ravenken

If the Ravens didn't need 2 offense linemen, an edge rusher and a linebacker this would have been a good (not great) pick. But hey, at least he's from Alabama. You know what makes a secondary look good....a strong pass rush.

Yep. A strong pass rush. Good thing we got a great secondary since they are going to be running around all day long covering receivers while opposing QB's sit in a rocking chair waiting for someone to get open.

I don't think any amount of post draft rationale is going to make the 'pit in the stomach' feeling go away. Especailly not with Howard, Foster, Allen and even a Dalvin Cook, Charles Harris on the board. Heck even Cam Robinson would've been more palatable. First they've loaded up on the secondary and more importantly Marlon's tape watched by tons of pundits didn't make him a #16 pick. At best he was a player ranked in the mid 20s. So, why did we have to reach when we had bonafide consensus top 5-10 players on the board? That is the issue that gnawed at me all night. I've been a huge front office supporter but this pick stumped me in a negative way!
To top it off, Harbs had to bring up how good he was a special teams player so he could immediately contribute on special teams and could be eased into the starting role! No man a team with as many needs as we have doesn't need a dang special teams ace in the first round. Select one after the 5th round and please stay away from the draft room.

I HATE to admit it but I'm with you. I realize that Roster had some concussion issues but I would rather have taken the chance with CJ/Foster LB corps then adding a CB with our 1st rd pick. I'm sure he will be a really good player but come on man. Really? This is what we thought was the best player available? Wow. Yep. I will admit that they know football better than I by a factor of 100 but this still makes me shake my head. I hope the rest of the draft goes...

  17 hours ago, Ravensfansince03 said:

Player I'm really excited to see, Ryan Jensen. I forgot about him, I definetly want to see him step into a starting role on our O-line.

Why do you want Jensen to step in to a starting role? He's obviously less capable than the starters we lost. Seems the O-line blocking and protecting will be less effective than last season unless serious upgrades materialize b4 the season begins.

I too would like to see Jensen step up. He is a mauler and was NOT very good at technique in pass blocking but was getting better but there were few on the team that was a better run mauler then Jensen.

I just had to find a place to put a shout out to the new conditioning coach Sandbag Saunders! I more than love his attitude and approach to give these players an edge. I was first intrigued by Weddle commenting on Sandbag and thought about 'what if' took over conditioning of the team... my wish came true. Go Ravens!!!

This is just ANOTHER example of why I am a PROUD supporter of the Ravens and I really do appreciate Dick Cass. I don't know if there are any other LEED Gold stadiums in the league but that is a huge accomplishment and I am proud to see that they are continuing their stewardship of their neighborhood - Baltimore.
Shout out to the best owner and best friend of Baltimore, Mr. Steve Bisciotti for running the best organization in the NFL!

Go Ravens!!!

Glad to see a lot of positive responses on this Webby move. Man, I have loved this guy since he first hit the field and I am glad he is staying in the Purple and Black.

Lots of great moves this off-season but still have holes and a wish list... going to be an interesting draft!

For many years I have recognized EricD and the excellent work our FO does. He and Oz are mature, smart men who respect each other and the process. My #1 Happy Thought about the Ravens? Ownership - we got the best. #2 FO. Besides personnel issues, Dick Cass, among the many things he is responsible for, makes sure that Baltimore has a quality venue (stadium) and product (PR Department) for the fans. In a world full of ugly, this is a quality organization that I'm happy to be a fan of.

Go Ravens!

Definitely have mixed feelings about sharing this 'story'... Well all know Harbs and fam are competitive but this is a bit extreme. Taking 14 year old girls to the hoop, family or not, especially when your 6-3, is weird and NOT competition. Makes me feel even better about John Hardball. I'm confident that he would not allow his players to have a bounty on hurting opponents. Play tough, but don't go out to purposefully hurt. One of the reasons I'm a Ravens fan. I like the character of the owner and coach. Players will be players (I was a young man once - not an excuse but a reality). I like the guidance we give and what it means to Play Like a Raven. Go Ravens!

