frozen joe flacco fan

Ya just gotta love Mike Preston. In a recent article in the Baltimore Sun, he is quoted as saying the best way the Ravens can help Joe Flacco is by rebuilding the defense. In the same article, he describes the Ravens offense as boring. Ya can't have it both ways, Mike! We need a Wide Receiver!!! I agree that we could have won five more games last year if our defense could have held a late lead but fixing the defense won't help Joe on offense. This entire thread is delusional. Unless the FO's strategy to fix the offense is addition by subtraction, we're in serious trouble. Upgrading the offensive line has been a priority since 2012. With the exception of Ronnie Stanley, its been a revolving door with very little continuity. Names like Oher, Osemele, McKinney, Monroe, Zuttah, Wagner, Gradkowski and others have passed through but the door still operates like a rusty gate. Giving Joe Flacco more weapons has been a priority since losing Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Ray Rice et al. How's that project coming along? As recent drafts have shown, we're lucky to hit on one or two picks a year. At last count, we need a legitimate center who can solidify the interior of the line, a right tackle, a running back who can run, catch and block in the backfield, a healthy TE and at least one if not two stud WRs. Meanwhile, we've lost a starting center, a starting right tackle and a pro bowl RB, named Huge Check.

Remember, Mike Preston, the best defense is a good offense! Remember the likes of Johnny Unitas to Ray Berry & John Mackey, Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson, Joe Montana to Jerry Rice and Dwight Clark, Terry Bradshaw to Lynn Swann and Franco Harris, Troy Aikman to Michael Irvin and Emmit Smith, Ben Rothlisberger to Antonio Brown and Leveon Bell, The Red Rifle to A.J. Green and two good running backs, Mattie Ryan to Julio Jones and two good running backs, Dak Prescott or Tony Romo to Dez Bryant and Ezekial Elliott. Oh yeah, then there's Tom Brady to Gronkowski, Edelman, Floyd, Hogan, Amendola, Bennett and LaGarrette Blount! Who said it doesn't matter to whom Tom Brady throws? Or how 'bout Trent Dilfer to Shannon Sharpe, Brandon Stokely and Jamaal Lewis? If you don't get it, you don't get it. The point is this. If it ain't broke, make it better. Well, its broke! Fill in the blank: Joe Flacco to ________?

We don't need the best player available in the draft without regard to his position. We need playmakers who can step in on day one and make an immediate impact at specific positions of need - WRs, RT @ C on offense and CB, pass rusher and ILB on defense. We have seven picks and these are our seven biggest needs. Its not deciding who is the "best player available" on the board.    

On ‎3‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 4:30 PM, redrum52 said:

Where would you rank Joe among qbs?  Who do you think is better than him?

On ‎3‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 5:13 PM, Tru11 said:

quite curious if you also know what the QBs job is.

interesting how you always manage to list everyone else job and what they are supposed to do except the highest paid position in the NFL.....

 

That question is too easy. Brady, Rodgers and Brees are the Top Three. Beyond them an argument can be made that Ben Rottenburger is fourth and when he played Peyton Manning rounded out the Top Five. This brings into focus two interesting points. How did Joe fare in head to head competition against the "Top Five". Also, the only reason Joe has not played in more Super Bowls than he has is he has had to compete against three od the above "Top Five" QBs throughout his career to advance to the SB. Give Joe Flacco a 25 point in a Super Bowl and I think he finds a way to win in unlike Mattie Whats's His Name.

It sounds like you are jealous of Joe Flacco, Mr. Tru11. Get over it. Let me guess. A QB's job is to ............ WIN?????????

If Joe were a Professional Golfer or Tennis Player, I'd give him all the blame for our lack of success in the last two seasons. Last I heard, football is a team sport.

18 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

The issue is the last point, which you attempted to gloss over.

Flacco led the league in passes for 16 weeks and barely fell short of first when Brees passed him in the final week of the season.

He had a paltry 6.4 yards per attempt to go along with only 20 touchdowns. 

For that many passes, you'd love to see closer to 5,000 and 30.

The glaring and obvious disparity between his YPA in 2016 vs. other years is simply a function of two things. One is executing the play called. The second is dumping the ball off to a sure-handed back, like Juice was and Danny Woodhead will be, when nobody else can gain separation. That being said, there were a number of times when Joe pulled the trigger prematurely 'cause he was afraid of having someone crash into his left leg. When will some of his most ardent critics get it? A receiver's job is "see the ball; catch the ball." That's not what Aiken, Moore, Waller, Perriman and Wallace have demonstrated they can do consistently. Again, Justin Tucker appears to have better hands. Until and unless Ozzie fills the holes in the offensive line and brings in some stud wide receivers, nothing as in nada will change. You criticize Joe for having tunnel vision and throwing too many times to Dennis. Besides Dennis, who is Joe's Go To man/ The answer is clear. It was Steve Sr.. Now its .............????????????????? Fill in the blank and we can put this to bed.

On ‎3‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 9:19 AM, trevorsteadman said:

As much as people want to give Flacco crap, he was coming off of an injury which affected his accuracy a bit. I bet there will be a huge improvement next year.

I agree with you I mean look at the supporting cast Flacco has had.... Looking at the film his YPA was so low because of the receivers inability to get open on a consistent basis. He had to dump the ball off to West or Dixon too many times last year. Also the offense was built around the short passes and screens which is not Flacco's strength which still baffles me the team even went that way last season.

I mean you have a 37 year old receiver coming off a torn achilles last season, Mike Wallace (a speedster), and Perriman (a speedster) and you are running screens and short curls and expect them all to come up with shifty YAC.

The Ravens need to get back to getting those 4-5 yard power runs with the big deep throws a few times a game. 

Your arguments are way to logical and objective! I agree with your assessment almost entirely but would add that Dennis Pitta was also coming off a dislocated and second fractured hip injury. Additionally, the O-line Joe has had to work with after the Super Bowl run has been slightly less than stellar. You will never convince his critics though. They will continue to produce stats that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Joe had a lousy, stinking year despite the fact he threw for more than 4,000 yards. Yes, his YPA was low this year but so were the YAC stats for his some of his receivers who couldn't catch a cold. I'd include Wallace, Aiken, Perriman, Waller and Moore in that list. The best play all year for a Raven receiver getting some YAC was the TD play that SSS made against Cincy and as you pointed out Steve is 37. Hey, maybe Justin Tucker should try out as a receiver, huh? He made some circus catches in practice at the Pro Bowl! The guy was non-chalantly catching one-handed and back-handed. Give him an O-line and you'll see the Old Joe Flacco back. 

5 hours ago, trevorsteadman said:

 

I agree with gtalk he has made big plays... There should've been two other touchdowns if he got his feet down would've been more points. He catches the hard ones and then drops some of the easy ones.... It is concentration drops which will likely just need to be worked out by more playing time.

Yeah, Mel Kiper or somebody summed it up in a quote by saying the same thing. Perriman makes some circus catches now & then but drops routine catches that a Pro has to make. So far, he's been an enigma. IDK how many times I uttered the words "you have to make that catch if you're  professional." Its more than working out with a Juggs machine. Somebody needs to whack him with a beach noodle or make him blink just when the ball arrives when he's about to catch a pass in practice.  

4 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

It was sarcasm/pointing out a possibility double standard

Boo! I disagree. You surely wouldn't be as benevolent if the same collapse had occurred with Joe Flacco at the helm. We kinda experienced some kind of collapse in the second half of the SB in 2013. This SB was eerily reminiscent to that one. Other than the lights going out, what caused our collapse in that SB? The only difference was Joey Ice brought his team back; Mattie Ice melted with the game on the line.

Please RSVP!  

4 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I was making a point that Ryan had an excellent game and shoddy play calling and a defensive collapse cost the game.

Hoorah! I agree with you!

8 hours ago, trevorsteadman said:

I really don't think Darian Stewart is that good. The reason I think people think he is good is because the Broncos have the best trio of cornerbacks by far in the league. You don't part away with a first round pick. The talent is there, he just is not catching onto football. You wait out his rookie contract to see if anything catches on. If people got rid of 1st round talent in the first 2 or 3 years of their contract a lot of teams would be making huge mistakes. A lot of the time it takes that long for them to make an impact. If anything the team has done a great job of realizing who to keep and who not to. Ed Reed is a prime example. Paul Kruger fell off the face of the Earth afterwards. Several examples. The team cannot pay everybody. The team let Darian Stewart go and the team now has Eric Weddle. 

Darian Stewart is getting paid more than Eric Weddle. Eric Weddle was the #1 ranked safety last season in all the NFL without the best trio of cornerbacks in the league. Talent evaluation won right there in my eyes.

I would agree Stewart is no Eric Weddle but he has been good enough to start on a Super Bowl winning team since he left our house and he's still a starter for Denver. Gary Kubiak must have seen something in him.

