What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

*****Official Baltimore Ravens Thread***** (1 Viewer)

Uruk-Hai

Uruk-Hai

Footballguy
Aside from the four ( :bag: ) TOs last night, I like what I saw. The defense was filthy and the offense - when they didn't lay the ball on the ground - seemed sharp.

I think Tandon Doss is gone. He's done nothing since he's been here and the TO last night may have sealed his fate.

I still don't understand the Reed-Carter trade. Not because I think much of Reed, but because they traded him for a RB. Thoughts?

That front line of the D is going to be tough to run against. Daryl Smith is going to be one of the steals of the offseason at LB. And it was nice to see Webb playing fearlessly.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think that they will rush a little more than they did last year since they have 2 quality backs and they lost some key receivers for Flacco. I think Rice should get about 265ish or so carries and Pierce will have about 135ish.

The thing is that they usually just sub in for an entire drive, so while people think Rice is the goal line back and third down back, the same can be said for Pierce. They like what Pierce can do catching the ball, but he does lack pass protection. But, like I said there's usually not a lot of subbing in and out on drives between these guys unless one needs a blow.

 
I'm guessing touches between the 2 will turn out to be something like 2/3-1/3 Rice. Carries will be a bit closer, maybe 60-40. While Pierce is good, rumors of Rice's demise are greatly exaggerated.

 
I guess we retired the 2012 World Champion thread? Time to move on - though the 2012 Ravens edition of "America's Game" will premiere on Monday, Sept. 2 at 9 p.m. Who will the three talking heads be? My guess is Harbaugh, Flacco and maybe Reed? I'm pretty sure Ray was on the 2000 edition, and I think they don't like to repeat people.

I agree with UH that the defense looked fantastic Thursday night. Seems like Ihedigbo has won the starting safety job over Elam for now. O line looked decent when Yanda was in there, struggled when he wasn't. The guy from Delaware seems to have won the starting Center job over Shipley. I think that's the right call - even if they're about equal now, Shipley has no more upside.

Stokley looked pretty decent. He will be tough in the slot, and I think Jones is going to get a lot of looks at the #2 WR, just because there's nobody else. I think Doss should just be cut - and I think he probably will be. The undrafted rookie Marlon Brown and Mellette both have shown more than Doss already.

 
Yeah, I bumped the old thread up the other day so we could give it a proper burial, but I probably shouldn't have done it on the weekend.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Yeah, I bumped the old thread up the other day so we could give it a proper burial, but I probably shouldn't have done it on the weekend.
Click to expand...
We move on.

Watching the Jets' turmoil right now reminds me that Flacco is worth every penny of his new deal, even if he only puts up stats like a Top 15 QB while being paid like a Top 5. If you have a legit QB, you have a legit chance at making the playoffs and going on a Super Bowl run almost every year. If you don't, you have almost no chance. The Jets' situation is just so reminiscent of the garbage the Ravens went through every year from 1999 until 2008 (with the possible exception of McNair's good year in 2006). So nice not to have to worry about any of that.

 
The_Man said:
Uruk-Hai said:
Yeah, I bumped the old thread up the other day so we could give it a proper burial, but I probably shouldn't have done it on the weekend.
Click to expand...
We move on.

Watching the Jets' turmoil right now reminds me that Flacco is worth every penny of his new deal, even if he only puts up stats like a Top 15 QB while being paid like a Top 5. If you have a legit QB, you have a legit chance at making the playoffs and going on a Super Bowl run almost every year. If you don't, you have almost no chance. The Jets' situation is just so reminiscent of the garbage the Ravens went through every year from 1999 until 2008 (with the possible exception of McNair's good year in 2006). So nice not to have to worry about any of that.
Click to expand...
You are spot on.

I am a Giants and Ravens fan - Born in B'more live in NY. Never had a problem with the Jets, wish they would win more - lot of good friends are Jets fans. IT'S MISERABLE. Hopeless. Not only for the season, but a week to week basis. You can't get excited to watch the team. Not only is the team record likely to be awful, but the play so bad, and devoid of anyone to get excited about, especially at QB. Can't see Geno helping things. But when you have Sanchez marching out each Sunday last year, it's literally difficult to watch.

