Poes Crows

I've been thinking all along that we'd let Jacoby go after the season.  I'm beginning to question that notion.  Ever since his injury, his play has been increasing back to what we thought it would be in the preseason.  He's pretty much the number 2 guy once again.

 

Even in the KR/PR department, he's getting back to being the primary guy.  Doss is starting to see less time on punt returns.  When Jacoby was out, the guy I thought would be his replacement next year, Deonte, still didn't get many looks.

 

So, it is possible that Jacoby comes back?  We're going to be really tight up against the cap once again, but how much will Jacoby really command?  He's going to be 31 years old, so I can't see him getting any huge deal since his primary role will be as a KR.  I've been thinking that he may come back for a few weeks, and yesterday's performance really got me wondering.  Does he mean more to this team than we realize?

Don't be lumping everyone together into the "We" category.

The record here will clearly reveal this fan believes Jacoby  was a key addition that made our receiving corps dynamic.  This fan has also been clear player sets are all about chemistry. There is no "we" here.  He is essential but the team is still missing that "go to" possession receiver.

Lets be clear about Jacoby Jones age. He is 29. His birthday is July 11th 1984. Which means he will be 30 next year when the season begins. He will not be 31 at any time next year.

Lastly, he caught that TD vs the Jets with his hands. No body trap at all. That was a heckuva catch on a long wind-borne ball that was "pushing" for the sideline. 

But aging is catching up with us, though not the aging of players.

When is 57 like 70?

Well said,

I think you're right.

Promised I wouldn't talk about him any longer, but I must mention that Reed's Raven Replacement was credited with a "pass defensed" for the overthrown ball that clanked off his hopeful hands.  Stats are not what they appear to be.

I doubt if Ed is playing for the money, I feel he is one of those Ray Lewis clone type of guys and he plays b/c the fire is still burning in him, the passion for the game. Ed still feels he has something in the tank and it cracks me up when people say he should have retired with Ray, for what? Ray came into the league like 7 years before him or something like that and it would be insane for Ed to retire at the same time Ray did considering that. One thing about the Free safety position, you have guys like Woodson ( both ), Sharper just to name a few that played well past their primes and were still effective.

 

If anyone knows how to utilize Ed, it will be Rex. He wont ask him to play a lot of man or ask him to come up in the box to stuff the run every other play, he will let him do what he does best and that's play centerfield which in turn will make his scheme even better anytime you can play Cover 1 taking away the middle of the field. I feel Ed will make a great impact with the Jets.

Why?  For your sake?  That's ridiculous.  Keep intercepting those checks, Ed.

I'm so pleased for Reed I can't even begin to express it.

First he has been coming off surgery.  We've seen players like Revis and Maurice James Drew and Three Sticks III not look anywhere near their previous year's form. Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce have been nicked up and look at their production fall off.

What happened in Houston was a very weird aggregation of circumstances.  That team was a consensus pick to go Deep into the playoffs and they went into a tailspin that they can't seem to recover from.  Though sporting a Number 1 Defensive Rating, they reached the determination that Ed was part of the reason why. When they pulled him their replacement safeties faired no better than ours and began getting scorched over the top for easy TD's. Of all the errors in the NFL, getting beat over the top is the worst it gets for reasons to obvious to get into. Ed Reed is still a great center fielder. 

Being demoted was too much for Ed and he spoke up. He tweeted. Upon reading those tweets it was very clear they weren't going to go over well in Houston.  Houston has problems and they made Ed the scapegoat for them. This fan despises tweeting, but firmly believes there was some method in Ed's madness.  I believe he realized the Houston team was foundering and that he didn't fit as well in their scheme as he had in ours. I believe he forced Houston's hand. You could see it coming, just like the Flacco Bombs to Anquan in times gone by.

Many here don't believe Ed has game.  It's hard to understand how they come to that conclusion. The view here is that they are not even sincere in that.  The phenomena here has been that if management jettisons a Raven player or that player departs for a better future, that individual becomes "Persona Non Grata".  The crowd roots Against those former Ravens.  It's hard to understand, but this fan can never do that.  But then this fan is a fan of the players, not the entity.  Ed Reed is my favorite Raven of All Time.  When he goes into the Hall of Fame, I will be there.

That said, Ed had 4 picks last year, one a pick six and an additional pick in the Championship Game that altered field position after Harbaughs mistake in going for it again. (He has a penchant for poor decisions in that regard and we've been burned repeatedly this year the Général.)

Rex was our defensive coordinator and in his time Reed shined.  He knows Ed and his team is developing quickly now. For the Jets its going to come down to how careful Gino Smith is with the ball, but if Gino plays with maturity, the Jets are going to excel with Ed Reed on their team. Believe in Ed. Who has been more accurate in their assessments this year. Poes Crows, Sami 84 and a few others or the crowd around them?

