Jump to content

Journey to Ring 3: Club Evaluation & Building Another Champion


DreamKid

Recommended Posts

19 minutes ago, RavensTillIDie said:

I feel incredibly comfortable rolling into the season with that squad, as long as that money that would have been spent on an OL is spent elsewhere, say on a WR like Allen Robinson - I think we're going to have to pinch every penny we can to sign a receiver of his caliber, given our cap restrictions.

Our cap situation isn't that bad, and you're certainly braver than me for being incredibly comfortable with another go at the Powers/Mekari/Phillips + Rookie IOL pairing.

Rest assured that Phillips will be in the running for RG again with no large investment made there too. He already beat our Powers once, *as a Rookie, which on Harbaugh OL is pretty huge. And then you're also planting a Rookie C right next them? IDK, I'd go for Scherff the proven option if we can get him. Surround the one early round Rookie piece with strong vets and get as much plus talent on this OL as you can.

Also.. not be a downer, but I don't think we should get our hopes up for the A-Rob signing. Feels like the fandom is putting all their eggs in that basket and a meltdown is on the horizon when it doesn't happen. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, DreamKid said:

Our cap situation isn't that bad, and you're certainly braver than me for being incredibly comfortable with another go at the Powers/Mekari/Phillips + Rookie IOL pairing.

Rest assured that Phillips will be in the running for RG again with no large investment made there too. He already beat our Powers once, *as a Rookie, which on Harbaugh OL is pretty huge. And then you're also planting a Rookie C right next them? IDK, I'd go for Scherff the proven option if we can get him. Surround the one early round Rookie piece with strong vets and get as much plus talent on this OL as you can.

Also.. not be a downer, but I don't think we should get our hopes up for the A-Rob signing. Feels like the fandom is putting all their eggs in that basket and a meltdown is on the horizon when it doesn't happen. 

I think Mekari could be a very good RG, his primary issues have come with snaps and having to engage at the point of attack after snapping the ball. Not to mention, at center he's been next to two very average players most of the time. Now Imagine taking away the distraction of snapping the ball and having Brown next to him to help cover up any deficiencies. That alone should result in much improve interior line play.

And if we are to invest a day 1/day 2 draft pick on a lineman, I would expect them to be able to start/contribute immediately. Stanley, Bozeman, Mekari, and Brown should all be able to help him adjust and learn on  the job.

 

As for Robinson.....

 

tenor.gif?itemid=14421927

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's hard to know how much the diminished cap will impact us. For one thing it should impact every team equally, so it may just means players are available for cheaper than originally anticipated because there's not as much $$$ period. The other thing is that the cap was already set to explode in value after 2022 when the new TV deals are negotiated, and that jump is going to be even more dramatic now because of how what the pandemic did to the cap in the short-term. I'm no accounting wizard but stands to reason that for the top tier free agents who are being targeted for long-term contracts (the Allen Robinson's, basically), you can get creative in how the contracts are structured to soften the cap hit this year while baking in the expected jumps in the cap later on. 

Seems like the older vets who are looking at 1 or 2 year deals this offseason that will be impacted the most by the lowered cap. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming Roman stays - which he inevitably will - easy litmus test moving into next year as to whether Roman's actually willing to evolve the balance of the offense will be whether he's willing to use Hollywood more out of the slot next year, especially assuming we also bring in a new X receiver to play on the outside. Hollywood only played in the slot 14% of the time this past season and to me that number should be way up to create YAC opportunities, scheme ways to help him beat the press, and in general add more variety to his route tree to make the offense harder to predict and defend. 

In most any offense you'd definitely see him coming into the slot more often but I'm almost certain with Roman the reticence to do so comes from thinking first about stretch run plays and thus thinking first about blocking ability before he even thinks about what helps the passing game. As it stands now even when Roman started 'spreading the offense' out more it just meant putting Pat Ricard in the slot instead of the backfield, which was a helpful tweak for getting the running game going after Boyle got injured but fundamentally doesn't change any of the problems with the way the offense operates and the lack of balance. 