As a Giants fan, we have Eli. He can be inconsistent. Has some just terrible games. But goodness, HE WINS. He wins BIG GAMES. And every sunday we have a good chance, even when the team isn't playing well... because our QB has the ability and a knack for coming back and winning. Many call him underrated. Some say overrated. But he wins, especially playoff games, and that's resulted in the ability to win the Super Bowl. Sound familiar?

Flacco and Eli share some of those traits at a high level (really different players with different deficiencies when you examine it) - and I'll spend what I need to have a top 8-10 QB in this league. The bottom half of that, or even 10-12 I can not only live with, but win with.

You get below that and your team has to do some really special things. Get into the last third and you are not going anywhere, save for a miracle of top 10 all time defenses. And get to the bottom 5-8 - welcome to Jetsville. Population: sadness and frustration.

 
:lol:

I swear, the Jets are the biggest trainwreck I can remember since the early 80s Colts. It's not just the losing (otherwise the 0-16 Lions would win this race), it's the disfunction. Some (most?) of it isn't Rex's fault, but you wanna talk the talk, yadda yadda yadda...

In any case, I agree with both of the last two posts in regards to Flacco. He can be maddeningly inconsistent (like you pointed out re: Eli), but guess what? I KNOW he can play well in big games and win a SB.

 
Who's watching America's Game 2012, the Story of the Baltimore Ravens? My dad's apparently tearing up watching it.

 
Koya said:
Who's watching America's Game 2012, the Story of the Baltimore Ravens? My dad's apparently tearing up watching it.
Click to expand...
I enjoyed this much more than is appropriate. What a ride that season was. I loved the photo at the very end of Flacco picking up his order at the McDonald's drive through on the way home from signing his $120M contract.

It is kind of cool to realize that in the last 10 years, the only AFC quarterbacks to reach the Super Bowl are Brady, Manning, Roethlisberger and ... Flacco. And that Flacco bested Brady and Manning on the way to winning his title.

Here's my official prediction for the season.

Vs. AFC North: 4-2

They might end up sweeping the Steelers and splitting with the Browns; however it goes down, I still think the Ravens do better than .500 in the division. The first time Cundiff comes in the game for Cleveland during the Week 2 home opener, it's going to be a scene.

Vs. AFC East: 3-1

I can see them handling the Pats at home on a December Sunday night. But maybe Miami surprises them on a hot Florida October afternoon, when the Ravens are on the back half of a two-game road trip. They should take care of the Bills and Jets.

Vs. NFC North: 2-2

They're bad in domes, so the MNF game at Detroit could be tough. And I think GB is a very tough match-up for them. NFC North looks tough to me this year - I'd be pretty happy if they split vs. the division.

Vs. Houston and Denver: 1-1

Two tough games, I'll guess the Ravens split them.

10-6. Probably good enough for a playoff spot, maybe even the division title. And then once they get in the playoffs, maybe with Pitta back, they'll once again be the team nobody wants to play as they go for their 6th straight year with a post-season win. If they make the playoffs, I like their chances as much as anybody's.

 
Still can't believe the spread is as high as 7.5 after opening at 9. While so much talk has focused on the Ravens' departing players, the Broncos line up tonight with only 5 guys who started on defense in the playoff game - those missing include Von Miller, Dumervil and Champ Bailey (Rahim Moore is still there). Denver got 1 sack in 35 pass plays vs. Flacco last year, shared by Miller and Dumervil. Will they pressure Flacco tonight?

The Ravens had a great defensive game plan vs. the Broncos last year - they held them to 399 yards on a whopping 87 plays - 14 of the 35 points they allowed were on kick returns. That plan involved playing nickel the entire game (80 of 87 snaps). The only time the Ravens came out of nickel was when they went heavy on Denver's final possession in regulation to stuff the run and force one final punt.

I hope they do the same again tonight, especially now that Webb's return makes CB a position of strength. He and Graham are both so good at covering the slot WR - it will be interesting to see who they give that role to tonight. I lean toward Webb matching up with Welker man-for-man wherever he goes, since Welker did torch Graham pretty well in the AFC Championship game. I love Webb as a blitzer from the slot.

