Ravens_Flock

Someone might wanna tell ol' Mike that the Ravens were 5-3 (including a 2011 sweep) against the Steelers from 2009-2012. And that the Ravens made the playoffs four years in a row, including back to back AFC North titles, in that span, while the Steelers only made the playoffs twice, and won the division once. And that the Ravens made two back-to-back AFC Championship games, and won a Super Bowl, while the Steelers made one SB, and lost it to Green Bay. And that the Ravens won at least one playoff game in each of those postseasons, and that they beat the Patriots on the road twice (almost three times) in that span. So who was the better team from 2009-2012, Mike? Just saying.

Oh, deep shots, eh? You mean like the several we should have taken against the worst ranked pass D in the NFL, with three speedy WRs on our roster, but didn't almost the entire game? That game was super winnable, but our offense was the most stale, predictable, dink and dunk nonsense I've seen. Our WRs aren't amazing by any stretch of the imagination. But we should have been able to tear that OAK secondary up.

I knew as soon as we hired Tressmen that it was going to be a colossal mistake. After having the kind of success we had in Kubiak's type of system, why we didn't just promote from within, and keep using that exact same system, is beyond me. Tressman runs a completely different kind of offense, and quite frankly, it's never been a terribly effective offensive style. It certainly isn't "Ravens football". We are not a great team, nor a great offense, but going against the alleged "worst" pass D in the entire league, and NOT repeatedly going deep with the three different deep threat WRs we have? That was just insane. We lost because the offensive gameplan stunk, from beginning of game to the end. And on the defensive side, while he may rack up some tackles, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Shareece Wright should not be a starting CB, for any team in the league. Why we ever thought it was a good idea to go with him as a starter, last season, much less this one, is beyond me. At least Cary Williams was physical and could cover sometimes. Wright is not a starter.

I like how people are actually in there talking about Ray Rice. I like how people are sitting here still condemning him for one nightmare moment in his life, that he and his family have already paid for in spades. I like how people are talking about Ray Rice, as if he SHOULD never ever get another chance to play in the NFL again, when he is, at heart, a good person, and absolutely deserves it. I also like how people try to take "moral" stand, and say that "look what he did, what example does that set if he's allowed to play again?", when Adrian Peterson literally whipped the hell out of his own child, leaving welts, cuts and bruises, yet he is back in the league, playing, and even being celebrated once more. Out of all the players who have made major mistakes or even done very bad things in the NFL, and have gotten second (or even third) chances to continue playing, I would go so far as to say Ray Rice deserves that kind of opportunity to play, far more than most of them have. The dude is a good guy, who had one bad night. A REALLY bad night. But who is anyone else to judge? "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", eh? He already got his punishment. And if he touched an NFL field again, you know he would light it up, because he's been itching to play and put all that behind him for years now. I'm not saying the Ravens should re-hire him (though I wouldn't be against it), they wouldn't, for PR reasons. But he DOES deserve a shot with SOME team, and you can't tell me there aren't teams out there right now who couldn't use an RB of his ability.

Going with a theme I guess, I really hope that Arthur Brown takes full advantage now that he'll finally have a shot at actually earning a starting position. And I also hope that the Ravens actually GIVE him a chance to earn it. Poor guy got drafted the year they brought in Smith, and the next year we drafted Mosley. I would not say it's really been his fault at all, stuck behind those two guys, that he has seen the field so little in his first few years, sadly. As ever, I am also going to root for Marlon Brown, even though he's definitely going against the odds now. I think that they have been misusing him the last two seasons, and that's obvious. You don't ask a 6'5" WR to play the slot. He succeeded his rookie year because they played him outside, and actually used him as a weapon in the redzone. They did neither, for the most part, in 2014 and 2015. It's a crowded WR race, and even if he makes the team I don't know how many snaps he'll actually get at this rate, but I'll still root for him.

I'm sure he could have developed into a solid young player. But beyond that, far more important, is the fact that he was practically still a kid. Far too young. Very sad.

