fusuymada

I said for four years while Pitta was out that we had a great talent in Juszczyk and we totally underutilized him. Aiken didn't make it on several teams and in his entire career he had one season where he had almost 1000 yard season and the best he can ever hope for is a 3rd or 4th receiver. Juszxzyk however, was another Danny Woodhead but better. He can run as well, is a better pass receiver, and he can also block when necessary which Woodhead can not do.

I am not a person to call for the coaches head, but the decisions to hire the OC's we have has been horrible except for the one where Ozzie told John he was hiring Kubiak and that was the best coach that Harbaugh ever hired but Harbaugh never hired him. I am seeing this team turn into a dumpster fire and if we don't have a playoff season this year, it is time to move on from Harbaugh as he has lost complete focus, or never had it, on what was important.

  50 minutes ago, ellicottraven said:

Joe Flacco listens to Pitta on just about everything including his personal grooming it seems. So, Joe take a cue from Pitta and help the team out man! Take a pay cut so we can get you more help. It's about time you helped the team out in a meaningful way.

Spot on, brother!

Amen!!!! Have been saying that since the last snap of last season. Brees, Brady, P. Manning etc... all took pay cuts after they had enough money to last their families through 5 generations and Flacco is now in that boat as well. I feel if he doesn't help the team now, we need to look for his replacement because as soon as that contract gets to a manageable amount for dead money (which is in 2 years) he needs to be let go. The team paid him for his good years and now he either needs to take a pay cut, or have an MVP season or I would say send him down the road. Even after 2 years, he is still in the top 5 QBs in the league in cap money though he is in the bottom 5 starting QB's in performance. We need to draft a QB this year so he is ready in two years when we need to let Flacco walk.

Talk about Adrian Peterson coming to the Ravens needs to be prefaced by the fact that we all need to remember what Peterson said after a 2013 game against the Ravens. He referred to Ravens fans "as the worst fans in all of football". Someone who disrespects Ravens fans has no business in purple and black. Not even to mention that the Ravens have no desire for domestic abusers and beating your children and being legally charged and penalized by the NFL is not a player the Ravens should even spit on.

For me I would have Mike Williams WR in the first round and Teez Tabor CB who is now being projected as a second rounder as my two top picks for the Ravens. Perhaps a center in the third round and I would fill the right tackle position with one of the free agents who were cut.

That top-5 list of teams with most guaranteed money for the D clearly show that it doesn't mean a thing in itself. #1 is the lowly Jags, #2 is the Patriots...

Giving a lot of guaranteed money is a good move if you give it to players who will contribute and you can keep on your roster for their entire contracts, and bad if you give it to players you won't be happy with and/or cut before their contracts expire...

You can do it wisely and foolishly.

Well, since the Jaguars, Ravens and Patriots were the 6th, 7th and 8th defenses in the league (based on points), your opinion is not exactly accurate.
(http://www.footballdb.com/stats/teamstat.html?group=D&cat=T)

  18 minutes ago, steelcityraven said:

Round 3. Sid Jones- CB- Washington
(If he is still there we have to take him... nice cornerstone for the future)

In the third?  Wasn't he talked about as a first rounder

Until his injury he was, now it will be who is willing to try for a guy who is injured and red shirt him the first year and then have him ready come his sophomore year. I could see someone grabbing him late 2nd early third. However, Teez Tabor has dropped down the draft list and was a day 1 guy, now listed as a day two. I don't know whether it is a good thing he will be there on round 2 or a bad thing he keeps dropping and is he a risk?

Funny how people want to be nice and release guys just because we might (or might not) sign another running back or draft one. It is 6 months until the season starts and people aren't beating the door down to get Terrance West. Actually, when we signed West, there was no one interested after his lack of effort and production in the places he went to. He had some issues with management in Cleveland and though he had a pretty good season for them, they chose to keep Crowell. After that he bounced around until he found a home here, which was good for him. This is a business, this isn't about being nice. West will be given a shot to prove himself regardless of who they sign and I think West would prefer to earn the job here, than be released and try to make his way onto another roster (and trust me he wouldn't get the chances there that he will get here). Needless to say, I think releasing West because its the "nice thing to do" is just straight up poor business in the NFL and no one wins a super bowl by being nice. Ask the Patriots who will go to any extent to cheat to win a super bowl.

