frozen joe flacco fan

I've heard enough about how "The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz" tried to fix the problem in the off-season. I don't give master auto mechanics or master plumbers or master electricians another job when they try to fix my car or my plumbing but fail. I give them an "A" for effort but an "F" for failing. Then I go looking for someone who will fix my plumbing leak and ,believe me, something is leaking here. Its time for a change but the solution is not to be found in Eric DeCosta or Vincent Newsome IMO. The most embarrassed person in the organization had to be Ozzie Newsome if it wasn't Steve Bischiotti. On a day when Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti and Raymond Berry were in the house and were presented with their rings of fame, Ozzie's recruits gave up 505 yards to a journeyman QB and committed 12 stupid penalties giving up 98 more yards to the team for which he once played. In hindsight, he should have gone out on top and retired after the SB. Now, this wizard of old is becoming just a ROAD wizard, that is, Retired On Active Duty. Turn out the lights; the party's over, Oz!

I'm gonna wait til your movie comes out 'cause I don't have time to read your novel but I like most of what I read in the 1st chapter. Its where you say "screw the defense go win some games for us Joe" that I have the problem. Ask Dan Fouts and Don Coryell how that worked for the Chargers team, nicknamed "Air Coryell."

I changed my mind. Earlier I said they should be Elvis and His Purple Gang. Now, I think The Lost Boys is more appropriate from the Peter Pan story. These guys need to grow up!

Read my lips and my earlier post re talent! We're not as talented as you and the national media supposed we were, even pre-injuries. Oh, and I left out one more very important spoke in the 2012 SB offense --- Ray Rice. So, I would suggest you research the definition of the word talented and how it differs from gifted. I'll grant you this. We have some very talented players but so do all the other NFL teams. We have only a few gifted players on this team and one of them plays QB. We need more of both, i.e., talented and gifted players. Add smart to gifted and then you've really got something. AND just think, if our "talented" defense would have stopped the two-point conversion in the 2nd half, we would still have won the game. How could a receiver be any more open than he was in the end-zone? Maybe it was talent, huh? Or, then again, maybe it was a lack of talent OR it could have been Dean Pees I suppose.

For real? Ya don't think there's been a drop in talent? Let's see. The 2012 SB offense included Matt Birk, Dennis Pitta, Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones & Vonta Leach, not to mention our defense could get off the field and give the offense more TOP. C'mon! And as for your lol comment re putting Flacco up there with Montana, they operated in two totally different schemes. Montana was strictly a dink & dunk passer in the West Coast Offense mold of passer. Flacco is the Rocket Man and actually throws the ball deeper than ten yards sometimes. Oh yeah, & Montana was throwing to the likes of Jerry Rice and Dwight Clark. The only thing the two have in common is their first name. Someone in an earlier post hit the nail on the head. There was a perception of talent on this team that was highly over-rated. We are reaping what we sowed --- a failure to replenish the talent pool with the right players at the skill positions. Remember, there are many talented players in the NFL but only a few gifted players on each team. AND,just like Kevin Durant is fond of saying, "Hard work defeats talent when talent doesn't work hard." You know the truth! This team is not nearly as talented as many in the local & national media were touting it to be and our players just bought into the myth. That's all! As John Wooden said, "I'll take players with a lot of talent and a little experience rather than players with a little talent and a lot of experience." That being said, you cannot understate the importance of hard work and intelligence. Lining up in the neutral zone is not intelligent. What we need is more talent, more gifted players, more hard work, smarter players, players of good character rather than players who are characters and much better coaching at all levels. After all, its a team sport and yesterday's loss was a team loss.

Yeah! It was Pees' fault all right! Did you even watch the game? We had no answer for a TE I've never heard of until today and the Brownies' TD catch at the end zone was just one of many poorly contested plays by two of our junior varsity secondary players. Their top three receivers were under 6' tall by a lot. Our secondary is terrible and its all Dean's fault, right? What about people lined up offsides in the neutral zone three times? Is that his fault or is it just plain stupidity? I don't know; you tell me!!!! Our highly touted secondary led by Jimmy Smith gave up 457 yards of passing to Josh Who? Isn't it ironic that he was formerly coached by Marc Trestman who probably helped Dean devise the scheme to shut him down? Oh well, just go on with your silly "Pees has to go" dillusion. The only adjustment I would make is to bring Coach Pees down onto the field where he can look his players in the eyes when they come off the field after making a stupid, bone-head play or failing to execute his scheme properly. In all fairness, this group of defenders is woefully inadequate. The two most important team statistics besides wins are takeaway/turnover ratio and point differential. Neither of these stats are good for this team. We've given up 137 points in 5 games versus 165 points in 16 games in 2000. This has to do with poor execution and undisciplined personnel. As far as I'm concerned, Coach Harbaugh can direct Coach Pees to coach from the sidelines when and if he chooses and he (Harbaugh) can fine players for stupid penalties like the late hit that erased an interception by Webb.