Statistically by this point, that is true. However, that also isn't exactly a hard milestone to reach, given our history. Go win another SB, then he'll have cemented his legacy for sure.

Swell. Now go win some of those games you're talking about. The team Baltimore fielded in 2015 was an out and out embarrassment.

People can (and will) continue saying whatever they wish about whether Joe is overpaid or not. The fact of the matter is though, he IS being paid a LOT, and in 2013 and 2015, he was not playing like a $120m QB. That is not an arguable point. He didn't. He had a fairly successful year in 2014, arguably due to Kubiak's system, that we were then summarily told by the front office would remain intact, even though the wisest among us knew that was a lie, which it proved to be. Joe is not a guy that can carry a team on his back, period. He had the success he did in 2014 because we had a dominant and successful run game. The Ravens, before Joe or during, have only ever had success with a good D and a good run game. You see the results of us having neither in 2013 and 2015. And even IN 2014, we ultimately failed for two reasons: our secondary was hot garbage (still is), and because after all these years, Joe will still force passes he doesn't need to that result in bonehead INTs. So.....argue amongst yourselves all you want as to Flacco's actual $$$$ worth. But what can't really be argued, is that outside of some flashes in 2014, he has not as of YET really lived up to the big contract he signed after the SB. Will he? Who knows.

I would really love to see Arther Brown get a chance to step up and finally be a starter. People ignore the fact that it's not as if he just "never proved himself" as a player...he barely ever, over the last three seasons, got a chance to. First he was pushed the side because we signed Daryl Smith, and then we drafted Mosley the following draft. Brown was pretty much out of luck at that point. I honestly think had he been given the chance back in 2013, he very likely could have proven to be a very capable starting ILB for us, at the very least an athletic and solid run stopper. Maybe he'll get his chance finally. Or not. Who knows. The Ravens have been very iffy with letting certain talented players just kind of rot over the years (Antwan Barnes, etc.)

No offense to Aiken, but he is not a "# 1" WR for any team in the NFL. He did well, but he was pressed into being our "# 1" by virtue of injuries to literally everyone else, and Torrey being gone. Aiken had a great season compared to the rest of his career, and good for him. I'm happy for him for that. But we should not be moving forward looking at him as a long-term starter, in my eyes. It's still highly questionable whether or not last year's first rounder will ever even see the field, let alone have an actual impact. So we certainly need consistency. But betting on a former practice squad guy, and a WR that's going to be 38 years old.....is not a winning formula.

No offense.....but why are we writing an article about a guy who had one PD and one tackle as a Raven last year? Or for that matter, a guy who has never done anything significant in his entire career so far. You want to fix the secondary? Draft a CB and bring in some real safeties, because the ones we've got are awful. Say goodbye to Webb (his time is long since done), and hope that Jimmy can stay healthy and be consistent. And if he can't, replace him too, because it's been a very long wait for him to consistently live up to his first round billing. Jimmy has shown flashes, but that's it. Flashes. He either doesn't play consistently well, or can't stay healthy long enough to. Either way, our secondary has been a mess for three seasons running now. Let's not make it four.

*Sigh*....sorry, but if that's honestly how the Ravens view themselves now, "Joe Flacco's team"....they're hitching their cart to the wrong horse. He had his SB run. That's it. He has continued to be incredibly uneven since. And we NEED to rebuild what has been an incredibly bad defense (for the most part, outside of 2014's pass rush), since 2012. No coincidence what that year happens to coincide with either. The Ravens have always ever been about a strong run game, and a strong defense. We have lacked the the run game part 2 out of the last 4 seasons, and the secondary, at least, has been VERY bad since 2013. As in a hot mess. If the Ravens really don't think they need to to build the team around the run and the D anymore, they're in for a continued rude awakening. Joe Flacco is not Drew Brees. He's not Aaron Rogers. And he's not Tom Brady (as sick as that makes me to pay that man a compliment). Joe is Joe, and he's never going to put up the kind of numbers to justify "building the team around him".

I would like us to keep Upshaw. He's a tough, hard working player, not an ego, and while he'd love to get more sacks, he doesn't mind being the premier run stuffer either.

