Jim said something similar about the Michigan rumors. I'll takes Harbs at his word until further notice.
I was high on Kendrick Lewis coming here... Now not so much. Apparently Darian Stewart is better than everyone thought. He is now on the best defense in the league playing great football.
Darian Stewart is an example of how a player can look better with better coaching.
Torrey contributed more to the Ravens winning over the years than Jimmy Smith yet they had money to sign Jimmy, previously gave Webb a contract, and gave Pitta (who broke his hip a deal). None of those 3 are helping the Ravens now. It's all about who an organization chooses to pay.
What Ravens need to do and what they are capable of doing is two different things. Pees does not do a good job of disguising blitzes so they get picked up and result in big plays. What CB do you trust to be on an island?, what safety do you trust to be a ball hawk to cover distance and eliminate a big play? Blitzing (too much) would almost guarantee a blowout. Ravens need to play ball control to limited the opposing offenses possessions, trust the front seven to stop the run which they have the talent to do, and play cover 2. Ravens just don't have the talent on the backend to be aggressive. Play Parcell football since we make every offense look like the 1990 Bills.
In chess, sometimes strategically you must give up the queen to win. Joe has got to go in order to rebuild the Ravens team within the next five years. Joe is a great player on and off the field, and teams will give up a lot for him. Time to retool or merely stay adrift.
IMO that would be ridiculous. Ravens had a dominant defense for years prior to Joe Flacco. The problem was instability at the QB position which meant few playoff appearances. Since Joe 5 Championship appearances and a Superbowl title. When you have an Superbowl MVP QB, you keep him . Your team will go no where without a durable, good QB. Joe is both.
How did we get here: 1.)Over drafting the positions. Drafting an ILB in round 2 one year then taking a first ILB the next is not smart when your team lacks talent at the WR and secondary positions. Also, taking 2 TE while lacking young pass rushers not to mention taking a FB with a 4th round pick. Don't get me wrong Williams, Boyle, Juice are good players, but using those picks while you have holes at other position doesn't make the team better. 2.) Under achieving players Webb, J Smith, Upshaw, Elam, Brown - too many high draft picks and big contract guys not performing. If any ONE of these players live up to draft status or contract, Ravens would be a better team. 3)Didn't value what you already had. Bolding wasn't that expensive to keep, how much extra money Ravens are spending to replace Torrey and Jacoby (Ravens don't value the WR position in a passing league - MISTAKE) 4) Injuries. Pitta, Campanero, Jernigan, Urban - good players on talent but are injured
Babin I could see coming, but Melvin may get picked up. I don't know how this affects cap, but Ravens seems to spend money on band-aids too much. Also, Webb is stealing. It's time to cut him.
I thought he said that after the Oakland game.
why does harbaugh not see dean pees is the problem because he is horrible being our DC.
I think he does. But can you install a new system at this point? No pass rushers, CBs that appear unable to play man to man, miss tackles, penalties, safeties out of position, blitzes giving up big plays, LB that can't cover, and injuries. He probably is in evaluation mode.
I think Harbs is just not going to say anything too negative about coaches since there are no replacements. The concern is the continuing to imply its the players. That's a way to lose the team, to start pointing fingers at each other. The mistakes happen every week so I don't think they respect the coaches. When is the players only meeting going to happen? That's the sign of locker room leaders.
The reason why this is happening is because the Ravens had a team that took them to the Superbowl and won, after that Harbaugh and Ozzie got rid of all of those players that took them to the Superbowl, didn't want to pay any of them only Flacco, then picked up these fragile players that can't even stay on the field, and can't play defense, but I'm gonna tell you now, God don't like ugly. And what Harbaugh and Ozzie did to the Superbowl team was extremely ugly. And the Ravens have been paying for that ever since!!! Harbaugh and Ozzie you had a Superbowl winning team right in the middle of your hands, but you two thought you seen something in the bush that was better than what you had in your hands, and dropped what was in your hands and went after what you thought was in the bush and what was in the bush was nothing like what you two had in your hands and the Ravens have been going down hill ever since, now the Raven are 1 and 4. When God gives you a blessing don't throw it away, for it may never come back. Ray Lewis used to pray all the time when he was on the team, Harbaugh and Ozzie you two better start praying, or this basement dwelling may not stop, I'm just saying!!!
