Due to the lockout putting teams on a tight deadline to make signings, NFL free agency this year is pretty much impossible to follow. Here at BSR, we’ll try to help you out with our Free Agent Tracker. Here we track the comings and goings of Ravens free agents, meaning you can keep up with who leaves Baltimore, and who will be a new face in the purple and black.
Currently, you’ll see a few “2011 Team” spaces left blank. As players agree to contracts and sign those contracts, we’ll update that space.
***Additionally, you’ll see Casey Rabach’s name crossed out. This is because he failed his physical after agreeing to a contract, and therefore will not be playing with the Ravens this season.***
It’s been a busy week. The Ravens cut Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, Willis McGahee and Kelly Gregg. They also lost Donte Stallworth and in my opinion, their biggest loss was free agent cornerback Josh Wilson, both of whom went to the Washington Redskins.
Wilson, was arguably the best of the Ravens three free agent cornerbacks, Fabian Washington and Chris Carr being the other two.
It’s clear that the Ravens top offseason priority was re-signing offensive lineman Marshal Yanda. It’s my hope that in doing so the Ravens didn’t forget about one of their best corners, Josh Wilson, who they let slip for a very reasonable 3 year/$13.5 million deal with a $6 million signing bonus.
This move says one of two things; either the Ravens completely dropped the ball on Wilson in the midst of what has proven to be a hectic week or the Ravens have bigger plans for the cornerback position in 2011.
Thus far, their moves have made sense, Wilson’s loss seems to be the only flaw. If the Ravens let him slip through the cracks, they need to ensure that they bring back Chris Carr, who has been outspoken about wanting a bigger role with the Ravens this season. If not, then maybe they are in the running for Nmandi Asomugha. The Asomugha rumors have been full of Jets news, but perhaps Baltimore will sneak in at the 11th hour and and pull off a big deal.
Sports news got placed on the back burner in America last night with the huge story of the death of Osama Bin Laden. Whether you were watching the Mets vs Phillies on ESPN and heard the “USA” chants or were riding the Metro home after a disappointing Capitals loss, everyone in the country felt united by this huge news.
Baltimore’s athletes took to twitter last night to talk about this monumental story. Here’s what some of them said.
Jake Arrieta: “Bin Laden killed by United States near Islamabad, possibly close to a week ago, President will make statement soon.. Historic day”
JeremyGuthrie: “Bin Laden’s death a sign of America’s resolve & dedication of our troops. Many lives lost in the fight that still goes on.” Also, “I remember where I was on 9-11 when I heard the news & I suspect we will all remember years from now where we are tonight!”
Donte Stallworth: “Where’s Waldo > Osama bin Laden” and “If this news helps bring the country together and relieves some of the 9/11 families of their pain then I’m all in!!!”
Fabian Washington: “I still remember exactly what I was doing on 9/11. I was in 12th grade in psychology class. Coach Crump class” and “I have never wished death on anybody but I’m crying tears of joy that Bin Laden is dead.”
Derrick Mason: “Thank u former president bush for starting the pursuit and thank you president Obama for finishing the job!! Let’s leave it at that ppl!!
Josh Wilson: “Be ups to the troops…ull did it!!!….so they should be home for summer!!!”
Watching the Steelers and Jets reminded me of what a team looks like when they play up to their talent. The Steelers are not the most talented team in the AFC, but when it counts they don’t waste an inch of their ability. It isn’t that they don’t make mistakes, every team does and will. They aren’t fazed by the moment, whether they are down by 14 *ahem* or ahead by 20. Talent will get you to 12 wins in the regular season, but it won’t get you to the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh is the team that Baltimore could be if Baltimore had that same attitude. Right now the Ravens are a lot like Mike Tyson in the early 1990’s. Incredibly fearsome and a great hitter- but the moment someone refuses to be intimidating and hits back, it is an entirely different fight. Ravens fans can’t stand the Steelers, and for good reason (I will let Zach and the others take that one on the next time it’s Steelers Week). The Ravens could learn a lot from their AFC rivals- maybe that’s what gets under their skin most of all.
