SB Nation - Edgar Jones

Ravens 53 Man Roster: My Picks

Bruce Raffel — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:00:24 -0000

Here are my picks for what the Ravens will end up doing later today when they announce the 53 man roster that they will be trimming down to when they release 22 guys to get down to the NFL max.

Offense

QB: Joe Flacco, Troy Smith, John Beck

WR: Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Kelley Washington, Justin Harper

RB: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, LeRon McClain, Jalen Parmele

TE: Todd Heap, L.J. Smith, Davon Drew, Edgar Jones

OL: Matt Birk, Ben Grubbs, Jared Gaither, Chris Chester, Marshal Yanda, Michael Oher, David Hale, Oniel Cousins

Defense

DB: Ed Reed, Dawan Landry, Fabian Washington, Domonique Foxworth, Haruki Nakamura, Tom Zbikowski, Chris Carr, Lardarius Webb, Frank Walker, Derrick Martin

LB: Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Jarret Johnson, Tavares Gooden, Jameel McClain, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Paul Kruger, Prescott Burgess, Antwan Barnes

DL: Haloti Ngata, Trevor Pryce, Justin Bannan, Kelly Gregg, Dwan Edwards, Brandon McKinney

Specialists

P: Sam Koch

PK: Steven Hauschka

LS: Matt Katula

That’s only 52 guys and my final spot is a tough one to decide upon. I am looking at one of the following guys:

Yamon Figurs, Jason Cook, Jason Phillips, Joe Reitz, Kelly Talavou

Figurs still has the speed and with Webb looking a bit shaky on returns, Yamon gives us another option behind Chris Carr. Jason Cook gives us another fullback along with LeRon McClain. Jason Phillips was a 4^th round draft pick in 2009 and Ozzie doesn’t like to release draft picks. Perhaps Phillips will be IR’d to keep our hands on him (I expect the Ravens to IR undrafted rookie LB Dannell Ellerbe as well). Joe Reitz gives us more depth on the offensive line as well as Kelly Tavalou does the same for the defensive line.

I don’t want to take the easy way out by only selecting 52 players, so I will have to go out on a limb and make my selection and therefore the 53^rd spot on the Baltimore Ravens roster goes to Yamon Figurs.

The other players I was undecided about go onto our Practice Squad, where we can have up to eight players. Of course, I would expect the team to peruse other teams’ cuts to add a player or two to either our roster or Practice Squad, and vice versa for the rest of the league. However, in advance of that info, my Practice Squad would look like this:

Cook, Reitz, Talavou, Foster, Riley, Peerman, Smolko, Stallings

Additionally, as I stated earlier, the team would place both Dannell Ellerbe and Jason Phillips on Injured Reserve (IR), which would end their 2009 seasons, but ensure the team retains their rights while giving the players their full 2009 salaries, which do count against the team’s salary cap. However, being rookies, that should not be much of an issue.

Your thoughts and comments on those last few slots?

Ravens Recent Injuries Create Opportunities

Bruce Raffel — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:25:01 -0000

The Baltimore Ravens are not unlike most any other NFL teams in that they've had their share of injuries in Training Camp as well as pre-season. Luckily, other than Adam Terry and Marcus Smith, both looked at being reserves anyway, the team has escaped the devastating loss that could drastically affect a team's season.

After the game Monday night against the New York Jets, a couple of other injuries came out to the public. Tight end L.J. Smith has a bum hamstring and DT Kelly Gregg injured his shoulder. There is every reason to believe that both guys will return by the time the regular season begins in a little over two weeks. We've already been informed that wide receiver Mark Clayton has returned to the practice field and will be ready for the home opener on September 13th against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Clayton's absence in practice and the exhibition games has opened the doors for Kelley Washington and Justin Harper, both who have had their share of success. Washington looks to be the guy willing to go over the middle and his enthusiastic approach to the game is contagious and refreshing. Harper, who looks to be the guy who will make the deep acrobatic catch one moment and then miss a pass that hits him in the numbers the next one, has made great strides this year compared to last year when he was ignored on the Practice Squad.

