• Welcome to PurpleFlock! Be sure to sign up here so that you can chat with your fellow Ravens fans.

Update: Welcome to B-More, Jeremy Maclin!

Truth

Staff Member
Administrator
Not to sound anything like Winchester, but he looks to be much bigger than he was last season and he has looked good in OTA's, yes I understand everyone looks good in shorts, but it's all I have to go by.

I would agree if Jensen came in at the same weight he was last season than we would be in trouble, but he's 322 lbs this season, much closer the the 320 or so he weighed in 2015. I do agree with everything that you are saying, though. Still feel the OL will be better this season due Jensen's weight and a better scheme fit. At least the run blocking.
It's fair to point out and he could be better for it considering he'd theoretically be more difficult to move, but weight has little direct correlation with footwork. Even maintaining balance has a significant mental aspect. If the latter two were an issue, then they'll likely remain unless they're addressed specifically. We've seen mammoth athletes be outmatched because they had trouble understanding the concepts of body control and positioning such as Greg Robinson. On the flip side, we've seen Donald Penn lose weight and basically chisel his technique from scratch to become an outstanding lineman. I'm personally rooting for Jensen. We've seen flashes and I hope he succeeds; but it's puzzling to presume that the losses of two starters are canceled out by a returning player's weight gain, which is far from guaranteed to solve his issues from last season. If anything, just the fact that he's looking good in OTAs should be the main focus, and it's an obvious plus.

A note on Maclin as to not derail the thread entirely, but I feel like the space could do him justice after the proper bonding. In either case, I'm glad that we've reached out about Decker as well in case we need a plan B.
 

Sami84

Ravens Ring of Honor
speaking of greg robinson, i expect him to be cut. I think he's a lost cause TBH. No football IQ whatsoever. We would need one heck of a coaching staff to help him use his freak athletic ability
 

Oldfaithful

Hall of Famer
I personally strongly disagree with the opinion that our OL is improved. With regards to Jensen, I wrote up a lengthy breakdown on BR during the season that detailed his struggles. He was notably better in the passing game, but he was arguably one of our worst linemen in the running game last season. Even in possibly his best game of the season, he struggled as in head-up situations. To his credit, he was three for free on intended second level assignments (Link1, Link2, Link3), and he was also successful when cutting (Link1, Link2). That being said, he routinely lost leverage battles otherwise, mostly against Jonathan Hankins, showing minimal pop and compounding it with shoddy footwork and balance (Link1, Link2, Link3, Link4). He wasn't completely without his success (Link1, Link2), but this was likely even more-so evident in other games, i.e. against Oakland (Link1, Link2, Link3), and New York (J) (Link1, Link2). His troubles with staying square came in large part due to coming out of his stance high and hop-stepping after engaging, which can be a death sentence since you can't drive through a target when your legs are constantly changing directions. With Jensen, there were several plays such as this one (Link), when his lower body changes angles by up to 180°, and you become worried about his understanding of proper balance. It wasn't a major surprise to see him grade out as poorly in the running game with a 50.6, which was 77th among all guards. Zuttah became a common scapegoat for the OL struggles, but while his top-heavy and grabby play style obviously wasn't without holes, he was markedly better than Jensen last season, so it's tough to subscribe to the notion that Jensen will most definitely be better in comparison. This obviously isn't impossible. If he can iron out the pitfalls in technique, he could very well be a solid center. He's had his highlights, like the strong finish to 2015. However, it remains to be seen whether he'll be the long-term answer. Given that Jensen was part of the team last season, it's immensely difficult for me to subscribe to the notion that our OL improved over last year's with both Wagner and Zuttah no longer on the roster. Truth be told, I feel that it's arguably our most questionable unit at this time.
Arguably? Zuttah wasn't great, but at least we knew what we had in him! And Hurst just sucks. No way around it. The fact that he's still employed by the team somehow is blowing my mind in so many ways i'ts not even funny. This oline is fifty times more questionable than last year. Especially given Harbaugh's decision making in the starting lineup that The Raven pointed out. We have a guy in Siragusa, someone I view as an upgrade over Ducasse. And we likely won't play him immediately. We have a guy in Lewis who could be a solid RT, and we play him at guard?

