Ravens Draft Picks: Who are these guys?
by Rexx on Apr 27, 2009 2:51 PM EDT
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By now, most football fans know the story of the Baltimore Ravens first round draft pick, OT Michael Oher out of Ole Miss. They know of the hardships he endured through his childhood and the warmth and acceptance of his foster family. The fact that he was rated between 10-15 on the Ravens draft board had the Ravens not even thinking of the possibility of him falling to them, and when the opportunity came close, they traded up to grab him. He will form a great pair of tackles (along w/ LT Jared Gaither) protecting Joe Flacco, and give the offensive line the additional swagger they will now have from one side to the other. All this talk about needing a wide receiver needs to stop as you will see how much better our current crop of receivers are now that our offensive line just got a lot better at protecting our QB and giving him more time to find the open guys.
In the second round, we grabbed a DE from Utah, Paul Kruger, who has a non-stop motor and fits the image of the former Raven, Michael McCrary. Kruger was a disruptive force at Utah, accumulating sacks, tackles for losses, forced fumbles and even had two interceptions.
The third round is where it began to get confusing for most fans. Ladarius Webb, a CB out of Nicholls State, was selected, even though there were many more well known names on the board available. However, Ozzie and the Ravens War Room has it's own board, and doesn't feel any pressure to take the players that the national media and personalities rank high on their own lists. Webb was an All American CB and great kick returner at Nicholls State after getting dismissed from Southern Miss and is the only person in NCAA history to garner his conferences offensive, defensive and special teams player of the week honors durng his junior season.
Jason Phillips was the Ravens first of two fifth round picks. The Ravens traded their fourth and sixth round picks to New England for the two fifth rounders. Phillips is a tackling machine at middle linebacker from TCU, and is the first player in the Mountain West Conference to earn All Conference honors for four straight years.
Davon Drew was the Ravens other pick in the fifth round. The TE out of East Carolina University, which has produced NFL standouts such as Jacksonville QB David Garrard, and Tennessee RB Chris Johnson, is a big target at 6'4" and 260 pounds. He made 32 starts at ECU, leading the team in 2008 with 695 receiving yards on 43 receptions, and had a career game in the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl against Kentucky with 120 receiving yards.
Cedric Peerman, RB (Virginia) was the Ravens final pick of the 2009 NFL Draft. Perrman, who is an ordained minister, is an all purpose RB, who can run inside and out, as well as catch the ball out of the backfield. He earned All ACC Honorable Mention in 2008.
So there you have a quick history on the Ravens newest additions. There will be more, as the undrafted free agents are being snatched up real quick, which started as soon as the last pick was made yesterday evening. We'll get to know more about these guys as we get closer to Training Camp, but you can be sure that some of them will become household names in just a very short time.
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The more I hear Ozzie talk about how he is happy with our group of WR now
The more frustrated I get.
But overall, the draft was very good. Guys we never heard of, but if Ozzie is taking smaller names over some of the “big” names left, then he sees something that others do not. It certainly has not failed in the past.
I’ll stop with the WR talk though, as I am the only one who is still upset.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Don't underestimate the difference in our passing game
with better protection and another year of Flacco learning Cam’s systems.
Rexx
Gives Joe more time to figure out why he is only going to complete a 10 yard pass on 3rd and 13
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Everyone knows Wrs develop in 2 or 3 years
Las years we add 4 receivers to our team.. Marcus Smith, Justin Harper, Ernie Weelwright and Marcus Maxwell…
How are we going to have good WRs if every year we change them?
Im sure Ozzy knows what he do, and if he think our receivers can become good ones, I trust him
THE MEXICAN RAVEN
by JORGE NITALES on Apr 27, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions
No
On manypositions, rookies contributes a lot more since firts year…
Like OT. Ryan Clady from the Broncos was last year best OT and he was a rockie…
Also RBs. Like Matt Forte, Jonathan Stwart..
Wrs normally takes more time to develop than any other position (maybe QB)
THE MEXICAN RAVEN
by JORGE NITALES on Apr 27, 2009 7:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Time to get over it man...