I would love to be a fly on the wall. I am sure it's like putting a puzzle together as one piece here leads to another piece that you couldn't do because you needed the piece before. No way I believe there is a plan as much as a basic direction, as there are 31 other variables to consider, each have their own issues and needs and everyone is trying to fool everyone else about what they plan on doing and driving the price up on pieces you had eyes on. The end of year press conference, I have always said is nothing more than a liars ball. Offensive line and weapons for Joe Flacco is spy talk for secondary help. I said that right after they tried to fool every other team in the NFL that wasn't fooled because they know, just like me, that it is just smoke and mirrors. Anyway....

I am not completely convinced the Ravens are zeroing in a wide reciever, as we have heard ground and pound since last year and ground and pound requires an offensive line and a running back. To me, I don't know what Adrian Peterson is asking, but with Terrance West and Dixon and Peterson in a role sharing situation he may have some dynamite left in those legs. Or, they may focus on a running back in the first round, and then focus on offensive lineman to put some brawling beasts on the front line and use Flacco's arm as a long shot weapon with our speed recievers like he did when he was "elite".

It will be interesting as it always is. We still have months before the first preseason game and a lot will happen both good and bad but that's what keeps me coming back for me. But for me "In Oz We Trust".

People will always complain no matter what. The same people crying we spent this money are the same people who cried when the Steelers walked all over our defense scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter and we couldn't stop ANY team in the fourth quarter. For all the Flacco bashing that goes on he was always able to get that score in the fourth quarter to put us ahead but the defense would turn right around and let the other team score and win. When you try to please everyone, you please no one. Thank goodness Ozzie doesn't listen to the people in here. Carr is a good, solid, press corner who is a reliable player who goes out every day and is successful and if your other corner is injury prone, you need someone reliable. If you watched Dallas last year, OCs went after Claiborne, not Carr. There is a reason for that. Claiborne was a sporadic, fly around, get caught out of position corner, fooled on the double move and Carr was a solid, Fluid, press corner who was always within a step of his guy. Educate yourself, if you have access to the Cowboys games, watch them and then tell me Carr's money was a waste.

  8 hours ago, TheConquerorWorm said:

Why do you say that?

Is it because he held OBJ to 73 yards & 94 yards? Or is because he held AJ Green to 50 yards (0 TDs)? Or maybe because he held Mike Evans to 59 yards (0 TDs)? Then it must be Alshon Jeffery's 70 yards & 0 TDs? Jordy Nelson's 68 yards & 0 TDs?

Yeah, that guy is no good....

You can throw out any state you want to against certain players. Where does he rank amongst every cornerback in the league? If he was so "good" why are the horrible Cowboys so willing to let him go? A 30 yr old CB signing a 4 year contract is a JOKE! 

You have got to be kidding. I watched last year's cowboys games in condensed version last night on NFL mobile and it's hard to rack up stats when no one throws at you. How many interceptions does J Smith have in his career. Very few because you can't catch what's throw to the other side of the field.

The Cowboys have zero cap room that's why they lost their WHOLE secondary from safeties to Claibourne going to the Jets and Carr coming here. They spent their dollars on the offensive line, now if you argue that's what we should do, you have a leg to stand on, but he is a solid, press, corner who is a great fit opposite J Smith. People forget the salary cap has increased astronomically in the last 4 years and a 6 mil contract is a lot less of the total percentage of total cap space, considerably, since 2012.

It looks like the Ravens are getting back to defense first, second and third and if the offense can get 16 points in a game, then we can win. How many times did we cry about the offense scoring and taking the lead in the fourth quarter and the defense giving up a winning score in the last minute of the game. I remember the "Immaculate Stretch" by Brown that kept us out of the playoffs. Maybe bend don't break is an obsolete strategy. Bend not break is for losers, winners say your not getting a yard.

Besides the fact we saved extra cap space, moved up in the draft (in any round is a good thing) and no doubt Ozzie has a solution and a backup to that solution before he ever would have released Zuttah regardless of cap savings. We may not like his solution but because he has access to a lot more information than I do, I have to believe "In Oz We Trust". I agree with someone who said Jensen was a mauler and would do well there and during the only games Zuttah missed, Urschel filled in with no real loss (after he practiced a shotgun snap lol). Or Ozzie may know some team who might cut or trade one of their centers before all is said and done. We have 6 months and we have just started and Ozzie does his best work at the last minute or later in the draft. This is a marathon not a sprint and Oz is on top of it. If we lockdown or draft a top corner, our secondary will be as good as we've seen in awhile and with that front, we have a scary good defense. Hensley of ESPN is questioning Oz about not securing a WR when the market has pretty much dried up now but Oz has never gotten into a scramble and bidding war for a player. He likes to sit back and wait for the dust to clear and like I said before, when teams cut down from 90 to 53, in 6 months, there are going to be a ton of veteran possession receivers looking for a job or a team, like the Eagles, who have too many, might get off someone like Jordan Matthews or someone like him. Plenty of time, plenty of time.

