Oldfaithful
Hall of Famer
As a fan who has mostly grown sick of waiting for our actual State of the Ravens presser I sat down and figured “eh.. I’ll do it myself”. So here is my take on what the Ravens are going to prioritize during the offseason. Ozzie is usually pretty predictable. Sans last season where he decided to reload on the strength of the team.
2017 season recap: The 2017 season was ultimately a failure.. But one that showed promise down the line. Honestly, after the bye week the team looked like an original classic Harbaugh team. Flacco was solid but unspectacular, we played sound defense, and ran the ball down the opposing team’s throat for the kill. Although it currently looks bleak, the team has a solid foundation set in place and not as many needs as anticipated. Whether you like it or not, Flacco is going to be the starting QB going into the 2018 season. We’re stuck with him for at least another year. Which is fine.
The theme of this year’s offseason is more likely than not going to be “build the skeleton of the offense”. This plan is sound for two reasons. 1. We might actually give Flacco help for once in his career and he might have a bounce back season(which I think is likely. The back half of the season showed a guy who could still be a franchise QB). 2. If Flacco does stink up the joint we could move on from him next season and the rookie would be put into an ideal situation. Either way, this is not only the ideal play, but the smart one as well.
2017 recap on offense: We all know that the offense as a whole was a tale of two halves. But ultimately Flacco is not the reason this team faltered later in the season. Alex Collins and Patrick Ricard emerging were massive revalations for the offense. Collins looks to be easily the best back we have had since Ray Rice was here, and Ricard looks to be one of the most promising blocking FBs in the NFL going forward, with linebackers generally wanting no part of him. Add in two young good pieces on the offensive line in Ronnie Stanley and Ryan Jensen(who is most certainly going to be retained), and a returning Marshal Yanda, and this offense might be in decent shape next season running wise. Alex Collins and Danny Woodhead make an underrated, but formidable tandem, add in a returning Kenneth Dixon and we might have one of the better 1-2-3 punches in the league next season.
That said, the offense is clearly the bane of this team, especially the passing game. One reason is obvious, Flacco played terribly in the first half of the season, but then played really well towards the end of it, easily his best football in years. It looks as if he actually cleaned his mechanics up down the line and regained his confidence throwing deep. This was helped out by Mike Wallace, whom Flacco has rapport with. Chris Moore looks like he could be a solid deep threat going forward as well. That said, the options in the passing game are barren. Benjamin Watson is an older TE who could retire any day now, Maclin was a bust FA signing, and Perriman looks like a bust too. Options were lacking and there is no other way of stating it. Our primary goal is that we need to acquire multiple pass catching options. If we do this and nothing else this offseason we are going to be a playoff team next season.
2017 recap on defense: Yes.. The defense blew it down the stretch. But this was our best defense since 2011 and it’s not even close. Impressive that the secondary performed as well as it did before Jimmy Smith went down. This was helped out in large part due to Marlon Humphrey looking every bit the part of a first rounder. If his development continues at the pace it is going, then we have a potential #1 corner on the roster as soon as next year. His rookie season was incredibly impressive and if you know what you’re looking at on tape: you’ll see why. Some other talent from the previous draft also developed nicely, helping to improve the defense. Willie Henry is going to be a very good player with some more development, and Matt Judon has emerged as being a rock solid, jack-of-all trades master of none type starter that every team in the NFL would like to have. With Tavon Young returning next season, as well as Jimmy Smith at some point, this defense will continue to be one of the best units in the league. Which bodes well for us, since the foundation here is still pretty impressive. CJ Mosley played through an injury and had a down year, but ultimately he’s still what makes the defense tick. Brandon Williams is an unstoppable anchor against the run still. Terrell Suggs turned back the clock this year and had his best season in a long while. Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson were both solid, but ultimately were disappointing given that we know what both are capable of. The defense is easily among the better units in the league, but it’s still not perfect. The interior pressure is lacking significantly and we could use another body there to bring the heat. Likewise, ILB #2 next to CJ is a need, and at times the edge rush disappeared entirely. Fortunately, two of these needs might already be on the roster. Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams both had moments this season where they flashed the ability to develop into very good linebackers. One of the most maddening story lines of the season is how Dean Pees misused them. Bowser was drafted for his coverage ability and freakish athleticism, yet Pees put him on the edge.. Where he wasn’t terrible. And we refused to play Tim Williams in favor of Za’Darius Smith. Sure, Williams struggled at times(especially against the run), but he’s not going to get any better on the bench. Where we could stand to get an upgrade is at DT. Finding a guy this offseason who can bring the heat from the interior, even if he is just a situational guy, is a must. Brandon Williams is not a pass rusher, and Willie Henry is only one man.
