Ravens Injured Return To Practice
by Bruce Raffel on Oct 13, 2011 11:01 AM EDT
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PrintIt might only be Thursday, but there were a bunch of players on the Baltimore Ravens who returned to practice after missing multiple games with injuries. There is no guarantee that these players will be ready to go when the Ravens host the Houston Texans this Sunday, but to hear they are back on the field practicing has to be an encouraging sign.
Although they were listed under the category, "Limited Participation," most of these players had not practiced with the team and the combination of their time off missing some of the team's games along with the restful Bye week gives fans hope that their return is expected as soon as Sunday, and if not, shortly thereafter.
Wednesday's list included guard Ben Grubbs (toe), LB Dannell Ellerbe (thigh), RB Anthony Allen (thigh), WR Lee Evans (foot), Haruki Nakamura (knee), David Reed (shoulder) and Tom Zbikowski (head). Unfortunately, not practicing at all continued to be CB Chris Carr (thigh) and rookie CB Jimmy Smith (ankle).
While it is good to see so many previously injured players returning to practice, the one name that most fans are looking forward to seeing get back on the field did not, as Jimmy Smith still does not appear ready to resume his NFL career, which has been put on hold since his first play in his first game.
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Grubbs is HUGE, Evans is HUGE, and getting our depth back at Safety is HUGE. In other words, life is huge today. Go listen to some loud music.
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
…everythings bigger in Texas.
"Is adult entertainment killing our children, or is killing children entertaining adults?"
-Marilyn Manson
by StuckInUtah on Oct 13, 2011 11:21 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
So much for all the people who were freaking out at the idea of putting Jimmy on Andre. They can all sleep a little easier tonight.
"Is adult entertainment killing our children, or is killing children entertaining adults?"
-Marilyn Manson
by StuckInUtah on Oct 13, 2011 12:10 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Wouldn’t mind seeing him come back in 2 weeks to match up on Fitz.
Flacco has to trust his receivers to make catches, but shouldn’t throw towards coverage. He needs to attack deep more often, but shouldn’t hold onto the ball so long. He needs to show more awareness in the pocket and move to extend plays, but nothing good comes of him leaving the pocket. He should run with the ball if nobody’s open, but he definitely can’t run with the ball.
Flacco should have the awareness of Roethlisberger, the elusiveness of Vick, the control of the offense of Manning, the leadership of Brady, the accuracy of Brees, and the arm strength of … Flacco? - Ampallang
Gorrer was a nice surprise last week. Add on signing McCann and getting Zibi back, I’m not worried about the secondary this week.
The writer formerly known as This White Man Can Jump; Powah Stached; Bear Killer; Da Dude; The Other Bambino; TJ Dropped The Season; Harbaugh Is My Co-Pilot; Billick's Alter Ego; Mr. Poopy Pants.
Webb is doing fine. I like him getting starting reps. When Jimmy Comes back I wouldn’t mind making webb the #2
Editor at Baltimore Beatdown - SB Nation Baltimore Ravens Blog
"The prevent-offense i.e Cam Cameron's game-plan: Long bomb on first down, 4 yard pass on 2nd down, draw play on third down. Unpredictable? Yes. Effective? No." - Jackmca
by Zachary Beard on Oct 13, 2011 8:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Jimmy has to earn the starting spot
Right now he should be the nickel back and then prove he deserves to start over either Cary or Lardar, as both are playing pretty solid ball right now.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Oct 13, 2011 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Did he ever play inside in college?
because you can’t just throw him in at nickel just because 2 guys are ahead of him. I don’t know if he even practiced nickel since he’s been here. What did you see at training camp Bruce? I agree those 2 are playing well, I think Jimmy will be used on the outside to give those guys a rest and also to let Webb play some nickel and blitz. He’ll end up starting by the end of the year, though.
I believe I saw him in the slot a few times college, but he definitely isn’t built for the slot, he’s built to play on the outside.
On Ed Reed:
"I’ve told him to his face many times, ‘You’re the greatest safety ever to play the game,’"
"We all learn from each other, but we all learn most from him."
- Troy Polamalu
Agreed
Webb plays better on the outside than inside, but he also blitzes well. With Jimmy back, Webb will be able to move around, play a little outside, a little inside, and come after the QB. I can’t wait for Jimmy and Carr to get back, this defense getting any better than it is now is scary for the teams we have to play.
Hey Bruce – think you might have missed an adjective in this sentence – I’ll supply in bold before anyone else does…
Jimmy Smith still does not appear ready to resume his Hall-of-Fame NFL career
Still the greatest ever. I’m so glad my kids lived to see him on that one play…
re: Big Ben - "God can have his soul. His ass is mine." - Terrell Suggs
+1
Good stuff Grumpy, thanks for catching that.
"Is adult entertainment killing our children, or is killing children entertaining adults?"
-Marilyn Manson
by StuckInUtah on Oct 13, 2011 12:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I had a ravens dream last night:
My first ravens dream. It wasn’t about the whole game, but we were having some trouble on defense, I think their run was hurting us on the series I dreamed up. But I didn’t know about this good news, so maybe it was all for naught!
