The 2021 Offseason Thread

[rossihunter2]

Well I figured this all implied that Bozeman is the best player at C lol

i mean he's also likely the best LG right now too - but i think it's more an acknowledgement that putting him at C probably mitigates some of his weaknesses in pass pro and also gives us a better chance of inserting a higher calibre player in that 5th OL spot - be that Big Country 1, Big Country 2 or Powers lol

 

[rmcjacket23]

i think the easier way to look at it is what's more likely to be the better combination right now:

TCC and Bozeman or
Bozeman and whoever wins the LG job (possibly/likely Cleveland)

to me it's most likely that 2nd combo given that we've already seen that 1st one and the first one doesn't have much of a higher ceiling to get significantly better

Well, its obvious by now, but I like Bozeman a lot as a Guard (probably more than most), so I generally try to avoid moving guys to a different position when they're already good at one.

If Cleveland or Powers shows very well in preseason, I'm all for it. My concern is if they don't, then you've got a weakness at LG, in which case I don't know if a TCC/Bozeman combo would be better. It's too early to tell, candidly.

I'm more or less surprised that you're making a position switch like this, and you're announcing him as the starter before you even really start the offseason. Like I get the competition is low there, but I would have expected to at least see how it plays out first.

May be inevitable and likely wouldn't change 3 months from now, but seems very "anti-Ravens" to sort of anoint a starter without ever really playing there in the league. That's like announcing Cleveland is the starter at LG the first day he throws pads on.

 

[RavensMania]

it's also because a lot of them trim weight slightly to get into their sprinter athlete shapes - rashod said he was testing at 190 but normally played at 200/210ish

i think post-pro-day by draft day he was 199 which would suggest to me that 200 is more like his starting weight than the 190 he weighed in at

This is true, but I also believe Rashod was down to 190 due to having Covid.

 

[RavensMania]

Well, its obvious by now, but I like Bozeman a lot as a Guard (probably more than most), so I generally try to avoid moving guys to a different position when they're already good at one.

If Cleveland or Powers shows very well in preseason, I'm all for it. My concern is if they don't, then you've got a weakness at LG, in which case I don't know if a TCC/Bozeman combo would be better. It's too early to tell, candidly.

I'm more or less surprised that you're making a position switch like this, and you're announcing him as the starter before you even really start the offseason. Like I get the competition is low there, but I would have expected to at least see how it plays out first.

May be inevitable and likely wouldn't change 3 months from now, but seems very "anti-Ravens" to sort of anoint a starter without ever really playing there in the league. That's like announcing Cleveland is the starter at LG the first day he throws pads on.

I like Bozeman at left guard as well. I believe he is an above average guard, but I also believe a combo of Cleveland - Bozeman is better than a combo of Bozeman - TCC / Mekari.

 

[UPennChem]

2 notes.

1) It's basically day 1 of OTAs and Harbs already dropped the look out for Proche and Boykin. That was an obvious battle but one of them won't be here this year.

2) Just thinking about our OLine.

It's likely that Zeitler + AV is an improvement over Powers + Three/Fluker. Please let that be true.

It's likely BB is an improvement over Mekari.

It's likely Stanley is an improvement over OBJ

It's likely that Cleveland/Powers is a downgrade over BB.

That gives us an opportunity to upgrade 4 positions over the end of last year while taking a step back in 1. Really not worried about Stanley, BB, or Zeitler. Really hoping Cleveland and AV play well.

 

[Ellicottraven]

2 notes.

1) It's basically day 1 of OTAs and Harbs already dropped the look out for Proche and Boykin. That was an obvious battle but one of them won't be here this year.

2) Just thinking about our OLine.

It's likely that Zeitler + AV is an improvement over Powers + Three/Fluker. Please let that be true.

It's likely BB is an improvement over Mekari.

It's likely Stanley is an improvement over OBJ

It's likely that Cleveland/Powers is a downgrade over BB.

That gives us an opportunity to upgrade 4 positions over the end of last year while taking a step back in 1. Really not worried about Stanley, BB, or Zeitler. Really hoping Cleveland and AV play well.

Remember, working guard beside Stanley and Bozeman gives you a lot of cover as a rookie. We'll be just fine.

 

[Dom McRaven]

That gives us an opportunity to upgrade 4 positions over the end of last year while taking a step back in 1. Really not worried about Stanley, BB, Zeitler. ESPECIALLY not Cleveland because we all know he's gonna be the next Raven great o-lineman. Really hoping AV plays well.

