Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

I have heard from three different places - - and I do not think that these three folks know each other such that they could be talking to each other - - that the Baltimore Ravens are considering releasing Jared Gaither.

Gaither has been on IR this year since early in the year. The word is that he has a back problem - - something about a disk in his spine. I am not a doctor so I have no idea what the problem is or what it portends for Gaither as an NFL lineman.

IF Gaither hits the free agent market and IF his "back problem" is fixable/curable, the Redskins would do very well to try to sign him. If Gaither gets back to his old "healthy self", he would be a huge addition to the Redskins' OL.

There is a big "IF" in there... The Redskins medical folks would need to make an important call there.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

Where does he play if they sign him? He was OT right? TW was solid and I think that Brown was coming on at the end of the year. Would be really nice for depth, but I don't know if he wants to come somewhere and sit the bench.

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If Gaither can play the way he did before his injury, he is better than Jamaal Brown and he is better than Trent Williams was in 2010. I think Williams will become a better OT than Gaither was; but right now, a healthy Jared Gaither is a better OT than anyone on the roster.

However, an injured Jared Gaither with a back problem ...

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

True, love to have him, but I can't imagine him unseating TW, but MAYBE replacing Brown at the RT. Just would hate to have Brown and then drop him and waste more draft picks. If anything, I'd LOVE to build depth, but former starters have a hard time sitting on the bench.

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First he has to have the surgery, then the rehab. He is no good till that back problem is resolved and that could take time.

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If Gaither can regain his form prior to his injury it's likely the Ravens will resign him. If they decide to release him in fear he won't recover to form, I'd be reluctant to bring in any more tackles coming off injury to join a line that's depleted every year through injury.

[url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81c95aad/article/freeagenttobe-gaither-wants-to-come-back-to-ravens]NFL.com news: Free-agent-to-be Gaither wants to come back to Ravens[/url]

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I remember listening to a ravens radio program about him about 5 months ago. They were saying his back problem is bad and possibly career threatening. I don't think many teams will be planning on him to be their starting tackle right away.

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Quick question, Does anyone know the status of Mike Williams? I know he's had his clot issues and was IR... but is he planning on returning to the Redskins in 2011 (or whenever the new CBA is reached)

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Mike Williams is planning to return, and I hear things are going well (to my surprise)

As for Gaither, I think we're more in need of interior line help. Plus do we really want to take a guy with known back problems, known practice issues, and how effective is he in a zone blocking scheme.

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Nope dont want injured players, big time pass

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[quote=Chico23231;778466]Nope dont want injured players, big time pass[/quote]

i couldn't agree more ... enough "projects" .... i'd rather roll the dice on a young healthy guy than have another banged up OL

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=SmootSmack;778463]Mike Williams is planning to return, and I hear things are going well (to my surprise)

As for Gaither, I think we're more in need of interior line help. Plus do we really want to take a guy with known back problems, known practice issues, and how effective is he in a zone blocking scheme.[/quote]

I would love for Mike Williams to come back and light the world on fire. However after seeing Dockery fail in this offense how could anyone expect Williams to succeed?

Gaither on the other hand doesn't seem to be as mobile as Brown, and the fact of the matter is Brown is going to be healthier next year, not to mention cheaper. If we're going to steer away from Brown due to age I would much rather go after Ryan Harris, but Brown certainly played well enough at the end of the year to warrant a contract extension.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=SmootSmack;778463]Mike Williams is planning to return, and I hear things are going well (to my surprise)

As for Gaither, I think we're more in need of interior line help. Plus do we really want to take a guy with known back problems, known practice issues, and how effective is he in a zone blocking scheme.[/quote]

Good to know. Have you heard if he's in the plans for next year? I remember him being pretty beast once he got settled in.

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[quote=chico23231;778466]nope dont want injured players, big time pass[/quote]

^ Same here.

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Williams was penciled in as the starting RG before he got hurt, and it wouldn't surprise me if he claims it back

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Health problems + work ethics (didn't that cost him the starting spot?) = no thank you. Plus we need interior linemen. I hope we can trade down and get Pouncey in the draft.

SS, glad to hear that Mike Williams is doing well. I hope he can come back and help the o-line.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[FONT="Courier New"]I'd like him as a backup over that dude named Stephon. Heyer can kiss a roach's ass. Besides, Shanahan is such a hard ass that he'll cut him loose if he is indeed out of shape.[/FONT]

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Do we still have Capers on the Practice squad. He's going to be on the squad next season expecting alot from him next season if there is a season.

