Ayanbadejo takes exit physical

[mmi16]

Not saying it was a penalty, I mean he had an absolutely AWESOME block on the coverage guy.

He "held" him from tackling Jacoby.

Now the safety play, THAT was ILLEGAL holding. But, cest la vie, it would've been a safety and 4 sec left on the clock anyway

If I remember correctly, the blockers were told to hold, tackle, mug and do anything else necessary to keep Koch upright and running time off the clock.

[Ravenous1]

I have no issue with whichever way they go with BA. If they cut him loose then I for one will be grateful to BA for his contributions.

BA was a good ST player IMO and contributed periodically on the defensive side with the injuries that came to pass periodically. He had a limited role but did it professionally and added to the team via those contributions. Good luck to him in whatever he does (media most likely) if he is cut loose.

[RavenScallywag]

If I remember correctly, the blockers were told to hold, tackle, mug and do anything else necessary to keep Koch upright and running time off the clock.

This is actually a very smarmy, and smart, move by Harbs...He played the loophole in the NFL rules to a tee. Basically, because they can't tack the time BACK on the clock, the clock would remain at wherever it stopped after Koch ran out of bounds. And holding in the endzone is still a safety. So even if a penalty had been called, it would've been the same result.

Smart move by a guy who frequently gets lambasted for his decision making on challenges and clock management. PFT made a whiny post after the SB about how the Competition Committee might revisit that situation and make changes, but really, how could you? The only change I could see that could affect it "fairly" is that an offensive holding penalty in the endzone within final two minutes of a game results in no play (thus no time off the clock) but a safety is awarded to the defense.

We'll see if it's changed, my bet is no since the talk on that has been next to nothing since the Super Bowl.

[NC Raven]

If the team believes he's lost that step (& the two TD returns at Denver are suggestive) then it's sayonara time--cap savings are immaterial.

I actually don't think he has lost a step. He's very well conditioned and in his limited role, could probably find a way to drop 10 pounds in the offseason if he needs to, to maintain speed, and still be able to tackle. Seems plausible enough to me.

OTOH he's what, 37? Might be we can find somebody younger to grow into a similar role. Not that I don't respect what he's done, but there's a lot of quality athletes out there looking for an NFL job... he can't be that hard to replace.

As for the Denver plays, I can't say who was at fault on the kickoff TD, but the punt was entirely on Koch. The coverage was designed for the ball to be kicked left, and Koch missed his spot by 30 yards. Everybody was pulled out of their lanes, trying to adjust to the unexpected landing point, and it was easy pickin's from there.

[lovefootball]

I actually don't think he has lost a step. He's very well conditioned and in his limited role, could probably find a way to drop 10 pounds in the offseason if he needs to, to maintain speed, and still be able to tackle. Seems plausible enough to me.

OTOH he's what, 37? Might be we can find somebody younger to grow into a similar role. Not that I don't respect what he's done, but there's a lot of quality athletes out there looking for an NFL job... he can't be that hard to replace.

As for the Denver plays, I can't say who was at fault on the kickoff TD, but the punt was entirely on Koch. The coverage was designed for the ball to be kicked left, and Koch missed his spot by 30 yards. Everybody was pulled out of their lanes, trying to adjust to the unexpected landing point, and it was easy pickin's from there.

I thought BA was resposible for Cousins doing a QB draw and scoring. If Lewis was playing,no way Cousins scores. Next man up, he has a ring and great memories from playing. His next job may be a spokes person for gay rights,not that there's anything wrong with that.

[NC Raven]

I thought BA was resposible for Cousins doing a QB draw and scoring. If Lewis was playing,no way Cousins scores. Next man up, he has a ring and great memories from playing. His next job may be a spokes person for gay rights,not that there's anything wrong with that.

Well, Lewis wasn't playing. Neither was Ellerbe, neither was McClain. We also had a street free agent that we had just signed (Chris Johnson) playing corner and giving up the TD on that drive. So... not sure what you're getting at. We should cut him because one play as the 5th string ILB he didn't make a stop? That's not enough evidence to make a personnel decision. Shit happens, especially when you're reaching deep into the depth chart.

Is your point actually "because the 5th string ILB didn't make a play that Ray Lewis would have made, he shouldn't be on the team"? Because if that is your point, then your point would lead to the conclusion that the team should have no other ILB's besides Ray Lewis.

BA after all IS a backup LB, and pretty much the last resort. At that point it was him and Bynes (just up from the practice squad) in the game, with Bynes wearing the headset. Not exactly ideal.

