KidNme

Gotta love his competitive fire and gotta love Justin Tucker!

I can't tell you why or who we'll get but, I just get the feeling we're going to hit this draft out of the park. I just hope that whoever we end up with in training camp, stays healthy and out of jail and that we end up with one Phenom star, at least one additional full time starter, and a couple players that may take 1 yr to develop.
We need depth at a few positions so I could also see us trading back at some point but not until after we get our next Ogden/Reed/Lewis combo :-)

If there's one we'd like, I'd go QB in first round! That would put fire under Joe and let us groom our future QB. If not this year then we'll be doing it soon enough I think.

Sorry to hear about the spine thing Zack. You avoided a serious injury and you played well and showed your metal while you were here so you have nothing to be too sad about.
Good luck in your future endeavors. Would love to see you back as a linebackers coach.

I really don't believe that they'd even consider Reed for a coaching job here. He may have been one of the best but that doesn't translate into a good teacher. I also remember his last few years here were fraught with drama. Lot's of bickering with the coaches and management, leaving us hanging to the last minute as to whether or not he'd be back the next year or his trip to Buffalo his last year, saying it was just visiting friends when we all knew he was shopping himself and my personal favorite, the way he'd pitch the ball to try to keep the "drive alive" when he thought he was going to be tackled. Of course, this was during one of his famous pics and returns but that always drove me crazy!

RIP David.

Regardless of how anyone here feels about how the new coaching staff is panning out, remember, the biggest complaint this year was about our coaches. They are bringing in new guys and trying to improve on last year as we have begged them to do. As far as hiring "friends", the NFL is a small world with a small pool of people to work with. You want guys with NFL experience and a proven track record and I believe we're bringing in "Smarts" and "fresh eyes" into our coaching staff and also remember, the main bosses are still in place in Harbs, Ozzie, Pees and Mornhinweg . We keep continuity where we need it and added a few new faces to stir things up. We now have 2, Offensive coaches on board.
I seriously don't know how anyone can blast our new hires before anyone even see's one minute of what they can do here. This is a team game and our team just got better IMHO.
For some of you, think of it this way, Biscotti wants to win as much as the rest of us do and I'm sure they will do everything in their power to do so so, don't sweat the small stuff!
If hiring Roman is the worst thing that happens to you this year, consider yourself very lucky.

Don't get to hear Biscotti talk often so it's always nice to hear it straight from the owner however, what they say now can all change after the draft and FA. We'll be losing a few guys that will need to be replaced and who they get, may change how we work things.
I do expect there to be changes but which way we go will be up in the air for a while. They can't predict all the puzzle pieces at this juncture. I am surprised that Ozzie says we want another RB though. I thought Dixon and West did pretty good. The lack of rushing attempts weren't the RB's fault. What we need is offensive and defensive line depth with a journeyman pass rusher to groom, a couple CB's, a couple WR's and a backup QB worked in to eventually replace Joe and of course, a few new coaches that can get this thing rolling in the right direction.

Sad to see him go! He was the most enthusiastic player on our team. Going to be hard to find another like him.
Good luck Steve! Enjoy retirement, Now, the real work begins!

On 1/2/2017 at 11:20 AM, bioLarzen said:

I wish there was someone at the season concluding presser who would ask the followiong questions from Steve:

- Do you agree that what the Ravens showed this season was mostly mediocre?

- If you do: do you accept mediocrity on the long term - especially after one of the best off-seasons in team history, with a draft and free agency that might both go down as among the best in team history?

- If you don't accept mediocrity on the long term - how do you plan to stop it?

- What exactly do you see in coach Harbaugh that gives you hope that things will turn around, after such a promising season - a great roster with few injuries - was lost in such an unacceptable fashion?

- What gives you the reason to believe Harbaugh will somehow get the hang of how to spot a good OC? He had 5 OC'S, and four of them - Cam, Caldwell, Trestman and Mornhinweg - were obviously NOT good enough. And worse: the tendency is worrying: the last two ones were the worst by far. What makes you think this tendency won't continue? WHY wouldn't it continue if the same man is allowed to pick the next OC who picked the previous ones?

- Aren't you afraid that the Ravens are gonna lose more and more fans if the Ravens continue to be a team that's seldom fun to watch - even when they win?

- What's your stance on Flacco's performance in 2016?

- If you agree that it was easily his worst season ever, how do you plan to make him seem like a QB that actually wants to play and win - like he used to do?

- Do you think we, Ravens-fans deserved this seasson?