Great post. It seems like OZ strategy after a Superbowl is to off load players.
There are a number of holes to fill on this team. You use a 4th round pick on Tray Walker. Why not play him? If you have to trade away a pick cause he's not ready, why use a 4th round pick on him? It's hard to know if Davis is a solid player after a few plays then an injury.
The season isn't over. Ravens have a lot of young players that should be allowed the opportunity to grow. That's something that fans should look forward to and cheer for. Ravens bid for the playoffs is over. The rest of the season is about talent evaluation. Who to keep, trade, resign, who to draft. Ravens need a LB that can cover run and pass, a corner that can play man coverage, safety can play center field, speed rusher, and a playmaker at Wr. All of these have one theme - team speed.
I though pro bowl meant elite... I guess all those tackles they broke of his were because of scheme.
Great Point. I'm not trying to take responsibility away from players. I just thought after a few times of getting burned, the coaches should say Mosley can't cover so don't ask him to.
Joe Thomas comment tells me that the Browns made adjustment but the Ravens did not. The coaching and talent looks bad. It's time to rebuild on the defensive side of the ball. They lack speed. Time to sell. If not resigning KO since he will demand big money, trade him. Sit Canty down and let young D-line guys play. Trade Dumervil, sit D. Smith and decide if A. Brown or Orr are worth keeping. Let Tray Walker, Waller, and Buck Allen play more to gain experience.
OZ style of acquiring talent seems out dated. He has consistently draft big run stuffing D-linemen, Inside LBs, RBs. He has played it cheap with pass rushers, Wrs, CBs. Opting to not go after big name proven CB and WR and trusting late cuts to get comp picks and undrafted guys. It's a passing league. Teams spread your out and contenders usually have that one young, dominiant pass catcher.OZ acquires talent like it's the mid 90s early 2000s. The game has changed and he needs to change with it.
My one thought is, how in the hell do you have the ball at the 9 yard line first and goal, at the end of the game at home with plenty of time on the clock and settle for a field goal. People say the offense did enough to win, I don't understand!!!!!!!! Both offense and defense need a overhaul.
If the offense had scored a touchdown, what makes you believe Cleveland would not have marched down the field again? At some point, the defense needs to get stops in the 4th quarter. Even Harbs says they haven't done that in years.
The biggest problem is the defense. I read a few post where fans mention a silver lining of having higher draft picks if Ravens continue to lose. Other fans believe firing Pees would help. The solution may be to have both. My concern is there are too many 1-3 round draft picks on that defense to play like they have over the past few years. So would a higher draft position help if OZ is missing on talent. If I watched them without knowing where they were drafted Jimmy looks like a flat footed CB, Elam played like an undrafted guy, none of the LBs can cover which I believe should be a requirement in the first 2 rounds unless they are a beast pass rusher, Upshaw is only good for run defense, Jernigan doesn't consistently push the pocket and is often injured. Drafting defense use to be a strength, what fans could count on. Ravens FO need to revamp their scouting department, make better personnel decisions, get proven coordinator. You can't next man up with coordinators and position coaches. The out of position and stupid penalties every week means they are not listening to the coaches. Bring in new blood.
Guys, we started Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown- this doesn't happen on any other NFL team. Ozzie has got to start valuing the WR position (no more "rent a receiver" mentality)- then Flacco might become elite, then Flacco may actually get his timing down like the way Brady and gronk have their timing down. Oz needs to rethink his philosophy and actually start to draft corners and receivers with higher draft picks
I agree with you 100% on the WR position. For what he has spent on trades, vets, OZ could have kept T. Smith and/or Jones who at least were durable and proven deep threats. On defense. J. Smith and Elam. If you just watched them play over the past years not knowing, you wouldn't think they are 1st round draft picks. I think he has tried to address the secondary, but brought in guys that are under achieving while letting durable, productive guys walk since deemed too expensive. So Oz may want to shake up his scouting department and secondary coaches.