I agree with you. Saying Ozzie tried to fix our problems in the offseason is like saying an auto mechanic tried to fix a car but it still wouldn't run. Our two biggest problems headed into the season were the secondary and our WRs. AND, guess what? They still are. IMO, we needed Breshad Perriman plus a FA WR to complement SSS. As far as our " keystone cops" secondary is concerned, these junior varsity players don't look any better than the ones we had last year. Giving up 457 yards passing to Josh Who? is but a preview of upcoming attractions. There will be heads rolling soon and there should be. Today's loss was but one more indication that there is a severe lack of discipline on the team, which leads to some of the stupid penalties and makes one also wonder about certain players' work ethics when it comes to conditioning when the defense has fallen apart in the second half of at least three of our games. Surrendering 24 points in the 2nd half to a team with a 1-3 record in our stadium is unacceptable as well as embarrassing.

Hallelujah & PTL! For once, I am in total agreement with you. Trust isn't owed to anyone; its earned. As the old adage goes, "as you play in practice, so too will you play in games." The WRs have to earn Joe's trust by demonstrating their ability to get separation, contest jump balls (like the Brownies' TD catch late in the game), and to lay out for a pass rather than just going through the motions. In our WRs' defense, they are going up against terrible defenders in practice who probably make them think they are better than they are when they play against top-notch defenders, e.g., Joe Haden. Joe's doing his part to target a lot of different receivers but the WRs still aren't getting separation. I saw Joe overthrow one long pass today and he threw one bad short pass. Other than that, he was on target. He just doesn't have a lot of choices and that's why Juice and Justin caught more passes than most of our WRs.

Well, what happened? Our WRs were invisible in the 2nd half. I see nothing about Marlon Brown to make me think he's going to step up. You can read confidence or the lack of it in a person's eyes. With Kamar Aiken, there's at least some hope that he will develop into a reliable WR. Waller also appears to be a keeper. I guess Givens wasn't targeted more because he's still learning the offense. With all that being said, the offense scored thirty points in regulation and we still couldn't win, despite the valiant effort from Joe and Justin Forsett.

Aiken had a whopping 5 receptions against the Squeelers and now has 11 catches in 4 games. You may call that showing up. I don't but I hope you're right and I'm wrong about Aiken's ability. The TD pass he caught was a perfectly thrown ball that he nearly dropped in the end zone from the tape I watched. Its 1 on 1 battles with guys like Talib, Revis, Grimes and others that give me cause to doubt Aiken and Brown's ability to win those battles like Boldin and Smith do in every game. Its my understanding that Chris Givens has more catches in his NFL career than Aiken, Brown & Waller combined so let's not build them up into bona fide "weapons" just yet. Its premature but I can agree that Sunday will be a good test for them. Joe showed that he could win in a hostile environment despite not having any "weapons" against the Squeelers. That game was gift-wrapped though. We would have lost were it not for some pathetic play calling on the part of the Steelers' coaching staff. I'm glad we won because I would hate to have to admit that the Wizard's prediction of a 5-11 season could come true. Some fns might start believing The Wizard is a prophet. As it is, I think we will be 2-3 by Sunday night but it will be a struggle.

In the Pittsburgh game, Joe was sacked 5 times. According to the experts, most of the sacks were coverage sacks. That's why Joe doesn't trust throwing to some of his WRs IMO. He has thrown to SSS and Crockett when they were covered tightly. He has shown over and over again he is not afraid to throw into tight coverage when he has someone who will fight for the ball like Q does and SSS does. With SSS and Campanaro out, he now has no choice but to throw balls to a group of JV WRs who may become varsity receivers by season's end. Right now, they are not getting separation, getting back to the coverage sacks. Look around the league. On almost every other team, you see WRs laying out for passes thrown in their direction. You also see WRs fighting for passes against defenders and becoming defenders when passes are thrown poorly. One of the best things about Joe is that he's not afraid to lose. If you want to win, you can't be afraid you're going to lose in a 1 on 1 battle with your opponent. The same principle applies to WRs and secondary DBs. Its all about beating your opponent to the POA. That's what happened on the last play of the Super Bowl when Malcolm Butler guessed right and reached the POA before the receiver did. For the most part, that's why DBs are able to jump routes --- the offensive "weapon" is not getting enough separation and the DB is not playing tentative because he's afraid to lose that 1 on 1 battle. The most casual observer would notice that Joe is more comfortable throwing to two rookie TEs because they have shown that they will take one for the team whether its hurdling a would-be tackler or inflicting a blow on the defender just like SSS does. Its rocket science ----- NOT!

In a battle of FGs, Ravens will win by a score of 26-23 and without receivers SSS, Campanero, Gillmore and Perriman. This game is all about the Jimmy and Joes, not the Xs and the Os.

Maybe we could hire Coach Bass and you as his assistant! Thank you for finally seeing the light! As you stated, the players we have is ultimately on Ozzie, Eric & Vince, and, yes, one would hope the DC has some input. I just don't know how much input Dean has.