[lobachevsky]

I actually don't think he has lost a step. He's very well conditioned and in his limited role, could probably find a way to drop 10 pounds in the offseason if he needs to, to maintain speed, and still be able to tackle. Seems plausible enough to me.

Kind of the way #52 worked his butt off last offseason in order to "maintain speed, and still be able to tackle"--? If Ray Lewis couldn't wring another step for another year out of Father Time... Just sayin'.

Note I'm not saying Dejo has lost a step--I don't know enough about football or pay enough attention to detail to have an opinion--but if in the judgement of the team he has, then it's time.

OTOH he's what, 37? Might be we can find somebody younger to grow into a similar role. Not that I don't respect what he's done, but there's a lot of quality athletes out there looking for an NFL job... he can't be that hard to replace.

Harder than one would think, I'd guess, but it's not the ST whiz of 2008 you'd be replacing.

As for the Denver plays, I can't say who was at fault on the kickoff TD, but the punt was entirely on Koch. The coverage was designed for the ball to be kicked left, and Koch missed his spot by 30 yards. Everybody was pulled out of their lanes, trying to adjust to the unexpected landing point, and it was easy pickin's from there.

Upthread at #18 alien bird mentioned that Harbs said the wind blew the ball to the opposite side of the field. Absent some random unexpected wind gust, I'm guessing your virgin is closer to the truth--punters are spozeta know which way the wind's blowing & compensate for it-- & Coach will never throw a player under the bus.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

Wow...is anyone really complaining about our special teams this year?

This was perhaps the greatest year of special teams play in our history...and as the captain, BA played an enormous role with that.

We don't win 10 games or win the Super Bowl without our special teams.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[NC Raven]

Kind of the way #52 worked his butt off last offseason in order to "maintain speed, and still be able to tackle"--? If Ray Lewis couldn't wring another step for another year out of Father Time... Just sayin'.

And that's really the key. There's only so much "slim down to speed up" you can do. I just turned 44 and am hanging on playing soccer at a reasonable standard but only due to having lost, really, the last 10 pounds I had left to lose. Okay, maybe there's 5 more on there that could go. But at 44 that's really freaking hard to do AND still keep enough glycogen in the muscles to perform. Losing weight at this age/metabolic level means cutting a lot of carbs (and being extremely careful about when they go in) but I see clearly where the little white dot in the middle of the TV screen is getting smaller, and that its just about to vanish altogether. You cut carbs, you lose weight, you gain speed, but then you lose muscle fuel and ergo endurance. So you add carbs, add muscle fuel, gain endurance, but then.... you put on weight and you lose running speed again... it's a bitch! Do everything right and you might get two perfect back to back weeks of ideal weight/ speed/ endurance out of 14.

Obviously these guys are in a very, very different world, but 37 is 37... and I remember it well... and it sucked playing soccer then, too, frankly. So yeah, BA is probably at the end of the line as far as balancing speed and bulk and while I wouldn't be shocked to see him play another year, I could certainly see where he doesn't either, having likely squeezed every last bit of NFL-caliber athleticism from his body. I'm rooting for him though. Us geezers have to stick together!

[CptJesus]

Yes, he botched a couple ST plays this season...

go back and watch Jacoby's SB return. BA had a HUGE hold on that return, combining with AA. They literally picked up and carried a guy down the field.

Dude can be my Super Bowl champ anytime. Plus, his kid needs heart surgery at the end of this month, could be a very rough deal.

Funny thing, that play is actually a legal play. One of the officiating crew explained that as long as the player doesn't go down, this is actually a legal move. BA and AA took great pains to make sure that the 49ers player didn't, and that led to the return of awesome.

I thought BA was resposible for Cousins doing a QB draw and scoring. If Lewis was playing,no way Cousins scores. Next man up, he has a ring and great memories from playing. His next job may be a spokes person for gay rights,not that there's anything wrong with that.

Sorry, there's absolutely no guarantee this would be true. Why are we acting like Ray Lewis was playing at a ridiculously amazing level, when he was playing at about the same level of most ILBs in the league. Ayanbadejo is one of the better special teams players in the league. If you're going to call him out over a couple missed plays, give him credit for the fact that he was essentially the LEADER of one of, if not by far the best Special Teams units the Ravens have fielded ever.

