Well, I’m sorry that you didn’t like my list, but I don’t think it’s THAT bad. Most of the contentions that you have with my list are with drafted rookies making the team over undrafted rookies. In my experience, most teams like to stick with their draft picks… unless they are really, really, really bad or an undrafted player really, reallly, really beats them out in training camp.

Second, Jalen Parmele or Matt Lawrens (I think Parmele) are going to be 3rd RB….

Do you really think Burguess has had a good preseason???? Over him are Danell Ellerbe, and Willy VandeSteeg…

Jalen Parmele, Matt Lawrence, Dannell Ellerbe and William VanDeSteeg are all undrafted players. Jalen Parmele and Matt Lawrence would need to beat out Cedric Peerman, and Dannell Ellerbe and William VanDeSteeg would need to beat out Prescott Burgess. Now before you simply say that they have been beaten out and I’m an idiot for not seeing that fact, remember that the team spent draft picks on Peerman and Burgess. History has shown that Ozzie Newsome doesn’t like to give up on draft picks (Dan Cody and Kyle Boller). Furthermore, they kept Burgess on IR last season and brought him back for camp this year.

For me, theres no chance Yamon Figurs make the final roster…

And finally I think you smoke something to think B Mckinney is on the bubble.. He is a lock in the roster, and I think Kelley Talavou also will make the team

I would agree that Figurs has done very little to secure a roster spot, but I did explain this in my original post. I kept him on the roster since Clayton and Williams have been injured and are injury risks. Figurs is also a decent special teams contributor. I was actually considering Kelly Talavou or Edgar Jones over him, but I chose Figurs because the Ravens currently have excellent defensive line depth and poor wide receiver depth. This one could go either way in my opinion.

Also I dont think we will go with only 3 Tackles… I think Joe Ritz will make the team….

I am concerned with the depth at tackle, but you need to remember that a few interior offensive lineman can play tackle. Marshal Yanda started the entire 2007 season at RT. If Gaither were injured, Oher would move to LT, Yanda would move to RT and Chester would start at RG. If Oher were injured, Yanda would simply take over at RT, and Chester would play RG. The Ravens were practicing these arrangements in camp, and I’m sure that they are confident with them. Furthermore, David Hale was a tackle in college and he could start in a pinch. Joe Reitz is a good player, but I see him on the practice squad. He could be activated in the case of an injury.

They could keep Joe Reitz and/or Bryan Mattison, but I really think the Ravens are happy with this group. Like I said in my comment above, the key to the Raven’s depth on the offensive line is the ability of a few of their interior lineman to play tackle in a pinch. Remember that they can activate players off their practice squad before games. Therefore, the only situation that they need to account for is injuries during games. Even if Oher and Gaither were both injured during a game, the Ravens could take the field with the backups (Cousins at LT and Yanda at RT).

Joe Reitz is the type of player that you want on the practice squad. He’s not the most talented player but knows the Raven’s system. Therefore, he’s unlikely to be signed by another team and is more valuable to the Ravens than any other team. Again, depth is a concern, but until the Ravens sign another player, I believe that they will go with this lineup.

Again, Davon Drew was a draft pick and was actually the first player that Ozzie signed from the last draft class. Sure, he has had a quiet camp, but you can’t jump the gun and fire every rookie that has a bad camp. Edgar Jones spent most of last season on the Ravens practice squad. I believe that he will start this season on the practice squad since Ozzie drafted Davon Drew.

Edgar Jones is an excellent practice squad player since he’s a converted linebacker. He can play linebacker or tight end in practice or be activated for an injured tight end or linebacker. Furthermore, he’s not talented enough where other teams will steal him.

Isaac Smolko ahead of Davon Drew? What are you Smolko-ing?

Sorry… I couldn’t help myself.

Davon Drew and Pearman have been disappointing, and Phillips has as well. I think they are all in danger of being cut, but Phillips is prob safe since he has been playing injured.

They like Ellerbe but he has not been on the field enough. If he can play preseason game #4, I think they keep him over Burgess.

I think Edgar Jones will make the team, possibly over Drew, who is in real trouble of being cut. Jones also can play LB or DE, and is a solid special teams guy.

Pearman is gone, with Lawrence or Parmele taking the spot.

I can understand were everyone is coming from. I like our undrafted rookies… I really do, but I just cannot believe that Ozzie would keep undrafted players over drafted player unless they were much, much better. For example, Ozzie let James Harrison go because he was undrafted and kept Dan Cody for three years since he was drafted. For better or for worse, I think that all of our draft picks are going to make the final roster. I could see Parmele over Peerman but still think that it’s a long-shot. Peerman scored a touchdown on a sweet cutback run against the Skins.

Furthermore, I don’t believe that all of these undrafted rookies have really been that good. It’s the story-line that we hear evey training camp. The beat writers like to play it up and make a big deal out of every undrafted player fighing for their lively-hood. It is a good story to be sure, but we cannot believe everything that we read.

The fact remains that Newsome, DeCosta and the entire front office scouted all of these players, drafted and undrafted, extensively before the draft. They chose to draft our drafted rookies over the undrafted rookies. Obviously, this means that the liked what they saw on film, and the drafted rookies have a significant edge going into camp.

It often takes several seasons before a rookie’s true potential is reached, and the coaches and scouts understand that MUCH better than beat writers. Ultimately, rookies, drafted and undrafted, are kept on the team for potential… not performance in one training camp. If Ozzie saw the potential, which doesn’t always show up in performance right away, I have to believe that he still sees it since the tape hasn’t changed.

I’ve heard Figurs is out, but I’m not sure about that.

I know that he’s been disappointing, but the fact remains that the Ravens are thin at wide reciever. Furthermore, Figurs knows the offense and can contribute on special teams. I would not be surprised to see a player like Kelly Talavou make the roster instead of Figurs, but I believe that Figurs may be the best option for the Ravens right now. Don’t be surprised to see this spot filled with another receiver once other teams make their cuts.

I think Martin will be safe as the final DB, due to the flexability he brings being able to play safety and CB.

I could definitely see that happening. I just picked Gerard over Martin because I like Gerard’s upside. Gerard has upside, but Martin could contribute and add depth right away. It’s a toss-up in my opinion.

Sweet post by the way. How difficult was it to make the color coded chart?

Thanks. It didn’t take too long. I copy/pasted the roster right off the Raven’s website into Excel. I edited it, added the colors, took a screenshot of the speadsheet, pasted it into paint, saved it as a jpeg, uploaded it to photobucket and linked it in the fanpost. All in all, it took about ten minutes.

named bart scott. its just hard to evaluate young players who were undrafted and who you didn’t see play alot in college, or who improved a lot since college. sure it would have been nice to keep harrison but ozzie must have seen something bad that was later corrected before he became dpoy.

True, but you cannot throw out the success that Ozzie has because he values his draft picks. For every Harrison, Ozzie drafts a Ngata, Suggs, Flacco, Rice, Webb, Kruger, Oher, Reed… Ozzie is one of the most successful drafters in the NFL, and if I was as good at drafting talent, I would cherish my draft picks too.

Furthermore, there are many reasons why a team can and cannot keep players. Many times, it’s because a player hasn’t shown anything in college or preseason and the team needs the spot for another player who looks better. That was the case with Harrison. Pittsburgh was lucky that Harrison started to play well with them.

Anyway, Ozzie has found some pretty good late round and undrafted players. Bart Scott is the most obvious example.

Lots of tough decisions to make between now and Saturday and probably a bunch of teams waiting to “vulture” our cuts!

talk about picky. This post and details (yes, and colors as well!), is great!