We have talent at WR. Tom Brady won a SB with Deion Branch as his #1. Surely we can win with Mason and Clayton as well as Heap and Smith. Add to this that we have a nasty def and one of the best young off lines and running games, and I love our chances for next year.
Remember, it is about the team, not stats. Who cares how many yards Joe throws for as long as we win, right? And we need Joe to stay upright to have a chance. How great is Boldin, if Flacco is on IR and Troy Smith or Bouman are throwing to him?
Agree Our #1 receiver is...
the guy that is open. This O line will give us so many options Cam can get creative with. We can block with five, hold a back in to pick up a blitzer (if needed) then release. You will see 5 receivers in the pattern. That will be a nightmare to defend against and we will get people open. Can’t wait to see Cam leverage our line play and open this offense up on people. And by the way, they can run block too.
I think the question should be “What makes you think Troy Smith would be a productive starter?” What has he shown in the pro’s that makes you think he’s starter material? He hasn’t led our offense since the very end of the 2007 season, and, even then, only played in a handful of games. So, first off, there isn’t really a statistically significant sampling of his play to go on. Just looking at his play in those four games isn’t convincing, either. After having nearly the entire season to learn the system, he threw for a combined 53%. In his first start, he threw for less than 50% and scored his only TD during trash time while down by 21 points in addition to losing two fumbles. In his final game, he threw for 171 yards and a TD against a Pittsburgh team that could have cared less; Big Ben, Hines Ward, Marvel Smith, and Polamalu all sat out while waiting for the playoffs.
Now, I don’t have anything against Troy Smith. I hope he succeeds wherever he ends up. It’s just hard to make the case that he’s going to tear it up when he just hasn’t showed that capability yet.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
Not disagreeing here
But what exactly did he show that made him the number 1 pick to be the starter before last season? If not for his terrible sickness he came down with, Troy would have played more than half of the time in the pre-season games and most likely been our starter.
So I ask you, what did he show to be considered the starter by most of us before his sickness?
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
He was the best of three bad choices at the time
They didn’t want to start Flacco as a rookie if they didn’t have to.
They didn’t want to start Kyle Boller, because, well, he’s Kyle Boller.
That left one guy for the job who does have some upside… Troy Smith
It was a simple process of elimination. I would not read to much into it.
So basically we were forced into the situation
I still thought we would have done alright with Troy in there. AFCC alright? Probably not.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Troy Smith wasn't going to tear it up.
I don’t expect him to be the big thing. However, in the games he’s played, Smith played well. Show good pocket presence. Can make all of the throws. He even show the ability to go threw his progressions. Smith did need to learn read defenses better and have consistent mechanics. That pretty small sample size with the statistics too.
Really?
Can make all of the throws.
There is no evidence of this and I would strongly contest this point.
So maybe he needs to have more touch on the ball.
But other than that, uh, he can make all the throws.
Thanks man
I did not want to get into the whole Troy Smith argument again, but I’m sure you know I agree that he hasn’t done a damn thing to prove he is a starter in this league.
Agreed,...and...
….we’re not going to find out anytime soon, unless Flacco gets injured and that is not a good thing.
Rexx
With our WR
We have decent depth but what we lack is a true #1. The only pick that could have gotten that for us was our #1 and i think Oher will be good enough to make us forget that. Extra protection, more chemistry and an improving Flacco will make our WR’s start looking better.
"I have seen the future and his name is Matt Wieters." Keith Law
by Reddrummer9187 on Apr 27, 2009 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Well now that we have Oher and Gathier has a full year of starting under his belt, I believe Cam can now send Heap out on routes instead of blocking. I don’t trust D-will. His only healthy season was his rookie season and I don’t think he can play a full 16 game season. Mark Clayton had a good season as a number two and I think you will see him become more of a number one in the up coming seaso. I cant’ tell you how many times Joe missed Clayton in the begining of the season. All he used to do was look for mason, and if he was not open, throw to the check down. That little plan got exposed in the indy game. After that game, we really started to see the field open up for Joe and seen what clayton could really do.
two guy’s i’m looking foward to seeing is E.Wheelwright and MAxwell. Wheelwright being the big red zone target for us and Maxwell being the guy that can stretch the field for us.