So, are you saying Elam is a keeper? I realize he's still playing on his first contract but I think he's a bust. He's just taking up valuable space on the 53 man roster. I question how well the talent evaluation thing has worked out on him. I really hope the light bulb goes on for him this year but the bulb is looking pretty dim at this point.  

On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 8:51 AM, ratedr said:

A huge part of the Falcons having a huge lead was the defense playing lights out for the first 3 quarters. The Falcons offense simply stopped scoring. But as with frozen joe, I don't blame any one player. Kyle Shanahan blew the game for the Falcons.

BINGO! This was all about Kyle Shanahan's ego. Like father like son!

I have said I don't blame the loss on Matt Ryan and I'm sticking to my guns on that point. It is amusing though to read so many posts by the Flacco haters and critics who would have blamed Joe for not calling an audible if he didn't like the play call(s). I can't count the number of times some of our loyal fanbase bashed Joe for not calling an audible in similar situations this year but he wasn't given a pass like they gave Matman in this thread. If I remember correctly, the complaint several of Joe's most ardent critics used was ---- a veteran, Franchise QB should be able to veto the OC's play call if he thinks its not going to work. Didn't MattVP come into the NFL the same year as Joe? So, I guess he should have audibled out of the pass plays that were called and run the ball since he's a veteran, Franchise QB. Gimme a break! OR at least be consistent with your critique of Joe's on the field decision-making. In the real world, calling audibles doesn't work like your Madden football computer game. There's a word called insubordination. This story was all about a young OC who wanted to put his foot on the throat of the Patriots instead of just beating them so as to make a bigger name for himself before he departed to run the WCO in SF.

I would love to hear what all the Flacco critics would be sayin 'bout the collapse if Joe had been at the helm instead of the Ice Man. I got news for them. The Ice Man is right here in Ballmer and his name is Joe Flacco. Joe's a Super Bowl MVP; Matt is a league MVP. I'll take the former anyday, all day!

8 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

I also think the value of the pick is how long of a successful career they had in the NFL. If you drafted a guy that hangs around the NFL for a decade and isn't a special teamer, even if he only played 4-5 seasons with your team, that was still a good pick because his longevity in the league proves you drafted a real player. I even think guys that didn't necessarily have their best performance until after the Ravens let them go are still good picks. There are times when players on the Ravens don't get to play much because of who is ahead of them.

Torrey was all about the salary and the situation the Ravens were in. Had they had the money they perhaps would have kept him. Paul Kruger was a bust and I wasn't sad to see him go at all. He cashed in big with the Browns and had only one good season for them and he stunk up the joint in New Orleans as well. I liked Jarret Johnson a lot, but it was time for him to move on. He was at the end of his career and had little left in the tank at that point. I think he had 1 or 2 decent seasons with San Diego.

But, like I said earlier, a lot of these guys who cashed in on long term big money second contracts did not live up to them which was mostly due to injuries.

I see your point and I agree. As I have said before, IMO one of our problems seems to be talent evaluation. A case could be made that its the same as drafting but its not the same in my mind. We seem to have a problem deciding who to keep and who to release after they have made the roster. I've seen some players who learned under our system move to other teams and be very successful. Darian Stewart is just one of several examples. I would have parted company with Matt Elam long ago. I realize that part of it is getting the most bang for the buck but it still seems to be part of a habitual bad habit, that is not recognizing who is a keeper and who is not.

2 hours ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

In the modern, salary capped, free agent NFL I don't think you can necessarily knock a team for not resigning a draft pick.

Imo whether a pick was good or bad should only be judged by how the player performed during their time here. I don't think you should dock points if you don't give the guy a 2nd contract. 

For me, if you get quality contributions for 3-4 years on a cheap rookie deal that's really good. If you get a cheap starter playing at a pro bowl level for 3-4 years that's great (varying degrees depending on level of contribution)....

 

Whether or not they get the 2nd contract and how they perform on said contract has nothing to do with the quality of the draft pick.... that's a separate evaluation of the GM. 

All that does is tell me whether or not the Ravens got the maximum return on their great pick or not. You're picking assets... and unfortunately with a cap you can't always return those assets.

Like Ray Rice was a GREAT draft pick. In hindsight it was a bad contract. What ended up happening doesn't effect the quality of the pick for me though. We got 3 solid years of among the best all purpose RBs in the league for a 2nd rounder. Awesome, awesome pick. 

With that in mind KO was a great pick imo. Kruger was a very good pick. His contributions in 2012 were irreplaceable. Upshaw was a good pick. Torrey was a great pick, etc...

