Calvin Ridley WR Alabama vs DJ Moore WR Maryland

[DreamKid]

I felt this deserved a separate thread and it's own poll as we start the final dash to the draft. Our biggest position of need and the draft's two biggest offerings at it. The biggest turnover and change at the position in franchise history is what the FO wants, and in coincidentally Ozzie's last draft at the helm. We're staring at the most pro ready WR to come out in years, who happens to be from Alabama. The draft's highest potential receiver who happens to be from Maryland, while also drawing comparisons to the Raven's long desired and later accomplished adopted son Steve Smith Sr. Let's not even get into how we have the 52nd pick in the draft or how it's the first time in franchise history that we'll be playing in the HOF game either. Needless to say, it's an interesting time to be a Raven fan. Let's get into it.

 

If we draft Calvin Ridley we instantly get a young number one option in the passing game, something this franchise has never known. BIG time separation, attitude, explosion, and game. Immediately we get a player who can battle and push any corner in the game, instantly changing the dynamic of our offense. 

If we draft DJ Moore we add an imposing rock to our offense, for at least 5 years there will be a durable, safe, productive presence at WR. In the AFC North, and with our history at the position, he holds special value. This rock though, also has the potential to change into a diamond, making the selection all the more tempting. 

 

This situation reminds me greatly of two intriguing characters in the world of ASOIAF. We're but lowly peasants hoping to find a savior figure to contribute towards a more productive Kingdom. We've come across two such possible candidates in Essos. In one tavern, sits the seductive and beguiling Crimson red priestess Melisandre. In the other tavern, sits the young but tough princess Daenerys Targaryen.

Melisandre's power is proven, having been used against the most capable of opponents. Her Crimson banners have known few defeats, with her at the centerpiece of many victories. Other realms will fear her potent magics, but such powerful forces do not come without potential cost. Rumors of strange behavior, and whispers about her true age are never far. Should we shy away from this though brothers? Our King is getting older, memories of him winning the realm are becoming harder and harder to conjure. With his injuries mounting, and only so many battles left in his legendary sword arm, should we not imbue his army with the grandest force available? Our Hand of the King will step down in the coming year as well. Giving the new Hand the most productive Kingdom possible could ease the transition and quiet possible discontent among the increasingly vocal small folk. 

Daenerys's own ability should not be sold short. A survivor, durable and without fear or weakness. A royal pedigree but a demeanor shaped by the trials of the common. Her name has long been sung in our lands, many of her famous deeds having been performed not far from our own Kingdom. Real too is her might, though in it's infant state. Young dragons adorn her, a fearsome factor that has wise men in countless realms seeking out this rarest of potential. Dragon's are a viable and destructive tool even at this early stage but it's what the future could hold that brings the chill of sheer terror to those considering not welcoming her into their Kingdom. Discerning eyes have analyzed in depth, the young princess's dragons and comparisons to some of the mightiest beasts to ever roam the skies have been made. Her bloodline served us well in the past, and recently overlooking one of her kin robbed the realm of another capable warrior. Is she fate manifest? Or another figure of hope that will be devoured by a cycle of failure that has plagued us? This one feels different. Even if her dragons fail to reach complete adulthood their fires will still burn and her own mentality, will, and passion can be the backbone of an army that sorely needs one. Our people will not mock her should she fall, they've already painted the young princess onto their hearts, willing to fall with her. Is she too young and unrefined a match for our King though? Especially when it isn't us who will be receiving a dowry, our investment will be severe my friends. Can this Kingdom chase another prophecy of potential? 

A great choice is upon us. Both of them served miserable men with wooden crowns, and the chance to give them the backing of a true king with the mightiest of swords breeds joy when either option is considered. Luckily we have many spies in the land Melisandre hails from, our own Hand called the region home a long time ago, and no soul in Westeros could access more of it's truths. Daenerys residing so close to our own realm, will also afford unique advantages. All is well brothers, all is well. Soon a new Raven will fly to us, bearing a new name.

