Baltimore Beatdown Sits Down with Ravens DT Cory Redding

by Bruce Raffel on Jun 14, 2010 7:00 AM EDT

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In the locker room following the Baltimore Ravens final Mini-Camp of the off-season, I sat down on a stool next to DT Cory Redding, to ask him about his former Detroit Lion teammate, Corey Smith, who died tragically in the Gulf of Mexico, off of Tampa during what was supposed to be a final fishing trip before Training Camp in 2009.

Smith, who went out that ill-fated day with three friends, including fellow NFL player Marquis Cooper and another friend, Will Bleakley, drowned after their small boat capsized in rough seas and they were forced to endure huge waves and frigid temperatures as they awaited rescue. Unfortunately, only Nick Schuyler, their friend and personal trainer, survived the long ordeal and lived to write the book of their story, aptly titled, 'Not Without Hope.' I reviewed that book a few weeks ago and wanted to ask Cory about his personal feelings of the story and his friend.

Click on the 'Jump' to read the interview.

Beatdown: "Cory, I just finished reading Nick Schuyler's book, 'Not Without Hope.' You were in Detroit with Corey Smith, right?"

Redding: "Yes."

Beatdown: "Are you wearing the same number that he wore?"

Redding: "Yeah, ...that might be."

Beatdown: "Is there a reason you wear the same number that he wore, does it have anything to do with it, or is it just a coincidence?"

Redding: "Coincidence."

Beatdown: "It was an amazing story."

Redding: "Corey was a great guy, man, and in my short three years knowing him, he never complained about nothing. He just hung out, went to work, worked hard, you never even knew he was in the building. But you knew he was out there, he was making plays and was a great guy to be around."

Beatdown: "Did you know (Oakland Raider) Marquis Cooper at all?"

Redding: "No, but I heard him talk about him a couple of times. Didn't know him personally."

Beatdown: "Rough way to go."

Redding: "Yeah, yeah it is."

Beatdown: "Thanks a lot and good luck."

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Comments

Anyone else get the feeling that we might get Trevor Pryce like production from 2006 from Redding this year? Maybe not the 13 sacks Pryce had that year, but around 8-9 with major help in the run game. Redding seems to be a guy who just gets it. He was a franchise player only a few seasons ago and the Seahawks fans I got to speak to only had great things to say about his personality and performance. I really don’t see Princess Kruger beating this guy out.

Yet another Free Agent steal by the Wizard.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Jun 14, 2010 10:40 AM EDT reply actions

I think he is a good player but you never know until training camp kruger may step up

but all the competition going on I think this just make s trevor pryce, cory reddings, and paul kruger even more determine to push themselves to be even better players this year. I think just about ever position this year has competition going into training camp and preseason just can’t wait to see who steps up

by jazz20 on Jun 14, 2010 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Listen:

If both Redding and Kruger each get 4-6 sacks, then that’s 4-6 more sacdks than we had last year. Anything anyone does to pressure the QB will be a bonus over last year’s poor pass rush. I think the inside bigs will take care of the run game, so who cares who gets the stats as long as they total enough to make us a fearsome defense whenever the QB drops back.

Certainly our DB’s don’t care, as long as they don’t have to cover for 6-8 seconds anymore!

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Jun 14, 2010 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m also thinking our sack totals are going to be a cumulative effort this year. I don’t think anyone will get more then 8-12 (Suggs – before you jump on him, remember he is not Harrison or Ware, mainly a pass rush specialist, he is a complete LB) JJ, Redding, Pryce and possibly Kindle should get 4-7 or so each, backups like Barnes and McClain should be good for a few each, as should Ray, Ngata, Ellerbe and maybe even Cody, Like Bruce said, I could care less if we don’t have an individual league leader in sacks, as long as we are in the top 8 or so in the league as a defense.

by DT711 on Jun 14, 2010 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions

I actually think Suggs wants some more of that straight-up pass-rush duty this year

but regardless, the total will go up. A lot.

"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Jun 14, 2010 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Its very possible Suggs wants to strictly rush the passer more

But I doubt Harbaugh gives a crap what Suggs wants, especially after hes missed some OTA’s. I also think Suggs is a team player and embraces being an all around backer, so this won’t be an issue.

That said, the double teams Cody and Nagta will surely command could open the door for Suggs to get a career high in sacks this year, while continuing to play his role as an all around player.

by DT711 on Jun 14, 2010 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I also think Suggs is a team player and embraces being an all around backer

I don’t question his pride on Sundays, but we cannot possibly say that Suggs is a big time team player with how he has come into camp since becoming a Raven. Not showing up for practices when every other veteran is there including your idol Ray Lewis and then coming to training camp year after year at 290-300 pounds does not seem like a team player to me. It not only hurts his performance, but ours as well. Last year is an example, as he admitted to coming into camp at nearly 300 pounds. That type of work during the off season leads to those injuries and crappy performances he had last year.

