RaRaRavens

As huge an icon as Ed was as a player, and as much as we all know he knows his trade inside and out, the truth is that his stint as a coach in Buffalo hasn't been really great. Ed still has to prove he can be a good NFL coach - and I'm not sure it should be in Baltimore... Also, I'm not at all sure he's really into the idea of coaching under Harbaugh... LOL, that's true, and I'm not so sure Harbaugh is really into the idea of having Ed as a coach either. Has too much of an opinion for Harbs' liking.

Amen. It's the Harbaugh Way. Though, I read that Castillo is reportedly leaving the team. So I guess there IS a limit on the number of Harbaugh's friends Biscotti and Oz allow to hire.

You're right in that we should be grateful and appreciate that we have been lucky enough to have the record we have. Without couple of FA signings like Smith Sr. and Weddle we might as well be 3-61 right now. But by no account should we be proud or satisfied with much that we have done in recent years. Being pleased with a sub .500 record is the attitude of losers.

I'm very familiar with the articles describing the Ravens' system, but what you conveniently have left out, is that the pre-draft rankings already take into consideration personalities, character concerns, possible off-field issues and other non-football related factors. It has not been revealed how much these factors weigh in compared to football skills and attributes, but considering how often we have skipped players "with concerns" who are much higher on many of the pundits' big boards, I'd say our organisation takes any personality concerns way more seriously than many others. You know, you can try to spin this any way you want, the fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter who puts together our draft board and whose opinion counts more, the fact is that way too often for my personal liking have we skipped on a very talented players in the draft. Not taking risks with talented players who might have, but also might not have once they reach NFL, those "character concerns" has, in my personal opinion, led us to this shortage of game changing play makers we are facing today. The FO has admitted that one of the reason for our troubles is the lack of play makers. But unfortunately they have not opened up about what they think the reason is for that, why haven't our draft picks turned out to be the studs they were hoped to be. Is our scouting, evaluation of prospects and pre-draft ranking process flawed? Or is it that we have been unwilling to take some risks in the draft (like I believe the reason to be)? Or maybe our staff is incapable of coaching these players up? Or we have just been unlucky and drafted a whole bunch of players with very limited talent? Just out of curiosity, what do you think ConquerorWorm, what's the reason we have failed to draft any kind of significant playmakers for many many years now? Because you can't deny that we have not drafted many serious impact players. But please don't get me started with the "we've drafted KO and B.Williams and Juice", they are top of their respective positions but these positions aren't the ones that can carry the entire team and put the game on their backs. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Maybe the next potential OC, should Marty prove to be as ineffective next season as he was in his limited time this season, or should Biscotti decide to clean the house if Harbaugh&Friends fail to set the ship straight.

Are you even reading what I'm saying?! The fact that he didn't even give returning a second thought shows that he does not have belief in this team.

How does a position switch effect a veteran like Webb's ability to understand the game situation and understand when he must tackle a player in-bounds to keep the clock running?? It's an awareness thing, not a position thing.

Ofcourse Harbaugh has impact on the draft, otherwise he would not be in the war room on draft day. Oz makes the final decision, but his decision is strongly impacted by the opinion of HC and the way the HC wants to run this team. Stop being stupid in front of everyone. As to the players drafted, not once did I say that we should pick wife beaters, drug addicts or convicted felons. I don't even mean that we have to draft drama queens like OBJ. What I did indicate was that we have too often skipped a very talented game changing player, because Harbaugh had "character concerns". These players had no criminal past, but they were uncomfortable for Harbaugh, because they might think too much and express their different opinions the way Ed Reed did. Harbaugh doesn't want that, he wants conveniently docile players. That means, unfortunately, a lack of any kind of passion or competitiveness.

I have no doubt in my mind that Mr. Biscotti is doing everything in his best judgement to make this team succeed. We the fans are always way more impatient than the ownership. That's probably the fundamental reason most of us would be crappy at running an NFL team. Cause we've seen what changing the FO every other year does to a team from Browns. That's why I was actually relieved by Biscotti's press conference. Despite his cool demeanor, it seemed he too was growing weary of the same recurring issues year after year. Now there should be at least a fire under Harbaugh&Co's collective arses. That said, I don't have much fate that Harbaugh will change enough to save this team. I believe that the issues since our SB win have been more profound than not having good enough OC or being short a solid WR. Harbaugh's head coaching philosophy has led us to having a team of "safe" great character players, who are easy to coach for Harbaugh and won't question him, but also have relatively low ceiling and not much talent or passion (there are, of course, exceptions). We have not taken risks with talented players or "bad boys" or players who might have some character concerns but are fierce in their game. We have lost our edge, our competitiveness (especially now with Smith Sr. gone), our fire, our nastiness. This is just one manifestation of Harbaugh's coaching philosophy, but one of the most evident ones. And that won't most likely change as long as Harbaugh is the HC.