They were wrong about Young...

We could bring him back - don't think many teams are going to offer him more than what we would based on his play history - 2015 was an outlier (in his favor) because all the other starting WRs were out. We have other, higher FA concerns than him to deal with. I agree with the Waller comment earlier - move him back to WR, he is a huge Red Zone target with very good speed.

So, 2015 is an outlier because they threw him the ball? Not very good logic... We need a receiver to complement Wallace and Perriman... who would you choose? I'll take Aiken in a heartbeat - if we can afford him.

  15 hours ago, ellicottraven said:

He would be an idiot to come back. He is a very safe and reliable receiver that felt wronged by the coaches. He's not coming back unless we make him an offer better than what he's getting from other teams. When have the Ravens ever paid someone more that way?

Not a reliable receiver by a long shot. And did you see his terrible special teams play, did you watch the games? I wish him well and success on another team.

The stat line disagrees with you... http://www.thebackyardbanter.com/reception-perception-kamar-aiken-is-the-answer-to-the-ravens-receiver-riddle.html
Sure, this is previous season article but that does not detract from his abilities... He is (was) probably the most reliable receiver on the team. Go Ravens!

Aiken IS a very good receiver along the veins of Boldin... I can't think of any other receiver out there that you can make the same comparison and definitely none in FA.
I do think he got a raw deal as we did nothing to get the ball to him this last year... instead it was just feeding Smith's ego which really did not need feeding.
We are going to regret seeing him go. :-/
Go Ravens!

  On 2/16/2017 at 7:35 PM, reed20 said:

Dixon is the better all around back

I would have to agree, I don't want to find fault with T West however he just seems to have trouble with consistency. He had the same problem in Cleveland. Too many times he would put up 3-5 yards and then nothing for the next two plays.
Dixon seemed to have a little more success and also found a few more holes.
I think the Ravens should try to land a playmaking RB if they can land one, such as Lacy or Murray. Then Dixon can have another year to mature. West can be the alternate back. That would be a great 1-2-3
Allen can compete in camp but I see him as a practice squad player or let go unless West takes a dive.

The Ravens should pull out more stops this year in FA.
My FA picks are
keep B Williams (10-11mil) - grab RB L Murray (8 mill)- WR V Cruz ( 5 mil) and- Sterling Moore CB (4 mil) = stay under 20 mil

to get them I would release Dumervil, Zuttah, Aiken, Price, Wright, Arrington, Watson, Elam, Powers, and Wagner. ( including SSr and Orrs $) that should be enough salary space.= gain 26 mil

( im considering J Smith and T Young as the starting CB and Weddle and Webb as the starting S)
keep the rest of the starters- and 2nd string as possible.
keep everyone else possible in balancing the cap and leave just enough $ for Draft money- get 2CB, C, WR, OG, S and DE or OLB. in that order.
I know that leaves the O line possibly with a rookie Center, however moving Yanda back to Right Guard changes the O line tremendously or Lewis can play Right Tackle. The Ravens will need to get more from the second stringers, someone has to step up! Stanley, Lewis and Yanda are going to have to anchor the offensive line.

But then I'm sure there are plenty who disagree with me on these choices. Probably glad im not making the decisions. lol

I would not ravage our O-line for VCruz, Murray, and Moore... Cruz is a cripple, Murray adds nothing that we don't already have in spades, and moore is a CB that we can get in the draft many times over and a lot cheaper...
Don't have problems with any of your cuts...

"THE PASS" opens up the running game and I like T. West! We are set at the RB position and would like a 3rd like Bernard Pierce maybe a 6ft back to really wear teams down! T. West runs with alot of intensity and he will be fired up come next season God Willing! If teams don't respect the pass our backs will not get much production playing predictable football and defenses will know exactly when to blow up up the line of scrimmage with that run on 1st and 2nd pass on 3rd and punt crap!

