Every week I like to look around the league at our former Baltimore Ravens and see if they are propelling their new teams to greatness or if they are floundering. Most of the time GM Ozzie Newsome and Co. do a pretty good job of retaining our true talent for as long as they are relevant. Sometimes however, a player like former Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs RB Priest Holmes gets away and catches on elsewhere to become more of a Pro-Bowler than a Kyle Boller.
More often than not they go the way of Edgerton Hartwell and Adalius Thomas and fade into obscurity in just a few seasons. Let's take a look at week seven of the 2011 NFL season and see how some former Ravens fared with their new teams...
Studs:
Although there were no true studs this week that used to don the purple and black, there were a few that played, in my mind, above expectations.
Le'Ron McClain:
McClain only rushed for one yard but that one yard happened to lead him into the end zone for his first score of the season. Le'Ron's true studliness was shown in the fact that he paved the way for the rest of his team to rush for 139 yards. The Cheifs have been having trouble moving the ball on the ground this year and will need McClain to open more holes in the very near future.
John Beck:
Beck did not do nearly enough to fit in any one's stud department but to me, he did exceed expectations and drew one announcer to foolishly compare him to Drew Brees. So, let's give him his 15 minutes of fame to go along with his fifth NFL loss against zero wins. After all, Beck was 22-37 for 279 yards with a touchdown on the road. He did manage to negate that touchdown with an interception but for all it's worth, for a guy who has not started an NFL game since 2007, 279 yards and a TD isn't so bad right??? Well, it's better than I ever thought he would do anyway...
Again, the stud department is weak this week so....
Neither stud nor dud:
Willis McGahee:
Willis is having a very good season in Denver. Even with all the turmoil surrounding the quarterback position he is putting together a fine season. This week McGahee had 18 carries for 76 yards with a long of 12 yards. On a slow week for former Ravens like this I would normally let this warrant a stud declaration but not only did McGahee not find the end zone, he also coughed up a fumble. So, although he was his teams leading rusher he is no stud this week in my book.
Duds:
Kyle Boller:
What can we say about Mr. Boller that has not been said a million and a half times by every Ravens fan in Baltimore? Boller was 7-14 for 61 yards and three interceptions, including a pick-six. Ouch. Hopefully he still has an opportunity to pursue a career as a firefighter... But hey, if someone will pay him to stand there with a clip board, why not right?
Derrick Mason:
Mason was traded to the Houston Texans to bolster a receiving corps depleted by the injury to Andre Johnson. I wonder what exactly they envisioned him doing when they brought him in? Whatever it was, I'm sure they were hoping for a little better than one catch for seven yards against a division rival. Let's hope Mason has learned his lesson about running off at the mouth or he may end up on his third team this season.
Bart Scott:
The New York Jets pulled off a surprising victory over the San Deigo Chargers this week. By no means was it due to the play of Bart Scott. Scott finished the day with two tackles and one assist and was beaten in coverage constantly. Bart has played well since joining the Jets but I've seen him singled out on more negative plays this season than usual.
Hopefully we can add Dawan Landry to the duds list tomorrow night after Torrey Smith burns him for multiple touchdowns!
Todd Heap and Donte Stallworth were inactive this week as usual. Kelly Gregg had three tackles, one assist and a sack for the Chiefs and Jim Leonard had two tackles and one assist for the Jets.
Can't wait for tomorrow night! Go Ravens!!!