Justin Forsett Shows Off Rehabbed Arm With Beastly Chain Pull-Ups
Something tells me Justin Forsett will be playing with a chip on his (swole) shoulder this year.
The Ravens' veteran running back is hoping to return to his 2014 Pro Bowl form after his season was cut short last year from a gnarly broken arm.
"Guess the arm is getting better! #BigThingsInStore #UnFinishedBusiness," Forsett wrote on Instagram with the video below of him doing pull-ups to prove he's fully healed and ready for a vigorous 16-game slate.
Oh, and why use a boring weighted vest to add resistance to your workouts when you can look way more hardcore with a beastly chain?
Forsett is returning to a running backs room that has gotten very crowded with younger players vying for either his starting role or a chunk of his snaps. Forsett will turn 31 this season and his competition is, on average, seven years younger, including Buck Allen (24), Kenneth Dixon (22), Trent Richardson (25), Lorenzo Taliaferro (24) and Terrance West (25).
Allen took over the starting role last year after Forsett and Taliaferro (foot) were both placed on injured reserve, and Allen won't want to relinquish it. The Ravens added West late last season and Richardson this offseason, and both are determined to revitalize their careers. Then, there's fourth-round pick Dixon, who is already garnering major buzz for his power and receiving ability.
Forsett will have to fend all of them off this summer if he wants make good on that "unfinished business." Even though he is the proven veteran, nothing is guaranteed, and he's working out like he knows it.
How do you see the running back battle playing out, CSNMidAtlantic.com's Clifton Brown?
"Forsett thrives on competition and won't give up the starting job without a serious fight," he wrote.
"I give the edge to Forsett remaining the starter, with Allen as the primary backup, and Dixon also seeing game action. That would leave Richardson, Taliaferro, and West fighting to convince Harbaugh the Ravens need to keep a fourth back. If they do keep four backs, I'll guess West will be the guy. But the competition at this position, coupled with potential injuries, makes the outlook truly wide open."
Reports: NFL Believes Ravens Were Aware Of Rule That Prohibits Use Of Full Pads
The Ravens said they didn’t know the rule that prohibits the use of full pads during Organized Team Activities also applied to rookie minicamp, and once they were reminded, they immediately removed them after five minutes of use.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the league doesn't believe the Ravens' explanation.
Whether the Ravens knew about the rule will factor into the league's decision on the severity of any potential punishment, according to Rapoport in the video below. There's already a standard in place that subjects teams to potential discipline for offseason practice violations.
In 2014, the league fined the Seattle Seahawks $300,000 for excessive contact during a minicamp and they also forfeited two days of mandatory minicamp the following year.
"The Collective Bargaining Agreement uses a combination of fines, lost practice time, and draft-pick forfeiture in situations like this," wrote ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio. "The good news for the Ravens is that draft picks become an issue only in the event of multiple violations in the same league year. (The bad news is that they're now potentially one violation away from losing a fourth-round pick.)
"For a first violation, the head coach 'shall be subject to a fine in the amount of $100,000 for the first violation,' and the team 'shall be subject to a fine in the amount of $250,000 for the first violation.' Those amounts are based on 2011 league revenues; there's a provision in the CBA allowing for an increase based on future growth in earnings."
Competition Committee To Make Replay Proposal Next Week At Owners Meetings While Ravens Continue Push For Their Own
Replay rules will be a hot topic in Charlotte, N.C. next Tuesday when NFL owners convene for meetings.
Last time the owners met in March, they tabled the Ravens' proposal to make all but eight types of plays reviewable. It is expected to be more fully discussed next week.
Meanwhile, the NFL's competition committee will also present a scaled-down instant replay proposal, according to The Washington Post.
"[I]f approved, [it] would modify but not overhaul replay rules while permitting on-field officials to communicate with league representatives during reviews regarding administrative issues," wrote The Post's Mark Maske. "The competition committee's proposal to the owners 'will just try to clean up and simplify the language' of the replay rules, according to one of those people familiar with the committee's deliberations. The committee's proposal is ‘much more limited’ than one made by the Ravens earlier this offseason, the other person said earlier Tuesday."
It is not clear whether the committee's proposal would add any reviewable plays to the list of two dozen, while the Ravens would significantly alter the scope, leaving out just a handful. It's important to note that while Baltimore would like more plays to be reviewable, that doesn't mean the number of allowed challenges will increase. Keeping the same number of challenges weakens the argument that the game would be interrupted more or last too long.
ESPN's Kevin Seifert says the Ravens' proposal has been under review by the league for the past two-and-a-half months, but probably won't be passed next week.
"Although the NFL's competition committee agreed to study the idea, a rare acknowledgment of merit for a team-based proposal, it's unlikely the league will adopt it at next week's league meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina," he wrote. "Instead, a negotiated compromise endorsed by the competition committee is the best-case scenario.
"Such a conclusion would be disappointing but not surprising for a league that tends to move slowly and incrementally amid calls for radical change. If nothing else, though, we can hope the Ravens have accelerated an inevitable shift in the purpose of replay and sparked an important discussion about how the league must evolve in the HD Era of sports viewership."
Oddsmakers Set Over-Under For Ravens' Win Total At 8.5
The oddsmakers at Bovada set the Ravens' win total for the 2016 season at 8.5.
I'm not a gambler, but if I were, I'd take the over on that with some confidence. Baltimore has won at least 10 games in four of its past six years, and was hit hard last year by injuries to key starters, including Joe Flacco, Steve Smith Sr. and Terrell Suggs.
The Ravens' over-under total ranked third in the AFC North, with the Pittsburgh Steelers (10.5) leading the way, followed by the Cincinnati Bengals (9.5). The Cleveland Browns' over-under is 4.5 wins, which marked the lowest in the division and NFL.
"Though the Ravens' over-under is 8.5, Bovada is clearly leaning on them finishing under that total, rather than over," wrote The Baltimore Sun's Jonas Shaffer. "The 'vig' for an under bet is -140, meaning someone would have to bet $140 on the under to win $100. The vig for an over bet is +110, meaning a $100 bet would net $110 in winnings."
Quick Hits
