When fans of the Baltimore Ravens talk about acquiring help for the Secondary, you often hear the name of Offensive Tackle Jared Gaither mentioned as potential trade-bait.

I think that would be a mistake.

It is hard for me to envision the Ravens reaching the levels they aspire to this season, without Gaither.

Let us say that Gaither was moved, what are the ramifications to the offensive-line? First of all, Oneil Cousins probably moves outside to RT. He is still raw at Guard, I think a move to Tackle and having to deal with the speed rush of opposing DE’s would be too much for him.

Even if Cousins proved to be somewhat adequate, you have limited some of your depth. What if Cousins is regularly getting embarrassed, what do you do then? Do you move Yanda from RG out to tackle? Would Cousins shift back into RG? Would Chester come off the bench? Regardless, there would be the loss of depth somewhere, and players adjusting to new positions and responsibilities.

Additionally, what about LT if you were to lose Oher? Imagine the nightmare scenario where Oher blows out his knee in the 1st-half in the Season Opener against the Jets. Find me anyone that would feel comfortable with Cousins, Moll, or the rookie Harewood having to get time on the left-side. At-least if you lost Oher, and had to start Gaither at LT you would be starting a player with the physical ability to perform at the position.

That is all hypothetical talk though. What is known, is that the blitz packages from opposing defenses continue to get more exotic. What is also known is that as Joe Flacco enters his third-year in the league, and has a host of new weapons to throw to; the Ravens will continue to transition to more of a throwing team. If you are going to go up against aggressive blitz schemes, and you are going to regularly throw the ball, you better have a couple of Offensive Tackles with real ability.

The Ravens have that with Oher, and Gaither. While Gaither is entering his 4th year in the league, it should be remembered that he is only a couple of months older than Oher.

I understand the Ravens were frustrated by Gaither’s weight loss, but by his own account he shed the 25 lbs, to help alleviate some of the pressure on his toe and foot that limited him this off-season.

I know the Ravens have been frustrated that a string of injuries have limited his ability to practice. Still, this is a guy that shown the ability to play through injuries, including essentially playing most of one season with one arm. He has shown that if he can play, he will.

Beyond every report you hear about Gaither, you get the idea that the local media (and perhaps the Ravens themselves) believe Gaither is disgruntled about the position shift, and his contract enough. I think for now, you have to take Gaither at his word:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-notebook-0731-20100730,0,5987864.story

“I’m not a disgruntled person,” he said with a smile. “You know that from every interview. I’m happy and cheerful and smiling all the time. Disgruntled, no. I would never do that to the organization, and I wouldn’t do that to my teammates, to cause a distraction or anything. If there’s ever a problem, I would just go to the coach and discuss it. It’s like anything else. But I would never be disgruntled or try to cause any problems or anything like that.”

Gaither is young, talented, and extremely important to the success of the 2010 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens should be doing everything they can to make sure they get the maximum out of Gaither, and mold the professional they want. Gaither should be doing everything he can, to become the player he is capable of being.

I remain convinced that a move of Gaither for CB help would only create a bigger whole for this team.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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