Kaspers Korner

The Baltimore Ravens last year franchised tagged defensive end/ outside linebacker Terrel Suggs.  With the way the defense is performing it looks like that is going to haunt them.

The Ravens defense is one of the top defenses in the National Football League.  With that comes a hefty price to pay when players contracts come up.

As Adam Schetfer points out it looks like that the Ravens will not have enough cap space to keep its three starters whose contract is up after this year.  In addition to Suggs linebackers Ray Lewis and Bart Scott are also up after this year.

If it were anyother year the Ravens might have been able to pull off signing all three by back loading Lewis’s contract.  However, the 2010 season is an uncapped year, and that means the rules in regards to how contracts are done is totally different.

So, what does it mean for the Ravens?  It means that the Ravens will try to keep Scott and Suggs, which means for Lewis that he will hit free agency.

If Suggs and Scott have any decency at all the will work with the team to get something done where the Ravens could also keep Lewis.

If the Ravens were smart they get something done now, so that the signing bonus would apply to this year.  That is if they have room for it under the salary cap, along with there being enough time to do so according to the collective bargaining agreement.

The Baltimore Ravens are in the position right now to get a spot in the playoffs by winning a Wild Card slot.  However, with their remaining schedule the Ravens will be lucky to make the playoffs.

The Ravens for most of the season has been riding the backs of their defense, which is one of the best in the league this year.  If they are to make the playoffs they are going to have to just that against the next three teams.

The Ravens schedule is not easy at all.  The next three weeks they face the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, and then the Dallas Cowboys.

All three teams are fighting for a spot in the playoffs, and are within the top ten in defense in the league.

On offense the only team that has a lower total yard average than the Ravens is the Steelers, but that is due in part to running back Rashard Mendenhall out for the year, and Willie Parker has missed five of the twelve games played so far.

However, Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been much better the last two games throwing for 422 yards passing, with three touchdowns, and one interception.

So, the only way the Ravens will get in is if quarterback Joe Flacco is up to the huge task ahead, and leads the Ravens into the playoffs.

In the world of the National Football League trash talking is everywhere.  However, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has taken it too far.

Rice’s college teammate was Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall.  The two engaged in a little trash talk, as Mendenhall stated in a text message that he was going to have a big game against the Ravens defense in week four’s Monday Night Football game.

For a former teammate, and most likely now former friend, to turn around, and blab to everyone else is simply just plain bull.  Mendenhall most likely would have never sent the message if he knew Rice was going to share it with everyone.

In football there is a thing called trust.  It is not given at will it is simply earned.  For Rice to turn around and stab a so called friend in the back should even wave red flags to teammates.

What do you think is going to happen if another Raven, and Rice, got into trouble?  Rice would go stool pigeon, and rat out the player.

The fact is that there are things that you do not go blabbing around.  One of them is something a friend says directly to you. 

If Mendenhall wanted the whole Raven squad to know what he said he would of said it in a interview with the media.

Mark my words this will come to bite Rice in the ass some day.  Most likely not this week, but sometime down the line.

Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco has been thrown into the starting lineup, due to injury.  After this week, as soon as Troy Smith is healthy, the question will be should the Ravens send Flacco back to the bench.

The answer is pretty simple, and that is a resounding yes. 

Of the quarterbacks that have started right from the first game of their career there has only been one that has gone on to be a superstar, and that is Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. 

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not start right away in his rookie season. He came in for an injured Tommy Maddox, and never gave it back.

The last quarterback to start right from the get go was quarterback David Carr, when he was selected first overall in the 2002 NFL draft.

Carr never panned out, because of a poor offensive line, he took so many hits it totally screwed him up.

Also, when rookie quarterbacks start most of their rookie season they do not pan out as well.  The reason being that there is too much to learn for a rookie quarterback to start.

So, when Troy Smith is back from his tonsilitis he should be thrown into the starting lineup.  Not just it is the best interest of Flacco, but Smith deserves a fair shot.

Smith did not win the 2006 Heisman Troophy for no reason at all.  He won it, beacuse he has talent.  Yeah he had a good team around him. but it was ultimately up to him to get things done for Ohio State.

So, what will the Ravens do?  That ultimately will rely on how Flacco performs.  He does good he stays in, but he does bad and it is back to the bench.

Pro Football Talk.com is usually right on their assesment of things in the National Football League.  However, they are completely wrong in regards to the issue of who should be the starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens.

According to Pro Football Talk, quarterback Troy Smith will most likely be the starter for the prseason, and the regular season.  However, editor Mile Florio disagrees with that, citing what happened with the Cleveland Browns.

However, there is the flip side of the coin, and that being Ben Roethlisberger in his rookie year. 

