The Random Thought Thread

[rossihunter2]

Assuming we win out (big ass IF):

-Raiders gotta beat Dolphins. Raiders defense is putrid so not happening. In recent history, Dolphins have Raiders number.
-Steelers gotta beat Colts. My hatred for the Steelers is too much to root for them. Rivers is an interesting one against the Steelers. Either he plays a very clean game against them OR he's a turrnover machine and their offense can't do jack shit.


-Bills gotta beat the Dolphins. Depends if Josh Allen plays or not.
-Steelers gotta beat Browns. Do the Steelers enact revenge and rest their starters in week 17?

we only need 1 of those games to go our way - surely that's gotta happen right? just 1???

 

[Dom McRaven]

we only need 1 of those games to go our way - surely that's gotta happen right? just 1???

It would be so Madden Curse-esque for us to win out and NONE of these scenarios coming through.

My only hope is that Tomlin will force the starters to keep playing as their offense has looked mid for weeks now.

 

[rossihunter2]

It would be so Madden Curse-esque for us to win out and NONE of these scenarios coming through.

My only hope is that Tomlin will force the starters to keep playing as their offense has looked mid for weeks now.

tbf they're also now having to protect the 2nd seed from the bills

 

[Deebo813]

Can this team win it all for me

 

[Grim]

Agreed. I think Elliott definitely does some good things, but it feels like when there's a bust in coverage, it's him. Now that could be completely off base, but just not as instinctual as I expected. Solid player but I absolutely think you can upgrade.

I will say though... that dude plays completely reckless. Odd seeing that in today's NFL. He's a tone setter at the very least.

all the more reason to go get a slot corner - because it means that Jimmy stays in that hybrid role where he's a TE matchup nightmare who can also play press at the LoS and cover the deep middle - getting a slot means that if tavon goes down we have someone to cover for him and if one of the outside guys goes down averett's still there to cover and jimmy stays as the dime specialist (not dimebacker)

This is what I was thinking when I said we need a DB & CB. We need a guy who can be the slot CB because we've had issues with Tavon Young lately. The constant lack of reliability hurts him despite him being a good player because he has been getting hurt. He's a great player and I love how he tackles but if you can't rely on him then he's a problem. He's worse than Jimmy Smith because Jimmy Smith didn't have this many season-ending injuries (I don't think, anyway). We also could really use someone to replace Elliott. I like him as much as the next guy, but that guy is a missile and kind of goes for a big hit too often and lacks the tackling at times because of how he launches. He has potential, but more often than not he is the one around the successful big plays.

not sure about the class as a whole yet - barely just started looking at some prospects - ive got receiver high because our corps is probably a bottom 3 group in the league right now and if we want Lamar to grow as a passer then we do actually have to give him weapons to throw to

i put receiver rather than WR/TE because there's an awesome TE in this class Kyle Pitts (probably long gone before we pick) but he's the type of receiving talent that it doesnt matter what position you say he plays because he's a weapon - but yeah normally wouldnt be a fan of taking a TE high - he's probably the first one ill have had graded in the first round in many drafts

Pitts would be a nice addition because you don't know if you can keep Andrews and we don't know how Boyle will come back from injury. We frankly need more at the spot especially if we keep Greg Roman.

 

[cdp]

Yea but our defense would much more better with a budda baker type back there. Or even a malik hooker.

Marcus Maye from the Jets? Not a prime FA target, but I believe he's an ideal fit for our defense.

 

[Grim]

i probably should have phrased it better
i meant basically that RT was a mess right now because of those injuries so the weakest spot on the OL (outside of RT - because I'm ignoring it because it's down to injuries not to talent) was C

so i wasnt saying RT was a need - was just saying it's the biggest issue this year right now but C looks like the weakest spot on the OL the last few weeks

1) IOL
2) Receiver (either TE or WR or both)
3) EDGE
4) Swing Tackle
5) CB

Ahhh, makes sense. I feel like we go through this every year though and these OL guys make it hard for us going into the offseason. You see a guy like Mekari and you think maybe he can be the solution at C but then you also wonder if he's going to continue looking good or not. Then you say you have Bozeman & Powers looking good at G, but what if either takes a slide? I know we have Tyre but he's 50/50 at this point and hard to tell because he could be good, could not because he didn't have a truly normal offseason. I know you're not arguing these points; I'm more or less typing my thoughts and own struggles here. I think if I had to choose, I'd go with a playmaker on offense at receiver or TE, and an interior lineman just like you but maybe switched. Lamar hasn't been great this year at times and some of that is him and some is OL. Some of that is also on the receivers and TEs dropping balls too, and so I would put those positions above OL just because we really need something there.