Speaking of nickel, I'm looking forward to seeing some of Arthur Brown tonight. I think the Ravens like him as a nickel LB who can cover, and the plays he impressed me on this preseason were his blitzes - he rushed as the nickel LB on the play where he blew up Rams QB Kellen Clemens and gave him that bloody nose.

The thing I'm least certain about is the Ravens passing game. But I am holding out hope they kept everything under wraps during the preseason and are ready to bust out a little bit. Torrey Smith had that 77-yard TD on a shallow crossing route, the kind of play that takes advantage of his great speed but that they never ever seem to run, preferring him to streak straight down field on go routes instead. Also, will we see Rice and Pierce in the backfield at the same time? I love the idea of lining them up together, then having Ray split wide, leaving Flacco the option to go run or pass, depending on how the defense reacts.

 
And so it begins.......

My knee jerk reaction when the schedule was solidified was "Denver's gonna beat the living hell out of the Ravens" (remember what the Ravens did to the Steelers a couple of years ago after a crushing playoff loss?). I still kinda feel that way, but Denver's got some issues of their own (pass rush? can they run? Champ's replacement?). So I took Baltimore +7.5 in my confidence pool, but very low.

The national media seems to have caught up a bit in that many are now on board that this year's D should be better than last year's. I think it's still gonna take some games to fit all of the pieces together optimally, but they have the chance to be really nasty.

Like many, I'm concerned about the lack of depth in pass-catching targets. The one silver lining to Pitta getting hurt was that it happened early, so it at least had to get the wheels turning some more on how to work with limited resources. I may be selling Dallas Clark short, but he looked disinterested & lost when I saw him. I think Stokely still has something, though. So - Smith, Stokely, Jones, Brown, Dickson, Rice, Leach, Pierce(?) need to carry the load. I think Caldwell is going to earn his money.

I read an article today on Grantland that ranked the DEFCON status of each team's GM & coach in terms of how much trouble they were in (the higher the number, the safer) should the season go in the ####ter. The Ravens scored 11. I think the next team (SF?) was like a 6. Of course, Harbaugh wasn't even mentioned in the text; it was all Ozzie. But no matter - barring a catstrophe, nothing's going to change for at least 5 years.

 
Wondering if any Baltimore homers would know if you started Dickson tonight would you be worried about Clark stealing alot of plays. I know Clark has only been there for about a month but knows the offensive coord well. Thanks

 
Han Solo said:
Wondering if any Baltimore homers would know if you started Dickson tonight would you be worried about Clark stealing alot of plays. I know Clark has only been there for about a month but knows the offensive coord well. Thanks
Click to expand...
Man, this is a total crap-shoot. Like I said above, Clark has looked awful to me. And Dickson hasn't played.

But The_Man has a good point in that the Ravens may have been sandbagging a bit.

I know this response doesn't help. I'd play Dickson if he was the best TE I had since he can split out wide, too. But there's just not much evidence on how the Ravens offense is going to play.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Han Solo said:
Wondering if any Baltimore homers would know if you started Dickson tonight would you be worried about Clark stealing alot of plays. I know Clark has only been there for about a month but knows the offensive coord well. Thanks
Click to expand...
Man, this is a total crap-shoot. Like I said above, Clark has looked awful to me. And Dickson hasn't played.But The_Man has a good point in that the Ravens may have been sandbagging a bit.

I know this response doesn't help. I'd play Dickson if he was the best TE I had since he can split out wide, too. But there's just not much evidence on how the Ravens offense is going to play.
Click to expand...
Dickson = Turrible! I know Clark dropped the TD, but at least he catches most passes his way.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ImTheScientist said:
I have a question for Ravens fans....

Do you like Joe Flacco?
Click to expand...
Flacco gets a ton of hate he doesnt deserve, he isnt a top 10 QB but he is in the range right after that. He's frustrating on his bad days but he proven to be really clutch. He's basically the same as Eli and Ben but he doesn't get close to the respect. I think you could switch him and Stafford's or Ryan's situations and see almost the same stats.

 
Well that sucked.

Didn't listen to much of the sports talk, what I heard seemed uncharacteristically non-hysterical. Biggest concerns seemed to be around Ravens' pass catchers and pass defenders. I was a big Huff fan myself, but he was terrible last night. Maybe a little too much focus on the Harbaugh non-challenge. They did give up 7 TDs, so I'm not convinced that was a big issue.