Going into the 2004 season Tommy Maddox was the starter for the Steelers.  Maddox got hurt in the second game of the season.  Roethlisberger came in, and won the game.  Roethlisberger has been the starter ever since.

The fact of the matter is that rookie quarterbacks should never start right from the start of their rookie season.  When a quarterback does start from the very on set of their career, and never sees the bench, they most likely will fail.

Of the quarterbacks that have started right from the begining of their career there is only one quarteback that is still with their original team.  That being Vince Young of the Tenneessee Titans.

Flacco came from a Division 1 AA team.  There is a huge difference just between Division 1 AA and Divison 1 A.

In the end if Flacco comes in, and starts right away, he will fail miserably.  Then the only question that will remain is how horrible  of a car crash it will be.

Baltimore Ravens left tackle Jonathan Ogden retired just under a month ago.  Now, the Ravens must undertake the daunting task of replacing him.

Ogden decided to retire then let a toe injury affect his playing ability.  Ogden already has his Superbowl ring when he won one with the team earlier this decade.  

Ogden has nothing left to accomplish.  With the fact that the team is no where near a Superbowl contender,  Ogden chose to walk away.

The Ravens will replace Ogden with tackle Jared Gaither, or Mike Kracalik.  Gaither is the most likely candidate, as he was taken in the fifth round of last yeas supplemental draft, while Kracalik was just a practice squad player last year.

In either case there are going to be some struggles for the Ravens.  It takes time for tackles to develop in to great players.  Even Buffalo Bills left tackle Jason Peters took a while.  He finally made the Pro Bowl after his fourth season. 

So, the real question is now can either player even be half as good Ogden?  

 http://boomp3.com/listen/eyrjbwr/kk-ravens-may-ninth

Team minicamps are suppose to be a time where rookies, and veterans get together to learn the teams playbook without any contact.  However, coaches ignore that usually, and that led to a knockdown drag out brawl at Ravens minicamp.

It is common to see fights at National Football League training camps, because of the heat, contact, and the competition to earn a spot on the roster.  That is not been the case in the past with mincamps, but today was the exception.

The fight started between offensive tackle Oniel Cousins and defensive tackle Amon Gordon at the end of a running play. It is without a shadow of a doubt that there was contact between the two players when the team ran the play. 

Even with the rule in place teams choose to ignore the rule time and time again.  Also, time and time again the leadership of the NFLPA continues to ignore it, which is the wrong thing to do.

With teams not able to get the NFL Europa exemptions for training camp, and the numerous injuries at minicamp, the bst thing to do is to allow contact at the minicamps. 

The reason for that is coaches can push their players hard, and not have to worry about injuries affect their season.  Even if a player is injured, lets say a twisted knee, the player can will still have enough time to heal up for the start of training camps near the end of July.

Also, players will not have to worry about trying to avoid contact.  Time and time again players get hurt trying to avoid each other.  Players are better off with the contact, because when there is contact they do not have to bend their bodies in ways that it was not meant to, which is usually the case when there is no contact.

Unfortunately, nothing is going to happen, until a significant starter in the league gets hurt due to the contact.  Why does this always have to be the case  For once could someone actually take some preventive measures.

For years now retired National Football League players have been calling for Gene Upshaw to be removed.  Now, Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover is following that sentiment in and email that was made public.

Stover’s email was suppose to be only to other teams player representatives, which prompted him to appologize for it.  However, Stover should not be appologizing at all for it.  If anything he should be commended for it.

What Stover did was absolutely the right thing to do.  What many other players do not realize is that if they do not work together to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement that works for all 32 teams, and the players, then the players would be the enemy in this matter.

Upshaw has been touting in the media that once the cap is gone it woud be gone forever, which would be a horrible thing for the owners.  What players need to realize that the people that would be wounded the most by the removal of the cap is the players themself.

First, players would not be eligible for free agency until they have played six years in the league.  That would put the age of players in free agency from 27-29 years old.  On top of that add in the tags, and a player might not be able to gut free agency until after 30. 

Also, what has not been made clear is how many times a team can use the franchise tag on the same player.  Under the current CBA a team can only use the tag once a player.  So, if a team has no restrictions on the number of times it can use the tag, then they could theoretically use it on a single player till he is in decline.

Then there is a revalation that came about in this past Monday Morning Quarterback.  Peter King asks Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones if he would go Steinbrener esque when there is no salary cap.  Jones responded with this, “I am so grounded in the thinking that higher payrolls don’t win Super Bowls,'’ Jones said. “Remember — one year when we won the Super Bowl [in the ’90s], we had the second-lowest payroll in football. I’ve never experienced success throwing money at players. I never see myself doing that [being a Steinbrenner].'’