I agree, no on Ross, why keep Wallace if we plan on drafting Ross, but Mike Williams on the other hand is a beast. I am not a big tape guy I will admit, but I like to go to YouTube and not to watch the highlight reels, because anyone can look good in those but put in Mike Williams vs and it shows pretty much the whole game vs opponents and you can watch everything he does good and bad. Watching the top receivers, including Ross, and Williams is dominant when he is on the field. He would be one that I would be willing to trade up to get.

Ravens release Zuttah...

The Raven's failure to be able to draft or sign a long term #1 Wide Receiver have been well known by fans, other GMs and the news media. This is nothing new and Ozzie ignoring it is just par for the course. Don't know why anyone is surprised.

You know how the Government when being investigated hires a special independent investigator and prosecutor. I think the Ravens need a WR independent investigator and decision maker. Clearly we can't do it in any aspect from the draft to retirement with the staff we have in the FO, we have missed horribly.

The Ravens need a special department solely devoted to analysis of college and pro wide receivers so we can actually be successful at doing something, anything in the way of signing a WR. They need to have access to a specified amount of the salary cap and act completely independent in their analysis. Ozzie tells them that we need 2 rookie and one free agent vet and then this department takes it from there and they get what they want.

Bisciotti has to do something at some time because this has gotten ridiculous. No other team is as miserable at signing players than the Ravens are at signing or drafting WRs. Can we get old guys who can fill in, yes, but how about a young, good, WR, that we can keep and will help Flacco to be more successful because they develop a rapport that last longer than 2 years.

This Claiborne thing has drug out too long. If he wanted to be here, and the Ravens had the highest offer, then he should have signed. Clearly he is waiting for something else to happen or, like Jefferson who signed here, he may opt to take a lesser deal with a team he wants to play for. There is no other reason why he would be dragging his feet on signing with the Ravens if they have the highest offer (which is what most media outlets are reporting). I would think playing with Weddle and Jefferson as safeties and Smith and Tavon Young as supporting corners would entice cornerbacks to play with such a high quality secondary but apparently not. I believe he is holding out that the Cowboys sign him instead of Carr to a long term contract, but I don't believe they will do that deal.

I am more interested in what is to come. Is Mangold going to come here to replace Zuttah? What's the status of Morris Claiborne, who La Canfora said would end up signing here. Claiborne would be a huge signing. I don't remember where but I read somewhere that with Weddle and Jackson, J Smith, M Claiborne at corner and Tavon Young in the slot was comparable to the legion of boom in its prime. Pretty lofty comparison but if true, add that to our killer front seven and we have a D that can compete for a comparison to 2000. Only hole, if we get Claiborne, would be ILB, though pass rusher would be nice but we have some young kids, who if they make an advancement, could fill that role. Judon was a beast, we haven't seen Kaufusi, Correa will do better focusing on just the outside, Z Smith is overdue, plus Urban and a few others. Rumors are we could resign Webb who at the right price is worth the hands in the punt game just to secure the ball. Also a backup safety and slot corner help if needed. If Oz has an Oz-like draft, Ravens fans will be drinking the purple kook-aid.

  12 hours ago, ellicottraven said:

Really Brandon? He got way too much money for that to be entirely true. But, relocation can't be great for anybody. So, in that regard I'm sure he wanted to stay. But, now that its signed and delivered, he can't disappoint like most players do after getting the big bucks. We've seen it too often lately so we hope he's old school and earns his money.

I think you might have something there. Ravens pay for pass performance and New England pays for future performance.

Past performances? I think because of New England's success people feel they are gods. But unless they are, no human can predict future performance. The Patriots have failed on picks as well, but because we don't pay attention to every move the Patriots make, we don't notice it like we nit pick the Ravens decisions. In the past decade some of the best scouts, coaches and front office people have been stolen from the Ravens with promotions to move to other teams. Phil Savage of the senior bowl, Daniel Jeremiah from NFL network, a large portion of the Eagles front office and scouting team came from the Ravens and I could go on and on and on. People complain about draft picks and who we choose, but Ozzie doesn't scout players, his staff does. When that staff turns over there is a learning curve and I think we have seen the last of the poor drafts and this free agency shows just how well we did with a number of our picks getting lucrative contracts. Last years draft was good as well but it really takes 3 years to judge a draft.

For the players Ozzie drafts, they either are busts which every team has, there are those who are really good and get big free agent contracts. Of those, fans will either complain that we let them get away, or we kept them and overpaid, you can't win. The old saying that "you can't please everyone" is certainly true for Ravens fan, yet the rest of the parable says to do what you want and don't care what critics say because critics are a dime a dozen. It actually takes a fan, not a critic, to be a team supporter.

Two things;

Fans are extremely fickle, which by the nature of the word fanatic, is an oxymoron. Either your a fan of your team and its decisions or not. This reminds me of the Orioles signing Chris Davis. Everyone said do what you can to keep him and when the organization did, everyone whined that they spent too much money. What is it? Sign him or save money but you can't do both. I see the comments already. The same people screaming to sign him are in the comments section complaining about him not being worth it or not being a 3 down lineman, except he is but the team rotates linemen to keep them fresh. The article clearly states he is is a run stuffer and he pushes the pocket back in the QBs face when passing. As far as I knew there wasn't much more you can do but run or pass.

The Ravens seem to be jinxed with big contracts and injuries. Ngata, Webb, J Smith, Flacco, Watson, etc... When we give a contract out, there usually is an upcoming injury. I am hoping not, but let's all have our rabbits feet and lucky charms ready when he is on the field.

It's funny we mention John Simon because right now we are crying about needing pass rushers and here is a pure pass rusher and we jettisoned him. Not only is judging a draft too early a problem, but judging the individual players of that draft too early ended up as a problem for the Ravens. The ability of our coaches to judge talent comes in to question and where I think we are improving in that area, I wonder if it isn't an result of Harbaugh learning the head coaching job on the fly, on the job training as you will, and his skills are improving. I would think as a special team coordinator, as he was in his previous life, doesn't lend to a lot of analysis for players skills as far as individual positions, as he would be looking from the lens of special teams. I wonder if he wasn't a little green in that area when he took the job but slowly but surely is improving.

Now in his defense, not only do we turn over players and get so many comp picks in return, but we turn over coaches, who get better jobs in other organizations, quite frequently as well. Then you bring in someone who isn't quite as good as the last guy or he would have had the job to start with. By the time the Ravens magic works on him, he gets a better job offer. Talent evaluation and expressing that to the head coach and GM goes to deciding who plays and who stays and if that evaluation is flawed, then the decisions going up the ladder are flawed.

We could sure use a real center... Mangold?  We have a couple tight ends that we could cut and clear some more cap space!

Don't give up hope. He really isn't listed as one of the guys you have to snatch up in the first couple days but I heard that may yet be in the offing and both sides are showing interest. Where others disagree, before this injury he had only missed like 2 games through all his other seasons meaning that if healthy, and there is no reason to believe he is not, he could be very reliable and a great pickup for our line. He also won't be expensive because there is no real market for centers this offseason outside the Ravens and maybe another team or two. Actually, a number of teams have cut centers this off season so the market is actually flooded.

It appears the seats are hot in Baltimore. Let's just hope we aren't mortgaging our future to keep the existing administration here for the future only to end up without the resources to sustain and maintain a winning record, again.

4 of the 6 have had injury issues with Pitta missing two years, Watson missing all of last year and we know from S Smith and Suggs it takes a year and a half to get right. That's 3 months past the start of preseason. 2 more of them have suspension issues with Boyle just one infraction away from missing an entire season. Maxx Williams is in his third year and has bust written all over him Waller has yet to prove he can make the transition from WR to TE, however, he would seem to meet the criteria for a big possession receiver and move him back outside if only they could develop his hands. Any way it shakes out we will probably keep four and attrition could decide who those four may be.

Its about time Webb had to go, now when are they going to cut Arrington?

Wasn't Arrington injured last year? Until he clear medical waivers they can't cut him without an injury settlement. I don't know that for a fact, but if he still is rehabbing, then there is not much the Ravens can do with him until he is cleared to play.

I said previously that the rumors had Claibourne and Amoukamora on the Ravens radar, but Amoukamora just signed a one year with the Bears (I believe).

Good teammate, good guy, but production and speed due to injuries has been spotty and his switch to safety just took him too long to adjust and produce. He did better towards the end of the year but why train an old vet to start in a new position when you have an outstanding 25 year old young talent to replace him. AND his cap hit due to a bad contract was just too much to absorb. Maybe resigned as a punt returner or ST guy at a vet minimum? Probably not.