1. Why keep Pees one minute longer? Either he can%u2019t evaluate talent to bring in or he can%u2019t effectively use what he has. Either way, it%u2019 pass time for him to go. Defense is getting worse every year no matter who OZ brings in
2. Lack of leadership. Vets like Babin making costly mistakes. Stupid penalties. It%u2019s the 5th game. Are players listening to the coaches? Where is the player%u2019s leadership? I %u2018m not expecting Ray Lewis 2.0 but there are heavy pockets on this team. Play like a leader and show leadership.
3. Time to light a fire under coaches, and front office. Too many players making money while injured, too many CBs, Wrs not developing, too many misses with high draft picks, too many guys with big contracts under achieving. You can%u2019t build a championship team with undrafted free agents and players past there prime. Bad Coaching and lack of talent equals 1-4. We may be 0-5 is Steelers kicker wasn%u2019t such a loser.
4. Teams have figured the Ravens out. We draft big slow players on defense. They spread us out and we are too slow to cover in space and pursue to tackle. Playing 10 yards off the ball does not help when you are slow. When the journeyman QBs torch your defense, what would happen if in the playoffs. We need speed and agility on defense.
5. On a positive note: Consistency of Aiken who made plays on Haden ( a quality CB), O-line was good enough and Foresett had another 100 yard game, Gilmore, William and Boyle are solid TEs, and Buck Allen show explosiveness. Defensively : Hill, Brooks, Mosely, Jernigan, Davis, Williams, J Smith are good players that were highly regarding by scouts and NFL analyst. If only the coaching staff on defense put them in position. Rex, Pagano, Lebeau, Williams (ie a good coach) would have these guys hunting.
We just gave up 457 yds to Josh McCown with a receiving corps of Hartline, Hawkins, Gabriel, and Barnidge, let that sink in. Now you've realized the state our defense is currently in.
That's the biggest reason for a Def Coordinator change, If you look at it, that's been a pattern for the last few years including the Superbowl. (Ravens should have blown out the 49ers) The defense has gotten progressively worst under Pees. The squeaking out of wins made people believe a player here or there would improve them. No, its Pees. Most of our guys aren't that bad talent wise . If you think our defense lacks talent, then it is Pees job to get the guys he needs. Either way Pees must go.
Dude I agree with you. I've been saying for years he's only good in the playoffs for some reason, in the regular season like you said "hes sucked quite honestly".
Come on man. Joe is doing more with less than any QB in the league. no Intss, 1 Pass TD, 2 rush TDs and he sucked today? He's making guys like Aiken , Campanero, Brown money when no one else would even draft them. Adding years to the career of guys like Mason, Boldin, Smith Sr, Daniels. Does he miss throws? yes, is he elite? No, He put 30 points on the board with a bunch of guys who were cut or on the street. Get him some help
Pro Bowl CJ Mosley was getting lit up today. He couldn't cover a RB, TE, Ref, towl boy...
Most linebackers in the league can't cover TE and shifty RBs. That's how any OC worth their salt tries to do every week get a LB on a fast offensive player and get safeties to cover Wrs. A good Def Coordinator would recognized this after the first 5 times and adjust. Most pregame analyst will say LBs cover best in a zone not man to man.
It's both coordinators that's the biggest problem. At least 3 times Ravens had 2nd and 2-3 yard and threw ball and killed the drive. Why is Pees blitzing in the 4th quarter with a lead when over and over the secondary can't hold up in man coverage? No adjustment to cover TE or Duke Johnson coming out of the backfield. He makes guys who are All Pro look terrible. Trestman is too pass happy. They could have put Browns away early with running the ball. There are talent issues, but the coordination is the problem.
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I don't know if you Panic, but at 1-4 a sense of urgency is required from players and coaches. It's evaluation time for players and coaches. It's very important to find out who contributes to the winning effort. Who has heart, discipline, and leadership. Give the young guys the snaps now that can payoff later. They switch around players like musical chairs. If the Ravens continue to lose, coaches are next.