I will follow up this brief post with a more extensive analysis of the Ravens current (and potential) receiving situation in the wake of Derrick Mason's bombshell announcement yesterday that he is retiring.  But first, a few quick points:

• As the Baltimore Sun is already speculating, Mason appears to have left himself an "out" clause in this announcement (which apparently he did not make to Ravens officials, but rather to ESPN News and a website affiliated with his agent). He has not filed the requisite paperwork with the league offices, and in a statement to ESPN News, he spoke hypothetically rather than absolutely:

"If I do change my mind, it won't be because of the Ravens. It'll be because of some other things - my family and talking with other people. I still got to talk with some coaches over there. As far as financially, I don't think they can do anything to sway me."

Continue reading "Derrick Mason Retires"

So Derrick Mason may or may not be retiring. All right, let's suppose he does --- where does that leave the Ravens' passing game?

The first thing to ask is how good it was expected to be even WITH a healthy Mason catching passes in 2009. And I don't imagine too many fans were so drunk on the purple Kool-Aid as to expect our passing attack to have finished in the top half of the league. We're bringing back pretty much the same cast from last year, when we ranked 28th in the league with a mere 175.5 yards/game. Even accounting for the continued development of Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, and that young offensive line, that's a heckuva lot of ground to make up. Unless Demetrius Williams finally becomes the vertical threat this offense hasn't had in over a decade, you're not going to shoot up that many spots riding an aging possession receiver, I don't care how good he is.

Continue reading "Breaking Down the Ravens' Receivers"

The Baltimore Sun beat me to the punch on this topic, listing the Ravens top 5 options not currently on the roster for replacing the seemingly retired Mason:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-sp.mason15jul15,0,430

Here are the Sun's top five receivers:

1. Marvin Harrison
2. Brandon Marshall
3. Anquan Boldin
4. Plaxico Burress
5. Drew Bennett

They also list the following free agents still on the market: D.J. Hackett, Amani Toomer, Justin McCareins, Reggie Williams, and Darrell Jackson. To that list I would add Koren Robinson. Let's break down each option: 1. Marvin Harrison: Harrison is an unrestricted free agent, so he wouldn't cost any draft picks, and like all UFA's in July, the market for his services appears quite small (otherwise he'd be signed by now), so he shouldn't command an outrageous contract. Even a close approximation of his prime would give the Ravens a receiver who runs crisp routes, has excellent hands and vision, delivers the occasional big play downfield, and commands respect from teammates and opponents alike---in short, the very things Mason brought to the offense. The problem is that for the past two years Harrison has been nowhere near his prime.  The numbers say it all: 

Continue reading "Replacing Derrick Mason: The Ravens External Options"