Ravens' Secondary: Who Stays, Who Goes?

by Bruce Raffel on Sep 1, 2009 10:54 AM EDT Comment 28 comments

Img_3292_medium
The Baltimore Ravens will have to make a cut or two today to get down to the NFL maximum of 75 players. On Saturday, they will have to declare their 53 man roster by making a bunch of painful decisions. Today, we will be looking at the team's secondary, and predicting what the team will do with their cornerbacks and safeties.

With the recent announcement that veteran cornerback Samari Rolle will begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List, it makes it a bit easier to look at the list and determine who will stay and who will be let go. Rolle's status on the Pup List is not counted against our roster total, so that actually allows the team to keep another player that might have either been on the bubble or cut had Rolle been ready to go from opening day.

Last year's opening day roster included 10 defensive backs, although there are always a player or two that is placed on the Inactive List for that week's games. Looking at the current Ravens roster of defensive backs, the list includes the following no-brainers who should be starting on September 13th against the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium:

Ed Reed, Dawan Landry, Fabian Washington, Domonique Foxworth

Adding in those players who figure to be in the nickel, dime and dollar packages, that should ensure the safety of:

Chris Carr, Lardarius Webb, Frank Walker, Haruki Nakamura, Tom Zbikowski

While many Ravens fans seem to think that the often penalized Walker should be more on the bubble than safe, the Ravens still like his physical play and he figures to get a lot of playing time, espeically during the time that Samari Rolle is unavaillable.

That puts nine players in the secondary on the team's roster of 53. If they decide to keep at least one more player, then the choice is whittled down to one of three remaining defensive backs:

Derrick Martin, Evan Oglesby, K.J. Gerard

Of those three, Martin looks to be the choice, as he is more versatile than the others and has been playing mostly at safety this summer. Oglesby has been burned on a regular basis this pre-season and is probably the first of this list to be cut. However, while Gerard intrigued the coaches with his ability to be around the ball in OTA's earlier this spring, he has not made the impact they were hoping for since Training Camp and exhibition games have begun.

We will see the first round of cuts completed by later today, and while the secondary is a major interest to the team, I still doubt the team will make any cuts today in this area, waiting to see how the guys on the bubble perform in Thursday's final exhibition game before making their final decisions by 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 5th.

Poll

If the Ravens have to cut two of the three following defensive backs, who will be safe?

Derrick Martin

311 votes

Evan Oglesby

139 votes

K.J. Gerard

111 votes

561 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 28 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Martin is the guy

Has experience and is the most versatile…Can play S and CB.

by DT711 on Sep 1, 2009 1:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No Frank

I think Frank Walker is the weakest link in the secondary not just talent and skill wise but also mentally and emotionally. I wouldn’t be sad if the Ravens let him go even though it won’t happen but he will cost us this year in touchdowns given up and dumb penalties.

by ShaneOmacDaddy on Sep 1, 2009 1:02 PM EDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs

Frank will be fine

with the starting safeties behind him. Remember, in the preseason the entire second and third stringers are on the field at the same time. This won’t happen during the regular season and Walker will have his back covered when he doesn’t.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Sep 1, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The way Frank was picked on by Rex Ryan worries me.

I mean this was the guy’s coordinator last year and he guns for him the entire game. It’s not a good sign when a defensive mind like Ryan’s who knows Walker so well intentionally exposes him. Even if you put Walker in the nickel or dime slot there are quarterbacks and receivers in this league who would make him pay. Would you want Frank lining up against Wes Welker? Or Chris Henry?

I don’t think that Walker will be cut but I would want to limit his PT until injuries force the issue.

by ello on Sep 1, 2009 4:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Rex Ryan picked on him for a reason.