Run defense looked outstanding. Ngata was blowing people up. Dickson is probably my least favorite Raven.

Also, I am severely and savagely hung over - didn't drink all that much, but the 4.5 hours of sleep I got are compounding the symptoms. Have to take my daughter to the Orioles game tonight, and stick around afterward because her drum instructor's band is the house band at the Warehouse bar after Friday night games. ugh. I just want to go to sleep and wake up next Sunday.

 
I'm (maybe surprisingly, considering the way some of my friends are acting today) completely unalarmed by what happened last night.

"Everything sucked and the world's ending" - I get it. The defense is gonna need some time to come together. Plus, they will not face a combination of factors again like they did last night. Facing a team feeling like they got robbed in the last game, a HOF QB, an entire Pro Bowl's worth of receivers on one team, revamped D).

The Ravens got their asses handed to them in the 2nd half, ain't no doubt. Oher & Jones getting hurt is troublesome.

On the plus side, Marlon Brown y'all. Plus the D-front looked stout and Suggs looked like it was 2011 all over again.

I'm gonna stick with somewhere between 8-8 and 10-6 with the future being really bright.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
I'm (maybe surprisingly, considering the way some of my friends are acting today) completely unalarmed by what happened last night.

"Everything sucked and the world's ending" - I get it. The defense is gonna need some time to come together. Plus, they will not face a combination of factors again like they did last night. Facing a team feeling like they got robbed in the last game, a HOF QB, an entire Pro Bowl's worth of receivers on one team, revamped D).

The Ravens got their asses handed to them in the 2nd half, ain't no doubt. Oher & Jones getting hurt is troublesome.

On the plus side, Marlon Brown y'all. Plus the D-front looked stout and Suggs looked like it was 2011 all over again.

I'm gonna stick with somewhere between 8-8 and 10-6 with the future being really bright.
Click to expand...
:goodposting:

I see a lot of people making bold claims about how awful the Ravens D will be. Truth is, they had to open on the road in the thin air of Denver without the benefit of mid-season conditioning. Add to this the factor of playing against a no huddle offence led by Peyton Manning, and you had a recipe for disaster.

Suggs needs to step up and be a leader on the defence, because it looked like they just gave up toward the end of the third quarter when they really started to gas.

I thought Flacco was the best player on Offence. He had very little help from his receivers. If Jacoby is out for any length of time, this could get ugly. Clark and Stokley might be the slowest players at their position in the NFL, and Dickson just can't catch.

All this said, I think the Ravens should still be in the mix for the AFC North this year. The defence has to gel, and the Offence needs to find some depth, but they certainly have the talent to win any matchup in the league.

 
Jones out 4-6 weeks, which hurts on multiple levels. Oher seems to be ok.

The Ravens next 4 games are 1 o'clockers, which I love.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Good atricle about Ozzie over at MMQB.

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/09/12/ozzie-newsome-baltimore-ravens/8/
Click to expand...
Great story. Thanks for sharing it.

Billick came off like an ###, fighting against trading the second-rounder in the 99 draft. Looking back, Billick was maybe the only guy who could have gotten the Ravens from a perennial loser to a Super Bowl champ in just two years. But then he sure did squander a lot of potentially good years. After the Super Bowl, the Ravens won a Wild Card game at Miami the next year, then didn't win another playoff game until Harbaugh, Flacco and Rice arrived.

 
The_Man said:
Uruk-Hai said:
Good atricle about Ozzie over at MMQB.

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/09/12/ozzie-newsome-baltimore-ravens/8/
Click to expand...
Great story. Thanks for sharing it.

Billick came off like an ###, fighting against trading the second-rounder in the 99 draft. Looking back, Billick was maybe the only guy who could have gotten the Ravens from a perennial loser to a Super Bowl champ in just two years. But then he sure did squander a lot of potentially good years. After the Super Bowl, the Ravens won a Wild Card game at Miami the next year, then didn't win another playoff game until Harbaugh, Flacco and Rice arrived.
Click to expand...
I was wondering who gave Billick's quotes to the writer. At first I thought it must've been someone else in the room. But Billick's become pretty self-deprecating lately, so maybe it was him (though it's odd he was quoted nowhere else, so maybe my first instinct was correct).