On top of that Dan Snyder has also seen the light when it comes to money.  This year the Washington Redskins have basically signed their own players. 

Where players will feel the pinch is from teams like the Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals.  In the current CBA teams have to spend a minimum amount.  Without a salary cap teams are free too spend as little as they want. 

If there is a lockout by the owners players might want to keep their faces out of the public.  There are many fans that are already aggravated that NFL players get as much as they do.  If they were locked out, and found in public there will be no shortage of people to give them a piece of their mind, including myself.

They should be gratious for the amount of money that they get.  Free agency is nothing but a big sham to get players paid.  It is very rare that a free agent comes in and has a huge impact.    For all I care they could get rid of it, and go back to the days previous to 1993, when a federal judge’s ruling created this mess.

In the end Upshaw is a person that is out of touch with what the people want.  What people want is the old players who played for basically nothing be taken care of. Like former Buffalo Bills lineman Donnie Green who lives in a homeless shelter in Maryland, or like the countless other former players who cannot get health insurance thanks to the number of injuries they have sustained. 

Also, people want athletes to learn on how to be a man of their word, and not a bunch of gutless cowards that whine for new deal, because they signed a long term contract, and they want their contract to reflect the market.  Which Chicago Bears middle linebacker pulled this week.

So, next time when a player points to god for thanks for the touchdown that he scored just remember how much a hypocrite he is.  After all greed is one of the seven deadly sins.

The Cincinatti Bengals, and the Baltimore Ravens received the highest amount for compensatory picks, with both teams receiving four each.  If those teams, and other compensatory picks adward winners, were smart they use those picks to move up.

Compensatory picks are given to teams that lost more free agents than they signed.  Those picks are at the end of each round starting with the third round.  However, those picks rarely pan out, except the third rounders. 

The smart thing to do is to parlay them into extra picks in the higher rounds.  The reason is that players that have the most impact on a team are within the first three rounds of the draft.  Usually, in rounds four through seven if you were to find a starter for your team you be winning the lottery, because it is that much harder to find starters in those rounds.Es

Teams at the end of the first round, and beyond are willing to trade down, because the money is not that crippling as in the beginning of the draft.  Es[ecially the better teams, because they do not have a lot of holes to fill.  Good teams trade down to get picks in future drafts, so that way if they have a bad year they can bounce back much easier. 

The teams that will most likely to use their picks for trades will be the Ravens, and the Buffalo Bills.  Both teams did very little in free agency.  The two reasons for that is that they both beleive in building through the draft, and both teams starters are all locked up.  The Bills had no starters to resign, and the Ravens only have Terrel Suggs to deal with.

Both teams are picking high in each round due to not so great years.  The Ravens big problem was quarterback, and the Bills was quality at the defensive tackle position. 

The Bills addressed their problems through a trade for Marcus Stroud, and free agency.  Their only other problems are a quality starting tightend, and a complimenting receiver for Lee Evans, and he must be tall, since all the other wideouts are shorter than six feet.

So, when it comes to the draft look for some movement from the compensatory pick winners.

This is the time of year when the so called experts like Mel Kipers of the world start coming out, and with that pick experts are all over the board.  However, they are missing one key fact, and that is what tackle Jonathan Ogden was quoted as saying.

Ogden is on the fence about coming back, or not, and has told the Ravens to plan like that he was retiring.  With that in mind the Ravens have to take a tackle with the number eight pick in the draft.  After all left tackle is way to important of a position to ignore.

The left tackle spot next to the quarterback is one of the most important positions on the offense.  They protect the blind side of the quarterback, and left tackles usually become the point of the attack most of the time in the running game.

It is amazing that people within the media has overlooked this comment.  It is a pretty good sign that Ogden will retire, and if he does not then then Ryan Clady, who some experts have the Ravens taking, can play right tackle untill Ogden retires.

In regards to their second round pick do not be surprised that the Ravens take someone on defense.  Many experts believe that a quarterback will be taken there, but that depends on how they feel about quarterback Troy Smith.

Mike Preston wrote this about Smith, “Smith showed some promise at the end of last season as a rookie, but not enough to earn the starting job.”  If the Ravens agree that Smith showed enough last season, and the quarterback coach feels he has progessed also this off season, then they might by pass a quarterback completely. 

Preston did go on to also say that Smith does not deserve the starting job, because he was also drafted in the fifth round.  However, any football fan that pays attention knows that Tom Brady was taken in the seventh round by the Patriots.  So, that statement is just plain dumb.

In the end Ravens fans need to pay attention to their own instincts, and nothing to what the team actually says, because at this time of year teams lie to try to throw off other teams from what they are actually doing with their pick.