TXRavensFan

I tend to agree with the above.

Amen, brother!

I guess it depends on who you talk to - there were a good many fans that fell for the "bad hands" narrative, but I've been excited about this pick since draft day. In fact, I'm even more enthused after successful OTAs and minicamps to see him develop into the true #1 receiver we've been waiting for. Considering the reports from outside of this site that confirm he has legit hands, as well as those that list him at the top of potential rookie playmakers, and even OROY candidates (yes, I know the pads haven't been on, but he must have shown the writers something to make those suggestions), I think that enthusiasm is justified,

Oddly, this is how I pictured Br*dy's testimony went:

Very True. Let's also not forget that none of these diamonds that got paid elsewhere never lived up to the big contracts they got.

Hey, my sister-in-law won that signed Flacco picture! Welcoming your first first child just before the Super Bowl kickoff, then watching the Ravens win it is a pretty good "Ravens memory"

Just to keep the facts straight, according to Harbaugh and Chuck Pagano, nobody from the Ravens contacted anyone from the Colts about the balls. This is what he said on the Super Bowl pre-game: "There have been unconfirmed reports that Harbaugh or the Ravens tipped off the Indianapolis Colts about the issue. The ongoing investigation, the so-called "Deflategate" led by NFL executive Jeff Pash and outside investigator Ted Wells, is based on allegations that the Patriots didn't have the footballs inflated up to NFL standards. “I heard all that, I couldn't believe it when I heard it,” Harbaugh said Sunday afternoon on NBC during a Super Bowl pregame show when asked about the reports that the Ravens called the Colts. "It’s ridiculous. It never happened. I never made any call. Nobody in our organization made any call. "Just to make sure I had all the facts, I called [Colts coach] Chuck Pagano this week and asked him, ‘Did anybody else in our organization tip you off about any deflated footballs?’ And he said, ‘No way.'" http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-john-harbaugh-denies-calling-colts-about-patriots-footballs-20150201-story.html

According to the NFL penalty tracker, in his last 3 years, he had 11, 9, and 6 total penalties.

Pretty sure he's referring to the Jerry Rosburg presser from OTAs: “You’d like to see a return specialist do both, and also contribute on offense or defense. My personal philosophy is I don’t want just a return specialist. That’s not enough value to the roster. It doesn’t help the team enough. Whatever way we work out with the roster – whether it is one guy doing one and playing on offense and another guy doing another and playing on defense – as long as they are doing everything they can in a multiple number of ways to help our team, then I’ll be just fine with it.” http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Transcripts-Ravens-Third-OTA/abe97cbf-848b-4ba2-a3b0-ce97619e0304 The video should still be on the main page as well. (Edit: added the quote from the transcripts)

No offense, but your post is a perfect example of what Oher was talking about: “The movie showed me not doing something so well that got me here, something I’ve always understood,” Oher said. "Everything else is good, but them showing me not knowing how to play football, that’s what upsets me the most.” Part of the reason why it touches a nerve with Oher is that in reality he’s a student of the game and an extremely hard worker. It’s a cliché that a hard-working player is the first one in the building and last to leave. But Birk, another weight-room junkie, said it’s true with Oher. “Once in a while I’ll beat him into the office and I’ll be like, ‘Hey Mike, you’re slipping man. I got ya today,’” Birk said with a laugh. “It really bugs him. Mike busts his tail and that’s why he’s so successful. It’s easy to root for a guy like that.” http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/The-Real-Michael-Oher/f766f1ad-4104-479d-a379-c3eeb82d9e17

Maybe his first two years, but you can't deny his improvement in that area.

Just so it's there for the record.... 2010 Oher led the team with 11 total penalties. Mason, Redding and Heap were tied for 2nd with 5 each. 2011 Oher led the team with 11 total penalites again. Flacco, C. Williams, and Suggs were tied for 2nd with 6 each. 2012 Boldin led the team with 11 total penalties. Oher was 2nd with 9, and J. Smith, Pollard and Osemele had 8 each. 2013 Jimmy Smith led the team with 8 total penalties. Yanda and Shipley were tied for 2nd with 7 each. Oher was tied with Dumervil, Webb, Torrey Smith and Upshaw for 3rd with 6 each. Edit: For comparison purposes, last year the penalty leaders were Suggs (8), Monroe (7), and Dumervil (6), followed by a bunch of guys with 5.

Out of all of the comments I've read on this story on various sites, you're one of the few that actually gets what Oher was saying. I'm not sure how anyone with any kind of intelligence could interpret his comments to mean "my bad play is caused by the movie," which seems to be the overwhelming conclusion here so far. As I posted in the LFW thread earlier: If someone made a movie about any one of our lives (especially one that portrayed us in an inaccurate and arguably unflattering light), and that movie led to us receiving an increased level of scrutiny at our jobs, including perhaps unrealistic expectations regarding our performance, any one of us could reasonably determine that the movie has been a net negative in our lives.

I've watched that play over and over as well, and come to the opposite conclusion. 1. I think this is the most arguable point. I have also wondered why they went for it all (off course we don't know the play call) with so much time on the clock. However, the general rule of thumb is that you go for the score when you get it. Let's also be realistic, if Flacco had jogged up the left side for the first down, there's no guarantee that they get the TD on a subsequent play. 2. Hurst pancakes his guy while Flacco has started his throwing motion, so he had already made the determination that Torrey's window was open and let it fly. I haven't seen where the play was rushed. 3. Torrey was open at the time the pass was thrown - he beat the CB, and the window was open in front of the safety. 4. At the time of the release, Hurst had gotten driven back to the spot where Flacco would need to plant - he couldn't take a full step. The ball may have floaed a little bit, but it was a strong throw typically of a Flacco bomb - it wasn't a bad ball. 5. The throw wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either. Torrey was watching it the whole way (until the last 10-20 feet of the ball's fight) and should have been tracking it to put him in position to make the catch. 6. Torrey took his eyes off the ball, slowed down and looked at the safety, then threw a little shoulder - he didn't make a play on the ball at all. If he kept his eyes on the ball without slowing down, then went up to make a play, it would have been a TD, PI, or incomplete. Torrey had plenty position on the DB to prevent that interception.

I'll just say this about the Oher comments: If someone made a movie about any one of our lives (especially one that portrayed us in an inaccurate and arguably unflattering light), and that movie led to us receiving an increased level of scrutiny at our jobs, including perhaps unrealistic expectations regarding our performance, any one of us could reasonably determine that the movie has been a net negative in our lives.

I don't think it helps your case that JJ took 4 years to crack the starting lineup, whereas Upshaw has essentially been a starter since day 1.

I've posted that a couple times, and I don't want to seem like I'm piling on wit the Torrey hate that seems to have popped up on the forums, but in this case, that interception was on him. If he goes up to make a play on the ball, it's a TD, PI or incomplete pass at the very least. The only issue I have with the play is whether or not it was wise to go for the score with so much time on the clock, given the way the secondary was shredded in the second half. I understand that you want to take te score when you can get it, but it might have been better to milk the clock a little more.

There was a "News and Notes" article that went up on the main site a little while ago.

Oh no! Maxx Williams must be a bust because he fumbled in minicamp! Sami84 must be devastated! /sarc

Glad you think so... I'd love to see his next to the ones of Ogden, Lewis and Reed

The sky is not falling, nor is Perriman a bust, nor is he merely a decoy because he dropped a few passes in the first mini camp practice.

I had the same reaction when I first saw that video. While I appreciate everything Torrey accomplished for the Ravens, that last play was a terrible way to end his career here. I'll admit, when I posted that video, it was the first time I noticed how open that left side was (Hurst did a great job), and it's kind of like pouring salt into an open wound.

I have to LOL at this especially the part about "nor is it something that's up for interpretation or debate," as your entire premise is based on an assumption that is definitely debatable. Namely, that affordability is equivalent to worth. I suggest that there are many factors that determine if a player is affordable to a team, including (but not limited to) cap space. Simply put, you are assuming that not being able to afford the market value for a player is necessarily the same as the team deciding the player is not worth that market value. Of course, there may be times that this is the case (or that a team decides that a player is no longer worth their contract); however, that is not necessarily the case. For example, let's say JJ Watt's contract is up and the going price is $15M/yr (for the sake of argument). If the Ravens do not make an offer for him, do you think they're saying "he's not worth the price" or "based on our cap situation, we can't afford that price?" Regardless of whether or not Smith was offered a contract, the fact that the Ravens did not match a 5 yr/ $40M deal for him does not automatically indicate that the Ravens decided he was "unworthy" of such a contract. Further, it is definitely not something that is not "up for interpretation or debate."

What you've done here is not argue an OBJECTIVE point of view. Rather, you have taken a CONTRARIAN point of view and posited it as an OBJECTIVE view (which you tend to do in the vast majority of your posts). To be truly objective, one would have to look at the issue on all sides, and not just from a perspective that starts with a premise that the organization acted without class. For instance: 1) NFL contracts are not fully guaranteed, and include clauses that allow a team to void the contract at any time. Players are fully aware of this when they sign the contract, and the overwhelming evidence suggests that players are aware that the full length of the contract may not be honored (e.g., Flacco and Linta conceding that Joe's six year contract would most likely be re-negotiated after 3 years). 2) Players are not without power when it comes to their contracts (e.g., Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas this year). 3) Releasing a player into free agency is no guarantee that a player will play for a team he wants under the terms he wants, and they often make less money on a new contract. We don't know what teams would have been willing to pay Boldin in free agency, but there is a chance that his best offer on the open market would have been less than the Ravens offered (it could have been more, granted). In fact, this is often the case; since you brought up Jacoby Jones, I'm sure that you're aware that his new contract (after being released) will pay him about half as much as what he was due with the Ravens. In addition, Evan Mathis will most likely not receive anywhere near the salary he was due with the Eagles when he signs a contract with his new team. Considering that the trade allowed Boldin to play for a contender under the terms of his existing contract, it may not have been the least classy move the Ravens could have made as you seem to suggest (consider the possibility that the highest bid may have been made by the Browns, Bucs, Titans, etc. at well under the salary due from his Ravens contract). Again, the above situation may not have happened, but is probably as likely as Boldin having to decide among $10M/year contracts from the Colts, Packers, Seahawks, or whatever contender. 4) Finally, none of us were privvy first-hand to the actual events as they transpired. There is the story from the Ravens, and the story from Boldin and his agent. Since they differ, one will typically judge which of the stories they believe more, then form an opinion.

I understand your loyalty - I followed the Colts for a couple years after they moved (at 15, it was hard to give up rooting for my favorite players). As for that last play, you're right, Hurst did flatten his guy, but it looked like Flacco had already started his throwing motion at the time. Now, I like Torrey as much as the next guy, but the interception was on him - Flacco actually made a good throw, and if Torrey actually went up to make a play on the ball, its either a TD or incomplete pass at the worst: