RavensVAfan

When I read the reality show title "Real Tight Ends of Baltimore" I have to admit my first thought wasn't football.

I agree it will be difficult and here's another reason why - the owners have to agree to do away with them.

I went the Detroit game last weekend. Paid for parking. Bought food and drinks along Ravens Walk. Bought another jersey inside for a family member. Four quarters of food and drinks. Getting rid of preseason gets rid of two home games where money gets spent.

On the upside my son got a high five from Terrance West and a piece of used team equipment. Made his day. That's why we keep coming back.

Anybody have any knowledge or guesses about the injury for Maxx?  "Undisclosed" tells me its something they don't want opposing teams to know about - knee, ankle, ribs, etc.

He had problems tackling. That's a liability as a SS and a real liability for a special teams player. Good luck Elam.

It was a bad year for Boldin with 789 receiving yards and 4TDs. You forget to mention that led the team. He was the #1 receiver even with Torrey Smith on the team. Gabbert and Kaepernick throwing to him.

It is worth considering. Q has fight and fire in the belly. I wonder how he and SSS would blend, however.

Listening to that press conference I really hope Reynolds makes the team and becomes a solid contributor. If I were Ravens PR I'd have him in front of the camera all the time.

Yet another reason not making the playoffs suck. Here we are speculating about free agents and draft picks when the season isn't even over. We'll have months and months to speculate and rarely does any of it come to fruition.

Take this column and tell us what coaches and players are doing now. Tell us about their off season plans. Tell us what's going on at the UA performance center - who is working out, etc. Start the speculation when we're closer to the draft or start of FA.

I get bored with all the draft speculation before the draft. Please don't start now, it's just too soon.

This press conference was for the public personally, I don't think they are going to publicly point fingers at each other and start arguing. Steve Bisciotti said that they were going to have a private meeting in Florida and discuss the teams condition, I'm sure some butts are going to be chewed on then.

I genuinely believe they are not blaming each other.  This is a pretty close leadership group.  About Florida, they do that every year.  They get together and develop their off season strategy.  They prioritize contracts and work out contigency plans.  Its done with all of them.  That's what makes them great.  They succeed or fail together.

On defense go through that list. Suggs is really it. We want to blame injuries but the defense was largely intact. Sadly in a lost season overshadowed by offensive injuries Pees will escape any blame.

"my gut tells me he wouldn't be all that good"

So subtle I don't know if it was intentional or not. His gut tells me he wouldn't be all that good.

Go back to the day before training camp opened. What would you think if anyone told you who the starters would be in Week 14? Its been a tough season.

" we're just trying some guys out there to see if we can get the best guys on the field and make plays."

Don't like this quote. It sounds like the defense doesn't have a plan, they are just trying anything. No wonder they have no discipline. Pees needs a new job.

You've posted this on multiple stories so I think you are not really a fan. Are you really willing to throw away a 84-51 career record with multiple playoff wins over a bad half season? Some perspective helps...unless you are not really a fan.

Harbaugh needs to be fired ASAP. He has a circus going on here SMH.

While this is no surprise, sadly I feel like this isn't the last we hear of this knee drama.

it's not trestman I mean Steve smith, Perriman, Half the o-line have been injured or underachieved this year. Dean pees is a solid DC but he can't fix everything....Pees will probaly be fired as a scapegoat after this year (maybe) firing a coach mid-season is a good way to piss of the locker room. We're not gonna win this year so why bother? If pees isn't brought back we'll bring in a DC or promote from within. Coordinators can only do so much, it's the players and STUPID plays more than anything. (See half of every stupid pentalty) and the horrible turnovers. I don't blame flacco for the INTs cause his recievers are....Lacking and he has to force some throws.

I can't argue with injuries but every team deals with injuries. It isn't an excuse. Stupid plays ARE a valid reason. Stupid plays come from a lack of discipline and discipline is directly attributed to the coaching staff. Pees said it himself a couple weeks ago when he said they were inconsistent. This is on the DC.

Can't totally blame Pees for this one. Defense played well against a tough opponent offensively. They just killed themselves with mental mistakes, which to me is a sign that they lack leadership

It's not mental mistakes. They lack discipline on defense. That's Pees fault.

On defense they were walking off the field while the Jags lined up on offense. They didn't play to the end. No discipline. Tackling lacked too. No discipline. Pees said a couple weeks ago they lacked consistency. No discipline. This is a coaching problem.

The iBeast. Lol. That and telling frosty to ice up were good.

Don't get caught up in the "dead money coming off the books" either. It doesn't really mean anything. Its not like we gain cap space by that happening.

My point is the money that is counted against the cap for Ngata, Rice, and Jones this year won't be consuming cap space next year so there will be more room to maneuver.

The post-June 1 cut will reduce the cap hit in 2016, but he will still carry the rest forward to 2017. 

 

Pre-June 1 cut : $6.6M hit in 2016, nothing in 2017.

Post-June 1 cut: $2.2M hit in 2016, $4.4M hit in 2017.

 

The $6.6M hit is merely spread out after June 1. There's pros and cons to both options, but the financial impact over time is the exact same. It also doesn't matter if he's cut or retired... same thing applies.

 

I doubt an outright release is going to occur. I think its either he plays or retires. An injury settlement would only add to those cap hits, as it indicates the Ravens are paying him something, which they don't have to.

With a lot of dead money off the books next year they do have options and as you say there are pros and cons.  I was thinking the injury settlement would lessen the guaranteed money this year which then helps the financial commitment - we'll pay you for eight games - but I don't see any agent going for it.  Thanks for the insight.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

There really is no "financially team friendly exit". He has no guaranteed money left on his deal after this season, and if he retires or gets cut, we won't pay him a dime next season.

 

However, he still carries $6.6M in dead money that can't be wiped away, which would be picked up immediately if he retires. 

I thought I read somewhere that if he's cut post June 1, the cap impact is less severe than being cut prior to June 1 or if he retires.  I also wondered if an injury settlement can do anything to lessen the impact if he retires before this season ends.  Of course he'd have to be willing to do that instead of collecting his $4M.  I think there are ways to make a graceful exit assuming he's willing to take one for the team.

Are you saying you think Pitta will come back next year, or that he is done?  At what point, exactly, does he say, "Yes, I can play football?"  How much waiting is too much waiting?

I think that point of saying "Yes, I can play football" has to happen within the next week.  If he says yes, then the Ravens have to decide if they want him to play at the expense of dropping Morgan or someone else to carry 4 TEs.  Personally I think he's done and he and the Ravens will work out the most financially team-friendly exit.

I take this as a pretty solid signal that Pitta isn't coming back. Clearly they are not the same position but now if Pitta does come back, and they want to hold 4 TEs, someone has to go and there aren't a lot of options.