After the Franchise QB and the big play skill positions, the most important thing to an NFL teams road to success is their ability to overcome injuries. Preventing injuries is impossible and those teams that manage to escape them do so solely with a leprecaun at their side. The big trick is to overcome the inevitable injuries and the only way to do that is with superior depth.
The last two seasons for the Ravens have been the perfect case in point. In 2008, the Ravens had phenomenal success marching to the AFC Championship game with a rookie quarterback and rookie head coach. Last season they managed to push their way into the 2nd round of the playoffs even after losing their two starting cornerbacks! The reason is not solely the Ray Lewis conditioning regimen which has been a staple of the team since its inception. The real answer is the tremendous team depth the Ravens continuosly manage to fill their 53 man roster with.
The 2010 team looks to be just as deep as teams past. The battle is on for every position on the final roster. Though I do not have season opening tickets for the person who correctly predicts the opening day roster, I do have a challenge to lay down. Let me know how many players from Ravens camp that are let go on final cut day and then find themselves on another NFL team within seven days. A prize will go out to the winner!
For starters, lets look at the automatic keepers by position:
QB:
Joe Flacco
Marc Bulger
RB:
Ray Rice
Willis McGahee
Jalen Pamele
FB:
Le'Ron McClain
WR:
Derrick Mason
Anquan Boldin
Mark Clayton
Donte Stallworth (yes, even with the 8 week injury I believe he will be carried)
Demetrius Williams
TE:
Todd Heap
Ed Dickson
Dennis Pitta
O-LINE:
Matt Birk
Chris Chester
Ben Grubbs
Marshall Yanda
Michael Oher
Jared Gaither
D-LINE
Trevor Pryce
Kelly Gregg
Terrence Cody
Haloti Ngata
Paul Kruger
Terrell Suggs
LB;
Ray Lewis
Tavares Gooden
Dannell Ellerbe
Jameel McClain
Jarret Johnson
Antwan Barnes
Safety:
Ed Reed
Dawan Landry
Tom Zbikowski
Haruki Nakamura
Corner:
Fabian Washington
Lardarius Webb
Chris Carr
Cary Williams (out for 4 games suspension!)
Punter:
Sam Koch
Kicker:
Shayne Graham
Special Teams:
Morgan Cox (long snapper)
Prescott Burgess
Edgar Jones
Marcus Smith (fills 5th WR role until Stallworth comes back)
Yep - that only leaves seven more guys and someone will have to take the place of Cary Williams at corner until he returns from suspension leaving only six more spots! I would assume that Ozzie will be watching the cut lists intently for any cornerback help but I am going to proceed as if we will play our hand as its stands. My final seven:
Prince Miller
Cory Redding
Ramon Harewood
Ken Hamlin
Oneil Cousins
K.J. Gerard
Bryan Mattison (or Tony Moll)
The surprise here of course is no Troy Smith. With a former two-time Pro Bowler as a back-up at QB, we just may try to get through the season with just carrying two quarterbacks. My guess is that there could be a little trade activity after the final pre-season game but I am calling in the above list as is (with the coaches son taking the last spot).
My prediction is that 7 former Ravens will appear on other NFL rosters within seven days of final cuts. What do you think?
Rick Hubata
DugoutZone Digest
Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Middle Linebacker
The middle linebacker position to a football team's defense is the equivalent to the quarterback of the team's offense. The position can be likened to the catcher of a baseball team, the point guard in basketball and the center in hockey. All the good ones are typically the heart and soul of the team. They become the "coach" on the field of play. They lead both by encouragement and example.
With the upcoming DugoutZone signing with Baltimore Ravens RAY LEWIS in August, I thought that this would be a great time to begin a discussion of who is the best NFL middle linebacker ever. This question always raises considerable debate as the NFL has been blessed with many great ones over the years.
To generate some comments here, I would like to begin with my list of the ten best middle linebackers of all time. I have chosen the DugoutZone Digest 10 from the eleven Hall of Famers who were true middle linebackers their entire career, three current or recently retired future hall of Famers and three young up and comers:
The Hall of Famers:
Bill George
Joe Schmidt
Ray Nitschke
Sam Huff
Dick Butkus
Willie Lanier
Jack Lambert
Nick Buoniconti
Derrick Thomas
Harry Carson
Mike Singletary
The Future Hall of Famers:
Junior Seau
Ray Lewis
Brian Urlacher
The Up and Comers:
Jon Beason
DeMeco Ryans
Patrick Willis
The criteria I have used to whittle this list of storied defenders down to the ten best is not only their statistics, but also the impact that they have had on their team. The amount of leadership exhibited along with the sheer fear put into their opponents was just as important as how many total tackles made. All of these individuals spent most, if not all, of their career with the same team - placing their mark of intensity on the entire defense. My ten finalist are:
Ray Nitschke - He WAS the Green Bay Packers defense.
Sam Huff - He helped to refine the mlb position in the media glare of NYC.
Willie Lanier - His Chiefs teams went from perennial losers to consistent winners.
Dick Butkus - There was a reason no one wanted to play Da Bears - it was Dick Butkus.
Jack Lambert - He gave his heart, soul and front teeth to the Steelers.
Derrick Thomas - HOF career cut short by tragedy.
Mike Singletary - One picture of "the look" tells the story.
Junior Seau - Helped to change the Chargers from a scoring machine to a winner.
Ray Lewis - Mr. Raven for fourteen years and going strong.
Patrick Willis - Playing for Mike Singletary may make this youngster one of the best.
There you have our starting point. Though there may be some disagreement on who should have made the list and who should have been left off as a result, surely we can all agree that "the best ever" is on the list. Now let's all start the discussion to pare these greats down to five finalists for the title of Best Linebacker Ever!