I agree with your thinking on this. The salary cap has made a lot of difference in the NFL. Not re-signing a draft pick does not negate the quality of the pick. Retention of the great picks is a different challenge for the FO due to the dead money we have had to carry lately and Joe's big contract. I think we've had more than our fair share of salary cap casualties recently. I really hated to see Torrey, Kruger and Jarret Johnson leave the fold. To me, I'd rather lose a free agent like Boldin than a drafted Raven because of the return on the investment (ROI). Hopefully, the dead money thing will improve now that Pitta has returned and the Ray Rice debacle is over but our dead money carryover is still one of the highest in the league.  

The track record doesn't seem as bad as some have suggested. You've listed 20 picks. By my count, at least 7 were great picks (35%), at least 4 others were good picks (20%) and the jury's still out on 2 picks (10%). IDK what the percentages should be but it seems to me that hitting on 50% or more is pretty good. It is also apparent from your list that our success with 2nd rounders has improved in the second half of our team history. That's a good thing! Obviously, it is important to differentiate between a good pick and how well the player performed once drafted. For example, Sergio Kindle might have been a dynamite pick but an unfortunate accident hurt his chances to have a successful career in the NFL. 

1 hour ago, Purple_City39 said:

I've always thought the revisionist history by Ravens fans in regards to Boldin was interesting.  104 yards and a TD in the superbowl is great for a WR, it's never been Superbowl MVP worthy.  I used to think fans viewed his total playoff performance when saying he deserved MVP, but 380 yards and 4 TDs in 4 games as a WR doesn't hold a candle to 1140 yards, 11 TDs, and 0 INTs as a QB.

Jacoby you could make a good argument for though, for the superbowl specifically.  290 all purpose yards and 2 TDs is crazy good

31 minutes ago, trevorsteadman said:

Yeah I totally agree here. Both Flacco and Jones played lights out... But in that scenario you give it to the guy who has been more consistent throughout the entire playoffs and the player you think will be with your franchise longer and the more valuable player.

No argument here. The logic is too sound! 

3 hours ago, flynismo said:

I agree, I think an entire draft, a la Ricky Williams trade, is just...well, stupid.

On the other hand, look at it like this...this was at a time when Ray and Ed were in their primes and our defense was the most feared in the league. With just a competent QB like McNair, we already had a 13 win season with him at the helm before the injury plagued 07 season and were arguably the best team in the NFL. Had Ryan turned out to be as great as we thought he was...12 win seasons would be mildly disappointing.

That settles it then! We won't trade our entire 2017 draft picks to Atlanta for Mattie Ice so he can be Joe's back up. End of paragraph.

2 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Were they or were they not up by 25 points? Okay, fine, Matt Ryan didn't lead them to every single one of their 28 points; just 21. 

The Ravens defense created two turnovers and their special teams scored a touchdown. What's your point?

Or are you missing the point that it's a team game and Ryan wasn't to blame for the defense allowing over 250 yards and most of the Patriots points in the fourth quarter?

I don't really care who the SB MVP is, honestly. It's a quarterback driven award, so as long as you don't completely blow the game, you're going to win it. Despite having over 100 yards, three touchdowns (including the game winner), and a two point conversion, James White failed to win the MVP award. That tells you about all you need to know about how meaningless the award is.

Don't take things so personally, BmoreBird22! It was a collapse. You're absolutely right about that. However, the collapse started in the pressbox where Kyle Shanahan was calling the plays in the second half. His ego got the best of him and he just lost sight of the objective, which is to win the game Instead, he was trying to run up the score when that was not necessary. It came back to haunt him as it usually does in similar circumstances. I don't blame the collapse on Matt Ryan or the Atlanta defense. I blame it on the coaching. As so many of our games went this season, this game was lost by the Falcons as opposed to being won by the Patriots. Agree? 

13 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

So I guess Flacco didn't win the game. It was won by an Ed Reed interception, Jacoby Jones kickoff return, and an Upshaw forced fumble, all leading to 21 points. And then, it was Sam Koch who actually won the game by ensuring a kickoff was the final play of the game.

I beg your pardon but I didn't promise you a rose garden. I was simply correcting your inaccurate post. You said that Matty Ice Cream and his offense put them up by 25 and the defense collapsed. Its elementary, my dear Watson! That's not what happened. The Atlanta defense created two turnovers and scored a TD on a pic six.

Unlike Mattie Ice Cream, Joe Flacco was the MVP of a SB. If you are having Mattie envy, consider this. Which would you rather be --- a league MVP or a SB MVP/ To me, its a no brainer. That being said, while Joe was deservedly the SB MVP, I could just as easily awarded it to Anquan Boldin or Jacoby Jones. 