That's true. NFL ownership is a two-bladed sword. I'm sure Mr.Biscotti knows it better than anyone. And I have no doubt in my mind that he is doing everything in his best judgement to make this team succeed. We the fans are always way more impatient than the ownership. That's probably the fundamental reason most of us would be crappy at running an NFL team. Cause we've seen what changing the FO every other year does to a team from Browns. Therefore, I was actually relieved by Biscotti's press conference, because despite his cool demeanor, it seemed he too was growing weary of the same recurring issues year after year. Now there should be at least a fire under Harbaugh&Co's collective arses.

And there is also a difference on turning your back on the team and calling them out on their BS. I will never turn my back on the Ravens, but I'm starting to turn my back on Harbaugh and his bunch of friends he has hired as coaches, because Harbaugh has abandoned the Ravens identity.

Yes, there was no realistic chance of him being back in '17. But not once did he say he had made a definite decision. Rather, at the beginning of December I think it was, when asked about 2017 season, Smith said he will make his retirement decision in February after taking some time off. Instead, after one of the most depressing months of football I've witnessed the Ravens play, he made the decision literally after the final whistle blew in week 17. So don't come here talking that his decision was made long before our season ended. He might have been leaning one way or the other, but it's painfully obvious that the month of December made his retirement decision way more obvious one.

Smith says one thing but his actions say another. He was supposed to take time off after the season and contemplate retirement with his wife when they'll be away on vacation in February. Instead, he announced his decisions after the final whistle of our 2016 season had blown. Maybe he truly does believe that Flacco is not the one holding this team back. But he obviously thinks someone is, otherwise he would have at least given returning for another season and playing for the SB ring another thought. It breaks my heart to write this, but the status quo is that the Ravens are, on large part, a talentless team with no serious desire or fire to compete and win, with too many holes to fix, and with not much hope of being better any time soon, not at least until drastic changes are made. This is exactly what Smith Sr. saw that made his retirement decision a no-brainer, despite what he might say officially. Actions speaks louder than words.

That's true. There aren't many better options out there than Flacco. At the same time, the best options out there aren't much worse than Flacco. We should resign Flacco and pay him 10m more per season cause his the best option we have (SARCASM)

LOL, it's so sad that I'm actually laughing now. Is the entire FO purposefully trying to drive this franchise into the ground?! For couple of years now I haven't seen many direct indications that they are trying to improve things. Now they are just driving fans away, too. Either the FO has been clueless but just lucky this far with their team management or they have now collectively lost their minds.

Spot on description of Flacco. Now if anyone says a QB with these kinds of characteristics is elite or deserves the kind of money Flacco does should be checked into a mental facility. Ryan Mallett would probably succeed in the conditions that need to be created for Flacco for him to play adequately.

I agree with most of your posts 100%! It's so refreshing and supportive to read that at least someone thinks the same about the current situation of our team. Unfortunately you'll get downvoted to oblivion for your critical point of view by naive, shortsighted fans living in their pink little bubble. I don't even know what to bring out in your comments, but this time one thing in particular stuck with me and I think is the root of all the problems for us - this team has derailed from the Ravens Way. This is for the most part the doing of Harbaugh. Him and his "high character and high football IQ guys" like you said it. This is all great, but without talent these guys won't be enough for a playoff caliber team. For the past 5 years now FO has played it safe by drafting those high character and football IQ guys. Now the result is that we have bunch of average or maybe slightly above average good guys on this team who LITERALLY NOONE is afraid to play against. About 10 years ago most teams any players were still AFRAID the entire week before they had to play against the Ravens. Now, there is absolutely nothing dangerous or frightening about playing us - not talent wise, nor character wise. Even when the Ravens of old would lose, they would make you hurt along the way. Now our guys pretty much roll over dead when things are starting to go badly or some player personally starts imposing their will on them. I know, times and rules have changed and I'm knot saying to punch someone's teeth in, but run someone on over with a purpose at least, if it seems they are feeling to comfortable against us. Instead, we have "high character and high football IQ guys", safe guys. If Harbs has a choice between a very talented guy who might have some character concerns and a "high character guy" with slightly above average skills, there isn't even a question in his mind. And this is how we get stuck with roster of talentless players. So go back to the Ravens Way. Draft explosive, dangerously talented guys, even when they might have some character risks. Draft players who play intimidatingly, even when there's a risk they might pick up some flags. Draft players who play and compete with passion and fire until the bitter end and then some, even when they don't rank at the top tier of football IQ. Suggs would have never drafted and opposed fear into QBs if we had considered "character concerns" when drafting him. Or does anyone question about the decision to sign Smith Sr., even though he might cause a stir and rub some people the wrong way? NO! Until we start taking some risks by drafting talented players and competitive players, we will be pretty much the punching bag of the league. And that's mainly the doing of HC Harbaugh in the recent years. tl;dr Sick and tired of Harbaugh and the FO drafting a safe team of "high character and high football IQ guys" with no dangerous talent or explosive competitiveness. If they don't start taking some risks, we are not going anywhere.

In principle I agree with you, it would be a dream to have a RB with Elliot's or Bell's caliber on our team. But my issue is, we have way more urgent needs. Both West and Dixon have showed that they can be RBs who average 5-8 YPC if the o-line plays well. 2 RBs with that kind of average is enough to run over defenses on regular basis and build your gameplan on run game. Therefore, by further improving our o-line (and sticking to running the football), we can already drastically improve our run game, not to mention it would boost the pass protection and thus the passing game as well. At the same time, we currently have no WRs on this team, who have proved that they can either make catches or get open on a regular basis. We do not have proven pass rushers outside of Suggs who's on the twilight years of his career and with Doom probably gone in 2017. We have no solid 3rd and 4th string CBs, and we can't bank on our best CB lasting the entire season. We could use improvement on FS and DE positions. We probably need another DT/NT if Williams walks. Looking at this list of needs I was baffled when I read Harbaugh was seriously saying RB is one of the biggest needs. Some writers are already predicting us to pick a RB with our 1st round pick (way too early for any serious projections, I know, but still). I honestly do not understand what Harbaugh is trying to do with this team anymore. He says one thing but his actions indicate complete opposite. All this makes me very afraid for our outlooks in 2017.

Why are people rooting for our archenemies like the Steelers and Patriots, rather than for example the Texans, is beyond me. I can't think of absolutely anything that would make me support Steelers or Patriots.

Precisely!

Not mentioned on this article, but read from NFL official page that Harbaugh says that our team needs to add another RB. WHAT?! Is he willingly trying to bury this team as deep as he can before getting canned?! I understand depth is needed and wouldn't hurt to have a game changer like Bell, but by no measure is our backfield in dire need of an upgrade. That can not be said about most other positions on this team. We need an upgrade at the play of QB more than that of RBs. At the very least I would be interested in his reasoning why he thinks West and Dixon aren't enough. Cause as little as they were used this season, they showed much promise. Maybe someone on these boards can elaborate on Harbaugh's mind-boggling idea?

LOL, u kidding right?! Ravens 'bout to have as many holes as Swiss cheese after this offseason. Positions we are (bound to be) missing solid players at: WR1, WR2, 3rd&4th string CBs, NT, DE, OLB, RT, C. Just to name the starters. We also need depth at these and A LOT of other positions. Now, if Oz can fill all these needs during FA and draft, he truly is a wizard. Unfortunately, past years haven't indicated his ability to do so.

Glad Ozzie make the picks and not you! so your happy with the bums that he picks I'm not can't wait for ozzie to be fired Definitely man! They'll probably hire you as the new GM after that as well.

Anyone knows where are the last 2 LFW segments? The ones that were supposed to come out yesterday and today?

Very good points in this article and in comments that make a lot of sense why Harbaugh kept Marty and why it maybe is not so bad thing. I especially like this idea: "I also think #Harbaugh is smart enough to know that no matter what he did with the coordinators in 2017, it's win or find a new gig.". So Harbs should be very motivated to win in 2017. However, I still have little confidence in Marty's abilities. Harbaugh already kept an average OC last year in Trestman. Granted, there was reason to believe that poor performance by the offense was due to the rash of injuries. It turned out it wasn't as poor performance by the offense continued. Now it's the same thing, Harbaugh is keeping an average OC. The only thing, our offense was as healthy as it can be this season. What's to make anyone believe that the offense can be better next year under Marty?