Gary Baxter

[mic79e]

I just read something interesting from Mike Preston (Baltimore Sun Website - Q&A with The Sun's Mike Preston). Preston said that:

"The Ravens would like to re-sign Baxter as a safety to replace Will Demps, and then pursue Washington cornerback Fred Smoot through free agency."

I think Baxter can be a top corner with a bit more development, and I think we should re-sign him to play there.

I just found this rumour interesting, especially if there's some basis to it. He also said that this could be a problem in re-signing Baxter, because Baltimore would be offering less money (safeties get less than corners), and Baxter would want to play corner, with cornerback money to go with it.

[raven5255]

i have also heard this rumor. I considered the idea of switch baxter to FS myself, when i thought about the ravens drafting a CB in the first round. However i did not hear about the Ravens being interested in Fred Smoot. That story is certainly interesting. Baxter did play a lot of safety in college and has the size to do it, however i think he is just starting to grasp the full concept of CB in the NFL and im not sure what a move to safety would do to him. Thats also a good point about the money though.

[mic79e]

What do you think of Smoot? I think he's a pretty good corner, comparing him and Baxter is a bit like apples and oranges though. It just depends what you like in cornerbacks.

I think I prefer Baxter at corner rather than safety. He's especially good covering the slot, in our nickel package, cause he's solid against the run and can blitz effectively.

[raven5255]

Smoot is definetly a great corner. Your right about comparing Smoot and Baxter to apples and oranges, they both have unique stenghts and weaknesses. I also agree that Baxter would be better off staying at corner. Fred Smoot is an excellent shutdown corner and has great speed and awarness. Im just not sure him coming to Baltimore and baxter moving to safety would be that great for us, but who knows...

[GulfBayWarriors]

Smoot and McCallister dang that D would be sick.

[GulfBayWarriors]

There was an article today that stated Baxter is likely to resign and Baxter said he will not go back to safety so Smoot will likely not be coming to the Ravens.

[Swedishraven]

Well acording to the articles i've read the Ravens have offered Baxter a 10 mil signing bonus (didn't say for how many years though) to be a safety. And Baxter haven't accepted it yet but wants to see what he could get in FA. I personally think Baxter could be a great FS but is only average at CB so i think the FO is doing the right thing. And if someone will give him a better deal the Ravens are better off letting him go. There's some good depth at CB both in FA and in the draft.

[raven5255]

swedishraven- can you post a link to where you saw that or tell me what magazine/newspaper if possible you saw that on? i would be very intested. if your right about baxter being a great at FS, then we should defiently draft a CB first round, unless we sign a guy like smoot which would be even more amazing. Either way, if baxter turns out to be a good FS, and we could draft carlos rogers could you imagine mcallister, rogers, baxter, and reed in the secondary with Demps, Chad Williams and Primetime as the primary backups?!

[Swedishraven]

I guess this is where i found it:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/team?statsId=33
When i wrote the post above i thought i had a more reliable source than foxsports but atleast they're slightly more reliable than foxnews

[raven5255]

thanks, thats interesting stuff. i looked at the Q&A link on that site and apparently the writer thinks that it might not be 100% correct because 10mil is alot for a 2nd CB. Apparently he thinks the offer isnt the issue but rather a potential move to FS which i guess baxter wouldnt like.

[mic79e]

I think where he plays is the biggest issue for Baxter.

Like Swedishraven said, there's a lot of depth at cornerback in the free agency market this year, so that will be a factor for Baltimore as well. Guys like Fred Smoot, Andre Dyson, Anthony Henry, Ken Lucas and Charles Woodson are all unrestricted.

Here's a hypothetical question. If you could choose any corner in the league to be a Raven who would you choose?

I'd pick Dunta Robinson from the Texans. He has excellent technique in coverage, but he’s also a great all-around defender who's terrific against the run. Soon he'll be one of top 2 or 3 cornerbacks in the NFL. His physical approach makes him a perfect fit for the Raven's defence.

[raven5255]

Update on Baxter:

Looks like Baxter says that he is "optimistic" about rejoining the Ravens however, the baltimore sun says that baxter and the ravens agree that baxter will remain a CB if he is resigned.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-sp.ravens11feb11,1,2542357.story?coll=bal-sports-football

[raven5255]

I was listening to 1570 wnst and they say that an anonymous team source has said that if the team cannot keep Baxter, the Ravens would make a strong effort to bring in Redskins CB Fred Smoot to be the replacement.

[woodstock]

[mic79e]

Yeah, Samuel is a guy that gets no recognition. Both he and Randall Gay played well against some top receivers. I like Samuel but I don't know how he'd fit in Baltimore.

Someone like Shawn Springs would be a good corner for the Ravens. But only if he really is as good as he played last season with the Redskins. I think Springs has better physical skills than Champ Bailey, the problem always used to be that he never produced. But not that many guys ever have in the Seahawk's defence maybe that was the problem?