But before the Ravens can turn their luck around, they will need to take care of what is sure to be a contentious offseason. Not only do they have to negotiate around an uncertain labor future, but they have a host of unrestricted free agents to sign. They won’t be able to sign all of them, so how should they prioritize them? Assuming there is a season next year, here is one perspective: READ MORE >>>
When it comes to Fabian Washington, it’s hard to say if it is disappointment in him or disappointment in the front office. It’s not that he is a bad player, it’s probably more that he isn’t a shutdown corner. 2009 was a season where Fabian was exposed for the first half of the season. It seemed like he was getting beat all over the place. It was so bad in Minnesota that he was actually benched in favor of Frank Walker. Seriously. Frank Walker. READ MORE >>>
Heading in to the 2010 offseason there were questions surrounding the Baltimore Ravens secondary. With injuries to Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb, both tore their ACLs late last season, there is a perception that the Ravens are thin at cornerback.
At first, there were projections that Baltimore was going to draft a cornerback early on in the draft. That didn’t happen as the Ravens traded out of the first round in hopes of strengthening their pass rush.
To make matters more difficult for the Ravens, because they made the Divisional Round of the playoffs, they were under the NFL’s “Final Eight Plan” which is set to expire next month. For the Ravens to be able to sign a free agent they had to lose one.
In free agency, the Ravens did make a couple moves. They signed the released Ken Hamlin, a safety, from the Cowboys. Earlier in the offseason they signed cornerback Travis Fisher. Hamlin and Fisher provide depth but will probably not start for the Ravens.
The team is confident Washington will be ready for the season with Webb not far behind. With these moves and the inactivity of the Ravens front office, it appears the team will not sign any defensive backs for the rest of the offseason unless there’s a player released that is too good to turn down
Do you think they have done enough or is this going to be their Achilles heel all season?
On Ed Reed’s status: Ed Reed’s playing, as far as I know. I’ve said it before, Ed’s one of the greatest competitors in football. You talk about guys that play like a Raven who loves football and everything about football, that’s Ed Reed. I think Ed’s going to play because I think Ed’s going to do everything he can to play, and if he’s physically able to play, he’ll play. Right now, my assumption is that he will be able to do that. But, if that changes or Ed changes his mind, obviously that’s his prerogative. We’ll go on the assumption that he’s going to play.
On if Reed has talked to the team: He hasn’t told the team that he’s not going to play, and medically, we don’t have any reason to believe that he’s not going to right now.
On the Terrell Owens rumors: I’ve always said that I have a lot of respect for T.O., and I know Ozzie does, too. He had a good year. We watched him on tape, and he was very effective last year.
Cont’d: We’re interested in T.O. We’re interested in all the guys that can make our team better. When we were coming back from Iraq last year with John Gruden, Jeff Fisher and Tom Coughlin, we were sitting in the airport and a waiter came over and said, ‘Hey, Terrell Owens is sitting over there at Burger King.’ We were laughing about it, but he was really over there. We ran over like fans [laughs]. I can guarantee that we didn’t ask for his autographs, but we did say hi. We rekindled the relationship. He’s a good guy and a good player.
On his relationship with Owens: I was coaching special teams and he was a receiver, so he was on the hands team. We had a good relationship. He was respectful to the coaches, he worked hard. I think everybody had a good relationship with him.
On Troy Smith: Troy Smith is a Raven. He’s still with the team. I happened to be in Ohio when my father inducted into the Crawford County Hall of Fame, along with Mike Gottfried and Gates Brown. I was flipping channels and I saw Troy. They were interviewing him in Columbus, and he said it best. He said, ‘I’m a Raven.’ I think he’s really a good quarterback. I think he can play quarterback in this league as a starter. That’s why we like him as our backup, because at some point in time, we’re going to need a guy to come in and win two, three, four games for us if Joe gets hurt. Although at some point in time, I think we understand Troy’s desire to be a starter. So, if something were to work out and is beneficial to the Ravens first, from our perspective, and gives him a chance to do that down the road somewhere, we’re interested in doing that. But Troy is our backup quarterback at this point, and I don’t think we’re going to change that unless it benefits our football team.
