BOLDnPurPnBlacK

I guess you skipped over the part where they pointed out that Webb pulled up early because he "tweaked his hamstring." He left practice after that play. Selective reading.

With Aiken - there's a difference between "unreliable" and "not called upon." When you're not asked to do much, not given great opportunity, but you do take advantage of all the small ones you get - that's not unreliability. Unused, sure. Not ready? Maybe. But unreliable?.... Hardly.

Steve Smith Sr. thank you for continuing your career in Baltimore and being a frequent reminder of what it means to Play Like a Raven on the field and act like a Raven off it. You've given this team and this fan base your all. Give us one last run and hopefully we can bring that trophy on home... And send you home the proper way. Thank you for treating our community as your home and giving back so much. He was meant to be a Raven. Nothing but love, respect and admiration for one of the fiercest and hard working competitors I've had the joy of watching. He's sacrificed years with his family to provide us with entertainment, and now it's time for us to sacrifice the joy of watching one of the all time greats so he can be with his family who deserve to have him back. One last ride Smitty! NFL - you've officially been put on notice. Time for Baltimore to send yet another legend off into the sunset, ring on hand. Super Bowl or bust boys. Let's get em!!

I don't see anyone saying our receivers are a sure thing - they're certainly not. And that includes Waller especially. First he's got to make the team, which I suspect he will. But expecting him to start or even contribute heavily is a huge stretch. Claiming he's the key to a Super Bowl? Pretty absurd. And, those that have been paying attention know that Aiken has probably been the most reliable of the group. Jacoby, aside from the 2012 playoffs didn't take the top off any defense. You're not a threat if you can't catch. Perriman will be fine. I like Wallers potential, but I doubt he's anything more than a situation red zone target this year.

Almost every single injury we've sustained was due to things you can't avoid even if going lightly. A WR landing on his knee, feet getting stepped on, a poke in the eye, pulled hamstrings, etc... I guess the answer is we just shouldn't have practices. That way everyone will at least be available for the 1st preseason game. I mean we'll probably sustain a bunch of serious injuries during the game and get blown out while looking like crap... But at least we won't have minor injuries beforehand.

Glad you don't make our roster decisions.And a guy, who you've never even seen play, gives us our best shot at winning the Super Bowl?? If that were true (which thankfully, it's not) our offense would be in big trouble.

Any idea how to get into one of the joint practices? I live in the Philly area and desperately want to go to one. I've never had a chance to go to a ravens practice because of work/distance so this is a great opportunity. Probably going to the preseason game - my little sister's boyfriend has eagles season tickets and has an extra one so pretty pumped about that.

The young guys also practice more. Between rookie camp, reporting earlier and the voluntary stuff they tend to come to that a lot of vets skip they often put in an extra week or more of practices. Plus they usually play more total reps since they don't get the rest days, most practicing with their position group and special teams, and working with 1st, 2nd and 3rd team units at times - the typical rookie contract player is having to practice a lot more than the average established vet. I mean you see a lot of injuries across the NFL... Maybe it's normal and we only see other team's injuries when it's a marquee player, yet pay attention to every single Ravens injury so it seems like we have more than everyone else. I don't know, maybe there is something to it. Hard to tell but either way it sucks losing these promising young players. Get Urban some antler spray! It helped Ray get back in under 12 weeks in time for the playoff run with the same injury. Hopefully he can get back on the field for a couple games toward the end of the season and be a boost for us going into the playoffs.

What?!? Seriously?..... I was so hyped to finally see him play. And he's been playing so well all offseason. He was probably the player I was most excited to see what he could do in an actual game. Why can't he just stay healthy?? And good thing we have so much depth on the d line. Get healthy young man, hopefully he'll be back and ready to rock in November and be a boost for a potential playoff run.

What an idiot. That being said, once his suspension is up I'd bring him in to camp next year for a tryout. I mean shoot, we got a pick out of Rolando McClain.

I think Perriman will have the 2nd or 3rd best year of all the rookie receivers behind Cooper and maybe Aghalor. Whether he starts week 1 or not he's going to be a big part of this offense and until other guys prove it SSS is going to draw all the coverage so Perriman will get his opportunities.

