Bonjour, Mes Amis! Did I miss anything???

[Beau Petard]

For those of you who know me, the name's Beau Petard.

For those of you who don't know me.......the name's still Beau Petard!

Not that anyone should care, but life has been a dream (shaboom, shaboom) for the last few months, actually since the Ravens got knocked out of the playoffs. Not to bore you with my personal life - this IS a Ravens forum - but I must confess that I am now homeless, but renting a place in N.C. while we await the building of our new home, and am no longer a resident of the Great State of Maryland, but a duly authorized/registered voter/licensed driver of the Much More Laid Back State of North Carolina.

But enough about me! I honestly have not read a newspaper since we missed the field goal. The pain was severe.

Then I started seeing snippets online about coaches getting promotions/job offers elsewhere, players going on the free agency market, and happened upon the draft summary this morning. Guys, I feel like Rip Van Winkle - I haven't got a clue what's what since earlier this year, and tried to look through the threads for something that recapped the Ravens moves post-Super Bowl. Could someone be so kind and patient enough to get me up to speed? I wanna start posting again, but I'm back in kindergarten and need a promer on all things Ravens.

Thanks, and I hope this finds everyone well!

[GOTA]

Sounds like you are doing the full retirement deal. Certain states just aren't easy to stay in.

Have you missed anything in Ravensland? New DC, couple of free agents lost and big 3rd string QB is about it. Rice is still franchised, Flacco is still looking for an extension and Cam is still here :grbac:

[Shas]

For those of you who know me, the name's Beau Petard.

For those of you who don't know me.......the name's still Beau Petard!

Not that anyone should care, but life has been a dream (shaboom, shaboom) for the last few months, actually since the Ravens got knocked out of the playoffs. Not to bore you with my personal life - this IS a Ravens forum - but I must confess that I am now homeless, but renting a place in N.C. while we await the building of our new home, and am no longer a resident of the Great State of Maryland, but a duly authorized/registered voter/licensed driver of the Much More Laid Back State of North Carolina.

But enough about me! I honestly have not read a newspaper since we missed the field goal. The pain was severe.

Then I started seeing snippets online about coaches getting promotions/job offers elsewhere, players going on the free agency market, and happened upon the draft summary this morning. Guys, I feel like Rip Van Winkle - I haven't got a clue what's what since earlier this year, and tried to look through the threads for something that recapped the Ravens moves post-Super Bowl. Could someone be so kind and patient enough to get me up to speed? I wanna start posting again, but I'm back in kindergarten and need a promer on all things Ravens.

Thanks, and I hope this finds everyone well!

Eff-off, old man.



;)



That was the jealousy talking.

Someone significant is trying to lure me to South Carolina, Greenville to be precise. I'm putting up a good fight, but there is a sliver of wanderlust that has me thinking.

Reality is, Beau, you'll never escape us thanks to the wonders of the interwebs. Don't remain a cyberstranger.

[2gigch1]

Welcome back, says the professional lurker. "Homeless" had me worried however reading further suggests instead congratulations are in order.

As far as what is going on there are many others who can fill in the blanks better than I, but in my humble opinion I can offer that I have found the quiet of the Ravens offseason to be comforting after I got used to it - kind of the no news is good news kind of thinking. Signing Webb was a highlight, not signing Rice is a bit uncomfortable until you look at the big picture and realize running backs just aren't getting paid right now and we are short on cap space. Kinda the 'slow & steady wins the race' philosophy continues.

Personally I have been listening to a lot of SiriusXM NFL Radio and the consensus seems to be the Ravens aren't dancing a lot because they don't need to. The pickup of Jim Caldwell is well regarded as a boost for Joe.

Anyway, there's my 2 cents. Looking forward to another insufferable year working in DC.

[Tucker: M&T Sec 527]

Have you missed anything in Ravensland? New DC, couple of free agents lost and big 3rd string QB is about it. Rice is still franchised, Flacco is still looking for an extension and Cam is still here :grbac:

GOTA: Don't forget Webb - signed, sealed, delivered he's ours. And Ozzie took a catnap in Round #1.

Beau P.: send pulled pork BBQ!!

[Beau Petard]

Guys, thanks for the comments, I knew some stuff was happening, but after checking the Ravens website roster link, there seems to be a lot of familiar faces on the "Missing" list.

GOTA, the new DC -- any thoughts on how things will change on the D? I like the idea of an LB guy running the show, but OTOH, the DC's responsibility is to get the entire defense tuned and at peak. Is Pees the guy who can do that? Sounds like Painter will be a good QB insurance policy assuming Taylor is healthy and continues to progress. Here's to Rice keeping his head on his shoulders and no injuries, Flacco keeping perspective AND delivering a quality season, and Cameron finding a good chemistry with the offense.

shas--
"Eff-off, old man."

As often as possible, mon ami, as often as possible!

Charleston seems to be the destination for holiday, but sources tell me that Greenville is where it's at for settling down, so IMHO, you'd do yourself well to perform some due diligence for your future! ;) Hope all is well with you and yours.