It is a good example, though, of differing agendas. The coach is much more worried about "now" while the GM is looking larger-picture. I haven't looked at who-all the Ravens could've taken with the original pick, but getting Lewis for it is pretty good value to my mind.

 
Wasn't pretty (is it ever with the Ravens?), but it's a win. I thought the Defense was fine. The Offense wasn't good until late, but Cleveland's D is pretty damned good.

Any word on Rice?

 
Anyone looking for info on drama ("How bad is Rice hurt", etc...) is gonna be real upset by this bump.

I'm just scrounging for the 4 or 5 Ravens fans we have here.

 
I watched that game through a haze, so I'm not sure how valid my observations are, but I'll share a few.

James Ihedigbo came to play! Like he wanted to show Ed Reed there was a new sheriff in town. The entire secondary was solid, even before Andre Johnson got hurt. Speaking of Ed Reed, I'm not sure what the Texans were thinking when they signed him. He might be my favorite player ever, but he's really not adding a lot that I can see at this point.

This game was such a great example of how a game can change completely on just a few plays. Ravens could easily have been down 14-0 in the first quarter. Instead they kept the Texans out in a couple of first-and-goal situations, then got the Darryl Smith pick-6 followed by the Doss punt return. Suddenly it's 17-6 after being dominated for most of the half.

The Texans' tackles (especially since they were without starting LT Duane Brown) were over matched. The DL is looking really good, even without Canty yesterday, and the rookie DT they drafted that everyone raved about before he got hurt. Ngata's sack was a thing of beauty, used his quickness to feint one way and get the Guard to take a false step, then used his power to club the guy aside and go straight up the middle to get Schaub. He had hardly finished his drop before Ngata was hitting him. Suggs also had a sweet spin move for a sack. If these guys can continue to get pressure with a 4-man rush and stuff the run without an 8th man in the box, they are really going to make life easier for the LBs and secondary.

McKinnie is back to Bad Bryant, not the Good Bryant that came out of Harb's doghouse for the playoffs last year. Fat, slow and stiff. But they have no other option. Yanda is a true Pro Bowler, did a great job on JJ Watt.

Flacco had a very strong second half, his two long passes to Smith were things of beauty (not counting the one that got overturned out of bounds), hitting him in dead stride where he could keep running. Second half, he was 9 of 12 for 118 yards, a 105.6 QB rating, and never came close to turning the ball over. Nice to see Dallas Clark reemerging from the grave, but passing targets other than Smith were pretty weak.

Speaking of climbing out of the grave, a win at Buffalo, and the Ravens are 3-1 at the quarter pole. Not too bad for a team refashioning itself, and that traditionally plays its best football of the year late in the season.

 
Feliz Gameday, amigos.

The Ravens face a QB today who can actually move (seriously, has anyone played a combined-QB-slowness over the first 3 games like Baltimore?).

(that parenthetical probably has my English teacher grandmother looking down on me in horror)

Baltimore Fats better get his mind on football rather than joyrides with bottle-wielding strippers, or Mario Williams is going to maim Flacco.

Rice is saying he'll play; the Ravens have him as "questionable".

I hope the penalty-fest of last week isn't becoming the new norm.

Baltimore hasn't given up a TD since Manning embarrassed them opening night.

I think Webb is the Ravens' best player on either side of the ball.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Uruk-Hai said:
Lordy, has it come to this?

Stillers week and no posts?
Click to expand...
Hahaha.

What a profoundly mediocre team playing horrifically boring football this year. I can't get mad, as I'm still in happy disbelief over last year's Super Bowl, and I think the moves the Ravens made in the last off-season have put them in good position to be a top team again as soon as next year. I think they'll cut Ngata because of his huge cap number, add a real NFL-caliber Center, maybe pick up another legit WR, and be ready to go deep into the playoffs.

But this year's team is clearly not jelling - will probably continue to play a lot of close games and finish somewhere between 7-9 and 9-7. It's just so boring and uninspired. I kind of what to hit fast forward on this season, get the mediocrity over with, and get back to competing.

I'm not mad, I'm just hard-pressed to be very interested.

 
The_Man said:
Uruk-Hai said:
Lordy, has it come to this?