Ryan knew what Frank would do when he was in the game, or not do for that matter, so he attacked him. Anyone that watches film is gonna notice how to tear Walker up, or at least if they arem’t tearing him up, talk trash to him so Frank loses his head and ends up getting unsportsmanlike penalties on 3rd&11, and giving the team a first down. Frank Walker may be decent if they used him in a zone and used him just to drop back to prevent a deep bomb cause he has speed, but this guy is no good if he is jamming at the line or playing a tough zone D, he just falters too much.

by ShaneOmacDaddy on Sep 1, 2009 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You'll see a better pass rush

anbd better help on Frank’s side than you will in the preseason when the starters are in there w/ Frank on nickle and dime packages. He will be fine. Relax.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Sep 1, 2009 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bruce would you breath easy if you saw Walker covering Chris Henry?

by ello on Sep 1, 2009 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would breathe easy

Since I know Ed Reed, the GOAT, has his back.

That said, Frank will mainly line up on tight ends and larger possession WR’s. He will not be in the positions in the regular season that he has been in the preseason. Our coaches are not stupid, and when they actually have a game plan in place for regular season games, they will make sure not to leave Frank on an island, where is is a liability, as evidenced this preseason. Preseason football is almost like pickup football, with little strategy, hence Frank looking totally lost more often then not.

Within our scheme(KEY WORD), he is a valuable player on this D as evidenced during the second part of last season when he played well for us.

by DT711 on Sep 2, 2009 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

I have been trying to figure out a way of explaining to people why what Frank has done in pre-season is irrelevant to what he can do in the regular season.

This sums it up perfectly. Even coach Harbaugh has said that they do not prepare for these games until about 24-48 hours prior. During the regular season, we will have an actual game plan in place and it will allow Frank to cover a zone rather than be in man to man press situations. Even though I still think people under estimate what bumping a WR within the first 5 yards can do for a defense that gets such great pressure like ours, and Frank will do that.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Sep 2, 2009 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

woah woah woah

this is a response not only to dt711 but also MaLoR… FRANK WALKER IS ASS. OK please we need to understand this. I’m ok with him being on the final 53 now that Rolle is hurt, but honestly, DT711, you just said you’d be comfortable with Walker covering Chris Henry just because of Ed Reed? WHAT? Frank Walker would get TORCHED by Chris Henry and there’s no way Mattison is even going to give him that responsibility except for some emergency situation. If he did, that would be a very unforunate situation.

For MaLoR, how can you say his performance in the preseason doesn’t have anything to do with his regular season performance? I recall a pretty poor performance against NYJ and that, to me, seemed to be consistent with similarly poor performance in certain game situations—especially the playoffs. Yes, I understand that he’s a backup and wasn’t meant to be in those pressure situations last year in the playoffs, but that’s the point. He might need to be called on if we have another injury emergency like we did last year, and that is exactly why we should be seeking to replace him in the next year or two if we can’t already. I hope they keep Gerard on the final 53 now that Rolle is hurt, because I want Frank Walker’s field time to be as limited as possible.

"I know where you're at, man. You had it all, and now it's gone. It's torn a hole in your soul bigger than my Escalade. So you turned to the drugs, the alcohol. Pornography, free-basing with OJ, human trafficking, dog fights slash orgies... darkness."
-- Craig Robinson as Reg Mackworthy in Season 1, Episode 5 of Eastbound & Down

by jackmca on Sep 2, 2009 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

but honestly, DT711, you just said you’d be comfortable with Walker covering Chris Henry just because of Ed Reed? WHAT? Frank Walker would get TORCHED by Chris Henry and there’s no way Mattison is even going to give him that responsibility except for some emergency situation. If he did, that would be a very unforunate situation.

I should have gone into more detail then just the one liner, but yea, this won’t happen, which is the real reason I’m not worried. Mattison will not put Walker on an island vs. Henry, and if he is covering him, he will jam him on the line and have Reed over the top to help, in which case I will not be worried.

