Pre-Pre- Season Conclusions.

[The Excellector]

This is a thread for us to keep track of where we viewed a certain player, at this point, compared to how he looks, leading up to the season opener. I will add my opinion of most starters, but feel free to add your own or debate mine. Perhaps, we can reach a consensus.Then, we can re-evaluate the players, after all of the preseason games have been played. Some guys I might not mention, because they look the same or are pretty much a lock to look good, etc.

Joe Flacco- Is putting the ball on the money and seeing the field better. The ball will be put where it needs to be. The question will be whether or not the WRs will catch it. I think Joe can handle a little more passing and a pass first mentality in the offense. Personally, I thought he was ready for it long before now.

Benard Pierce, may not be in full danger of losing the #2 spot, but Berry and Rainey are pushing.

Anthony Allen- Whether it is as a second string or third string RB, Allen is filling a role that differs from what the other backs would. His job will be to replace Ricky. So far, he hasn't looked great or terrible.

Berry- Looks good. Then again, he looked good last preseason before he injured his ankle

Rainey- Could legitimately push to make the team is someone is caught sleeping.

Torrey- Looks like a complete different WR, at this point this off-season, compared to the same point last off-season. His routes are better and he is even mixing in some of the routes that Mason was known for running. He is catching the ball with his hands and, overall, playing with more confidence. There is no reason why Torrey couldn't end up with 80/1000/10

Boldin- Has been playing more in the slot and looks more like the Boldin from Arizona. He has declined since then, so I should say that this is closest thing to the Boldin in Arizona that we have seen.

Jacoby Jones- Looks like Jacoby Jones. His reputation coming into camp has been well documented. Not great not terrible, which is all the Ravens really need, as long as he can catch the ball consistently. The jury is still out on him.

Every TE behind Dickson- CAN NOT CATCH

Osemele- Looks pretty decent on the right side, with room to grow

Yanda- Looks like Yanda

Gradkowski- Another player that looks decent, although Osemele looks better right now. He just needs more work. LeachisBeast is probably right that Gino could use an off-season in the weight room.

Boren- Is not going to make the roster as a C. He has been having trouble there. Is a much better G.

Terrance Cody- Nobody can move this man.

Paul Kruger- One blogger regretted that THIS Kruger could not be paired with Suggs and I can see why. Kruger looks like ten sacks waiting to happen.

Side note: They finally stopped moving Kruger around, kept him at his natural spot and he finally improved. If McKinnie is ready, they could do the same with Oher and he could see same results.

Lardarius Webb- All Pro

Ed Reed- Ed Reed

Cundiff- A little better than usual, but.....

Tucker- Coming for Cundiff. He seems to have a confidence that Cundiff never had.

Jones/Jackson returning- the jury is still out.

[leachisabeast]

Agreed with all assessments thus far, we'll see if these assessments remain the same after real live game action later tonight.

[Kyle Cactus]

Joe Flacco- Same :)

Torrey - He was already a completely different wide receiver from last off-season by the time he saw week 3 of the regular season. I think a better point of comparison is where he left off last season. I think he continues to make moderate improvements to round out his game, but the biggest difference could come from him and Flacco having the chemistry to convert a higher % of down field plays. As for the stat projection I can't see him catching 80 balls, but I don't think he needs to for a 1000 yd season. My projection: 65/1000/8

Boldin- Maybe he'll benefit from more slot play. I think he continues to slowly decline, but he's still a decent player.

Jacoby Jones- I think he could be a decent WR3 while stretching the field, which is all their asking him to do.

Doss and Williams - If 1 of these receivers ahead of them goes down for a while, it will be interesting if Cam trusts them enough to keep using 3 receiver sets, or if he'll revert back to last year when we seemed to stick with 2 receivers. If one of them does get some play time as WR3 I think they'll do well.

Pitta - Unless the hand injury becomes a problem, I think he will be big factor in the passing game. He had great chemistry with Flacco down the stretch.

Dickson - Hard to say. Not sure he'll ever realize his full potential, but I think he'll be an important role player for the offense this year creating some mismatches in 2 TE formations.