[JAB1985]

There is very little cap savings in cutting Ayanbadejo, so I'm not sure why the move to cut him would be made. Ayanbadejo has been such a reliable backup for a while now. It seems every year, at some point, we have to turn to him for passing down snaps at MLB because of injuries ahead of him.

If you want to get younger, I get it, but why not bring him in to camp and then cut him if he's not one of your top 53 guys?

Ayanbadejo has a base salary of $955k for next year. If you cut him and replace him with a guy making $480k, that's a savings of $475k. However, he also carries a dead money total of $267k. So cutting him essentially saves $208k. That's so insignificant that it's not even worth doing.

Even with injuries we had BA wasnt used much at all on defense and when he was didnt look like the player of even a year ago. I think ideghedo (sp?) being a younger ST ace, it makes sense, imo. You should be able to replace him for a younger cheaper player with minimal downgrade in ST and probably upgrade ILB with way way more potential.

[lobachevsky]

Wow...is anyone really complaining about our special teams this year?

This was perhaps the greatest year of special teams play in our history...and as the captain, BA played an enormous role with that.

We don't win 10 games or win the Super Bowl without our special teams.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

You talking to me?

I'm not complaining particularly. I know the ST were good because unlike prior years I can't recall a single game (outside the frigid confines of Wild Hype Stadium) where I was screaming for Rosburg to be hung from the nearest lamppost . But you have to admit they did pick a pretty large stage to screw the pooch on...

<soapbox>

There are (at least) two competing philosophies for filling the back end of the roster. One is to retain the best backups available for your starters & try to teach them good ST play & mold them into a unit. The other is to collect the best ST players available & build a really good unit & hope they'll be serviceable backups on offense or defense if needed (whilst crossing fingers, toes & eyes so hard they cramp that they won't be needed).

This is further complicated by incoming mid- to late-round draftees, who aren't day-1 starters but will (hopefully) be starting a year or two down the line. These guys have to stay on the roster but also need to pull their weight, which means ST. They need to be taught NFL-level play at their nominal positions and on ST--which pretty much means starting from scratch, since most of them were stars in HS & college & didn't play ST at all. It's a helluva lot for a newby to absorb & not all succeed (e.g., Kruger caught flak early in his career for struggling with ST play).

IMO the Ravens lean toward the second approach--the last guys on the roster will, ceteris paribus*, be chosen for ST skills. You'd expect that with a former ST coach for a HC. The downside though is that if&when starters get hurt, the drop in perfomance tends to be more noticeable both in the starting lineup and on ST (where the now-starters are replaced by new additions to the roster who have to be integrated into the unit)--but of course in the latter case the original performance level was (one hopes) fairly high to begin with.

</soapbox>

*Alla yinz sayin' "say whaaat?" may click the link for your non-porcine Latin lesson of the day.

[lovefootball]

Well, Lewis wasn't playing. Neither was Ellerbe, neither was McClain. We also had a street free agent that we had just signed (Chris Johnson) playing corner and giving up the TD on that drive. So... not sure what you're getting at. We should cut him because one play as the 5th string ILB he didn't make a stop? That's not enough evidence to make a personnel decision. Shit happens, especially when you're reaching deep into the depth chart.

Is your point actually "because the 5th string ILB didn't make a play that Ray Lewis would have made, he shouldn't be on the team"? Because if that is your point, then your point would lead to the conclusion that the team should have no other ILB's besides Ray Lewis.

BA after all IS a backup LB, and pretty much the last resort. At that point it was him and Bynes (just up from the practice squad) in the game, with Bynes wearing the headset. Not exactly ideal.

My point is,BA had the responsibility of stopping Cousins from scoring as the linebacker. Make all the excuses you want as far as a 5th string LB. The defense all year played with backups and would bend, but not break. To make the play when it is necessary is the not break part in the red zone. Ba did not make the stop on Cousins and they lost because of it. Never said cut him, just pointing out that game situation. All backups should be able to play when needed and play well. Ba has played LB before for the Ravens. He is not getting younger, next man up.

[Ravenswintitle]

For his age he is in incredible shape

[The Excellector]

Has Brendon Ayanabadejo actually been released yet?

[HoustonRaven]

Lets get back on topic, folks.

Thanks!

[Paintballguy]

Has Brendon Ayanabadejo actually been released yet?

I haven't seen anything.

[GOTA]

Has Brendon Ayanabadejo actually been released yet?

No. According to a tweet from Aaron Wilson this exit physical has nothing to do with BA potentially being cut.