I’m on hold with my bookie. Someone hypnotize this man and figure out the rest of his dream.
The writer formerly known as This White Man Can Jump; Powah Stached; Bear Killer; Da Dude; The Other Bambino; TJ Dropped The Season; Harbaugh Is My Co-Pilot; Billick's Alter Ego; Mr. Poopy Pants.
They call me Joseph...
Just don’t sell me out to the egyptians when you don’t like what the dreams have to say.
I’ll keep you updated though!
They’ll try to exploit a perceived weakness but I have faith in pagano and the players
by Evan Skev on Oct 13, 2011 1:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Grubbs and Evans back, now this offense can get rollin!
Flacco has to trust his receivers to make catches, but shouldn’t throw towards coverage. He needs to attack deep more often, but shouldn’t hold onto the ball so long. He needs to show more awareness in the pocket and move to extend plays, but nothing good comes of him leaving the pocket. He should run with the ball if nobody’s open, but he definitely can’t run with the ball.
Flacco should have the awareness of Roethlisberger, the elusiveness of Vick, the control of the offense of Manning, the leadership of Brady, the accuracy of Brees, and the arm strength of … Flacco? - Ampallang
Evans missed practice today, so I’m not sure if his ankle responded well after practicing yesterday. May be without him again this week.
On Ed Reed:
"I’ve told him to his face many times, ‘You’re the greatest safety ever to play the game,’"
"We all learn from each other, but we all learn most from him."
- Troy Polamalu
If someone practices, does that mean they're good to play next game?
And if so, if Lee Evans is ready, does that mean Torrey Smith won’t play? Or do you guys think the three receivers will sort of share playing time?
If someone practices, does that mean they’re good to play next game?
It depends, but it’s generally considered to be a good sign that the player is ready to perform.
And if so, if Lee Evans is ready, does that mean Torrey Smith won’t play? Or do you guys think the three receivers will sort of share playing time?
I believe that Evans playing would move Smith to third on the depth chart. Assuming that Cameron dials up any plays that use more than just two receivers, Smith would still see the field. Cameron is an adherent of the Air Coryell offensive philosophy (of the Norv Turner flavour, more specifically), which typically depends on having at least two receivers that can reliably stretch the field. Once Evans is healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised to see plenty of both Evans and Smith running deep routes. Of course, I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see Cameron totally turtle up, either.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
State your case, back it up with facts and reasonable opinions ...
Bruce Raffel
I just hope Flacco doesnt turtle up
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?-langton Hughes
yeah I agree with Jimmy and Cary shutting down the other teams WR’s, they’ll make anybody rushing the QB look good - Jaz
i agree
but i think our canadian friend should also understand that who is technically #2 or #3 on the chart isn’t always that important come game-time. We’re probably going to use Smith, Evans, and Boldin pretty equally (or at least try to) and experiment with lining each guy up in different locations. Look out for Evans being in the slot, that could be an indicator of us taking a deep shot.
Also, if the sun rises in the east on Sunday, we will probably throw deep a lot. So Smith and Evans should both play, lol
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
not all canadians are as football illiterate as me, just to note; thanks for the help though.
You seem to be saying that we will throw to smith or evans when we go long, but not to boldin? Or am I misunderstanding. I though Boldin could go long also. Or is he slower?
Also, what do you mean by “the slot”?
In other news, the montreal canadiens got pummeled last night, and are missing several key players to injury already. grumble grumble.
Yes
You seem to be saying that we will throw to smith or evans when we go long, but not to boldin? Or am I misunderstanding. I though Boldin could go long also. Or is he slower?
Boldin is slower, and not the ideal deep threat. He is a powerfully built guy with concise route-running skills, better-suited for the underneath passing attack where you can subject a receiver to hits, and where he can also be used to block. Boldin has great hands and is hard to bring down.
Evans (who will likely not play as it seems) and Smith are some of the faster players in the league, and you will quickly see that. Smith, especially, has the elite speed that very few players are born with. His 5th gear has him running with many corners; but in his 6th gear he blows by them entirely.
Also, what do you mean by "the slot"?
When you line up with 3 WRs, two will be on the outside, and one will be about a step back from the line of scrimmage, halfway between the receiver on his side and the O-Lineman nearest to him. That is referred to as “the slot” and that receiver will be called in some systems “the slot back.”
There is a lot of jargon here that I’m trying to avoid using but let me know as it comes up and we’ll be glad to explain it to you. I enjoy it actually.
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
OK thanks, yea I’m not shy to ask if I don’t understand abbreviations or acronyms or jargon in general. I don’t even want to get into defense…I’ll use Bruce’s next defense post as an opportunity however.
K so the slot-back is a receiver who tends to run deep routes. Does the fact that he’s nearer to center of the field give him some advantage over a WR?
they tend to have a little bit more room to work with in the slot. When a corner is guarding a receiver they can use the sideline to help out in covering that receiver because he can’t go out of bounds whereas a slot receiver isn’t as close to the sideline and it makes it harder for the CB to guard him without help from a safety or a linebacker.