Our Front Office wanted Reed back, but at a discount. After Ed departed, was released and cleared waivers they didn't show any interest. If the F.O. is sincerely content with our Safety Play it's viewed here as a further indictment.  If our F.O. is too vain to admit the mistake in not retaining Ed it's a heightened charge. For some time will tell, but the answer is already known here.

Ed Reed is 35 years old ,he's still recovering from a hip injury to my understanding, and  he hasn't been playing well at all .   I would love for Ed Reed to come back but thats just me as a fan with out considering logical reason.

 

If the ravens bring back Ed Reed who are they going to cut ? and is it really worth the risk to sign  a player whom may not have it  anymore? It may be too risky especially for a player that can't play on special team and then cut a player whom can play special teams  and etc.

They already said they won't be signing Reed so you're proposing a hypothetical.

Don't know we'd have to cut anyone. Omar Brown could go back to the practice squad. However, if we had to cut someone the vote here would be Cleats. The sooner we send him packing the better. There's no way they'll do that at this juncture. There's some guarantee money and all, but at the end of his salary cap impact the position here is he'll be gone.

Well he went unclaimed. Did you get that?

 

UN-CLAIMED

 

Perhaps now he'll elect to sign his one day contract so he can retire a Raven.

Throughout the devolution of the Ravens the point conveyed here has been that a player can be vastly more valuable to one team than another.  That essential quality has been lost to more "influential" people than the posters here. Stats are a very poor barometer unless one is playing fantasy football, the operative word being fantasy.

The threads here will reveal that this poster stated Reed would go unclaimed. That is not a surprise for a number of reasons so there's no need to get into them. But if he wants to play for another team its likely he will. I'd like to see him with the Jets, lighting up Joltin Joe for a pick six to further illustrate the ineptitude of our Front Office.

The only relevant stat is 4-5.  You are what your record says you are.

Yeah our safeties are much better than last year.

Read that Little Napoleon stated the Ravens have no intention of signing Ed in any capacity.  We'll just have to add that one to the litany of missteps the "managers" have made in the last year. 

Of course Little Napoleon had eye-wear on. It was decidedly flowery in color.

But you responded (kind of)!  I up voted yours, because it made me luls.

 

 

I think I would be more annoyed at Ed going to play with the Jets than the Pats tbh.

I'd neg you again for these, but I ran out of negs for the day.

Thats right, one is limited on negs, no matter how justified.

I think Ed Reed still can play. I'm certain of it, basing that certainty on the posters here. They are a perfect reverse barometer.

Let me play a devil's advocate here...not to say I completely

disagree.

Dumervil might be a wash with Kruger, as he disappears during games. And he just might be getting by his reputation.

Yes, Webb is way better then Cary, but we had Webb until he got hurt in Cowboys game...Corey substituted for Webb..so its Corey for Cary..and I honestly can't say one is better then another.

No argument from me on Monroe vs. McKinnie, although from the struggles we are seeing from the Oline, McKinnie wasn't the main problem.

Ray and Birk, again, no argument there. But you could say that Pollard's and Ed's playmaking made up for the penalties and missed tackles. They complemented each other. There is always the fear factor.

And finally Marlon and Q. Yes, Marlon has more TDs and I absolutely love his potential, but he doesn't have Q's instincts and abilities yet. Marlon has more TDs, but compare their 3rd down conversions...Plus with Q on the field, the same time last year, Torrey had more TDs if I'm not mistaken.

We do have an amazing FO that puts us in a position to win more games then not. But nobody is perfect. The only way anyone can judge the offseason moves is at the end of the year. 

I have no doubt that we will be right back in the mix of things, but was this season worth sacrificing everything that we have so far just for the sake of the future...

Finally, someone that is discerning!

I nominate you for the next Raven G.M. You're second may come relatively soon.

Reed had zero INTs and zero pass break-ups and only 12 tackles in 6 games. He is pretty much done as a player. Houston has problems outside of Reed, I agree, but they didn't demonize him. He wasn't getting the job done.

 

That said, Reed had a certain freedom here that he probably was not afforded in Houston. He was basically allowed to be a roamer in Baltimore and do what his instincts told him.

 

Your comments on Elam are ridiculous. The INT you mention, was far above Elam's head. He jumped for the ball and was lucky to even get a fingertip on it. That doesn't give him stone hands.

 

No matter though, because while we'd certainly like to see Elam picking off passes, he's paid to break them up as well.

 

Most here don't want Reed back to play. Reality is that Ozzie was proven correct in not resigning Ed Reed this season. Guess that sticks in your craw huh? lol

 

Bringing Reed back to Baltimore would offer an emotional boost to our team and nothing more. I could see using him in some situational football perhaps, but even that would be a stretch.

I don't concur with a single word you used.

I'll stick to the elaborating upon one point, because its the lynchpin to all this.