I agree...

What is it that people don't like about West? Talented and durable, and a runner that does not want to go down... Both Dixon and West make people miss... what is it that people don't like about West? Slow? Ezekiel Elliott looked like West with good blocking... Heck, West even catches the ball better than Elliott...

Great Story. Thank you Mr. Mink!
I am still a fan of Jacoby and wish him well.

BestFriendofBaltimore Mr. Steve Bisciotti and Pres. Dick Cass are a class act. One of many reasons I'm a Ravens fan. Go Ravens!

There are certainly a lot of Hardball haters out there... I will say that I screamed the loudest and longest to get rid of Billick... awful coach... I like Hardball... I like his style and I appreciate the team of character he puts on the field... save Cincy game, Ravens come to play in every game, players support each other, no silliness that you see come from all the other teams... Ravens from the owner down realize that this is a team effort and Hardball echos that... responsibility...

Joe haters too... no I'm not happy but I do see a 6'6" man coming off a torn ACL that really does not do anything until training camp... he has and will play better...

I hope we can keep Aiken... he is the closest thing to Bouldin out there... want Wallace as well but cap... going to be an interesting off season.

I like that fact that Hardball kept Marty. We always mention the turnstile at OC but we never seem to mention why... Cam was the only person that was driving me absolutely crazy... Marty will at times do so but I understand that being OC is building a sub-team that gets fine tuned... I see the progress and growth Marty and Joe made over the season... they are getting better... Marty is smart a chance for him to catch his breath and to properly assume OC duties... Hardball made the right move.

fans seem to have forgotten Joe had an ACL and really was not doing a thing until training camp... For the fine edge that pro football is, that is an issue... I expect and know Joe will be leading his receivers next year... I am one of the few people that hope we can keep Aiken... he is the closest thing to Boldin out in the market that I know of... he really is a beast and I hope we can afford him... going to be an interesting off-season.

God that Squeeler loss still makes me sick...
I will say one thing about that game. Living in Portland OR... at a Squeeler bar with about 150-200 squeeler fans, and 4 Raven Flockers sitting upfront at the main entrance (first thing people see when they came in)... It was a good/great game to watch as a Raven fan except for the last 10 seconds. :-/

  On 3/23/2016 at 5:53 AM, manofsteel said:

Why don't the Raven "give back to the fans" instead of foolishly spend it on a perfectly good building. We fans would like to see some cheaper ticket and food prices!

Why would any business lower the price of something when the demand for the product already exceeds the finite supply of it?

"Giving back to the fans" is done by putting a quality product on the football field, since that's what you are paying to see.

Increasing player moral by investing in the infrastructure of the business is a great way to do that.

I agree with you.

What team owner spends his own money to improve the states stadium it should be this way but usually the owner is depending on tax payer money for stadium improvements. Hats off to the team owner.

Got that right!

This is ONE of the reasons I love the Ravens... Owner.
BestFriendofBaltimore Mr. S. B. knows what it takes to build a winner... invest.
Go Ravens!!!

Thanks Sarah for including the MMBQ link... great walk to rivalry lane... Going to be a great game... Go Ravens!!!

This is plenty to look for at this game... what happens on the line will be quite important but what I think will be MOST important are game time adjustments... Marty and Dan have to be ready to adjust approaches... Marty mostly. Sure, if they are giving us the run then go for it but if they are stacking the box then stretch the field and if they are taking away the over the top then slot and tight end to the seam... still, have to make the D-line run and get them winded and then power through the seams... don't go outside on them (WR flair) and Sharzier shuts down screens. Misdirection works against their pursuit. Go Ravens!!!

Glad to see Beyer get back on the field... I believe injury has been dragging Correa down... I think this last draft class will go down as one of the best ever for the Ravens (it will be hard/impossible to beat Ogden/Lewis) ... Orr is getting banged up from playing like a madman... It's going to be a great game... Go Ravens!!!