With Clayton's return, the depth chart just got a little deeper and it may be hard to find significant playing time for all of the receivers, which is a nice problem to have for this team, since it has been widely criticized for the lack of a star receiver. Derrick Mason is still the go-to guy for QB Joe Flacco and this team will remain a run-first offense no matter who is playing wideout here. However, if teams decide to stack the box to stop the run and force us to pass, then they will be quickly burned by the strong arm of our second year QB, who has the cunning Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron in his helmet radio not afraid to light it up if the opportunity arises.

L.J. Smith's injury leaves Todd Heap as the only other proven tight end on the roster. Rookie Davon Drew has had a great opportunity the entire camp and pre-season but just hasn't earned the right to get the chances he could have. The team also has converted linebacker Edgar Jones, but his pass catching abilities have been less than promising and Isaac Smolko, from Penn State on the roster. Smolko has actually looked good but was so far down the depth chart that he might have been forgotten up until now. Many radio callers are saying that the team should bring back former Raven Daniel Wilcox, who was a fan favorite but couldn't stay healthy last year. I say put both Drew and Smolko in there for a majority of the last two pre-season games after Heap gets his reps and let's see if they sink or swim.

Kelly Gregg's injury is no big deal to the defensive line, as he missed a huge portion of last season and we didn't miss a beat with Justin Bannan in his place. We now have a healthy Dwan Edwards as well as a plethora of others to man the d-line in so many combinations. Brandon McKinney and Kelly Talavou are just two names who contributed last year but are not exactly household names on this star-studded defense. However, both could probably start on many other NFL teams.

All in all, the injuries are just a part of the game. The team's mantra has always been "next man up," and will continue to be that way, as this team is deeper at most positions than it has ever seemed to be. While they are thin on the offensive line, their starters are as good as any other team and should be a major strength, providing they stay healthy. So for now, the team will reload and play out the final two exhibition games, giving some of the reserves the chance they need to earn a roster spot before the final cuts are announced over the next two weeks.

Ravens Training Camp: Monday AM Edition

Bruce Raffel — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:55:12 -0000

Well it's great to be back in sweltering Westminster, Maryland, watching our Baltimore Ravens prepare for their second pre season contest as well as the 2009 regular season, and hopefully beyond! After a week in sunny Negril, Jamaica, the return to the typical dog days of summer here in Baltimore is a huge difference. The players are sweating and probably losing lots of weight out there, and the training staff is all over the place with fluids and towels for them.

It is another "plus-30" day, meaning the players over the age of 30 have the day off again. Of course, as always, there's Matt Birk in shorts, mentoring the "kids" on his offensive line. There are a few new faces to me in camp. In addition to the signing of QB Cleo Lemon, the team has brought back previously released QB Drew Willy, giving the team five QB's in camp. Injured thrid stringer John Beck is here and is dressed and participating, so I wonder why there are so many of them? The is a new wide receiver, Bradon Godfrey (6'3", 197 lbs.), an undrafted rookie out of Utah, who played there with Ravens second round pick, Paul Kruger, albeit on the other side of the ball. Godfrey has a jersey with a number, but no name on the back yet.

In 11-on-11 drils, Troy Smith goes right for the new guy, Godfrey, but Lardarius Webb breaks up the pass. Safety Tom Zbikowski bangs Justin Harper on a crossing pattern. On the very next play, Harper beats the cornerback but drops a ball that hits him right in the hands for waht should have been an easy catch. Justin's drops on easy passes is getting to be a concern, although he seems to make the difficult catches that impress everyone. He'll need to be more consistent though, in order to move up the depth chart.

Joe Flacco throws a sweet long bomb to Kelley Washington for what appears to be a 75 yard TD reception. The offense then puts a little wrinkle into their formation with RT Michael Oher in motion over next to LT Jared Gaither. However, rather than running the ball, Flacco throws a quick hit to J. Harper with Oher rushing over to lead the blocking. Yes, Oher is as fast as they say he is!

