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04-12-2012, 02:19 PM #1Regular 1st Stringer
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Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
Who is the most undervalued free agent? Whether the person resigned with the ravens or not. Who do you think is the most undervalued? Obvious the ravens undervalued certain players because they are not on the team anymore.
I have to say without a doubt Jameel McClain. Not only is he a decent LB but we could not afford to lose him. With uncertainity in the draft on what LB's will be available when the ravens pick this would have been a big blow. Ellebre would have taking McClain spot. this would have been a disaster. Ellebre is not up to par still IMO and he is injury prone. McClain IMO is our best LB next to Ray Lewis.
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Re: Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say...Russell Wilson.
Disclaimer: The content posted is of my own opinion.
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04-12-2012, 02:37 PM #3
Re: Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
I'll try...
To me, I can look at it two ways.
Starter or depth/special teams.
I think as a starter, Cory Redding. He was such a huge part of the starting Dline.
He had a great year, was a veteran leader, and was a big part of that defense being ranked 3rd.
McPhee has looked great. But there is a huge difference size-wise. Maybe after an offensive lineman has to deal with Redding most of the game, that when a fresh McPhee came in with his speed, it was hard to adapt.
We will get the chance to see this season how good McPhee is.
IF McPhee is as good as we hope him to be, then I go to the next evaluation below....
As depth/special teams, Haruki Nakamura. He was a very good special teams player.
He had above average speed for a safety which made him great in coverage, even as a nickle.
And he wasn't afraid to stick his helmet in there to make a tough tackle.
With him behind Reed, I felt confident that if he had to come in, he knew what he was doing.
Right now, we have no depth at safety...which of course includes experienced depth.
Knowing you have that guy on the sideline, who might have to go in at any moment, who can play a variety of roles, is huge.
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04-12-2012, 02:50 PM #4Legendary RSR Poster
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Re: Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
I think the most undervalued is Brendon Ayanbadejo because it's so hard to spelll... Bc
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04-12-2012, 02:52 PM #5Hall Of Fame Poster
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Re: Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
McClain, without a doubt. Retaining him totally changes our draft plans and gives us a great deal of flexibility. He's proven to be a capable starter and filled in ably for Ray when he was out last year. I see him as a low-ceiling, high-floor kind of guy--he'll never make a Pro Bowl but no matter what happens to Ray, I feel fairly confident that Jameel will be a stabilizing force on the inside.
Did we really want to rely on Ellerbe, a draft pick, or a bargain-basement FA to play next to a declining Ray Lewis? Instead we get a consistent guy who knows the system and isn't terribly weak in any facet of his game. I think this team still needs to make smart additions at ILB, but I'm relieved to have Jameel McClain back.
I'm not all that concerned about anyone else. JJ didn't fit our plans anymore, Redding was inconsistent (he had some excellent performances like in the 49ers game but disappeared in several other games), and neither safety was a significant player in any way. Even if Haruki was a core special teamer, he wasn't a very good one--this team got virtually nothing out of its special teams for the past 2 years.
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04-12-2012, 03:00 PM #6Legendary RSR Poster
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Re: Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
I don't see how it can be McClain, considering he was targeted to be re-signed and the team did just that a few weeks ago. If the team was truly undervaluing him, he'd be gone by now. He got upwards of $10 Million, $3 Million of which is guaranteed. Seems to me he has a lot of value to the team now.
IMO, there's nobody on the roster right I'd be willing to put the tag "undervalued" on right now.
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Re: Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
Ive stated on here before, I dont see a big difference between McClain and Ellerbe, and last year in particular he wasnt healthy. He is a better leader on the field though, ill give him that.
Guys weve lost all had backups besides Grubbs, which they did offer a pretty good contract for. I cant really say anybody we lost was undervalued just not enough cap to keep them. im sure in an uncapped NFL none of those guys are on different teams, with the exception of Grubbs who seems to have just really wanted to be in the south.-JAB
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04-12-2012, 03:16 PM #8Hall Of Fame Poster
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Re: Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
I guess I read the OP's post differently in that I interpreted it as who the FANS are most undervaluing. Going back and reading it again, I may have misinterpreted it.
This year's market for ILBs was super soft. In a better market I think McClain might have gotten an offer the Ravens couldn't match, and I don't honestly see anybody who was out there and available who would have been an upgrade, even a guy like Curtis Lofton or Stephen Tulloch, both of whom probably rated as better players but didn't fit as well in our scheme.
So I guess the team didn't really undervalue him, but I think a lot of fans did and I do think he resigned for less than he could have gotten if circumstances were different. I guess you could say that of anybody.
There are only 2 unsigned Ravens FAs out there right now: Lee Evans and Andre Gurode. Neither of them should be in the team's plans in 2012 for any reason at any price, so you can't call them undervalued by any definition of the term.
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Re: Most Undervalued Raven Free Agent?
Okay, I am going to get one more plug in for my guy. Since you didn't specify what type of free agent I am going to go with an Exclusive Rights Free Agent signed in March: Albert McClellan.
To me, he qualifies as undervalued because the majority of fans probably don't think he belongs on the roster but I believe he will be a better pro than McClain or Ellerbe and may even beat out Kruger for the SAM spot or at least takes snaps away from him on running downs.
Everytime I see him play I come away impressed, including the one start he got last year on the inside in an emergency. I love his upside. He's already the team leader on special teams tackles. As a bonus, he went to the same high school as Ray Lewis. (Kathleen, Lakeland, FL)
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04-12-2012, 03:28 PM #11Legendary RSR Poster
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Great call on McClellan. Agreed.
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