On the trade possibilities due to more RFAs on the market: We’re going to explore every avenue for every position. It will be interesting how this plays out, because I don’t think anybody really knows. There aren’t as many unrestricted free agents, there are more restricted free agents. What are the tenders going to be? Who is going to be tendered what? Is there going to be more trade dialogue than we’ve had in other years? We’ve had lengthy discussions at the highest levels, with me, Dick, Ozzie. Everybody is involved in that. I think we’ve got our ducks lined up as far as what we can get accomplished.
On if the unbalanced line makes scouting offensive linemen different: With our guys playing on the right and left side is what you’re alluding to. Michael Oher, it is a big deal that he played right tackle and moved over to left tackle, but the truth of the matter is that he played on the left side all through training camp because of the unbalanced stuff. We probably do want guys that are athletic and can line up on both sides. I guess if you’re an offensive lineman, you want to be in Baltimore because we play six, seven or eight of them at one time.
On the percentage of unbalanced line: We try to be unpredictable and not give anything away. One of Cam Cameron’s real strengths as an offensive coach is that he thinks that way. You might see all offensive linemen out there one day or you might see no offensive linemen out there at some point.
On if he noticed Cincinnati using the unbalanced attack: We did notice that. [laughs] We were wondering where they got that idea from.
On the potential to draft a kicker in light of missing out on Ryan Succop last year: I wouldn’t rule it out. I think there are some draft-eligible kickers out there. If we would have had a seventh-round pick, we would have drafted him last year, but we didn’t. We were in conversation about signing him as a free agent, but then he was Mr. Irrelevant. So, right then, he broke our hearts, or the Chiefs broke our hearts. But, Billy Cundiff did a nice job. He’s been around and one of those guys that’s been through it before. That’s an advantage. It’s tough to be a rookie kicker and make it in this league. Guys have done it, but Billy more experienced. We’ll start with Billy, and then we’ll bring in some competition for Billy as we go.
On if the Ravens have to balance out their running in a pass-happy league: At the end of the day, do you want to be 50/50, 55/45, 50/40? Where do you want to be? It probably depends on your players. It probably depends who you’re playing. If you look early in the year, we were really throwing the ball. We were really pass-happy, and some of our fans weren’t too happy about that and thought we should be running the ball more. To me, one week to the next, you do what you have to based on who’s healthy, what the skills of your players are and who you’re playing to be successful. We want to be somewhere 45/55 either way. You say, ‘Well, what does that mean? ‘ We want to do both well. We’re not going to be one of those teams that throws it 65 percent of the time. I don’t think anyone can run it 65 percent of the time and be successful.
On the benefit of having Suggs in offseason program: I think Terrell is really excited to be in Baltimore. I think he’s looking forward to it. He’s already working out in Arizona. He works hard. We hired Ted Monachino to work with him directly. He worked with him at Arizona State when [Suggs] was so successful. I think those two have a trust and a confidence level together that will help us. We’re dedicated a lot of our offseason program to pass rush. And, it’s not just him. It’s going to be all our guys. We want our linebackers to be able to rush the passer. We want to train our defensive backs to rush the passer. In our blitz system, they need to be able to do it. A big emphasis to what we do in the offseason is on pass rush, and he’s going to be here for us. I’m excited about that.
On Willis McGahee’s status: I think McGahee will be on our team next year. From last year to this year, the way he’s trained, through the whole knee situation – and everybody knows he has a knee in college, and he’s played well in the NFL so far – but for him to play the way he did at the end of the year and to be in the kind of shape that he was in, I’m just impressed with the guy. He’s a leader on our football team and one of the most fun guys to be around every day.
On if McGahee has accepted a backup role: He doesn’t say he’s accepted a backup role. I’ve never said that Ray Rice is the starting running back. I know other people have said that. Maybe even other coaches have said that. But to me, the starting running back and the guy that is going to start next week is the guy that’s playing the best. I’ve told Willis, ‘If you want to start in the game, go be the best running back that week.’ Ray knows that. Ray’s got Willis there, and Le’Ron McClain, Jalen Parmele and Matt Lawrence and whoever else we bring in, those guys are all going to be fighting for playing time. That’s what a coach wants – competition. Willis McGahee could gain 1,500 yards next year. That could easily happen, and I’m not ruling it out.
