LET'S FIRST SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ABOUT OZZIE
If you listened to 105.7 The Fan after the first 5 rounds of the draft this weekend, you most likely heard an endless line of armchair GM's talking about what a disappointment the 2012 draft was for the Baltimore Ravens. I heard one caller whining about the fact that the Ravens had not drafted a wide receiver (they did 15 minutes later) and he complained that they should have traded up to get Donta Hightower and then taken Peter Konz in the second round. I heard one caller complaining that Ozzie was overrated as a general manager. This caller stated that Ozzie is good at picking pro-bowlers, but that he doesn't draft the right players at the right positions that would really push the Ravens over the AFC Championship hump and into the Superbowl. This particular caller wondered what it was that the Patriots, Steelers, and Giants were doing that the Ravens weren't.
While I do wish that the Ravens would have gone to and won the Superbowl in 2011, I also am not so shortsighted as to think that the Ravens drafting is what has held them back. On the contrary, the players that the Ravens drafted over the years were the reason that the Ravens did as well as they did in the AFC Championship. Lardarius Webb, Jimmy Smith, and Ed Reed played out of their minds and didn't allow the 2011 PATRIOTS TO SCORE A SINGLE PASSING TD, Ray Lewis looked good in pass coverage for a change and prevented a Wes Welker touchdown, Torrey Smith lit up the field with his speed, and Joe Flacco outplayed Tom Brady!
The players who ultimately let the team down were free agents, not draft picks. Lee Evans couldn't hold on to a perfect touchdown pass, and even more embarrassing, Billy Cundiff immortalized his last name into a verb by Cundiffing (heh heh) what would have been a game tying field goal to send the Ravens and Pats into overtime. Ozzie isn't perfect, but the last thing anyone can accuse him of is drafting poorly. He sometimes picks up disappointing free agent wide receivers (Stallworth, Houshmadzadeh, Evans) but he has also picked up some that proved to be quite good (Boldin, Mason). Bottom line: The Ravens are a great team and a big reason they are great is the draft, so STOP WHINING, BALTIMOREANS! Ok, got that out of my system. On to the draft picks!!
DRAFT ANALYSIS
I can honestly say that I wasn't worried after the Ravens traded out of the first round of the draft. Hightower had been picked up by the Patriots, but plenty of players originally projected as first round picks still remained on the board, and the Ravens had the 3rd pick in the second round. I wanted the Ravens to draft Stephen Hill as I stated in previous posts, but I also wanted and expected them to draft Courtney Upshaw. With that, let's get right into the Ravens' first pick of the 2012 draft:
COURTNEY UPSHAW, OLB- This Alabama has already been described by pundits as one of the best steals of the draft. This is entirely accurate as he was top 20 talent that fell to the Ravens in the second round after a fair number of teams made some headscratching decisions with their first round picks (yes Brandon Weeden and David Wilson...YOU ARE HORRIBLE MISTAKES!). And despite the fact that Donta Hightower could have become Ray Lewis' ultimate successor, Upshaw actually fills a bigger hole in the roster for the upcoming season. With the departure of Jaret Johnson, the Ravens needed a physical outside linebacker who can stop the run and terrorize QBs. They got exactly such a replacement in Courtney Upshaw. Sure, he has a girl's first name, but it'll only be that much funnier when Ben Roethlisberger gets physically dominated by someone with a girl's name for the sake of poetic justice. If you live under a rock and only just emerged, you may be one of the small number of people who haven't seen Upshaw play. Do yourself a favor and watch his highlights here: Courtney Upshaw Highlights.
KELECHE OSEMELE, G/T- I must admit that I hadn't paid as much attention to this impressive athlete before he was drafted at the end of the second round. I anticipated the Ravens going after Kevin Zeitler, but the Bengals snatched him up knowing full well that the Ravens wanted him. Osemele may prove just as useful as Zeitler since he has the longest arms of any offensive lineman in the draft, bench pressed the same number of reps as Zeitler (32), ran the 40 yard dash a hair faster than Zeitler, as well as a slightly better broad jump. On top of all of that, the Ravens got Osemele close to the end of the second round instead of end of the first round as the Bengals did with Zeitler. Osemele will most likely compete with Jah Reid for the start left guard spot, and will provide the versatility to step in if Marshall yanda or Michael Oher gets injured. This guy is a big, physical replacement for Ben Grubbs, and with his size, strength, quickness, and length, he'll be a big help in the Ravens' rushing attack.
BERNARD PIERCE, RB- I was surprised to see the Ravens take a running back in the 3rd round, and I initially thought that they should have gone after a wide receiver. I then considered that the Ravens lost Ray Rice's backup when Ricky Williams retired not long ago, and I can understand their hesitation to give a former seventh round pick (Anthony Allen) the back up spot without some competition from a more talented back. Pierce didn't have the best track speed of the combine (4.50 forty yard dash), but he displays impressive quickness with good speed burst and enough power to break through tackles. Give him an off-season in the weight room with Ray and the boys and we've got our new backup. Take a look at his highlights: Bernard Pierce Highlights
GINO GRADKOWSKI, C/G- I heard reports that Gradkowski was high on the draft boards of the Patriots and Steelers as well as the Ravens. So much attention was paid to Konz that few seemed to consider the possibility that the Ravens would choose a different center later in the draft. I like this pick a lot. The Ravens just resigned Matt Birk's decaying corpse for another short contract, so it would be stupid to use a first round draft pick on a player that wouldn't have to immediately step in and play. And yes I know that Konz may have been able to play guard as well, but he had injury concerns and that's not something I like to hear about a potential Ravens first round pick. Gradkowski ran a 5.25 forty yard dash and displayed better upper body strength than Konz with 29 reps on the bench. He'll need to add some muscle, but as he won't be an immediate starter, he has some time to develop behind Birk.
THIS DRAFT ANALYSIS WILL BE CONTINUED TOMORROW
AS ALWAYS, GO RAVENS!!
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