Daniel Jeremiah (Former Ravens Scout) Breaks Down SB Roster
Awesome read! It's great having a former personnel guy on staff for this sort of insight into the FO's draft thinking.
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Haloti Ngata, DT (2006): I was in the Ravens' war room during the 2006 NFL Draft. We were looking for a big, athletic defensive tackle to help protect Lewis, someone who could also provide some interior pass rush, and we'd had our sights set on Ngata well over a month before draft day. When it looked like the Cleveland Browns might select Ngata one spot ahead of us, Ozzie made the call to send them a late draft pick in order to move up a spot and secure the talented defensive tackle from Oregon. Newsome believes a strong defense is built up the middle. With Ngata, we were set with elite players at defensive tackle, middle linebacker and free safety.
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Anquan Boldin, WR (2010): During my time in Baltimore's personnel department, the extent to which Newsome appreciated Boldin's play with the Arizona Cardinals was never a secret. The wide receiver's toughness, attitude and timely playmaking were qualities that were plentiful on the Ravens' defense but sorely lacking on the other side of the ball. I always thought Ozzie saw an image of himself in Boldin: a clutch player who could be a third-down security blanket for a developing signal-caller. Boldin has been outstanding during his time in Baltimore
Re: Daniel Jeremiah (Former Ravens Scout) Breaks Down SB Roster
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Originally Posted by
Justlovemybirds
Awesome read! It's great having a former personnel guy on staff for this sort of insight into the FO's draft thinking.
One thing that sticks out from that article -- all of that talk about the Ravens being "old" is incredibly overblown. The starters over 30 on the roster are:
Ray Lewis, 37
Matt Birk, 36
Ed Reed, 34
Anquan Boldin, 32
Vonta Leach 31
Terrell Suggs, 30
On the Niners you've got: Randy Moss, Carlos Rogers, Leonard Davis, David Akers, Justin Smith, Isaac Sopoaga all in their 30s.
The media keys in on our guys over 30 -- particularly on Ray. That leaves everybody with the impression that we have an "old" team. It turns out that the facts seem to imply the old vs. young story line in this Super Bowl is overblown.
Re: Daniel Jeremiah (Former Ravens Scout) Breaks Down SB Roster
IMO the 2012 Draft Class could wind up being just as good as the 2008. Bernard Pierce looks like a stud. KO has the potential to be a pro-bowl caliber LG and Upshaw has stepped into JJ's spot nicely. Incredible draft selections. Not to mention we probably already have next year's starting center on the roster who has sat a season behind the vet Birk.
Re: Daniel Jeremiah (Former Ravens Scout) Breaks Down SB Roster
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Originally Posted by
Hammerhead
One thing that sticks out from that article -- all of that talk about the Ravens being "old" is incredibly overblown. The starters over 30 on the roster are:
Ray Lewis, 37
Matt Birk, 36
Ed Reed, 34
Anquan Boldin, 32
Vonta Leach 31
Terrell Suggs, 30
On the Niners you've got: Randy Moss, Carlos Rogers, Leonard Davis, David Akers, Justin Smith, Isaac Sopoaga all in their 30s.
The media keys in on our guys over 30 -- particularly on Ray. That leaves everybody with the impression that we have an "old" team. It turns out that the facts seem to imply the old vs. young story line in this Super Bowl is overblown.
Agreed. In fact, let's look at a position age comparison:
Offense:
QB: Flacco (28) - Kaepernick (25)
RB: Rice (26) - Gore (29)
WR 1: T. Smith (24) - Crabtree (25)
TE: Pitta (27) - Davis (28)
LT: McKinnie (33) - Staley (28)
LG: Osemele (23) - Iupati (25)
C: Birk (36) - Goodwin (34)
RG: Yanda (28) - Leonard (34)
RT: Oher (26) - Davis (23)
We actually have a younger offense overall.
Re: Daniel Jeremiah (Former Ravens Scout) Breaks Down SB Roster
The Ravens being "old" argument is just a perfect example of the media being lazy. I remember Jamie Dukes (of all people) saying that in fact, the Steelers were an older team by comparison. One of the few times that someone actually tried to dispell the age myth.
Re: Daniel Jeremiah (Former Ravens Scout) Breaks Down SB Roster
The Ravens have the 3rd oldest roster in the league; 9ers are 8th. How many of those players are starters, that's debatable.
Re: Daniel Jeremiah (Former Ravens Scout) Breaks Down SB Roster
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hammerhead
One thing that sticks out from that article -- all of that talk about the Ravens being "old" is incredibly overblown. The starters over 30 on the roster are:
Ray Lewis, 37
Matt Birk, 36
Ed Reed, 34
Anquan Boldin, 32
Vonta Leach 31
Terrell Suggs, 30
On the Niners you've got: Randy Moss, Carlos Rogers, Leonard Davis, David Akers, Justin Smith, Isaac Sopoaga all in their 30s.
The media keys in on our guys over 30 -- particularly on Ray. That leaves everybody with the impression that we have an "old" team. It turns out that the facts seem to imply the old vs. young story line in this Super Bowl is overblown.
But here's the thing you're not grasping: what makes the Ravens "old" as a team is not only their average team age, it's the extent to which they're dependent on players over the age of 30.
The 6 players you mentioned are all critical contributors and leaders on their sides of the ball. This is not a team that is fundamentally built around a young core with a few seasoned vets sprinkled in as "glue guys." It's the other way around--veteran core, young players that step up at times, although that is changing to a certain degree with Flacco, Rice, and Torrey Smith becoming core players on offense. But even they were far less impactful without Boldin's veteran presence and McKinnie's stabilization of the LT position.
The media keys in on these older players because they have historically been the best and most important players on the roster. The decline in our defense this year is directly attributable to the declining play of our defensive veterans in part due to injuries. That's why our age is not a problem that can be ignored and swept under the rug.
Re: Daniel Jeremiah (Former Ravens Scout) Breaks Down SB Roster
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hammerhead
One thing that sticks out from that article -- all of that talk about the Ravens being "old" is incredibly overblown. The starters over 30 on the roster are:
Ray Lewis, 37
Matt Birk, 36
Ed Reed, 34
Anquan Boldin, 32
Vonta Leach 31
Terrell Suggs, 30
On the Niners you've got: Randy Moss, Carlos Rogers, Leonard Davis, David Akers, Justin Smith, Isaac Sopoaga all in their 30s.
The media keys in on our guys over 30 -- particularly on Ray. That leaves everybody with the impression that we have an "old" team. It turns out that the facts seem to imply the old vs. young story line in this Super Bowl is overblown.
I don't believe Leonard Davis is in the league anymore. Last I checked he was a depth guy in Detroit.
I think you're confusing him with Anthony Davis, their RT, who is 23 or 24 years old.