Needs going into 2018:
Here is how I would prioritize our needs going into next season.
1. Pass catchers. Notice how I did not specify a position here. This was intentional. I do not care if it is a TE or a WR. This team is lacking a #1 option. Chris Moore looks like he can stretch the field, but his hands are inconsistent. Mike Wallace has a good rapport with Joe, and we should honestly retain him solely for the fact that his very presence demands safety attention, but we need more guys. 2 WRs, and One TE, even if we retain Wallace and Watson. I’d honestly push to resign both Benjamin Watson and Mike Wallace. Neither should be particularly expensive and having two targets that Flacco is familiar with would be ideal. Fortunately, Ozzie picked a good season to need both of these. The market for WRs this season is not barren, even if the draft class is little weaker than normal on the top end. With regards to WRs likely potential targets include Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee, Jarvis Landry, Terrell Pryor, Paul Richardson, and Donte Moncrief. Some of these players are #1 options, and some are good #2 or red zone type players. We also have to account for potential cap casualties, with some names including Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Randall Cobb, and Michael Crabtree. Overall, WR is going to be a priority in FA regardless of whether we retain Wallace or not. Likewise, the draft class at the TE position is not as ripe as last years, but is still an impressive haul. I would not be angry if we were to draft two of the following names. 1. Mark Andrews, 2. Dallas Godert. 3. Mike Gesicki. 4. Hayden Hurst. 5. Ian Thomas. 6. Adam Breneman. It’s an impressive class no matter how you spin it.
2. Interior Pass Rushers- Za’Darius Smith is useless. We need to stop using him on the interior. Willie Henry is one man. We need to pursue options. David Irving would be the grand prize, but this is unlikely. Even though I would personally pay top dollar for him. Olson Pierre would not be terrible either, but like Irving he’s a restricted free agent who is likely to be tendered. Denico Autry is a name I’d look at. Liability against the run, but none of our defensive linemen currently struggle in that department. Dominique Easley is a high-risk high reward player, but Ozzie has taken fliers on those in the past. DaQuon Jones would not be terrible either. Overall.. This is massive need. There are options available. Some unlikely, others are plausible. But this is likely to be addressed in FA, as the talent in the draft leaves a lot to be desired.
3. Offensive Line- In theory, the line will improve from the previous season. Marshal Yanda returning is going to be a massive boost for the line. Ryan Jensen is almost certainly going to be retained and was a massive upgrade from Zuttah. Ronnie Stanley regressed slightly, but is still one of the most promising young LTs in the game. That said, Austin Howard is nothing more than a stop gap and is likely to be a stop gap. Alex Lewis is not a good fit at LG. We have 3/5ths of an offensive line, which is unacceptable. Ronnie Stanley will almost certainly improve barring his health, but we need an upgrade at LG. Alex Lewis may be the answer at RT, but the team seems infatuated with him at the guard position when he was a massive liability against the run his first year. Nonetheless, we need to acquire at least one starting caliber offensive linemen this offseason. Fortunately, this offensive line class in the draft is vastly superior than ones from the previous year, with promising options at the two positions on the line we need.
4. Inside Linebacker- Extending CJ Mosley is a top priority this offseason, no questions asked. While he is great, we could stand to add a coverage linebacker this offseason. While it would be ideal to use Bowser more often in coverage situations, for some reason we did not. While I think under a new regime that could change, we would still need another piece here to help out. I think adding someone like a Todd Davis or Avery Williamson would be beneficial even though both are not good in coverage. Our run defense could stand to improve regardless and both would be crucial pieces in turning that around.
5. Running back- Well aware that I just said that this is the strength of the team. But adding a back this offseason should be a priority regardless of whether I think that Collins is a bell cow(which I do) or not. Dixon is not dependable health wise, and neither is Woodhead. I think with the amount of depth that is in this running back class, it would be a total shame not to address the position. Even a late round flier on a pass catching back would be a good investment.
6. Corner- This is going at the bottom. Brandon Carr is a cut candidate, which is fine. He was serviceable, but could be improved upon. With how much the defense revolves around Jimmy Smith, it would be very ideal to acquire another guy who could play in a pinch. Marlon and Tavon both look extremely promising, but another guy would be ideal.