Absolutely!  I'd love to have Ray, Shannon Sharpe and Ed Reed on the sidelines coaching up our guys! It won't happen 'cause of their other interests but Ray's knowledge of defense is incredible and he is an inspiration to young players. Ed would be a great secondary coach and Shannon is Sharp. What's not to like! Unfortunately, John Harbaugh's ego would be too big to make it happen.

6 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Ryan and the offense put them up by 25 and the defense collapsed. I mean...

Not true. Ryan's offense had nothing to do with the pic six interception for a TD and the stripped fumble which led to the other TD. Did  you miss the game? That game was not won by the Patriots or Tom Brady; it was lost by the Falcons. Here's why: The Falcons' coaching staff's playcalling was horrendous in the second half. They arrogantly assumed the game was over at half-time and they let their huge egos influence their decision-making. Clearly, their intent was too humiliate the Patriots by running up the score rather than to focus on winning the game. My youth football players were taught by me to never feel sorry for your opponent but also to never disrespect them. Dan Quinn and Kyle Shanahan share equally in what was the biggest collapse in SB history. There was no conspiracy. It was all about having your MVP QB and your highly touted offense destroy their opponent after they were already defeated. That's all! Its called Football 101 Like Bill Belichick says, there's no mystery. Just Do Your Job! Leading 28-3 with 8:30 to go in the 3rd quarter, they should have shortened the game by running the football. Time was the enemy of the Patriots at that point. Glad Kyle Shanahan and Matt Ryan aren't in BMore! I'll take Julio though. He's just a beast!

On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 3:21 PM, Purple_City39 said:

Um, first Jimmy already got a big payday.  Not sure why you think he hasn't, and he won't be getting an incentive laden contract next year.  Probowl means little since they've become popularity contest.  How long before Ngata finally got voted to one?  Brandon Williams?  Weddle was rated best safety in the game and he was an alternate.

Second, I'm wondering how deeply you watch these games.  Jimmy can definitely play both sides (his first two years were primarily at the LCB position) so I don't know why his versatility is in question.  He's also shadowed multiple WRs all game long no matter where they went.  The coaching staff choosing to have him focus on a side doesn't diminish his skill just like it doesn't for Sherman and Norman, who also primarily play one side.  Remember Samari Rolle?  He never left the defensive right side either regardless of whether Frank Walker or Fabian Washington was lined up opposite him.  That's a coaching decision, not player

Last, Steve Smith missed 4 games (5 weeks including the bye) after his ankle injury yet you're praising him yet blasting Jimmy for missing 4 games after an ankle injury 

Here's the difference, Mr. Purple. One Smith reported back for active duty when our season was on the line; the other Smith didn't. One demonstrated his old-school toughness; the other Smith shutdown his game due to, IDK, poor conditioning, nagging injury-proneness, concussion protocol or whatever. The point is he wasn't there. The other walking wounded including Yanda, Dumerville and Suggs played in the Pittsburgh game and nearly pulled it out without All-World Jimmy. Wouldn't that have been a story for the Jimmy lovers? Don't get me wrong, Mr. Purple, Jimmy's good but maybe he's not the impact player that you think he is.

Samari Rolle probably isn't a good analogy. Didn't he play in the same backfield with three or four other All-Pro caliber defenders?

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 7:56 AM, trevorsteadman said:

You are setting the bar quite high.... Deion Sanders is considered a top 5 defender ever to play the game. Fact is Jimmy Smith is probably a top 5 corner when healthy. He rarely gets beat and I can't recall hime ever really having a penalty against him. I get it when you say when you aren't on the field you aren't helping the team but he isn't really commanding too much money compared to other top corners in the league. And when your defense goes from 1st to 27th in the league when he isn't out there you know why. You don't get rid of a player of that caliber no matter how much they cost. Even if he only plays 12 games a season, he is the most sure thing on the field on Sundays. There is nobody out there nearly his caliber on the market. And while Jimmy has had some 'nagging' issues he has played through most. The ones he has sat out have mostly been from bad luck and from his surgery. You don't get rid of a player that caliber to make your team better. You add depth behind him just in case he is unable to go out there for whatever reason. There's a reason that most playoff teams are the teams who #1 are healthy relative to the rest of the NFL and #2 have the depth behind those players to step up.