Edge is important, but I think we will keep one of Ngakoue, Ferguson, Judon and possibly even two of them. I'd definitely keep Judon & Ngakoue though because I feel both have stood out more but Judon does do the dirty work.

 

[rossihunter2]

Ahhh, makes sense. I feel like we go through this every year though and these OL guys make it hard for us going into the offseason. You see a guy like Mekari and you think maybe he can be the solution at C but then you also wonder if he's going to continue looking good or not. Then you say you have Bozeman & Powers looking good at G, but what if either takes a slide? I know we have Tyre but he's 50/50 at this point and hard to tell because he could be good, could not because he didn't have a truly normal offseason. I know you're not arguing these points; I'm more or less typing my thoughts and own struggles here. I think if I had to choose, I'd go with a playmaker on offense at receiver or TE, and an interior lineman just like you but maybe switched. Lamar hasn't been great this year at times and some of that is him and some is OL. Some of that is also on the receivers and TEs dropping balls too, and so I would put those positions above OL just because we really need something there.

Edge is important, but I think we will keep one of Ngakoue, Ferguson, Judon and possibly even two of them. I'd definitely keep Judon & Ngakoue though because I feel both have stood out more but Judon does do the dirty work.

agreed.

to be even clearer this is how i'd truly rank our needs:

1A) IOL
1B) Receiver
...
...
...
...
...
3) EDGE
4) Swing Tackle
5) DB

 

[Simba]

agreed.

to be even clearer this is how i'd truly rank our needs:

1A) IOL
1B) Receiver
...
...
...
...
...
3) EDGE
4) Swing Tackle
5) DB

DL is a sneaky need as well. Campbell, Williams, and Wolfe (assuming we retain him) are all good but over 30. Madubuike clearly has a future starting spot but we're going to need to start looking there as well. Not completely necessary this year but I wouldn't discount the possibility either.

But this is pretty accurate for me as well. Edge could move up or down depending on who we retain. Could be number one or could not be a need at all.

For the love of god they absolutely need to get a swing T in here though.

 

[Deebo813]

Browns win, you win money.. browns lose, ravens make the offs... which do you choose?

 

[Dom McRaven]

Browns win, you win money.. browns lose, ravens make the offs... which do you choose?

Playoffs. Tf?

 

[RavensMania]

This is what I was thinking when I said we need a DB & CB. We need a guy who can be the slot CB because we've had issues with Tavon Young lately. The constant lack of reliability hurts him despite him being a good player because he has been getting hurt. He's a great player and I love how he tackles but if you can't rely on him then he's a problem. He's worse than Jimmy Smith because Jimmy Smith didn't have this many season-ending injuries (I don't think, anyway). We also could really use someone to replace Elliott. I like him as much as the next guy, but that guy is a missile and kind of goes for a big hit too often and lacks the tackling at times because of how he launches. He has potential, but more often than not he is the one around the successful big plays.


Pitts would be a nice addition because you don't know if you can keep Andrews and we don't know how Boyle will come back from injury. We frankly need more at the spot especially if we keep Greg Roman.

I agree. We absolutely need another slot guy, but we also need a true free safety.

 

[rmcjacket23]

i probably should have phrased it better
i meant basically that RT was a mess right now because of those injuries so the weakest spot on the OL (outside of RT - because I'm ignoring it because it's down to injuries not to talent) was C

so i wasnt saying RT was a need - was just saying it's the biggest issue this year right now but C looks like the weakest spot on the OL the last few weeks

I think Tackle in general is something we should address one way or another, and the draft obviously seems to be the most likely.

