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The 2020 Offseason Thread

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
For any discussion topics related to the offseason that don't quite fit in the free agency thread or draft section and eventually will be here for the voluntary practice periods of the offseason.

I'm starting this now because I wanted a place to air some thoughts on the rookie class we just had and where specifically Jaylon Ferguson and Miles Boykin could improve and what they need to do this offseason.

For Miles, some of it comes down to comfort - he's clearly a plus-athlete and he's shown the ability to separate on film both in college and in the NFL but there's a trust issue obviously there with the coaches and Lamar that puts him low down in terms of the reads but he's definitely got the upside to be a dynamic weapon. He needs to work on his footwork a bit at the break to make those changes a bit sharper. The offseason should be big for him with Lamar - some of the miscues he had came from a miscommunication where he and Lamar read the situation differently and he needs to build that chemistry. But he showed some promise especially with a vertically based route tree (9 route, comeback and slant) that he can create separation and has been really good in the redzone finding and creating space and ironically not because of his length. But the redzone success is a good indicator of his potential to succeed between the 20s with more space available to the offence. The biggest thing for him this offseason is going to be earning the trust of the coaches (and Lamar) and if he does he's going to see more targets and more play designs that feature him more.

Jaylon Ferguson got better with each game he played which is really encouraging but there's a couple of crucial things he's going to have to work on this offseason if he wants to develop into the player we would like him to be. He really needs to work on his counters (and in general needs to add a bit more nuance to his rush) at the moment he overpowers guys but he doesnt have a move to create space well - he does sometimes rip to disengage and it's violent and effective but its also a little late most of the time and I think he's maybe not always got a pass rush plan and he hasn't had enough reps to instinctively use a counter move, which is understandable given that in college he could get away with just being the most talented guy on the field and didn't need to worry about counters. But if he develops a rip move or a pull-push he's got the physical tools to make that work for himself. I'd like to see him physically get a little faster too - I'm not sure 2019 was his NFL body yet. But a pass rush plan would do him a lot of good especially if he starts using his feet more to threaten both inside and outside just to get into the shoulders of tackles a bit more at the moment there isn't much deception in his rushes. In the running game he definitely improved setting the edge - there were a few notable plays where he looked lost but down the stretch more often than not he was physical and strong on the edge and played good disciplined and forceful football - however his eye discipline and recognition definitely needs some work - sorting through motion and some other things really gave him some trouble.

Lots of promising things to see from both the 3rd round picks. Ironically both at positions where we have needs this offseason and we'll likely add talent at both spots somehow but it would be a massive boon to the organisation if these guys could kick on in the 2nd year and first full NFL offseason.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Yeah the more I watch Jaylon the more I get frustrated because he's bullying opposing players at times in both the running game and the passing game but he just doesnt disengage - he's content to just push a guy around but then doesnt look to do more - that's something I'd expect the coaches to spend a lot of time with him on this offseason
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
I was pleasantly surprised with Ferguson but you’re right, he’s a physical rusher with no plan to finish and not much desire to finish either it appears, kinda expected him to have that struggle too.

I think as he’s working on rushing with a plan he should cut down a little bit of weight, he’s still a little fat looking and moves a little labored, I think 265 would have him moving a lot quicker and it would allow him to counter more naturally with athleticism rather than needing disengage moves which may be too complex for him at the moment.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I was pleasantly surprised with Ferguson but you’re right, he’s a physical rusher with no plan to finish and not much desire to finish either it appears, kinda expected him to have that struggle too.

I think as he’s working on rushing with a plan he should cut down a little bit of weight, he’s still a little fat looking and moves a little labored, I think 265 would have him moving a lot quicker and it would allow him to counter more naturally with athleticism rather than needing disengage moves which may be too complex for him at the moment.

i dont know that he needs to cut weight but he definitely needs to improve his functional athleticism at that weight

i just think Jaylon was so raw this year and partly that's because of his level of competition at college and partly that's because of his rushing style - it's promising however that after he got sidelined against the 49ers because of Mostert he seemed to take it like a personal insult and was much improved even by the next week - his game against the Bills was great and it was clear he'd focused on those things that got him benched just a week earlier

the improvements he was making week to week really bode well - his last 4 games of the regular season were really good (i have no idea about the playoff game because i cant bring myself to watch it)

just in general though i think he'll be better disengaging with a better plan and better hand usage - he's got heavy hands but didnt really use them
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I think he is going to play out his contract and retire at the end of next season.

except i think the ravens are at the point where they'll give him another year extension this offseason if he's coming back so that he can decide again next offseason - i dont think there's a way in the current situation where we let his contract end without him retiring
 

Corvus Purpura

Practice Squad
Is McPhee still under contract for the coming season?
Also, I don't recall what his injury was. Is it something that he should be able to be fully recovered from in time to start the season?
 

SepticeyePoe

Hall of Famer
The Ravens are good at making these videos. I got a little emotional.