There is some merit in what you've said unlike some of the meritless posts on the blog site. He may be a "Top 5" corner when healthy although I think there are probably more than five of his peers who would vehemently disagree with your assertion. However, isn't that like saying an employee is Heck when they're well but they're sick too darn much? I haven't proposed getting rid of him but I would make a trade for him if some young stud like Jalen Ramsey came on the market. There is such a thing as "having a nose for the ball" and I'm not sure Jimmy has a strong sense of smell. Week in and week out, game commentators like Rich Gannon and others comment on how far off the LOS the Ravens' defenders play, resulting in easy third down conversions. If Jimmy is to be Harbaugh's floor general, so to speak, he has to be the leader of the defense and, clearly, he isn't. In order to be the leader, he has to be on the field for every snap.

While you and others may disagree, interceptions are a key indicator of a defender's skill in reading plays and beating one's opponent to the POA but don't take it from me --- ask Malcom Butler. OR, ask Ed Reed who I affectionately used to refer to as The Magician 'cause he would appear out of nowhere. With all due respect to Jimmy's skill set, he isn't the "Leader of the Pack" like Richard Sherman or Talib Aquib are and he had zero as in nada pics this year even as we tied for the league lead in interceptions. By the warped logic that some members of our blog would cite, Jimmy's 0 pics would be an indication of his great coverage ability but there's a fallacy in their thinking. Since some of Jimmy's finest fans have used the "They don't the ball Jimmy's way so how can he intercept any passes" defense, it would be interesting to know how many of our league leading interceptions occurred when Jimmy was on the field, viz a viz when he was a spectator. IDK but it has aroused my intellectual curiosity.

As for your suggested solution to the problem, I would agree. I submit that our defense went from #3 to #27 for one reason ---- lack of depth at the CB position. It was the same problem our offense had when the other Smith went down with an ankle injury. There was nobody with the same skill set to replace him. Tom Brady missed the same number of games this year and NE did OK without him. Our team has to do much better with talent evaluation and "coaching the younger players up".

Incidentally, I like your comment about setting the bar too high, and, yes,I probably have. Great high jumpers & pole vaulters do it all the time!  I only wish our coaching staff would set the bar higher for Jimmy and some of our other players. We need more playmakers and "over-achievers" on this club. Without a shadow of a doubt, this team should have been capable of posting a better record than 8-8, with or without our "Top 5?" cornerback.

On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 5:56 PM, Adreme said:

Ive always said the year the Ravens beat them the Ravens would have lost if Pats had Gronk or Talib just as I think the Ravens would have won if they had either Pitta or Smith.  In the playoffs the team with the healthiest top players typically wins when you get down to the top teams.

Pure speculation on your part.

To Whom It May Concern:

Wow, this blog should be re-titled "How Great Thou Art, Jimmy!". I've watched the Ravens since 1996 but that's not the point here, is it? What's very clear here is that you and some of Jimmy's other defenders' bias is showing (no pun intended). The Ravens' CBs couldn't play press coverage effectively if their lives depended on it. That's the simple truth but many of you cannot handle the TRUTH because you are in denial (not to be confused with the river in Egypt). My biggest problem with this Smith is that he cannot stay "on the field". Whether its bad luck or bad genes, its mox nix to me. He hurts the team by being sidelined with his nagging injuries. He has missed a total of 22 out of 96 games in six years or nearly 25% of the games. That's not my opinion; that's a fact! To put that into perspective, its nearly 1 1/2 seasons of playing time that he's missed and during which time he didn't shut down anyone but himself and our defense.

Some on this blog have opined that Jimmy and John are a Top 5 CB and a Top 5 head coach, respectively. Some have added that our defense was a Top 3 defense with Jimmy (that's true). We have the No. 1 Placekicker in All-World Justin Tucker. So, why aren't we winning more consistently? Oh, I forgot, its all Joe Flacco's fault! Well, here's a news scoop for you Jimmy protagonists (aka alibi artists, defenders and advocates). Blaming the Ravens' lack of success this year on Joe or Jimmy for that matter is as laughable as blaming last night's SB loss on Mattie Ice Cream. More games are lost in the Not For Long league than games are won. What happened last night was reminiscent of the bone-headed playcalling I have watched for most of John Harbaugh's tenure here. Big egos caused the collapse of the Falcons, not Matt Ryan or Julio Jones but I digress. I wish Jimmy Smith well but I would trade him in a heartbeat for a young shutdown corner like Jalen Ramsey.

Torrey Smith or Mike Wallace?