- Do you agree that it was shameful,. borderline insulting for Steve Smith to have to end his career like this?

And most importantly:

- What has to happen to convince you that Harbaugh is not what he used to be, anymore? That he's been wasting good, potentially successful seasons since the Super Bowl?

You see, I agree that continuity is a great asset and that it should never be underestimated. But it shouldn't be overvalued either. I'm afraid that insisting on prioritizing continuity will come at the price of prolonged mediocrity for the Baltimore Ravens. As the owner who finances all this mediocrity - is this really what you want? Is this what you're willing to settle for?

A reporter would never be allowed to ask those questions. They are very guarded and if someone were to ask questions like that, First, Harbs would be all over them then they wouldn't be invited back again. Trust me. Even if someone could get those questions out, you know the answers would be generic. Here's the answers to your questions, as the talking heads would have it.......

-"Are you afraid we'll lose fans?" - No, our fans are the best in the world, they know football and they love our team.

-"What's you stance on Flacco's performance?"- He did a great job for us but we have to give him more time in the pocket.

-"If you agree this was Joes' worst season, how do you plan on making Joe play with passion, like he used to?" - I don't agree this was Joe's worst season. Joe has more passion than almost anyone on the team and no one wants to win more than him, no one. You all know that isn't Joe's style. We love him for his cool demeanor and it has served us well many times. He also passed for over 4000yds this season so that doesn't sound like it was his worst season to me.

-"Isn't is a shame that SSS had to go out this way?" - Ya, I'm sure Steve would have liked to get a ring upon his departure however, Steve has been playing for a lot of years and knows that getting that ring is the hardest thing to do in Football. Steve of all people deserve it but it's just not what was meant to be. He has had an illustrious career and will most likely be in the HOF. If you were to ask him, I think he'd say, his legacy is more important than how many rings he's gotten.

-"What has happened to convince you that Harbs is washed up?" - John's not washed up by any means. It's not easy being a HC, there's a lot of moving pieces and we feel John has done an admirable job in keeping the ship running in the right direction. It's a journey and one that will ride with John.

Shorty after this interview, Mr Reporter would be taken to the side and [profanity slapped! He'd be reporting on the Carolina Panthers next season.

There's no need to get rid of Flacco, we just need to use him better, like Eisenberg mentions in the article. We gave Joe a bunch of new toys to play with in SSS, Wallace etc but must have forgot about the O line and D line or more likely, we just couldn't afford to do both in one year. If we give Joe a clean pocket and a little bit of time, he can make every throw on the field. When you pressure him, he gets rattled and forgets his progressions, allowable options, his mechanics, his wife's name.....
Our Defensive line needs replacements for Doom N Hacksaw and we need them ready for next season. Probably can't pay a lot for them either because we need another corner or two and they're expensive!!
Lord knows who we'll lose before next season starts in FA too.
For now, we have 2 good running backs, a reasonable QB. We have at least 2 pretty good WR's in Aiken and Perriman and maybe Moore. Wallace will probably be back too but another "Star" would be nice. Stanley and Judon are working out for young players as are a few others so I don't think we're that far away but I do believe it's possible we're more than just one draft away from having the team we all expect.
We have most of our O line and most of our D line but will be losing a few of them either in FA, cut or retired very soon so I think that's where we need to concentrate in the draft but then again, I'm just a dummy watching TV :-)

Ya, it seems obvious that all the "Rah-Rah" about playing for pride was just about filling seats. 2016 was filled with lots of lip service from players and coaches.
As a "team", the Ravens have skewed the "Play like a Raven" motto. Our last game is how we've played like a Raven. Uninspired.
We did better than last year of course but in some ways, I think many guys just quit on us and our losses came more from a lack of intensity and intelligence where last year, we were just decimated by injuries. Could it be that our players knew that we wouldn't be able to make it to the Superbowl so we just phoned it in enough over the last few games and mention how we "Can beat" NE, or "Should have beaten Dallas", just to keep the Fan base/Money machine going? Hmmmm.... Billion dollar companies lying to us for the bottom line is not news.
I firmly believe that poor Coaching was our down fall. (Which ones, I'm not sure but I could make a list of guys I think they should scrutinize). We've lost a lot of good coaches over the last few years and have been picked clean since the SB. I guess that was bound to happen but now it's our turn to pick a couple teams clean of good coaches. Gotta spend money to make money!
It will be interesting to see what the brass thinks this off season.

