Is there any possibility that Jacoby Jones is not the third WR come week 1?

[BigPlayReceiver]

Is Jones the 3rd best WR on this team? No.
Will Jones start vs. CIN as the #3...you bet he will. And he will be the #3 until he loses it...during the regular season.

Right now, the 3rd best WR on this team is LQW.
His two drops vs. DET were very much contended/defended.

I see no regression in sight with LQW and I'm very much looking forward to him going against #1s/nickels when it counts.
If ever he has that cliche "breakout game" (like a 4/100/2) during the season then it will be incredibly hard to keep him out of the rotation.

[ccoolahan14]

I know I'm mostly alone on this but I think Jones will be and, more importantly, should be the number 3 WR come opening day. I think the biggest advantage that Jones has over Williams that is being overlooked is his run after catch ability. A case could be made that Jones is the best on the team in this area, and it's exciting to know that we may be able to run an effective WR screen with him. As far as the reverse, there were two defenders that had the angle on Jones and in years past, that goes for a three yard gain (as we've seen many times). Sure, his hands are shaky at best but Torrey's were last year as well (he had at least 3 drops in the Steelers game alone, in addition to the drop-turned-INT against the Bills), and I don't think many here would say that Torrey's risk last season outweighed his reward. To me, Jacoby is the same as Torrey last year- high risk but higher reward.

[Corey]

Don't get me started, we were a dropped/stripped ball away from the Super Bowl, so who do we replace him with? A guy famous for dropping the fucking ball....

Dude you make the Ravens sound insane, literally.

[Carey]

I think he'll definetely be the 3rd WR when the season starts but he could allow others to eat into his snaps and his role.

He is the 2nd best proven vertical target we have currently and when he's in their teams have to gameplan for his ability to get on top of coverage. Even if he isnt being targeting he can effectively clear out coverage like the Saints used Robert Meachem.

I think what will happen if he doesnt show improvement is another WR will eat into his snaps and he may have the type of routes he runs in games condensed to just fly patterns, reverses, red zone fades and designed clear outs.

Hopefully Doss continues to stay healthy and he becomes that guy eats into his snaps. Imo he's the best player from a skill set standpoint and he has terrific hands. Laquan has really come on as a player as well and probably has more deep speed then Doss.

I couldnt be happier with the game planning and structural improvements made to the offense and i'd hate to have drops and inconsistency discourage the coaching staff from continuing this course. Drops like the one JJ had on 3rd down in the last game just kill momentum. He can still be very useful, hopefully they just dont rely on him too much, allow him to play to his strengths.

[Captain Silver]

Dude you make the Ravens sound insane, literally.

Trust me, he is going to end up in the hall of fame FA signings with Leon Searcy and Dominique Foxworth.

[leachisabeast]

I'm taking the guy not many people are talking about and going out on a limb here, but Tandon Doss will eventually be the #3 receiver this year, not LQW.

[Corey]

Trust me, he is going to end up in the hall of fame FA signings with Leon Searcy and Dominique Foxworth.

I don't think his contract is large enough to warrant that. And I am really hoping that Doss or Williams or anyone overtake him before we get to the point where a dropped pass ends our season for the 3rd year in a row.

[NC Raven]

Hopefully Doss continues to stay healthy and he becomes that guy eats into his snaps. Imo he's the best player from a skill set standpoint and he has terrific hands. Laquan has really come on as a player as well and probably has more deep speed then Doss.

I couldnt be happier with the game planning and structural improvements made to the offense and i'd hate to have drops and inconsistency discourage the coaching staff from continuing this course. Drops like the one JJ had on 3rd down in the last game just kill momentum. He can still be very useful, hopefully they just dont rely on him too much, allow him to play to his strengths.

They'll have to, because teams are going to focus on Torrey and Boldin, and dare us to hit Jones in tight windows. That's absolute poison. If I were Flacco I wouldn't throw the ball anywhere above his shins for fear he'd tip it right to a DB.

Jones is absolute offensive poison. Please Doss, make it happen. I don't want Jones anywhere above 5th on the depth chart. He's just not a viable player on a team that's likely, once again, a play or two away from a championship. He's a team-killer. Come on Doss, LaQuan, and Deonte, pour it on and shove this clown to the bottom of the depth chart before he ruins our season!!!

[Captain Silver]

They'll have to, because teams are going to focus on Torrey and Boldin, and dare us to hit Jones in tight windows. That's absolute poison. If I were Flacco I wouldn't throw the ball anywhere above his shins for fear he'd tip it right to a DB.

Jones is absolute offensive poison. Please Doss, make it happen. I don't want Jones anywhere above 5th on the depth chart. He's just not a viable player on a team that's likely, once again, a play or two away from a championship. He's a team-killer. Come on Doss, LaQuan, and Deonte, pour it on and shove this clown to the bottom of the depth chart before he ruins our season!!!

This is spot on. No one in Houston was crying to see him leave.

[B-more Ravor]

Who I wish to be the #3, that would be Doss. Who should be the #3 based on the past, it should be Laquan. Who will be the #3 based on the coaching staff's "we know best attitude", Jacoby.

Umm, they should know best. The vast majority of the time, they do know best - and certainly moreso than fans on message boards.

That doesn't mean they can't be wrong, but this kind of comment - actually, a lot of the comments on this thread - are really just a bit over the top, IMO.

[NC Raven]

Umm, they should know best. The vast majority of the time, they do know best - and certainly moreso than fans on message boards.

That doesn't mean they can't be wrong, but this kind of comment - actually, a lot of the comments on this thread - are really just a bit over the top, IMO.

You're right, of course, but the team's historical "blind spot" in terms of evaluating WR's is well established, so if there's any position where fan criticism is more likely to have validity, it's with WR's.

If we were ripping a linebacker or defensive line signing, I'd say we would be treading on hallowed ground. But the track record at WR is such that I'm not feeling the usual need to go with "in Oz we trust" when it comes to these.

I offer you Exhibit A, TJ Houshmandzadeh (dropped pass ended final drive in 2010 playoffs); Exhibit B Lee Evans (Dropped pass cost trip to Super Bowl); Exhibit C Jacoby Jones (history of dropping passes and has 11 career fumbles in.... not all that many touches).

Also, for those interested in his end-around potential, he has 13 career carries for 40 yards. But we all know Cam's end-around calls are much more well-designed, disguised, and well-timed than other people's , so those numbers should skyrocket now that he's playing in the Cam-the-End-Around-Guru offense.

[Stealthbirds80]

Umm, they should know best. The vast majority of the time, they do know best - and certainly moreso than fans on message boards.

That doesn't mean they can't be wrong, but this kind of comment - actually, a lot of the comments on this thread - are really just a bit over the top, IMO.

With the history of WRs here, especially recently for the 3rd WR position, it was a bit toned down IMO. For me, it comes down to bringing in an outsider vs homegrown. Retreads at this position have let us down.

The rest of their decision making cannot be questioned I agree.