Wholeheartedly agree with this.

 

[UPennChem]

Remember, working guard beside Stanley and Bozeman gives you a lot of cover as a rookie. We'll be just fine.

Yeah and the guy is a space filler too!

 

[UPennChem]

Wholeheartedly agree with this.

Don't know how good he'll be as a rookie, but I said after the draft he could be the best pick of our entire class. And that's absolutely 0 disrespect to Bateman and Oweh.

 

[ndub]

In my view of things, anyone and I mean anyone who can snap a freaking ball without killing our Qb should be anointed starter, yesterday

 

[JoeyFlex5]

2 notes.

1) It's basically day 1 of OTAs and Harbs already dropped the look out for Proche and Boykin. That was an obvious battle but one of them won't be here this year.

2) Just thinking about our OLine.

It's likely that Zeitler + AV is an improvement over Powers + Three/Fluker. Please let that be true.

It's likely BB is an improvement over Mekari.

It's likely Stanley is an improvement over OBJ

It's likely that Cleveland/Powers is a downgrade over BB.

That gives us an opportunity to upgrade 4 positions over the end of last year while taking a step back in 1. Really not worried about Stanley, BB, or Zeitler. Really hoping Cleveland and AV play well.

You aren’t projecting enough with Cleveland. I’m gonna need you to project more, we’re upgrading 5/5 spots

 

[ndub]

I don’t like seeing reports of Bateman going into the locker room for 40 minutes yesterday and never returning back to the field.... makes me have bad flashbacks to another receiver we drafted a while back in the 1st

 

[rmcjacket23]

You aren’t projecting enough with Cleveland. I’m gonna need you to project more, we’re upgrading 5/5 spots

OK, but that's from our non-healthy Oline, not the real one.

Our "best" Oline last year would have been Stanley/Bozeman/Center(really doesn't matter who... they basically all sucked)/Powers/OBJ.

I don't expect to be upgrading on the Stanley/OBJ Tackle combo. Pretty much inarguably the best Tackle combo in the league, when healthy.

I think you'll certainly have an improved interior. Bozeman a likely upgrade over any Center we had, and I would expect Zeitler to be an upgrade over Powers. LG is probably a coin flip, since I don't know how good Cleveland is. Unlikely he'll be as good as Bozeman was there in his first year, but we're not actually losing Bozeman either, just shifting.

It's what we've been saying it is all year... a downgrade from our best Tackle lineup, but an upgrade from our best interior Oline lineup, especially at Center.

We can compare it to like a year-end Oline lineup all day long, but that lineup only existed because of injuries, not because we didn't have better players. And chances are... the lineup we end the year with this year won't involve the five guys we're talking about as the Starters now, because there will be injuries there as well.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

I don’t like seeing reports of Bateman going into the locker room for 40 minutes yesterday and never returning back to the field.... makes me have bad flashbacks to another receiver we drafted a while back in the 1st

Reports saying it’s just muscle soreness and he needed a break. For what it’s worth...

 

[ndub]

Reports saying it’s just muscle soreness and he needed a break. For what it’s worth...

Jesus. Not even true live action yet and already missing time for muscle soreness??

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Jesus. Not even true live action yet and already missing time for muscle soreness??

Rookies go through it prior to OTAs with no breaks

 

[ndub]

Rookies go through it prior to OTAs with no breaks

I may be overblowing it, but I've honestly never heard of rookies going to the locker during these things with muscle soreness as a common occurrence. Just seems very weird.

 

[RL52TheGreatest]

I may be overblowing it, but I've honestly never heard of rookies going to the locker during these things with muscle soreness as a common occurrence. Just seems very weird.

I wouldn't worry about it unless he starts missing a ton of practice time. Also, I'm sure he probably could have went back out there, but they probably held him out as a precautionary measure. Also, we're 3 months away from the new season so no need to push guys right now if they have any kind of ailments.

 

[Deebo813]

i hope they make lamar throw outside the numbers in practice everyday this offseason

 

[ndub]

i hope they make lamar throw outside the numbers in practice everyday this offseason

I also kinda wish they'd run drills/scrimmages/etc where he's not allowed to go to Hollywood and/or Andrews, making him use the other players. He locks onto them too much for my liking