The last time I wrote a column for PF24X7 I lamented the loss of Adalius Thomas and hoped the Ravens would use the money saved to keep Tony Pashos and Ovie Mughelli, who could again lead-block for the expected-to-be-resigned Jamal Lewis.
Wrong!
Wrong on all counts!!
Ah, the trials and tribulations of a fan trying to predict the intentions of his favorite football team. It also explains why my NCAA brackets are in shreds in my Sports Palace wastebasket.
But when I saw the insane amount of money being thrown at this year’s free agents, there’s no way the Ravens and Ozzie could have, or should have matched those numbers even if they had a healthy cap number. You can understand the cash that the Patriots threw at A.D., but a $24 million deal for a right tackle who’s barely come into his own? Six million more for a fullback whose main job is to lead block? Is Ovie going to be Michael Vick’s new bodyguard on and off the field? Jamal-Jamal? Forget his anti-Raven rhetoric. He was preaching to the Cleveland choir. Even the Plain-Dealer’s beat writer made a crack that he expects all old Ravens to end up in C-town sooner or later.
Ozzie Newsome’s philosophy was never clearer and never more right: Right player, right price, and the price was never right in any of these cases.
In Willis McGahee, we’re getting a back that’s two years younger, can hit the hole faster, can block, and actually catch a pass out of the backfield. Initially, the trade off seems excessive for a team like the Ravens who put a lot of time and effort into their scouting and draft selection process. No doubt College Scouting Director Eric DeCosta had a minor cow giving up those two 3’s and a 7. I know Peter King of SI, who doesn’t always think logically to begin with, feels that way.
But I like the trade.
Look at this way….the Ravens gave up a LATE 3rd round and a 7th round pick this year. The Ravens draft 29th, and that third round ’07 pick is practically in the 4th round. The 7th pick is mostly a throw away. If the club performs as well as expected next year in the tumultuous AFC North, the 2008 3rd rounder will again be a late round pick. So I think the Ravens made a good deal with the Bills.
The lost picks will be made up in the compensatory picks this year and next. With Ozzie and crew’s ability to find the diamonds in the rough, the Ravens will more than make up for these lost ’07 picks.
Now, to throw a fly into the ointment of my pre-draft musing, I wonder what Jonathan Ogden is thinking……..
No prediction here, folks.