 

All right guys, I can't break it down more logically than that. So what are your thoughts?

[berlin calling]

would buy a jersey of em both if they became a Raven. expecting neither to be the 1st round choice of this team.

[drd23]

I have a really hard time getting excited about the prospect of picking Ridley as high as pick 16

[EastsideEZ]

To me this is the question of our draft... Do we possibly pick the best receiver in Ravens history or do we go after a more elite defensive player as a value pick or possibly pick the first Tackle off the board and give us a chance at maybe A top 5 Oline barring health... We are in a enviable position but I also think the wrong decision will ultimately make or break the current coaching staff... If I were Harbaugh or Newsome I’d want Ridley because of the immediate impact I think he will have and the completely developed game it appears he possesses... If I were Decosta I’d prefer Moore becauseiff he is who we think he is he has the possibility to reach that elusive 3rd contract... in our situation and given our history I’d take Ridley cause we have never developed well we need u to come in As basically a finished product... Moore may be ready to go now too but I think Ridley has some of the lowest just potential in the draft and at 16 and being from bama.. I don’t see us passing up on him

[paraven]

It's obviously DJ Moore. But seriously I'd be happy with either, they are the only 2 wrs i want in this draft 

[diamondbull424]

Of the two players, I go with DJ Moore, as I’ve said since before it was as popular to say.

He’s not currently the best receiver in this class. But that doesn’t matter. At worst he’ll be an average NFL receiver. At best, he could become a top 5 receiver in the game. More likely he should fall somewhere in the top 10-15 at his position with reasonable development. I also believe the initial impact of Moore and Ridley should be similar only because while Ridley is more polished, it will be quite easy to get Moore the ball on bubble screens and slants as he continues to progress his route running ability. Ridley will require our OL to find Flacco more time, Moore is not.

In terms of overall as I’ve said in other places, I would still take a few other prospects above Moore, if only because they equally have high ceiling potential, but with much higher floors.

So to answer the question between, Melissandra or Danaerys Targaryen? I’m taking...

Though maybe I simply know nothing.?

[DreamKid]

2 hours ago, diamondbull424 said:

Though maybe I simply know nothing.?

Believe me, I was tempted.

[diamondbull424]

38 minutes ago, DreamKid said:

Believe me, I was tempted.

Minor Game of thrones spoilers to follow. If you haven’t seen the show you have been forewarned.

Honestly I thought that was going to be the correlation that you made when you mentioned the book. That said, I’ve only begun to start reading the books now. Having seen all the episodes of the show up to season 7. And I know there are variances between the book and the show that mainly begin somewhere in book 3 IIRC from what I’ve been told.

But yeah, I thought for sure the argument would be Daenerys vs Jon. Tbqh, if that was the comparison point, one might argue that Ridley equates to Daenerys because his potential is largely scene to this point.

We know the abilities that he brings to the table. He’s also the clear cut best option at the moment. He came onto the scene with a bang. But like Daenerys, he’s not possessed of the classical frame/athleticism of someone that you would normally expect to be the leader of nations. Just as Daenerys herself is largely reliant on her dragons for victory as she isn’t possessed of a warriors fighting ability making her one sided, so is Ridley reliant on his speed and route running. He doesn’t have impressive explosive traits nor an ability to break tackles. His very slender frame makes him easy to get down and could potentially present a durability concern at the next level. These are all weakness of Daenerys that could ultimately make her unfit to lead nations or unable to survive the final season.

On the opposite side, DJ Moore has a hidden potential that one can only assume. He’s displayed it on occasion. This hidden ability to seemingly and continuously escape opposing forces time and again, makes him a dangerous force to bet against. That along with the strong likelihood of him being able to utilize the strengths that Ridley is possessed of with some development. This compares to the possibility that Jon could equally see himself being possessed of Daenerys’ strengths as a commander of dragons (Ridley’s speed and route running), all while being a great warrior in hand to hand combat (Moore’s strength against press coverage), a good battle tactician (Moore battling for balls at the catch point), and an ability to evade opposing forces (Moore’s rare YAC ability in the open field). That said, Moore isn’t a finished product and his potential is largely what makes him so appealing as a prospect.

