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Baltimore Ravens 2019 Offseason Tracker


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1 hour ago, AngusMcFife said:

Thanks. Regarding your first point, how do you account for a guy like Matt Birk? He was a 6th round draft pick, and played sparingly his first two seasons. Then he became a perennial pro-bowl center. Or how about Jeff Saturday? He went undrafted, signed by the Ravens in 1998 (!), then was cut and was working at a hardware store before signing with the Colts the next year. If these guys had the traits you are talking about, they would have never been picked so low coming out of college. And yet they became great centers in the league for many years. 

I don't need to account for him. Centers can have traits synonymous with success at the position. And Scouts/Teams can fail to identify/appraise them correctly. This logic applies to every position. 

Yes, no one slips by the NFL scouting community. Everyone with ability/aptitude goes in the exact correct order according to talent.

2 hours ago, AngusMcFife said:

I can understand thinking Hurst may be slightly better than Skura, but 1) Hurst is older and is starting to get injured, and 2) it is much easier to acquire a dominating guard than it is a center. 

Looking at some grades, it looks like Skura was substantially better in the second half of the season with the Lamar Jackson offense. It just seems silly to discount a guy who has gone from a nobody UDFA to starting center for a playoff team in 2 years. When you say this

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Through almost 30 starts we've haven't seen anything close to plus play out of Skura.

You are suggesting he hasn't had very good games, which is simply false. His play right after the bye was consistently strong this year. 

I do agree that Cody Ford might be a great addition to play LG. Of course we could draft Ford and sign Paradis, but I just don't see the upgrade from Skura to Paradis to be necessarily worth the money Paradis will demand. 

I'm not discounting anything. Matt Skura is capable of starting at center in the NFL. That's quite the achievement. He isn't a plus player though. Matt isn't being asked to do what Jensen did for us in 2017. Skura is more of a contributor, not a generator.  Which does cap our offense. If we had a Center that could win 1v1s, like a Paradis, Roman's scheme could be brought to new heights.

I'm not worried about the money. I do think the upgrade is worth it. I think signing Paradis gives us a Top 5 veteran center immediately, and greatly expands our offense's capabilities/ceiling. It also saves us from having to navigate the position in the draft, and as you said it's easier to find a dominating guard

I don't think we should cheap out or rest on our laurels when it comes to securing the best possible line in front of our next up QBOTF.

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4 hours ago, DreamKid said:

I don't need to account for him. Centers can have traits synonymous with success at the position. And Scouts/Teams can fail to identify/appraise them correctly. This logic applies to every position. 

Yes, no one slips by the NFL scouting community. Everyone with ability/aptitude goes in the exact correct order according to talent.

I'm not discounting anything. Matt Skura is capable of starting at center in the NFL. That's quite the achievement. He isn't a plus player though. Matt isn't being asked to do what Jensen did for us in 2017. Skura is more of a contributor, not a generator.  Which does cap our offense. If we had a Center that could win 1v1s, like a Paradis, Roman's scheme could be brought to new heights.

I'm not worried about the money. I do think the upgrade is worth it. I think signing Paradis gives us a Top 5 veteran center immediately, and greatly expands our offense's capabilities/ceiling. It also saves us from having to navigate the position in the draft, and as you said it's easier to find a dominating guard

I don't think we should cheap out or rest on our laurels when it comes to securing the best possible line in front of our next up QBOTF.

Fair enough. I can definitely see the benefits of having a dominant center for this offense. I've liked what I've heard from Roman recently.  

Coincidently Paradis started his career similar to Skura, on the practice squad for a year before starting. It is interesting that the Broncos are willing to let him walk, I guess they think they can plug in young players and get similar value. He is coming off a broken leg, so his strength maybe questionable in 2019. He's also pretty old for a guy with only 4 years in the league (2019 is his age 30 season). 

Signing him would surprise me, only because the Ravens so rarely go after big ticket FA offensive lineman of late. Although the one big one they got was also a center (Matt Birk). And maybe DeCosta operates a bit differently than Ozzie, who knows. 

 

 

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48 minutes ago, BareYourTeeth said:

Adrian Amos and Cameron Wake please. Give us them MD (and Penn State) boys.

Yes and no.

Amos would be a fantastic pickup for us at FS because of his range and playmaking ability.

Cameron Wake...where would he play? He's basically a poor man's Terrell Suggs but he can't play OLB.

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https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ravens-are-in-very-good-hands-if-eric-decostas-early-returns-as-new-gm-continue/

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And if the Ravens get their way, their recent overtures to linebacker Matt Judon and defensive tackle Michael Pierce will result in contracts as well, with league sources indicating the team is actively trying to extend them as well as Mosley (and Baltimore will be wise to lock up restricted free agent linebacker Patrick Onwuasor).

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The Ravens' aggressive approach with Young, Judon and Pierce following their third season in the NFL – the point at which players are eligible to sign extensions with their clubs – is a portal into a wider approach afoot, and a thorough approach to try to erase some mistakes from the past. For while Young – who has shined in the slot during his two healthy seasons – is the first member of Baltimore's young core on defense to sign, he will not be the last, and DeCosta is focusing considerable energy on trying to extend a handful of players well before the 2019 season begins.

It's La Canfora, but he seems pretty strong in his belief/reporting that the Ravens are trying to get deals done with Pierce and Judon too. This is a good one to read. 

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59 minutes ago, coordinator0 said:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ravens-are-in-very-good-hands-if-eric-decostas-early-returns-as-new-gm-continue/

It's La Canfora, but he seems pretty strong in his belief/reporting that the Ravens are trying to get deals done with Pierce and Judon too. This is a good one to read. 

Wasn't he also strong in his belief that Harbaugh wanted to leave the team after this year?

7 minutes ago, baltimoreRebel said:

As we all suspected and hoped. We got a 3rd for Jensen. 

Not overpaying for Ryan Jensen was just such a good move for this team. I can't remember which side of the fence I fell on at the time, but hindsight tells us letting him walk was the right move.

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7 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

Wasn't he also strong in his belief that Harbaugh wanted to leave the team after this year?

Not overpaying for Ryan Jensen was just such a good move for this team. I can't remember which side of the fence I fell on at the time, but hindsight tells us letting him walk was the right move.

Yeah, he was all over that right before the bye week. Lamar taking over changed things. I'm no fan of Jason, would instantly unfollow him on Twitter if it weren't for the Ravens stuff like the above article, but I don't doubt Harbaugh would have been gone if things continued on the same path. That's not a particularly hot take. 

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