Blurb about Lewis/Vilma

**Bez513** · 10-30-2007, 01:56 PM

I'm not sure if anyone saw this in Preston's article today :

Vilma on radar?
Keep an eye on New York Jets inside linebacker Jonathan Vilma during the offseason, because the Ravens will.

Lewis has one year remaining on his contract after this season. It will pay him nearly $6.5 million in base salary in 2008 and will count in excess of $9 million against the salary cap.

Lewis has lobbied for years for an extension, but the Ravens might want to trade for Vilma, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday with a knee injury. Like Lewis, he is from the University of Miami. Like Lewis, his strength is running and making tackles sideline to sideline. With Vilma, the Ravens could stay in a 4-3 defense.

Do you think the Ravens would actually trade for Vilma? Unless its a low draft pick and I don't see them making the trade. Not sure if Preston is thinking the ravens will cut or trade Ray away then sign him to another deal.

**Dade** · 10-30-2007, 02:02 PM

Its probably him just thinking out loud. There's no way BMore will trade Ray unless he makes it painfully clear he doesn't want to be here i.e. Kobe.

**Jggjaron** · 10-30-2007, 02:53 PM

Ray will not be traded

**HoustonRaven** · 10-30-2007, 02:53 PM

Ray isnt stupid. He knows he is towards the end of his tenure in football and also knows he wont get the kind of money he once was able to fetch. Preston is making it sound like ray will demand a high price tag to stay a Raven -- no way in hell the team will pay out big bucs to a soon-to-be retired LB.

And why is Preston even talking about making defensive additions? We should be talking about how to make the offense more effective! We wont be in that bad of shape cap wise so why not spend money on offense?

**crpravens** · 10-30-2007, 03:37 PM

Why not try to trade Lewis? We arent going anywhere with him now..

**purplepoe** · 10-30-2007, 03:54 PM

Rob Long just had a NY writer on his show and the Vilma topic came up.

I wasn't listening too closely but from what I gathered the Mangini/Vilma relationship isn't great. It's not toxic but not cozy either. He's hurt and apparently many people up there don't even know what knee is injured.

I believe Vilma's contract runs out after 2008.

Seems to me this is just bye week fodder for now.

There are so many different scenarios that could play out this offseason and it all has to do with how we finish and if we make a run.

PP

**Bez513** · 10-30-2007, 03:54 PM

Man...news travels fast. I got this off the CBS Sportline board for the Ravens :

According to the Baltimore Sun, during the offseason, the Ravens will look at New York Jets inside linebacker Jonathan Vilma. Ravens LB Ray Lewis has one year remaining on his contract after this season. It will pay him nearly $6.5 million in base salary in 2008 and will count in excess of $9 million against the salary cap. Lewis has lobbied for an extension, but the Ravens might want to trade for Vilma.

**purplepoe** · 10-30-2007, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by Bez513

Man...news travels fast. I got this off the CBS Sportline board for the Ravens :

According to the Baltimore Sun, during the offseason, the Ravens will look at New York Jets inside linebacker Jonathan Vilma. Ravens LB Ray Lewis has one year remaining on his contract after this season. It will pay him nearly $6.5 million in base salary in 2008 and will count in excess of $9 million against the salary cap. Lewis has lobbied for an extension, but the Ravens might want to trade for Vilma.

This is a PERFECT example of how ridiculous this stuff gets.

Mike Preston posts a little blurb about what HE thinks.

Then the national media gets ahold of it and boom, it takes off.

This is nothing more than conjecture by Preston but reported as "The Baltimore Sun reports that the Ravens will look at Vilma this offseason".

Another dumb distraction.

This team should be (and is IMO) focused on winning games THIS year. We have a crap load of veterans and had high hopes before the season started.

Does anyone really think that possibly trading for Vilma is even on the far back left burner?

I don't.

PP

**festivus** · 10-30-2007, 04:25 PM

Stupid bye week blather.

I vote we trade crpravens to the Jets message board, he's not making us any better.

**deuce** · 10-30-2007, 05:30 PM

Mike Preston. enough said.

**UKRavenStockers** · 10-30-2007, 05:33 PM

On a note of just indulging a little because I'm bored.

The Jets run a 3-4 base defence because errr, well actually I don't know why they run it. They don't have the right personnel for it at defensive end, at defensive tackle or at linebacker. Vilma is a fantastic MLB in a 4-3 scheme where you let him run sideline to sideline but he's not physical or big enough to play ILB in a 3-4 scheme. He's being wasted in New York where Mangini is quite frankly running a 3-4 for the sake of running a 3-4, not because there is any valid reason for it.

Vilma would fit in Baltimore, he doesn't fit in New York and he's pretty fed up with their pointless defensive system by all accounts. On that level it makes sense.

Doesn't mean it's going to happen, doesn't mean I think it's a good idea (that said, I'd not complain about having Vilma in our LB corps to be honest, not a great deal of depth behind our starters), just an observation that's it not completely barmy and there is some logical thought behind it (never thought I'd say that about something from Mike Preston).

So for once can we pile on the National Media, not Preston, for taking his opinion as a rumour?

That said, I'll not stand up for Preston if you feel like piling on him. ;)

**highwater** · 10-30-2007, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by deuce

Mike Preston. enough said.

Ditto. Preston's goal isn't to be a good or even decent columnist, it's just to attract attention to himself by being an ass. This is a ridiculous idea, even by Preston's standards -- Vilma is out for the year with a knee injury. Why would the Ravens trade for him? He actually denied he had a serious injury, but he got put on IR anyway, so something must be wrong.