 
I remember rewatching games back in 07 and 08 and being amazed at how good he was, he was always a class act and became an amazing leader too. He really was the perfect guard as much as Ogden was the perfect tackle and holds up against the best in history. I would say his best work was against JJ Watt, I dont know how he won those matchups but he did.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator


another great vid from @Edgar this time on jaylon ferguson and i think it meshes well with what i saw when i went back through the tape

he looks like he has the physical tools (or at least is likely to have the physical tools) to be successful in all the ways we might want him to be - the problem is right now he's not really looking disengage or create opportunities for himself (i wonder if everything is still a bit to fast for him still processing-wise) - but he doesnt help himself when rushing by attacking the whole man and not trying to get himself into half of the man or looking to disengage - there are numerous moments in the clips edgar chose where ferguson creates enough of a pop with the initial contact even without good hand usage or selling anything else that he has the opportunity to create an advantageous position to create a successful pass rush but rather than using the pop to put the OL in a bind he is comfortable reengaging and continuing to attack with that bull down the middle

he's got a lot of learning to do and he's still so raw but there's a lot of things there that in my mind will improve drastically with continued coaching if he takes to it
 

Edgar

Ravens Ring of Honor
@rossihunter2 thanks for the mention! I have to admit that his pass rushing looks are disappointing . He has no quicks. He doesn't show much in the hands department. Doesn't even seem to know HOW to use them which flies in the face of everything we heard post draft from some coaches. Perhaps he has too much to think through on a given play and its all a bit much.

I remember a lot of us feeling that all Zadarius had was a bull rush early on and into year two. Cant remember if his hands were this absent though.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
@rossihunter2 thanks for the mention! I have to admit that his pass rushing looks are disappointing . He has no quicks. He doesn't show much in the hands department. Doesn't even seem to know HOW to use them which flies in the face of everything we heard post draft from some coaches. Perhaps he has too much to think through on a given play and its all a bit much.

I remember a lot of us feeling that all Zadarius had was a bull rush early on and into year two. Cant remember if his hands were this absent though.

i dont know that i really bought that from the post-draft pressers - he'd never had to do anything more than just overpower guys in college - i really do genuinely think we intended to have him basically redshirt in year 1 but with the mcphee injury and the tim williams off-field stuff and tyus bowser being a liability on the edge on early downs he got thrust into a starting role before he was ready

this offseason is going to be huge for him - he just looks to me like he hasnt had any real pass rushing coaching ever like the only thing he knows how to do is run through people

he's not particularly fast which is possibly a problem but another reason why the offseason will be big for him - he'll have the opportunity to get into his actual nfl body this offseason and get the conditioning right which given his college career hes probably never been even close to before

you're absolutely bang on with the hands though - ive been finding clips of madubuike recently and obviously they play different positions but watching those clips of madubuike using his hands and leveraging with his power and attacking half the man and actively engaging and disengaging and shedding and doing all those things and then watching your video of jaylon and seeing absolutely none of those things was definitely a shock
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
i dont know that i really bought that from the post-draft pressers - he'd never had to do anything more than just overpower guys in college - i really do genuinely think we intended to have him basically redshirt in year 1 but with the mcphee injury and the tim williams off-field stuff and tyus bowser being a liability on the edge on early downs he got thrust into a starting role before he was ready

this offseason is going to be huge for him - he just looks to me like he hasnt had any real pass rushing coaching ever like the only thing he knows how to do is run through people

he's not particularly fast which is possibly a problem but another reason why the offseason will be big for him - he'll have the opportunity to get into his actual nfl body this offseason and get the conditioning right which given his college career hes probably never been even close to before

you're absolutely bang on with the hands though - ive been finding clips of madubuike recently and obviously they play different positions but watching those clips of madubuike using his hands and leveraging with his power and attacking half the man and actively engaging and disengaging and shedding and doing all those things and then watching your video of jaylon and seeing absolutely none of those things was definitely a shock
I really cringe at the thought of drafting a guy in round 3 to redshirt them

however I think he looks astronomically better than Bronson kaufusi, the last round 3 edge we took
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I really cringe at the thought of drafting a guy in round 3 to redshirt them

however I think he looks astronomically better than Bronson kaufusi, the last round 3 edge we took
You forgot Tim Williams lol

It’s not ideal but just from the way that preseason went I think it was clear that he wasn’t ready yet and he was likely going to be inactive for most of the season (hopefully working onto the active roster for a few snaps by the end of the year)

We’ll see what happens now that he got thrown into the fire though
 

UPennChem

Hall of Famer
Do we think Miles Boykin takes the next step? He was apparently a really trusted target in camp last year and unfortunately that just did not translate to games. He's got all the physical traits, can he put it together? I'm just saying, imagine what a next step Boykin plus next step and healthy Hollywood could do with Andrews and Snead. That would be dirty. But the role that Boykin or some other rookie needs to play is huge. Can't rely on just Andrews or just Hollywood.
 
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