Stillers week and no posts?
Click to expand...
Hahaha.

What a profoundly mediocre team playing horrifically boring football this year. I can't get mad, as I'm still in happy disbelief over last year's Super Bowl, and I think the moves the Ravens made in the last off-season have put them in good position to be a top team again as soon as next year. I think they'll cut Ngata because of his huge cap number, add a real NFL-caliber Center, maybe pick up another legit WR, and be ready to go deep into the playoffs.

But this year's team is clearly not jelling - will probably continue to play a lot of close games and finish somewhere between 7-9 and 9-7. It's just so boring and uninspired. I kind of what to hit fast forward on this season, get the mediocrity over with, and get back to competing.

I'm not mad, I'm just hard-pressed to be very interested.
Click to expand...
I'm kind of in the same boat. I guess I'm still working on a SB hangover, too - I was actually bored watching the game, grabbed a book, muted the TV, and turned some music on :bag:

I'm not unhappy with the defense. I figured it would take a while for them to come together and I think they've held up pretty well from a scoring standpoint. I've noticed Arthur Brown a lot more the last couple of weeks. Too many long drives though.

The offense has been pathetic - they can't run and Flacco looks like he's in a daze out there.

 
Holy crap, page 17?

I am proud of the Ravens fans here - we haven't had anything nice to say, so we haven't said anything at all! As noted above, it's hard to be mad at the team after last year's Super Bowl run, but it's also been hard to be interested in this group.

The only theft bigger than the Ravens winning Super Bowl XXVII was Ed Reed stealing $5 million from the Texans. Don't they have a pro personnel department? Anyone who really watched him play last year knew he had nothing left. Add to that the Super Bowl hangover, and his perennial me-first attitude, and it's no wonder he was a disaster in Houston. I just wonder who will be dumb enough to take a flyer on him. Won't be the Ravens. Won't be the Patriots, either, no matter how much man love talk Belichick has for Ed. I'm thinking someone clueless like Dallas or Washington.

Other thoughts ... this week's game at Chicago is the biggest of the year. Somehow the Ravens are tied with 4 other teams at 4-5, just a game behind the Jets for the second Wild Card. A couple of them play each other this week, plus 4-5 Cleveland plays 6-4 Cincy. If the Ravens get to 5-5, they play the Jets next week (at home) with a Wild Card spot on the line. That's the first of 3 straight games at home, where the Ravens - even this year's shoddy version - are so hard to beat.

The lack of a run game is a complete puzzlement to me, but I still believe this team could win a playoff game or two. I also believe they could finish 7-9.

Anquan Boldin has 1 TD and is averaging 3.5 catches for 45 yards a game since Week 1. Paul Kruger has 2.5 sacks for the season. Cary Williams has been pretty good and Ellerbe has been o.k. Ellerbe was the only one they tried to keep at all. Bernard Pollard picked up two personal fouls on one drive this week.

It's finally come out that Yanda is basically playing with one arm after having off-season rotator cuff surgery. Explains a lot. Gradkowski is a joke. If the Ravens end up picking in the middle of the first round, I'd love to see them trade back and get a center, or just use their second round pick on one.

Defense is getting better all the time. Webb showed flashes of his old excellence this week. The front 7 manhandled a pretty decent Cincy line. I think Elam is about to start making some plays -- just a hunch that he's going to stop thinking and start reacting. Dalton is made for a dome, with his decisive reads and accurate arm. He is not made for the AFC North where you have to throw through gales, take a beating, and keep your team in a tense, low-scoring slugfest, where a punt is a good play. It was like he was throwing a wiffle ball out there Sunday in the wind.

Torrey Smith has probably assumed the mantle - held by Ed Reed throughout most of the 2000s - as my favorite Raven. That TD catch was legit, and he almost made an all-time catch earlier in the game along the sideline in the end zone.

I kind of wish the Ravens would just abandon the running game, put Flacco in shotgun and throw it 60+ times a game. Next year, when they have a line again, they can go back to the ground game. But every run is just a wasted play at this point. Time to go bombs away and have some fun.

 
The_Man said:
Holy crap, page 17?

I am proud of the Ravens fans here - we haven't had anything nice to say, so we haven't said anything at all! As noted above, it's hard to be mad at the team after last year's Super Bowl run, but it's also been hard to be interested in this group.