Yes, I love Suggs as a Raven, he is one of my favorites. But we have to be real here that Suggs is not getting a $67 million contract to cover TE and RB on the flats. He is getting that money to be our best pass rusher. There is no excuse for him not getting double digit sacks. Sure, if our sack total goes up drastically next year I will be ecstatic, but will you honestly be satisfied if Suggs plays in 16 games and has 7.5 sacks? Is that $67 million right there? Suggs is out premier pass rusher and in order for our sack total and pressure to go up, Suggs must dominate.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Jun 14, 2010 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Suggs is very under rated against the run

he always catches the guy trying t go around end for a loss. He plugs the run as good as anyone turning it into the lanes for Ray, the other ILB’s and the bigs to stuff. As far as covering he is good in the flat or on the screen, but not built to cover a TE like Ellerbe or even Kindle will be.

That said, I’d love for him to quiet his critics a bit by getting close to double digit sacks for 2010.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Jun 14, 2010 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Suggs is very under rated against the run
he always catches the guy trying t go around end for a loss.

With the addition of Cody this off-season, I feel like this is going to be even more important than last season.

Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.

by Ampallang on Jun 14, 2010 9:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Exactly

That was one of the tenants of my argument in defense of Suggs a while back.

We all agree Suggs had an off season last year -but it was not as bad as people think because he does so much else besides chase the QB. If Suggs comes out a monster and teams have to double and triple team him which results in other Ravens having inflated sack totals, then Suggs is worth every penny, even if his own sack totals are “lackluster”.

Personally, I do not care who sacks the QB, just as long as we get to him. And since Leonard is gone, we do not have to worry about blitzing DB’s bouncing off opposing QB’s like ping-pong balls off Randy Daytona’s paddle (“Less talkie-talkie, more ping-pong”)… …can you ever have too much Christopher Walken?

by vlad755 on Jun 14, 2010 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t think anyone here will say that Suggs is bad. He is one of the best OLB in the NFL at dropping back in coverage and is great against the run, certainly better than Harrison and Woodley in those areas. We all say that we will be fine with the sack total rising if it is spread out, but that is very rare in the NFL. Not many times do you see multiple guys with 6,7,8 sacks on the same team, and for our pass rush to improve, alot of people would have to get numbers like that.

It is more realistic that Suggs gets 12-15 sacks in a season. I guess we are starting to forget just how dominant that one edge rusher can be for a team the entire season. James Harrison single handily took Pittsburgh to that Superbowl in 2008 and won it for them. Single handily.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Jun 14, 2010 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Christopher Walken

Halloween, anyone?

http://crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/walken_mask-thumb-320×440.gif

by DerFeurer on Jun 14, 2010 4:23 PM EDT reply actions

Hey Bruce

How’s Brad Jones doing in practice?

Bringing Baltimore Beatdown "Create a Caption" for 9 weeks and counting.

by Zachary Beard on Jun 14, 2010 11:17 PM EDT reply actions

Jones is playing with the 3rd or 4th team

He is sort of being taken under the wing of his former college teammate, Haruki Nakamura. However, with Landry, Zbi, and Ruki in camp, as well as some of the other reserves, plus the 3 new guys, his reps are few and far between.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Jun 15, 2010 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, well I know him so I was just wondering how he was doing.

Bringing Baltimore Beatdown "Create a Caption" for 9 weeks and counting.

by Zachary Beard on Jun 16, 2010 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Not well, apparently. Maybe he doesn’t have a face for the game.

Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.

by Ampallang on Jun 16, 2010 4:49 AM EDT up reply actions

His face looks constipated and his hands are blocking it from pouring out. Don’t want any messes on the field. Next…

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Jun 16, 2010 8:04 AM EDT up reply actions

i think suggs will have a great year so will jarret johnson I think just about everybody

can get to the quarterback now.I wonder who more dangerous Terrell Suggs and Jarret Johnson or antwan barnes and Sergio Kindle ? thats a easy one to answer but I really think no team should sleep on Antwan Barnes this year or Sergio Kindle; also recent reports have said that Antwan Barnes had gotten faster this offseason and his technique has improve

by jazz20 on Jun 15, 2010 11:43 AM EDT reply actions

Good points

With only one solid pass rusher, or even two, teams can key on that guy. For the Ravens you just won’t know where the pressure will be coming from next. Every play might have different guys bringing the rush. This could be a great pass rush for a change.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Jun 15, 2010 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions