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Ragone Watch (NFL Europe)

Wolf

Wolf

100% Texan
The Berlin Thunder offense worked together for the first time on Monday, opening up its 2005 passing camp with 23 offensive players taking part in nearly two hours of drills and conditioning.

“It felt really good to be out there,” Thunder quarterback Dave Ragone said. “I was impressed with the speed and the talent of some of those guys. The international guys really impressed me out there.”

Ragone’s plethora of tight spirals was the talk of the lockerroom by most of his new teammates after the first day.

“I see that we have a couple quarterbacks that can really gun the ball,” wide receiver Huey Whittaker said. “That ball was coming right at me. I also see that we have some wide receivers with some speed can and the running backs, too, looked solid. We’re ready to go and we want to keep it up.”

Keeping up pace with the offense and developing a rapport with the quarterbacks will be the most important thing for the rest of this offense in the next two days. “It’s extremely important,” Thunder head coach Rick Lantz said after practice. “The quarterbacks and the receivers have to really feel for each other.”

Helping ease the transition between the new teammates is quarterbacks and wide receivers coach Steve Logan. Logan, who was head coach of East Carolina from 1992-2002, directed the quarterbacks and receivers through much of the morning practice. “That’s what he does,” Lantz said. “He is working with these guys on the run and coaching these guys because he understands exactly what is going on. He can tell these players where to be in just a few words.”

For many of the players, just the opportunity to put on a helmet and cleats was enough to get their juices flowing.

“I didn’t take my helmet off the entire time,” wide receiver Allen Suber said. “I didn’t want to take any breaks. We’re tough guys coming from Division II college football. It felt really nice to be out there.”

Ragone, who spent the entire 2004 season with the Houston Texans as a backup quarterback, was also thrilled to be out in the Tampa sunshine. “It’s like I’ve got a new life. I feel almost reborn,” he said. “Here everyone is competing but I’ve got a chance to go out there and be a leader.”
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Berlin
 
here is the next article.


2nd article

On the eve of the first day of NFL Europe’s 2005 training camp, members of the Berlin Thunder offense are pleased by how confident they feel after finishing up a two-day passing camp. Passing camp was designed entirely for quarterbacks to get into rhythm with their offensive weapons.

“I was surprised that a lot of us were able to pick up the plays so well,” said wide receiver Terrence Stubbs, who was allocated by the New York Jets after spending the entire season on their practice squad. “The timing was there between the quarterbacks and the receivers, and we really didn’t have too many mistakes out there on the field.”

Stubbs was supremely impressed with the arm strength of Houston Texans’ allocated quarterback Dave Ragone. “Dave has a very strong arm,” Stubbs said matter-of-factly. “He really gets it there quick.”

The key now for the other eight wide receivers currently on the Thunder roster is to stay consistent and to continue studying the playbook, Stubbs felt. “I want to keep learning the playbook so I can try and make plays out there on the field,” he said.
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Love the media hype. "Supremely impressed," but he said it "matter-of-factly." :hmmm:

Go, Rags, go. Become awesome! Prove me--errrrr, I mean, the doubters--wrong about you!!!


By the way, lol@"Hamburg Sea Devils." Why not Hamburg Lars?
 
The World Bowl champion Berlin Thunder and their head coach Rick Lantz have begun working to defend their title by putting together a roster that – they hope – will match and even exceed the talent of their 2004 team.

At the head of the franchise, and hoping to fill the big boots vacated by 2004 NFL Europe Offensive MVP Rohan Davey, will be quarterback Dave Ragone, allocated to Berlin by the Houston Texans. Ragone is excited to be a part of the Thunder team, and his description of his skills had Lantz looking back to his 2004 squad for a point of reference.

“I am a left-handed quarterback. I make good decisions, I try not to make high risk passes. I manage the game well and understand what you need to do to win,” Ragone said. “I would not describe my self as a screamer who gets into teammates faces, I try to lead by example. My biggest role model in football would be a guy like Brett Favre, he plays for the love of the game, and that’s kind of how I feel. I want to lay it on the line and win football games.”

