2018 CFB/2019 Draft Prospects

[DreamKid]

2 hours ago, diamondbull424 said:

Is it me or was this like the least hyped senior bowl in recent memory. I haven’t heard of that dominant standout this season that set it on fire as much as in the past.

Perhaps I just haven’t been paying enough attention? But it just doesn’t feel as strong. What are everyone else’s thoughts on that?

I think it definitely was. A lack of Star Power overall could be the cause. And maybe Mayock's departure is part of the equation too. Who knows? I agree though, the buildup and anticipation felt lacking. 

I also have to take issue with NFLN. They need to fix their programming errors. Too often does their guide labeled show slot not match up with what's actually being aired. I've been in and out of the country lately, so I had to record the Senior Bowl and it's practices. Well I get home, sit down to watch all that I have recorded...... and it's replays of the NFC and AFC Championship games!

The Senior Bowl game itself recorded fine, but the practices are my favorite aspect of the week and I ended up with only 3 hours of actual practice shows. This isn't an isolated incident either. They constantly F up. Most commonly they just run random games or "A Football Life" Docs, irregardless of what the time slot actually advertised on the guide. They're a mess, and I intend to go through the complaints process. I'm sure it will lead nowhere but better to try than not. 

[Danand]

6 hours ago, diamondbull424 said:

Is it me or was this like the least hyped senior bowl in recent memory. I haven’t heard of that dominant standout this season that set it on fire as much as in the past.

Perhaps I just haven’t been paying enough attention? But it just doesn’t feel as strong. What are everyone else’s thoughts on that?

Agree, no one flashed and those who did in one-on-one drills didn't do as much consistently in the game.

This class showed more of the solid depth I think this draft class has on paper. 

[DreamKid]

Orlando getting after some analyst on twitter for doubting Cody Ford.

 

[RavensTillIDie]

I wish we somehow had a shot at Josh Allen this year, probably my favorite defensive prospect in a long, long time. *le sigh*

[Danand]

I saw Lance Zuerlein mock Josh Jacobs to us. I really don't hope that happens. No doubt he is a good player, can do everything like a Todd Gurley, but the value of the position is just too low.

Also, Josh Jacobs make much of his runs when they are blocked really well - that doesn't take anything away from him, but its not a unique ability. He doesn't have the explosive home run speed that makes me think he would be exactly that x-factor that would make a huge change for our offense.

[DreamKid]

3 hours ago, Danand said:

I saw Lance Zuerlein mock Josh Jacobs to us

Well I guess he's 0/2 today then....

The premise itself(see tweet below) is monumentally stupid, but his responses to the obvious criticism make him look insane. 

I remembered you having some negative exchange or something with Lance on twitter too Dan. Looks like that wasn't an anomaly for this guy.

LOL at the other draft analysts trying to shield him from criticism with the "That's not so crazy" or "I've heard" babble too. They have to shield their peer, because if his POV is wounded by "common fan enthusiasts" then their own analysis is vulnerable. 

 

[drd23]

I haven't bothered to read through all the replies, but based on the first few he clearly hasn't factored in that the NFL is vastly different than it was 20 years ago if he's using Bruschi and Levon Kirkland as reasons why Oliver at ILB would work

[Danand]

6 hours ago, DreamKid said:

Well I guess he's 0/2 today then....

The premise itself(see tweet below) is monumentally stupid, but his responses to the obvious criticism make him look insane. 

I remembered you having some negative exchange or something with Lance on twitter too Dan. Looks like that wasn't an anomaly for this guy.

LOL at the other draft analysts trying to shield him from criticism with the "That's not so crazy" or "I've heard" babble too. They have to shield their peer, because if his POV is wounded by "common fan enthusiasts" then their own analysis is vulnerable. 

 

He is just arrogant with an attitude and talks down to people. He was quick to recognize how the Cowboys should have picked Calvin Ridley in his 3-4 TD game in week 4-5 or something, and I argued LVE was a good pick for the Cowboys and he would have none of that argument because of how much better Ridley was.

After I started following him on twitter, I saw how this is a typical response from him. I do agree with a lot of his views on players and his report on Perriman is the most accurate I have seen.

What he mentioned in the tweet isn't what he says when he later elaborates, so it is clearly an attempt to stir the pot. Make Ed Oliver rush the passer whether it is to play him a bit away from LOS isn't something crazy to say, but that is different than comparing him to Teddy Bruschi. Completely different types of players/athletes.

[DreamKid]

@diamondbull424 Thoughts?

I agree with Mayock's take on this kind of thing from back when Mixon wasn't allowed to attend. The combine isn't a vacation. It's a high pressure interview that is mentally and physically draining. FOs want players with baggage there, so they can be prodded and analyzed directly in an intense way. Mixon and others got let off the hook by not attending and I'm sure they look back and laugh at the combine. 

 

I'm really curious if Jeffrey will be on our board or not. He's exactly the kind of player we need, and we wouldn't have a shot at him if not for the baggage. FWIW it was said that we wouldn't pursue players with a history of domestic violence. Jeffrey's incident wasn't DV related. He helped his mom beat up some woman she was fighting, with some extra too. Certainly not a shining moment for the kid, but a far cry from some of the really crazy stuff players have done(Tyreek Hill). 

Taking a player off your board because they engaged in violent activities as a teenager would knock off half the league. Why should we shy away from cases like his? Ray Rice? We should pick a player like Jeffrey Simmons because of the Ray Rice situation. Ray fixed his life and now is a positive influence on his family and others. He overcame a horrible decision that could've sent his life into a downward spiral. Just as Jeffrey has done. Why not let RR mentor Simmons? Why not surround him with a strong LR and FO? You either believe in redemption or you don't, and from everything we've seen our team certainly does. From the coaching staff on down you can find examples of men finding and staying on a better path.

