Leonhard http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7442 69 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 0 forced fumbles Elam http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/8022 69 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 3 forced fumbles Why do so many fans want Leonhard? Let BAL keep him. Elam is 4 inches taller and has better stats. There is no real reason to think Leonhard will be an improvement. And this team is tight for cap space, I doubt Leonhard can be signed for less than what Elam is already making. In his previous 3 years Leonhard never did anything and he is really too small for safety. Just not a player who will make a difference, the number of times people call for him to be signed is ridiculous.
I say Keep Elam , evry year the kid has got better , this last one being his best. No idea about Leonard
Absolutely keep Elam. I'd like to sign Leonhard AND keep Elam. I'd bet that once Elam is schooled in the defense, he'll be a playa in it - he is aggressive and athletic after all - BUT Leonhard would be able to help with the transition, he would come pretty cheap, and he looks like he could back up Leon on returns. I think he could be an excellent value signing.
Elam wouldn't look out of place in a Ravens jersey.......so I'm not sure he will be surplus to requirements. After hearing what Rex said about players knowing what eachother does on every play , think that Mr Dumb-as-bricks Gholston could be on his way....Think about it. If he plays like shit next season , his worth will be minimal , right now , we could at least get a 2nd rounder for him.
I don't want to trn this into yet another Vernon thread, but I never got the impression he was dumb as bricks
I don't think he's McFadden, Young stupid, but the main reason why he appears it is because I don't think he really knows a hell of a lot about football. Obviously he's knows a bit, and he's done well in college, but I think he's always going to appear to be a bodybuilder playing football.
I don't want to see Gholston run outta town on the heels of ONE bad season. He was a rookie--- and found himself in Mangini's doghouse. New coach--- new chance. If he fails under a new defensive guru, then OK, I will say bust then.
have u ever watched Leonhard play? the guy is a ballhawk with amazing speed and acceleration. also hes a good punt returner. hed be great depth and probably even start. the stats may not be impressive but ive watched enough BAL games to know that the guy is constantly around the ball. and seldomly have I seen him get beat in coverage.
Yeah, but didn't Ryan also compare Gholston to Suggs and suggest that he just needed proper coaching to be successful? I don't think he'll be giving up on him too quickly. Wouldn't surprise me to see Gholston have a decent output next season.
Those stats don't show how much better at coverage Leonhard is than Elam. They also don't show the other INT he had in the playoffs, the forced fumble against the Titans, and the 2 fumbles recoveries when it mattered most. Not to mention this kid can line up and cover a slot receiver, as well as TE's and punt returns. Let me know when Elam gets around to doing any of those things. Saying that, I'm all for signing Leonhard and keeping Elam as backup.
We have good punt returners. If you played me opposite Ed Reed, I guarantee a ton of balls would be coming my way, too.
Leon isn't that great on punts, Leonhard is a beast on punt returns. Leonhard would come cheap anyway so we should sign him and keep elam as a backup. Smith can go
Not quite. I think he did say he reminded him of Suggs who came into the league and was labeled a bust. He said he is looking forward to coaching him and seeing what he has. We all are waiting to see what that is too.
If he does in fact come cheap, great. If we can unload Smith, even better. However, Smith only provides very limited cap savings. Essentially, Leonhard and Smith were playing on the same contract LAST season. I guarantee he's going to get offers well in excess of that after this past season. The Ravens may not have the space to try to seriously re-sign him, but other teams will. There are other Ravens players I'd rather take a shot at if we free up space. Still, I wouldn't complain if he ends up in green.