“I watched Dave Ragone play in college – I always keep an eye on Louisville as I used to coach there. He is a big, smart, strong, tough player – he reminds me a bit of a guy we had here last year,” responded an excited Lantz.

Ragone is part of a three-man quarterback rotation for Berlin that will compete in Tampa Bay for the starting job in training camp in the upcoming weeks. Although he will be going all out to win the job ahead of Jeff Krohn ({Pittsburgh Steelers) and Brett Engemann (Oakland Raiders), Ragone is looking forward to the camaraderie that will grow between the three players.
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blueprint for success
 
god forbid he becomes the NFLE MVP. I can just see the "Bench Carr and put in Ragone!" threads now.
 
I honestly dont think Carr is the type of person that needs outside motivation to give 100%
 
I hope Ragone does amazing and he gets MVP and then we trade him for a 1st round draft pick!! I am positive this will happen! :fib
 
now that is a scenario that would rock.

everyone wins.. we get a 1st rounder, someone else gets a good QB, and Ragone gets to start and lead his own team.
 
Ragone's "good decisions," I hope, will include holding onto the freaking ball when the center snaps it. Seems like a nice place to start...? :woot

More power to him. If Rags turns in a phenomenal minor-league season in Europe, it may not do much to Carr, but I bet it'll affect the other backups.
 
Ya'll took the words right outta my mouth! I was just thinking that. We have two pretty outstanding back-up QBs, Ragone and Symons. Ragone came out of college with a pretty impressive senior campaign, and B.J. shattered almost every, if not all, passing records in Div. I. IMO Ragone's stock could really rise this season in Europe and that could draw some interests from other teams. Then we would have the option of trading for picks in the draft or an even swap for someone. It's true Symons played in a "pass happy" offense at Tech but coming off of an ACL injury, I don't think teams would be too eager to jump on his bandwagon. I think he would be a great back up for DC. Don't get me wrong, Ragone would be an awesome back up to David, possibly challange him for the starting spot. He's definately gonna be a starter somewhere. But I'm afraid if we don't get something for him now, we won't get squat when his contract is up and he signs a phat deal with someone else and we end up with nothing.
 
ok we're looking at the positives, what do we do if he goes over there and completly chokes ? What would you expect then, if he cant compete an "minor" level how do we expect him to compete at the pro level ? :whew
 
Apologies if this is slightly off-topic, but this thread led me to start poking around the NFLE website to see where the other Texans-allocated players would be seeing action this year, and I have to admit I'm a bit puzzled.

Any idea where our guys are?? Other than Rags, the only ones I found were:

Antonio Rodriguez (Amsterdam or Cologne, depending on where you look)
Allen Suber (Berlin)
Nick Narcisse (Frankfurt)
B.J. Symons (?!?!) (Frankfurt)
Anthony Dunn (Cologne)
Brandon Evans (Cologne)
Dave Moretti (Cologne)

None of Houston's other allocations (as released Jan. 31) are in the league's player list. And if you search the NFLE's master player roster, only Ragone and Rodriguez show up. The other listings are from scanning the individual player rosters. And Symons is on a roster? I'm confused.

One possible explanation for this is that one team (Hamburg) still hasn't posted its roster into the NFLE master list. But that'd be amazing to find all the rest of Houston's players on the Hamburglars squad.

Side note: Defensive coaches for Berlin include "Chris Dishman." (Spelled as they did.)
 
Unfortunatly, that is basically what it is. Used to be one in Spain and one in Scottland, but those teams folded and became German teams. Hopefully as it is played longer in europe, it will gain more of a following and again expand.
 
i think ragone could be a dark horse and shock a lot of people by his ability...let's not forget the only time ragone got any real playing time was against jacksonville's stround and henderson when we had weigert and washington out...not exactly a good line in front of him
 
keyfro said:
i think ragone could be a dark horse and shock a lot of people by his ability...let's not forget the only time ragone got any real playing time was against jacksonville's stround and henderson when we had weigert and washington out...not exactly a good line in front of him
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So, you're saying we have a line?
:hmmm:
 
no i'm saying we don't...i think weigert is constantly hurt so he can be effective...mckinney is way over matched when he is going against stroud and henderson and wand is too slow against freeney...simply put three of our starting o-lineman can't handle the vigors of the afc south division and need to be upgraded...mckinney or weigert can be upgraded soon in this draft during the second round i believe with any of those guards and centers out there...david baas, chris spencer, marcus johnson, elton brown, and ben wilkerson any of those guys would be a much welcome addition
 
I watched Ragone with some interest 1st year he was withg team, was wondering how rest of our players are looking with their respective teams. :confused:
 
Was Mathews the RB that looked good in preseason last year, but got injured before the season, or was that someone else?

I thought Ward was a promising prospect...Guess the Admirals didn't think the same...
 
Berlin Thunder

WAIVED: Steve Baker, P; Josh Buhl, LB; Jason Gesser, QB; Robert Redd, WR; Marque Davis, WR.
INJURED RESERVE: Allen Suber, WR.
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Looks like BJ beat out Jason Gesser for a spot and Allen Suber is on IR...
 
D-ReK said:
Looks like BJ beat out Jason Gesser for a spot and Allen Suber is on IR...
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Wasn't Gesser suppose to be this "Bad A**" coming out of college? What happened? Didn't he get drafted by Tennessee?
 
Scrimmage Notes March 20 2005...The Finals scrimmages were held on Saturday with all the teams partaking in there final practices in Tampa Bay, as they ship out on Sunday Night and Monday morning. In the scrimmages Cologne looked very strong in the air as all three quarterbacks played strong games, but the however struggle on the ground with there leading rusher only gaining 19 yards albeit on only a few carries, Amsterdam once again faired well as they look like one of the strong teams coming into the 2005 season, and Houston Texans allocated Kicker Chris Snyder who has seen a lot of good reports in camp connected on both field goals he attempted from 35 and 51 yards. In the scrimmage between the Berlin Thunder and Rhein Fire once again Dave Ragone struggled going only 2 for 6 with 14 yards, however on the other hand once again Brett Engemann looked strong hitting all 5 of his passes for over 30 yards passing. The Fire passers also looked strong as the longest completion of the day came from there group. Hamburg looked strong all round in there scrimmage against Frankfurt all the Quarterbacks played well noticeably Ryan Dinwiddle and on only two rushing attempts Larry Croom had 20 yards, and not forgetting English National Receiver Scott McReady having 3 passes for 36 yards. Texans Quarterback B.J Symons also played in the game however i have not yet heard his statistics as soon as i do i will put them online. Akili Smith also looked strong for the Galaxy completing 7 passes. That is it for the teams in Tampa Bay as they now ship out to Europe where the weather is not quite as warm as in sunny Florida
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Dont forget to keep checking Sideline's NFL Europe website, he's a strong Texans fan...and he is keeping track of all the Texans relocated over to there to play.
Sideline's Texans/NFL Europe Website
 
Dionysus22 said:
Wasn't Gesser suppose to be this "Bad A**" coming out of college? What happened? Didn't he get drafted by Tennessee?
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Gesser wasn't ever a top QB prospect coming out of college. When he came out of Washington State I recall him hoping to get picked up somewhere in Day 2 of the draft. I'm not sure if he was drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent by Tennesse (I'm thinking he was signed as an undrafted free agent), but he ended up with them either way. He doesn't have a lot of arm strength, and I think his size was yet another reason he wasn't highly thought of by NFL teams. He's a 3rd string type of QB at best.
 
Symons in the Hunt March 21 2005...The Frankfurt Galaxy starting Quarterbacks have yet to be announced meaning although he arrived late to camp after having to go and get a knee check up Houston Texans Quarterback B.J Symons is still in with a good chance of becoming the starting passer come April 2nd, his competition are Akili Smith and Kevin Eakin.



Narcisse Injured Reserve March 21 2005... Frankfurt Galaxy and Houston Texans Wide Receiver has been landed on the Frankfurt injured reserve list, unlike the NFL list it does not prevent them from coming back this season, it just means that he will most probably be heading to Alabama for Rehabilitation before returning to Europe.