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My gut feeling is that back problems are more serious/recurrent than knees, etc. Once you start to have back problems, my guess is that they stay. I'd say pass.

BMW - good story, and I'm sure he's going to be clear medically by next year. BUT, he's such a big question mark. What's his weight, has he been in shape.. He'll be 31 years old, so IF he's able to come back, it's only a 1-2 year solution anyway. Depth at least. I'd love for Cook and Capers to surprise me and I'm hopeful at least they're good depth.

DEPTH is something that I hope we start building so we don't crumble after 1-2 injuries. Especially once we move to the 18 game season, we're definitely going to need a younger deeper team.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=SmootSmack;778473]Williams was penciled in as the starting RG before he got hurt, and it wouldn't surprise me if he claims it back[/quote]

Mike Williams is the kind of player that's so easy to root for. He put in so much hard work to get his body back to playing condition, it would be difficult to not want him to be successful. I hope his condition will result in him being able to resume his career with the team.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=sportscurmudgeon;778446]I have heard from three different places - - and I do not think that these three folks know each other such that they could be talking to each other - - that the Baltimore Ravens are considering releasing Jared Gaither.

Gaither has been on IR this year since early in the year. The word is that he has a back problem - - something about a disk in his spine. I am not a doctor so I have no idea what the problem is or what it portends for Gaither as an NFL lineman.

IF Gaither hits the free agent market and IF his "back problem" is fixable/curable, the Redskins would do very well to try to sign him. If Gaither gets back to his old "healthy self", he would be a huge addition to the Redskins' OL.

There is a big "IF" in there... The Redskins medical folks would need to make an important call there.[/quote]



Big time red flag. If a lineman has a back problem you do not go there thinking that it can be surgically repaired. The back is something that cannot come back stronger once it is damaged. Offensive linemen know that their back is their bread and butter. They have to use their backs to take up charges by defensive players. It must be sound and strong.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

we need solid proven guys. enough with the projects. just say no

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[quote=Dirtbag359;778468] However after seeing Dockery fail in this offense how could anyone expect Williams to succeed? [/quote]

Not so sure about Dock and failure. I think he was covering for Rabach, and cannot multi-task. I think Rabach is the weakest link, except when S. Heyer is in there.

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SS pointed out a few of his other issues. In short, Gaither doesn't seem a good fit for Shan's offense OR coaching style. He would end up on the bench and/or in the doghouse.

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i thought will montgomery was very good last year. id like to see him moved to center and sign a starting right guard. maybe yanda from baltimore or davin joseph from tampa.

[url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/roster-analysis/roster-analysis-the-offensive.html]Redskins Insider - Roster analysis: The offensive line market[/url]

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the game Montgomery played center i thought he easily out performed Rabach. cant have center as your week spot on an offensive line. Rabach must go

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=backrow;778599]Not so sure about Dock and failure. I think he was covering for Rabach, and cannot multi-task. I think Rabach is the weakest link, except when S. Heyer is in there.[/quote]


Heyer seems to play better at RG. Rabach really has problems knocking defenders away from the QB. Maybe he suffers from "short-arm" syndrome.

I noticed how the offensive line play picked up with Montgomery.

I was wondering if Mike Williams could be coached to play Center?

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[quote=juskins;778718]Heyer seems to play better at RG. Rabach really has problems knocking defenders away from the QB. Maybe he suffers from "short-arm" syndrome.

I noticed how the offensive line play picked up with Montgomery.

I was wondering if Mike Williams could be coached to play Center?[/quote]
The better solution would be to move Montgomery to Center and let Big Mike play right guard...

While Gaither's upside could be tremendous, there are too many red flags to take a chance on him. Shanahan needs guys who will commit to the system, and if Gaither's work ethic and injuries plague him, it'll be a waste of time.

Hopefully the late round draft picks provide some more depth to both lines...

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=SmootSmack;778473]Williams was penciled in as the starting RG before he got hurt, and it wouldn't surprise me if he claims it back[/quote]

You've got to be kidding me. The guy has played one season in 4 years. And the one season he played he didn't do very well. If they're counting on Williams then they really need serious help in talent evaluation. But glad to see Mike healthy.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

Gaither has too many issues. Not thanks.

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Ravens ironically might need to keep Gaither.
[url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/22/questions-remain-whether-michael-oher-can-play-the-blind-side/]Questions remain whether Michael Oher can play the blind side | ProFootballTalk[/url]
[QUOTE]NFL Network’s Mike Lombardi wrote this week that the Ravens “must” move Oher back to right tackle, where he played as a rookie. The second-year player struggled with penalties and speed rushers in his second season, although he was still strong as a run blocker.

Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun echoed the sentiment earlier this week, saying that moving Oher back to the right side would help fix Baltimore’s line problems. (In that scenario, Marshall Yanda would move to right guard.)[/QUOTE]

Funny thing is last year we were talking about how the team couldn't have gone wrong with Orakpo or Oher. Now it's looking like Orakpo will clearly end up as the better player. Not that Oher is bad, in fact he might be one of the leagues best run blockers.

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Why take a chance on a guy that might have a chronic problem? Sure the surgery might go well and things might be fine for a while, but then boom, he gets hurt again. Back problems are no joke, and they rarely are totally permanently healed. You also have to think, if it really is a serious problem and the surgery does do the job, he probably shouldn't be playing football for awhile, so he most likely would take a year off in rehab and to heal. Would you want to subject your spine to that type of punishment so soon after surgery?

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Why would we go after Gaither? It's time to realize that we addressed the offensive line perfectly last off season.. It will take time to build a successful line.

Trent Williams and Jammal Brown are two players that 31 NFL teams would love to have.

The best free agent for us is Barrett Ruud. I cannot express enough how convenient it is for him to be a free agent this season. Drafted by Bruce Allen, had some arguments with the Bucs management after they wouldn't give him an extension. Barrett Ruud is what we need and I would give him a lot of money at only 27 years old (UFA).

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/01/slim-chance-jared-gaither-re-signs-with-ravens/]“Slim” chance Jared Gaither re-signs with Ravens | ProFootballTalk[/url]

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=IrMitchell;780044]Why would we go after Gaither? It's time to realize that we addressed the offensive line perfectly last off season.. It will take time to build a successful line.

Trent Williams and Jammal Brown are two players that 31 NFL teams would love to have.

The best free agent for us is Barrett Ruud. I cannot express enough how convenient it is for him to be a free agent this season. Drafted by Bruce Allen, had some arguments with the Bucs management after they wouldn't give him an extension. Barrett Ruud is what we need and I would give him a lot of money at only 27 years old (UFA).[/quote]

I agree. Ruud would be a HUGE upgrade over Rocky and allow us to fill other areas of need in the draft. Let's do it.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=DCtoAZ;778467]i couldn't agree more ... enough "projects" .... i'd rather roll the dice on a young healthy guy than have another banged up OL[/quote]


I agree...........we have done this for 10 years!!!!!! lets stop taking other peoples rejects and start BUILDING our own team with young hungry draft picks...........in addition. No more drafting BPA and go with what we NEED. We have drafted BPA for ten years and we STILL dont have a solid OL. As you can tell, im ready to do things different for a change. Mayble like the steelers????

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

I'd prefer to avoid any players with questionable work-ethic. The Ravens fans I know told me he's a lazy head-case.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[B]Gaither is coming off a year lost to a foot injury that may have resulted from his showing up at camp in poor shape as a result of back problems and unhappiness with the lack of a contract extension.

The injury problems are bad enough, but the questions about his work ethic raised by last summer’s issues have made it hard for the Ravens to put a full level of trust into Gaither.[/B]
THAT does not sound like the type of FA I want to bring in..........more like Al's twin

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

I just heard a report on ESPN Radio that Gaither is likely to sign with the Cerrato All-Stars.

Re: Potentially Interesting Free Agent...
 

[quote=IrMitchell;780044]Why would we go after Gaither? It's time to realize that we addressed the offensive line perfectly last off season.. It will take time to build a successful line.

Trent Williams and Jammal Brown are two players that 31 NFL teams would love to have.

The best free agent for us is Barrett Ruud. I cannot express enough how convenient it is for him to be a free agent this season. Drafted by Bruce Allen, had some arguments with the Bucs management after they wouldn't give him an extension. Barrett Ruud is what we need and I would give him a lot of money at only 27 years old (UFA).[/quote]

Maybe you mean the tackle position but we definitely didn't address the line perfectly. We extended Rabach at 4m/yr before any sort of team activities and ended up with Artis Hicks as a starting guard.