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marcus Smith will get a decent amount of time
and he is the main reason we didn’t draft a WR. Plus D. Will was adecent deep threat as well. smith had 94 receptions his senior year in college and youve got to have handfs to catch that many passes. Give another year to see.
Rexx
Yeah.
He didn’t catch a single pass last year, but I’m hoping that he’ll step up next year. Joe threw to him once or twice, but if I remember correctly, Smith was out of position. Like many young receivers, he needs to work on route running. I have high hopes for him.
Statistically, no catches
he did have a nice grab for decent yardage, due to a penalty away from the play it was called back.
Also, is a good hitter. Layed out a defender after he intercepted a Flacco pass. Don’t recall the game, one of the losses I think…
I'm excited about Kruger.
I can’t wait to see him develop in our amazing defense. I have heard some people bring up Dan Cody, but I think that Cody was an exception… not a rule. Most of the defensive players that we pick have great success. I think that Kruger has more upside than any player currently on our roster (except Joe maybe). I see him becoming an Aaron Kampman type that can drop into coverage…
I hope he can put on 15-20 pounds and start to show coaches that he can take over Pryce's spot one day
He really could a Jared Allen type player. From what I have seen, he looks like he never stops giving 100% till the play is over with. Our kind of guy, right?
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
I don’t see Kruger as a replacement for pryce. I think he stays around 265-270 and be more of a rush LB. I expect him to take Johnsons spot if he starts to slip up. I believe Dawan Edwards is the replacement for Pryce when he decideds to hang it up.
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know...
Kruger has the frame of a DE… unlike Johnson, who is maxed out at 265 pounds. Kruger has room to add bulk. He has long arms and a wide upper-body. Right now, he wouldn’t be a worthy successor to Pryce, but he does have that potential. The more that I hear about Kruger, the more I like the pick.
I'm a big fan of the Kruger pick but hold on for a sec....
I think that Kruger has more upside than any player currently on our roster
More upside then Suggs,Ngata, Oher, Gaither, Joe(You already said), even Reed, Landry or Washington?
I expect Kruger to be a beast but I don’t know if I see him being an All Pro at any point, which I can see as a possibility for the guys I listed above if all goes well.
Many of the players that you mentioned...
have already reached a high-level of play. My point was that Kruger, in my opinion, has all the potential to be awesome but has a long way to go. In other words, he has a low floor and a high ceiling. Ngata and Oher have a higher floor and a higher ceiling. I’m just intrigued by Kruger’s potential.
10-4
Agreed. I’m on the same page.
I also think Webb has a chance to be a really solid player in this league. Something about that dude makes me think he’s going to have a long NFL career.
kruger
i brought it up yesterday and I’ll take credit for it today. Kruger looks like a reincarnation of Michael McCrary.
As far as Dan Cody, he was a bust because of injuries – not because he was not talented. we will never know how good or bad he could have been because he never really got on the field. still a bust, but different than travis taylor who just wasn’t very good for where he got selected.
Looks like Kruger will be a LB
because word is that he is being given #59, which is a stand up position number. Could be the next Jaret Johnson, after JJ goes for the big bucks as the next Bart Scott.
Rexx
lb
i’m sure he will end up as a hybrid. I’ve seen Jaret Johnson line up at OLB, DE and occasionally tackle. Here’s betting that Kruger spends more time at DE than any other position this year..
yeah
Baltimore may play a little more of a 4-3 now because of our new D-coordinator. I expect this D to look more like the 2000 ravens rather then the 2006 ravens. Less Blitz and stuff, but still shutin guys down and out.
