Ramses Barden is a freak. 36 TD's in the last 2 yrs. As a Jr., he averaged 25+ ypc on about 60 catches!
love those highlights... he's running fade routes to the corner on just about every play, just like how Eli liked to use Plax in the red zone... we really missed that big target to throw to in the red zone on 1 on 1 coverage last year when we lost Plax... i hope this guy can stick, he's got some great height at the WR position.
His size is nice, but he gets no burst... he doesn't stay low enough coming out his cuts so there's not enough separation. The latter is correctable at least
[Edited by - supremecommander on 04-26-2009 2:44 PM]
at his height all Eli will have to do is throw the ball high, which he already is apt to do... he should be able to learn how to block out smaller defenders using his hands & not get called for Offensive Interference after a little seasoning at the NFL level.
That'll only work in the red zone... if he can't get any separation and he can't get any burst, he's going to killed by safeties and linebackers. The only way he sticks and doesn't get his head ripped off is if he works on getting low in his routes
i agree that ideally getting separation is key, but i mean how many times do u see big recievers positioning their bodies to block out defenders even in close coverage over the middle on slant routes & on sideline fade patterns? at his size he should be able to use his physical advantage to his benefit, & i think u can already see him doing that in those highlight clips.
Getting low and making your move--or separation--is the *only* reason a slant will work against a quality defense. The move needs to be tight. If it isn't tight, a quality defense dominates it. Yes, it's a simple route, but that means the basic elements of route running need to be exceptional.
He strikes me as someone that should have been a tight end but couldn't put on enough weight. That'll get you production at the college level, but at the next it depends on mastery of the technical aspects. I'm confident this kid will learn, but he's not ready to make a significant contribution yet. Maybe after camp, but I'm more inclined to say he's a project that'll come through, at most, on a handful of plays.
VDesai@ 4/26/2009 5:50 PM
Ramses will be a situational player at first, but he has amazing tools with to work with as a project. He tends to pick up his speed down the field a la Plax and he's been effective on short screens using his physicality.
He had some shoulder injuries which caused his stock to slip. He's a good tackler, can return kicks and can also play a little bit of safety. I like the idea of drafting corners every year. Its a very expensive position to replace and its good to always have someone in your pipeline. That's why Terrell Thomas was a smart pick. And now you potentially have someone who can replace Dockery when he walks after next year.
as long as he replaces R.W. McQuarters' useless butt i'm happy.
TMS@ 4/26/2009 6:00 PM
any word on this guy's character report? seems like he likes to showboat a little.
He had some shoulder injuries which caused his stock to slip. He's a good tackler, can return kicks and can also play a little bit of safety. I like the idea of drafting corners every year. Its a very expensive position to replace and its good to always have someone in your pipeline. That's why Terrell Thomas was a smart pick. And now you potentially have someone who can replace Dockery when he walks after next year.
as long as he replaces R.W. McQuarters' useless butt i'm happy.
yeah, he needs to go... dude had value when he was a return man and in certain packages but it seems like he is in the freefall stage of his career.
SupremeCommander@ 4/26/2009 6:09 PM
Posted by VDesai:
Ramses will be a situational player at first, but he has amazing tools with to work with as a project. He tends to pick up his speed down the field a la Plax and he's been effective on short screens using his physicality.
That's the point I was getting to, he is a project. And I have to disagree with regarding his speed. Unless I missed something on tape, I didn't see much of anything that makes me think he could blow past an NFL DB
VDesai@ 4/26/2009 6:15 PM
RW McQuarters is an unrestricted free agent that we have no interest in re-signing.
TMS@ 4/26/2009 6:48 PM
anyone else think it's high time for Chris Berman to retire? the guy doesn't even make any salient points in commentary at all, his mind seems like it's slowing down these days & his whole shtick relies on the cute little catch phrases he likes to use like his "back back back back" & "he could... go... all... the... way"... he does a good job doing NFL Live highlights on ESPN but he annoys me when doing live commentary anchoring an event.
oh & Steve Young is a complete moron... please get him off the air.
SupremeCommander@ 4/26/2009 6:53 PM
Berman, unfortunately, is here for as long as he wants to be. Part of his comp package was an ownership stake when ESPN started. When Disney acquired it, he swapped and has more leverage than his bosses. He'll turn into Al Davis of sports commentary before our eyes, and as long as he wants to do it, he'll continue to do it because he has that much leverage
TMS@ 4/26/2009 6:55 PM
our final 7th round pick is some DB named Stoney Woodson.
i couldn't even find any highlights of him on YouTube & there's no info on him on the NFL.com draft tracker, but SI.com has some snippets of info:
Yeah, my fountain of knowledge is also exhausted here. All I know is he can play some safety in addition to CB too and will probably fight our previous pick for a spot.