Its Mike Wallace hands down. Torrey plays way too soft and gives up on routes. Mike had a great 1st half with 39 catches but then tailed off in the second half. He proved he was worth his salt in the first Pittsburgh game when he jumped up after a big hit late in the game. Whether he ran out of gas or whether the OC change had something to do with his reduced production in the 2nd half of the season is a valid question. I don't think we utilized him that effectively in the second Pittsburgh game. Joe went to him right out of the gate for a short pass completion but then we didn't target him much at all in a game where he should have been featured in a homecoming game against his former team. When he was utilized correctly and when Joe was given adequate protection, Wallace was a "baller" and had his best season since 2012. If the team decides it cannot afford Wallace's $5.75 million salary, we should try to upgrade our #1 WR position. Clearly, Torrey would not be an upgrade. Obviously, we will still need a FA complementary receiver to fill the void vacated by Steve Jr..  

6 hours ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

No, their NextGen stats didnt rank 8 CBs ahead of Jimmy.

They simply made a Top 10 list of #1 CBs who produced the lowest opposing QB rating when thrown at. Which is a somewhat arbitrary way of determining how good a CB is doing...

A CBs job is to prevent the WR from producing. Shutting him down. Sure help tackle ball carriers and all that jazz.... but primarily their one job is to prevent the receiver theyre covering from catching the ball, and if he does catch it to limit how many yards he gains.

 

ONCE AGAIN. Jimmy was #2 in catch % and #1 in YPC. Put those two things together and what do you get? Receivers in Jimmy's coverage caught less often and for less yardage than when in any other #1 CB's coverage.

Idc about what any other arbitrary stats say. That tells me hes in the convo for best CB period... if not best flat out. And even if we accepted the #8 ranking, so what? That means there's 7 guys better. So... you want to cut Jimmy and somehow grab 2 of the CB's ahead of him???

 

Youre losing this one. The Seahawks CBs play on one side of the field in mainly zone. Jimmy mixes up man and zone while staying on one side.... and he completely shuts his side down. Which i could very well argue is actually more important than following the #1 receiver bc shutting down one side allows you to shade your safeties to the other and double team the other receivers in a much smaller space. If youre following the #1 guy, they can motion him around to create spaces elsewhere and your safeties still ahve to defend the whole field.

Yes, SSS came back from his minor ankle injury this year. Jimmy came back too. And Doom played through a minor achilles tear.... which then forced him to get surgery in the offseason which then took almost twice as long as expected to recover from bc he played on the injury when he shouldnt have.

You're promoting it like its a good thing, but then it leads to them missing more and more time... which is what youre complaining about with Jimmy.

 

So what is it? Do you want Jimmy to play through the ankle like Doom, and then have to miss the entire next season like Doom too? Or do you want him to get it right so he can play next year?

Bc if Jimmy had played on the ankle and then required surgery which makes him miss all of 2017 you'd be calling him injury prone and worthless til he gets on the field. Yet you're praising Doom for doing it? 

 

PS - Jimmy did get a big contract already. idk where you were.

So, where did he rank in interceptions among the league's best CBs? I know how he ranked on our team. He ranked behind Tavon Young, Jerraud Powers and Will Davis. They combined for 5 pics and Jimmy had 0, while our team tied for the league lead in interceptions.  Thanks so much for your professorial explanation of what a CBs job is but you neglected to mention that shutdown corners also have a knack at intercepting passes. I'm sure your explanation for that will be its b/c the opposing QBs just don't throw in his direction that often and that is part of it. However, it also has to do with the gross amount of real estate that he yields to the opponents' #1 WRs. He usually plays way off the #1 WR so that he doesn't give up the home run sort of play but he gives up a lot of short gains on obvious passing downs that move the chains. He rarely, if ever, jumps routes b/c he's afraid of getting burned.

So, who said anything about cutting him? We have too much invested in him to get rid of him. I'd just like to see him stay healthy and play a whole season. I'd also like to see him demonstrate his "shutdown corner" technique on a more consistent basis. After all, he's a Top 5 CB according to some of you.

In his defense, I do believe he has the same problem as Joe Flacco. Because he hasn't had much of a supporting cast in the secondary since the Super Bowl run, he probably feels like he has to "carry" the defense on his back and do it all by himself. I just don't see him being out there alone on an island like Derrell Revis was in his prime. It looks like he's had to have a lot of deep help from the safeties this year. 

4 hours ago, Purple_City39 said:

For the first bold part, do you actually think a CB should stay on the field with a high ankle sprain???  Serious question.  Do you also know it's beyond a players control when they are in concussion protocol?  How was he supposed to play through those

For the second bold part, you're probably not going to believe this..........but most defenders get hurt trying to make a tackle minus ligament/muscle tears.  As crazy as it sounds, that's not exclusive to Jimmy Smith

For the 3rd bold part, are you really questioning his coverage skills in a thread that points out, flat out, that only one NFL CB allows a lower completion percentage in coverage?

