The season is over, and with it comes prioritizing things for next season. There's some decisions that have to be made with this team. Right now everyone wants a new OC and a new kicker, and I'm with you on that. But, beyond that there are some looming contract decisions on the horizon, and next to negotiating a new deal with Flacco, hashing out a new contract with Ben Grubbs, for me, should be the top priority. The two are priorities 1 & 1A, after getting Cam out of the building of course.
But I'd focus first on Grubbs. Outside of this season, he's been highly durable throughout his career. He's an All-Pro caliber player at a position that is not easy to fill, and he's a key cog in the running game and springing Rice into action. But, even more important than that in my book is keeping some continuity with the offense in what we all hope is an offseason of transition. If Cam goes we can already expect some air of uncertainty as a result. Not to mention the fact that Birk may retire, and while McKinnie has another year on his contract, who knows what they'll do if they need to save money.
So you stand Flacco potentially losing two to three fifths of his starting OL. That's a lot for anybody to lose, especially when learning a new system. I don't know what the cap will look like, but next to keeping Flacco in the fold for years to come, the same needs to be done with Grubbs.
I am all about extending Grubbs but the Ravens would have a lot of money tied up into the guard position.
But still, I think it needs to be done.
And if you sign him, its at the expense, IMO, of Oher...and I am fine with that.
Oher has been a massive disappointment. He's good for a false start or two a game, whether at home or away.
As hard as it is to get a good tackle, I'm much more confident giving the money to Grubbs than I am Oher.
Based on Bisciotti's comments yesterday that the priorities this offseason are Flacco and Rice, and giving all the intangibles of Grubbs, I'm very confident that Grubbs is gone.
Grubbs isn't coming back. Just can't do it all.
What are they deciding to keep over him(or go after)?Originally Posted by Miller192
Basically (105.7FM) they said that the Ravens can't afford to give him more than Yanda money. And that is lile $5 Mil per ...And he likely wants $7-$8 Mil per...... I'd personally cut Oher and go with
LT (Draft 1st round) Zebrie Sanders, Grubbs, Gurode, Yanda, Reid
So curiously, I looked this up. By week Oher's false starts.
0, 2 (Titans), 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1 (Cleveland), 1 (@ Cinci)
1 hold, 1 illegal hands Jags, 2 holds Jets, 1 hold vs Cinci, 1 hold @ Cinci.
So let's see that's 4 false starts. 5 holds. 1 Illegal use of hands to the face.
McKinnie
1 (@Pitt), 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ,1(vs Arizona), 0, 0, 0, 0, 1(@Cle), 0, 1 (@SD), 0, 1 (@Cinci)
vs Pitt, 1 Holding, Arizona, 2 Illegal Formations
So McKinnie had 2 fewer total penalties and the same number of false starts by Oher.
Now I went through each boxscore play by play on NFL.com so this count is wholly unofficial and you know what, I did it quickly and it could be wrong. I couldn't find it online anywhere. But by my count. Oher didn't false start every other game. Just the same exact same amount as McKinnie. Just saying...
Yea, that has been the worry.
It would be a lot of money tied up into the guard position.
You just can't keep Rice, Flacco and Grubbs. Grubbs has already moved on.
As much as I don't want to lose Grubbs we can always draft a Guard or sign a veteran for a decent price. Now are we looking to spend that money at another position like WR?
It's a little hard to judge the season Grubbs had because of his injury and because Birk frankly was so bad that I think both guards had to pick him up more often than generally is acknowledged, but that said, I am not quite as high on Grubbs as I was a year or two ago. In any event I am resigned to losing him. Maybe we'll replace him quickly and maybe we won't.
My problem is that I think Grubbs is the better G and they gave all that money to Yanda. If I had to choose between the two I think I'd take Grubbs everytime. My only concern is the turf toe injury.
Personally, all things being equal I too would take Grubbs over Oher but I think the Ravens feeling may be that Oher could still slide back over to LT and be adequate over there, whether that be their inability to find a better T or because of injury. Oher has some versatility in that regard where Grubbs is point blank your LG and LG only. If Grubbs is indeed good as gone and with the unlikely return of Birk you would have to think one of those two positions will be a priority early in the draft. I wouldn't be suprised if they resign Gurode to play C/LG while drafting a G/C prospect to play next to him.
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