The only theft bigger than the Ravens winning Super Bowl XXVII was Ed Reed stealing $5 million from the Texans. Don't they have a pro personnel department? Anyone who really watched him play last year knew he had nothing left. Add to that the Super Bowl hangover, and his perennial me-first attitude, and it's no wonder he was a disaster in Houston. I just wonder who will be dumb enough to take a flyer on him. Won't be the Ravens. Won't be the Patriots, either, no matter how much man love talk Belichick has for Ed. I'm thinking someone clueless like Dallas or Washington.

Other thoughts ... this week's game at Chicago is the biggest of the year. Somehow the Ravens are tied with 4 other teams at 4-5, just a game behind the Jets for the second Wild Card. A couple of them play each other this week, plus 4-5 Cleveland plays 6-4 Cincy. If the Ravens get to 5-5, they play the Jets next week (at home) with a Wild Card spot on the line. That's the first of 3 straight games at home, where the Ravens - even this year's shoddy version - are so hard to beat.

The lack of a run game is a complete puzzlement to me, but I still believe this team could win a playoff game or two. I also believe they could finish 7-9.

Anquan Boldin has 1 TD and is averaging 3.5 catches for 45 yards a game since Week 1. Paul Kruger has 2.5 sacks for the season. Cary Williams has been pretty good and Ellerbe has been o.k. Ellerbe was the only one they tried to keep at all. Bernard Pollard picked up two personal fouls on one drive this week.

It's finally come out that Yanda is basically playing with one arm after having off-season rotator cuff surgery. Explains a lot. Gradkowski is a joke. If the Ravens end up picking in the middle of the first round, I'd love to see them trade back and get a center, or just use their second round pick on one.

Defense is getting better all the time. Webb showed flashes of his old excellence this week. The front 7 manhandled a pretty decent Cincy line. I think Elam is about to start making some plays -- just a hunch that he's going to stop thinking and start reacting. Dalton is made for a dome, with his decisive reads and accurate arm. He is not made for the AFC North where you have to throw through gales, take a beating, and keep your team in a tense, low-scoring slugfest, where a punt is a good play. It was like he was throwing a wiffle ball out there Sunday in the wind.

Torrey Smith has probably assumed the mantle - held by Ed Reed throughout most of the 2000s - as my favorite Raven. That TD catch was legit, and he almost made an all-time catch earlier in the game along the sideline in the end zone.

I kind of wish the Ravens would just abandon the running game, put Flacco in shotgun and throw it 60+ times a game. Next year, when they have a line again, they can go back to the ground game. But every run is just a wasted play at this point. Time to go bombs away and have some fun.
Click to expand...
I am in love with this post. I agree with 100% of it. I think they should fire that "bum" Ozzie Newsome and install you as GM.

As expected, most of last seasons moves were either low cost flops, didn't hurt too bad releases or moves that worked out beautifully, continued into Monroe this season from Jax. Rice is winding down likely and Pierce doesn't appear to be an ascendant talent so I would add RB in somewhere behind Center as a need.

 
Thanks for bumping, T_M. I would've earlier, but I couldn't find the thread because my eyeballs were still bleeding from watching Sunday's game.

Pretty much agree with everything you said.

I don't pay much attention to impending FAs or the salary cap. Who do you think won't be back due to either next year?

I know you mentioned Ngata before, which caught me off guard a little at first. But I got to thinking about it and he's starting to look like Ed Reed circa 2012 (though he did have his best game of the year Sunday, IMO) - his body just doesn't allow him to play at peak very much anymore (or play much in any capacity, or play at all). If his # is so big that it limits several other moves, then I would have to think aout letting him move on. The young guys up front are playing pretty well and maybe Ngata wouldn't be missed as much as I originally thought.

I tried to watch the O Line a little closer last Sunday. It appears to me that there are no holes being opened inside. And I don't care what he says about being 100%, Rice just doesn't look right to me. The best running play I can recall against Cincy was Tyrod's end-around.

 
The_Man's bump of the Flacco thread done pissed me right the #### off.

I'm not the biggest Flacco fan in the world, but T_M nailed it.