Edited by SalvadorsDeli
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DreamKid said:

 

His projection is also assuming a league wide cap of $175m, which I think won’t happen. Regardless of how much money the league is losing, teams and players will more than likely vote to stabilize the cap at $200m for the next few seasons to account for the anticipate cap increases down the road. I think the evidence of this is in the extensions that teams have given to their young stars.

So I get all of his points and I get WHY he’s projecting the cap at only that amount... I just don’t see it happening, until it actually happens. I think it’s more likely that the Ravens open up free agency with that $10m + $25m, than just the $10m alone. It’s all guesswork at this point though. But the balance of the league will likely be disrupted if the league allows the cap to fall to that level. Only select teams will be able to recruit FA talents, even with teams engaging in creative cap manipulation.

That said, I’d also expect us to be able to create some additional cap space, if we wanted, by extending Williams, who has yet to show signs of slowing down as a great NT, especially with his likely future snap counts, he should be a pretty safe bet.

2 hours ago, DreamKid said:

Our cap situation isn't that bad, and you're certainly braver than me for being incredibly comfortable with another go at the Powers/Mekari/Phillips + Rookie IOL pairing.

Rest assured that Phillips will be in the running for RG again with no large investment made there too. He already beat our Powers once, *as a Rookie, which on Harbaugh OL is pretty huge. And then you're also planting a Rookie C right next them? IDK, I'd go for Scherff the proven option if we can get him. Surround the one early round Rookie piece with strong vets and get as much plus talent on this OL as you can.

Also.. not be a downer, but I don't think we should get our hopes up for the A-Rob signing. Feels like the fandom is putting all their eggs in that basket and a meltdown is on the horizon when it doesn't happen. 

This is mainly in response to your Scherff post, but its on the other page. I like the idea, my biggest problem with it is that its sort of not ideal timing. This draft class is one of the deepest OL classes I’ve ever seen. We could legitimately add a normal 1st round talent in the late 2nd round with this expected class. Guys that Phillips would have no shot at beating out.

I can’t recall if it were you who mentioned it or not, but also with regard to Creed Humphrey, whom I love, I also have lowered some on his prospects if only because the one flaw he brings to the table... has been some inconsistent snaps as a sophomore and from what I’ve heard he’s gotten better this season, but still had some minor hiccups.

The only true flaw in Mekari’s game has been the consistency within his snaps. Everything else, he’s our best IOL performer. So if we’re replacing him with someone with a similar problem, albeit who is more dominant, it reduces some of the advantages. Thus I just think we should add the best IOL prospect we can find. As high on Creed as I am, I think there are going to be better IOL options in the first round. Heck, Creed could very realistically fall to our 2nd round pick IMO.

So my concern is with signing a Scherff, we will be eliminating the prospect of adding an elite IOL option that can be here for 10+ years, in order to obtain one that might be here for 3-4 years depending on how he holds up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, SalvadorsDeli said:

Assuming Roman stays - which he inevitably will - easy litmus test moving into next year as to whether Roman's actually willing to evolve the balance of the offense will be whether he's willing to use Hollywood more out of the slot next year, especially assuming we also bring in a new X receiver to play on the outside. Hollywood only played in the slot 14% of the time this past season and to me that number should be way up to create YAC opportunities, scheme ways to help him beat the press, and in general add more variety to his route tree to make the offense harder to predict and defend. 

In most any offense you'd definitely see him coming into the slot more often but I'm almost certain with Roman the reticence to do so comes from thinking first about stretch run plays and thus thinking first about blocking ability before he even thinks about what helps the passing game. As it stands now even when Roman started 'spreading the offense' out more it just meant putting Pat Ricard in the slot instead of the backfield, which was a helpful tweak for getting the running game going after Boyle got injured but fundamentally doesn't change any of the problems with the way the offense operates and the lack of balance. 