Yes, by all means, let's blow money on reuniting the DEN pass rushing set, when we have other needs.

We have an OC who was never right for our system or players to begin with, and a DC who has managed to destroy the "strong defense" legacy in Baltimore for the past four seasons. Our secondary has been especially weak since Pees took over, although that is also down to the personell we've had since Reed and Pollard departed. It's just going to be the same old thing in 2016? NO coaching changes of any kind? Well then get ready for the same vanilla defense, and dysfunctional offense.

Or instead of trading, we could do what we should have done last off-season, or two offseasons ago, and that's try to draft a top shelf corner, one who hopefully isn't injury prone like Jimmy is.

Earned another year? For what? A drastic plummet in our production from 2014? After fans being promised that him coming on board wasn't going to change anything, and that we were going to use the same offense we did in 2014? And then we went on to do precisely not that at all? Which, by the way, is just what I figured would happen. I knew as soon as they hired Trestman that "this guy does not fit Ravens football". And he doesn't. Meanwhile, I'm sure somehow Dean Pees "earned" another year here in Bmore as well, even though outside of our pass rush in 2014, his defenses have sucked since he became DC.

Oh good. So our "top" WR next year will be almost 40. And meanwhile, who knows if the "top" WR we drafted last season will ever even play an NFL snap.

So we decided we needed to match other teams in the league with the "Hey let's have ugly as sin alternates"? No thanks. Let's forget that ever happened, and go back to All-Blacks. Purple jerseys with BLACK pants sometimes? Sure. That's a throwback 90s Ravens look, and it's a good look. Gold pants? No. We're not the 49ers or Saints.

I will say, that I would take 2015 Tyrod Taylor, over 2015 Joe Flacco, in a heartbeat. Neg away. But I knew the kid could play, and he's proving it.

Is that really surprising? Not a single Baltimore Ravens player is excelling at their given position this season. Certainly not enough to merit a Pro Bowl vote. Hence why we only have 4 wins. Then again, the way they've changed the Pro Bowl....it's a joke anyway. But the point remains.

It was tough for Flacco to stay in for those plays, but the fact of the matter is, he has played awfully this year, and awfully in 2013 as well. He was better in Kubiak's system, but in spite of what Coachspeak tried to tell us, that did not remain in spite of OC change. The reality is, Flacco needs to negotiate a new deal, that is more cost effective for the Ravens, or else we need to start looking elsewhere. I think regardless of what happens, we need to draft a new QB, not in the first round of course, we have higher needs (like CB), but hopefully getting some kind of decent "steal" in a later round at QB, to at least compete with Flacco, would be nice. We need to start looking towards the future, and that would have been the case even if he didn't get injured.

Considering that both Hill and Lewis are jokes (as I knew they would be), start the kid. We have nothing left to lose. Either way, Ozzie has def. lost his touch, in the draft AND FA, and that's progressively been the case now for the last few years. A few gems does not excuse all the wastes of time he's brought onto this roster.

I still think it's a damn shame that a dog killer is still active for the Pittsburgh Steelers right now, and a man who (while sober, I'm sure), beat the hell out of his own child, is back playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Yet Ray Rice, a GOOD man by all accounts, had one nightmare scenario unfold in a moment of MUTAL drunken stupidity on the part of he and his wife, in which neither of them were blameless....and he isn't even playing in the NFL anymore. The back who led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage from 2009-2012, didn't even get worked out by a single team, to my knowledge. And why? Because there was no video of Peterson beating his kid, that's why. If there had been no video of Rice's incident, he would still be a Baltimore Raven right now. And no offense to Justin Forsett, but that would be a major improvement. Of course I'm not getting into the semantics of why and how the Ravens cut Rice. I'm only stating the facts, that other players who have done worse than he did, are still playing in the NFL, while Ray Rice, who outside of one ugly moment in his life, has been nothing but a great person and a great player, is watching the NFL from his couch, while he's still in his prime. It's just sad, and shows how hypocritical the NFL, the Ravens, and even the fans really can be.