OTA/Camp Observations 2019

[DreamKid]

How great is it that we brought back McPhee- right as we drafted Jaylon Ferguson? 

Pernell is exactly who we want Ferg to become and model his game after. Power rusher with an ability to kick inside. Word is he's taken Jaylon, Timmy, and Tyus all under his wing. He'll be great for TNT too. 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

Watch out for the true underdog story of 

checks notes

The guy we drafted in the 1st round last year

Edited August 13, 2019 by AFlaccoSeagulls

[AngusMcFife]

1 hour ago, DreamKid said:

You know what we haven't seen all camp?

Those big fluff articles where Judon is gushed about and praised for dominating in what will be the biggest year of his career. 

In fact, you barely hear his name at all. I've read about Ronnie Stanley handling him. I've listened to Wink describe Judon as "Needing to get his camp legs under him". And now we're seeing him miss practices. 

Judon is a solid player, but he escapes criticism at the most impressive rate on this team.

What specifically should the media be criticizing Judon for? I'm confused. He's a 5th round pick who has overproduced his draft slot. He was picked after Correa and Kafusi and has become a solid player, definitely a better pass rusher than them.

Now he has a chance to break out. But if he doesn't its not some colossal failure. He already has more career sacks than Za’Darius Smith, though. He's already accomplished quite a lot in 3 seasons considering where he came from.  

[DreamKid]

8 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

Watch out for the true underdog story of 

checks notes

The guy we drafted in the 1st round last year

Respect your elders. 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

12 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

What specifically should the media be criticizing Judon for?

Not being able to be a #1 pass rusher when that's precisely why we drafted him and what his perceived strength was coming out of college? He's not elite or even great at anything. 

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I'm confused. He's a 5th round pick who has overproduced his draft slot. He was picked after Correa and Kafusi and has become a solid player, definitely a better pass rusher than them.

We never even got to see Correa as a pass rusher tho.

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Now he has a chance to break out. But if he doesn't its not some colossal failure. He already has more career sacks than Za’Darius Smith, though. He's already accomplished quite a lot in 3 seasons considering where he came from.  

Za'Darius really just came on at the right time. Nobody expects him to replicate that season moving forward. I don't think Judon can even be a reliable 7-8 sack player without someone on the opposite edge getting more attention than him. He should have already broken out by now IMHO, but in reality he's just a very average balanced OLB. 

EDIT: I take that back, comparing him to Upshaw isn't fair. Upshaw has 7.5 career sacks. But Judon is just an average OLB who doesn't really excel at any one thing.

Edited August 13, 2019 by AFlaccoSeagulls

[BareYourTeeth]

57 minutes ago, DreamKid said:

How great is it that we brought back McPhee- right as we drafted Jaylon Ferguson? 

Pernell is exactly who we want Ferg to become and model his game after. Power rusher with an ability to kick inside. Word is he's taken Jaylon, Timmy, and Tyus all under his wing. He'll be great for TNT too. 

I think Zach Sieler could be an animal if they used him like McPhee or how they used Za'Darius Smith. I'd like to see Pernell work with him

[DreamKid]

Harbaugh went out of his way today to praise the duo of Elliot and Clark. He doubled down on how deep we are at the position.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

1 minute ago, DreamKid said:

Harbaugh went out of his way today to praise the duo of Elliot and Clark. He doubled down on how deep we are at the position.

He's not wrong.

[DreamKid]

Spencer is Beatdown's new primary All-22 analyst, Logan Levy left. Some interesting notes in here.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by DreamKid

[AngusMcFife]

3 hours ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

I don't think Judon can even be a reliable 7-8 sack player without someone on the opposite edge getting more attention than him. He should have already broken out by now IMHO, but in reality he's just a very average balanced OLB. 

Yes he's gotten 7-8 sacks the past couple years but I don't really think the Ravens have had a #1 rusher who has been opposite of him. He's 2nd in sacks the past two years but teams were not scheming to stop Suggs or Za'Darius Smith because they weren't disruptive pass rushers. 

Having a 5th round pick turn out to be an average, balanced OLB is a great return on investment. I'm sorry Judon isn't Lawrence Taylor but I don't know why anyone would expect him to be a superstar. 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

1 hour ago, AngusMcFife said:

Yes he's gotten 7-8 sacks the past couple years but I don't really think the Ravens have had a #1 rusher who has been opposite of him.

Regardless of whether Suggs has produced to that level, teams have absolutely blocked and targeted him as that #1 rusher for our team.

1 hour ago, AngusMcFife said:

He's 2nd in sacks the past two years but teams were not scheming to stop Suggs or Za'Darius Smith because they weren't disruptive pass rushers. 

I don't think it's accurate at all to say teams weren't scheming to stop Suggs. He's almost always chipped by a TE or a back. Teams were absolutely not doing the same for Smith, so he's got that going for him and to his credit he dominated.

1 hour ago, AngusMcFife said:

Having a 5th round pick turn out to be an average, balanced OLB is a great return on investment. I'm sorry Judon isn't Lawrence Taylor but I don't know why anyone would expect him to be a superstar. 

Yeah he is an average OLB but he's going to command ridiculous money and this team is expecting him right now to be more than average, that's kind of the point.

[diamondbull424]

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Later, in seven-on-seven drills, Mekari got in at least 50 reps snapping the ball for each quarterback. Mekari is built athletically with massive arms and a lean lower body. He utilizes good hand placement and sharp first steps. He doesn’t overextend himself. He looks to be a nice UDFA pickup by the front office and he should expect major snap-share on Thursday.

Baltimore Beatdown

Thats the part I found most intriguing. 100 snaps total. I think Skura is our weakest link along the OL and if Mekari can be a stud than that would seriously go to solving that particular 2020 Draft need.

Another thing I found interesting in that article was Otaro Alaka. I noticed him standing out in our preseason games. Would love see more from him this preseason.

[DreamKid]

4 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

Another thing I found interesting in that article was Otaro Alaka. I noticed him standing out in our preseason games. Would love see more from him this preseason.

He definitely had a couple stand out moments. I wonder if teams are going to start targeting the UDFA LBs we bring in lol. "We need a LB, take a look at the Ravens' PS".

 

[drd23]

23 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

Another thing I found interesting in that article was Otaro Alaka. I noticed him standing out in our preseason games. Would love see more from him this preseason.

Yep, #50 flashed a number of times for me too.  If he's good on special teams there's a fairly clear path to the opening 53 man roster too

[Danand]

1 hour ago, drd23 said:

Yep, #50 flashed a number of times for me too.  If he's good on special teams there's a fairly clear path to the opening 53 man roster too

With his physical and aggressive skillset, he could be a contributor in short yardage situations as well. I remember him being described by some danish analysts as a two down thumber who did a good job at stuffing the run and take on blockers, but he is a limited athlete that doesn't do well in space.