Assuming we don't run actual spread looks. If Hollywood is in the slot, does that move Andrews to inline TE? Where does that leave Snead (assuming we re-sign him, which I would believe would).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

Assuming we don't run actual spread looks. If Hollywood is in the slot, does that move Andrews to inline TE? Where does that leave Snead (assuming we re-sign him, which I would believe would).

Andrews lined up in the slot on about 1/3 of his snaps so I don't think moving Hollywood around would have to change his role too much - but yeah I'd imagine it'd be a mix of putting Andrews in-line as well as potentially coming up with some 4 WR looks with 2 outside receivers Hollywood and Andrews in the slot. And just to be clear I"m not saying move him into the slot as his primary role, I'm moreso just thinking about what personnel groupings are out there that we never even ponder utilizing because Roman sees everything through the lens of how it impacts the running game. 

Kinda hard to dig in too much on this right now I guess since we don't know what the WR depth chart will look like - maybe those two outside receivers helping Hollywood get more slot looks are both new mid and cheaper FA signings (like Marvin Jones and Cam Sims or something like that) or maybe it's a a big-time #1 of the Michael Thomas/Allen Robinson variety and then Boykin - hard to say. I don't think Snead is re-signed FWIW. 

Edited by SalvadorsDeli
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

His projection is also assuming a league wide cap of $175m, which I think won’t happen. Regardless of how much money the league is losing, teams and players will more than likely vote to stabilize the cap at $200m for the next few seasons to account for the anticipate cap increases down the road.

I think somewhat similarly on this - the cap will be somewhere in the $190-200m range. 

You would hope that the NFL and NFLPA have learnt from the mistakes the NBA made in having the cap jump by a massive amount in one year and instead do what they can to smooth out the way the cap rises. And that can be done by borrowing from future increased revenue as you've alluded to

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also posted this in the Lamar thread with that particular take. This is the Greg Roman/Culley take. As well as what I think needs to happen.

So first off, my take still remains that Greg Roman needs to go. The passing game execution for EVERY position group on these pass plays- is off. The WRs, the RBs, the TEs... the depth of the routes they take, how fast they’re looking to get out of the backfield and into their check down status as a RB, the lack of awareness from the receivers to notice when the blitz is coming and running routes with more urgency. How Lamar’s 1st read is towards the shallow part of the field.

These aren’t just X’s and O’s Issues. These are issues that you have to think would only come from an offense that isn’t spending much time working on passing concepts. This team consistently has little issue in run execution, there appears to be a far greater emphasis attached to run game execution than pass game execution. As the offensive coordinator, Roman is chiefly responsible for organizing all of that together.

Now either we should have to overhaul the entire offensive positional groups because of said execution errors OR Roman needs to go and someone else will be presented with a shot at better coordinator that group of positional coaches. Someone with superior vision.

Speaking of vision. The timing of and situation of Roman play calls leave a lot to be desired. All game long, the Bills were running a quarters defense and yet we were running man busters against them? Why? They ran a lot of zone against Indy as well.

The fact that Lamar consistently diet balls out quickly is on Lamar, however what isn’t on Lamar is the lack of execution of other position groups. The lack of being on the same page. That’s practice elements. At Louisville Lamar was far more confident in release the ball. Last year he was as well. Those things would improve the offense. But outside of technical developments from Lamar, there is no cerebral development from his time at Louisville, whereas at Louisville he improved his cerebral abilities with each season. Has he plateau’d, has Urban done a poor job of detailing to him the looks he’s missing (why is Lamar not looking over tape on the sidelines?) I don’t have the answers to that, but Lamar is the former league MVP and the heartbeat of this offense. You give him the benefit of the doubt in these situations. Perhaps Roman is not to blame for that stagnation, perhaps Lamar is to blame, or perhaps they’re just not an ideal fit from a communication/receptivity perspective. Either way, another voice needs to be within Lamar’s ear- and right away, if there is any hope to progressing his ability to play from within the pocket.