Lastly his style of play ultimately makes him much more involved in the action, like Jon Snow. This creates a potential concern for durability. There’s a correlation in football between getting hit and becoming injured, so even with a tougher frame, there’s going to be an obvious durability concern similar to how both Steve Smith and Percy Harvin (another player Moore reminds me of) created concerns during their career. One having a long career the other having a shortened career, but both struggling with durability at points.

This parallels again to how Jon Snow being someone that seemingly escapes dangerous situations consistently, could likely see a dangerous situation that he can’t eacape from. It’s simple law of averages, at some point his luck just might run out and he’s left not surviving the final season and thus losing in the game of thrones.

I think it’s safe to say we both can’t wait for GOTs to come out next year. ? 

[DreamKid]

2 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

But yeah, I thought for sure the argument would be Daenerys vs Jon. Tbqh, if that was the comparison point, one might argue that Ridley equates to Daenerys because his potential is largely scene to this point.

I made Ridley the red woman because he has access to some power that is certainly real, potent, and obviously dangerous(route running, explosive cuts, natural catcher), but strip it away and he is nothing special(poor athletic profile). Also because she's really like 300 years old or something and weak/ugly, it reminded me of Ridley being super old for a 1st round WR. The Crimson tide red was a big selling point too.

Where as Moore is Daenerys because he has the massive potential(the future older dragons), the current skill that must be respected(young dragons), and even if you stripped that away he's still got an insane athletic profile(her royal lineage). Also he's crazy durable(her at times immunity to fire). I'm proud of the Maryland WR bloodline reference too lol.

24 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

I think it’s safe to say we both can’t wait for GOTs to come out next year. ?

I don't think George RR. Martin is a genius writer or anything, he's no Cormac McCarthey. I appreciate how deliberate he is though, adding things like a Bank, College, and other real world aspects into a fantasy one was a unique choice that will no doubt influence future fantasy writers. It made the universe feel more grounded and accessible. Also not  painting in shades of black and white but rather showing the readers more realistic and gray characters was brilliant. 

I loved the first two seasons, they're some of the best episodes in TV history. The next two I thought were good, but 5 and up I've kind of just been watching to see it through. The show runners did wrong by George in a real way, and I consider them all time scumbags. They got George to agree to the show and worked hard on it initially, but when they saw how far away the end of the tunnel was if they continued at the proper pace to do the work justice, all they could think about was the other projects they wouldn't have time to work on. The projects they only ever earned because of GOT, so they started rushing and simply not caring about the show in the same way. A giant betrayal to George who gave them the go ahead and his life's greatest work. 

You'll enjoy the books, the later ones drag with some of the POVs but if you're a fan of the series it's certainly worth the read.

[diamondbull424]

Just random, but I don’t know if I can agree. I thought season 6 was pretty epic. I thought the Battle of the Bastards was absolutely the best episode of any tv show that I’ve ever watched.

If I had to rank the top 5 episodes of all of GOT it would be:

1. Battle of the Bastards (6:9)

2. The Watchers on the Wall (4:9)

3. The Winds of Winter (6:10)

4. The Door (6:5)

5. The Dragon and the Wolf (7:7)

That said, I’m sure my brain is warped. I feel as though everything before the red wedding was ultimately erased from my mind after. I literally could only watch episodes in a haze. I’m sure if I didn’t put up a mental block I might include:

Baelor (1:9) in there as well because that was where stuff got real. It’s been two to three years since I saw the Red Wedding and I’m sure once I finally get over it, I might include that up there as well. But that was too real.

So while I agree that season 7 was largely forgettable outside of The Dragon and the Wolf and the below speech, I think season 6 was incredible. Seasons 5, I can’t even remember. And seasons 3 and 4, had some highlights both. So on the middle seasons, I can agree. But season 6, without reading the books yet, I have to say was amazing. 