"Don't fire the messenger"
With the upcoming DugoutZone signing with Baltimore Ravens RAY LEWIS in August, I thought that this would be a great time to begin a discussion of who is the best NFL middle linebacker ever. This question always raises considerable debate as the NFL has been blessed with many great ones over the years.
To generate some comments here, I would like to begin with my list of the ten best middle linebackers of all time. I have chosen the DugoutZone Digest 10 from the eleven Hall of Famers who were true middle linebackers their entire career, three current or recently retired future hall of Famers and three young up and comers:
The Hall of Famers:
Bill George
Joe Schmidt
Ray Nitschke
Sam Huff
Dick Butkus
Willie Lanier
Jack Lambert
Nick Buoniconti
Derrick Thomas
Harry Carson
Mike Singletary
The Future Hall of Famers:
Junior Seau
Ray Lewis
Brian Urlacher
The Up and Comers:
Jon Beason
DeMeco Ryans
Patrick Willis
The criteria I have used to whittle this list of storied defenders down to the ten best is not only their statistics, but also the impact that they have had on their team. The amount of leadership exhibited along with the sheer fear put into their opponents was just as important as how many total tackles made. All of these individuals spent most, if not all, of their career with the same team - placing their mark of intensity on the entire defense. My ten finalist are:
Ray Nitschke - He WAS the Green Bay Packers defense.
Sam Huff - He helped to refine the mlb position in the media glare of NYC.
Willie Lanier - His Chiefs teams went from perennial losers to consistent winners.
Dick Butkus - There was a reason no one wanted to play Da Bears - it was Dick Butkus.
Jack Lambert - He gave his heart, soul and front teeth to the Steelers.
Derrick Thomas - HOF career cut short by tragedy.
Mike Singletary - One picture of "the look" tells the story.
Junior Seau - Helped to change the Chargers from a scoring machine to a winner.
Ray Lewis - Mr. Raven for fourteen years and going strong.
Patrick Willis - Playing for Mike Singletary may make this youngster one of the best.
There you have our starting point. Though there may be some disagreement on who should have made the list and who should have been left off as a result, surely we can all agree that "the best ever" is on the list. Now let's all start the discussion to pare these greats down to five finalists for the title of Best Linebacker Ever!
"Don't fire the messenger"
Thursday, July 15, 2010
1964 - The Year Oriole Magic Began
It was 1966 and the upstart Baltimore Orioles were heavy underdogs in the World Series. The National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers were led by future Hall of Fame pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. The Birds were given little chance.
The O's jumped on Drysdale early in Game 1 and went on to win 5-2. Then Orioles Magic began. Our own future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer threw a gem in Game 2 - beating Koufax with a complete game shutout! The Orange & Black headed back to Baltimore with new found hope.
Game 3 featured a match-up between 2 young hurlers. Claude Osteen got the start for the Dodgers and Wally Bunker took the mound for the Birds. The pitching mound had already been dubbed "Bunker Hill" after Wally's stellar rookie season in 1964. A solo home run by O's center fielder Paul Blair in the 5th was all Wally would need as he went on to a three-hit complete game shutout. His masterpiece was all the Birds needed to propel them to an incredible sweep of Da Bums when Dave McNally finished off the Series with yet another complete game
1-0 shutout. The Dodgers pitching was very good. The Orioles were better!
Wally Bunker is making the rounds in Baltimore this weekend including a stop at the DugoutZone on Sunday. His appearance started me thinking about the construction of the great Orioles teams of the 60's & 70's. Wally Bunker was the first of many great young pitchers to arrive in Baltimore. He turned in a remarkable rookie season in 1964 - going 19-5 and finishing 8th in the AL MVP balloting. Nine year veteran teammate Brooks Robinson produced his finest complete season in a remarkable 22 year career and won the '64 AL MVP Award.
Two years later the Orioles would add more young pitching talent (Palmer, McNally) to a solid nucleus and a key aquisition in Frank Robinson. That core formed the most dominant franchise in baseball for the next ten years. This model of young talented pitching built around a core of solid veteran position players solidified by a key acquisition has become the blueprint for successful teams. Can someone send a copy to the Yard?
The O's jumped on Drysdale early in Game 1 and went on to win 5-2. Then Orioles Magic began. Our own future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer threw a gem in Game 2 - beating Koufax with a complete game shutout! The Orange & Black headed back to Baltimore with new found hope.
Game 3 featured a match-up between 2 young hurlers. Claude Osteen got the start for the Dodgers and Wally Bunker took the mound for the Birds. The pitching mound had already been dubbed "Bunker Hill" after Wally's stellar rookie season in 1964. A solo home run by O's center fielder Paul Blair in the 5th was all Wally would need as he went on to a three-hit complete game shutout. His masterpiece was all the Birds needed to propel them to an incredible sweep of Da Bums when Dave McNally finished off the Series with yet another complete game
1-0 shutout. The Dodgers pitching was very good. The Orioles were better!
Wally Bunker is making the rounds in Baltimore this weekend including a stop at the DugoutZone on Sunday. His appearance started me thinking about the construction of the great Orioles teams of the 60's & 70's. Wally Bunker was the first of many great young pitchers to arrive in Baltimore. He turned in a remarkable rookie season in 1964 - going 19-5 and finishing 8th in the AL MVP balloting. Nine year veteran teammate Brooks Robinson produced his finest complete season in a remarkable 22 year career and won the '64 AL MVP Award.
Two years later the Orioles would add more young pitching talent (Palmer, McNally) to a solid nucleus and a key aquisition in Frank Robinson. That core formed the most dominant franchise in baseball for the next ten years. This model of young talented pitching built around a core of solid veteran position players solidified by a key acquisition has become the blueprint for successful teams. Can someone send a copy to the Yard?
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