EDIT:  I also thought you meant Bengals Adam Jones.  My mistake on that

2 hours ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

So, you say stats are for losers... and then your next statement is "how many passes did he defend?" 

Those are the stats that are for losers; because whether the CB knocks the ball away or covers his guy so well the QB cant throw it to him or can only throw it to a spot where the WR cant catch it either.... then what's the difference? Both got the job done - the WR couldnt make a play on either.

And "Jimmy gave up far too many short passes..." How so when he gave up the least percentage of catches, period, when his guy was thrown to? He was rarely targeted period... and when he was gave us the 2nd lowest catch percentage. Hmm, the facts tell a far different story than him "giving up too many short catches."

Also, the opposing QBs rating when throwing at Jimmy on short passes was FAR below the league average. The only place where QBs performed even average when throwing at Jimmy was in the very middle range. Short and long passes Jimmy was absolutely dominant.

Thats whats different about these "stats", theyre not really the loser kind where its just how many yards, how many deflections, how many INTs. A CB can have 0 interceptions and 0 passes defended... he mustve had a bad year then, right? What if he also didnt allow a single completion? 

2 hours ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

Again, I said yes, the injuries are a concern. BUT he was the most shut down corner in the league when on the field.

And btw, if they didnt switch Yanda to the left he wouldnt have played through it. He couldnt. He physically could not do his job as a RG -- it wasnt about toughness at all. I would guess that if Jimmy could play CB by walking on his hands to avoid having to use his ankle.... he would do it.

A guard having a shoulder injury is just not the same as a CB having an ankle injury. You cant run, cut, change direction on an ankle injury.... its not a matter of toughness, its just a physical limitation just like yanda being able to play on the right side. The difference is, there wasnt an alternative for Jimmy's ankle injury like there was with switching Yanda to the right.

SSS missed games bc of ankle injury. Must not be tough, shouldve just shown up, put up and shut up.

 

I guess Terrell Davis shouldnt make the HoF. Forget how productive he was when healthy, and how dominant he was in winning multiple Super Bowls... he could only stay healthy for 4 years; so just ignore how great he was on it.

Jimmys proven hes a great CB when on the field. WRs in his coverage do worse than in pretty much any other CBs coverage. That's been the case whenever hes been healthy. Now he just needs to avoid injury.

And btw, he has played through injury. He played through one the entire 2015 season. It's probably why it took him so long to get back to form.... and might be why it keeps getting re-injured. Toughness is great and all, which is what youre suggesting... the funny thing is it probably also contributes to him continuing to have ankle problems - which you're then also knocking him for.

Sorry, but I'll wait 'til the movie comes out. 

Suffice it to say, a rookie named Jalen Ramsey and 8 other CBs were rated better than Jimmy, according to your highly touted Next Gen Stats.com. As a footnote, the website explained that the rating was based only on the top corner from each team. So, it discounted the possibility that some other more reliable, "stay on the field" type CBs may have been left off the list. I wonder if the rating awards any points for durability? I'm not among the Jimmy critics who want him traded. I jest want him to stay on the field. Someone on the blog posted that Jimmy has missed 22 games in 6  seasons. Here's a stat for U: That's ~25% of the games during that span. That's why he hasn't gotten the big payday; that's why he doesn't go the Pro Bowl and that's why he will not ever be in the HOF like Deion Sanders is. Jimmy's a good CB when he's healthy and he is by far our best CB but that's not saying much. He always plays right CB. There are other corners who are more versatile and can play different roles as needed. That's what separates Jimmy from some of the best CBs in the league. The Patriots and the Seahawks teams are famous for the versatility of their defenders. Again, suffice it to say, Jimmy has a good reputation but anybody who has played in organized sports knows you can't play on your reputation. He should get an incentive contract next year and his 1st incentive should be --- to play in 16 games.

SSS came back after his ankle injury and played thru the pain of that after coming back from an Achilles tear. Humm! Elvis Dumerville had an Achilles tear and played thru it. BTW, R U Jimmy's agent? If so, tell him the truth, which is he is not a Top 5 CB yet! That being said, I hope 2017 is his year! I hope he proves all the Jimmy critics and doubters wrong. Quite frankly, I think a big part of Jimmy's problem is analogous to a problem Joe Flacco has but I'll leave that for another post later.

Editor's Note: Yeah, Adam Jones is a baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles. I would never quote anything from Adam 'Pacman' Jones.