Footman DCXLV

It's been a disappointing start to the season. All we have to do is win tonight to get a little bit of momentum and keep things interesting toward the end of the season. I'm just hoping, as a fan, that we at least have a chance at the playoffs in weeks 14, 15, etc. I want to watch every Ravens game, like I always do, and I don't want to have to know it doesn't matter while I do so. It's Ravens-Steelers, and we all know you can't ever predict what's going to happen in this game. I can't wait for kickoff, and we have as good a chance in this game as we have any of the last few years when we've gone into Pittsburgh. Here's hoping for another exciting game, but this time with a different result than the first three.

Agreed. As a fan, of course I'd love to see this. Any chance to see the team from a new perspective is a great experience for fans. But, there's obviously a reason most teams do not want to be involved in this show. The NFL actually put in a rule so that teams can earn the right to NOT get picked for Hard Knocks based on how well they perform. So, if it's viewed as bad for the team by the people who actually run the team, it probably is bad for the team. Regardless of those of us saying it wouldn't be a good idea, if it every happens again, I'm sure we'd all watch and enjoy it.

Barring injury, I would be shocked. Especially given he's likely to at least get decent reps returning punts now that we don't have a go-to returner.

Unless somebody plays at an unexpectedly high or low level between now and the start of the regular season, I don't think there will be a huge mystery, here. I'd expect Steve Smith, Perriman, Brown, Aiken, and Campanaro on the main roster, with Waller probably on the practice squad, if only because draft picks rarely get outright cut as rookies. But, I think there's going to be a pretty clear pecking order, rather than trying to figure out who's the "odd man out." Smith and Perriman will be priorities, the other three guys will be role-players that all have their moments, and anybody else that makes the team/practice squad will just be depth. I don't expect many surprises there, barring injury. Corner, tight end, and maybe d-line are the more interesting positions in terms of not really knowing how the depth chart will play out.

This is a good point (though maybe wishful thinking that he can perform like Gordon). But, any analysis that says Perriman is physical shouldn't then compare him to Torrey. He's actually faster based on 40-times, though one comparison could be that neither seemed to play as fast as they're perceived to be. I loved Torrey as a Raven, but every time I think about that last pick Joe threw to end our chances in New England, any chance that Perriman would have tried to make a play on that kind of ball should epitomize the differences between Torrey and Perriman. Torrey was the best receiver the Ravens ever drafted, and was rightfully beloved in Baltimore. But, I'm ready to move on with a different receiving corps, hopefully led by Perriman as Joe enters the back half of his career.

In spite of the apparent consensus, I don't think wide receiver is a huge need right now, unless Steve Smith retires (which I think only has a chance of happening if we win the Super Bowl). Torrey has a career year last year, then a slow start before finishing really strong this year, and the Marlon Brown and Kamar Aiken have really shown consistency that we haven't had from young non-starters in recent memory. There's also Campanaro, who people really seem to like. I would imagine Jacoby is gone next year, which hurts as a fan with his postseason heroics still being so recent, but makes sense from a football standpoint. So, that still leaves Torrey and Steve as the top guys, with Brown, Aiken, and Campanaro behind him, all three of whom are young enough and have shown enough to be given the chance to do more. So, while it adds up to still not having that stud athlete receiver receiver we've never had except Terrell Owens (oh, wait...), I don't see much changing at the receiver position for next season. The following year, however, I hope we can finally sign/draft a top talent to play opposite Torrey. Of course, if we can't resign Torrey this offseason, or if Steve retires, all this becomes moot and I would hope we can make a big splash like signing Fitzgerald. It would certainly fit our theme of signing high-character receivers late in their career and giving them a chance to win a ring before they retire. On a personal note, I just hope Fitzgerald plays for any team next year with a decent quarterback. That guy deserves it.

He only played one regular season game after that hip surgery in the offseason.

Just imagine what this team would have looked like if they had Percy all year. Unreal.

Another clutch performance by Jacoby. That's absolutely the word for him. Maybe he isn't a "#1" receiver, but as a player on this team, he comes up big when we need him, every week. This year, moreso than any other offensive player.

Touché.

After the way that Minnesota game ended, and that should be back to back weeks with kickoffs returned for touchdowns, it's just going to be harder and harder to let him go.

To be fair, Boldin said he'd retire if he was released. It's a little different since he was traded. It would be kind of a jerk move to retire after a team trades for you. Not that he necessarily would have retired, but at least you can give him more of a benefit of the doubt.

It's a little unfair to count all-purpose yards in comparison to guys that don't return kicks, but you still have a point about his added value in the return game. Tandon Doss' one return in Houston doesn't put him equal to a guy with seven career return touchdowns, and Thompson's few flashes in the return game are even further down the line. Jacoby Jones cannot be replaced by anybody else currently on this team. That doesn't mean we'll necessarily be able to afford to keep him, but it does mean that we'll be losing something very valuable if we can't.

Yes, we do. You can't win without weapons. All the hope in the world that Doss, Thompson, or even Marlon Brown will turn into star players does absolutely nothing when the reality is that it hasn't happened yet. You've seen the improvement in the offense without Jacoby versus the offense with him completely healthy, and it's not even close. Unless you're drafting a receiver in the first round or trading for a proven name in the offseason, this offense can't afford to lose Jacoby Jones. I just don't get how people think that a rookie with 29 career catches, another rookie who's never played a regular season game, and a third-year receiver with only 25 career catches who regularly makes mental mistakes that cost the team (yes, I'm talking about Tandon Doss) make our best big-play threat (yes, I'm talking about Jacoby Jones) expendable.

I'm a little surprised to see so many in favor of letting him go after that big performance against the Jets. Jacoby is the second best receiver and the best return man on this team. I don't think that's really even questionable at this point. Tandon Doss came back with that punt return in Houston, then caught the long pass when his defender fell down on fourth down a few games later. Other than that, he's still done a whole lot of not catching what was thrown to him, and making poor decisions on punt returns. And, we all love Marlon Brown, but he's not an every-game receiver just yet. Maybe he can take a step forward next year, but that remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Jacoby clearly has developed more chemistry with Joe since the end of last season, and could take a punt or kickoff back at any time. Sure, the cap will be the deciding factor, but we saw how our passing game looked with only one proven receiver for the first six or eight games before Jacoby was 100%. Would he really be "not worth the money" to avoid going through that again? If Jacoby continues to play the way he has since coming back for the rest of the season, there's no way we can let him walk. Looking at our free agents for next year, the only guys I think we need to bring back are Jacoby, Pitta (who hopefully won't cost as much after a year off), and Daryl Smith. I really hope we can bring back Ihedigbo and Arthur Jones, too, but I consider them more replaceable.

No, no, and no. And, while we're on the topic, I never want to see Tampa's "creamsicle" jerseys or Green Bay's weird blue jerseys with brown helmets again. And please, please, no more bumblebee Steelers.

I'm absolutely in shock. This is the first move I can ever remember seriously questioning. More than that, I say it's flat out wrong. If this is really true (I'm still holding out that maybe it's a false report), I sure hope Ozzie has a second part of this plan to make up for this.