9:28 PM EST Tuesday, March 14 2006
So there has been quite a bit of activity in the free agent market in the past few days. First, on Saturday, the Vikings signed Chester Taylor. This came has a surprise to me. The Ravens had shown little interest in re-signing Jamal Lewis, and the feeling seemed mutual. So I naturally assumed Chester would get re-signed. I wonder if this caught the Ravens off guard too? It seems that they then scrambled, realizing they may end up with no running backs instead of two, they signed Mike Anderson. In the meantime they continued discussions with Jamal, and ended up re-signing him. Ok, so now we have two similar running backs and still no quarterback. Well, since then Culpepper has signed with Miami, and Brees with New Orleans. Arizona, what happened? I thought this would be a no brainer for you guys?
So the two big name QBs are off the table, but a few lesser names are officially on the table. Kerry Collins, who was already released, then un-released, has been released again. Also, the Saints move for Brees pretty much guarantees the Saints will release Aaron Brooks. Also, there may be some QBs available in draft. The 1st pick will be Reggie Bush, then the Saints at 2 could be looking to trade down, now that they have Brees. The Titans at 3 are definately taking a QB to be Steve McNair's successor, following the decision to pay him $1 million to keep him through 2006. The Jets are keeping Pennington, and after that God only knows whats going to happen. I seriously doubt that the Ravens will try to move up to 2 to get Leinart ahead of the Titans, but you never know.
Given the current state of affairs, I'm now moving my support behind Aaron Brooks. If you compare Collins and Brooks, first of all throw out last season for Brooks, which was literally a disaster. But in 2003 & 2004, Brooks had a better completion percentage, more TDs and less INTs. I know Fassel is familar with Collins, but I see more upside with Brooks, espcially since he will be assumingly playing with a chip on his shoulder next season due to the fact the New Orleans basically gave up on him in a year that was clearly tough on everybody. If Collins and Brooks are both signed by teams that do not play in Baltimore, I'm going to be very upset. That would basically mean we end up with Brian Greise, Gus Freotte (I'm not even going to waste the time to look up how to spell their names correctly, they're not worth it) or Kyle Boller.
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4:42 PM EST Thursday, March 9 2006
Word on the street is that Culpepper is being shopped around for a trade and Baltimore is on the list. I saw that would be the best case scenario this offseason in terms of Baltimore improving their QB situation. Maybe we can convince Zygmunt Wilf (what the hell kind of name is Zygmunt?) to trade him to us for Kyle and a 2nd round pick. (Not likely)
That's not to say that I'm entirely thrilled about Culpepper, just that he's better than anyone else the Ravens have a chance at. The obvious concerns about Culppeper are:
- He's facing potential charges in the sex boat scandal
- Were not sure that he'll even be able to walk by the start of training camp, let alone play QB
- His career numbers without Moss: 1564 yds, 6 TDs, 12 INTs, 72.0 QB Rating
The other teams the article mentions as being interested are: Oakland (Moss & Culpepper re-unite, after the Raiders just decided to keep Kerry Collins, doubtful), St. Louis (Did Marc Bulger retire? I know Culpepper loves former Vikings offensive coordinator, now Rams head coach Scott Linehan, but can they afford to have a potential Pro-bowler sitting on the bench?) and Arizona. So as far as I can tell, Arizona is the only one that makes sense. In fact, it makes a lot of sense. They have no QB and tons of talented big receivers. Denny Green was the one who drafted Daunte in the first place. I'm actually scared of Arizona after thinking about this. If this happens, Arizona @ St. Louis next year might result in more than 100 combined points and 1000 combined yards passing.
But with Kerry Collins of the market, if we lose Culpepper to Arizona, who's left? Brian Greise? Isn't he really just the same thing as Elvis Grbac? Gus Ferotte? Patrick Ramsey? Chris Weinke? You are kidding me, right? Unless we can shell out the big bucks for Brees, we have to make a move on Culpepper, otherwise we can go ahead write the book on the Ravens 2006 season. 6-10 season, Billick's final year as coach.
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11:12 PM EST Sunday, March 5 2006
Kerry Collins has been cut by the Raiders. I can't believe this, but I'm actually advocating that the Ravens sign him to a one year deal. I think it's the best move. Cut Kyle, sign Kerry, and draft a young QB to take over in 2007. Kyle is never going to be a productive QB in the NFL.
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5:05 PM EST Monday, February 27 2006
After reading Michael Smith's article on the top 3 QB prospects, I think the picks at the top of the draft is getting pretty clear:
- Texans - Reggie Bush
- Saints - Matt Leinart
- Titans - Jay Culter
Now here's where it gets interesting. The Jets are at 4 with Vince Young available. My advice to the Jets? Trade down. My reason is this: I have no faith in Vince Young's ability to pass. In the NFL, you must pass to be successful. Running helps QB's, but only if you use to keep plays alive and run if you have to. Guys who do/did this well are John Elway, Steve Young, Donovan McNabb, and Ben Rothlisberger. Guys like Randell Cunningham and Michael Vick are impressive, but they don't lead teams to Super Bowls. Some team will likely give you a lot for Vince Young (the Ravens, for example), but in the long run I think you are better off trading down.
And I'm saying this honestly to Jets fans. I don't want Vince Young on the Ravens, but I think if we make any move on draft day, he's the guy we will do it for. I don't see what we could offer any of those top 3 teams to get Leinart or Culter. My bet though is that some other team (Oakland?) ends up with Young, either through trade or slipping down. I think the Ravens are headed for an inevitable clash with the Kerry Collins era, which should lead to a few more semi-hopeful, almost/barely-playoff making seasons, in which we never convince anybody even for a minute that we are legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
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8:58 PM EST Monday, February 13 2006
I think it's appropriate for my first post on the Ravens to be a "State of the Union"-type post. Let's assess where we're at and where we're going. The hot topic is definately QB. Kyle played below average in all but a few games, was regularly critized by many fans (including myself) and got less than stellar support from Billick at the end of the season. The leading theory is that we will go after a veteran. Don Banks seems to think Jon Kitna is the likely choice, with Brad Johnson coming in second. Kerry Collins obviously makes sense too, since the Raiders will likely cut him rather than pay him $12.9 million, and Jim Fassil's past success with Kerry Collins. Given Drew Brees' injury, I don't see the Chargers letting Phillip Rivers go.
So given those choices, I like Brad Johnson the best. He's a veteran, he can make plays when you need him to, but most important he takes care of the ball. If the Ravens are going to continue to be a team built on defense and running, Johnson is a good fit for the passing game.
On the other hand, both Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton showed signs of developing into top receivers. Todd Heap has proven he is one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the league. The Ravens have been reluctant to give Jamal Lewis the franchise tag, and I think he will ultimately end up somewhere else, which sets up Chester Taylor to be the premiere back, who is a better receiver than Jamal. Combined that with Ravens fans' increasing frustration with the offense over the past few years and it may be time for a change. If we bring in Kerry Collins, we could develop a legitimate passing attack and hopefully a rounded offense.
So ultimately what we do with Jamal could end up affecting what we do at QB. If we are going to keep Jamal, it looks like we are going to stick with our "run the ball and play defense" plan. Which I personally don't like, because it has no plan B. If teams stack the line against us, and we run the ball for no gain on 1st and 2nd down, you end up with Kyle throwing on 3rd and 10 against a full blitz, which isn't pretty. If we let Jamal go, I think that signals a change in offensive philosophy, hopefully one for the better.
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