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ozzie said that the position he will play...
depends on how he grows up. Obviously, they’re hoping that he can put on 10-15 pounds and take over for Pryce. However… if he can’t, he will fit in nicely as a hybrid/AD-type player. It’s a win-win situation.
Cedric Peerman
I can’t wait to see what this guy got. He’s 5’11, 217 and ran the fastest time for runing backs at the combine with a 4.35 40. I believe he makes the team as a special teams player and will contribute as both a gunner and a Kick returner. I also believe he can be a very affective guy catching balls out in the slot running those crossing routes in the middle of the field.
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nah, maybe special teams, but not a returner
With Chris Carr and now Ladarius Webb, Peerman will spend a lot of time on the Practice Squad, IMO.
Rexx
But could very well get moved up
If god forbid something happens to any of our other 3 RB’s
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Perhaps will sit on Practice Squad
until we toss Willis next year. Unless of course, if cleveland doesn’t grab him!
Rexx
really shouldn't be an option
We seen the impact Lorenzo had on our running game. DO you really beileve that Leron would’ve had the sucess he did unless NEal was blocking for him? I think not. I expect Baltimore to bring Neal back for another year and have that 500+ back field once again. Also, i’m expecting a break or bust year from willis. Ethier he will be motivated by the way things went last year, with all the injuries and losing his job to McClain, or he will be discourage by those events and turn into the lazy willis who runs once and has to take a break on the sideline.
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really?
What was the cap hit for Neal?
Nobody wanted to sign him last year, we did not sign him until the middle of August.. It’s only April…
He is a FA
We have no cap room available now but if we end up cutting Frank Walker or Willie then we technically could bring Neal back. So yea, your right, it’s early, and there is a chance he comes back. I’d like to see him here in 09’.
I have a feeling that he'll be back.
He won’t be offered much more than the veteran minimum elsewhere, and I have a feeling that he wants to stay in Baltimore (unless San Diego offers him a deal). The Ravens will definitely get a good deal if they can sign Neal.
True
But I expect Carr and yamon to handle most of the punt returning duties while we Split up the kick returning between carr, Yamon, webb and Peerman.
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOoo!!!!!!!
Please! No more returns for Yamon! The kid is very ineffective and he runs scared to be hit!
"M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D Maryland Will Win!"
by FEARtheTERP1 on Apr 27, 2009 10:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed
Figurs is way too inconsistent, I doubt he will be back
Why don't we trade him to the Raiders?
For their 1st rounder in next years draft? If they took DHB at 7, the surely will spare a 1st for a guy who has run a 4.16 forty.
It's worth a try...
and don’t forget they were “smart” enough to get rid of Carr, who knows what else they would be willing to give up..
Looking at the numbers Carr can handle both assignments pretty well:
Finished 4th in the NFL in kickoff return avg. (28.1-yard avg.) and 8th in the AFC in punt return avg. (10.1 yard avg.)
Titans, 32nd in the league in 2007 in returning
Chris Carr comes in.
1st in the league in returning in 2008
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Peerman has one of the best Speed Scores
of all the RBs in the draft. He could be a huge steal. I think he beats out Jalen Parmele for the 3rd RB spot and McClain moves back to fullback.
Wha...!?
After the year that McClain had, we’re going to stop giving him the ball and make him a majority blocker for Willis and Rice? NFW. We will go w/ two TE sets and no FB. Carries will be split between the three RB’s with the hot guy getting the carries for that game. Will make it harder for opponents to gameplan for us. Peerman will probably be on Practice Squad most of year unless injuries.
Rexx
Ravens Winners and Losers
Winners – Todd Heap and LJ Smith. With Michael Oher at RT, our pass protection just got a lot better. With our pass protection a lot better, it will be much easier to send these guys out on routes, helping them produce. In addition, I don’t see Davon Drew pushing Todd Heap any time soon.
Corresponding Winners – Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Willis McGahee – pass protection and runblocking, thank you very much.
Losers – Adam Terry, Willie Anderson. Mike’s in town and he’s kicking ass and taking names. One of these guys is getting a visit from the Turk.
