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A week after a 38-year-old man with the middle name of Lorenzo signed with the Jets (yeah, we can find a way to force him into every story), a 37-year-old whose first name is Lorenzo has landed with the Ravens.
Specifically, the Ravens have signed fullback Lorenzo Neal.
The move reuinites Neal with Cam Cameron, who was the offensive coordinator in San Diego during four of Neal’s seasons there.
“He’s one of the finest professionals that I’ve had the privilege to work with,” Cameron said. “When you talk about a Raven — a guy who is physical, competitive and wants to win — one of the first guys I thought of was Lorenzo Neal. He’s going to be a great complement to Le’Ron [McClain].”
Fine, but why in the hell didn’t the Ravens sign Neal sooner?
The team created space for Neal by releasing fullback Justin Green. McClain, despite weighing 260 pounds, could be moved to tailback.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
That’s the final piece of the puzzle. The Ravens will now be elevated to 27 on Florio’s pre-season rankings!
Truthfully, the Ravens haven’t had a quality full back since Sam Gash.
Nice pick-up.
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August 12th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Laron is not moving to running back just because they signed Lorenzo. They will keep 2 FBs and now have a solid blocking backup if Laron gets tired, and he will because he is going to be a big part of the attack running, catching, but mostly blocking.
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August 12th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Neal was one hell of a fullback five years ago.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
August 12th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Damn. Now Willis McGayhee might actually have a good year.
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August 12th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
This is a signing that I have been waiting for (not anticipating it, just waiting for it to happen). Could be good, I guess we’ll see shortly.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
August 12th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Lo Neal is a class guy who should help the Ravens. He should still be a player in this league.
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August 12th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
And the Ravens still suck!
GO STILLERS!!!
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August 12th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I know that Justin Green was on the roster last year; was he injured or did the Ravens carry two fullbacks? That makes no sense to me, isn’t that sort of a waste of a roster spot? How do you use two fullbacks? Could a Ravens fan answer this? I really don’t understand this.
Either way, Lorenzo Neal is a very good pickup for the Ravens. I’m still not sure why the Chargers felt the need to phase him out last season because even at 37 this guy is a player. He should help out McGahee tremendously and also help out the receiving game from the backfield - a facet of Willis’ game that has always been non-existant it seems. With John Harbaugh, a former Eagles coach, as the new Head Coach, I’d expect to see a good amount of passes thrown in the backfield, specifically screens. This is something the Eagles have always done well under Andy Reid and I imagine it would translate to the Ravens as well. I’ve never really followed the Ravens, but I like Harbaugh a lot and I’m very interested to see how he fares with the Ravens.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 12th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Hey ClevelandSucks:
I’m not sure if you know this or not, but StEElers has 2 E’s in it. Are Pittsburgh public schools really that bad?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 12th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Green is a better special teams player than everydown FB, but he is always hurt. He was a feature back at a small school, converted FB that never turned into a roadgrader or Alstot style threat. He will get work soon, and may be back with the Ravens at some point if not, just not valuable enough to tie up a roster spot.
McClain is very quick for his size and showed solid hands last year. They actually did sound pretty serious about giving McClain some touches on offense, so he is going to need a solid backup more than a guy who is only a situational lead blocker.
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August 12th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Good pick up for the Ravens, he should really help out that running game.
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August 12th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Well we do not have any offensive tackles so we might as well throw two fullbacks out there!
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August 12th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Well said jburns.
If only they could get JO out of retirement.
Can’t we have a Farve/JO article? I think that’s the only angle that hasn’t been covered yet for Brett stories.
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August 12th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Sean Rodgers can’t wait to meet him…..
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August 13th, 2008 at 1:32 am
If only JO would come out of retirement so they could have a washed up Hall o’ Famer on the roster still.
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