Smart move and proves our back office guys are paying attention. Read my Humble scouting report on the guy before throwing him in as Trash heap material........
Mayle just finished his 2nd year in the NFL on the PS/ST, Cleveland drafted him in the 4th round in 2015 but he probably would have gone higher if he hadn't broken his thumb in the SR Bowl. Mayle didn't even start playing football until his senior year where he was a contender for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, an honor given to the most outstanding receiver in American college football. Tied w/ 7 TD's. He has speed and elusiveness and sounds a lot like Perriman without the knee issues.
A big muscular guy at 225lbs, his first love is Basketball and he's known for doing a pretty good impression of Lebron on the court. At only 6'-2", he is a bit short for the NBA so he was recruited into the football program. Mayle was in the last cuts when Cleveland made their final 53 in 2015. Dallas then swooped him up the next day for a few million. He did have a few dropped balls in practices so he was put on the PS, then waived, then back on the active roster to back on the PS again. They yo-yo'ed him around all of 2016. Neither Cleveland or Dallas ever really played him. He has 7 games, 1 with Cleveland and 6 with Dallas and only one target. Dallas only just cut him to make room for an offensive lineman they desperately need right now.
I think it's a very bright move and at the least, if he can't hang on to the ball, we just cut him. He's a rookie that has had NFL coaching for a couple years (Kinda like Perriman). At only 25 years old, 6'-2" with speed and jump ability, It's worth a shot with no risk.

This is the only game where I am totally indifferent to the outcome. Win and I'm happy but lose I'm happy too for a selfish reason of course.

I'm with you Ellicott, This will be the most relaxing game we've played all year! For all of us on our couches anyway! :-)
In a perfect scenario, I'd like to see our starters get a 4 score lead by late 2nd Qtr then put in Mallet, Reynolds, Perryman, Moore and all the rest of the guys who are trying to move up on the team for the rest of the way. You can't pull all your starters though because there are some positions we just don't have a 3rd option so there's always going to be some risk of losing an important player somewhere I guess.

That's not a pancake, that's a hold.

Ya, that could be called.

There may be something said for playing 3rd stringers against Cincy. With the CBA, our guys aren't getting the practice time they used to in the old days. I say put the team out there that you expect to start with next year and start evaluating for the draft and FA's. That's not saying that we still don't want to win this one but says we want to win more of them next year too! No playoffs and certainly no Super bowl for us this year so get a head start on next season, there's a lot of work to do!

I for one do not think Harbs has lost anything. You have to remember what the coaching staff is working with here. We changed O coord in mid stream and brought up a guy in house and threw him in there. We also have a few aging vets that weren't playing at pro bowl caliber all season and a new WR in Perriman that has gone through a lot to get where he is today. Wallace was cut for a reason so expecting him to pull a SSS was also asking a lot. Many of you have to remember that every year, it's easy to tell our team to fire a guy, just remember that their family has to move across the country again, to start all over somewhere else, new schools, new routines ect and it may just be because they are "perceived to be" the reason things went wrong (or we weren't "perfect for 16 games"). Yes we have flaws, just like every other team. Some can be corrected, some may need new personnel but I guess I tend to side with the adage " Do unto others, as you would have done to you". We as fans know a lot about this game and our team but we do not know everything, especially enough in many cases, enough to cause a man to be fired.
Remember, we do have a lot of good things that came out of this season too! Stanley, Powers, Yong and even Shareese Wright is coming into his own. We'll be that much better next year and I think getting rid of all the coaches is throwing out the baby with the bath water.

I think we should plan on running the ball until Pitt shows us they can stop us.
Throw some play action in there but eat as much of the clock as we can and Pitt's Christmas dinner while we're at it too!
Gonna be a really good game!
Go Ravens!!!

I'll be good to keep that dominance we've had over them lately going for another year please!!

I see at least 2 fights Sunday that could be good for a few 1st downs for us!
Get in their face, push their buttons but don't touch them after the whistle!
Harbs should put a dollar amount on any penalties our players make Sunday to keep it in their minds to keep it clean or at least "Legal".

he's got fresh,fast legs,ofcourse.so why did we see him once,then shelved?

I had the same question. I thought that maybe he pulled something again and the announcers missed it. Maybe Harbs liked what he saw and sat him the rest of the game to sneak him into the lineup this Sunday?