For MaLoR, how can you say his performance in the preseason doesn’t have anything to do with his regular season performance? I recall a pretty poor performance against NYJ and that, to me, seemed to be consistent with similarly poor performance in certain game situations—especially the playoffs. Yes, I understand that he’s a backup and wasn’t meant to be in those pressure situations last year in the playoffs, but that’s the point. He might need to be called on if we have another injury emergency like we did last year, and that is exactly why we should be seeking to replace him in the next year or two if we can’t already. I hope they keep Gerard on the final 53 now that Rolle is hurt, because I want Frank Walker’s field time to be as limited as possible.

How soon we forget how Frank bailed us out last season when C-Mac went down. He was not perfect but he was huge for us down the stretch last season. Here is an excerpt from a story I posted after Walked started three games last season, filling in for an injured C-Mac….

Frank Walker – I have been defending this guy forever, it seems. His play has steadily improved from the preseason. Remember, he was brought here to be the dime back, not the starter. Filling in as a starter though, he has done pretty well, and helped us roll off three straight victories. Since C-Mac got burned for long touchdowns repeatedly against the Colts, how many big passing TD’s have we given up? I think the Frank Walker signing is starting to look like a huge pickup for the Ravens. Where would we be without him?

I did not get any disagreement to this point, granted we did not have a ton of traffic back then. Here is the complete link….
http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2008/11/3/652939/the-way-i-see-it

Walker is a polarizing figure, for sure. He can be an ass, talk trash, and get penalties. But whether some people want to believe it or not he “plays like a Raven,” by being physical, aggressive, and a very hard worker. He is one of “our guys” and will not only be on the team this year, but will play a important role. The Ravens are cool with it, as am I. Nothing really left to debate until the real games start, at which point the “real” (seeing as we have actual CB depth) Frank Walker will be exposed for better or worse.

by DT711 on Sep 2, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

+1

Well, well said. I have also had to defend Walker lately. Like you said, it seems like people have forgotten how much he helped us last season. The reason that he looks bad this preseason is because he is usually the slowest corner on the field, and teams throw at him. I’m sorry… If a corner who started for us last season is our 4th-5th corner this season, it doesn’t mean that he’s a bad player. It means that we have excellent depth!

Walker is still one of the best players on the team at covering possession receivers and tight ends.

by BAL_Hawk on Sep 2, 2009 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why the Ravens like Frank Walker

The team likes him and doesn’t think his issues are the same as most of the fans do. Yes, he grabs and holds and sometimes gets beat. He is considered a more physical corner than some of the other guys, but his role on the team is to get in their grills and do whatever he can to messup their routes and that runs the risk of penalties. He played a lot better in the latter part of the season than he did in the early part. That said, he is due to get around $1.5 million this season and the team will play him until he plays himself off the roster or another guy steps it up.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Sep 2, 2009 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope you are right

Like I stated before, I want Frank to be great this season, I am not rooting for him to fail by any means, If I had to pick anyone to play himself off the roster it would be Frank Walker, he wants the attention of a good CB but does the wrong things to get it (talk trash, fight with teammates, get dumb penalties, wear the ravens giving middle finger to pittsburgh shirt), I see all those things as attracting negative attention when you are trying to portray to people that you are a decent player on this team and I don’t believe it shows the fans anything positive. He has the fans, at least me, nervous when he enters a game, but I hope he does well, Frank Walker isn’t worth this much conversation, we got a Super Bowl to win.

by ShaneOmacDaddy on Sep 2, 2009 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You should have heard D-Mase in camp

when I was right there behind him on the sidelines. He was yelling at Walker for holding one of the other receivers, yelling, “practice good habits, Frank!”

Guess Frank didn’t listen?

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Sep 2, 2009 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yea I read that

Also told him to count his pennis cause D-Mase is making a lot more money and rightfully so. I’m not big on immature players that are either on or off my team, just like I’m weary of Marshall, Malor is all for him coming to the Ravens, but I just don’t like any negative attention towards my team, it gets in the way of the coaches, team, and fans goal and that is to win football games and move on hopefully to Miami. I think talk is cheap, I like players who walk out onto the field stone faced do their job and do it well without a word spoken because that speaks for itself much more loudly then talking trash up and down the field and also off the field for that matter. “Play Like A Raven Frank” should be uttered a little more in the locker room as well.

by ShaneOmacDaddy on Sep 2, 2009 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Heck, if we're going to give a 1st rounder

for Marshall, wouldn’t you rather give the same for Boldin? Won’t matter, as it won’t happen, much less a 2nd rounder.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Sep 3, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope they keep Gerard on the final 53 now that Rolle is hurt, because I want Frank Walker’s field time to be as limited as possible.

