'08 Offseason Redux

I hesitate to oversell Jones here, but distinguishing yourself game after game in mostly losing efforts is pretty impressive.

I do agree 3-4 DL is not one of our top priorities, 1) unless we decide to not pay Williams' offseason roster bonus, or 2) we take care of ILB/CB in 1 and 2 and Jones falls.

3-4 DE could become a big need. It's just too hard to tell because we don't know

As you mentioned, if Corey Williams will be back next year (I assumer he will)
How Robaire Smith is recovering from his torn Achilles' (usually a career-ender for a guy his age)
Whether Ahtyba Rubin is developing well enough to let us experiment with Shaun Rogers at DE
If the young waiver guys (Louis Leonard, Santonio Thomas) are part of our long-term plans
If Phil likes any of the FA options (Colin Cole and Antwan Lake could be two cheap 3-4 DL options)

On top of that, we don't even know if we'll be playing a 3-4 defense next year.

So we don't know enough yet, though it does seem like Jones is a solid player.

I liked this comment by Cinci's coach:

"I remember him from last year. You can't single block him," said Kelly, whose Bearcats held off Pitt 28-21 on Saturday. "With the combination of size and speed, he's going to make a lot of plays, no matter whether you're in the Big East or the SEC. He's that caliber of a player. He's going to play on Sunday (in the NFL)."

JewDago

while i think 3-4 DE will be a need for us next year if we stick with our current defensive alignment, rubin will have to really come on for the staff to think about moving rogers to DE. big baby's just too good in the middle, the most important position in the 3-4, to risk having him be less effective on the outside.

even if rubin's good in the middle and rogers is good at DE, it's not a good swap because rogers is effing dominant inside. there's not a center in the league who can handle him on a consistent basis.

jones sounds like a good prospect and someone to keep an eye on though i doubt we'll be able to get him. let's not forget that we don't have a third-rounder this year unless we acquire one in the offseason. MLB, OLB and possibly S are far more pressing concerns than DE.

Guest

Aloysius said:
And I couldn't tell for sure on the online stream, but it seemed like Marques Douglas was playing pretty well for the Ravens. He was a cheap 3-4 DE option we could have pursued, but he ended up signing with Tampa, then getting traded to Baltimore.
Williams is younger, bigger, and a better pass-rusher than Douglas, but is he a better 3-4 DE? I'm not sure.

Also not sure anyone's interested in this, but PFW posted this report on Douglas:

The Ravens’ acquisition of DE Marques Douglas late in the preseason has turned out to be a wise one, the way we hear it. Douglas, 31, started 32 games for the Ravens from 2001-04 before signing with the 49ers. After three seasons in San Francisco, he signed with the Buccaneers, but he was traded before he even played a regular-season game with his new club. Douglas, who’s strong vs. the run, notched 36 tackles for Baltimore in the regular season. He can play end in either a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme, which gives the Ravens’ schematic flexibility if needed.

I still have trouble understanding why Savage didn't show any interest in this guy. Maybe it had something to do with RAC wanting DE's who are as big as him, which Douglas (6'2", 292 lbs.) isn't.

Anyway, I guess there's reason for optimism: Kokinis probably played a big role in the Ravens trading for Douglas.

Guest

From the 'Al Davis Made Me Look Bad' File:

mz. said:
That Edwards has those 5 sacks, Alo, is even more impressive when one takes into consideration the fact that Rob Ryan is almost as allergic to the blitz as Tucker is...

Am I the only one who feels he's schizophrenic at times?