Scary thing: These are the only real needs on the team at the moment. While it’s unlikely we fufill all of them, we fulfil a few of them and then we are suddenly one of the most complete teams in the league. We truly are not too far away from contention again. We can only hope that Ozzie actually decides to pursue offense this offseason. This team is on the rise.
2017 season recap: The 2017 season was ultimately a failure.. But one that showed promise down the line. Honestly, after the bye week the team looked like an original classic Harbaugh team. Flacco was solid but unspectacular, we played sound defense, and ran the ball down the opposing team’s throat for the kill. Although it currently looks bleak, the team has a solid foundation set in place and not as many needs as anticipated. Whether you like it or not, Flacco is going to be the starting QB going into the 2018 season. We’re stuck with him for at least another year. Which is fine.
The theme of this year’s offseason is more likely than not going to be “build the skeleton of the offense”. This plan is sound for two reasons. 1. We might actually give Flacco help for once in his career and he might have a bounce back season(which I think is likely. The back half of the season showed a guy who could still be a franchise QB). 2. If Flacco does stink up the joint we could move on from him next season and the rookie would be put into an ideal situation. Either way, this is not only the ideal play, but the smart one as well.
2017 recap on offense: We all know that the offense as a whole was a tale of two halves. But ultimately Flacco is not the reason this team faltered later in the season. Alex Collins and Patrick Ricard emerging were massive revalations for the offense. Collins looks to be easily the best back we have had since Ray Rice was here, and Ricard looks to be one of the most promising blocking FBs in the NFL going forward, with linebackers generally wanting no part of him. Add in two young good pieces on the offensive line in Ronnie Stanley and Ryan Jensen(who is most certainly going to be retained), and a returning Marshal Yanda, and this offense might be in decent shape next season running wise. Alex Collins and Danny Woodhead make an underrated, but formidable tandem, add in a returning Kenneth Dixon and we might have one of the better 1-2-3 punches in the league next season.
That said, the offense is clearly the bane of this team, especially the passing game. One reason is obvious, Flacco played terribly in the first half of the season, but then played really well towards the end of it, easily his best football in years. It looks as if he actually cleaned his mechanics up down the line and regained his confidence throwing deep. This was helped out by Mike Wallace, whom Flacco has rapport with. Chris Moore looks like he could be a solid deep threat going forward as well. That said, the options in the passing game are barren. Benjamin Watson is an older TE who could retire any day now, Maclin was a bust FA signing, and Perriman looks like a bust too. Options were lacking and there is no other way of stating it. Our primary goal is that we need to acquire multiple pass catching options. If we do this and nothing else this offseason we are going to be a playoff team next season.
2017 recap on defense: Yes.. The defense blew it down the stretch. But this was our best defense since 2011 and it’s not even close. Impressive that the secondary performed as well as it did before Jimmy Smith went down. This was helped out in large part due to Marlon Humphrey looking every bit the part of a first rounder. If his development continues at the pace it is going, then we have a potential #1 corner on the roster as soon as next year. His rookie season was incredibly impressive and if you know what you’re looking at on tape: you’ll see why. Some other talent from the previous draft also developed nicely, helping to improve the defense. Willie Henry is going to be a very good player with some more development, and Matt Judon has emerged as being a rock solid, jack-of-all trades master of none type starter that every team in the NFL would like to have. With Tavon Young returning next season, as well as Jimmy Smith at some point, this defense will continue to be one of the best units in the league. Which bodes well for us, since the foundation here is still pretty impressive. CJ Mosley played through an injury and had a down year, but ultimately he’s still what makes the defense tick. Brandon Williams is an unstoppable anchor against the run still. Terrell Suggs turned back the clock this year and had his best season in a long while. Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson were both solid, but ultimately were disappointing given that we know what both are capable of. The defense is easily among the better units in the league, but it’s still not perfect. The interior pressure is lacking significantly and we could use another body there to bring the heat. Likewise, ILB #2 next to CJ is a need, and at times the edge rush disappeared entirely. Fortunately, two of these needs might already be on the roster. Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams both had moments this season where they flashed the ability to develop into very good linebackers. One of the most maddening story lines of the season is how Dean Pees misused them. Bowser was drafted for his coverage ability and freakish athleticism, yet Pees put him on the edge.. Where he wasn’t terrible. And we refused to play Tim Williams in favor of Za’Darius Smith. Sure, Williams struggled at times(especially against the run), but he’s not going to get any better on the bench. Where we could stand to get an upgrade is at DT. Finding a guy this offseason who can bring the heat from the interior, even if he is just a situational guy, is a must. Brandon Williams is not a pass rusher, and Willie Henry is only one man.
