balfan23

27 minutes ago, gtalk12 said:

all this crying about Flacco has forced to me to watch other Qb's who "hit their receivers" in stride and it's BS. Rogers threw a pass that was under thrown for a TD. His receiver adjusted his body accordingly and made the play. He then rolled into the end zone. I don't want to hear anymore how Flacco may over or under throw some targets, if you can make a play then make it. EVERY QB doesn't put it right in your hands, sometimes all they can do is give you a shot to make the play.

 

Why is this thread still going? what else can we possibly stress about Flacco improving and the front office putting better pieces around him. We know what must be done.

 

Every team left standing how a weapon with the exception of Rogers who's playing out of his mind.

It allows mods to prevent having the Flacco debate hijack other threads and puts all such comments into one nice, neat, steaming pile. 

Yes, it is the nightmare scenario for us with the AFCN, but we all were about 95% sure that it was what we were going to get the moment Brown broke the plane.

Who to root for? As sickening as it may be ... I guess the answer is NE (although I wouldn't use the term "rooting"). Whether NE wins this or not, they have already achieved the status of the top franchise of the new millennium. Steelers will start to put themselves into that conversation if they win here and they don't need anything new in their trophy case and anything more evidence to show their superiority over us. 

I just hate it when a player who struggles with us goes on to look great elsewhere. I'm not sure what the reasons are, but it is never a good look for the coaching staff. 

On 1/14/2017 at 1:04 PM, birdseye said:

All good points, but remember, we were 2 inches away from being a playoff team this year. We don't need to fill every hole but upgrading the Oline is, imo, the key to turning this offense around (along with a commitment the run game). The defense is 1 good cornerback away from being a playoff defense. if the offense turns itself around I'm confident the ravens will be a playoff team in the weak AFC. Certainly shouldn't be impossible to land a starting CB and C between free agency and the draft.

Also, John says he wants to have the best of everything, just typical coach speak.

I have to say I cringe a bit when I hear about being 2 inches from being a playoff team, when I think that takes some things for granted (like us doing what we've not been able to do in recent years and that is beat CIN on the road) .... One could state that we were only a couple plays away from being a 6-10 team as well. But I digress ...

My main point was that I was of the mind that picks 1 and 2 were almost guaranteed to be OLB/CB. The combinations of these statements about our O line and how our pass rush isn't really far off (which I find amazing), I may not be so surprised if we go with a higher than expected draft selection on the O line. 

18 hours ago, frozen joe flacco fan said:

Yeah, its called finding a scapegoat. If I were Greg Roman, I'd rent a house rather than buy one. He's taking a demotion to come here and do basically the same thing Castillo was doing. Now, Frazier has shuffled off to Buffalo. So much for continuity!

It is not a demotion when you take a job that is lower than one you were fired from. I am pretty sure he was unemployed, so any job you get from there would be a promotion, wouldn't it? Sure, John said “Greg had other opportunities over the last few days ...", but I've no idea what those opportunities were. If any one of those was an OC position, I'm rather certain he would not be our run game coordinator or whatever title we are going to bestow on him. 

2 hours ago, Chuckx999 said:

Flacco has to think to much, blame it on the coaches. Thats just plain BULL. They guy has to much money now to care. Trade or cut him. His poor passes, interceptions get the offence off the field after just three plays, other team scores, Flacco goes out for just three more plays and that cycle doesn't seem to end week for week. He just hasn't got it any more.
Look at Tom Brady or Big Ben. I don't care who's on the field with them, they fight every play to WIN. Flacco just walks off and gives you that "so what, who cars" look.
Bite the bullet and let him go!!!!!!!

Good idea ... except for one tiny detail. 

Making this move will create a $23M hit to the cap. We'd need to cut everyone currently on our roster who would present a cap savings and then fill out the 53 man roster with minimum wage players. Forget retaining any FAs or bringing anyone of note in. Oh yeah, and lets not forget, we won't have a QB on the roster. So I guess we just go draft any random 4th rounder and that guy will magically look like the 2016 Dak (with absolutely no team around him).