Troy Smith his the new guy, Godfrey over the middle. Troy is taking charge out there, yelling at Godfrey for inadvertantly going in motion causing a procedure penalty, but then patiently explains the play to him afterwards.

Smith's 10 yard pass to Eron Riley is completed but then he is pancaked by safety Dawan Landry. Kelley Washington continues to impress, with a short five yard sideline catch, where he is quickly tackled by Frank Walker and Domonique Foxworth. On two successive plays, Flacco hits Washington in the numbers over the middle but Kelley bobbles and drops it and then comes right back for a completion in the same area on the next play. Washington then makes a great diving sideline grab, tiptoe-ing out of bounds for a first down. He plays to the applauding fans by posing and signaling a first down before giving the fans a smile and a "thumbs-up!"

It's field goal time now. Steven Hauschka lines up for a 35 yarder, but the fake is on and holder/punter Sam Koch hits Edgar Jones for a TD pass. Hauschka then proceeds to hit from 35 and 41 yards, but surprisingly misses from 46, 52 and 58 yards, hitting the crossbar on the last attempt. In his turn, Graham Gano splits the uprights from 35, 41, 46, 52 and 58 yards. The final kick hit the left upright and went through, but would have been good from much longer as it hit halfway up on the upright.

Troy throws compete to Bradon Godfrey on the sideline, prompting Frank Walker to yell at the ref, " you gotta call that," referring to Bradon alledgedly pushing off. WR Eron Riley goes up real high to snag a sideline pass before falling out of bounds. John Beck gets in on the action, hitting rookie TE Davon Drew over the middle behind defenders for a nice gain. Drew has a great opportunity on this team and needs to step up and make himself shine during camp, which he just has not done so far. Cleo Lemon hits Godfrey for a short gain and it seems like the QB's are noticing that he holds onto the ball real well and are making the effort to get the ball to him.

Kelley Washington again makes a reception over the middle, beating Lardarius Webb. Webb gets yelled at by the coaches, "Webb, don't let him do that!"

Smith sets up in the pocket, looks right and then calmly throws complete to his left to Ernie Wheelwright. It's comforting to see a confident backup to Flacco, if indeed he is needed to step up.

Back to 11-on-11 drills, where Haloti Ngata rushes Flacco and knocks down a pass, then getting in Joe's grill before Flacco playfully pushes him away.

Good news! T-Sizzle is on rthe sidlines in shorts and a t-shirt, but no boot on his foot and seems to be walking, at least, without any limp. In his absence as well as the other "plus-30" guys, rookie Paul Kruger is running with the first team and looking good.

Wiilis McGahee makes a nice run as the practice comes to a close. He puts his shoulder into LB Prescott Brugess who tackles him but afterwards is laying on the sidelines favoring his wrapped left thigh. He gets up and seems to be be fine, though.

Ravens Training Camp: Monday Edition

Bruce Raffel — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:46:57 -0000

Injury Status Updates: Terrell Suggs is wearing a boot on his foot and should be okay in a few days or so. Mark Clayton tweaked his hamstring and the coaching staff just want to take it easy on him as he has been prone to those injuries. Davon Drew’s right ankle is wrapped and he is not participating, courtesy of a solid hit by LB Prescott Burgess in yesterday’s one-on-one blocking drills. Antwan Barnes suffered a mild concussion yesterday but is on the field today.

In today’s early action, in passing drills Joe Flacco looked right and threw left to Edgar Jones in the flat, who then after hesitating, ran down the sideline for a long gain. I could have sworn Jones was looking to see if LB Prescott Burgess was going to cream him like he did yesterday morning on a similar play. Next Flacco hit LeRon McClain on a swing pass for a good gain. Troy Smith hit Marcus Smith over the middle, as it was good to see Marcus out there after having issues with his fluids and cramping up the past day or so.