I would agree with you. We might even be 0-4.

Wow! That's pretty impressive!! You did a great job of regurgitating what Coach Bass said. Did ya notice it didn't mention anything 'bout selecting the players?

Its too bad Matt got injured because he would have been competing for a starting position. I'm just not convinced he has what it takes to be a standout safety. Just because he was chosen 32nd doesn't make him a stud. I have a friend whose son was a Kodak All-American linebacker for the University of Washington. He played in two Rose Bowls with Mark Brunell. Although he was drafted by the Chicago Bears, he didn't make it in Pro Ball.

Its not his job to tie their shoes and buckle their chin straps??????????????? Hey, maybe we could hire Philbin now??????????

I must have missed the swagger we had with Elam in the backfield. Personally, I'm starting to like the Will Power we have now.

I guess what I said didn't help, huh? I just finished watching the Detroit/ Seattle game with five former Ravens defenders playing, including Haloti Ngata, Dematha HS's own Josh Wilson, James Ihedigbo & Josh Bynes for Detroit and Carey Williams for Seattle. I'll bet Coach Pees would just love to have any of the three secondary guys back in exchange for some of our old & young "keystone cops". Oh well! Just keep California dreamin in Steeler Country, PA. Your fervor to get rid of Coach Pees won't even matter if he interviews for the HC position in Miami. BTW, you are 100% correct about his presser. It was very telling and from what I understand, that's what DCs are supposed to do ---- just call the plays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's a suggestion for you ---- you really need to watch some of the other NFL teams play to see how quick and aggressive defensive backs are supposed to be and how quickly they get to the POA. I think you'd learn something. Cheers!

BINGO! You've hit the nail on the head. We kinda did the same thing with drafting a replacement for Ray Lewis. It would have been far better to have drafted his eventual replacement while he was here so he could mentor the person. That's why I tend to disagree with our philosophy of drafting the best player available, regardless of positional need. We cannot expect FAs who come to our organization to immediately "Play Like A Raven" when they have no idea what it entails. We are not drafting the right players based on our needs at the time. While this year's draft was excellent IMO, it was too little, too late. When you look around the league and compare some of our players to the players on other rosters, we either have a lot of under-achieving players or over-rated players. The draft is the key. The classic example is Green Bay whose roster is comprised almost entirely of their draft picks. Like us, they don't get as many top draft picks but they seem to make wiser picks in the long-term interest of the team.

Then what?

The only thing I've pointed out in previous posts wrt a turnover of players is Dean Pees' secondary looked like a patchwork quilt last year. I referred to the secondary as "the keystone cops". The Ravens have always prided themselves in "The Next Man Up" Philosophy, which works well when you have a deep depth chart --- unfortunately, we didn't last year and we don't again this year. You said that Dean Pees was the only constant. I responded to your incorrect assertion by pointing out that several of our current secondary players were on the roster last year. Of course, that's a benefit provided they are still performing at a high level. Here's the Bottom Line: A constant turnover of players and/or coaches results in a lack of continuity, which in turn is not helpful to this or any organization for a number of reasons, e.g., lack of synergy. I hope this helps explain my position.

With all due respect to the Moderators, shouldn't this topic be closed? Its either a moot point or its not worth discussing until next year.

Your post makes absolutely zero, as in nada, sense.

I agree that there is no excuse for losing so many games because we failed to hold leads in the 4th quarter. AND, I agree that it is a coaching problem. I just emphatically disagree that it is entirely Dean Pees' fault. When you say that the players are not the same, it says to me you need to review the roster. If you're referring to the defensive backfield, most of the players in the secondary haven't changed. Smith, Webb, Hill, Trawick, Brooks, Melvin & Levine were all on last year's roster. For that matter, there is very little change in the front seven. At least my argument is rational. For some strange reason, you refuse to call it like it is. The keystone cops are back. If you want to blame Dean Pees, then promote him to the front office where the blame lies. Your last paragraph is interesting. Our defense has given up an average of 26 points per game this year with one anomaly --- the Oakland game. So, we'd only have to score 27 points a game to win each game, not 40. That being said, great defenses don't yield 26 points a game. Good defenses don't either. We've only scored 27 or more points a game one time by my count so it will be a long season if the current trend continues. Yes, we have a coaching problem but its not Dean Pees. Take the time to read the article in The Baltimore Sun by Mike Preston. It hits the nail on the head wrt why the Patriots are the class of the AFC. In all seriousness, I think you and others tend to over-simplify the problem. Its much more complicated than just the DC's scheme & philosophy. A defense gives up points & leads in the final quarter for a lot of different reasons --- poor coaching, poor conditioning, lack of discipline & poor execution, just to name a few. The good news is I believe this defensive unit will get better by season's end. I was encouraged especially by the play of Will Davis and some of our 2015 draftees, including Za' Darius Smith and Carl Davis.