 
Nice power play by flacco.... he knows he's basically uncuttable.... so he can pull this crap. I'd like to see the video of him saying this.

Speaking Tuesday, Joe Flacco savaged the Ravens' use of the Wildcat in Sunday's win over the Jets.
Flacco said the Wildcat makes the Ravens "not look like an NFL team," and a "high school team." Somewhere, Tony Sparano is crying. "I don’t care where it’s used, I’m just not a big fan of it," Flacco said. "I’m the quarterback. I want to be behind the line of scrimmage." Flacco also pledged to simply stand around when split out wide on future Wildcat snaps. "I’m not doing a single thing. I’m not blocking, I’m not doing anything." Tyrod Taylor had limited success running the Wildcat on Sunday. It certainly sounds like it won't be a big part of the Ravens' offense going forward.
 
Jesus - my poor heart. I was sure the Steelers would convert the 2-pointer.

I think Oher is gone. I really thought he would come into his own at RT, but he's not improved at all. When he got the false-start, my mother said - voice dripping with sarcasm - "shocking, isn't it?". He's replacement level at this point, and I'm sure the Ravens can find someone else who doesn't do anything positive without also being good for 2 penalties a game.

Once again, I thought the defense was very good. And, once again, they were one or two 3rd down stops from being dominant. NBC threw up their rankings in several catagories and I WAS a little surprised to see them so high in a few of them. Ozzie & DeCosta both deserve a raise for flipping the D over and making it better.

I thought Flacco played well - he underthrew(!!!) Jones early on a bomb that should've been a TD.

Torrey Smith is my favorite Raven. I guess a lot of it is because I'm also a Maryland fan, but whatever. He's never gonna be Calvin Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald, though - as often as I yelled to deaf ears when he came out and was ignored - he's not DHB, either. Smith is a football player who's fast; DHB is a fast guy they put in pads. Besides Juan Dixon, I can't think of a recent local sports hero that has overcome more.

Anyway......6-6 and a chance.

 
Typical Steelers-Ravens game. I thought the offense was really excellent - until the red zone, when it kind of stunk. No turnovers, and six scoring drives. I think they only punted once or twice. I was disappointed by the pass rush. That inability to bother Ben much almost cost them the game.

I hope Jimmy Smith is ok to play this week. He is becoming a huge part of the defense.

This will be a very telling week. I feel like this team is starting to come around and could be on the verge of playing some very good football. But they need to absolutely stomp Minnesota. A dome team (and from the NFC to boot), playing in Baltimore in December, coming off a big emotional overtime victory is the kind of opponent that a playoff-ready Ravens team would traditionally crush, maybe playing a fairly close first half before utterly taking away their will to play by late in the third quarter and whipping by 17+ points. If they do that, then I'm really excited about the @DET, NE, @CIN finish. If they squeak out another 3-point win (or even lose) then they're not the team I think they have a chance of being.

Things couldn't have broken much better for the Ravens' playoff chances over the last two weeks. Now tied with only Miami for the #6 seed, who they own the head-to-head tiebreaker over, and a game clear of everyone else. It looks like Denver and New England have locked up the top 2 seeds, regardless of which of them gets #1, and KC is slotted for #5.

If the Ravens do make the playoffs as the #6, and then knock off either Indy or Cincy in the first round, their playoff path would likely then be @Den, followed by @NE. I put their chances at winning both those games at about 5%, but it's kind of cool to think about them following last year's path and shocking the world again. Though I haven't yet ruled out a chance at winning the division. If the Ravens go 2-1 over their next 3, and the Bengals go 1-2 (Indy, at Pitt, Min), then the Week 17 game is for the division.

 
It's cliche, but every game is elimination now.

I expect the Ravens to find a way to win this one, but Peterson scares the crap out of me (&, I'm guessing, scares the crap out of Pees too). Hopefully, Joe-on-drugs doesn't show up today :unsure:

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Ministry of Pain
"Eye in the Sky" that suddenly is influencing NFL games
Replies
46
Views
2K
IHEARTFF
I
Judge Smails
Official #10 pick strategy thread (12 teams, redraft, half or full PPR)
Replies
35
Views
4K
packdog
packdog
S
Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North - PREMIERES DECEMBER 3 AT 9 PM
Replies
0
Views
137
sm8680
S

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top