The team can't live in fear of damning videos attached to prospects. We're in an age where every 10 year old walks around with HD cameras on their phones. The RR incident happened and it's done, move on. There isn't going to be some big backlash. No one cares. Attention spans in this country are laughable. Sure you'd get a couple segments here and there about us being hypocrites or going back on our word for a couple days, but then it would fade. Young men often make bad decisions. Even Marlon who is a great kid and one of the cleanest players on the team got jammed up in some nonsense. If anything I'd be less worried about a guy like Jeffrey, who now knows how quickly it can all go away. I hope the team looks at this one real hard and isn't afraid to add a great player to the squad.

 

 

[Danand]

Teenagers are mostly stupid/doing stupid things. They are rarely bad people and somewhat victims of circumstance. If they put out a racist tweet age 16, hit someone they shouldn't at 18 or smoked something stronger than cigarettes at age 19, they shouldn't be punished for that several years after or walk around with their head down in shame.

The NFL, and the Ravens, should also be more concerned about patterns rather than isolated incidents. I don't know where Simmons and that other WR kid (who  has some enticing athleticism and balance for his size) is in this, but it doesn't seem Simmons fit the profile of a bad character person, but rather someone who made a mistake and learned from it.

[drd23]

5 hours ago, DreamKid said:

You either believe in redemption or you don't, and from everything we've seen our team certainly does.

Unfortunately social media's outrage culture doesn't, and it certainly seems that they influence a lot of decisions made by the NFL when it comes to these sorts of matters

3 hours ago, Danand said:

The NFL, and the Ravens, should also be more concerned about patterns rather than isolated incidents.

It's harder to say now that the Ravens have seemed to take almost any player with a character issue off the board in recent times, but they definitely used to look at both patterns of behaviour and when an incident occurred.  I'm fairly sure both these things where brought up when Jimmy Smith was drafted.  IIRC he'd had a number of incidents in his teenage years, but because he was well behaved at Colorado, when away from bad influences from where he lived, the team (and myself fwiw) were pretty confident that he'd stay out of trouble

[DreamKid]

Here's what we know. 

1. The team was willing to sign Jarvis Landry. 

There's a video of Landry shoving and forcing some drunk girl into a car. That was closer to a true DV incident and the team didn't blink in their pursuit.

2. The FO has started bringing in players with less than clean records again.

Peanut had gun & drug charges. Tim Williams had failed drug tests & a gun charge. Tyus Bowser had a big fight with a teammate at Houston. Jordan Lasley had multiple undisclosed issues. 

 

Those 2 points and the team's drive to not miss on early round picks make me think Simmons is on the table.

[RavensfanRD]

DeCosta said we need to get back to being bullies, so I expect us to grab some gorillaz and go win championships!

I don't care that you chopped a toddler in the tonsils once, do you sack, bro?

[diamondbull424]

On 2/1/2019 at 1:10 AM, DreamKid said:

@diamondbull424 Thoughts?

I agree with Mayock's take on this kind of thing from back when Mixon wasn't allowed to attend. The combine isn't a vacation. It's a high pressure interview that is mentally and physically draining. FOs want players with baggage there, so they can be prodded and analyzed directly in an intense way. Mixon and others got let off the hook by not attending and I'm sure they look back and laugh at the combine. 

 

I'm really curious if Jeffrey will be on our board or not. He's exactly the kind of player we need, and we wouldn't have a shot at him if not for the baggage. FWIW it was said that we wouldn't pursue players with a history of domestic violence. Jeffrey's incident wasn't DV related. He helped his mom beat up some woman she was fighting, with some extra too. Certainly not a shining moment for the kid, but a far cry from some of the really crazy stuff players have done(Tyreek Hill). 

Taking a player off your board because they engaged in violent activities as a teenager would knock off half the league. Why should we shy away from cases like his? Ray Rice? We should pick a player like Jeffrey Simmons because of the Ray Rice situation. Ray fixed his life and now is a positive influence on his family and others. He overcame a horrible decision that could've sent his life into a downward spiral. Just as Jeffrey has done. Why not let RR mentor Simmons? Why not surround him with a strong LR and FO? You either believe in redemption or you don't, and from everything we've seen our team certainly does. From the coaching staff on down you can find examples of men finding and staying on a better path.

The team can't live in fear of damning videos attached to prospects. We're in an age where every 10 year old walks around with HD cameras on their phones. The RR incident happened and it's done, move on. There isn't going to be some big backlash. No one cares. Attention spans in this country are laughable. Sure you'd get a couple segments here and there about us being hypocrites or going back on our word for a couple days, but then it would fade. Young men often make bad decisions. Even Marlon who is a great kid and one of the cleanest players on the team got jammed up in some nonsense. If anything I'd be less worried about a guy like Jeffrey, who now knows how quickly it can all go away. I hope the team looks at this one real hard and isn't afraid to add a great player to the squad.

 

 

So my take is the same as it’s been. I think it was a giant mistake of him to do this. But here is an extended video of the situation.

With that video we can see that Simmons sister is in a fight and he’s initially trying, along with another guy, to break up the fight. He tried twice. After failing he throws blows against a woman who is beating down his sister who won’t stop. It’s not smart for him to bash this girl, but I also can’t fault him for stepping in to make sure his sister is good.

If he falls to our pick at #22 I don’t think there would be a better player that we could select. I see Simmons as a future multiple season All Pro interior option. Reminds me of Fletcher Cox.

[Danand]

I really like Hunter Renfrow. Him and Andy Isabella are some of my favorites at WR so far.