Not withstanding the idea that I've liked very little from what I've seen of Fluker or Phillips to this point, just because we have two really strong incumbent starters doesn't mean the position shouldn't be addressed. Who's to say Brown doesn't get injured next year, and we're back to Phillips at RT or some other retread?

Plus, as well assume, I think 2021 is Brown's last year as a Raven, especially given how well he's played at LT. He will have a gigantic market in the 2022 free agent class in my eyes, and I can't see the Ravens affording to retain him. That means we'll need a new RT in 2022 anyway. If it were me, I'm probably not going to wait until then to address the position. It may work out that the 2022 FA or draft class will yield us our starter, but I don't think you can bank on it. I think using a day 2 or day 3 pick (or even two) on some guys who can play Tackle would be beneficial. If its a guy who needs development, they can be the swing for 2021 and then take over.

 

[Simba]

Talking about T... what do you do if some team approaches us this offseason and offers a large haul for Orlando Brown? It'd obviously create a massive hole but do you consider it if you're talking round 1/2 picks? It's not inconceivable he could command that much for how well he's played at LT this year.

 

[rmcjacket23]

Talking about T... what do you do if some team approaches us this offseason and offers a large haul for Orlando Brown? It'd obviously create a massive hole but do you consider it if you're talking round 1/2 picks? It's not inconceivable he could command that much for how well he's played at LT this year.

I don't see it unless somehow we're not a contender next year. That's the kind of trade that comes about when a non-contending team has a stud they're looking to deal to a contender because they're not going to retain.

If I think I'm a super bowl contender in 2021, I'm not dealing him. I'll likely net a 3rd rounder two years later for a comp pick, so I'm not trading a round or two of value in a year when I'm contending.

If somehow we ended up in the shitter due to injuries or something, I'd be all for it.

 

[RavensMania]

I don't see it unless somehow we're not a contender next year. That's the kind of trade that comes about when a non-contending team has a stud they're looking to deal to a contender because they're not going to retain.

If I think I'm a super bowl contender in 2021, I'm not dealing him. I'll likely net a 3rd rounder two years later for a comp pick, so I'm not trading a round or two of value in a year when I'm contending.

If somehow we ended up in the shitter due to injuries or something, I'd be all for it.

The way he has been playing, it's obvious he is gone at the end of next year, if it wan't already. That being said, I'm with you. We definitely need to keep him for next year and if we happen to have a bunch of injuries next season, we can try to unload him at the trade deadline.

Boy that 2018 draft was good. In the 1st 3 rounds we landed Hayden Hurst, Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews and Orlando Brown. On Day 3 we landed Anthony Averett, Kenny Young that ended up being Marcus Peters, Bradley Bozeman who is a pretty darn good left guard and DeShon Elliott, who allowed us to be comfortable releasing Earl Thomas.

 

[Grim]

agreed.

to be even clearer this is how i'd truly rank our needs:

1A) IOL
1B) Receiver
...
...
...
...
...
3) EDGE
4) Swing Tackle
5) DB

I definitely agree but I may drop edge some just because I think swing tackle is more important because I do kind of assume Ngakoue and Bowser stick and we have Ferguson here. We need an edge but can also be patient and maybe find another Judon.

DL is a sneaky need as well. Campbell, Williams, and Wolfe (assuming we retain him) are all good but over 30. Madubuike clearly has a future starting spot but we're going to need to start looking there as well. Not completely necessary this year but I wouldn't discount the possibility either.

But this is pretty accurate for me as well. Edge could move up or down depending on who we retain. Could be number one or could not be a need at all.

For the love of god they absolutely need to get a swing T in here though.

This is 100% true because I see DL as a sneaky need but we did invest there with Washington and Madubuike so maybe not we will see.

Talking about T... what do you do if some team approaches us this offseason and offers a large haul for Orlando Brown? It'd obviously create a massive hole but do you consider it if you're talking round 1/2 picks? It's not inconceivable he could command that much for how well he's played at LT this year.