The 1^st team defense is collapsing the 3^rd team offensive line’s pocket and would have easily had a sack if it was allowed. Flacco then threw long to Demetrius Williams over Chris Carr, which drew the loudest cheers and applause from the fans in attendance.

Wth Flacco throwing to his hreceivers in one-on-one drills with the defensive backs, he connected twice with Derrick Mason for TD passes. Ray Rice made a sweet one-handed grab in the end zone, which the crowd loved. When Domonique Foxworth intercepted a pass, he yelled to the crowd, "what we make an interception, don’t we get no love? He threw the ball into the ground as the fans cheered. Todd Heap got into the action, getting by Dawan Landry for an over the shoulder TD catch. Derrick Mason and Frank Walker were jawing with each other and laughing.

Walker got up on the line against Kelly Washington but the coaches backed him off. Walker said, "he’s scared," to which Washington responded by telling him to "get back up here." The two fought for the ball in the end zone and as it fell incomplete they went helmet-to-helmet pushing and jawing to the delight of the fans as well as the players around them. The defense is starting to step it up.

Flacco hit Demetrius Williams with a nice TD pass. To celebrate, Williams ran to the goal posts, jumped on the padding and then saluting before dropping off to the laughs and cheers of the fans.

11-on-11 Drills:

1^st defense vs. 3^rd offense has LB Tavares Gooden bearhugging RB Matt Lawrence then slamming him to the ground. On the next play, QB John Beck rolled right and threw right into LB Jarret Johnson’s hands for an interception.

On goal line drills, Willis McGahee ran around the right side for a TD, then proceeded to bull his way around the left side for another. Ray Rice ran up the middle but did not get in the end zone as the defense swarmed to push him back. Rice finally went airborne and over the top for the TD.

Jalen Parmele ran left but was stopped just short of the goal line and then again caught from behind.

The offense is on the sidelines yelling, "run at Ray," while Lewis yells right back, "please do it. I live for that!"

Placekicker Graham Gano lined up for field goals and hit consecutively from 20, 29, 47, 33, 45 and also 53 yards. Meanwhile LeRon McClain just squirted me with the water hose, making me wonder if it was an accident or was he just playing with me?

Back to passing drills. Justin Harper beats Lardarius Webb for a long 30 yard TD pass in the corner of the end zone. Marcus Smith comes over for the jump-bump to celebrate. Webb then knocks down a similar pass for D-Will. Meanwhile, Kelly Washington is very talkative, animated and enthusiastic with his teammates. Webb breaks up another pass from John Beck in the end zone, this time knocking the ball away from 6’3" Eron Riley..

McGahee just dropped a short easy pass from Flacco crossing over the middle. Perhaps he thought that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ safety Ryan Clark was there, as he was on that thunderous collision in last season’s AFC Championship Game.

Troy to Harper for a 20 yard TD pass over the middle and then Flacco to D-Will from the same distance in front of Ed Reed at the goal line. Troy hits Parmele, who is then horse-collared by Fabian Washington, although the referee on site said Parmele’s knees were already on the ground so the penalty would not have been called.

Flacco to Derrick Mason for a 10 yard TD pass but the ref ruled Mason out of bounds, drawing a cold stare from Derrick and Marcus Smith to yell at the ref, "you’re fired!" Finally, Flacco made agreat play when he couldn’t find anyone open, rolled left then right and left again before hitting a sliding D-Will for an 8 yard TD pass who had slipped away from Dawan Landry.

Back to 11-on-11 drills, where Mason catches a short sideline pass from Flacco but breaks away from Frank Walker for a long TD. Ray Rice was running a pattern away from the ball and was shoved hard by rookie LB Jason Phillips in his first action after coming off the PUP List today. On that play, Flacco rolled right and threw an interception to Haruki Nakamura, his second pick of camp. John Beck hit a nice long pass after a pump fake that was caught between Fabian Washington and Ed Reed for a 30 yard gain. Beck again, this time to Harper for 10 yards more. Then Troy came in and hit a sliding Kelly Washington on the ground, which was nice to see him involved with the offense.

A short pass to TE Isaac Smolko was popped up into the air due to a big hit by undrafted free agent LB Dannell Ellerbe, who then snatched the ball out of the air for an interception. Ed Reed was leading the cheers of "Let’s go defense!"

The afternoon session was limited to Special Teams' drills and the other players had a well deserved break from the heat.

See the sidebar FanPost for my interviews with Marcus Smith, Tavares Gooden and Prescott Burgess, which should be up shortly.

Ravens Training Camp: Sunday AM Edition

Bruce Raffel — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:19:37 -0000

The Baltimore Ravens held their Sunday morning practice on the lower McDaniel College Bair Stadium field, due to the constant drizzle and the better field turf of the stadium. From yesterday's PM practice that I skipped, I heard that safety Dawan Landry had another interception, bringing his camp total to four picks, including three all of yesterday. He is looking lean and fast, with no effects from his season ending injury suffered last year in the Cleveland game.

However, today is all about the return of seemingly retired veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason. Mason was all smiles and hugs as he took the practice field for the first time this Training Camp after announcing yesterday afternoon that he had reconsidered his retirement and still had a lot of football left in his 35 year old body. He spoke at the podium after practice and one of the things that he said was that Jared Gaither called him and that meant the world to him when one of your offensive linemen call to say they want you back. I asked Derrick if he heard the fans calling him. He said, "Yeah, that more than anything is what I missed. They come out every Sunday, come out here to Westminster, bring the kids, I don't know how they do it. It's hot! That applause coming down the walkway, it felt good, really good. I was looking for a marching band, though."

Head Coach John Harbaugh has designated today as "Plus-30 Day," which means any player over the age of 30 has the option of skipping practice to keep them fresh, of which all the guys who were eligible took the opportunity to rest.

The overcast, drizzle didn't stop the team from having the hardest hitting in camp so far, in my opinion. In one-on-one blocking drills, DE/LB Prescott Burgess just absolutely flattened rookie TE Davon Drew, who was trying to block him. Drew was put flat on his back and appeared to hurt his ankle in the process. The coaches put both back on the line for a second time, with the exact same result as Burgess bowled him over again. TE Edgar Jones blocked well, knocking down rushing LB Tavares Gooden. Ray Rice held his own against a couple of rushers.

I notice that WR Mark Clayton is getting his hamstring worked on and Harbaugh confirmed after practice that he had a twinge in it, although it did not prevent him from finishing practice.

In 11-on-11 drills, Burgess again made an impact with perhaps the hardest hit in camp so far this year, slamming TE Edgar Jones to the ground after Jones caught a swing pass and tried to elude another defender by spinning around him just as Burgess smacked him to the ground with a resounding thud that brought cheers from the fans as well as the other defensive players.

The defense seemed to have their way today with the offense, as evidenced by nice tackles after short completions by both CB Frank Walker on WR Justin Harper and safety Haruki Nakamura on FB Jason Cook.

The field goal kickers took over for a few minutes, with Steven Hauschka hitting consecutive attempts from 32, 41, 45 and 51 yards. Graham Gano also was on target from 32, 41 and 45 yards, but missed his first attempt at 51 yards, and then came back to nail his second shot at it. Still, the kicking competition to replace the legendary Matt Stover is way too close to call and will more than likely go down to the final pre season game.

In Red Zone drills from the five yard line, Troy Smith's pass to Justin Harper was bobbled which allowed CB Lardarius Webb to grab his first pick as a Raven in the end zone and race out. Flacco hit Derrick Mason with a TD pass from the five yard line on a crossing pattern and then rolled out but threw an interception to Nakamura who leaped to snag it in the end zone before falling to the ground.

LeRon McClain was seen limping down the field favoring his right leg but later was fully involved in drills without any noticeable effects. Flacco put a nice touch on the ball down the sideline over a leaping defender softly into the arms of Demetrius Williams. K.J. Gerard got his first career interception and almost didn't know what to do with the ball, but then raced down the sidelines to the end zone.