Even if we get Maclin, he's not enough to save the offense. He's a step in the right direction, but I will legit fear for the team's future if we field this line. This two year plan thing that Ozzie is implementing only works if Flacco remains healthy thoroughout the process. If he's not, we're screwed.
 

Sami84

Ravens Ring of Honor
Arguably? Zuttah wasn't great, but at least we knew what we had in him! And Hurst just sucks. No way around it. The fact that he's still employed by the team somehow is blowing my mind in so many ways i'ts not even funny. This oline is fifty times more questionable than last year. Especially given Harbaugh's decision making in the starting lineup that The Raven pointed out. We have a guy in Siragusa, someone I view as an upgrade over Ducasse. And we likely won't play him immediately. We have a guy in Lewis who could be a solid RT, and we play him at guard?

Even if we get Maclin, he's not enough to save the offense. He's a step in the right direction, but I will legit fear for the team's future if we field this line. This two year plan thing that Ozzie is implementing only works if Flacco remains healthy thoroughout the process. If he's not, we're screwed.

If nothing else, I'm hoping that one of Skura, Jensen, Siragusa comes in shows an unlocked hidden gem.
Stanley and Yanda will be great
Lewis will be solid if unspectacular.

so in that regard

LT : A
LG : C+
C: ?
RG : A+
RT: D-

If we can get a B+ center out of all these guys and hurst can improve to a C grade we'll be ok.
 

Adreme

Ravens Ring of Honor
I'd be pretty surprised if both the starting center AND right tackle are currently on our roster.

I would be more surprised if the Center isnt because it would not explain why the Ravens traded there starter. 2M is nothing for a starting Center in the NFL and that is all that was saved dumping Zuttah so logically they must think they have something there.
 

RavensMania

Staff Member
Administrator
I would be more surprised if the Center isnt because it would not explain why the Ravens traded there starter. 2M is nothing for a starting Center in the NFL and that is all that was saved dumping Zuttah so logically they must think they have something there.
I have no doubt they believe the starting center will be Jensen, but I honestly don't believe that Hurst will be starting at RT.
 

SepticeyePoe

Hall of Famer
Commence Maclinwatch Part 2. He's expected to make his decision today per Rapoport.
I guess I'll be watching twitter all day.

We may hear that Decker has been traded soon after Maclin signs.
 

RavensMania

Staff Member
Administrator
I guess I'll be watching twitter all day.

We may hear that Decker has been traded soon after Maclin signs.
this would have been a good poll

Maclin signs with ththe Ravens
Ravens trade for Decker
Maclin signs with Ravens and Ravens trade for Decker
Neither Maclin or Decker sign with Ravens

Probably too late at this point
 

jboy19

Pro Bowler
this would have been a good poll

Maclin signs with ththe Ravens
Ravens trade for Decker
Maclin signs with Ravens and Ravens trade for Decker
Neither Maclin or Decker sign with Ravens

Probably too late at this point

I say go for it. Probably won't find out until this afternoon anyway.
 

mc_red23

Pro Bowler
this would have been a good poll

Maclin signs with ththe Ravens
Ravens trade for Decker
Maclin signs with Ravens and Ravens trade for Decker
Neither Maclin or Decker sign with Ravens

Probably too late at this point

Option 3 sounds tasty doesn't it:D.

I think Maclin's relationship with McCoy takes him to Buffalo & I think Decker's contract may be too much for us. If we can sort that out though then I'll go for option 2 and we get Decker.
 

jboy19

Pro Bowler
this would have been a good poll

Maclin signs with ththe Ravens
Ravens trade for Decker
Maclin signs with Ravens and Ravens trade for Decker
Neither Maclin or Decker sign with Ravens

Probably too late at this point

Im thinking Option 2. I'm a huge Maclin fan and definitely have my fingers crossed that he signs here, but I think the money is going to play a big role and I think Maclin could reasonably look at the Ravens history and conclude that Greg Roman is just as likely to be OC come week 8 as Mornhenwig is- which defeats the only real Maclin-Baltimore connection.
 

JAAM

Hall of Famer

ALI624

Pro Bowler
We will. I have no doubt, and I'd be fine with either one.
I definitely agree I would be happy with either of them. I think they both do one thing that is so important and that is take pressure off Perriman.
 
Top