Ravens 2016 - A View from Afar

3rd Preseason Game - A Review

After watching the much anticipated "3rd preseason game" of the 2016 year there are a few observations that have to discussed.  While the win was impressive, ultimately the outcome meant nothing and indicated nothing about the season to come.  As fans, we tend to get excited about every "W" that is put on the books, but preseason "W's", (though head coaches will tell you different), are not a serious measurement of how a team will do once the stats and games start to matter.  Now, that being said?  It was good to see the starters as well as the guys vying to win a spot (starting, depth or team) go out, execute and make plays.  As always, there are positives and negatives to come out of this game and despite the win; the major negatives make this game a push.  Losing 2 guys who were being counted on this year to make our Offense dangerous and effective, just plain hurts.  The sad thing about these injuries is you cannot see these guys in action unless they play but playing them now is exposing them to these injuries.  It is the ultimate catch 22 of the NFL.
Ben Watson - His injury gave us all that same sickening feeling that we experienced twice last year with Suggs then Steve Sr..  But this is personal for me because I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Ben this Summer and I have to tell you, a nicer, more down to Earth MAN, you will never meet in the NFL.  He and his family were nice and tolerant of me and my fanboy admiration, but once I was over that phase, he was easy to talk to about the game and his career.  But from a team perspective, he was brought in to bring reliability to the position.  Big, still fast and sure-handed, Ben Watson was my favorite of the big 3 W's Ozzie signed in Free Agency. 
After the suspensions of Darren Waller and Nick Boyle were announced for this season we fans were still good because we thought we had Watson, Williams, Pitta and Gilmore as 4 options to start the season.  Now with Pitta still unavailable because of a stupid practice session fight, the position suddenly becomes an enigma with the loss of Watson.  Does the team now elevate Daniel Brown to possibly make this team; something that was doubtful before last night?  Or does the loss of Watson now mean that another guy at another position now have a shot?
Kenneth Dixon - One of the "454 boys" (each of the 4 players drafted in the 4th round of this year's Draft have 5 letters in their last names), Dixon was arguably the most exciting and definitely the most accomplished from college (2nd most TDs in CFB history).  Dixon was hitting the hole better than any of the other RBs on the team this preseason.  He was always good for at least one exciting run from scrimmage each game or scrimmage.  Quiet as it was being kept, he looked like not only a lock to make the team, but possibly even knock last year's drafted RB, Buck Allen, off the team.  Dixon has speed, shiftiness, power and decent hands to catch the ball.  Actually, the thing that was keeping him lower on the depth chart is his need to get better in pass protection, but you expect that will come over time.  It is not known at this time, how long his injury will keep him out, but if he can come back this season, the kid will be electric.  (it was announced today that Dixon's knee injury is an MCL tear that won't require surgery, expected to only miss 4 weeks)

He's coming....,

Every year this part of the season HE visits each and every team.  HE is scary, HE is unrelenting, and he is inevitable.  "HE" is the Turk.  The Turk is the name for the person or persons who issues the famous line "Coach needs to see you and bring your playbook".  Every team gets to keep 53 of the 90 players they bring to Training Camp every year and every year there are players that are brought in just to be camp bodies; guys who come in with absolutely no shot to make the team but are needed to practice against and fill out the 90 man limit.  Each team has their designated starters that are all but assured of being on the team and are untouchable by the Turk and the Ravens are no exception.  Flacco, Tucker, Yanda, Suggs, Dumervil, Mosley and others have no fear of the Turk while players like Terrance West and Jeremy Butler have pretty much earned their pass to keep the Turk away from their lockers.  However, unless there is some hidden mystery the coaching staff has up their sleeves this season (for years the Jah Reid survival game was stupefying)
the following guys are all gonna have to surrender their playbooks either Tuesday or next week.

• Will Lutz - Kicker - brought in to give Tucker some breaks and spare that golden leg; Lutz was never a threat to make this team.
• Kyle Arrington - Corner - signed last year in the off season to be the slot corner, Arrington was nothing short of totally disappointing.  This summer we have not even seen him on the practice field or during games and guys like Will Davis and Tavon Young (454 boy) are playing hard for that slot corner position
• Cavellis Luckett - ILB - yeah, who?!?! Camp body, never a threat to win that coveted role starting next to CJ Mosley
• Jarrell Broxton - Guard - again, a camp body who was spelling guys like Yanda and Urschel
• Lorenzo Taliferro - RB - drafted a couple of years ago to be that sledgehammer runner to get the tough yards, the kid has just not been able to stay healthy.  Even if he hadn't spent all camp injured this year, was he on the same level as West, Forsett, Dixon or Buck Allen?  I don't see them keeping 5 RBs as 4 was a doable stretch and quite frankly? Kyle Juszczyk is more than capable of being that tough short yardage runner as a fullback
• Trevon Coley - DT - With Brandon Williams, Timmy Jernigan, and Carl Davis on the team, Coley would have had to be the next coming of Warren Sapp to crack that position here for the Ravens

Now, with those guys pretty much a foregone conclusion to visited by the Turk, there are some guys who have made Harbaugh and Ozzie's jobs unenviable.  Did these guys avoid the Turk?  Or at the least, keep him at bay for a week?