That's quite a bullet to bite. 

Complain and say that Flacco isn't living up to his contract.. You could even demand that we bench him. At least those items may be worthy of debate. But please, stop throwing out this option, because it is not an option. 

Save this post for the 2018 offseason, if our situation remains the same. Until then, just stop it. 

1 hour ago, whobilly said:

We likely are going to receive a 3rd round comp pick for KO. Thoughts on packaging that pick and our #1 to move up to increase our odds of getting an impact player?

I'm not sure that a 3rd round comp is going to move you very far up in the 1st round. From 15, it might get you to 12, but I'm hard pressed to see it move us more than that. Moving up in the 1st round, especially when moving up spots within the top 15, is normally very expensive. 

It could happen if there is a player that we grade as a tier 1 player is left on the board at around 12 and is the last in that tier AND there is a perceived major drop off between that player and the players in the next tier AND we have a degree of certainty that this player will be selected by the remaining teams in front of us AND our trade partner has a different evaluation of that player. 

I think we're open to the concept, but whether that scenario presents itself is probably less than a 50-50 proposition. More than likely, for us to make a significant play in this area, it will cost us our 2nd, which can be tough to swallow. 

The comment “we are going to build an offensive line that is best in the league” sounds good, but I'm not exactly sure how they are going to go from where they were this year to being the best in the league. I mean, if everyone stays healthy and we retain Wagner, we are pretty good at best. To be the best or even approach it is going to require expending a lot of our available resources to make that happen. 

How we can do that and address getting a starter-worthy CB #2 (while also adding depth), replace SSS and improve at OLB/DE to generate something that resembles a pass rush is going to be quite a trick. Of course, the word is that we only need a complementary vet at WR and already have quality pass rushers on the roster (but are young players who have not reached their potential). I have a hard time buying that - especially the latter. 

I'm interested to know whether this comment is a virtual guarantee that Wagner is a keeper. It also wonder if it signals that we could select O line much higher in the draft that I anticipated. It is just really hard to fathom how we are going to achieve this claim while filling all the other holes. If we got an A grade for last year's off season, we're going to need another if we have any hopes of being a playoff team in 2017. 

9 minutes ago, AsianRice said:

He might end up selling the team.....

So teams only move within their divisional location? such as West teams have to stay in the West coast.  Virginia is one of the biggest commercial states but they don't have a team; whey don't Teams like Chargers move there?

It probably plays into the decision making process for the league. We make such a big deal out of things now, but remember, the Baltimore Colts were in the old NFL West. Somehow, it was not a topic to discuss what the record was for teams travelling across the country to play a 1 PM game. 

Virginia has a lot of people, but the majority of them are in NoVa, which is a D.C. suburb and expands for miles. This is Redskins territory. Then there is Richmond and the Tidewater areas - both separated by too great a distance to be combined and each individually not likely big enough to support an NFL franchise. Most people in these 2 areas have always leaned heavily toward the Redskins. 

4 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

I see two different runners in MJD and Dixon.  I cant think of a comparison at the moment for Dixon

I felt they were at least similar in body type (more so than in style), but I'm surprised to see they list Dixon as 5-10. I thought he was more compact than that. Their weight was about the same but MJD was only 5-7.  

I was going to continue on ... but then this is turning into a RB discussion in the "Joe Flacco: Tough Talk" thread (like that topic needs more discussion!)

10 minutes ago, allblackraven said:

Both Dixon and West look like OK backs and a combo that can effectively get the run going. Unfortunately, they share one glaring knock - they can't protect the pass to save their lives. We need to find the back that can do it all. This class is pretty good, I reckon we need to take one on day 2.

That is so true and is something I overlook far too often. Thanks for that reminder. No doubt - when a block was missed up front they got no help from the RBs

1 minute ago, PurpleCity5 said:

It might sound crazy but if Mike Williams is as good as we think he is then I would sell the house for him. I know we have needs at OLB and CB but the offense would be up there with any in the league and if we could field a defense in the 10-15 range then we could be a really special team this year. 

What we don't really have a sense of yet is, whether we'd be selling a rambler or a 3 story mansion. I'm seeing him floating between 14 and 7 in many mocks. I've seen him as high as 5. As we saw with Evans, where early projections had him in striking distance of our pick, but by draft day he was nowhere near us. I think Williams will be in the 5-8 range and that's going to take parting with our 1st, 2nd and half of the rest of our picks.

I know it is tempting. When you have as many needs as we have, it is hard to give up the picks ... but on the other hand ... a whole lotta OK players isn't worth one true play maker. I definitely would love to have him. 

6 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

Im very excited for Dixon but I cant say this yet, reminds me too much of the Allen hype train. 

I think Titans take Williams at 5, if not there is still the Eagles, Cardinals, Chargers.  But damn, I would love to have that kid here. 

IMO Allen never looked like anything more than a 3rd down back who could do a little damage if he was able to leak out on a route and catch a pass. At no point did I see him show the kind of drive and power that Dixon has shown. Dixon got better as he got farther past his injury and looked like a viable all-purpose back down the stretch. 

I'm not saying he's the next MJD - but I think that's a good comparison of what his dream up-side would be (although I'm hard pressed to think he'll be as good a pass catcher as him). I don't know that he'll be more than a committee member, but I think he can rotate with another back (perhaps West, should we retain him) and have an effective backfield - as long as we get the line in order. 

  27 minutes ago, Neal Could Block the SUN!! said:

No problems with Mr. Bisciotti. If he did fire folks and act the fool, than we are no better than Irsay. I'll take a calm head at the helm of the ship.

May take a few years and a new coach but a calm headed owner behind it all will bring this team back to the promised land.

I have no problem with him however, the perception that most fans were looking for Harbs, Ozzie or Flacco to be fired is false. What he did NOT address was keeping the likes of Pees & Marty here (though an argument can be made in Marty's case) after that debacle. I like how they talk about expecting more from Flacco (a valid criticism) but ignore the fact that Flacco got the job done in crunch time in Pitt while the defense folded, again, just like they folded in NE giving up 2 14 pt leads. So Flacco performs like he did in 2014 - what good does that do with a Pees' led defense that breaks more often than it bends? Address THAT issue.

True the majority of fans that wanted to see coaching changes were not looking for Harbs' head, but would have liked to have seen a change on one or both coordinator spots. Understanding the way Mr. Bisciotti works ... what those fans were really saying is that they would have liked to have seen Harbaugh - not Bisciotti - make the change.

Mr. Bisciotti is not meddlesome - he makes decisions at a specific level and doesn't dive below that level in to the details. Despite the opinion of some, he did not demand that Harbaugh fire Cam or Trestman. He leaves all changes relating to coaching staff to John. IMO, this makes sense. If you want to hold the HC responsible in the end, you can't demand he makes changes that he doesn't feel are in the team's best interest and then fire him because things didn't work out.

John has been given the rope. Let's see if he uses it to pull the team up or to hang himself. Despite the fact that I was hoping for a DC change myself, I am hoping it is the former.

I'm still trying to remain optimistic about Perriman. Given that he shows flashes of playmaking ability and has yet to have a full season gives me hope. It would be nice if Marty makes up his mind that we'll actually design plays that will target him and work to get him the ball in space rather than just tell him to run around and see if he can get open. We've seen what happens if he has room to run. He's a nightmare for the opposing defense. 

3 minutes ago, ravenken said:

I like that fact that Hardball kept Marty. We always mention the turnstile at OC but we never seem to mention why... Cam was the only person that was driving me absolutely crazy... Marty will at times do so but I understand that being OC is building a sub-team that gets fine tuned... I see the progress and growth Marty and Joe made over the season... they are getting better... Marty is smart a chance for him to catch his breath and to properly assume OC duties... Hardball made the right move.

fans seem to have forgotten Joe had an ACL and really was not doing a thing until training camp... For the fine edge that pro football is, that is an issue... I expect and know Joe will be leading his receivers next year... I am one of the few people that hope we can keep Aiken... he is the closest thing to Boldin out in the market that I know of... he really is a beast and I hope we can afford him... going to be an interesting off-season.

God that Squeeler loss still makes me sick...
I will say one thing about that game. Living in Portland OR... at a Squeeler bar with about 150-200 squeeler fans, and 4 Raven Flockers sitting upfront at the main entrance (first thing people see when they came in)... It was a good/great game to watch as a Raven fan except for the last 10 seconds. :-/

I agree that the offense appeared to be generally improving later in the season - but only from the standpoint of being able to move the ball. From game 1 to game 16, the red zone was a nightmare.

I hate feeling like, whenever we get a big play on offense, defense or special teams, we are just praying they get it in the end zone or otherwise you're probably going to either be watching us trot Tucker out there - or worse - watch Joe throw another one of his inexplicable red zone picks. His red zone turnovers just seem to be getting worse and in Marty's defense, I'm not sure if there is a human alive who can do anything to correct that. I've resigned to the fact that Flacco is going to make rookie mistakes in his 10th year and beyond.  

I know I'm talking about perhaps the premiere run game in the league, but I just go into a fit of jealousy watching a team like Dallas get 1st down on the 14 ... run the ball 3 times and are in the end zone. We get the ball on the 1 and we're not sure if 3 run plays will get us in. 

4 minutes ago, BiggMack91 said:

if he stays healthy next year an don't give any pressure away to top tier defenders then he will convinced me other wise like I said he's like a consistent (key word) Oher

I didnt' realize Oher was an LT in his first year. 

11 minutes ago, Crusader said:

Steelers Harris gave him a hard time.

Harrison gave him a hard time In the first meeting - when he just came back from foot injury. Stanley handled him easily once he came back healthy. 

Kid Dynamite.

It is crazy how we just watched him trot out there for these 50+ yard kicks and could basically just go take a bathroom break or grab a cold one, while other team's fans are biting their nails as their kicker heads out to kick a PAT. 

Just now, BiggMack91 said:

who was the best defensive-lineman he went up against

I don't know ... i"m not going to go down the list of teams and look at who their edge rusher was.

He can only block the guy in front of him. Not sure what else you want him to do. 

2 minutes ago, allblackraven said:

How is he going to do that?

If the talent on D is the problem, what gives us confidence it will improve with Suggs, Webb and Weddle year older, Dumervil most likely out and the real possibility we again miss with draft picks?

If Pees is the problem, what magic trick would he need to perform so that things all of a sudden change after 5 years?

We all - from owner down to fans - need to learn to let go of something that doesn't work.

How is he going to do what? I'm totally confused by this post ... did you reply to the wrong post? 

I'm saying that I wanted to see Pees let go this offseason .... because I'm letting go of something that doesn't appear to be working. If it is a talent issue, then I'm not sure how we can look elite all game and fall apart on the final drive when the team needs us the most - or look good all year and fall apart at the end of the season. 

3 minutes ago, DomMcRaven said:

All depends on how well our defense performs next season as well. I highly doubt Pees gets fired next season should we finish top 5. However if he gets canned because our defense underachieves, I'd GLADLY take him back too. 

Personally, I don't think he should have this season to prove himself. IMO the defense let us down big time at the end of the season and the late game collapses have been going on pretty much since he's come on board. 

3 minutes ago, steelcityraven said:

balfan.... if you are excited to have Dean Pees back.... I am not sure that you watched a single Ravens game over the past 3 plus seasons.

We have a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
CJ-is a probolwer
Weddle- played as well as any safety in the league
BWilliams- is probably the best run stopping interior DL in the game
Zach Orr -out played CJ who made the probowl
Jimmy is one of the top CBs in the game
Suggs lead the team in sacks.
Timmy... while a little inconsistent...played good enough to deserve to be in the pro-bowl conversation
Tavon Young...played as well as any rookie CB not named Ramsey
Michael Pierce.... played at a very high level.

That is 9 of our defensive starters who played at a very high level this year... (not too many teams can say that)

Yet... of our 8 loses this season... we blew seven 2nd half leads and we blew another seven 2nd half leads last season. .

Including 9 fourth quarter leads over the past two season and including 5 double digit fourth quarter leads.

Pees has no clue how to close a team out. Pees has not clue how to hold a lead. Since he has got here... no lead is safe...

(Anotinio Brown, Crabtee, Odell Beckham, Chris Hogan all closed us out in the 4th quarter... not to mention the unlikely heroics of Ryan Fitzpatrick who helped the hapless JETS to erase a double digit 2nd half lead and beat us in the 4th quarter this year).

Last season.... It was AJ Green 2x... it was Josh McCown throwing for 400 yards vs our great defense.... it was Colin Kapernick and the woeful 49ers who lit us up... it was the CHIEFS and SEAHAWKS putting up 35 points on us... it was a Peyton Manning with zero left in the gas tank who lead the team to a 4th quarter victory over us. it was squandering fourth quarter leads to the Cards and the woeful Jags)

many people will say about our injuries last season... but 2014 and 2016 looked an awful lot like 2015 for us.

So back to my original statement. Dean Pees cannot hold a lead.... He hasn't in three plus season. He has no clue how to close a team out and 40 some games is a large enough sample. He can no longer make excuses bc he has a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball (with 8 or so of our defensive players playing at a very high level). He just has not cut it and showing me nothing to make me think he can...

So if you are excited to have him back... I really don't know how much you have watched the Ravens play over the past 3 plus seasons... (it is the same song and dance). If you are excited to have him back... I really do not know what makes you believe that he can be different?

I hope it is not his bogus defensive ranking. BC his ranking meant nothing in our 8 loses.... where we surrendered 2nd half leads over and over. Having 5th ranked defense means nothing when you don't make the play offs two years in a row. (and we cannot blame that on the offense) In 4 of our 8 loses this season we scored at least 23 points.

In 7 of our 8 loses we blew 2nd half leads
In 5 of our 8 loses we blew 4th quarter leads
In 3 of our 8 loses we blew double digit 4th quarter leads.

(even if we just win those last 3 games we are 11-5 and probably win the division)... if we don't blow a 4th quarter lead... we are 13-3 with wins over the Patriots, Raider, Steelers and a blow out over the dolphins- all the play off teams)

I said Pees should go... and nothing that he has shown me suggests otherwise... If you are optimistic about his return... I believe that you are letting your fandom cloud you vision. Sorry but I just don't see anything different under Pees... No matter who we have dressing on the defensive side of the ball.

OMG people for about the 10th time IT IS CALLED SARCASM! I thought it would be obvious

I think I just need to go back and delete my post because people keep responding to it. I've re-posted to the majority of the people freaking out about it to clarify. I've had about 15 posts speaking on my displeasure on keeping Pees. I've said that I am not thrilled about Marty being retained, but it is at least understandable because he didn't  even have a full season to prove his worth. 

Pees has run his course. The late game collapses cannot be dismissed as anything but a failure in coaching. 

Just now, DomMcRaven said:

LOL

Adam SchefterVerified account ‏@AdamSchefter  5h5 hours ago

Colts are planning to bring back HC Chuck Pagano for 2017 season, as @alexmarvez reported.

Just as well, since we aren't going to make a change at DC this year.

Maybe Indy will stink it up again and he'll get fired next year. That way he'll be available - in the undesirable event that we fail again and end up cleaning house on the coaching front.

Who knows - maybe he'll get another HC post - but if he goes back to the DC ranks, I'd love to have him (and not Rex) back as our DC. The defense when he was DC was spectacular. 

Good lord people. I know everyone is in a sour mood as it is really sickening to roll into the post season with the Ravens sitting at home and the Steelers looking to roll forward and face the Pats in the AFCN. Lots to be irritated about and plenty of reasons to vent. 

A thread about Stanley wouldn't be one of them.

IMO one of the truly positive developments this season was Stanley's performance and the fact that it would appear we have a very important position locked up for the next few years. To come out here and to bash him or Ozzie for the selection is absurd.