woolly61

I like it as well. Shore up the defense to dominate and protect late-game leads. Don't reach for offensive players just to fill a need. I hope these two offensive linemen turn out to be productive, but like all draftees we'll have to wait and see until they actually play NFL competition. I'd like to see some players from the 2016 draft make real contributions this year -- Correa, Kaufusi, Judon, Moore. I'm hoping for good health from the TE position (and no more suspensions) in what was once considered one of the team's strengths. I'm hoping for consistent production from 2015 draftees Perriman, Williams, Davis, Smith, and Boyle. I would love to see Campanaro stay healthy for a full season to see what he could produce; he has provided flashes of excitement. And I would love to see a role develop for last year's project, of whom I might be in the considerable minority when I think he could produce excitement and big plays -- Keenan Reynolds. It's all gotta happen on the field. The players have to play. The coaches have to coach 'em up for sure, but it's still up to the players to produce and fulfill their promise.

Yes, poor Ozzie being taken advantage of; he really ought to learn from the experts on the message board. No question he should have overpaid to move up a spot or three to make a selection that would satisfy the fans who "scout" players from their living room by reading or watching what the mock drafters opine.When will Ozzie ever learn?!

Don't smoke too much; it's affecting your sense of reality...

Let's see -- general consensus is that when it was time for the Ravens to draft the four best available options were all from Alabama (Humphrey, Allen, Foster, Howard, in whatever order you'd like). Tell me, whom would you have preferred Ozzie to draft? I personally thought they would select Allen, and sure hope he doesn't turn into a beast for the Deadskins at the other end of the Parkway. But given the number of times the secondary has faltered late in games the last few years and given the injuries that have frequently occurred, I'm happy with the Humphrey pick.

I can't see us beating either the Bengals or the Steelers. With Garret and Peppers on the Browns defense, I don't see Flacco beating the Browns either. We are in for a very long season this year and if it does it doesn't bode well for John Harbaugh. This is great...after one round of the draft it has apparently become obvious that the Ravens will go 0-6 in the division next year, especially because of 2 players Cleveland selected. How in the world did the "awful" and "talent-less" 8-8 Ravens go 4-2 against these same teams last year? Solidifying their secondary with Jefferson, Carr, and Humphrey so far in the off-season truly must have been a waste of time. And there will be no help added in the rest of the draft or the remainder of the off-season, so let's just sit back, Raven fans, and hope they lose enough to obtain the 1st pick in the draft next year. There is no need to be optimistic for 2017; the "brilliant" commentators on this message board have spoken!

There are a lot of people that make comments intended to be direct messages to players mentioned in articles. But they fall on deaf ears I am afraid to say. Its a bit bizarre really as the instances of players coaches and front office members reading these comments are few and far between. I agree with what you are saying though its not his fault that people are unhappy with the FO decision to take him. "Its a bit bizarre really as the instances of players coaches and front office members reading these comments are few and far between." Are you kidding me? Do you, and other "brilliant" football minds who post on this site, really believe that the Ravens' players, coaches, and front office should be reading the comments and taking the advice of "well-informed" fans who are sitting at home on the couch in order to improve their performance on the field? Please, oh please, Steve Bisciotti, hire these football "geniuses" immediately so that the Ravens may hope to win a few more games next year; wait, check that, bring home the Lombardi Trophy. Just as Donald Trump said during the campaign that only he could solve all the country's problems so only the "brilliant" posters on this site can solve the Ravens' woes.

Offensive line may be boring, but look what having a great one did for the Cowboys and Raiders, in particular, last year. When anyone talked about the success of those two teams one of the first things mentioned was dominant offensive line play. And having good or great young offensive linemen keeps them on the team longer at a cheaper price, before they move on to that second contract (Osemele, Wagner).

Very logical given Ozzie's track record. Still would love to see a real "play-maker", a real "game-changer," drafted. It's something the Ravens lack, whether that be a dynamic WR or a real threat as a pass rusher.

No way the Ravens can get a 2nd or 3rd round pick for one of their current TEs.

why with the secondary we have we could almost put anyone on our D-Line and we can get to the qb an stop the run and we have matt judon smith KC plus suggs will play 2-3 more years unless we win a super bowl but i like the guys we have an i don't see us reaching for one "With the secondary we have we could almost put anyone on our D-Line and we can get to the qb..." Um, I'm afraid it doesn't work that way in the NFL. You can't expect DBs to blanket their receivers for an indefinite length of time. We've seen that as Raven fans in the last couple of years, especially 2016. QBs, especially good or great ones will sit back there without pressure and pick the defense apart. A great, or at least consistent, pass rush is essential in today's game.

Yes, let's start the season today...before the draft...