I think it depends on various factors because if we’re trying to content you don’t want to part with a piece like Brown. If we get a guy though or Tyre or Mekari show they can handle the spot then it could happen if we’re talking a big haul.

I don't see it unless somehow we're not a contender next year. That's the kind of trade that comes about when a non-contending team has a stud they're looking to deal to a contender because they're not going to retain.

If I think I'm a super bowl contender in 2021, I'm not dealing him. I'll likely net a 3rd rounder two years later for a comp pick, so I'm not trading a round or two of value in a year when I'm contending.

If somehow we ended up in the shitter due to injuries or something, I'd be all for it.

I think that’s pretty true. If we have an injury then all bets are off but I do think we would rather keep Brown than let him go.

 

[rossihunter2]

DL is a sneaky need as well. Campbell, Williams, and Wolfe (assuming we retain him) are all good but over 30. Madubuike clearly has a future starting spot but we're going to need to start looking there as well. Not completely necessary this year but I wouldn't discount the possibility either.

But this is pretty accurate for me as well. Edge could move up or down depending on who we retain. Could be number one or could not be a need at all.

For the love of god they absolutely need to get a swing T in here though.

for sure - it's one of those instances where if we did pick a DL high that most of the media would be confused as hell but it would make sense to a certain extent

we draft BPA above need because in any given 4 year cycle it's highly likely that almost every position on your roster is going to be a need at some point during that period so why turn down a guy who's not a need right now for a worse player who might be

if DL is the best player on the board when we pick that would make some sense (albeit we'd all be frustrated that we didn't get something that was more of an immediate need/more exciting position)

for what it's worth I like what Broderick Washington's shown so far as a rookie - unspectacular but looks like someone who can develop into a dirty-work doing type of DL - not someone who would preclude you from improving your talent at DL but someone who you're happy to have as a role-player (which if that's what he turns out to be, is a pretty good use of a 5th round pick)

It feels like part of our problem at edge has been that the draft classes have not been conducive to grabbing new edge talent - lots of edge talent-poor classes - 2019 was good at the top but not much depth - before that maybe the last good edge class was 2014???

 

[rossihunter2]

I think Tackle in general is something we should address one way or another, and the draft obviously seems to be the most likely.

Not withstanding the idea that I've liked very little from what I've seen of Fluker or Phillips to this point, just because we have two really strong incumbent starters doesn't mean the position shouldn't be addressed. Who's to say Brown doesn't get injured next year, and we're back to Phillips at RT or some other retread?

Plus, as well assume, I think 2021 is Brown's last year as a Raven, especially given how well he's played at LT. He will have a gigantic market in the 2022 free agent class in my eyes, and I can't see the Ravens affording to retain him. That means we'll need a new RT in 2022 anyway. If it were me, I'm probably not going to wait until then to address the position. It may work out that the 2022 FA or draft class will yield us our starter, but I don't think you can bank on it. I think using a day 2 or day 3 pick (or even two) on some guys who can play Tackle would be beneficial. If its a guy who needs development, they can be the swing for 2021 and then take over.

ive acknowledged that we're in the market for a swing tackle through some means - i just dont think we're going to want to spend major capital on finding a potential starter at the position this year - but i could definitely see us do what we've done a lot recently with interior OL guys which is double-dip on day 3 on a couple of guys and see if one of them can't develop into something with a year - it's the same process that's yielded us positive results over the last decade at multiple OL spots but we've spent way more capital on interior OL positions recently

 

[rossihunter2]

The way he has been playing, it's obvious he is gone at the end of next year, if it wan't already. That being said, I'm with you. We definitely need to keep him for next year and if we happen to have a bunch of injuries next season, we can try to unload him at the trade deadline.

Boy that 2018 draft was good. In the 1st 3 rounds we landed Hayden Hurst, Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews and Orlando Brown. On Day 3 we landed Kenny Young that ended up being Marcus Peters, Bradley Bozeman who is a pretty darn good left guard and DeShon Elliott, who allowed us to be comfortable releasing Earl Thomas.

dont forget anthony averett