2017 Training Camp / Preseason

[Goode05]

We're just keeping him fresh for the second half of the Super Bowl when he will return a punt for a touchdown to give us the lead over the Falcons before Matt Ryan throws a pick six to Marlon Humphrey to "ice" it.


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Would the last part surprise anyone?


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[Ravenalytics]

Would the last part surprise anyone?


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Probably a certain mythical blade who believes Humphrey has hands and feet of stone.

[GreatWhiteNorthRaven]

I have great respect for you, and enjoy your take on everything Ravens. Always appreciate your posts.

But this one thing is an example of something I've been getting peevish about these past couple months. This team has shown absolutely zero indication of moving Lewis from LG. Not a thing. What Harbaugh has said is "We like Lewis at guard." From what I can tell they gave Lewis no reps at all at tackle thru OTA's. We heard some noise LAST YEAR from the team that maybe Lewis could kick out to RT. But since the season ended, there's been not a peep from the team to that effect. Everything looks and sounds like they plan to keep Lewis at guard. Reading between the lines, it seems like they think Lewis is the next great AFC guard, and they want to let it happen.

The most likely configuration for 4/5 of our OL is exactly what we saw thru OTAs:

Stanley-Lewis-Jensen-Yanda-RT

That's three strong, mean guys in the middle. Seems to fit what the team is looking for this year.

And at RT, Hurst is the most likely guy. I've been holding out hope for the awesome power of the Nembot, partly because I love his story. But Hurst has gotten all the praise you could want from the HC and the OC and the OL coach. They've all said he's gotten BIGGER and stronger, which is important. Maybe Harbs knew what he was doing when he promoted the strength & conditioning guy. Means we could see a different player than we've seen before; and of course the move to RT would likely help him too.

A lot of fans on this board have been fantasizing about players riding to the Ravens rescue at LG, C, RT. Our cap space is not promising for that. Likely the answers have been right in front of our faces.

• The team has loved Jensen since day one, keeping him on the active roster as a rookie.
• Their actions have spoken clearly with Alex Lewis.
• And we're hearing all the right things about James Hurst.

The starting five will likely be:

Stanley-Lewis-Jensen-Yanda-Hurst

That's what the team showed in OTA's, that's what makes the most sense from a cap perspective, that's the most experienced group, and that's the group the OL coach has praised. They seem to be working well together. It shouldn't be so hard for us to believe in.

Well first off I appreciate the kind words.

To the content. As I indicated, I think that hurst is going to be a nightmare in camp. I don't think Wesley or Nembot are ready. I think they will say hey this isn't going to work and go against what they've been saying.

I do agree the comments lower the likelihood but a) OTA's means nothing. A long time between OTA's and week 1 and b) I think you're underestimating just how bad Hurst has been.

What have we heard about Hurst that has been positive? All ive heard is that he's playing RT. Jensen and Hurst have a hell of a lot to prove before we all just start trusting them.




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[The Excellector]

We're just keeping him fresh for the second half of the Super Bowl when he will return a punt for a touchdown to give us the lead over the Falcons before Matt Ryan throws a pick six to Marlon Humphrey to "ice" it.


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If that actually happened, the Land of Verdite would explode.

[The Excellector]

Probably a certain mythical blade who believes Humphrey has hands and feet of stone.

Only due to who catches it. Not to who throws it.

[GreatWhiteNorthRaven]

Only due to who catches it. Not to who throws it.

What if it's Maclin that's catching it?

Hmmm


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[NOLARavenFAN]

Nembot? What is that...

[QuothDaRaven]

Nembot? What is that...

I will pretend you have not just spoken this incredible blasphemy. I will assume that you, like every other Ravens fan from now until the end of days, wish to see the OL receive its damn near mythical status as the greatest wall since the Ming Dynasty solidified theirs in China.

In short, NOLARavenFAN, I shall assume that you are here to witness one thing, and one thing only...

THE UNLEASHING OF THE NEMBOT!!!


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[HotInHere]

We're just keeping him fresh for the second half of the Super Bowl when he will return a punt for a touchdown to give us the lead over the Falcons before Matt Ryan throws a pick six to Marlon Humphrey to "ice" it.


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Falcons ain't sniffing the Super Bowl this year. They will spend half the season curled up in the fetal position. I see no indication that that team has the kind of intestinal fortitude necessary to rebound from that epic bed wetting.

[The Excellector]

What if it's Maclin that's catching it?

Hmmm


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Troy Brown, Jeremy Maclin is not.

[JimZipCode]

I think you're underestimating just how bad Hurst has been.

Well maybe. It didn't bother me when he looked overmatched as a rookie, because he was a rookie. I thought he was decent in the 2014 postseason. For 2015, I'm not one of the crowd who blames him for Flacco's injury. I thought anyone could have gotten submarined and tripped the way he did on that play.

But I haven't studied any film or anything. If you say Hurst has been terrible, I'll have to concede it.

What have we heard about Hurst that has been positive?