I really wish sometimes our fans actually knew what having a pathetic QB was. Then I remember Grbac and Boller.... how quickly some forget. You can focus on that, while I focus on the hopes of betterment. I totally agree with "The Mom Gene", and would throw in Trent Dilfer as well, despite the Super Bowl win. Flacco does need to improve during the regular season, there is no question. The play-calling in general needs to tremendously improve and not abandon a running game, mixed in with Flacco passes, that led to early scores and leads last year; it was mind-boggling at times. However, Flacco is nowhere near pathetic. Here's an advanced stat from ESPN.com that shows Flacco consistently in the upper half of NFL QBs (I've never said Flacco was an upper-tier QB, but he's certainly not pathetic): Total clutch-weighted expected points added -- Flacco ranked 12th in 2016, 8th in 2014, 16th in 2013, 16th in 2012, 10th in 2011, 8th in 2010, and 12th in 2009. He did rank 23rd in 2015 (injury) and 26th in 2008 (rookie). Total clutch-weighted expected points added on plays with pass attempts -- Flacco ranked 13th in 2016, 19th in 2015, 11th in 2014, 24th in 2013, 14th in 2012, 10th in 2011, 11th in 2010, 13th in 2009, and 26th in 2008. Last year, "pathetic" Joe finished above the following in the Total EPA category: Carr, Taylor, Palmer, Roethlisberger, Mariota, Smith, Manning, Dalton, Newton, and Tannehill, as well as assorted dregs. In the Plays w/ Pass Attempts category "pathetic" Joe finished above the following: Manning, Wilson, Palmer, Smith, Mariota, Dalton, Taylor, Newton, and assorted dregs. The point is some Raven fans want to discredit Flacco's postseason success from years gone by and fall into the "what have you done for me lately?" way of thinking. Again, he's not upper-tier, but he is a good QB.

"WAY behind the Steelers" -- yes, the Steelers certainly crushed the Ravens in their second game last year. The incredible stretch over the goal line by Antonio Brown in the final seconds was mere window dressing to push the spread past 30, wasn't it? How in the world were the Ravens able to upset such a vaunted and dominating opponent like the Steelers 3 of the 4 times they've played the last two seasons, especially with pitiful talent and coaching?! Just lucky, I guess. "We still have years to wait" -- really? Oh nuts...thanks, though. I'd rather listen to your expertise than rely on the proven records of Newsome and Harbaugh. I must have been fooled by their so-called "success" and something called, I think this is right, "respect around the league." I am going to agree somewhat with Chuckx999. YEs, the Ravens have beaten the Steelers a lot lately. But, what about the other 14 games? Steelers and Bengals are capable of winning more games. This is why Ravens have been in the 3rd spot in the AFC North for the last few years. Beating them then missing the playoffs means nothing. Oh to be the Bengals and lose their only 7 playoff games under Marvin Lewis since 2005, 4 of which were at home, never scoring more than 17 points in any of the games, being outscored 176-90 (average of 25-13) in the seven games, supposedly with a world of talent...

"WAY behind the Steelers" -- yes, the Steelers certainly crushed the Ravens in their second game last year. The incredible stretch over the goal line by Antonio Brown in the final seconds was mere window dressing to push the spread past 30, wasn't it? How in the world were the Ravens able to upset such a vaunted and dominating opponent like the Steelers 3 of the 4 times they've played the last two seasons, especially with pitiful talent and coaching?! Just lucky, I guess. "We still have years to wait" -- really? Oh nuts...thanks, though. I'd rather listen to your expertise than rely on the proven records of Newsome and Harbaugh. I must have been fooled by their so-called "success" and something called, I think this is right, "respect around the league."

First of all, love the capital letters. That lets me know I had better pay attention to these brilliant facts... Just wondering if the salary cap may play, oh I don't know, a small role in a lot of moves the Ravens make, or ANY NFL TEAM makes (how did I do with those capitals? I was hoping it would make my point seem more informed...). Yes, I'm sure the coaching staff and front office DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA (did that help things?!) what they are doing when they release or acquire a player, no plan whatsoever. Just whistlin' in the dark, I'd say. The Lombardi Trophy, the playoff appearances...pure luck and coincidence...oh, or due only to the Hall of Fame leadership skills of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. And, yes, this locker room is MESSED UP! (Hey, caps AND an exclamation point; wow, can't argue with that!!!) I mean, the stories of dissension and backbiting that emanate from the players on a daily basis, especially about "Dunkin' JoeNuts," as another seasoned NFL expert in this comment section referred to him, well, they're just ripping this team apart. Steve Smith, Sr. sure had awful things to say about the QB while he was here, didn't he?! But then again, who could respect a cat headed to the Hall of Fame (unless he used capital letters a lot...)?