Trade Ray Rice?

**wickedsolo** · 12-22-2012, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by leachisabeast

You CANNOT compare them. This offense has been centred around Flacco this year, Rice hasn't had 20 carried every game like Flacco has got to throw the ball 40 times a week. Besides, the notion that Rice isn't having a good year is nonsense. 4.5 yards a carry, has over 1k yards, and has over 450 yards receiving. 1.5 yards from scrimmage is nothing laugh at, where as Flacco's numbers for a guy who is looking for top 5 money are laughable.

Rice is the more talented player and the offense should be catered around him not Flacco.

Dude, trading Rice would be DUMB. My point was that the OL blows. Thats why Rice and Flacco have been bad.

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DeputyDawg · 12-22-2012, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by bmorecareful

Been some discussions on Twitter about the Ravens potentially trading Ray Rice in the offseason.

Sounds crazy, I know, since he's our only blue-chip player on offense. But we've seen this year (and in 2010) that he's not the kind of back who can run with a bad OL, he will go the way of the line, and defenses have been shutting him down in the passing game. They have a very promising backup in Bernard Pierce who has actually been running better than Rice over the last few games. And they have a younger Ray Rice-esque player in Bobby Rainey, currently on IR, who showed in the preseason that he can play well in the passing game. They also like Damien Berry and Anthony Allen.

So what do you think? Is Ray Rice tradeable, or is he totally off the table? If he's a tradeable commodity, what kind of package would you need to let him go? For me, I'd call it around a 1st and 2nd this year or a 1st this year and 1st next year. Imagine how this team could rebuild their pathetic depth with a few extra high picks.

Potential trade targets: St. Louis Rams - they will not be bringing Steven Jackson back next year and they're loaded with picks from the RGIII trade. Jeff Fisher loves workhorse RBs and they need to upgrade around Sam Bradford to stay competitive in the NFC West. Atlanta Falcons - Michael Turner is on his last legs and Jacquizz Rogers is strictly a change of pace back. With better play at RB they could potentially be the best offense in the NFL, and they've shown their willingness to make a huge move to add one critical piece in the past. Miami Dolphins - Reggie Bush is a FA next year, they have extra picks from the Brandon Marshall trade, and Rice is a great fit for their young offense. Green Bay Packers - they have probably the worst RB corps in the NFL, but this seems like the least likely spot as Ted Thompson rarely trades at all, much less blockbuster trades.

He just got a long term contract, so don't bet the farm on that one.
Pierce is a great compliment to Ray but I'm not sure he could replace Ray.
A better trade would be Oher, he seems very replaceable on the left side.

**houstonravensfan** · 12-22-2012, 11:38 PM

Trade Ray Rice? I instantly hear that line from "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring -- "Where do I go now that I've gone too far?"

It is going to be a very long off season.

**leachisabeast** · 12-23-2012, 02:57 AM

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

Dude, trading Rice would be DUMB. My point was that the OL blows. Thats why Rice and Flacco have been bad.

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How has Rice been bad though?

I'm not understanding that notion. He hasn't been as good as he was last year, but he's also not being used like he was last year either.

4.5 yards a carry, and over 1000 yards is far from bad.

**leachisabeast** · 12-23-2012, 03:02 AM

Originally Posted by Justlovemybirds

The offense has been centered around Flacco and Ray Rice is not getting the types of touches he usually gets yet...

How can those two co-exist?

And no thank you to centering the offense around one player, that's partially why were in the situation we're in now.

Make the offense run through Rice, he gets shut down in the run and/or pass (which has definitely happened) now we force Flacco to make for the time spent getting the running game on track.

We center it around Flacco, he gets shut down (which has also definitely happened) then we ask Rice to make up for the time spent trying to bomb the hell out of the defense with 9 routes.

I want a balanced offense that can beat teams in the run or pass not put the shoulders on one guy whose not being helped out by a poor pass and run blocking line.

Check the wins when Rice is centered in the offense.

Check the wins when Flacco throws more than 40 times a game. It is very telling. I know what you are saying about being balanced, and that's probaby the way forward, but there has been times when Flacco has had off days when we balance the game.

**Thyrl** · 12-23-2012, 03:54 AM

Originally Posted by leachisabeast

Check the wins when Rice is centered in the offense.

Check the wins when Flacco throws more than 40 times a game. It is very telling. I know what you are saying about being balanced, and that's probaby the way forward, but there has been times when Flacco has had off days when we balance the game.

It's really not that simple. When a team is winning they run the ball more. That's not necessarily the reason why they're winning. When teams are losing they throw more so quarterbacks will throw much more in losses.

It's like saying teams that run the victory formation in the 4th quarter always win. So why not just come out and run the victory formation in the 4th quarter?

**PerpetuallyBored74** · 12-23-2012, 06:13 AM

This offense doesn't use hot routes (don't ask me why, seems stupid to me)
Instead we use the RB/FB as the checkdown safety valve.

You want to get rid of one of the best safety valve RBs in the league?
(because he's such a dual threat as a rusher and receiver)

**leachisabeast** · 12-23-2012, 07:39 AM

Originally Posted by Thyrl

It's really not that simple. When a team is winning they run the ball more. That's not necessarily the reason why they're winning. When teams are losing they throw more so quarterbacks will throw much more in losses.

It's like saying teams that run the victory formation in the 4th quarter always win. So why not just come out and run the victory formation in the 4th quarter?

I agree that we can't be a run first team now, because how poor the Oline is, but I think improving the ground game on the offseason should be a priority. Our winning formula has always been running a ball controll offense, which complimented our once elite defense nicely woth longer sustained drives. Currently we are one of the worst offenses in the league for time of possession. Our degense would have been better had we invested more into the Oline, it would have allowed us to pound the ball and thus stay on the field longer.

**JohnBKistler** · 12-23-2012, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by redmike34

And before last year, I'd've said no team would ever be stupid enough to do what Oakland did for Palmer.

Just because something has never happened, doesn't mean that it never will. In fact, if something is possible, on a long enough timeline it is almost certain to happen.

Al Davis is dead.

**redmike34** · 12-23-2012, 09:59 AM

Why, yes he is! He died October 8th, 2011. Carson Palmer trade occurred sometime on or around October 19th 2011:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/71...innati-bengals

So... what, did old Al decree that trade via seance? Admittedly, this is California--the land of fruits and nuts, as my dearly departed grandfather always said--so I do suppose that such is possible, with the aid of enough enabling chemical substances... which by itself would explain a lot of the actions of the Raiders franchise.... Yep, you convinced me. Al Davis probably did cause the Palmer trade from beyond the grave.

**GOTA** · 12-23-2012, 10:28 AM

So we trade Rice, cripple next years cap with $12+ million of dead money and get to draft the next Jimmy Smith or Sergio Kindle or Terrence Cody. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense

The last time the Ravens drafted a real blue chip player it was taking Ray Rice in the 2nd round in 2008. Since that pick no player has been even half as good. Just getting extra picks doesn't mean you will end up with a great player. On the other hand trading Ray Rice does guarantee that you will lose a great player.

**leachisabeast** · 12-23-2012, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by GOTA

So we trade Rice, cripple next years cap with $12+ million of dead money and get to draft the next Jimmy Smith or Sergio Kindle or Terrence Cody. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense

The last time the Ravens drafted a real blue chip player it was taking Ray Rice in the 2nd round in 2008. Since that pick no player has been even half as good. Just getting extra picks doesn't mean you will end up with a great player. On the other hand trading Ray Rice does guarantee that you will lose a great player.

Apart from webb. I actually think KO has a shot too.