Ravens' Derrick Mason Model Of NFL Consistency

by Bruce Raffel on Jul 12, 2011 3:00 PM EDT

According to an interesting story by Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason is about to enter rarefied air in pro football statistics. If Mason can continue to do what he has for the past eleven seasons and catch at least 60 passes in 2011, he can be in rare company in NFL history.

Only current Atlanta Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez have each caught at least 60 passes for 12 straight seasons in the NFL. Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice caught 60 passes in a season for eleven consecutive seasons, mostly while a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Rice was joined by Mason last year when he caught 61 passes for the 11th straight time.

Derrick has already proved that his is one the most consistent players in the NFL, but would like to join Gonzalez at the top of the streak, although Tony will have the chance to extend his streak and stay one season ahead of Mason. At the same time, something tells me that Mason would gladly see that streak broken in exchange for a Super Bowl ring next year.

Tweet Comment 50 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Hall of Fame WR Derrick Mason

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 3:17 PM EDT reply actions

Unfortunately, he may need a ring first in today’s media world, but he’s certainly worthy of a long discussion when the voters are in the room.

by JoshuaStein on Jul 12, 2011 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

he is similar to Hines..

true, Mason don’t have a ring, and hines has two..It will be close though!

A man is innocent untill proven guilty...Even if it's Ben Roethlisberger!
'I rather have a German division in front of me than a French division behind me'..General George Patton
" I don't care if he has two horns and a tail, as long as he is anti-communist"..General Douglas MacArthur..
"The way to end our dependence on foreign oil is to keep our tires properly inflated"....B. Hussein Obama
"Government is not the solution to our problems, it is the cause of them" Ronald Wilson Reagan..40th President of the United States

by nycsteelerfan on Jul 12, 2011 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Mason getting in would help Ward's case since he's far from a shoo-in

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions

and I've completely changed my mind about Nnamdi

He is coming to Baltimore to play with Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Haloti Ngata

Discuss

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 3:58 PM EDT reply actions

Atta-boy!

I knew you’d come around.

"I hate your sig…" -Mr MaLoR

by StuckInUtah on Jul 12, 2011 4:33 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Stop that

Bad evan dont make me rub ur nose in this bad idea

by zmmckay on Jul 12, 2011 4:38 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I checked out our roster & payroll

then I did the math according to rumors of a 93% “cash” floor on a $120M payroll. I admit I assumed who would be on our final 53 man and that isn’t scientific but the reality is…

we have a unique opportunity:

Haloti’s contract is only a handshake, at this point, so we can offer him a generous signing bonus and do the same with Aso. That puts us in position to retain the services of our skill players in 2012 and 2013 while not being forced to part ways with any of the important pieces from our 2010 team.

The presence of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Pagano, and one of the best front offices in football makes this a very real possibility. No one can compete with us in terms of organizational quality and training facilities. We are the cream of the crop. The Baltimore metro area is one of the best places to live in the country with proximity to NYC, Philadelphia, and DC/NoVa.

I did the math.. I thought it out more thoroughly… and now I’m trying to figure out one more thing:

Where would he be better off and why?

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

what kind of signing bonus do you think we throw at him?

because im guessing it would have to be massive…

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 12, 2011 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions

What about our fa

We wouldnt be able to keep the important ones this year and nxt like yanda gaither chester Landry rice um flacco mcclain grubbs

by zmmckay on Jul 12, 2011 4:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

why not?

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions

not all of those dudes will be in P&B… Gaither is stuck in the doghouse. Landry’s replacement is a starter already… Chester won’t command big dollars… not sure what Jameel will get.

We have room this year and more room next year with big salaries coming off and no big hits to the cap since our FO is BALLER.

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions

The massive signing bonus doesn't count against the cap

remember that players are going to get their money anyway…

Assuming we’re required to increase our payroll to at least $110M… we have around $20M-$30M in space for salaries before we cut anyone. Signing bonuses don’t count against the cap…but can backfire if a player gets hurt or does a Fat Albert.

Haloti, Yanda and Jimmy Smith are this year’s big Ravens contracts. Chester, Burgess, Landry, Le’Ron, Carr, Wilson, and Moll are UFA. Torrey, Jah, Doss, McPhee, Brown, and Tyrod will get rookie contracts with small salaries… $3M total?

Ozzie is a surgeon, our organization is the best in the biz, and we have the money and the cap room.

questions/comments

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions

if anyone can pull this off, its the Wizard

i can’t really add much here except that i hope your hunch is correct.

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 12, 2011 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions

I’ll sacrifice some more small animals to Jeff the God of Biscuits AND the flying spaghetti monster , just to be safe.

"I hate your sig…" -Mr MaLoR

by StuckInUtah on Jul 12, 2011 5:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Jeff always hooks us up

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 13, 2011 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions

No doubt.

"I hate your sig…" -Mr MaLoR

by StuckInUtah on Jul 13, 2011 2:38 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I don't know how much it would be but signing bonuses don't count against the cap

The Jets dropped $32M on Revis Island to end his holdout… granted, Revis was playing under a rookie contract so he was next to broke. Aso just banked $30M of Al Davis’ money in the past two years. He will get a guarantee of that size in this contract, also.

