The search for an ILB

[RavenScallywag]

I'm using this post to collect some thoughts/fears I have and hope they are wrong...

In a funny way, Ed Hartwell set the "standard" at ILB next to Ray Lewis. He looked like a great player for his years here (2002-2004), racking up tackles with a team-leading 144 in 2002, 2nd best 94 in 2003, and 2nd best 97 in 2004. Of course, when his contract was up, Ed got a big head and started mouthing off about Ray taking tackles away from him, and subsequently signed a FA deal elsewhere, trying to start his own legacy. This began a run from 2004-2012 of trying to find a guy who could not only pair up with Ray Lewis, but could one day, take the reigns from him. Guys who have been there have included the following:

2005 - Tommy Polley. Tommy was a free agent acquisition, local guy, never viewed as a long term option.

2006-2008 - Bart Scott. Undrafted FA who impressed in ST work and worked his way into a role next to Ray Lewis. I won't compare him to Hartwell, because he was a lot more physical and had some great plays, but another guy who left Baltimore and didn't have quite the same success outside the system

2009 - Tavares Gooden. 3rd round pick wore #52 at The U and was nicknamed "Baby Ray". Gooden was a guy who had HIGH hopes of developing into a sidekick for Ray, with a view at eventually taking over. Unfortunately, never developed past a really fast LB who was able to run down a receiver on a long run (Can't recall the play that happened on)

2010-2012 - Jameel McClain. Former UDFA OLB/DE, McClain moved inside and seemed to capitalize on the opportunity more than Gooden, but most of us found him just lacking in the complete picture as an ILB.

2012 - Dannell Ellerbe. UDFA from Georgia was hailed for his talent, but took awhile to develop into a contributor. Rode a huge 2012 second half into a huge contract from Miami.

Couple other guys who had hopes but never started:

Mike Smith - MLB from Texas Tech who was a beast in preseason, but never got into games and showed same talent level

Jason Phillips - MLB from TCU in 2009, injured in 2009, but failed to do anything of significance in 2010 or 2011, leading to his release. Another guy who was HAILED when he was drafted as being a future heir apparent to Ray Lewis

There might be more, but let me cut to the chase. We ALL have high hopes of Arthur Brown developing into the next big ILB for the Ravens. And the talent level is certainly there, with a lot of draft pundits labeling him as potentially the best WLB/ILB in the draft class. But I'm concerned because we've heard some of these things before. Specifically, with Tavares Gooden and Jason Phillips.

Can anyone rip me a new one and convince me that Arthur Brown is going to be different from those guys?

[Losac]

No way to know until we see him in game action. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

[RavenScallywag]

In fairness...Gooden was a 3rd round pick, Phillips was a 5th round pick. So already, Brown has a higher "stock" than either of them had. So there is one area that could explain why we think Brown will work out better.

I do like having Daryl Smith to line up with him to help groom him. Not taking away from Jameel either, but Daryl is the most experienced ILB on the roster now.

[MD Boy]

I was holding out for signing Desmond Bishop after his release from the Packers. Yes, I know he's coming off of an injury but at 28 years old, he's still young enough to bounce back. Could have been a move that if he returned healthy, would have payed dividends.

Vikings signed him to a one year deal worth, "up to" $1.3M; Ravens offered him the vet minimum with no incentives. We have the cap space so was hoping it would be a back loaded contract for a year.

[leachisabeast]

The results of our draft picks on the Ray Lewis replacement are irrelevant to how Arthur Brown does in the NFL. Arthur Brown is Arthur Brown, not Tavaras Gooden.

[RavenScallywag]

True, but my point is that there's almost this feeling like we got Arthur Brown, we've solved our ILB hole. But didn't we feel that way with Tavares and Jason (to a lesser extent, he was a 5th rounder so it was more a chance we had solved it)?

You do make a good point...when we drafted Torrey Smith, we had never drafted a WR who worked out for us really.

[Jsmoove]

the closet thing we will ever see like Ray Lewis every again is wearing Niner uniform right now there will never be any other like him or close from here on out, the NFL doesn't allow for Ray Lewis type LB no more. LB core nowadays is a collective effort anymore one can rush, one can cover and one can stop the run very rare now you see one LB doing all three things. Art Brown has the talent for sure lets see how he plays out.

[GOTA]

No way to know until we see him in game action. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

Yup. That's all anyone can do at this point.

[BcRaven]

Hey guys, is Rolando McClain available sorry... Bc

[bmorecareful]

Obviously the past will be a good predictor of the future, until it isn't anymore. Every team picks multiple players at every position and sees some of them falter, especially in comparison to the top players at their respective positions.

Put another way, we've been searching for an ILB to play next to and eventually replace Ray the same way San Francisco searched for the next Ronnie Lott, or Philadelphia the next Reggie White, etc. etc... nobody is ever going to live up to those guys. Nobody is ever going to live up to Ray Lewis. But I think we let that cloud or judgment of the guys we HAVE had. Bart Scott, for example, was VERY good when he was with us and was also very good with New York up until last year. A lot of these guys we've had are league-average starters or better and most teams have to be content with numerous guys of that caliber at most positions.

I think Arthur Brown has a chance to be a really good player in this league if his game can adapt to the pro level and if he plays within the right system. There is some Tavares Gooden to his college tape, though, and that does scare me a bit. He was a pursuit/read-and-react 'backer in college, so if he's asked to step up and thump on guards and fullbacks between the tackles, he's going to struggle. Hopefully Daryl Smith can play that role next to him and keep him clean, which should help him succeed.

[Jsmoove]

Hey guys, is Rolando McClain available sorry... Bc

that is still a head scrather to me lol

[trailhiker85]

Hey guys, is Rolando McClain available sorry... Bc

No BC, Rolando "retired". Like your sister-in-law. ;)