2gig--
Thanks, no problems with housing, we sold the Ellicott City "estate" back in the Fall of 2011, so the equity is sitting in a money market earning "billions" while we wade through financing and builder selection.

I'm hoping you're correct about Caldwell (the name of my soon-to-be new county, BTW, so maybe that's a good omen!), and perhaps having Painter as well as Taylor wanting to play provides Joe more motivation to get to the playoffs and Super Bowl this year. I also think maybe Painter can offer him some new perspectives having been around Manning. so who knows?

Tucker--
The Webb signing sounds good, I hope the Ravens secondary becomes one that is looked to as the standard, and the whole defense again becomes the one that nobody wants to play against, where running backs look to the sideline for a sub after a couple of plays.

As far as BBQ, I've had some difficulty finding really GOOD BBQ here, either eastern OR western style. The best local I can find is at a place called Shell's. It's good but not great, and it's convenient for a last minute decision on what to have for dinner. SWMBO and I were in Charlotte a couple weeks ago and were treated to lunch at a place called McCoy's, which has been the best we've had so far, but I'm still in search of better/best, ala Stamey's in Greensboro.

To all --
I see that Grubbs is gone, and Birk is no spring chicken. What's the word on the O-line? After seeing Reid last year, I have to wonder if he's got the quickness and agility to make it in the Big Leagues as a starter. Also, I recall some questions about Oher as far as being a solution, either at LT or RT. While I think he's had the spectrum of challenges thrown at him, can he be a mainstay? Has there been any talk about his transition to guard (I know there were a few threads back when about this)? It seems to me that the O-line will be key to whether the Ravens are in contention or not, and I'm looking for some opinions.

Thanks, everyone, it feels good to be blathering again!

[PalladinInNC]

For those of you who know me, the name's Beau Petard.

For those of you who don't know me.......the name's still Beau Petard!

Not that anyone should care, but life has been a dream (shaboom, shaboom) for the last few months, actually since the Ravens got knocked out of the playoffs. Not to bore you with my personal life - this IS a Ravens forum - but I must confess that I am now homeless, but renting a place in N.C. while we await the building of our new home, and am no longer a resident of the Great State of Maryland, but a duly authorized/registered voter/licensed driver of the Much More Laid Back State of North Carolina.

But enough about me! I honestly have not read a newspaper since we missed the field goal. The pain was severe.

Then I started seeing snippets online about coaches getting promotions/job offers elsewhere, players going on the free agency market, and happened upon the draft summary this morning. Guys, I feel like Rip Van Winkle - I haven't got a clue what's what since earlier this year, and tried to look through the threads for something that recapped the Ravens moves post-Super Bowl. Could someone be so kind and patient enough to get me up to speed? I wanna start posting again, but I'm back in kindergarten and need a promer on all things Ravens.

Thanks, and I hope this finds everyone well!

Welcome to NC Beau Petard! I'm also living in NC (Chapel Hill) and loving every minute of it. We moved down here last Oct. Although we are both not in Md we can still keep up with the Ravens this way. Where are you located in the state?

[Beau Petard]

Palladin--
Thanks for the welcome! Currently renting an apartment in Hickory while we go through the homebuilding process - will be living in Granite Falls when all is said and built. The Hickory Daily Record is not exactly the leader in world wide sports coverage, so I'm looking to our board literati to help keep me in the know.

The other thing is, I registered the RAM in NC last December. One of the things I enjoy about driving here is that the hectic pace and need for the knucklehead behind/next to you to tailgate and race to beat you to the next stop light is less pronounced than on the mean streets of Ellicott City. But about a month ago, my Ravens decal from 2004 was showing signs of wear and tear (it's one that sticks to the outside of the window), so I got a new bright, shiny decal to replace it. Now, I seem to have either pissed off the locals, or the resident Panthers fans are jealous and just trying to get a glimpse of a quality AFC team logo!

[Mista T]

Are you going to come north for Ravens games this Fall? If you don't, Mrs T will miss your wit, and I will miss the extra beers that you manage to bring up in the 4th Q, notwithstanding the 3rd Q beer sales cut-off.

btw: we decided to split our seats adjacent to yours, on an every-other-game bases, back-end loaded to get two of the three December games with weather protection. (I will attend all other games in my original seats upstairs, while Mrs. T will make it a game-time decision on the other games subject to the weather).

[Beau Petard]

Mr. T--
Good to hear from you!

Plans are in the works for how we deal with PSLs and tix, but I believe I'll be attending a game or two, just not sure which ones and when, since housebuilding will hopefully be well under way at that point, and I may be limited in my travel availability. In any case, I will take full responsibility for my beverage obligations when I'm there!

Hope you all are healthy and enjoying life! Please pass along some xxx's and ooo's to your lovely bride, and I will PM you when I know more.

a votre sante, mon ami,
Beau

[Raven Maniac]

Hey Beau, welcome back!

[TarHeels33]

Also in Chapel Hill and really enjoying it. Beau if you ever get to this area try Allen and Sons. Great Bbq. Also, if you're closer to Wilson, Parker's is a great experience.
.