Rookie RT Michael Oher was "called" for a false start by the referees on site, prompting Terrell Suggs, standing on the sidelines, to call him out, yelling, "we see you, rook!"

Derrick Mason made a nice sliding catch of a Flacco 16 yard pass for a first down on what was a third and ten.

Terrell Suggs and Haruki Nakamura playfully pushing each other between plays, then Suggs respectfully "bows" to Haruki, apparently to acknowledge his Japanese heritage.

See my FanPost for a short interview with LB Jameel McClain, who is vying with fellow second year LB Tavares Gooden, to replace the departed Bart Scott and line up next ot Ray Lewis at one of the two inside LB slots.

Ravens Training Camp Battles: Tight Ends

Bruce Raffel — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:53:03 -0000

After former Raven QB and NFL star Steve McNair was laid to rest Saturday, I say it's time to let the man rest in peace and move on to re-focusing on the game itself. BaltimoreRavens.com did an interesting story written by Geoff Peckham, on the competition between the tight ends. Check out the story by clicking here.

I thought this would be a great topic to debate, especially the chances of who will step up other than starter Todd Heap. Heap is coming off of a downyear, but many people withhold blaming it on him, instead making the case that he was forced to stay in on passing downs to provide additional protection for rookie QB Joe Flacco. That should change this season, as the offensive line made great strides last year and looks to be one of the strong points of this year's offense. However, I'm somewhat skeptical of that reasoning, as he did seem to drop a few passes that he normally does hold onto. At the same time, the incredible catch he made in traffic in Tennessee towards the end of the game winning drive that culminated in Matt Stover's 43 yard FG to put us in the AFC Championship Game was classic Heap.

So who represents the next best option after Heap, or in addition to him?

The Ravens second string tight end the past few years, Daniel Wilcox is now gone. Quinn Sypniewski was thought to move into the backup slot and was a solid blocker and surprisingly decent pass catcher. However, Sypniewski has been injury prone and while it looked like he was on his way to recovery and starting the season as the team's second string TE, he was forced to undergo another surgery that could either sideline him a good portion of the 2009 season or even cause him to miss it entirely.

That was the main reason the Ravens went out and signed former Philadelphia Eagle LJ Smith to a contract in the off season. Smith, who was Eagles' QB Donovan McNabb's main target at the tight end position, is very athletic for the position, with good speed but suspect hands. According to many Eagles' fans, he'll make the tough grabs but drop the balls that hit him in the hands in the key situations, which frustrated fans enough to say they won't miss him in 2009. The Eagles "trash" could be the Ravens "treasure," as they plan to use Smith in two TE sets as well in multiple passing formations and expect him to contribute right away.

Drafted in the 5th round in this year's NFL Draft, Davon Drew (East Carolina) poses some interesting options for the Ravens. He has good size (6'4", 260 lbs.) and good enough hands (43 receptions for 695 yards in 2008) to be named All Conference USA honors his final two years in school. Drew could be an excellent insurance policy for Sypniewski if his recovery is delayed or interrupted.

The Ravens moved LB/DE Edgar Jones around last year, based on their needs each game. Some were at his natural position on the defensive side of the ball, but other times, he was forced onto the offensive side as a reserve tight end. Although he only caught one pass last year, he proved his versatility by playing defense and Special Teams and will continue to be a valuable Wild Card in 2009 wherever he is utilized.

Finally, there is little known about Isaac Smolko, who was an undrafted free agent in 2008 out of Penn State University. At 6'5", 258 lbs., Smolko is a big target but did not have any receptions in his rookie year last season, with minimal playing. For him to make the team, it will be due to his play on Special Teams, as he is buried deep on the TE depth chart.

The Ravens report to Training Camp in Westminster, Maryland in less than three weeks and the TE position will be closely watched by all to see how they stack up to play in the 2009 season that is finally getting closer and closer.