Eric DeCosta Appreciation Thread

[Ravenswintitle]

Thank you for the link. Great article. I like how they avoided talking or interviewing him so as not to tip their hand.
Loved it when they drafted him

[saintmatthew]

Told Y'all Ingram was a great signing at that price

Also correctly predicted he'd have a better season than Le'Veon Bell.

....

damn I'm good.

(but EDC is way better)

I was on board with the Ingram signing at the get-go. I thought he was the better value by far. My buddy, who is a Saints fan, is jealous they lost him to us.

[organizedchaos21]

Plus he turned Vedvik into a 5th rounder and guy isnt even in the league anymore. Decosta has been amazing. Only misstep seemed to be not nabbing a pass rusher but he was able to instead strengthen the secondary. I had my reservations about him but he has been fantastic. I love that he doesn't ever seem satisfied and is always looking to get better

Basically, Vedvik + Young = Peters.

Mark Ingram was also such a good signing.

Wildly productive and at a fraction of the cost of the top "eltie" backs.

I think we got an elite back for 5M?

Not every RB can be LaDainian Tomlinson

[BcRaven]

Basically, Vedvik + Young = Peters.

oc21, I your mathematical skill. I'd certainly like to sign Peters multi-year, and I presume there will be a strong FA market for him, but it's my gut instinct that he's found a home on this Ravens defense. Sure players like $$$, that comes first, but they also want to win and be with players who are confident like themselves. I hope DeCosta makes a vigorous push to get Peters name on the dotted line, especially without resorting to the Franchise Tag, that sours many a player... Bc

[lordbern]

EDC deserves a LOT of credit. I'm not sure Ozzie was ever this proactive during a season before when holes came up in our roster. And/or telling under-performing players to take a walk as well. His grabbing Marcus Peters was a sea change in the way our defense has played. Locking that whole side of the field off and having Hump and Jimmy there too has allowed our linebackers to focus on just doing their job of tackling and pass rush.

And it's weird seeing Peko's hair stick out form a Ravens helmet, but I think that's another superb addition as well. And it's a real shame that Tony Jefferson got hurt, but let's be honest, our secondary is much improved since Chuck Clark stepped in.

I was skeptical of Lamar, especially his passing prowess but I'll be the first to admit how much he's improved and how exciting he is to watch. I literally fell asleep watching the Bears/Rams last night because NEITHER were doing anything on offense ! It's weird and strange to be a Ravens fan and have such an exciting offense to watch. Are we all dreaming?

[Captain Silver]

[boller4president]

He's done a great job. I wasn't impressed with his offseason and thought it would be a rebuilding year but he had a great draft and somehow managed to rebuild the defense/fill holes with street FA and Peters. I wouldn't bet on a guy like Peters falling into our lap next season or finding starters like Bynes/Fort/Canady off the street.

But credit where credit's due he managed to fix this defense which looked like it was going nowhere

[Rygar64]

He's done a great job. I wasn't impressed with his offseason and thought it would be a rebuilding year but he had a great draft and somehow managed to rebuild the defense/fill holes with street FA and Peters. I wouldn't bet on a guy like Peters falling into our lap next season or finding starters like Bynes/Fort/Canady off the street.

But credit where credit's due he managed to fix this defense which looked like it was going nowhere

Why not?
There are bold moves and plug-and-play pickups to be had every season. They may not always work out this fantastically, but the moves he made this year are always there to a degree. Just gotta be willing to pull the trigger.

[lobachevsky]

To me the biggest difference between Oz and EDC is the latter's sense of urgency. I think as a former player (& HOFer!) The Wizard trusted his judgment & that of the scouting department in identifying guys with potential - which is kind of necessary when you're drafting near the bottom of the round - but for whatever reason some of them were a bit slow to develop. Not to say they wouldn't eventually. But I think Ozzie was inclined toward patience, trusting the light would go on sooner rather than later, probably because of his player's perspective. I think Eric is more locked in to the NFL as the Not For Long league & is less willing to wait - if a player isn't making the progress they're looking for, and there's someone else out there who's affordable in the short & long term & can step in at a higher level, he'll move heaven & earth to get the latter & cut ties with the former.

I don't think it's entirely cold calculation - there are after all 31 other teams a released player could catch on with & it's not like he's necessarily ending their dream - but I do think it's a recognition that as the cap and salaries go these days, the fundamental Ravens policy for handling the roster means that you're going to see a lot of players who aren't part of the long-term core cycling through here, contributing significantly for a couple of years, but then moving on for a better deal while you bring their replacements up to speed - and you can't afford to get too attached to those guys.

[usmccharles]

Told Y'all Ingram was a great signing at that price

Also correctly predicted he'd have a better season than Le'Veon Bell.

....

damn I'm good.

(but EDC is way better)

I was definitely not in on Bell and said i would much rather have Ingram AND Thomas rather than Bell. Damn was i happy

[Corvus Corax]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but Ozzie has 'not left the building'. He is still employed by the Ravens as a senior counsel/advisor or something similar. Why would not Eric consult with Ozzie before making moves? Nevertheless, Eric is doing a bang-up job; it's now HIS responsibility - irrespective of who he consults with.

[mikezpen]

I don't recall any Ravens GM going out in mid-season and picking up people the way DeCosta does.