On wanting to re-sign Dwan Edwards: I’ve said it before, we want Dwan back, and I’ve got my fingers crossed. I think Dwan wants to be a Raven, too, so we’ll see what happens.
On the NFL reducing the amount of offseason practices because of head injury concerns: Practice is a loose term if you look at development. Look at every sport. I’ve got two nephews who are Division II swimmers. They swim 28 hours a week, and we limit football exposure to 20 hours a week in college. I think it’s important to be well-round and everything, but we’re talking about pro football players who want to get better, guys who are fighting to make a team. It’s different for a Ray Lewis. It’s different for guys that have been around – Ed Reed. Those guys don’t need that practice time. But as coaches, what we do is limit their exposure and don’t ask them to be there for the whole offseason, necessarily. We don’t put them through those practices. But those young rookies that are trying to make the team, now we’re going to say, ‘Oh no, you can’t be at the building, you can’t be at practice.’ What are we really saying? That we’re not available to help you be the best player you can be. As a coach, we want to coach. We want to help these guys be the best player they can be, because we’re looking to have as good a team as we can. Now, helmets on, banging heads and all that kind of stuff, yeah, we can get away from that. And I don’t think we do much of that in the offseason as it is – a lot less than people think we do. But why should we take away opportunities for guys to become the best they can be and work to earn a living as a football player in our league.
On Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington’s status: We’ve got a few guys with ACLs. Brendon Ayanbadejo has a knee situation. Marcus Smith is another guy who had an ACL. I don’t think it’s too optimistic because of the way those guys are training. Right now, we expect those guys to be practicing the first day of training camp because nowadays those ACLs get back fast, but I don’t think you can count on it. I’m sure we’ll have a contingency plan.
On if there are any advantages of being a rookie coach with a rookie QB: I don’t know. We never really considered the advantages because we had no choice. I think it’s a plus, obviously, because we get a chance to grow together, me as a coach and him as a quarterback. Maybe we’ll make some of the same mistakes together and share in the experiences. Joe’s a good guy. He’s really a tough kid and he wants to be great. I can’t wait to go to work. March 15, we’re ready.
For a great part of the season past, mention of the Ravens secondary would draw scorn, derision and many a curse word. Because the defense was a work in progress for much of the season, many of those sentiments seemed deserved at the time. Yet as the play of the defensive unit improved, so did the performance of the defensive backfield, peaking with a great performance against the New England Patriots in the wild card round (if you thought the peak was the home game against the Chicago Bears, remember-Jay Cutler at that time was a pick waiting to happen). That said, here’s the positional review of the Ravens cornerbacks and safeties. READ MORE >>>
In this week’s edition of Birds On The Wire, Jeff Pilson and I break down the Ravens 17-15 loss to the Colts, we discuss Fabian Washington‘s season ending injury, and preview the upcoming game against the Steelers. Also, Matt Sadler interviews Arizona Fall League prospect Josh Perrault.
There are clearly parts of the Ravens roster that just aren’t getting the job done.
Do you give up on them? Do you let them grow since the season is likely a wash anyway? Do you put the pressure on them?
It all depends on the player.
Frank Walker- Bye bye. Walker shouldn’t have made the team to begin with. Anyone that followed training camp knew right away what Walker was about. Lots of talk, little coverage. He’s quite possibly the worst part of the Ravens terrible secondary and was so bad that he was benched against the Bengals. He’s taking up a roster spot, which is one of the reasons Baltimore cut Matt Stover. Good riddance Frank.
Domonique Foxworth – Threaten. Two weeks ago I told you that Foxworth was a $28 million bust and I stand by it. He is the Ravens biggest flop since Willis McGahee. Too big of a contract for too little performance. Foxworth is the best of the bad secondary, but for the contract was given he’s not shutting down number one wide receivers.
Fabian Washington – Threaten/bench. Washington covers receivers by grabbing them. I’m convinced his method is to get penalized as many times as possible and it shows.