TMS@ 4/26/2009 7:00 PM
Posted by VDesai:
Posted by TMS:
our final 7th round pick is some DB named Stoney Woodson.
i couldn't even find any highlights of him on YouTube & there's no info on him on the NFL.com draft tracker, but SI.com has some snippets of info:
Yeah, my fountain of knowledge is also exhausted here. All I know is he can play some safety in addition to CB too and will probably fight our previous pick for a spot.
would've preferred to get 1 of these guys instead w/that pick, but Reese hasn't failed us yet so why doubt him now.
Courtney Greene was a guy I wanted. He was a borderline first rounder if he came out as a jr. He was a high impact player for several years at Rutgers who happened to have a poor senior season.
Oh well- realistically these last couple of guys may not even make the team. There's just not a lot of spots.
nyk4ever@ 4/26/2009 7:06 PM
Just read all the posts... awesome stuff.
Jerry Reese gets an A+ for this draft, just an outstanding job. Bomar is a hell of a pickup in the 5th round.
Des, you're post about Carr was pretty interesting. I'm kinda surprised he didn't garner more interest around the league this offseason, but I'm happy he's back with us - he's probably the best backup in the league.
Pharzeone@ 4/26/2009 7:20 PM
Posted by TMS:
anyone else think it's high time for Chris Berman to retire? the guy doesn't even make any salient points in commentary at all, his mind seems like it's slowing down these days & his whole shtick relies on the cute little catch phrases he likes to use like his "back back back back" & "he could... go... all... the... way"... he does a good job doing NFL Live highlights on ESPN but he annoys me when doing live commentary anchoring an event.
oh & Steve Young is a complete moron... please get him off the air.
He should take Mel Kiper Jr. with him. How in the world can you project 100 guys to go in either the 2nd and 3rd rounds in the later part of the draft and still state that teams got it right in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. That don't make no sense.
TMS@ 4/26/2009 7:24 PM
Posted by Pharzeone:
Posted by TMS:
anyone else think it's high time for Chris Berman to retire? the guy doesn't even make any salient points in commentary at all, his mind seems like it's slowing down these days & his whole shtick relies on the cute little catch phrases he likes to use like his "back back back back" & "he could... go... all... the... way"... he does a good job doing NFL Live highlights on ESPN but he annoys me when doing live commentary anchoring an event.
oh & Steve Young is a complete moron... please get him off the air.
He should take Mel Kiper Jr. with him. How in the world can you project 100 guys to go in either the 2nd and 3rd rounds in the later part of the draft and still state that teams got it right in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. That don't make no sense.
i like Kiper... dude knows his stuff & isn't afraid to voice his opinion... he's informed on every prospect he talks about... guys like Berman & Young don't even know what the hell they're talking about most of the time.
are u guys happy we kept the pick & took Nicks or would u rather have traded the 1st rounder for Boldin or Edwards?
nyk4ever@ 4/26/2009 8:31 PM
Posted by TMS:
are u guys happy we kept the pick & took Nicks or would u rather have traded the 1st rounder for Boldin or Edwards?
With the way things shook out, I'm pretty satified with the route we went. Nicks is a very good player, he could end up being as good as those guys.
TMS@ 4/26/2009 8:47 PM
Posted by nyk4ever:
Posted by TMS:
are u guys happy we kept the pick & took Nicks or would u rather have traded the 1st rounder for Boldin or Edwards?
With the way things shook out, I'm pretty satified with the route we went. Nicks is a very good player, he could end up being as good as those guys.
yeah but chances are he won't be for another couple years at least... this team is built to win championships right now... it's not all that cut & dry to me, but i'm not complaining about how things turned out... still i think i woulda easily been willing to trade a chance at Nicks for Boldin or even Edwards, & i think we coulda got either for a 1st round pick in this draft.
nyk4ever@ 4/26/2009 9:05 PM
Posted by TMS:
Posted by nyk4ever:
Posted by TMS:
are u guys happy we kept the pick & took Nicks or would u rather have traded the 1st rounder for Boldin or Edwards?
With the way things shook out, I'm pretty satified with the route we went. Nicks is a very good player, he could end up being as good as those guys.
yeah but chances are he won't be for another couple years at least... this team is built to win championships right now... it's not all that cut & dry to me, but i'm not complaining about how things turned out... still i think i woulda easily been willing to trade a chance at Nicks for Boldin or even Edwards, & i think we coulda got either for a 1st round pick in this draft.
I know what you're saying TMS.
Honestly, I'm going to just accept what Reese did. To me, he's arguably the best exec in the NFL. This has nothign to do with your post really, but I'm just saying, whatever he thinks the best way to go was, I will gladly believe in.