That pass was not over Cleats head.  If Ed Reed got as much of his hands on it he'd of come down with the ball. We got the ball anyway, but that's not the issue. The point was Cleats struggled to reach the ball and judge the ball for the reasons we've been discussing all along and then when he did touch it he accelerated it with his hands of stone.  He sucks.

That was the last post on Cleats. You all will understand. Its just a question of realization.

I have to say that I'm one of those fans who prefers to read the opinions. I don't usually write them.

You do have many negative posts, and while a lot of people disagree with them, I do believe your opinions have some validity to them. Elam is playing out of position, and he probably wasn't FO's first choice at safety. Others were better, but were gone by the time we had to pick.The point is, that your view of things is very much is black and white, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but life is most of the time is along of the shades of grey. I personally wish Q was still here. I want Reed back, and though I don't think he would play any better than "Cleats" there are many positives to have him on the squad. Still, bashing the FO and coaches...they aren't going to listen or pay attention.

I do believe that bringing Ed back might have a similar effect as firing Cam and getting Ray back had last year. But I also understand that it might backfire. All we can do is trust FO and support our team. Everything else is banging our head against the wall...

I understand your position.

My allegiance is not absolute, but neither are my criticisms.  The F.O. can win me back by managing to get this team to the playoffs.

There's plenty of fans in Cleveland, Detroit and Jacksonville that never question.

We had a very good team and key pieces were tossed away and questionable pieces were added.

He can't comeback. You can't bench 32 or 26 or have them looking over their shoulders.

Wait a minute...the whole "Cleats is playing poorly because he's out of position argument" is solved by Reed's return correct?

Maybe that is the catalyst to bring the playoffs back.

Either that or CLANK....CLANK....CLANK.

the sound of leather bouncing off hands

I thought it was Ozzie's fault Reed was gone? Now it's on Harbaugh? Do I have to post the hugging pictures again? Or perhaps when he publicly defended Reed (and Lewis) from calls for them to be benched?

Ed took the money - good for him, he had been talking about money for years before. But his attitude and his play (or lack thereof) got him cut. He left Baltimore for money, we all wanted him back but not at $5M/year.

Maybe, but now we suck at safety....and Cleats is never gonna make the grade

Don't know if other teams will put in claims for Reed.  He's expensive, they have to pay his negotiated salary correct?

He'll clear waivers and then be a Free Agent.  He'll have the Texans guarantee money and if our F.O. is shrewd this time, they'll convince him to come back.  But Reed is outspoken and Little Napoleon may not want him back.

The key question though..."Is our Safety Play at a satisfactory level".  I'll answer that one with a resounding NO

Co-inky-dink that right after he slams the coaching staff and players he gets a pink slip?

 

Baltimore put up with "Ed being Ed" because of the player he was and the weight he carried. Houston just saw an overpaid, vaguely injured, non-productive whiner and cut him loose. If Ed would have played it smart and kept quiet, he could have earned his way through more of that contract - you know, the reason he left Baltimore in the first place ($$$).

 

I knew he would be most valuable here but how could anyone see that fall from grace?

You're talking about a team (Texans) "augering" into the ground after a fight for the flight controls. That team is in complete chaos. 

After they pulled Reed, I saw their safeties torched over the top. They looked like Cleats and Digger staring into the backfield.

Did Reed speak up? Yes he did.  Did it cost him remaining on the roster?  I think it did.  But guess what, theres guarantee money. It was an expensive position of principle to let him go for addressing whats really wrong with the other safeties playing like abbott and costello... I mean ours.

. Anyone judging Reed's remainder on the disaster in Texas is playing Fantasy Football.

The Ed Reed affair in Houston was not what it appears.

Houston crashed and burned. In the burning they began looking for reasons why. Ed's recent "Tweets" didn't help his cause. Upon reading them, I posted he appeared to be poisoning the water.

They singled out Schaub and Reed, but divesting themselves of those players is not going to resolve the inherent problem.

Read somewhere recently, that following stats alone is folly, as they pertain to football truer words were never spoken . You want Fantasy Football, you follow stats, you want to win, you start players who are winners. 

If you watched one of Diggers interceptions Sunday, it glanced off Cleats "Hands of Stone" Elam. It shot into the air as if out of a cannon.  Harder hands have rarely touched the ball in the NFL.  But I knew he had palms of granite long ago. Luckily Digger was there to round it up.  At the end of the game Digger tried to hand the game back to Cincinnati but made amends later.

We are weak at safety....as in fatal weak.  It was a HUGE mistake to not resign Ed Reed for one more year and of the following I am certain: he still has game, regardless of the chaos down in Texas.  Especially, for a team with safeties that are wishing and praying the big score is Not on them.  We suck at safety and if we don't make the playoffs it will be because of the play at Safety and the lack of a "Go To" clutch receiver.  But we've known that since April.