I gave my last projected look at the 53 man Ravens roster on Wednesday (https://baltimoresportsandlife.com/?p=2862) prior to the last Exhibition. Yesterday, Baltimore made the cuts necessary to get down to 54 players (with one additional spot provided to D.Reed who is suspended for Week 1).
Here is a comparison of that last projection vs. the Ravens actual roster:
QB projection: Flacco, Taylor (2)
QB actual: Flacco, Taylor (2)
RB projection: Rice, Williams, Parmele, Allen (4)
RB actual: Rice, Williams, Allen (3)
Thoughts: I thought Parmele could be in danger, but still had him making the final roster. I never thought Allen was a question mark.
FB projection: Leach (1)
FB actual: Leach (1)
WR projection: Boldin, Evans, T. Smith, D. Reed, Doss, L. Williams (6)
WR actual: Boldin, Evans, T. Smith, D. Reed, Doss, L. Williams (6)
TE projection: Dickson, Pitta, Wilson, (3)
TE actual: Dickson, Pitta, Wilson, (3)
O-Line projection: McKinnie, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda, Oher, Reid, Harewood, LeVoir, Mattison (9)
O-Line actual: McKinnie, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda, Oher, Reid, LeVoir, Mattison (8)
Thoughts: I did mention in the recap of the Atlanta game that Jamison Hensley (who has announced he is leaving The Sun, to become the new AFC North Blogger for ESPN) had suggested IR might be in the future for Harewood. I think the Ravens will be scouring the waiver wire looking at options for depth in the interior. I’m pleased with having both Reid, and LeVoir as Tackle depth.
D-Line projection: Ngata, Cody, McKinney, Redding, Jones, McPhee, Kruger (7)
D-Line actual: Ngata, Cody, McKinney, Redding, Jones, McPhee, Kruger, McAdoo (8)
Thoughts: The Ravens obviously believe in McAdoo’s athleticism and long-term potential. Based on the fact that he had missed the 2010 season at UNC to suspension, and had not played much prior; I thought it would be hard for the Ravens to keep the project on the roster. Here are a couple of Scouting Reports on McAdoo prior to the Supplemental Draft:
http://www.buffalobillsdraft.com/2011/08/de-michael-mcadoo-scouting-report/
http://www.mockingthedraft.com/2011/8/19/2373588/michael-mcadoo-supplemental-draft-scouting-report
LB projection: Lewis, Johnson, Suggs, Kindle, McClain, Ellerbe, Gooden, Ayanbadejo, (8)
LB actual: Lewis, Johnson, Suggs, Kindle, McClain, Ellerbe, Ayanbadejo, McClellan, Phillips (9)
Thoughts: We talked about Gooden being on the bubble, and our expectation that Phillips would not be on the roster. Gooden being cut (reportedly after not accepting a pay cut), is not a surprise. Phillips being retained is interesting. Maybe the Ravens felt more comfortable with their ILB, by keeping a full two-deep. After the Exhibition in Atlanta, I probably would have kept Bynes over Gooden. The biggest surprise on the roster to me is McClellan, and I look forward to seeing more of him. I do see that he was the 2006 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, and after tearing his ACL and missing ’07, returned to an All-Conference level in ’08, and ’09. I also see that he attended the same Kathleen HS in Lakeland, Florida as Ray Lewis.
CB projection: Smith, Webb, Foxworth, Carr, C. Williams, C. Brown (6)
CB actual: Smith, Webb, Foxworth, Carr, C. Williams, C. Brown (6)
S projection: Reed, Pollard, Zbikowski, Nakamura (4)
S actual: Reed, Pollard, Zbikowski, Nakamura (4)
ST projection: Koch, Cundiff, Cox (3)
ST actual: Koch, Cundiff, Cox (3)
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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.