Just because you dont think any of those teams are ready to compete doesnt mean they dont think they are. Quite frankly, if they didnt think they could compete I doubt they'd be coaching/playing in the league. If the idea is to make the best roster you can, and Rice is potentially an upgrade (he doesnt HAVE to be, nothing has to be proven because TC would do that) why not bring him in? If you like your young guys you can still cut Rice. My point, and I think everyone elses, is that he has the ability to still be in the league. A terrible mistake is keeping him out, Others that made similar mistakes are in, That's hypocrisy. And I'm not saying Rice deserves anything either - he still has his wife and isnt in jail - he should feel blessed just to have that. But if the league is going to set the precedent that certain actions are forgivable, then forgive. If they're not then don't. The reason Pierre Thomas isnt on a team right now is bc he wants to still be paid like a starter and everyone in the league thinks they can get by with young drafted guys or a cheap committee approach. For all we know that could be the reason Rice has yet to have any conversations - maybe hes holding out to be paid like a starter. But in all fairness, youre comparing Rice to Pierre Thomas and Chris Johnson. Aside from 1 season Rice was consistently better than both. And 2013 was an accumulation of injuries, a bad o-line, and being way too heavy in his upper body. 1 year doesnt make a trend. He should get a shot to at least prove whether he can play still or not.

Only 1 QB with 2 super bowls isnt in the Hall of Fame. Unless Rodgers, Brees, and Manning win a 2nd - I think he'd get in with 2 because it's already seen as a great achievement that almost every QB whose done it is in the Hall.... and if those 3 guys dont ever win a 2nd it makes doing so in this era all the more impressive. Honestly none of us knows what the voters will be looking for when voting in this era of QB's... but in order to have this conversation you have to look at what has gotten QB's in in the past. Being one of the top QBs of your era in terms of numbers and wins seems to do it. So does winning 2 Super Bowls. And if Joe can win a 2nd and be the MVP again, forget it he's in. Just like Eli will be. Every multiple SB MVP winner is in the Hall. I doubt that streak stops just bc Eli isnt tops in the league in stats. It's still one of the most difficult achievements in football.. and the Hall is all about being in rare company.

I feel like you have no idea what the RB situations look like on any of the teams I listed. And it makes sense to add a vet with a young RB for a couple reasons... maybe not to start over him but in case he doesn't pan out you have a backup capable of spelling the guy or taking over and salvaging your run game. He can also help mentor a young RB and get the most out of him.

To be fair yes. Eddie Lacy Marshawn Lynch Jamal Charles Lesean McCoy I'd also take: Forsett Bengals rb (the rookie, names escaping me) Alfred Morris Frank Gore Melvin Gordon (on potential alone) Todd Gurley (same as above) That's 15 that hands down I'd take as my starting RB over Rice for sure. After that I can't think of many that id say hands down over rice. There are quite a few teams that Rice would be an upgrade over the starter, and almost every team he's an upgrade on the #2. He'd be easily the best back on: Falcons Titans Buccaneers Jags Panthers Raiders Patriots And would probably be an upgrade or big part of a committee for: Giants Jets Cowboys Texans Dolphins Lions Browns Cardinals 49ers Might be missing a couple, but still with that many teams without a legitimate feature back or going with a committee approach that could really use another quality back it's ridiculous that Rice can't get another shot. The fact that Hardy and Peterson got the deals that they did and that Rice can't find a job is a little silly. I get there was video of Rice, but that doesn't make the act itself worse. It was all the talk that they had to handle to Rice punishment appropriately because the NFL is so popular they had a duty to set a precedent on the cultural issue of domestic violence and that it's not accepted or to be taken lightly; yet they're taking no responsibility or being held accountable to teach lessons of forgiveness and redemption. -- I think if not for Deflate Gate he'd be on the Patriots roster already. We'll see some more injuries and someone will give him a call. I hope so. He's got a couple good years left in him.