Matthews a Sea Devil March 21 2005... As promised a few of the Houston Texans allocated players are back with NFL Europe teams, Adam Matthews was one of the first claimed of waivers as the Hamburg Sea Devils brought him in and have since allocated him to there Practice Squad. Sadly as yet Linebacker Antonio Rodriguez has not been claimed or re-allocated.
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From Sidelines NFLE website: http://www.geocities.com/nfl_europe_league/

symons2.jpg
BJ Symons​

pl_55861.jpg
Dave Ragone​
 
little update straight from the source. I am working with the cologne centurions in the promotions department, but i just saw the first depth chart to but put out soon.

Anthony Dunn will be starting as the Sam Linebacker with David Morretti backing him up.

Brandon Evans better known around here as "Bubba" will be the starting LG.

and Scates is the only punter so he is the starter for better or for worse. although he has been bothered by an injury lately.

should be a good season. Go centurions. but i am not sure about the rest of the texans around the league.
 
Hey guys! I have a question that I have been meaning to ask you and this Ragone watch threads reminded me to ask you guys about Dave Ragone I read about hime in a magazine that had a section in there profiling him as a rookie in 2003 and talking to him about the draft and things like that. Well what confused me is why? Why would you guys,on what seemed to me as a "waste" of a draft pick when just a year earlier you guys drafted a very capable very talented David Carr at #1 who I think is just on the verge on having a big break out year although some of you might consider last year somewhat of a breakout year. But the point of this story is why with a great young guy like him around would you turn around the next year and draft another young gun? Just a question that's been naging me. :confused:
 
Several reasons (1) you need 2-3 QB's in this league, (2) Banks isn't getting any younger or more talented and (3) Ragone had been graded as highly as the 1st round so getting him in the 3rd was considered a clear value/BPA pick.
 
All of the NFLE teams' starting QBs have been named. Makes sense, considering the start of their season is this weekend! Ragone got some kind words in the article.

Full article

Behold, the return of Akili Smith. *yawn*
 
Why do we continue to draft QBs? look at Philly and Miami. AJ Feeley.. young, talented backup QB that go traded to Miami for a second rounder.


Not only does having these young guys around provide us with some lasting depth.. but it also is possible trade bait for the future.
 
Ha, good one! AJ Feeley, "talented." April Fool's, right? :)

Just kidding...I think the guy MAY turn into an average NFL starter someday, but not next year or the year after that. He has absolutely NO offensive line to help him in the near term, and nobody to run the ball--pending the outcome of the draft, of course. Let's face it...if you're in danger of losing your starting job to Gus "Headbutt" Frerotte, you're not good.

Back to the topic. I agree that keeping a stock of young QBs around is smart. They can indeed be valuable, either on the field or as options for trading...and they don't hurt you nearly as much cap-wise as some of these retread veteran QBs who can be just as iffy. I have the TiVo programmed for Berlin's games and I'll watch with interest to see exactly what we have with Rags. Bummer that Symons won't see the same playing time.
 
Here is sideline's update from the 1st half of Ragone's start over on texanstalk:

Just thoght i would let you guys know, unless you are watching, the first half has just finished between the Berlin Thunder and the Frankfurt Galaxy and Dave Ragone is playing Very very well, looking poised, making good decisions and throwing accurate passes including a Touchdown. The Thunder have scored on all three of the possesions that Ragone has been in the game.

I will be doing a full review of the game on Ragone and Co on my website probably later tonight. But if he continues the way he has started things look great.
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Currently in the 3rd quarter, Ragone 14-21 for 150 yards and a touchdown.

Berlin leads Akili Smith's Frankfurt Galaxy 20-0.

Berlin has 303 yards of offense, to Frankfurt's 39! :shocked
 
I tried to get the Game Stats to come up off of that page and it would never load. Anyone else have this problem?

Good to hear that Ragone is doing good and Akili is doing bad, Symons may get his shot.
 
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