ByTheBay

While I totally agree with what you are saying there is so much more that goes into how the oline performs than simply the linemen themselves. Many QB's do a better job helping out their oline by scrambling when needed, stepping up in the pocket and getting rid of the ball quickly. It's not like all of the teams that made the playoffs have great olines either. Another aspect of good oline play comes from the play calling. If the opposing team knows you pass 80% of the time they are going to come at you harder which really wears down those big linemen. Maybe thats why the OC's called so many short pass plays this year. I don't know. Point is you will almost never have a perfect oline. There will always be a weak link and the Ravens need to do a better job of managing that. So to get back to your original post, there is a reason so many fans place the blame on Joe and the OC.

If the OL is the problem then what changes would be made? Stanley stays, Lewis stays, Yanda stays, Wagner could stay. Is Zuttah really the one to blame for all of Joe's issues? I read somewhere he actually graded out pretty well the second half if the season.

I wouldn't get too worked up. It's entirely possible that Joe is out of the loop and they are definitely not running staffing decisions by Pitta. This comes up the day after the season ends and you think Flacco has any idea what's being discussed behind closed doors? John said every week "we need to run the ball more" Marc never did so they fired him. John continued to say "we need to run the ball more" marty never did. I think he is as good as gone but a well run business doesn't make rash decisions until there is a plan in place. They are making that plan

Pitta is the past and I am ready for the future. Maxx, Gilmore, Boyle, Waller And after that little Pitta party yesterday the men upstairs may be thinking the same thing.

Chris Simms is dead to me

Ok so Pitta, the guy that has probably spent more practice time with Joe away from the facility than all other players combined. Campanaro wasnt on the original list so I'm not sure where your coming from with that one but he has had his fair share of drops when Joe fires it in there too.

Wait, what? I think your timeline may be a little off there.

Game of inches Isnt that part of why we all love it so much?

Problem is what can we do about it? Joe just signed an extension last year and I believe we cant really release him and not take a huge cap hit until 2018 at the earliest. This isn't a slight against you but I think we all need to stop complaining about Flacco because he isnt going anywhere and start discussing possible solutions to how to best help him succeed. One way is to find him a proven QB coach. Judging by his regressing mechanics like throwing off his back foot, Marty M did a terrible job. Norv Turner would be a good start at OC, Dennison did a good job when he was here as did Zorn. 9 years in he shouldn't need his hand held but he does so let's hold it.

Yes but all the players you named are all veterans that had the skills to adapt to a strong armed qb and the rb's typically catch lobs 5 yards out. I don't know, it's probably a rediculous theory anyway.

Pees gets a LOT of flack from the fans but I think he does a pretty good job with what he has to work with. I could do with less of the prevent defense in the 4th but nobody's perfect. Think about how our defense outperformed this season. We have Jimmy who is great when healthy, weddle who is a welcome addition and young who surprised. After that the secondary is suspect. There were times when being a man short would have been better than having Wright in coverage. Orr and Mosley did a good job in the middle. Then we have a decent dline that got tired at the end of games and the season in general. Suggs played hurt, doom barely played at all leaving our pass rush up to Judon who has a very promising future. All of that and we still had a high ranked defense all year. I wish Dean Pees was more aggressive but you can only do so much with what you have.

While I don't think we should fire Harbaugh, I am growing tired of hearing this answer from fans. How many of us even knew who John Harbaugh was before he became a Raven? HC's come from all over as John has proven. While the easiest place for fans to look may be college coaches or NFL coordinators that excell, there are many, many qualified candidates out there on someones list that we as fans know nothing about. So please, the next time someone voices their opinion that we may need a new team leader (thats what he is supposed to be) take a minute to give a thoughtful answer that involves a little thought.

It's all complete bologna until it isnt. Some said it was unthinkable that the Ravens wouldn't play to win yesterday. Then they didnt. Some said SSS might come back for another year. But he's not. Point is Flacco and Pitta are very good friends. Friends talk. Do you not think Pitta knew he was close to breaking a record? Players tell the media they dont care about records but of course they do. To think any different is a little naive.

I have often wondered if Joe throws too hard. You typically see newly acquired recievers and rookies drop passes or have them bounce off of their hands and chest. It's great that Joe has a cannon for an arm but maybe he should have spent the last 9 years working on his touch. Ridiculous?

I don't think we will see Harbaugh replace both the OC and DC. That doesn't usually work out well for the HC's own job security the following year. Harbaugh isn't going anywhere, Steve will probably let Ozzie retire when he is ready. So we most likely retain Pees and replace Marty with a more run focused OC. Please no Chip Kelly or Roman. McCoy, Norv or Dennison would be my choices if we could get them. I believe Steve likes long term stability and blowing it up after a couple disappointing seasons is not his style.

Case in point...cincy came in what? 5-9-1 and looked like a team ready to play all 60 minutes. They didnt have an issue getting motivated. Heck, the 1-14 Browns "almost" beat a trio-less steelers team today. They all came to play. Ravens were shameful today. They should all be ashamed. Hopefully it will be an eventful offseason because we need more than just a tweak here and there. Ozzie, John and Eric have many late nights ahead of them.

Wasn't 2007 the year we lost Jamal and McNair? Tough to win games when you lose your starting QB and RB. I don't care how great the defenses is.

We had an easier schedule this year too due to placing 3rd in our division. You could agrue thats where we picked up the 3 extra wins this season.

I gained a lot of respect for Harbaugh last year when he kept a team full of backups playing hard right to the end. Then this year and this game happened. Maybe a fresh start at HC wouldnt be the worst thing for this team. I don't know anymore. I do know that if I heard marty and/or pees are. gone I would be excited for next season. If I heard Flacco and/or Harbaugh were gone I would feel angst. They aren't great but it could be worse.

I agree. Next year will basically be his sophomore season. I hope he can really build off of his experience this season and become a legitimate no 2 next year. He needs to be married to that juggs machine. I think he can do it. Kids got heart.

So you don't think Flacco plays well vs the Steelers?

It's true Joe steps up his game when we play Pit. Too bad we cant just play them 16 games a year. It seems to me, and this is just my opinion, Flacco underperforms consistently and has the ocational great game as opposed to the other way around. He is a tease if you ask me.

Joe is "ok" when compared to who else would be available but he had a good run from 2008-2012 where you could never count him out. He played great or terrible. Then after the SB and his payday I might add he had 1 good year and that was thanks to Kubiaks system. He seems to have lost whatever he had before the SB. Drive I guess. Its like he did it and now he's done.

So that we can continue to excuse and rationalize the FO's bone headed decision to sign and resign him to an uncuttable salary year after year after year.

Thank god. I have been saying we are better off losing this game all week and caught a ton of flack for it. Looks like reality has set in for some. I just hope no one gets injured because Harbaugh doesn't know team management.