Ravensfan23

I give BB a lot of credit for that tho. I'm not giving Flacco a pass because I've pointed out how he missed throws in that game. But the reason I give BB a ton of credit is because that defense has a lot of the same limitations that the Dolphins have in terms of not being able to cover the middle of the field as well. However BB and the DC who's name escapes me schemed up this offense who is really limited if we're being honest. I say the offense is limited because the Ravens really don't have an identity right now and it's understandable. It's hard to completely change direction mid season because much of the time spent in practice is to gameplan for up coming games. So BB smartly took advantage of that because this offense isn't really designed to be able to switch game plans mid game right now. There were times when Joe made the right sight adjustment during that game but the WR wasn't on the same page. Then of course there were other times when Joe just had to flat out be better.

The one thing i'll say about this game that I don't see many people mentioning is the weather. The rain, wind and slippery conditions affected a large part of this game. I can remember one pass just looking like it slipped out of Flacco's hand. I don't point that out to give an excuse or reason for playing bad, just feel it's a large factor. What? My first reaction was to just rip this post to shreds for bashing a man for being a good father. Then it was to ask how you could possibly come to the conclusion that Waller not fully knowing the position or playbook couldn't be a fault and finally I was gonna give a real breakdown of the play, but somehow all that really came to mind was What?

Oh i agree, i wanted Shanny bad. He's way more creative than Kubes and would have maximized all the talent on this offense imo. I think the appeal of Kubiak was that he alone with Mike Shanahan are like the architects of that offense, so why not hire the best. I think the plan was for Kubes to be here for 2-3 years and fully install that offense before moving on. Clearly that didn't work out.

correct me if i'm wrong but that was Tucker's first career block wasn't it? sounds like a bit of an overraction to a player making a play that not everyone can make. You can change up the seconds between the snap maybe but you certainly don't want to change the routine that the Wolfpack has. Kicking is all about routine

Every playoff team is flawed, we just have a front row seat to the flaws the Ravens have. Yes the Ravens are a playoff ready team because they play ugly, physical rind it out games and that's usually what Playoff football looks like. Is this team Super Bowl ready? That's another story. However if you look at all 9 teams who could possibly be in the playoffs, who's playing lights out? Win the next 2 games which are both winnable and you possibly have the Dolphins coming back to M&T Bank. Not saying that game will turn out the same as before but do they really strike fear in anyone? Then you're looking at a Divisional Playoff game in perfect weather conditions in Oakland vs a young team playing in their first playoff game in 14 years. Honestly other than having a really good oline what about the Raiders strikes fear? Win that game and you're right back in Foxboro for the AFCCG game or even better somebody knocks them off and that game is played in Baltimore. What's the likelihood of all this happening? Who knows, the point is the Ravens are capable of being both the Steelers and Bengals to win the Division and come playoff time they are good enough to beat any team they'll face in the wildcard and the divisional round. I think the only question for this team is will they play well enough to beat those teams and can they play well enough in Foxboro to win.

Hiring Gary Kubiak is the reason Kyle Shanahan isn't the Ravens coach. He was all set to the be new OC in 2014 but a late call to Dennison as a final check up on Shanahan led to Dennison telling Harbs that Kubes was in play. Harbs quickly hoped on it and Shanahan went from front runner to Brownsville. In 2015, Shanahan seemed to already be tied to the hip of Dan Quinn if he got the ATL job. He did and there was no reason for Shanahan to entertain the Ravens who had basically cased him to the side just 12 months prior. Ravens just got completely screwed by John Elway. He saw an opportunity to get his guy and friend at HC while Peyton had one more decent season left and weakening one of his top contenders in the process was just the cherry on top.