[DreamKid]

5 hours ago, diamondbull424 said:

I thought the Battle of the Bastards was absolutely the best episode of any tv show that I’ve ever watched.

High praise. Seems like you watch many shows over different genres. Are you including stuff like anime or episodic documentaries etc etc? I probably couldn't narrow mine down, would need to categorize it or something. Like weighing an episode of Seinfeld against a young adult drama like Smallville or something would be difficult, I like them both for what they are. 

[diamondbull424]

15 hours ago, DreamKid said:

High praise. Seems like you watch many shows over different genres. Are you including stuff like anime or episodic documentaries etc etc? I probably couldn't narrow mine down, would need to categorize it or something. Like weighing an episode of Seinfeld against a young adult drama like Smallville or something would be difficult, I like them both for what they are. 

First off I forgot to include this video in my above post. Probably my favorite “moment” in GOT. Bet you can’t tell I’m a Jon Snow fan.?

But yeah, I like many genres. My top rated shows in no order would be:

Anime- Naruto/Shippuden, FMA/Brotherhood, Code Geass, Avatar, DBZ, Sword Art Online

Drama- LOST, Mad Men, House, Prison Break, TWD

Fantasy- GOT

RomCom- HIMYM, Friends

SciFi- BSG

Teen- Smallville, Supernatural

TeenAngst- The Wonder Years, Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, Felicity

I know Breaking Bad, Dexter, Scandal, and Shameless are all missing from the list.. I haven’t seen them yet.

But of the one’s listed, the ones in bold are my top rated shows and it’s pretty easy for me to feel confident in that because while all are good, there are moments within all of these shows where they were transcendent.

[diamondbull424]

That all said, in terms of GOTs being rushed out, I think they had to simply because of young characters aging beyond suspension of disbelief (Bran being the most notable).

Though, I wouldn’t mind it if after filming the Star Wars trilogy of movies, enough time passes that we can revisit the GOTs universe somehow. As creatives, I can understand them getting burnt out... it might’ve been nice to see them simply drop out as show runners and let someone else take the mantle, but at the same time you then risk the subject matter becoming stale.

We've seen with anime such as FMA, Bleach, Naruto, and DBGT what happens when the anime is ahead of the manga and try to slow it down with fillers to wait and the quality suffers.

And FMA was the only example where they pulled it off in a respectable way where they sort of proceeded forward with their own vision of what the story might be. Brotherhood was better because it was the “true” story, but in the end, the first FMA put it on the map for a vast audience to truly appreciate the narrative and be rekindled with Brotherhood.

I can see GOT being something similar, where they end the show in their “own” way to keep the quality from suffering, but we will see the book end in a completely different manner. We then might see a separate LOR type of movie trilogy (I doubt we see a whole new tv series of the main books in any recent time, unless it’s like 25 years later) down the road that tells the “true” story from beginning to end. We might have to leave behind beloved characters for different reimaginings, but in the end, the product will be well respected with both works.

[BareYourTeeth]

You need to watch Breaking Bad immediately pal. I've watched every episode of GOT as well but I still rank it as the second greatest TV series behind Breaking Bad.

[diamondbull424]

52 minutes ago, BareYourTeeth said:

You need to watch Breaking Bad immediately pal. I've watched every episode of GOT as well but I still rank it as the second greatest TV series behind Breaking Bad.

It’s certainly on my docket. I’m watching Jessica Jones and the Punisher in the run up to Infinity War.

After that, it’s reasonable for Breaking Bad to finally come into play. I’ve seen the high praise though. Probably going to be difficult for it to surpass things like GOT/BSG for me simply because of my sci-fi/fantasy bias.

Though I will go into the show with a wholly open mind. At the moment, I’ve managed to keep spoilers to the very minimum. I only know teacher becomes meth maker/dealer after getting cancer and that a lawyer gets a spin-off series based off it. That does remind me, I forgot to include one of my favorite dramas above AMC’s Mad Men.