• Chris Matthews - WR - big guy with good hands but that WR corps is full of NFL caliber guys who could start on most teams.
• Sheldon Price - CB - up and down preseason; he's looked great on some plays and totally lost on others.  Is he worth a spot on this stacked team?
• Terrence Brooks - Safety - supposedly locked in a tight battle for a spot with Matt Elam, this former 3rd round pick and National Champion with the FSU Seminoles seems to have finally seen the light on how to play at this level.  Elam's injury may have made it easier to keep him on the team but dropping a gift INT against the Lions will certainly make the coaches discuss him at length
• Patrick Onwuasor - ILB - undrafted guy from Portland State, if he can survive and play on special teams, he could be a very good player in this league some day.  Always around the ball, the game is not too big for him and he has that edge, that attitude that makes you cheer for him
• Julian Wilson - CB - hurt all of last season from an injury he sustained in rookie camp, he has shown potential when on the field.  Is there room is the question, Harbs has made it clear, this season, potential alone might not be enough to make the 2016 Baltimore Ravens
• Maurice Canady - CB - late round draft pick out of Virginia the kid has the length and size to be good in this league.  When on the field (injured for the early part of camp), Canady is very good but needs the reps to grow.  Again, will Special Teams be the way onto the team because of the over abundance of talent at Corner?
• Willie Henry - DT - undrafted from Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverine team, he is a comer for sure.  Can he beat out Kapron Lewis-Moore to make this team?

Meet the Beast, new to the East

All preseason there has been a buzz about Kamalei Correa around camp and in the media.  When you see him practice and play, you can see why.  The kid is going to be that next "Raven" that you've heard old timers like Terrell Suggs wax nostalgic about.  "KC" could have played with that Defense that would scare other cities when they saw the Baltimore Ravens on the schedule.  Tough, hard nosed, not afraid to mix it up with even established vets on this team (e.g. the fight with Pitta that broke the TEs thumb), KC is going to be the guy who could remind us fans of Adalius Thomas.  He's big, he's fast and he's clearly versatile as he was drafted to be an Edge Rusher but has played inside next to Mosley as well dropped into coverage.  Growing up in Hawaii, he played high school ball with Marcus Mariota at St Louis HS.  That school has a reputation of producing some great players who have gone on to have at least division 1 college careers.  Correa played his college ball at Boise State so playing and living on the East Coast is all new to him.  But keep an eye on #51 this year and throughout his career.  In a draft class that was loaded with guys who could be great albeit unheralded by most of the media, Correa may very well be "That Beast" Raven who carries on the tradition of great Defense in Baltimore. 

NFC North Ravens?

Misprint? Nope.  Interesting concept?  Nope.  Projection?  Hardly.  Wild assed guess?
No, none of those.  I was just contemplating a little discussed factoid about the Baltimore, AFC North residing, Ravens.  Did you realize that the Ravens currently have 3 former Head Coaches from that NFC North division.  That's right, THREE!  If you start with Leslie Frazier, the current DB coach, who was last HC of the Minnesota Vikings, that is the most obvious.  But we also have the former Chicago Bears Head Coach, Marc Trestman as our Offensive Coordinator.  And finally, the one everyone seems to forget; former man in charge of the Detroit Lions, Marty Mornhinweg, the team and Joe's QB coach.
Now it is not unusual for teams to have former head coaches on staff; heck, most of the league is populated with retreaded coaches who had different levels of success.  The exception is when you have a Head Coach who comes straight from college with zero NFL experience.  Truth be told, coming from college football into a Head Coaching position in the NFL is a sure fire recipe for failure these days.  The last coach to do so with sustained success was Jimmy Johnson when he took over the Dallas Cowboys.  And lately, the most notable failure has been Chip Kelly and his stint in Philly trying to be the new Jimmy Johnson.
But back to my point; the Ravens have always had former and future Head Coaches on staff.  Some of them have gone on have resurgent careers leading teams and some have come here just to finish up their careers.  The names run the gamut that evoke different emotions amongst fans:

• Jim Fassell
• Gary Kubiak
• Ted Marchibroda
• Jim Zorn
• Jim Caldwell
• Cam Cameron

Most of those guys were short term "rentals" as they looked to move on quickly after padding that resume' some.  And of course, we have had a plethora of guys who parlayed their time here into first time head man jobs.
But in my memory, I don't think there has ever been a team to have so many key assistants who were HCs from one division on staff at one time.  The bona fidas of these three men read like a coaching clinic brochure, but we now need to see if their past successes translate into lifting the Ravens back and deep into the playoffs. 

Marc Trestman - former player and coach who's best years came coaching in the CFL.  Last year, was not as good as everyone hoped.  He tried to integrate the Kubiak playbook into his own style of coaching Offense.  The running game suffered, the passing game was too prominent and the blocking schemes just didn't gel like they had the year before.  Hopefully, with an entire year under his belt and more time to tailor the plays to his strengths, the Offense will once again shine.
Marty Mornhinweg - even before taking over the Detroit Lions, Marty was known as a "QB whisperer".  He has been in Joe's (and the backup guys') ear(s) and helping them see and understand what is working and not working in game prep and during games.  It is safe to say that he too, didn't do as good a job last season as expected.
Those two really have to put something together this season in order to keep their jobs here in Baltimore, or like Kubiak get back into the "big chair' somewhere else.
Leslie Frazier - former member of that Chicago Bears Defensive team that the 2000 Ravens are always compared to.  As a successful Defensive Coordinator in his own right after years as a DB coach, the hope is he can uplift the most maligned part of this team's Defense.  Already this off season, his teachings and techniques have raised the enthusiasm of the guys and it seems that 6 INT season record will be soon forgotten.  What is also a talked about possibility is, Frazier has been brought in as a contingency if the Dean Pees tenure has to come to an end.
Either way it works out for 2016, the Ravens have a linear link to their conference counterpart in the NFC that is impossible to ignore.