That's just not true unless you are speaking solely from a opinionated standpoint. While Flacco hasn't been stellar by any means, to say he's among the worse just isn't true. At least from a numbers stand point. Flacco is top 5 in yards, top 10 in completion and 3 TDs away from being in the top 10 in that category. Now with that being said he's among the bottom of the league in ypa, ints and QB rating. So he certainly isn't playing lights out. An argument can be made that Flacco is the top QB in the AFC North this year by the numbers and he certainly has outperformed every QB in the AFCN over the last 3 games. Ben: 59/103 57% 795yds 3TDs 4Ints....Dalton: 59/86 68% 659yds 4TDs 1Int.......Flacco 89/129 69% 911yds 8TDs 3Ints I doubt if the Bengals or Steelers are talking about getting rid of their QBs right now. Again Flacco isn't playing stellar or lights out right now, but to say he's among the worse is a overstatement imo.

While I agree the call wasn't the best call, Flacco could have certainly made him look better if he just targeted Waller on that play. It probably results in a TD if he does. Also I think Harbs was speaking from emotion when he made that comment and i expect a different tune at his presser tomorrow. I can think of plenty times that other offenses throw the ball in that situation. They might have a better play design called but they certainly throw the ball. With 6 minutes left I can see going for the kill by throwing the ball into the endzone, just needed a better play design and smarter play from the QB. But running the ball is certainly the smart play. As much as I like Flacco he is hardly to thank for the Ravens being in position to win the division. At least not solely. In fact some could put 80+% of the offensive struggles on Flacco simply because he's leaving far too many yards and points on the board in a offense that is designed to take advantage of catch and run. The play calls haven't been the best but Flacco hasn't done a great job of overcoming them either and he's certainly capable. There are some changes that need to be made to this offense but the QB position isn't one of them. Flacco is still this teams best shot at winning a SB and no way they are gonna give up on him. The Ravens have a offense that can attack in many different areas, they just need to find a OC to utilize it fully. Flacco is playing much better right now than he was the beginning of the season, but he still has some areas to clean up if this team is gonna make the playoffs and certainly go far.

I've been really impressed with both West and Dixon. Probably more because of the fact that i'm a die hard FSU guy i've been wanting Dalvin Cook for the past 3 years to be a Raven, but I have to admit i'm really loving the 1-2 punch we have right now. I thought Marty did a good job of getting the RBs involved a lot more this game, but I still think there is a disconnect with the offense some where. I haven't gone back and watched the game again yet but I thought there was too left out on the field today. I don't think the offensive talent on this team is being used correctly, although I was happy to see Camp used in his first game back. So part of me says Marty doesn't know how to utilize the talent on this team and part of me says give him a full offseason to breakdown tape and really get a handle on guys like Perriman, Moore, Camp, Waller, West, Dixon, Williams etc to see how to best use them. I know the weather played a part in it, but I didn't see what I expected to see out of Marty today and watching the game with emotions running high, I wasn't happy but i'll have to go back and re-watch it as always to really get a gauge on what really took place with the offense. I just don't like West and Juice having more catches than all your WRs combined. I liked the good mix of run and pass, I just wasn't a fan of the design of the passing game.

I don't think either the Ravens nor Steelers can have 100% confidence entering this game because while the Steelers are on a 5 game win streak they are hardly playing lights out other than a near 300 yard game from Bell. However the Ravens have completely owned the Steelers over the last 10 meeting so they do have that going for them. Just like any other Ravens Steelers game it's gonna be ugly but if the Ravens pull it out they can't lose to the Bengals. I just typed I can't see this team losing to the Bengals but had to erase it because I could easily see this team putting so much into beating the Steelers that they have a let down vs the Bengals like they seemingly did today vs the Eagles. At this point I say yes the Ravens make the playoffs because I think they have enough high level guys like SSS, Yanda, Suggs, Weddle etc to will this team past the Bengals as long as they take care of business Xmas night.

And those guys suck when Kubes isn't there to run the offense. Even going back to Houston and the couple of game in Denver when he wasn't there to oversee that offense they not only looked bad but they looked like they didn't have a clue offensively. I'll past on anyone from Denver unless it's Kubes himself.