Please explain to me what exactly you have seen from Gerard that makes you want him over Walker. I am pretty sure you are basing your assumptions off of what you have read about how hard he practices, rather than what he has done in the games so far.

As DT711 said, Walker came in and filled a spot for us when C-Mac went down. Before last season, Walker was not signed to be a starting CB, but was forced into the situation and did the best he possibly could. He got a few flags, so what. So does every player on our team. The holding penalties and false starts from our lines hurt us more than the 3-4 personal foul flags that Walker got last season.

I am not saying he is godlike and the next Champ Bailey, but I think he fits our system fairly well. We are not the most physical group in the league, but definitely one of the fastest. Frank brings physicality to our secondary and much more. 31 of his 35 tackles last year were solo and he had 2 forced fumbles and 1 interception, which were career high for him. You guys only hate him because he talks, well so do many of out other players.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Sep 2, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

by DT711 on Sep 2, 2009 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But wait!

Had Frank turned around a second or so earlier, he could have, or should have had the interception. IU remember yelling at him. I think they either got a FG or scored off that drive.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Sep 2, 2009 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You guys only hate him because he talks

Not true. I think it’s great that he talks, the problem is that his play does not really back it up. Do you realize that the combined salaries of Landry, Zibby, and Haruki are less than what we paid Walker last year. He made twice as much as F. Washington. Regardless of how you feel about his talent, there is no denying he is way overpaid..

by adh on Sep 2, 2009 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What DB's to keep

Rolle made one decision easier, now cut Frank Walker, remember how many games and field position he cost this team last yr. Even came into came fighting Corey Ivy. The continued solid play of Martin and Webb, and Ogelsby is still learning, with Washington firmly on one side, I have a lot more faith than earlier. I still think Foxworth was a reach and overpaid, especially when McFadden was still available and more physical, hopefully his press skills will improve because Smith shook him but he did catch up! What’s he going to do with Moss or Galloway? Webb fears noone, reminds me of a young Asante Samuel!

by Jdubyathree on Sep 1, 2009 4:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Walker out

I really think Frank Walker will be cut. He hasnt play well and, most importante, he is making 2.3 million this that we can save cutting him.

So, the 6 CB will be: Foxworth, Washington, Webb, Carr, Martin and KJ Gerard.

When Rolle come back in week 7, we will cut Gerard

THE MEXICAN RAVEN

by JORGE NITALES on Sep 1, 2009 5:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Keep dreaming

Walker will be there, the team likes him. Gerard has done basically nothing to earn a spot while Derrick Martin has looked real decent. Gerard and Oglesby are both on the bubble and in danger, regardless of Rolle’s status, as other players getting released around the league may be brought in by the team at the last moments.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Sep 1, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He loses his head too much.

I know Walker will be on the team, and I wish him good luck and the best cause hes a memeber of my team but I would just prefer someone else I guess. He loses his head too much, trash talks, gets in fights with his own teammates, spits in faces, punches players when they have their helmet on ( I don’t know why), I just think Hines Ward or any of those other Steeler recievers will work him physically and emotionally till he breaks and ruins the game for us. I have little tolerance for stupidity and I think Walker exhibits the most of that in a Ravens uniform.

by ShaneOmacDaddy on Sep 1, 2009 8:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

he’s a liability and whenever they have the talent to replace him they should

by jackmca on Sep 2, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So an undrafted rookie (KJ Gerard) is already better than a 6 year veteran? What have you see from Gerar that makes him better than Walker? Be real now.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Sep 2, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs