Off and running

I am looking forward to this young man's career. Seems like a quality person and an excellent player.

Did anyone else pick up the new player good old Mike has it in for ? Look out Willis , Mike is watching you now. Preston always finds a way to ruin what could have been a very nice article , what a guy.

It is going to be very interesting to see how all this new talent develops through preseason camp & games. Any comments on how so called "new" offense & defense systems differ from those used by other NFL teams?

Jim from Dundalk I totally agree. Willis has done nothing but play good and this clown has nothing but trash to say about him.

I think Rice has it in him to be a pro bowl player. Without a stagnant offense focused on the run he and Willis should get a lot of chances to succeed.
We will see if he is as good as I hope he is.
Almost to that first pre-season game...YES!

I think we're going to have a very potent two pronged (possibly three, with Ross or that other rookie) rushing attack. Mike Preston is no judge of talent, not any more so than any other one of us fans, which is all he is. Willis McGahee has always been a great back. He is a great fit here in Baltimore, and far more focused than he was in Buffalo. And I believe Cameron when he talks about using Willis in a lot of the same ways he used LT, both rushing and in the backfield. I think there's a strong chance Willis could go to his second straight Pro Bowl, and at the very least, I think it's very likely that he will top his personal best season, rushing for over 1300 yds. Let's face it, he did amazing last season in our gimped offense, and he DID have 7 straight games with a TD, and 5 games with 100+ yds. Just imagine that in a BETTER offense, behind a stronger line.

And as for Ray Rice, I do think he will be a noticeable part of our offense this coming season. He won't see the snaps that McGahee does, but he'll likely still have a chance to show some flash as our "Number 2", much like Chester Taylor back in the day. I don't want to get too hyped...but I have a really good feeling about this season...."rebuilding " or not, we've got the talent to go places. Period.

Preston has every right to be weary of McGahee, as should all of us. He was a great back last year, but calling him flakey is being nice. He's not just talking about his personality -- he is horribly injury prone, missing almost an entire season in Buffalo and the end of our season last year. He took himself out of games last season "just to rest" which, while probably needed, lacks heart. And when he decides he's done, he can be a real pain -- just read the interviews he gave while still in NY trashing Buffalo, and this is while he was still under contract.
He's a great back, and he works well on our team, but we are a team known for being lax here and there, and having a young, solid backup runningback might be the best thing for McGahee.

i am definitely worried about mcgahee. great skills but questionable work ethic. was out of shape last year as he came out of many plays. he also chooses not to practice with the team, but works out in miami. if he was in football shape he could grind out 1500 yards. ray rice will probably be a good thing.

PJM wrote:

Preston has every right to be weary of McGahee, as should all of us. He was a great back last year, but calling him flakey is being nice. He's not just talking about his personality -- he is horribly injury prone, missing almost an entire season in Buffalo and the end of our season last year. He took himself out of games last season "just to rest" which, while probably needed, lacks heart. And when he decides he's done, he can be a real pain -- just read the interviews he gave while still in NY trashing Buffalo, and this is while he was still under contract.
He's a great back, and he works well on our team, but we are a team known for being lax here and there, and having a young, solid backup runningback might be the best thing for McGahee.

Agree, however the article quote "Though Willis McGahee is the starting running back, the Ravens don't have total trust in him. He's a little flaky." is a terrible quote in an otherwise good article. What's that supposed to mean? Either elaborate or use a different explanation of why they don't trust in him, but don't leave it as 'he's a little flakey."

This is the best Preston article I've ever read. The McGahee comments wouldn't have been my choice of words, but it's hard to argue that they're not true. McGahee has A+ talent, but he seems satisfied being an A- player. Maybe Harbaugh's tougher camp will get him in peak shape this year.

On a brighter note than McGahee, what a nice change of pace to hear about Ray Rice. I realize I'm judging solely from this article, but he seems like a first-class guy. Like the type of player who gets involved in the community to make it a better place, not because it's a good career move.

Seems a little silly to me to criticize a running back for a lack of height. Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith weren't any taller than 5'8" or 5'9" (not that I am comparing Mr. Rice to either of these giants). And if a back were that height and 250 lbs or so, we'd be calling him "Iron Head" Heyward the second!