Oh yea I get it. Like I said running the ball there was the smartest play. But with a 10 point lead, I don't have a problem with being aggressive there to put that team away completely. But that's just my nature. I'd rather fail going for the win than to just play scared and hope to hold on for the win. It was no different than the Pats passing the ball on 1st down last week to run the clock. Incomplete and it's the dumbest call ever, complete it and it's still not the smartest call but you don't feel as bad about it lol. A TD right there puts the game away at 34-17 and it really doesn't matter how much time is on the clock because the Eagles to that point didn't prove to be a quick strike offense. They used more clock scoring than the Ravens did. But again running the ball was definitely the smartest play on all accounts.

I honestly don't have a problem throwing the ball into the endzone there, I have a issue with the play call. If you're going to throw the ball into the endzone there, get Perriman or Waller on the outside for a fade or at least give the illusion of running the ball to suck the LBs up and get a TE behind them. You asked your QB to make a tight window throw when it wasn't necessary. Now of course the smartest thing to do there is run the ball.

I've been a supporter of Marty and it mainly comes from the continuity aspect of things. I'm tried of seeing things change with the offense. However the offensive talent isn't being used properly right now and I'm not sure Marty is doing well enough to ensure he's hired as the OC next year. I don't care who the OC is, they always seem to have the WRs running stationary routes. The Ravens just don't put enough pressure on DBs and force them to move. With as much speed as the Ravens have on this offense 80% of the routes should be running away from defenders and forcing them to cover large areas of the field. The offensive talent on this team is being wasted and I think I may have been wrong about Marty. I'm watching the Chargers offense right now and they put so much pressure on the defense because guys are consistently running across the field. If you are gonna place a emphasis on passing the ball so much, you better develop a strong passing game to do so and the Ravens don't really have one. They have the talent for one but I don't think Marty is getting the most out of it right now.

I don't care how we've got here. Ravens @ Steelers what could be better on Christmas night. I know the NFL is really happy for this one. From a game play stand point. I don't think anyone has a handle on either team. Throw the records out of the window, put your big boy pants on and pack a extra chin strap because this game will be physical and it's the brawl for it all.

Yeah that's the best part, he still has so much room to grow.

I don't get how the Eagles have no threat of a passing game but still having success in the run game. Defense needs to step up right now.

Nobody is talking about him and it's a great thing, but Stanley is doing a great job. Dixon reminds me so much of Ray Rice. He needs to be a big part of the offense each week.

Ducasse served his purpose filling in as a backup. We need Lewis healthy and back in the lineup. But keep Yanda at LG.

I'm liking Chris Moore as a KOR guy. He needs a little polish but i'm liking him so far. He's having a good year outside of his struggles catching the ball. Glad to see he didn't just go into a tank because things aren't working as a WR.

Oh yea sometimes it's great because he can still get the ball in tight spaces. But it effects his accuracy big time. Going back to last week, Butler would have never been able to bat that slant to Wallace away if Joe's mechanics/accuracy is spot on. Get the ball out in front of Wallace and it's a TD 7-2 ball game instead of Tucker having his FG blocked and the game snow balling. The little things.

Can't have it both ways lol. Either you hold onto the ball and wait for things to develop or you get the ball out quick to avoid pressure being an issue.

The gift and curse of having a huge arm. Joe being 6'6 with a big arm means his footwork will always be an adventure and he'll rely on that huge arm to bail him out. Guys like Ben and Joe will always struggle with having consistent mechanics. Ben relies on his LB like strength to extend plays and Joe relies on his arm.

No you're 100% correct. When Flacco is tight on his mechanics he's a hell of a QB. When he gets lazy with his mechanics he leaves so much to be desired. That TD to Sr was a thing of beauty but the play Sr got hurt was a play left on the field because Flacco didn't step into it. I think the oline allowed pressure up in his face to force him to throw off the back foot but the point remains the same.

You and me both.