Couple things, all mild but trending the same way.

https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/...kle-for-ravens

"James Hurst has had a very good camp," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said after one minicamp workout. "He's going to be a consistent player. I'm comfortable with him."
...
"It is good to see him put forth the effort he did in the offseason," Ravens first-year offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris said. "He got bigger. He got stronger. He is moving quickly. He is an intelligent young man. You put those combinations together, and you have a good football player."

Head coach John Harbaugh echoed D'Alessandris, saying Hurst, listed at 6-foot-5 and 312 pounds, has added strength and eight-to-10 pounds since last year. Harbaugh has frequently said one of the team's goals is to be bigger and stronger up front this season.

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/...f-3146e0205f15

“Here is what I can tell you: He is very coachable. What you teach, you see [on tape]. He is very coachable, he is accountable, he tries to do it exactly like we ask him to do, and he is getting nice results,” Offensive Line Coach Joe D’Alessandris said.

Of course I take your point that OTA's, and all non-contact drills, don't tell us very much about O-linemen. And obviously coaches don't tend say that the players sucked after minicamps. But a couple of those quotes are a little more than the coaches absolutely had to say in response to a question. It sounds like he made a positive impression.



BTW, it's worth pointing out that Hurst is just 25. He turned 25 at the end of last season. He's still a couple years from his athletic peak: definitely young enough that he could have matured physically (filled out) and improved "technically" over the past year-and-a-half or so. Put another way: Hurst in his rookie season was 2 or 3 years younger than Rick Wagner was in his rookie season. Last season Hurst was the same age that Wagner was in his rookie season.

It is not ridiculous to think that Hurst could be decent to good this season. I am not ready to assume that Hurst will be a disaster, not when there are so many (small) indicators pointing in the other direction. Indicator #1 being that Ozzie has not made a move, instead has been content let this situation play out. We know that he attends every practice; that he thinks his most important job is to know his own roster. The free agency scuttlebutt we've heard revolves around the center position, not RT.



But of course I don't know anything more than any of you do. There could easily be a Willie Anderson -type move on the horizon, swooping in a week or two before game 1 on a cut veteran. Absolutely there could. Ozzie seemed to know that he would get a shot at a Maclin or Decker type this offseason; I'm sure there are more situations his guys are keeping their eye on. But, it does not seem like a free agent is Plan A. It looks like James Hurst is Plan A. And there are indications, small but positive, that it could be a decent plan.

[GreatWhiteNorthRaven]

Well maybe. It didn't bother me when he looked overmatched as a rookie, because he was a rookie. I thought he was decent in the 2014 postseason. For 2015, I'm not one of the crowd who blames him for Flacco's injury. I thought anyone could have gotten submarined and tripped the way he did on that play.

But I haven't studied any film or anything. If you say Hurst has been terrible, I'll have to concede it.



Couple things, all mild but trending the same way.

https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/...kle-for-ravens


http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/...f-3146e0205f15


Of course I take your point that OTA's, and all non-contact drills, don't tell us very much about O-linemen. And obviously coaches don't tend say that the players sucked after minicamps. But a couple of those quotes are a little more than the coaches absolutely had to say in response to a question. It sounds like he made a positive impression.



BTW, it's worth pointing out that Hurst is just 25. He turned 25 at the end of last season. He's still a couple years from his athletic peak: definitely young enough that he could have matured physically (filled out) and improved "technically" over the past year-and-a-half or so. Put another way: Hurst in his rookie season was 2 or 3 years younger than Rick Wagner was in his rookie season. Last season Hurst was the same age that Wagner was in his rookie season.

It is not ridiculous to think that Hurst could be decent to good this season. I am not ready to assume that Hurst will be a disaster, not when there are so many (small) indicators pointing in the other direction. Indicator #1 being that Ozzie has not made a move, instead has been content let this situation play out. We know that he attends every practice; that he thinks his most important job is to know his own roster. The free agency scuttlebutt we've heard revolves around the center position, not RT.



But of course I don't know anything more than any of you do. There could easily be a Willie Anderson -type move on the horizon, swooping in a week or two before game 1 on a cut veteran. Absolutely there could. Ozzie seemed to know that he would get a shot at a Maclin or Decker type this offseason; I'm sure there are more situations his guys are keeping their eye on. But, it does not seem like a free agent is Plan A. It looks like James Hurst is Plan A. And there are indications, small but positive, that it could be a decent plan.

Good points. I'm extremely hesitant to believe too much until I see it myself. Is it coach speak? Is it legit? We just don't know unfortunately. It's why I like when some of the RSR writers get to attend camp. Their reports are usually pretty bang on, but they don't go to OTA's.

I will agree that there is certainly a possibility that Hurst could be a decent RT. Where we disagree is how high the probability of that is.

I personally think that plan A is not going to work and they'll have to go to a plan B, which may mean shuffling guys. We've heard Harbs say that the 5 best OL will play and theyll figure out where they play. THat's what I think is going ot be the better grouping.

However, yes plan A as of right now is Stanley-Lewis-Jensen-Yanada-Hurst

One thing that could help Hurst is playing beside Yanda. When he played LT this year I don't believe Yanda was on the left side yet.