The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.

**Bigfish** · 08-02-2013, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by Money227

So we decide to let a 32 y.o. WR (who never topped a 1,000 yds for us) walk and we are now in desperation mode??? Just don't see it.

The Super Bowl was won on February 3rd and people were complaining on February 4th, so take it with a grain of salt. Boldin hasn't been a Raven for 4 months now, he's a 49er. Move on. We have a lot of young talent at WR who will be wearing purple this year I'd rather discuss. Or, what FA or trade we can get. I'm looking forward to another successful playoff run with whoever plays. The opinion that trading Boldin was a mistake requires the team to fail if you want to be correct and tell everyone "I told you so".

**Money227** · 08-02-2013, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by RavensRule21215

LOL. They have stated openly that they are content to stay with the WRs they have. They made no attempt to draft a WR even though they were within 1 pick of potentially drafting one. They have not made a single move to even bring in a WR since the draft. You want/need more than that? Be my guest.

There are 3 options at this point:

1. Stay with the WRs on hand.
2. Bring in a FA WR now.
3. Wait until later on to bring in a WR.

I did want Patton. I was actually surprised the 49ers took him.

**RavensRule21215** · 08-02-2013, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by Money227

I did want Patton. I was actually surprised the 49ers took him.

I was actually talking about Patterson, who was drafted by the Vikes. (And it was 3 picks ahead, not 1. My bad.)

**alien bird** · 08-02-2013, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by RavensRule21215

They have stated openly that they are content to stay with the WRs they have.

It's not a common practice of the Ravens to publicly negotiate or reveal everything they do, so I'll take any statement coming from the front office with a grain of salt. They have also openly stated they are always looking to upgrade their team and are looking at options all the time.

Originally Posted by RavensRule21215

They made no attempt to draft a WR even though they were within 1 pick of potentially drafting one.

Right, because Aaron Mellette doesn't count. I believe it was Greg Cosell who said he liked him better than Quinton Patton (the WR the Ravens were supposedly within 1 pick of "getting".)

Originally Posted by RavensRule21215

They have not made a single move to even bring in a WR since the draft.

That you know of. Like I said before, unless you are in that small inner circle of decision makers, you really don't know what they've tried to do.

Originally Posted by RavensRule21215

LOL

Indeed.

**srobert96** · 08-02-2013, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by bmorecareful

I don't agree at all that this situation is comparable to the 2011 offseason, which a lot of you are saying. If it were, we'd have two mid/high round picks waiting in the wings to compete to start at TE and a BIG FA acquisition penned in at #2 WR (Lee Evans). The fact that Evans didn't work out has NOTHING to do with the fact that he WAS the plan to replace Mason.

We don't have a Lee Evans (377 career catches, 5,900 career yards when we traded for him) waiting in the wings. We don't have two promising 2nd year players, one of whom made 3 starts his rookie season, waiting in the wings. We have Jacoby Jones, Tandon Doss, and Deonte Thompson. Jacoby is a situational deep threat/3rd WR only, Tandon Doss is a stone-handed Justin Harper clone, and Deonte Thompson is legitimately intriguing, but it would be asking a lot of him to be a #2 right now.

Unfortunately, there is just about NOTHING out there in terms of free agency or the trade market, so this is what we're stuck with. The only guy I would like to see the Ravens take a look at is Austin Collie, but if they wanted him they probably would have already brought him in for a visit.

It is different than 2011 in that we did not lose our top receiver to a season ending injury in training camp. The equivalent to losing Pitta would have been losing Boldin in 2011. Ravens would have been in good shape had Pitta not gone down with an injury. Ed Dickson and Pitta Combined for 12 catches in 2010. They were anything but sure things going into 2011. Doss had more catches last year than they did combined. Tsmith was a rookie and very raw. Boldin was coming off a whopping 61 catches the previous season. People forget that Dickson was ahead of Pitta in 2011. He finished the season with 54 catches. Dickson had an injury riddled season last year but his numbers did improve after Caldwell took over. Pre 1st game 2013 offense still better pre first game 2011 after Evans went down. Tsmith>Boldin. Dickson 2013>Dickson/Pitta 2011. Jones/Doss/Thompson>Tsmith 2011. Rice/Pierce>Rice/Williams