Needs going into 2018:
Here is how I would prioritize our needs going into next season.
1. Pass catchers. Notice how I did not specify a position here. This was intentional. I do not care if it is a TE or a WR. This team is lacking a #1 option. Chris Moore looks like he can stretch the field, but his hands are inconsistent. Mike Wallace has a good rapport with Joe, and we should honestly retain him solely for the fact that his very presence demands safety attention, but we need more guys. 2 WRs, and One TE, even if we retain Wallace and Watson. I’d honestly push to resign both Benjamin Watson and Mike Wallace. Neither should be particularly expensive and having two targets that Flacco is familiar with would be ideal. Fortunately, Ozzie picked a good season to need both of these. The market for WRs this season is not barren, even if the draft class is little weaker than normal on the top end. With regards to WRs likely potential targets include Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee, Jarvis Landry, Terrell Pryor, Paul Richardson, and Donte Moncrief. Some of these players are #1 options, and some are good #2 or red zone type players. We also have to account for potential cap casualties, with some names including Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Randall Cobb, and Michael Crabtree. Overall, WR is going to be a priority in FA regardless of whether we retain Wallace or not. Likewise, the draft class at the TE position is not as ripe as last years, but is still an impressive haul. I would not be angry if we were to draft two of the following names. 1. Mark Andrews, 2. Dallas Godert. 3. Mike Gesicki. 4. Hayden Hurst. 5. Ian Thomas. 6. Adam Breneman. It’s an impressive class no matter how you spin it.
2. Interior Pass Rushers- Za’Darius Smith is useless. We need to stop using him on the interior. Willie Henry is one man. We need to pursue options. David Irving would be the grand prize, but this is unlikely. Even though I would personally pay top dollar for him. Olson Pierre would not be terrible either, but like Irving he’s a restricted free agent who is likely to be tendered. Denico Autry is a name I’d look at. Liability against the run, but none of our defensive linemen currently struggle in that department. Dominique Easley is a high-risk high reward player, but Ozzie has taken fliers on those in the past. DaQuon Jones would not be terrible either. Overall.. This is massive need. There are options available. Some unlikely, others are plausible. But this is likely to be addressed in FA, as the talent in the draft leaves a lot to be desired.
3. Offensive Line- In theory, the line will improve from the previous season. Marshal Yanda returning is going to be a massive boost for the line. Ryan Jensen is almost certainly going to be retained and was a massive upgrade from Zuttah. Ronnie Stanley regressed slightly, but is still one of the most promising young LTs in the game. That said, Austin Howard is nothing more than a stop gap and is likely to be a stop gap. Alex Lewis is not a good fit at LG. We have 3/5ths of an offensive line, which is unacceptable. Ronnie Stanley will almost certainly improve barring his health, but we need an upgrade at LG. Alex Lewis may be the answer at RT, but the team seems infatuated with him at the guard position when he was a massive liability against the run his first year. Nonetheless, we need to acquire at least one starting caliber offensive linemen this offseason. Fortunately, this offensive line class in the draft is vastly superior than ones from the previous year, with promising options at the two positions on the line we need.
4. Inside Linebacker- Extending CJ Mosley is a top priority this offseason, no questions asked. While he is great, we could stand to add a coverage linebacker this offseason. While it would be ideal to use Bowser more often in coverage situations, for some reason we did not. While I think under a new regime that could change, we would still need another piece here to help out. I think adding someone like a Todd Davis or Avery Williamson would be beneficial even though both are not good in coverage. Our run defense could stand to improve regardless and both would be crucial pieces in turning that around.
5. Running back- Well aware that I just said that this is the strength of the team. But adding a back this offseason should be a priority regardless of whether I think that Collins is a bell cow(which I do) or not. Dixon is not dependable health wise, and neither is Woodhead. I think with the amount of depth that is in this running back class, it would be a total shame not to address the position. Even a late round flier on a pass catching back would be a good investment.
6. Corner- This is going at the bottom. Brandon Carr is a cut candidate, which is fine. He was serviceable, but could be improved upon. With how much the defense revolves around Jimmy Smith, it would be very ideal to acquire another guy who could play in a pinch. Marlon and Tavon both look extremely promising, but another guy would be ideal.
Scary thing: These are the only real needs on the team at the moment. While it’s unlikely we fufill all of them, we fulfil a few of them and then we are suddenly one of the most complete teams in the league. We truly are not too far away from contention again. We can only hope that Ozzie actually decides to pursue offense this offseason. This team is on the rise.