Losers – Justin Bannan, Dwan Edwards, Lamar Divens – The Ravens signed McKinney to a 3 year extension and draft another defensive lineman early in Paul Kruger. That means that these three are about to see their playing time diminished. One of them won’t make the team next year. Ravens should consider trading Justin Bannan and getting an extra pick.
Loser – Frank Walker, at least Foxworth, Washington, Rolle, Webbs, Carr are above him on the depth chart. Do you really think the Ravens are going to pay Frank that 2 million rather than just keep Derrick Martin as a 6th corner?
Loser – Yamon Figurs – Webbs, Carr, and Peerman together basically squeeze Figurs out of a job
Winners – Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Marcus Smith, Ernie Wheelwright, Marcus Maxwell, Justin Harper – no WR in the draft gives these guys a chance to prove that we don’t need one.
Loser – Brendan Ayanbedeyjo – The pickup of Jason Phillips, along with Tavares Gooden, are going to seriously take away from Deyjo’s defensive snaps. This was the guy who blew his assignment on Santonio Holmes on that fake touchdown.
Winners – Ravens fans – this was simply an excellent draft at first glance.
Great Analyzing
Bannan is first up as insurance for Gregg. All the corners will stay as is, with Webb being the bottom rung, just below Martin and Walker. We will need to keep depth here as our corners have had a tough time staying healthy. Figurs is a waste of roster space in my mind. Carr and now Webb make him absolutely worthless. Our wideouts will either make Ozzie look like a genius or make him look clueless. I’m betting big time on the former. Wanna bet, MaLoR? Ayanbadejo was brought in to be a special teams ace and he will be just that. Our LB core is actually stronger now than it was with Bart.
Most people outside Baltimore will give us an average draft grade at best. They don’t seem to understand our philosophy and think that without the big well known names, our draft was less than outstanding.
Rexx
Good to see the Terps Representing!
Hopefully he’ll open some eyes and take over for Yamon or one of the other non-existent WR’s on our team!
"M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D Maryland Will Win!"
by FEARtheTERP1 on Apr 27, 2009 10:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Webb looks 60 in the picture..Back To School? whats that mess coming out the side of his head? Ear lobes or thumbs? dudes freaky.
how’s this for an O- heap (injured before season), clayton (disappearing man), mason (our 1 and only hope for anyhing beyond 5.5 yards), mcgahee (limping by 3rd game), williams (oh he’ll be great in 2010) rice (the watcher) Wow! Fire Startuhs. all those other receivers you mentioned won’t see the field when the season starts..we ride the same old horse every year..slow and steady. 2nd in the division keeps everyones job and Pitt happy..
protect Flacco all you want they still aint gettin open beyond 8 yards. flaccco had plenty of time last year- Nobody open accept Mason.
But Flacco was a ROOKIE!!!
and didn’t make all the reads and take his time like he will this year. As good as he was, he still is learning the game. Don’t base the future on a guy’s first season in the bigs. That is way too narrow minded for us Ravens fans. Maybe the Brownies, but uh uh, not B-More!
Rexx
Malors the only one around here with sense these days…Cleveland had us beat before they caved and dropped easy passes, we couldn’t score on the titans to save our life, we got beat 3 times by the only team that matters in the division because we couldn’t move the ball. indy passes at will on us and we can’t score 1/4 as fast to hang with them, we have no capability of scoring fast and furious to hang with passing teams….im not excited because we have 2 of every one of these draft picks sitting on the bench.
Hey, now! I’m an unabashed McGahee hater. Where’s my raven-love?
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
Thank you
You basically stated the point I have been trying to make before people started telling me my “bitching” was getting old.
Then again, I am just a young child.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
It wasn't the point you were trying to make (I understand that)
It is that you were whining and not coming out and laying it out for us as a logical argument. There is a big difference.
And if you notice something about Webb in his picture
You can see his left ear lobe flapping from him running.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
And is it just me
Or do I get a scary looking image of Kyle Boller from Jason Philips’ facial expression?
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
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