I think considering Rex guaranteed another SB win, barring a big injury, we are out of excuses. I think we can do it, but you just never know in the NFL. I think we did enough to at least stay on a parallel plane, talent wise, with last year. A step back from the AFC title game would be a tough pill to swallow.
Man...this is a HUGE relief. Mason is just the kind of receiver we need right now. With Cotch wanting to leave and the FO doing the honorable thing and letting him go, it was paramount that we find a replacement with equal skills. Mason definitely brings that to the receiving corp. Also, he has plenty of experience being a #1 or #2 guy, so he will take a lot of pressure off of Burress while he gets himself into football shape. His age is certainly a concern, but his numbers last season were quite good and considering the Jets ground and pound philosophy, he shouldn't be called on to do too much, but will be there when he's needed.
great. that's fucking great. we had to once Cotch was gone, and I have the feeling Cotch is hurt anyhow as bad as that sucks losing him
This signing makes me feel better about the WR corps. Having Holmes and bunch of unknowns (yes Burress is an unknown not having laced up the cleats for almost three years). The only thing I am concerned about is YACs. Holmes will provide some, but I am not sure Burress will and I don't think Mason is a big YAC guy. While Cotchery was not much of a factor the last two seasons, he has been one on the perennial leaders in the NFL in YACs. I'm not saying we should have kept Cotch, but receivers with YACs will certainly help Sanchez continue to grow. I still think Keller needs to become a big part of this offense this year. It is time for him to step it up a notch.
Just curious, not being adversarial, but were you confident that we could compete for a SB with a #2 who's 34 and been out of the league for 2 years and a rookie at #3? Not saying they couldn't have done it, but on paper they were nowhere near as good at the WR position as last year. Was it only SOJF's concerned about that?
I was more confident in Kerley at three then what some people were suggesting and "Signing Moss, having him and Plax play #1 and #2 with Holmes in the slot." I love the Mason signing as a guy who can hold down the position and teach Kerley for they year, but if he didn't sign I didn't want some JAG or take a risk unproven commodity (Moss) when we could just take the risk on a rookie slot receiver as our 4th option for Sanchez (behind Keller, Holmes and Plax). What I'm actually concerned with rather than our slot position, is what happens when Plax misses a few games (which is probably going to happen). Now maybe Mason can fill in at #2 if that happens and bump Kerley to slot. Or hope Turner or Smith pan out as a big target.
A lot of what you said is very accurate. Except for the part about his heart being somewhere else. Mason started out with the Titans. He was a baller there. Then he came to the Ravens, and was a baller with us as well. And there's no doubt in my mind that he'll be a baller with the Jets as well. He's a no-nonsense, what you see is what you get kind of player. He's got great moves, even at 37. With the other players you have, I think Mason will be able to contribute. Heck...even when he was the Ravens only productive WR, and was doubled and keyed on the whole game, he still managed to get open, at least some of the time. (Heap was the other go-to guy, but he went through periods of being hurt, and it all fell on Mason at those times.) With Holmes & Plax drawing a lot of attention, it should free up Mason even more. He is, despite his flaws, a true pro when he suits up. He wants to win, and I think he saw things in Baltimore that were more geared to not losing than to winning. I could be wrong, but from what I saw of Rex, he's a play to win coach, and that should suit Mason to a T. I really didn't like that little stunt he pulled when he grabbed Flacco's face mask and started a fight on the sidelines. But a few years back, he was literally playing with one arm and he still managed to contribute. I was in the camp that said he should be gone because of what he did to Flacco. But it was more the coach's reaction afterwards (i.e. no disciplinary action whatsoever) that ticked me off. When Steve Smith of the Panthers got in a fight with a teammate he was benched. Nothing at all happened to Mason. And I felt that it was a total disrespect for his QB, and that it needed to be addressed. But that was a one time only thing. All in all, Mason will make your team better.
Yeah, right on. I feel good about these young guys on both sides of the ball. I really like the Mason signing for the reasons you listed as well as the "mentor" factor.
Nice post. Could have used the enter key a couple times, but informative nonetheless. It makes me wonder if maybe Flacco said something to Mason that pissed Mason off before that happened. Not trying to make excuses, but I can't help but wonder exactly what happened
LOL. Fixed it. :grin: To this day no one really knows what happened. It just looked as if he was ticked off by Flacco overthrowing a pass. It didn't appear as if anything was said, but maybe words were exchanged on the sideline.
Very happy with this signing. I think he is a very good security blanket for Sanchez in the sense that he will most likely never see a double and is known to do great things along the sidelines. Solid hands, great route runner, great teammate. At first I was very against replacing a 29 year old Cotch with a 37 year old Mason, but hearing about how the Cotch stuff went down I think this was absolutely the right move (even though Rex says one had nothing to do with the other). I'm still worried that two of our top three receivers are 37 and 34 on one year deals but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Welcome to the J-E-T-S Derrick!
Easily my favorite game of that season for the ravens. Thought it would hurt the team more than do us any good playing hurt, but the man still caught everything thrown to him. Dude is a warrior. Oh yeah, and he is one of the best sideline catchers in the league. He has the uncanny ability to get both feet down before heading out of bounds. dammit it won't let me post links yet... youtube.com/watch?v=V8zcATPSDis
For the most part, Flacco and Mason struck a similar tone Wednesday. Playful, non-confrontational, and somewhat dismissive. No one in the organization bothered to deny that something occurred between Flacco and Mason in the Ravens 37-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, especially since the altercation that was witnessed by thousands of Ravens fans who traveled to Charlotte for the game. But if a rift exists between the third-year quarterback and veteran wide receiver, both did their best to deny it Wednesday. "It was Sunday," Flacco said, as if to imply the day of the week was all the explanation necessary. "We were in a good battle [with Carolina]. Things happen on the sidelines. I was laughing 10 seconds after it was over." Mason, perhaps taking his cues from professional wrestling magnate Vince McMahon, talked about the incident in generalities while in the locker room, but vowed he would only share the details of what really went down with those who tuned in to his weekly radio show on WBAL at 6. "If you had a radio show, wouldn't you want people to tune in and listen?" Mason said. "That's just a little teaser. I'll tell you whether I apologized to Joe or he apologized to me or if we went out to dinner last night or the movies last night." On his show, Mason said that, for the most part, he was frustrated that an offense with as much talent as the one the Ravens have continues to stall. "We are too good of an offense to be playing the way we're playing," Mason said. "We are too good of an offense to be averaging less than 20 points a game. If you want to criticize me for getting upset because of that, then do it. But as one of the leaders on this team, you have to demand more from yourself and from your teammates." During the game, Mason said he was frustrated the plays weren't coming in faster and he wanted to get in and out of the huddle quicker. "I thought that we should hurry up," Mason said. "But they got another plan going. I'll say this, I wasn't the only person out there saying let's go, let's go." On the play that led the blow-up — a third-down pass right before Billy Cundiff's 49-yard field goal — Mason felt he came open early in the play and Flacco didn't see him. ---------------------------- As explained by the man involved himself. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/20...-and-mason-thousands-of-ravens-fans-ray-lewis
