Sometimes the preseason hype train lies to us. This time last year a lot of Ravens fans thought Tim White and Josh Woodrum were going to be great someday. Now neither player has a great shot at making the roster:
One of the biggest misconceptions coming into the Baltimore Ravens training camp was how good Tim White would be. Tim White had a couple flashy plays last year and he had a lot of buzz around him going into his second training camp. When he suffered a thumb injury and the Ravens stashed him on IR, fans became convinced they were a year away from the Tim White show.
Tim White is coming off a horrible preseason performance where he fumbled a punt return. He came into the position battle at wide receiver knowing that his return ability was what the Ravens were most interested in. White hasn’t shown much as a receiver in the exhibition games, so this special teams fumble was especially troubling for him.
While Janarion Grant also fumbled on a punt return, it was after a nifty return. Grant didn’t really muff a punt, he made a mistake after putting on some moves. White hasn’t outdone Grant this preseason. Grant has made more plays on offense. So far he has five receptions for 53 yards. With two more preseason games Grant looks to have the advantage on White, and neither is a lock for the roster.
Last preseason, Josh Woodrum stole the show. He looked impressive and he became the fan favorite to be Joe Flacco’s backup quarterback. The way people talked about Woodrum this time last year, would make you think the Ravens found the next Joe Montana. This preseason the Ravens are potentially keeping three quarterbacks, and Woodrum isn’t one of them.
That is just two examples of preseason hype misleading the fanbase. It makes you look at this preseason and wonder how much weight the preseason should have in the decision making process. It makes you wonder, what are we getting wrong this time? With the regular season so close, but yet so far, it is just something to think about.