Ravens Mailbag
What do you think about the Ravens signing of Jake Long? ~ Fred in Arbutus
The Ravens have $13.3M in cap space to augment their roster. The most obvious holes are at offensive line and inside linebacker. So the signing of Long or someone like him was somewhat predictable.
Long’s resume is full of success and disappointments. He’s a 4-time Pro Bowler and a former No. 1 overall pick of the Miami Dolphins, only the third ever offensive lineman selected with the first pick. The other two were Ron Yary (1968) and Orlando Pace (1997).
The former Michigan Wolverine was a fantastic collegiate player and tore up the NFL Scouting Combine in 2008. His athleticism, size (6’7”, 320 pounds) and wingspan (90 inches) are ideal for left tackle.
Coming out of Michigan Long had a reputation for being a mauler, a guy with superior pile-driving blocking skills and a heady player who took precise angles. As a pass blocker he has shown the ability to mirror edge rushers although the rap on him is that he has been slow to react to inside penetration. That weakness left observers believing that he’s not a great fit for a zone-blocking scheme.
Enter the Ravens and Juan Castillo.
Time will tell if Long can adjust to Castillo’s ZBS. Time will also tell if Long will be more like the player he was during his first 4 seasons in the league or the injury plagued player he morphed into in 2014. Since then the 31-year old tackle has played in just 11 of a possible 32 games.
The bet here is that he’s just a broken player who can’t stay on the field but the upside potential is there and given what is expected to be a veteran minimum, incentive-laden deal, the Ravens have little risk. So the move seems like a one worth making.
That said, I still don’t think the Ravens are finished patching up the offensive line. I do think they’ll be looking for an accomplished guard or another tackle to fall out of financial favor with his existing club.
With a checkbook that has a few zeros to the left of the decimal place, look for Ozzie to be shopping rosters as if he has an Amazon gift card with an early September expiration date.
You really do like to hate on Joe Flacco. All the guy does is win and given all of the other problems on the team, you have the stones to write an article that Joe needs to step up? C’mon TL, you’re better than that! ~ Joshua in Reisterstown
Joshua, I think that Baltimore loves Joe because he’s tough, the antithesis of flamboyant, a team guy and his success as the team’s signal caller. He also had an unforgettable run through the 2012 playoffs on his way to a Super Bowl victory. Plus, it’s hard to forget the mess that stood behind center before him.
Because of all the good that he’s done, folks want to overlook his warts. And there are a few…
In order to achieve the same success going forward that the Ravens have enjoyed since Joe’s arrival, Joe will need to do better. He now occupies a bigger percentage of the salary cap and if he doesn’t perform to the level of his contract, it places the burden on the rest of the roster to exceed expectations.
Such performances generally come from the younger players on rookie contracts, a place that Joe once occupied. The Ravens could benefit greatly if guys like Breshad Perriman, Carl Davis, Tim Jernigan and Brent Urban step up and exceed expectations. But even that won’t be enough if Flacco fails to deliver.
This isn’t beating up on Joe. It’s just the reality of the situation in the salary cap era when a player is paid as handsomely as Joe. With that contract, he accepted responsibility. I hope he’s up to the task.
What do you expect from Lardarius Webb in 2016? ~ Jimmy in Annapolis
Webb has the team’s biggest salary in 2016 at $5.5M and the second biggest cap number at $9.5M (Flacco is at $22.5M). He is another player who needs to ball out and perform at a high level.
The former corner has ball skills and good hands. If he can adjust to the new spot on the field and read opponent’s tendencies from center field as opposed to being wedged outside the numbers, Webb has the potential to make interceptions and the ability to weave through traffic to make big plays after the catch.
But I’m concerned about Webb’s ability to absorb the punishment at safety. What will he do when Tyler Eifert or Gary Barnidge is bearing down on him in the open field? Webb was once a very good tackler but injuries have tempered his enthusiasm as a tackler. How will this translate to a new position? Will he absorb the blows and then spend more time in the trainer’s room or will he bail out, look for shoestring tackles and leave himself and the team vulnerable to significant yards after the catch (“YAC”)?
Safety could be another position the Ravens will want to augment with that $13.3M of cap space (pre-Jake Long signing).
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