Eli and Ben are absolutely worth mentioning in the Hall of Fame conversation and might even get in if they retired today. There's only one.... ONE... Quarterback with 2 or more Super Bowl wins that ISNT in the Hall of Fame and that's Jim Plunkett. And Plunkett had like 160 TDs to almost 200 INT's, only 25,000 career passing yards over a 12 or so year career with a career QB rating of 68. Good reason to keep him out. I agree it's going to be tough for QBs from this era to get in with Brady, Manning, Rodgers and Brees all having won Super Bowls and putting up monster numbers - collectively crushing pretty much every passing record on the books. But, winning multiple SB's has historically been a pass to the hall considering the only guy to do it that's not in had worse than average career numbers as a passer; it was clearly deemed that his teams won multiple rings in spite of QB play as opposed to being the driving force behind those 2 wins. If Ben continues on his current trajectory he's a guarantee. He may already be a guarantee. Last year he was definitely a top 5 QB and that offense is primed for another huge year. Eli has not only won 2 Super Bowls which has historically been almost a lock for the Hall, he's also a 2x Super Bowl MVP. He may be more likely to get in than Ben based on that alone. Only 5 players in history have been named SB MVP twice or more (Montana and Brady with 3, Bradshaw, Starr and Eli with 2). All others are in. Both Eli and Ben are definitely better players than Bradshaw. IMO being in that company is an almost guarantee he gets in. A further note* 23 of 33 eligible SB MVP winners are in the Hall. So, 66% of SB MVP winners get in in general. 13 of 17 Hall eligible SB MVP awards won by QBs were won by guys in the Hall. That's more than 75%. Plunkett, Simms, Rypien, and Doug Williams are the only ones not in. Shoot, Joe Namath is in. --- Point is - you're right that Rivers, Romo, Ryan - guys like that are ridiculous to be in HOF discussions. But, history says both Ben and Eli are near locks for the Hall. Their stats blow away many guys from the past that are in... And of course the argument is the games changed, more passing, etc... But that argument in reverse can be made to diminish guys like Terry Bradshaw and Bart Starr who are in more on the merits of winning than being dominant passers and putting up big numbers - but the game was different then and winning multiple SB's back then was not as impressive as doing it in the modern era with salary caps and Free Agency imo. I think the voters will recognize that and decide they have the requisite stats and talent where it's not prohibitive to getting in, and the merits of winning 2 rings and in Eli's case 2 MVP's to boot puts them in elite enough company that they definitely deserve to get in.

Ok boss. Without looking it up, name 32 better. Try 20. Ready, go.

Looking at our defense going into this season and evaluating our strengths and weaknesses our linebacker group is imo the overwhelming strength of the unit. The starting group - Suggs, Smith, Mosley and Dumervil is pretty incredible when you think about it. Suggs/Dumervil make up arguably the best OLB duo in the league (KC and Den in the convo). Smith and Mosley in their own right could be arguably the best ILB duo in the league, and that's even with an aging Smith and an emerging Mosley. Put them together and I don't think it's even close that we have the best overall LB group in the league right now.... 3-4 or 4-3. And that's not including Upshaw who's one of the better edge setting run defenders in the league. But it got me to thinking, where does this group rank in the Ravens storied defensive history? Does this group warrant conversation with best LB groups all-time? Honestly I've never heard much conversation looking at a group of linebackers as a whole and evaluating against each other, so it's tough to put into perspective. But you do hear about Seattle's LOB being one of the best secondaries all-time. Our OLB pair have gotten love as a duo in national media, as have the inside two..... But how about as a whole?

On the player vs player comparisons, it'd make more sense to compare '14 Suggs to Thomas and Dumervil to '06 Suggs. And id probably take '14 Suggs over Thomas and Doom over '06 Suggs. Even if you don't take '14 Suggs it makes the comparison a heck of a lot closer than doing it the other way. And I'd take either Mosley or Smith over Scott. So I personally would take 3 of the '14 LB spots over '06. The question is - does the presence of Ray Lewis as opposed to Mosley or Smith push them over the top. Clearly it's a resounding yes.

I don't know how rigid that is. Butler, Aiken and SSS all have been used in the slot. Camp no doubt is home there and I like his potential - he'll see snaps there. But I think they'll try to get the 3 best guys on the field as much as possible in 3wr sets. I hope Camp does earn the job bc that means he's playing well, but Butler and Aiken are both balling in preseason so far so I think if Smith and Perriman are on the outside they'll put one of those 2 in the slot to get them on the field as much as possible.

He hasn't played a full season with dominance. Usually the guys that get that recognition have a break out season where people start to pay attention. Then you have to follow that up and show it wasn't a flash in the pan. He was on that track until he got injured... So my guess is if he can stay healthy and dominate again this season, coming into next year he'll be a household name - right up there with Peterson , Sherman and Revis. Harris in Denver is another one like Smith. He was quite possibly the best CB in the league last year yet hardly anyone knows who he is. If he does it again in 2015 he'll get the recognition because now everyone's watching. It's not a slight against Jimmy - people who know the game know who he is and what he's capable of.... But he's got to prove he can stay on the field. Doesn't matter what your potential is, if you're on IR you're no better than the guys who get cut in camp. Personally I think it'd be premature if he was getting that sort of widespread recognition.

I guess you skipped the part about "while playing with those 2" meaning while playing with Boulware and Sharper as the other 2 Linebackers. So during the stretch of '96-'00. I thought that was pretty clearly stated.

Yea that was a perfect storm of circumstance a the only way a trade like that, or the one for our receivers that was mentioned happens. You had to have a team that's desperate (lost their starter and backup center for the season I believe), a coach with familiarity enough to think he can fix him (Kubiak moving to HC in Denver after his year here), and us having not only found a starter to replace Gino but also 2 backup players ahead of him on the depth chart. So I guess if Denver or maybe the Lions had a crazy run of injuries at receiver (literally like their top 2 guys go down), and we feel confident that we have 3-4 receivers better than the one they target (which would likely only be Marlon, who I can't see us trading unless the pick is stupid to turn down). That 99.999999999999% isn't happening so I'm just as sure we won't be trading any of those 3. In part bc we finally have a stable of young receivers who can develop with Joe over the next couple years, part because trades rarely ever happen and when they do it's almost always for known commodities, and part because if we were to entertain trading a receiver it would likely only be because we were sending him to the PS or cutting him.... In which case no ones going to trade for him when they can get him without giving up a pick or player It's even less likely to happen that early with Perriman's injury because those 3 are the best candidates to start along side SSS, and may find themselves in a rotation until 1 separates himself or Perriman overtakes them.

Agree. I think going forward now more than ever, and especially at the skills positions - getting into the Hall of Fame isn't going to be about how you rank among guys already in the Hall, it'll be how you compare to the guys in your era. Because now, even mediocre starters will be putting up stats on par with Montana and Elway. Getting into the Hall as a QB during this era is going to be extremely difficult... And they're not going to water it down and just let everyone in.

They would have to be assuming a continued steady increase in Flacco's stats over the next 2-3 years and then sustaining that peak for another 3+ years... Which isn't entirely unreasonable. He would then be putting up the type of stats Rivers, Romo, Ryan, etc... Put up but Flacco would then have the edge on wins and especially post season wins. I think Flaccos got a lot of work to do to guarantee the Hall, but one thing I haven't seen mentioned that bodes well for him is that the voters do tend to favor historical achievements. And Flaccos got his Super Bowl playoff run that ranks all time all time. I think he's already won the most road playoff games of any QB with plenty of time to pad a comfortable lead. Wilson's probably going to break them, but he's got some all time win numbers overall and in the playoffs. And he could have the best road playoff win percentage when all is said and done (let's hope we see more home games going forward). So where he takes a knock for not having the stats he does have a few things going for him that voters tend to like... They've put some arguably undeserving players in the Hall because they accomplished some historical achievement. Plus, I think naturally the trend of adding pieces to compliment Joe and build around him will continue which will help him add the necessary stats to be among the Hall of Fame considered QBs from this era - where his wins, Super Bowl(s) and historical achievements will hopefully put him over the top. Looks like Luck and Wilson aren't going to make it easy on him though. Any other era and this would be a lot easier of a conversation. But playing at the same time as Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Manning, Luck, Wilson, and to a lesser extent Roethlisberger and Eli (who have the edge on stats and SB's currently) and Romo, Rivers, and Ryan (stats without the winning) it's just crazy. They can't all get in. And I don't think he'll be evaluated against the guys already in - he'll be evaluated against the guys in his era. And right now id say there are 6 QBs who definitely have a better case for the Hall than Flacco.