Sure guys got dinged but generally they only missed a game here or there. The only guys I can think of are Ray Lewis and Lee Evans off the top of my head. Ngata seemed to be playing through an injury late in the season and his production dropped off a little. That is a very rare thing in the NFL and something I just don't see us repeating. We have already lost Suggs before preseason. That means we have to start 2 first time starters at OLB. That said I liked what I saw from Kruger in a limited role last year and I love what I see in Upshaw. Perhaps Kindle can provide something, anything this year. That leaves me to think about what other stars we have that if we lose we could be in trouble. I'm not worried about Ray. Our LBs did just fine without him and he provided leadership from the sideline. Losing Ed Reed would be bigger as only him and Pollard return with any experience in the Ravens D. Ray Rice has me the most worried. The rest of the RBs on the depth chart have a combined 3 carries in the NFL and he has been such an important cog in the offense. Not to mention with each passing day of holding out he edges closer to a Chris Johnson like season even if he is healthy. If Ngata goes down we are in trouble on the D-Line as well. I could see a situation were the backups get in and do well but it's not enough to carry us to anything more than a 7-9 season. A gutty performance given our schedule but not enough to get us into the playoffs. We seem to be very slow to bring rookies and first year players into the line up. Whether the coaches aren't bringing these guys on quick enough or the vets are just playing too good to let the younger guys get reps is a question that is hard to answer. A few big injuries this year will answer this question and reveal whether we have the right coaches in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I wouldn't compare RR and and CJ. Chris proved that he has a lazy streak in him. RR is a gym rat and always stays in great shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravnravn Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 We didnt have Reed til week 7, and Yanda was out 6 weeks. Come on Mad Man, we had Torrey Smith (Who in my opinion should have won ROY honors, hes 10x better that AJ Green) Jimmy Smith at DB contributed a hell of alot, Carrey Williams is going to be a beast.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 If Flacco goes down so does the season...otherwise this team is built to overcome whatever...they are deep as shit. But you're right too Mad...the 2011 Ravens were the healthiest team in the NFL. That doesn't happen often so expect some injuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalBilly Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Come on Mad Man, we had Torrey Smith (Who in my opinion should have won ROY honors, hes 10x better that AJ Green)That statement made me laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenMad Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 We didnt have Reed til week 7, and Yanda was out 6 weeks. Come on Mad Man, we had Torrey Smith (Who in my opinion should have won ROY honors, hes 10x better that AJ Green) Jimmy Smith at DB contributed a hell of alot, Carrey Williams is going to be a beast.. We didn't have Reed until week 7 but we had Zibby and Nakimura as cover and this was their 4th year so while they were never going to be Ed they were at least going to be reliable. I guess the problem here is the fear of the unknown. We brought in Sean Considine who can at least provide some experience back there and the rest are rookies including our 4th round pick Thompson. I suppose I have a little bit of the fear of the unkown here. I'm not worried about the CBs as we have got great depth there and competition for 2 starting spots which is great especially with the level of play there last season. I'm not concerned at all. The O-Line is a little easier to cover for until you start to lose multiple starters so losing Yanda for a few games wasn't too big of a deal. Would Torrey Smith even have started if Lee Evans hadn't got injured in camp? It also took him a bit of time to learn how to catch and he was still dropping too many balls for my liking. I'm not getting into the debate over who is better. I think the Bengals are happy with Green and the Ravens are happy with Smith. If Torrey or Q gets injured will we have a similar story of one of our young WRs stepping up this time? That said, the pickup of JJ was a good one to give some experienced depth so again I'm not overly concerned about our WRs. I wouldn't compare RR and and CJ. Chris proved that he has a lazy streak in him. RR is a gym rat and always stays in great shape. Being in shape and being in football shape are 2 entirely different things. Ask Suggs how it worked out for him training on his own in Arizona and not being around the team facility in the offseason the year he was looking for the big contract. Many thought he got overpaid after he stayed away due to the ensuing poor season he had and then he dedicated himself to the team and has been a beast ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I get that. It doesn't take long for a RB to get in FB shape. CJ was not in shape at all. He was completely not ready to be on a FB field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravnravn Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 If Flacco goes down so does the season You dont have any confidence in Tyrod Taylor?And your above statement is true for 31 other NFL Teams. Just look what happened in Indy, that franchise got turned completely upside down with the loss of the QB. Why should the head coach be held accountable when an injury takes out the franchise player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravnravn Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I get that. It doesn't take long for a RB to get in FB shape. CJ was not in shape at all. He was completely not ready to be on a FB field. Dont agree with that Papa, RB's need to take the hits during camp time, you just cant expect them to show up prior to week 1 then expect them to carry the ball 25 times a game without fumbling at some point..Also, hamstring injuries, yes they might say they are working out, but its not at a high level. CJ was afraid to give that extra burst out of the backfield..He knew that hammy could go at any time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 It would take RR from signing just before the last preseason game to maybe week 2 to get into his nitch. It took CJ what 7 weeks? Apples and oranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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