Explosiveness and athleticism are not so simply quantified as the NFL combine would have us believe (witness: Maurice Jones-Drew, Warrick Dunn, Brian Westbrook)

Just a thought.

I sometimes think if Rice could be in for a breakout rookie season. Don't any of you think its possible?

i mean its possible but hes not going to get a lot of playing time unless something happens to mcgahee

Well, the Ravens turned over their RBs backfield. Jamal Lewis should have been resigned, trading for McGahee was a mistake. McGahee is a good player but the price of 3 draft picks and the cap constraining $40m contract were way too much to pay when Lewis was a much cheaper option had better stats and helped a Div for,Clev, beat the Ravens twice. The problem with Anderson and Musa Smith as back ups were way too similar style big backs along with age and injuries. Ross is too small and Daniels has been on IR for a couple of yrs. Its doubtful they make the roster. Rice will get some touches and should be a great change of pace back for the Ravens. It would be nice if this article included some comments about Allen Patrick the other rb the Ravens drafted who is a real stud , he took over for A. Peterson in col. and can be a feature back in this league. He's a late rd draft pick who can surprise if he gets the chance to play. Watch for him in pre!

Josh wrote:

I sometimes think if Rice could be in for a breakout rookie season. Don't any of you think its possible?

If you mean a standout rookie season, its all relative depending on the amount of work he gets. It may be standout for a rookie in that context since Mcgahee will be getting most of the snaps. Standout only with what he makes of his limited opportunities.

Breakout implies a sudden emergence or improvement from previous so-so history which Rice doesn't have so you really can't have a breakout season as a rookie.

Harry wrote:

Well, the Ravens turned over their RBs backfield. Jamal Lewis should have been resigned, trading for McGahee was a mistake. McGahee is a good player but the price of 3 draft picks and the cap constraining $40m contract were way too much to pay when Lewis was a much cheaper option had better stats and helped a Div for,Clev, beat the Ravens twice. The problem with Anderson and Musa Smith as back ups were way too similar style big backs along with age and injuries. Ross is too small and Daniels has been on IR for a couple of yrs. Its doubtful they make the roster. Rice will get some touches and should be a great change of pace back for the Ravens. It would be nice if this article included some comments about Allen Patrick the other rb the Ravens drafted who is a real stud , he took over for A. Peterson in col. and can be a feature back in this league. He's a late rd draft pick who can surprise if he gets the chance to play. Watch for him in pre!

The problem with J Lewis is that he was injured, but he also was sulking and dogging it and had a bad attitude especially towards Billick (go back to previous articles and his own quotes). It was a broken relationship already between him and the Ravens.

Don't understand the concerns regarding McGahee. He had an excelent year last year. He got a lot of yardage on his own, as our O-Line's run blocking is only marginally better than their pass blocking.

Harry wrote:

Well, the Ravens turned over their RBs backfield. Jamal Lewis should have been resigned, trading for McGahee was a mistake. McGahee is a good player but the price of 3 draft picks and the cap constraining $40m contract were way too much to pay when Lewis was a much cheaper option had better stats and helped a Div for,Clev, beat the Ravens twice. The problem with Anderson and Musa Smith as back ups were way too similar style big backs along with age and injuries. Ross is too small and Daniels has been on IR for a couple of yrs. Its doubtful they make the roster. Rice will get some touches and should be a great change of pace back for the Ravens. It would be nice if this article included some comments about Allen Patrick the other rb the Ravens drafted who is a real stud , he took over for A. Peterson in col. and can be a feature back in this league. He's a late rd draft pick who can surprise if he gets the chance to play. Watch for him in pre!

I agree it was a lot to give up for Mcgahee, but who else was out there?

Rice is going to be the MAN back there. While Willis did get tired a lot and appeared "lazy" at times, we need to remember that he got A TON of carries - part of the reason he racked up so many yards. I thought Rice was our best move in the draft - he'll be an awesome 3rd down back/change of pace for Willis, and his presence will not only keep Willis on his toes, but more rested than he was last season.

Make no mistake about Corey Ross either, he's very quick and provides yet another change -up at tailback. He looked great against Pittsburgh in the last game of 07.

The Ravens will be a huge surprise this year. Cameron will make defenses change the way they play us and I think we'll have one of teh top 5 rushing attacks in the league. Go Ravens.

Mike, everybody still hates you.