At the beginning of the year, I was excited to see an Xmas game on our schedule especially when it's the Steelers and there is nothing good on TV that day anyway however, we stand the risk of being bummed out on Christmas day! The end of the Eagles game when Joe passed the ball instead of running it, left me feeling pretty crappy and was the 1st game this year that I let out a series of expletives not fit for family consumption. Oh, a "BS" comes out every now and then during games this year but nothing like I did last week. I think I went a whole 2 minute paragraph using just adjectives. I actually made up cuss words as I went along. Not pretty. If we have more than 2 penalties or call dumb plays, ignore the play clock etc, I may have to run outside and kick a rock!
It's not losing that gets me that way because you can't win them all but it's the way we do it sometimes that just makes me want to go to the stadium and shake someone!
I hate to waste a wish on a football game but that is my Christmas wish this year. Play smart football, pay attention for 60 minutes and "Play like a Raven! That's all I ask for. A win would be very nice too!
Let's go Ravens, we're counting on you! My kids know enough cuss words as it is, they don't need daddy teaching them new ones!

I think as long as all of our starting players do their jobs, NO penalties and Marty and Pees put together a well thought out game plan (With a plan "B" at the ready), we'll come out victorious. There was plenty of "teaching moments" on tape of the Eagles game so I hope they have drilled and drilled again that they don't make the same mistakes. Emotions will be high but the thinking process has to be calm and deliberate. Joe needs to calm down on thinking he can throw us into wins on his own and everyone just needs to be on point.
I know that's a lot to ask but if they don't, we'll get our butts kicked!

On 12/18/2016 at 0:03 PM, TheConquerorWorm said:

The Pats went up 16-0 in the 2nd quarter. The Ravens got the ball with 9:28 left. The 1st play, they RAN the ball for 1 yard. The next play, Wallace lets the ball go thru his hands for an INT. The Ravens don't get the ball back until 4 mins left in the half. So, with 4 mins in the half, down by 16, you are going to run the ball? The Ravens punt but get the ball back with 1 min left. You gonna run it with 1 min and 1 timeout?

First play of the 3rd quarter, they RUN the ball for, you guessed it, 1 yard. 3 & out and punt. NE drives and kicks a FG - now you're down by 20 with 8 mins left in 3rd quarter. 1st play of that series, Dixon RUNS for 9 yards. Next play - False Start. Another 3 & out.

After the 2 muffed returns and Ravens touchdowns, the Ravens get the ball back with 3 mins left in 3rd Quarter. 2 good runs by Dixon for a 1st down. Then another run for 1 yard, and then Dixon runs for -4 yards. Punt.

Get the ball back. 2nd play, Dixon for 5 yards - PENALTY - illegal motion. 2 plays later, Dixon for 8 yards - PENALTY - holding. Ravens get FG.

Brady hits Hogan for long TD - down by 10. Ravens drive and get FG with 2 mins left. Never get it again.


So, where do you "run the ball more"????

The half isn't the end of the game so ya, I'd still be running it. You mentioned we ran the ball on 1st down, got one yard then we were "3 and out". There are 2 more downs. Your running game isn't going to work well if you don't stick with it a little more. You have to make the D believe you're going to run it and not just on 1st down. Once the the D chokes up to the line more, THEN you throw a pass. They drop 8 into coverage, you run it. We get 3 downs to work with. We are going 3 and out quite a bit by passing it 3 times, we sure could try 3 and outs by running it more. It's called pounding the rock. It wears down a defense, keeps yours fresh and keeps time of possession. Marty has Joe passing 70% of the time (No stats to back that up,  just what it seems like to me). It would also help if we weren't getting 7-9 penalties a game! From the game I watched, I'm standing by the statement that they hit the panic button too soon.

  4 hours ago, TheRavengers said:

If your own HEAD COACH thinks a play is a bad idea but allows it anyway, then that's on you. Also on Joe for not switching up at the time and just blindly agreeing with it, especially since we were actually running the ball all the day and our offense actually moved a bit better than last week.

Think back to the Seahawks-Pats Superbowl if you wanna see how throwing that close to the goal line near the end of a game worked out....

That is not the way the offense is run - not sure what you people don't understand - JOE RUNS THE PLAY AS CALLED - this offense has always done that and will continue to. The only time Joe seemed to have the decision making authority was in the 2012 playoffs. Other than that, the play that is sent in is the play that is ran. That's not up to Joe, that's up to the head coach!!

Joe can check out of a play and has done it more than once so there is some decision making allowed by him. So you're saying Joe had the ability to change or make play calls in 2012 but we took that away from him after him winning the AFC and SB in doing so that year? (Not sure how you got that inside information). They don't share that info with us but I guess you have a special bond with Harbs so by all means, continue to enlighten us all with your infinite wisdom.