I need more time to make y conclusions definitive… or even plausible.

I’d like to hear who thinks there’s a better team for Aso and why..

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions

I beleive Nnamdi is a smart man and he has made alot of money from the oakland raiders

He Just turned 30 years old not too long ago and right now his mind set may be focus on the idea of just wanting to play for a team that is superbowl ready. Some players when they reach the age of 30 get more mature and start focusing on the task at hand which is trying to get to the super bowl.

Nnamdi has proven already he is one of the best cornerback in the league, proven he can shut down the top wideouts in the league, proven he can be a leader, proven he is very intelligent on the football field and etc. Nnamdi has not proven to help a team to get to the playoffs or superbowl and his mind sets may just to consider to take less money then he is worth in ordered to be signed by very good team.

I think the Nnamdi may go to the houston texans because the team has alot of talent and their offense is already great all they need is a good cornerback. The texans are already set in the pass rush department, their linerbacks are solid, and they have a very good defensive coordinator. Nnamdi for sure probably wants to go to a team that has a very good offense and solid quarterback which he did not have as a oakland raider.

The Texans probably will be one of the only teams that could dish out a big deal for nnamdi(not a huge deal but big) and they have the ability to go to the playoffs and enough talent to even reach the superbowl all they need is him

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

by jazz20 on Jul 12, 2011 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Texans are in the middle of changing DC and D scheme...

I don’t expect them to contend for anything… the lockout is going to sack them

good team though

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 11:55 PM EDT up reply actions

i can't argue there's a better team.

but I do worry that despite the bit about bonuses, Dallas/Washington will still outbid us (since you know we don’t follow people into bidding wars). The cynic in me says it’s hard for a man to resist as much money as Snyder or Jones might throw at him. I don’t care how much you want a ring, that is a lot of money we’re potentially talking about.

But I hope the cynic in me is wrong.

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 13, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I'll bet you $1 he doesn't go to the Skins

I don’t think Dallas has cap space…

Who knows what his motivations are… but we do know this… you never hear anything bad about him in the media. His rep is stellar. Is he Marvin Harrison? I doubt it…

by Evan Skev on Jul 13, 2011 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions

haha dude Marvin Harrison was very possibly involved in some Philly shootings...

so a good rep in the media doesn’t always mean anything… but i digress…

I guess we’ll just have to see about FA and how it goes

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 13, 2011 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

thats what I mean...

Marv seemed to be the perfect WR… except that he was a cowboy.

by Evan Skev on Jul 13, 2011 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions

roger that

wasnt sure what you meant

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 13, 2011 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

I stand corrected

http://www.askthecommish.com/salarycap/faq.asp

…“if a player signs a four-year deal with a $1 million signing bonus, $250,000 of that bonus will count toward team salary for each contract year ($1 million divided evenly over the four-year contract is $250,000 per year). If a team releases a player, the unamoratized bonus money (the remaining prorated bonus money) counts immediately against the cap.”

so there wil be small cap hits for cutting players… i’ll do the math and see where the Ravens stand

by Evan Skev on Jul 14, 2011 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions

So we could retain Ngata & Yanda this year, Flacco, Rice, and Grubbs next year, and still be able to give Nnamdi the payday he wants? Time to order Asosupercalifragilstic jersey!

"I hate your sig…" -Mr MaLoR

by StuckInUtah on Jul 12, 2011 4:52 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Between this year and next year

Who do we retain

by zmmckay on Jul 12, 2011 4:57 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

check this out

it isn’t perfect so double-check when you have doubts
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/baltimore-ravens/yearly/

Ray Rice, Grubbs, JJ… mainly

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Ngata and Yanda as well I'm assuming...

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 12, 2011 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Haloti and Yanda are getting new deals this month

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Damn, well done man!

You should seriously consider taking your breakdown and making a FanPost about it. Everyone around the Beatdown has either been crossing their finger for Nnamdi, or bitching about how “it just won’t work”. But your breakdown not only shows how possible it is, but how it would still leave us in position to retain our key guys that everyone is so worried about losing.

"I hate your sig…" -Mr MaLoR

by StuckInUtah on Jul 12, 2011 5:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

yea

a lot of people on here could use the detailed information on how it works. Especially with a lot of the uncertainty and lack of understanding regarding how the new CBA is expected to work.

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 13, 2011 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions

AWESOME

I’ve been wanting to do something like this, but figured by the time I got it done USA Today would update their database and my work would be redundant and obsolete, but it doesn’t seem like USA Today is moving on that. Don’t know if you all saw this when I posted it but this writer’s work is really exemplary—he calculated the Eagles salary and cap room using public info like rotoworld
http://www.eaglescap.com/
He’s obviously using an outdated figure for the actual cap number, but all the work is there.
Also, this is a nice primer for those with questions on how the cap works, how contracts count, etc. The formula for the overall cap will be different under the new CBA but I’m pretty sure the rules on proration/bonuses etc will largely carry over.
http://www.askthecommish.com/salarycap/faq.asp
Don’t know if you meant that they’re prorated Evan but bonuses do definitely count against the cap, just not all at once.

by dimik on Jul 14, 2011 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Thanks! I needed this

by Evan Skev on Jul 14, 2011 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

What Evan agreeing with us? I like it.