Osemele- I don't think he starts week 1, but I think he'll get on the field sooner rather than later because of injury. If he gets to play at guard I think he holds his own. If he has to play right tackle I think it will be more challenging.

Gradkowski- I get the impression that he's not quite there yet. I hope he can remain depth this year...

Oher - Moves back to the right side as long as McKinnie stays healthy. Either way, I think he continues to be frustrating.

McKinnie - I think he can match last years production and be a decent LT if he stays healthy.

Birk - I think he may struggle, but I hope I'm wrong.

Bobbie Williams - I think he'll do a solid job at guard.

Terrance Cody- Will continue to be a solid but unspectacular player.

Arthur Jones and Pernell McPhee- I'm guessing he'll be used more in run situations while McPhee is used more in passing situations, but I could be off-base. Redding had a great year last year, so I don't know if they'll completely replace what he did, but I think both will be effective in their respective roles. I could potentially see McPhee having a bit of a break out year.

Paul Kruger- He's shown he can rush the QB. Can he defend the run and drop into coverage? I'm not sure how much they'll have him drop into coverage, but he'll definitely be an important run defender. I really don't have a good sense for how he'll pan out in this regard.

Courtney Upshaw - I don't think he'll be anything special this year, but he's only a rookie so that's ok. I think he can be a good player, but with so many new faces in the starting front 7 they will get exposed from time to time. I could see Upshaw contributing to that.

Sergio Kindle - I hope that he can replicate what Kruger did last season, but I'm still very unsure of what to expect from him.

Jameel McClain - Continues to be a mediocre MLB

Lardarius Webb- Agreed! :)

Jimmy Smith - Hopefully he'll get healthy so he can have a more solid start, but either way it's time for him to take a larger role in the secondary. I expect there will be some bumps along the way, accompanied by flashes of great play. All-in-all I think he'll be a good 2nd corner.

Cary Williams - I think he'll drop to the #3 corner. I think for a #3 he's a great option to have.

Ed Reed- No idea what to expect. He'll probably get hurt and stop tackling again, but he could also make half a dozen picks. He's very much a mixed bag at this point in his career.

Bernard Pollard - I'm not sure if he'll recreate all of the success he had last year, but I think he'll still do well. They need a thumper like him next to Ed Reed.

Cundiff- At this point I'm hoping he chokes in preseason. I'm starting to get excited for Tucker (maybe prematurely) and I fear the only way he has a chance is if Cundiff chokes in pre-season.

Tucker- Like what I've seen so far. I really hope he continues to shine in pre-season

[TheJoeFlaccoShow]

I think drawing any type of meaningful conclusions from preseason games is a waste of time, unless we go out there and beat teams 30-0 every game.

Most of the guys on that list aren't playing tonight, and won't be playing much in the next 3 games either.

We know what we have here for the most part.

I would eliminate any veteran from the list and just focus on who wasn't on the team last year, they are the only ones who we don't know a lot about and might be able to gleam something from with their play.

[lowrider]

I think drawing any type of meaningful conclusions from preseason games is a waste of time, unless we go out there and beat teams 30-0 every game.

Agree. IMO Sergio, Upshaw, and maybe Gradkowski are the ones to watch closely during these preseason games.

[mfdoom42]

Jacoby Jones- Looks like Jacoby Jones. His reputation coming into camp has been well documented. Not great not terrible, which is all the Ravens really need, as long as he can catch the ball consistently. The jury is still out on him.

The thing is, if he could catch the ball consistently he WOULD be great. His ability to separate from DB's is fantastic.

[Dont Know]

Boren- Is not going to make the roster as a C. He has been having trouble there. Is a much better G.

Every offseason there seem to be articles posted on BR.com about some G learning how to snap the ball. I don't think it's related to Boren changing positions. Instead it looks like the Ravens want all their interior line players to be able to snap the ball if needed.

From an injury and flexibility standpoint it does make sense.

[Section 502 Raven]

kindle is gettting a lot of palying time and he looks like he is getting a lot of push on the dl. he looks like a beast.

you are seeing the learning curve of rookie Ol. if the steelers start two rookies on the ol big jen will get killed.