With regard to David Culley, there are some scathing viewpoints there with regard to some of the depth of routes, however the fact that the pass game IS scheming guys open and Lamar is simply missing and the fact that situationally Roman is consistently calling some illogical play calls, leads me to believe he’s on the lower end of the blame scale heading into next season. The fact that those double post misses were not communicated to Lamar OR the OC/QB coach wasn’t communicating reminders to Lamar when those plays were called again, is scathing for both Roman and Urban.

I don’t know who would be most qualified in turning around the sensical nature of when/how to attack opposing defenses, but if Culley isn’t given a HC opportunity with the Texans, I’m on board with seeing if he can improve the situational nature of our pass calls and get our position groups better on the same page, unlike what we’ve seen from Roman in the passing attack.

Running the football should be a part of this teams identity, but clearly this team needs a great focus on passing concepts throughout. It can’t just be given 2nd place status. It needs to be the emphasis. Once our guys are all on the same page in the passing attack, then they can divert their attention back to historical run game realizations.

Lastly this offense needs far more RPO looks. They don’t make sense out of all the 22 personnel sets we’ve run, but out of the 3 WR sets, they make far more sense. This is also on Roman because that marries both the run and pass game concepts together.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, diamondbull424 said:

I can’t recall if it were you who mentioned it or not, but also with regard to Creed Humphrey, whom I love, I also have lowered some on his prospects if only because the one flaw he brings to the table... has been some inconsistent snaps as a sophomore and from what I’ve heard he’s gotten better this season, but still had some minor hiccups.

Don't think it's me, I haven't mentioned Humphrey. Saw him as a hot name the past couple years and have looked at a few highlights posted on twitter but that's it. Have yet to look at at a cut up or form an opinion. Sucks that he potentially has that snapping flaw you mentioned though. We've had enough of that at the position already.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, DreamKid said:

Don't think it's me, I haven't mentioned Humphrey. Saw him as a hot name the past couple years and have looked at a few highlights posted on twitter but that's it. Have yet to look at at a cut up or form an opinion. Sucks that he potentially has that snapping flaw you mentioned though. We've had enough of that at the position already.

Yeah, it hasn’t showed up in any tape I’ve seen, but in most tapes for Mekari or Skura snapping issues might not show up... it’s only when they do, they tank the entire game.

Creed would be a terrific fit within our offense if we select him though. I think he’s got elite center tools- perfect fit for our gap scheme.

This is a weird comparison, but his movement skills and overall balance at the POA reminds me of Kelly Greg, just superb balance, ability to adjust his body to create leverage to hold at the POA.

His punch is also elite. Only Leatherwood seems to get a similarly strong punch at the POA. I’m looking forward to ranking the IOL prospects like Leatherwood, Creed, Davis, etc. I think this class will be as stacked and talented as last years RBs with Taylor, Dobbins, Swift, Moss, CEH as RBs I was a major fan of... then Gibson impressed late in the process, but I didn’t really know what exactly he was. This IOL class looks like it’ll be just as stacked and elite and these guys will be some of the pinnacle of their position for the next decade. Cant wait to dive in deeper (pause).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

This is a weird comparison, but his movement skills and overall balance at the POA reminds me of Kelly Greg, just superb balance, ability to adjust his body to create leverage to hold at the POA.

Uh oh, you said the magic words...now I'm obligated to post it-

 

4 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

This IOL class looks like it’ll be just as stacked and elite and these guys will be some of the pinnacle of their position for the next decade. Cant wait to dive in deeper (pause).

Yup. So many early round names across multiple draft sites/rankings. Seems like we might finally have some strong options left to pick through. The draft hasn't been kind to us at C & G in recent years, but 2021 looks like it'll buck the trend.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DreamKid said:

Uh oh, you said the magic words...now I'm obligated to post it-

 

Yup. So many early round names across multiple draft sites/rankings. Seems like we might finally have some strong options left to pick through. The draft hasn't been kind to us at C & G in recent years, but 2021 looks like it'll buck the trend.

How have I not seen this before today. Ray Lewis in the background too.😂 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...