Tarvares Gooden: "a new and improved Bart"?
Per Ken Murray of the Baltimore Sun, Ravens linebacker Tavares Gooden will likely replace Bart Scott, who departed to the Jets via free agency this off-season.
He is competing for the spot with Jameel McClain, but he's already adding undue pressure on himself with his comments.
He is competing for the spot with Jameel McClain, but he's already adding undue pressure on himself with his comments.
"I was brought in here to do a job; that's what I'll do. I won't disappoint. ... I'll fit the role of a new and improved Bart."He transitioned from outside linebacker to inside linebacker going into his senior season at Miami. But Gooden, who plays around 240 pounds, has often heard that he's not big enough to play inside.
"Tavares is sometimes going too fast," [Ray] Lewis said. "At a jogging pace, he wants to hit somebody, like right now. So I've got to calm him down."
"I don't think 'big enough, physical enough' has anything to do with it because if you watch my first preseason games, I was knocking people's helmets loose," he said. "I was being physical. ... Sometimes, it's more about someone's heart and determination."Last year, Gooden, who was drafted in the third round by the Ravens, suffered a season-ending injury in week six.
