Alright, so I got this idea stuck in my head a while back about Eric Weddle’s time with the Ravens. Dunno why, maybe I saw an old highlight reel or something, but suddenly I just really wanted to dig into it. Not like, just look up his stats, but really try and figure out what his deal was when he wore the purple and black.
So, first thing I did was just kinda sit there. What was I actually looking for? His big plays? His leadership? How he quarterbacked the defense? It was all a bit fuzzy. I decided to start by trying to rewatch some games from his main years there, like 2016 to 2018. Seemed simple enough, right?
Getting Started – The Hunt
Well, finding full game replays wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. You’d think this stuff would be easy to find, but nope. I spent a good chunk of time just hunting around, trying different search terms, digging through various video places. Found bits and pieces, highlight clips mostly, but getting the full picture, the context of the whole game, was tough.
Then I thought, okay, stats. Stats are easier. Went looking for defensive stats, snap counts, tackles, interceptions, the usual stuff. Found plenty of numbers, but then you start going down the rabbit hole. What do these numbers really mean? A tackle is a tackle, but how many were key stops? How many INTs were game-changers versus garbage time grabs? It started feeling less clear the more I looked.
Down the Rabbit Hole
So I started watching whatever footage I could find more closely. I’d try and focus just on Weddle. Where did he line up? Who was he communicating with before the snap? It was kinda cool, actually, seeing him direct traffic back there. But man, it takes forever. You watch a play, rewind, watch again. Try to figure out his assignment versus what actually happened.
- Tried making notes on specific games.
- Looked for patterns in how offenses attacked the Ravens defense with him back there.
- Got totally sidetracked watching C.J. Mosley highlights for like an hour. Classic.
- Realized how much you don’t see on the standard broadcast camera angle.
It got pretty messy. My notes were all over the place. One minute I’m convinced he was the linchpin, the next I’m wondering if the stats slightly flattered him because the defensive line was eating up blockers. It’s hard to separate one player’s impact from the other ten guys on the field, you know? Plus, you read old articles or fan comments from that time, and everyone had a different opinion even back then.
What I Ended Up With
Honestly? I didn’t come away with some groundbreaking analysis. Didn’t write a thesis paper or anything. It was more… an appreciation, I guess? You see the effort, the smarts it takes to play that position at a high level. And yeah, the beard was legendary.
Mostly, I just ended up with a deeper respect for how hard it is to really evaluate players just from the outside. There’s so much going on that we don’t see or understand. You can look at numbers, watch some film, but knowing the calls, the adjustments, the locker room presence? That’s different. My little project kinda fizzled into just enjoying watching some old Ravens football, which wasn’t the worst outcome.
So yeah, that was my little adventure trying to unpack the Ravens Weddle years. A bit of a ramble, took way longer than I thought, and I didn’t exactly crack the code. But hey, sometimes the process is the point, right? Spent a few afternoons watching football, can’t complain too much about that.