**BigPlayReceiver** · 08-02-2013, 01:52 PM

^^^ and our defense will be just as good...probably better (esp. vs the pass)

**ravensnhokies** · 08-02-2013, 03:38 PM

I think the Ravens will see how the 1st preseason games goes with the Doss/Thompson/Reed/Williams group and then decide afterwards if its necessary to make a Lee Evans type trade. From the media reports, it doesn't seem like anyone in that group has really taken that next step. It should be pretty telling after that 1st game if its time to panic. You also want that receiver in by the ATL game so Joe can develop timing with him before the reg season

**Ravenous1** · 08-02-2013, 04:31 PM

The F.O obviously has a significant amount of faith in the group of guys that include Doss/Thompson/Reed/Williams and potentially Mellette/Juice. If they did not have faith these guys were NFL quality and could contribute they could and would have gone WR earlier in the draft. Joe is being paid as a franchise QB now and it will be on him and Caldwell to find ways to get these guys involved in a way that keeps the chains moving and the offense productive.

If anyone thinks that Ozzie does not sit there and contemplate when he looks at the depth chart how the losing any one of the WR/TE's would affect this team then they are delusional. Even the worst GM's do that. The difference between the two is how accurate they are in their assessments. Ozzie is not perfect but I trust him and the coaching staffs evaluation of the guys they have.

At the end of the day its all about how much do you trust Ozzie/Coaching staffs ability to judge the WR/TE talent they have as well as how much you trust Joe and Caldwell to capitalize and utilize those players strengths. I for one am more optimistic about that part than any year in which we started a season with Cam as the OC. Have faith...losing Pitta and Boldin will have some impact but its not the sky is falling that some think.

**BigPlayReceiver** · 08-02-2013, 05:12 PM

Well at least the TB game will hold our attention and interest.

**The Excellector** · 08-02-2013, 05:50 PM

The Ravens are a team that is heavily built through the draft. They are giving their draft picks an opportunity. They've had success with that set up. I don't see the problem. They're doing what they've had success doing. It doesn't matter when they were drafted or where they were drafted. They've been doing this for years. This is nothing new.

**RavensRule21215** · 08-02-2013, 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by The Excellector

The Ravens are a team that is heavily built through the draft. They are giving their draft picks an opportunity. They've had success with that set up. I don't see the problem. They're doing what they've had success doing. It doesn't matter when they were drafted or where they were drafted. They've been doing this for years. This is nothing new.

What's new is that for the first time in their history they have a franchise QB that they are paying like a franchise QB, and have taken the first steps in finally fielding an offense that can carry its weight along with the defense. You say they're a team that's built their success through the draft? How many wide receivers have they drafted since they came into existence that have distinguished themselves? So really...that theory goes right out the window, doesn't it? Especially since we're talking about the wide receivers in this thread. To expect anyone to have faith in the drafted Ravens WRs, given the abysmal history, is just too much of a stretch at this point in time. Could it happen? Anything it possible. Is it likely? Not given the last 17 years worth of drafted WR failures.

Now before all the "YOU ARE FORECASTING DOOM AND GLOOM" parrots emerge...I'm not saying the Ravens as a team will fail; or even that the offense as a whole will fail. This thread is only talking about the WRs, and I'm responding to this particular poster who stated that the Ravens have been successful building the team through the draft. The one exception to that is when it comes to drafting wide receivers; that's the ONLY thing I'm addressing in this post.

**Money227** · 08-02-2013, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by The Excellector

The Ravens are a team that is heavily built through the draft. They are giving their draft picks an opportunity. They've had success with that set up. I don't see the problem. They're doing what they've had success doing. It doesn't matter when they were drafted or where they were drafted. They've been doing this for years. This is nothing new.

I'm optimistic, but I can understand those who are not. The highest drafted WR (besides Smith and Jones) is Doss who was a 4th rounder. We have a 5th (Reed), 6th (Streeter), 7th (Mellette) and two undrafted guys (Thompson and Williams). Not exactly sure things.