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

by AV23 on Jul 12, 2011 8:06 PM EDT up reply actions

indeed

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 13, 2011 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions

I posted about this earlier but the Eagles are the frontrunners for many reasons

Their entire defensive roster is only $38m in cap money, and overall they have a decent amount of cap room.
http://eaglescap.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/salary-cap-analysis-defensive-review/
They didn’t draft a corner despite an obvious need, and they are on record as saying they will be aggressive in FA. With Asante Samuel and probably Quintin Mikell they have an excellent secondary for him to work with. The Eagles have an explosive offense, and a pretty good D with guys like Trent Cole—they are already contenders. They have the cap room to pursue a pass-rushing DE in FA as well to complement Cole.

I hate to say it but my money’s on Asomugha in Philly, as much as I’m hoping he lands here.

by dimik on Jul 14, 2011 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions

Respect to Philly

We’ve won the Super Bowl and we have a better reputation in the league as it relates to dealing with our players in a respectful manner. They have a great team but if their QB doesn’t learn how to slide, they’re going nowhere.

I hear you but I maintain that Baltimore is a better destination, for the reasons I stated above, among others.

by Evan Skev on Jul 14, 2011 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions

This was my gut at first too, and last year I was deadset against the Revis hype BUT

doesn’t it say a lot that Ozzie is definitely interested and will be presenting Asomugha and his reps with a serious offer? Clearly he believes that both there’s a way to make this work and that we would come out of the deal a better football team.

by dimik on Jul 14, 2011 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions

I think the Eagles are front runners as well. They will probably offer more and are contenders as well. The major selling point we have is he has the opportunity to play next Ray and Reed. What defensive player wouldn’t want to play next to those two?

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

by AV23 on Jul 14, 2011 12:49 AM EDT up reply actions

More info on Aso

Some say he only plays RCB… I don’t think that’s true. I’ve seen him line up on either side

great points in this NFL.com vid
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d820bce13/Asomugha-s-value

Sapp says that OCs look for that 3rd and 4th CB matchup…. I agree and I think we have the depth to cover 4 WR

by Evan Skev on Jul 12, 2011 11:58 PM EDT reply actions

That’s where I think we can be special this year. We have a very deep group of CB’s, so it’s not like it’s a mismatch trying to pick on our 3rd or 4th CB’s. We are now built to handle the teams that like to spread it out like the Pats, Colts, Packers, Etc. This group has been getting ragged on the last couple years, but they very well could be the strength of our team this season.

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

by AV23 on Jul 13, 2011 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah mon... they were pretty good last season

our O was painful to watch… wrong scheme… wrong personnel… and we still won 12 games on solid D (no pass rush though) and talent

by Evan Skev on Jul 13, 2011 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions

you may be swaying me into a more negative view of harbaugh.

But I still think if he could just man up and get rid of Cameron, Harbaugh has a lot of positive qualities as a coach that are hard to find.

whatever, we’re all along for at least one more ride here, i’m guessing many more. They can always MAKE harbs fire Cameron, worst case.

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 13, 2011 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't want to change your mind..

I only know what I see… which is based on my vision… which is based on my experiences. I don’t buy in to all the BS — consecutive playoff appearances is the best BS I’ve heard. I don’t believe in raw stats. I use facts, nuance and context to make an inference that leads me to a conclusion I like to think I’m open-minded and reasonable. I played 4 team sports. I know football…. anyway…We are along for the ride in 2011 and I’m hopeful even though my experience tells me not to expect major changes.

I guess I’ll be happy with small changes.

by Evan Skev on Jul 13, 2011 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

small changes may be all we need

"Airborne, do not look at the ground. I promise you, it will be there. Unless the tectonic plates shift, and a chasm opens up on the drop zone, in which case we will surely let you know."

by jackmca on Jul 13, 2011 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I really don’t even think there needs to be major changes. All we need to do is get our speed guys on the field and work the middle more. Boldin and Mason are as good as it gets underneath, so let them work that underneath while Torrey, Reed, or whoever is out there is going deep. If Cam will just do that our offense has potential to take off. Do I think he will do it? Who knows, but he better if he wants to stay in Baltimore.

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

by AV23 on Jul 13, 2011 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

We have shown that we can win playoffs games but I think overall the players need to step up their game

. For the past three years the Ravens have loss to teams like the steelers and colts in the playoffs not because of bad play calling but the players themselves not executing their plays giving to them. Joe Flacco overall needs to start performing better because their was sometimes (esspecailly in that steelers game) he seems lost.or not as good like he is in the regular season.

I do agree Cam Cameron needs to be more creative and that should help but i think its up to the players to make a change.

by jazz20 on Jul 13, 2011 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions