law215

On defense , I think the needs need great play from the inside LBs. Pats love to spread things out and work underneath. Stop the run, disguise pressure, and blitz up the middle. On offense, the pats don't have a great pass rush and big slow LBs. Pitta and RB out the backfield can have a big day and crossing routes should also work. We can't beat ourselves with penalties or turnovers.

This game came down to one key factor. Ravens won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Joe looked and played comfortable and the results speak for itself. Also, Pitta was dominant, Perriman and Dixon looked explosive, Tucker is money, and both coordinators attacked for 4 quarters.

Like a lot of games, it will be won at the LOS. The concern with the Ravens is can the offense play for 4 quarters and will the defense extend drive with penalties or big plays?

The big away from this game is that it proved where the Ravens have failed in personnel and coaching. 1. Pass rush - Correa was supposed to add to that but is a non-factor after 10 games. He is making his way to the long line of 2nd round picks that are not working out. 2. CB:: Smith or no Smith, Ravens can't handle a good receiving corp. They don't have the speed and skill in the secondary 3. Offensive line: Ravens need better talent at C, G 4. Coaching: only 14 carries to back averaging 5-6 yards a carrying. smh 5. DAK looked like a QB in charge of the offense and Flacco after 9 yers needs development. I wonder if he gets its him, but his comment " we should beat them but not with the guys we have" is disturbing. 6. What good team do you expect the Ravens to beat on the road? undisciplined, poor play at QB, suspect oline, inconsistent pass rush, poor secondary play. Time to change things in how we draft and coach. This "winning football" comments from Harbs and Joe's coulda shoulda woulda is getting old.

1. Big physical offensive line and commitment to the run game. I watched the Cowboys use their offensive line to control the game in the second half. I remember when the Ravens used to be the bullies with guys like Leach, O’Neal, J. Lewis, McGahee, and Rice. Now they pass the ball twice as much as run with an average QB. Ravens can borrow Cowboys formula for success 2. Addition by subtraction: Ravens lack depth. Wright, Zuttah need to go after this season. Wright gets abused every time he’s on the field. Zuttah hasn’t played well since his first season with Ravens. The moment Wright was announced as the starter, I knew the Ravens were in trouble. And so did the Cowboys. 3. Play calling: West and Dixon were on a roll (averaging 5 and 6 yards a carry between them.) Why only 14 combined attempts? It is hard to evaluate the offense when the coaches go away from what is working. The first time a back gets stuffed they abandoned the run game. The Cowboys stuck with it even though they did not have early success and results speak for itself. 4. Congrats to Smith Sr. on 1,000 catches. What will the Ravens offense look like without him? 5. At the end of the day, it was easy to see which team had more young talent. Dez, Zeke, Dak, the offensive line, Beasley. The Cowboys simply had more impact players than the Ravens. Media talked about run defense vs offensive line, but the real story is front office vs. front office. The Cowboys front office has drafted better than the Ravens front office. It showed.

Dak threw for over 300 yards, converted 58% of 3rd downs, and 3 TDs. That has nothing to do with anyone on the offense. He also had all day to throw the ball and Zeke's 97 yard is one less carry to 100 so nothing to beat their chest about. Yes, the Ravens defense is ahead of the offense, but the Cowboys simply have more talent. I disagree with Joe's comments. He keeps saying they should do better, but he nor the offensive line are not good enough for better with the talent they currently have.

Cowboys showed the Ravens and really the league the importance of an offensive line. You knew if the Ravens offense could not sustain drives, the Cowboys o-line would wear them down. Dak had all day o throw. The weaknesses of the Ravens talent level showed. They lack a good pass rusher, Wright is a liability (You an tell they drew a circle around him for the second half), and Zuttah ruined at least 4 drives today by himself. Ravens need pass rusher (they blew it not picking up Ngakoue or Spence). Correa will not see the much time as a starter because Orr and Mosley are just better ILBs.

Yeah, I don't get Ray. If you want to motivate someone, you don't do it by public embarrassment. You meet your "brother" and "former teammate" in private or you pick up a phone. Exactly!

R u serious or being sarcastic?. Ray has A statue for his legacy to be remembered in conjunction A future first ballot hall of famer. He was the Ravens. Now it's flacco' team do your research. His presence alone= super bowl ring no Ray no ring . His whole body of work = extroidanary. Learn some respect and you will receive it. No one is saying Ray is a much better player than Flacco or what he has meant to the Organization. However, throwing a teammate under the bus or calling him out in the media is not what he should have done. They gave Ray bait to throw his former QB under the bus and he swallowed it whole instead of framing his responses more carefully.

You really believe Ray's retirement speech was the difference? SMH... They won in spite of Ray. Vernon Davis was abusing Ray in the Superbowl. Brady and Manning were finding him in every game.

Ray needed to shut the hell up. Joe carried he and Ed to a Super bowl. In Ray's mind, the Ravens got hot because he announced his retirement. It just his way of drawing attention and violating the brotherhood code. Where was his Rah Rah spirit to lead the defense in 2008 Steelers marched 92 yards to win the division, in 2010 giving 3rd and 19 in the divisional playoff, and 2012 when the defense almost blew a 22-point lead in the Superbowl. Through accusations of murder, PED usage and everything else, the organization never turned on Ray. Joe should have turned to the camera and said Ray Hush!.

Ray can say what he want about Joe, but at least he shows up to play. He tears up his knee and gets beat up behind a poor offense line but still finds a way to play. Guys like Jimmy, Gilmore and Doom get dinged, soft tissue injuries and can't play. Same dudes on the injury report almost every week.

What a game. And that's 4 losses in a row for the not so steel curtain.

Agreed. The only path for the Ravens to the playoffs is to win the division. The AFC West will probably send 2 teams to the playoffs. Go Giants, Cowboys, Panthers. Ravens defense and special teams are playoff ready. If the offense can find a way to get to 21-24 points (6 points a quarter) and stop turning over the football, then this team is a playoff team. It is important to note improved play of secondary since Young has started over Wright. Of course SSS and starting o-line also has helped.

How can the offense perform so bad and your QB just sits on the bench alone not studying anything? It's pathetic.

I think the games comes down to the 2nd ranked defense versus the 31st ranked defense. As long as SSS and the starting o-line is healthy, I think the Ravens have enough to get pass the Browns who are also coming off a short week. This is one of those games where the players and coaches can't beat themselves. No turnovers, reduce the penalties, and Harbs (take the points, no 4th down gambles or fakes).

1. A key to the Ravens winning formula is to keep Flacco throws under 35. Flacco needs to work on his game mentality and accuracy with passes. He is better than what he is showing this year. The scramble shows physically he is back from the knee, so I think it is just a matter of time and offseason focus on fundamentals until gets back to stepping into throws. Flacco was not alone in mistakes. The holding and procedure calls killed drives at times. 1st and 15-20 is hard to overcome. Coaches stuck with the run even though it was not working. They let the defense and special teams win. That is usually Ravens winning football. The 2012 playoff with the team on QB’s shoulders is an anomaly. 2. Got to give Pees and defensive coaching staff some credit. I usually beat him down, but Pees finds a way to consistently shut down the Steelers. He prepares against the Steelers and Patriots as well as any DC in the league with less talent in the secondary. 3. That interior line of the Ravens defense is the real deal. Ravens must keep Williams. Williams, Jernigan, Pierce dominated the line. They made Steelers one dimensional. 4. The special teams was great today. They found a way to block yet another kick, Tucker is the best, Koch flipped field position with every punt, and the coverage unit made Brown a non-factor. 5. I like some of these young players. Young did a good job, Orr and Mosley were all over the field, Judon was bringing pressure, and quietly Pierce helped control the middle. He and Williams in the middle is like running into a brick wall. They are still a few pieces away, but we have some young talent.

That's 4 in a row against the Steelers. All of the hype around will Big Ben play or not play. It 's nice hearing Steelers fans blame their team's coaches. I saw a lot of long faces on Steeler fans.

One last thing to watch. Will the Ravens fans let Steeler Nation take over M&T bank stadium? We can't let that happen no matter the stakes or records.

And some fans are so self-righteous

Agreed. I hope Elam show us some improvement cause he's done nothing to get excited about.

Does Joe play well? If he does, then the Ravens have a chance. The Steelers defense is not good. If not, it will be a long day. Do the returning players to the offense line improve the protection and run game? Will the Ravens at least try a balanced offense? If not, the coaching staff needs to go. In every winning season the Ravens ever had, there was a solid run game. How does Pees defend? Is he conservative or aggressive. Who plays well on the Ravens? I am looking for these young players to step up. I want to see them make plays to be encouraged for the future. After the much talked about 2 hour plus team meeting, will the team be more disciplined, show fire,

Another head scratching move by the front office. They need all the depth a CB they can get yet they release one average to below average CB for another average to below average CB. Why not let Hester go? He has done next to nothing. The secondary needs chemistry in the middle of the season, not adding new parts.

An absolutely huge game. I understand why Suggs and Big Ben want to play in it. Suggs is near the end of his career so there is no way he misses this game. Will this be an old school hard hitting Ravens vs Steelers close game or a one-sided game? Recent history says it one or the another no matter what the records are. If the Ravens win, especially if Big Ben plays, then the Ravens get a shot of confidence. If they lose at M&T, then head will roll at the end of the season. I think the Ravens win this game. The flock needs to show up at M&T. We can't let the Steelers fans take over home field.

The biggest fix the Ravens can do for this season is if the starters on the offensive line can return and stay healthy. Another couple of losses and it not about making the playoffs but evaluating the talent. The Ravens are 3-4 and need to go 7-2 to realistically have a shot at the playoffs. If not they are depending on other teams to lose. Pats, Broncos, Texans, Chiefs, Raiders are probably making the playoffs. Ravens will need to win division to get in. Ravens play in a lot of one score games. The difference comes down to the other team has more game breakers ( Brown, AJ Green, Crabtree, OBJ) than the Ravens. They need to get more reps to Gilmore, Dixon, Perriman, Moore, Judon, Young, Waller, Henry to find out what they have going forward.