Trevor Pryce – Cut after season. Pryce has had a great run with the Ravens and an outstanding career, but he’s no longer getting the job done. He gets pressure one time per drive, he’s getting beat in single coverage and gives good quarterbacks too much time.
Kelly Gregg – Cut after season. It would have been a good story is Buddy Lee came back after the knee surgery and stepped up. That hasn’t been the case. He fits into the same category as Pryce, only worse. Gregg is hardly ever putting pressure on QBs and he can no longer stuff the run. He’s part of an aging defense.
Ed Reed – One more big loss and I’d shut him down. Ed might say he’s playing healthy, but come on. He’s undoubtedly playing hurt and if Baltimore wants to hold on to him for future years they need him to get healthy. Whether that requires surgery or just time to recover, Baltimore needs to do what they’ve got to do.
The Baltimore Ravens. A team that on defense can’t stop the run or pressure a QB, has a kicker that can’t make a clutch field goals, and an offense that is stuck making up for all of their holes.
Here are my thoughts from the Ravens 17-7 loss to the Bengals.
Secondary woes yet again – Different week, same weakness. Domonique Foxworth might be the best cornerback on the team, but he gives too much room to good wide receivers and can’t tackle. Fabian Washington missed an interception in the first quarter and he was called for pass interference on a crucial 4th and 2. Dawan Landry was called for pass interference on a play that overturned a fumble in the first quarter. Ed Reed missed a couple tackles as well.
No pressure up front - I knew it would be a long day without Haloti Ngata, but Trevor Pryce, Kelly Gregg, and Terrell Suggs were virtually non-existent in this week’s loss. Carson Palmer was far too comfortable in the pocket. He was practically camping out during his first touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell. Let’s not forget that Cedric Benson rushed for 117 yards, his second 100+ yard game against the Ravens this season.
Defense killed Offense - Or something like that. In the first quarter the Ravens offense was on the field just 4 minutes 11 seconds. In the first half that total was just 8:26 compared the Bengals 21:34. It evened out a little more by the end of the game, but all day the Ravens offense was trying to make up for the D being on the field too long. They used 2 timeouts in the first quarter, and Joe Flacco forced two interceptions (could have been at least 2 more) while trying to make big plays. Flacco has thrown seven picks this season, two have been caught by the Bengals’ Johnathan Josesph. Baltimore’s offense converted one of their ten third downs.
Hauschka chokes again - Now listen. I’m in no way saying that the kicker blew the game. What I’m saying is that he’s had two pressure kicks and he’s missed both of them. You can’t miss a 38 yard field goal when you’re team is trying to drive back from a deficit. It’s alarming to me that Steve Hauschka missed a 44 yarder inside against the Vikings and now a 38 yarder in 50 degree weather against the Bengals.
Webb continues to impress – Lardarius Webb broke a return for 33 yards, but his role on defense was particularly important. He threw a big hit on Cedric Benson in the 2nd quarter, broke up a pass to Laveranues Coles, and played receivers close when Washington went down. While Chris Carr looked shaky, Webb looked solid in the secondary.
Ray Rice is a playmaker - He didn’t have enough time to show it today, but Ray Rice is the real deal. He scored the Ravens only touchdown and never gave up all day.
This isn’t a playoff team. In fact, I don’t see how they can win many more games at all if they play like this. The Ravens need to show up big next week, thankfully they play the Browns.
Chad Ochocinco never stops talking. The invention of Twitter is a perfect outlet for a guy that loves to hear the sound of his own voice.
This week the Ravens trash talk has begun. Here are a few of his tweets.
Domonique Foxworth: “@Foxworth24 Vivica Fox–worth, welcome to Planet Chad Sunday, I am wearing special child please shoes Sunday just for you!!!”
Lardarius Webb: “@LWebb21 I don’t know why you wear #21, you couldn’t cover in a phone booth with the door closed!!! Don’t bother showing up next week”
Terrell Suggs: “@untouchablejay4 hey I’m gonna hit you in your face when your helmet is off!!! Want some get some, purple is for pansies!!!!”