On Ed Reed:
"I’ve told him to his face many times, ‘You’re the greatest safety ever to play the game,’"
"We all learn from each other, but we all learn most from him."
- Troy Polamalu
The slot has many uses, but primarily you can use it to get a mismatch. Often teams will go over the middle rather than deep because slot defenders (“nickelbacks”) can’t committ to either side, making them easier to beat underneath. Nickels who are good at jumping underneath routes negate this.
Often though they go deep from the slot because your slot corner is often not your fastest guy and it might give the WR a chance to split the safeties deep. All of this the qb has to read and react to as thing develop so he can judge for himself.
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
by jackmca on Oct 14, 2011 7:52 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Main idea here is that if an outside player (I.e. Lee Evans) is suddenly in the slot, that is unusual and it is probably an indicator of the team trying to do something opportunistic.
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
by jackmca on Oct 14, 2011 7:54 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
good idea!
this will explain a lot of what Cameron does (whether or not you agree is another issue)
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
Do we have an F back? Wiki describes him as an all purpose back, or something to that effect.
Or is that not cameron’s take on the coryell?
What the Air Coryell wiki describes as Norv Turner’s F-Back is a little different in effect than what Rice does for us, but Rice fills the spirit of that position given his versatility. Rice can run the ball, is a threat to catch it out of the backfield, is an effective pass blocker, and can also line up as a receiver on the line. While Leach is our full back, Rice plays the role of the multi-threat that helps our offensive scheme to move more efficiently. The only real difference between Rice and the classic F-back is that Rice won’t be doing any run blocking.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
State your case, back it up with facts and reasonable opinions ...
Bruce Raffel
OK, run blocking is why we have vonta! I get it.
Right, I’ve seen Rice catch screen passes and even deeper.
Man football is so deep, I guess that’s what happens when every play begins as a set play.
but it can all change after the snap
I love when people from other countries get into our game. It’s a tough one to learn if you didn’t grow up playing it, or at least watching it, but of all the foreigners I know who have taken the time to dig into it and learn it, every one of them has fallen in love with it. This game is amazing.
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
True, but it still resets all the time. I'm convinced that's why it's so complex.
That’s not to take away from it, it’s just how the game is played.
But to be fair, canadian football is very popular in canada – second only to hockey. Also, pleeeease don’t call me a foreigner I’m a dual citizen!!!! And Canadians are hardly foreigners anyway! I love america.
i'm sorry man
I’m mostly referring to my other buddies who are from either Brazil, South Africa, or England. I didn’t mean to offend you, I’ve been to Canada once and our two countries are obviously incredibly similar. (Yours is probably safer, prettier, but MUCH COLDER.)
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
No worries!
Yea, incredibly colder. Despicably colder. Montreal’s special though and has good spirit through the winter!
Do we have the F back?
Or is that not cameron’s style?
Cameron loves fullbacks, even though many teams around the league are moving away from them. The Steelers, for instance, typically don’t use a fullback. Leach, our fullback, is a very important piece in our offensive scheme, as he helps to establish the power running game that is so important to the Air Coryell.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
State your case, back it up with facts and reasonable opinions ...
Bruce Raffel
The the Ravens offense will be facing a challenge since the Texans defense
are ranked No. 7 in the league in total yards. They’re sixth against the pass, allowing about 60 fewer average yards per game.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?-langton Hughes
yeah I agree with Jimmy and Cary shutting down the other teams WR’s, they’ll make anybody rushing the QB look good - Jaz
yes but they’re so good against the pass in large part because of Mario…
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
yes but they’re so good against the pass in large part because of Mario…
Im sure Mario pass rush abilites did help the secondary but mario was also there last year when they didnt have a good secondary at all. the texans signed cornerback Jonathan Joseph and Safety Daniel Manning whom have both improved the Texans secondary so far .
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?-langton Hughes
yeah I agree with Jimmy and Cary shutting down the other teams WR’s, they’ll make anybody rushing the QB look good - Jaz
this is true
Obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
by jackmca on Oct 14, 2011 8:05 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Remember how Jonathan Josephs
shut down our receivers every time we played Cincy, so expect Anquan to be blanketed, which makes either Evans or Smith, plus Dickson/Pitta even more important.
aka 'Rexx'
Oh that just great and Josephs not even a shutdown cornerback atleast not on a darrielle revis type level
but I hope Boldin can atleast get 100 receiving yards or better
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?-langton Hughes
yeah I agree with Jimmy and Cary shutting down the other teams WR’s, they’ll make anybody rushing the QB look good - Jaz
I wonder if that's a testament to Joseph's skill
or to the scheme Cincy ran that turns Joe and Cam into the ugly ducklings.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Oct 14, 2011 1:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Good point. I’m wondering the same thing. Joe goes up against a better 3-4 D in practice everyday. He should be ready for Houston.
The writer formerly known as This White Man Can Jump; Powah Stached; Bear Killer; Da Dude; The Other Bambino; TJ Dropped The Season; Harbaugh Is My Co-Pilot; Billick's Alter Ego; Mr. Poopy Pants.
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