@BmoreDavy shut the front door, purple rain my taco!!! I’m going after the head(Ray Lewis)then the body(rest of team) will follow going down
Fabian Washington: @FABEWASH31 congrats on the win today,,you know what time it is next week, bring an extra set of cleats,you’ll need a pit stop when I’m done
Chad Johnson, or Chad Eight-Five as I so lovingly call him, has already started talking smack about the Ravens/Bengals match up. In a Twitter war with Fabian Washington, Johnson called out the Ravens‘ secondary.
Below is a transcript, good luck translating.
OGOchoCinco: “@FABEWASH31 bruh you in trouble Sunday, you gone kiss da baby, this ain’t a threat it’s a promise. I’m shutting the front door on you!!!!!”
OGOchoCinco: “@Foxworth24 cmon son, how you cover me with a last name like fox<—you ain’t Vivica son! It’s on Sunday,I’m not being cocky, i’m that good!”
FABEWASH31: “trust me home boy it’s going down. Believe dat”
OGOchoCinco “don’t do that, don’t talk back son, know yo competition son, this ain’t madden, you really hit to see me”
OGOchoCinco“tell Vivica Foxworth he better just sit this game out!!!”
FABEWASH31: “this water running up hill. Str8 pressure”
OGOchoCinco“huh!!! Shut the front door!! You betta pray you got help every down, watch the clevland film, 2 man every down<—WTF!!!”
FABEWASH31: “really if u watched the film u can c I had no help. But good night it’s past my bed time”
OGOchoCinco “bed time, you ain’t gonna be able to rest, cmon son, have a dream like Martin Luther king son you will get embarassed Sunday”
Now that Ravens’ training camp has wrapped up and we’re half way through the preseason, BSR decided to get the inside scoop on the team by an expert and fellow blogger.
We decided to ask Joe Barnes of EbonyBird.com to fill us in on the 2009 Ravens…
Image Courtesy of the Baltimore Sun
With training camp coming to a close, what are your expectations of the 2009 Ravens based on their camp performance?
I see a season similar to last year’s campaign. Joe Flacco looks solid, the defense looks solid, every position is pretty deep, and things are looking good. With that said, it is possible that the loss of Bart Scott dooms the defense, but when has the team not replaced a linebacker well? If you want a record, I’d say that looking at the schedule, anywhere from 9-7 to 12-4 seems possible, and most likely with playoffs.
Who were you impressed with?
I was most impressed with rookie Lardarius Webb. He was always buzzing around the field, whether it was rushing the quarterback, picking off a pass or making a tackle in between the trenches on a running play. At the beginning of camp, I thought that the secondary might not be good enough to survive against some QBs like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, etc. but seeing the depth behind Fabian Washington and Dominique Foxworth, including Webb, has made me think otherwise.
Who were you disappointed with?
I was disappointed with Mark Clayton more than any other player. He just never was on the field. While I understand that they don’t want to risk an aggravation of the injury, it seems like he could be more involved with the team and have a bigger presence in camp. At least he was running routes the last week of camp, but it seems like he might not be in good enough shape, like McGahee last year, and Joe Flacco needs him to have a very good season this year.
What is the team’s biggest flaw?
For me, the team’s biggest flaw is the lack of speed with their top receivers. Flacco’s got an arm, we have all seen that, and Yamon Figurs, Jayson Foster and Justin Harper all have breakaway speed. The issue is getting them on the field enough to have them make an impact with their speed. Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Kelley Washington will probably get most of the time on gameday, and none of them have exceptional speed. Mason is great on cutbacks, Clayton great with mid-distance passes, but none could beat a safety 40 yards deep. It’s not a huge flaw, but it’s important for the offense to figure out how to get the speedsters on the field.
What is their strongest point?
The strong point of the team is the defense, in general. The line is great, led by Haloti Ngata. Rookie Paul Kruger looks good enough to start for a lot of teams at DE, but the Ravens’ line is good enough that he’s just depth. The linebackers should be one of the best groups in the league, yet again. And the secondary, led by Ed Reed and strengthened by the return of Dawan Landry and signing of Domonique Foxworth looks to be great as always. This defense is just too good.
Favorite
Retweet
Reply
Recent Comments