Purple_City39

Really? The 2011 Ravens, imo at least, were a better team than the 2011 Giants. I know for some, not saying you, the logic might be "well they beat the team that beat us so they were better", but match-ups are a big thing in the NFL. For whatever reason, the Patriots struggle with The Giants. I can't see Eli and company even having the same little success they did against New England against Baltimore's defense that year. If I'm not mistaken, 2011 was the season the Ravens offense played 8-9 games against top 10 defenses, so they were battle tested (although failed a few, like Jacksonville) against better defenses than the Giants #25 ranked scoring defense

I agree with this but execution is vital as well. Suggs and Doom in 2014 played so well even the fans thought Rashaan Melvin was a good CB up until Brady exposed him. Jimmy Smith played so well we all thought the rest of the secondary was playing well until he got injured. To be honest, after re-reading this, these examples can either be excuses for Pees (he's done well when he had talent) or excuses against him (he needs top end superstars to mask his bad schemes). I personally lead with the former as no DC is looking good without key personnel. Rex was a living legend at DC in Baltimore up until 07 when McAlister and Pryce got hurt with Adalius Thomas in New England. Even with Rolle, R.Lewis, Scott, Ngata, Suggs, and Reed (that lineup is ridiculous) all playing most of the season the defense was trash because the top two pass rushers from the previous year were gone (Thomas) or injured (Pryce), and the top CB was hobbled in games or just plain out (McAlister).

And on the other side of that, is a pick a bust if unexpected injury derails or ruins their career? I've seen many posts about "Ozzie drafted a bust" all throughout 2015 because Perriman got hurt and in the past because of injuries that couldn't be predicted (see Kindle). Arthur Brown is an example of a bad draft pick. Kindle is more of an unfortunate one imo

The most interesting thing about this, and something I've never thought about previously, is that Rice is the only 2nd round pick we've resigned. Sadly, that worked against the team since he only played one year under the new contract and it was a very bad year for him on the field

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

Here's the thing, we haven't had the same receivers coach the whole time. These issues started a loooong time ago and Bobby Engram just got here in 2014. I can't figure out why our receivers never try to help their QB out minus a few who were probably taught this before they got here (Mason and SSS). The Packers flat out teach receivers to keep moving when their down their route if covered. We see the Steelers receivers do it all the time as Ben made a career of "backyard football". Our guys run their route......and then watch Joe to see what he does next while the corner stands next to them

Steve Smith got injured in the first half of the season. Missed 4 games to let his injury heal. Jimmy Smith got injured with only 4 games to go. Do you really think any player is playing on an injured ankle to just impress fans? If Jimmy, and the coaches, were stupid enough to let him play, you'd have likely seen a performance worse than any you've ever seen of a CB because no CB can "tough it out" on a high ankle sprain. And 3 to 4 all pro's in the backfield is a stretch. Reed, McAlister......that's it. And McAlister missed 18 combined games in 07 and 08 and Samari still stayed on the defensive right side. Even as Fabian Washington lined up at the LCB against number ones in 08. I think in 07 our LCB position featured studs like Corey Ivy, Derrick Martin, and David Pittman. And no matter who it was, Samari stayed at RCB. Let your best lock down one side, and roll coverage to the other.

2011 Divisional round against Houston. They manhandled our o-line. Joe didn't light the world up, but I don't recall any turnovers and he had a solid 2 TDs. The Patriots game after featured a ton of pressure also as Wilfork abused Grubbs, Birk, and Yanda all first half. Can't say if either were or weren't at 60% though. I just remember thinking "wow, Joe is getting massacred out there"

Sure, yes. How long was the Ravens offense off the field? I'm going to disagree. If your OC is calling up plays that have the QB throwing in 2 seconds, and WRs are getting open almost immediately, pressure won't bother QBs that much. Again, Ryan isn't scrambling or buying time. He's performing quick passes. If Ryan hikes the ball, is looking right the whole two seconds and throws, never seeing the defender on the left who would have sacked him at 3-4 seconds, did the pressure bother him?

So we're giving Ryan and excuse because his defense scored a pick 6, thus giving New England another possession while down an additional TD? That's no unexpected in game situations. The power going out for 35 minutes after haf time is an unexpected situation Where is that pressure stat? I'm curious. And yes, I think if Joe has that run game, and those WRs (name the last time Ravens WRs got open as often as the Falcons WRs did or made multiple catches like Julio) then yes, I think he'd have played very well under pressure as well. Pressure sucks when your guys can't get open quickly. Pressure matters less when they can. It's not like Ryan was juking and stiff arming defenders. He simply threw the ball to the open WR.

Yeah, but that's why I added "that offense". The Ravens had momentum drained thanks to a long power outage as well. But in terms of the teams: Atlanta's run game averaged 5.7ypc last night vs the Ravens' 2.6ypc. Matt got more help without a doubt on this end. Boldin was great for that superbowl run, but he was no Julio Jones in terms of ability (and didn't draw consistent double teams). The rest of Atlanta's WRs greatly outplayed the rest of Baltimore's in their respective superbowls as well. I just can't see Joe being the Falcons QB last night and not winning the game. Joe's best games are when the running game is thriving

As an Atlanta resident, let me tell you that these fans are pissed off or depressed right now. Sports radio still calls it the best Falcons season ever (which is sad if you think about it. Best season ever features the worst superbowl collapse in history). Someone's actually talking about it right now in the hall way and you can hear the sadness in his voice

If you're comparing the run games of the two teams since the 08 draft, it's worth noting that Atlanta had a better rushing attack in 4 of those seasons (2008, 2010, 2015, and 2016). Now, whereas that does give Flacco the lead with 5 years of having a better rush attack, one of those 5 years was 2013 where we all know that rush offense was pure trash. We beat out Atlanta in yards per game, but they had the better ypc (3.1 vs 3.9) and more rushing TDs (7 vs 11) so I'd really call that a wash as both rushing offenses were....offensive. So they both sit at 4 out of 9 seasons with a run attack worth mentioning that was better than the other's. In terms of any debates between the two, it really comes down to one thing to me. I feel both would have still made the playoffs a bunch of times if they had swapped teams, but I still think Joe would have played better in the playoffs (I'd assume nobody thinks he'd do worse, performance wise, with all the Falcons talent over the years). And I just can't see Joe losing yesterday with that offense. I can't see Joe being unable to lead that offense to more than 1 score in the entire second half, not while having a WR make circus catches and another that was breaking ankles on the field as if this was the NBA.

So I'm not the only one that was happy he could stop reading that long post after the first sentence. I remember Asante Samuel getting, I think, 10 INTs in a season he gave up 12+ TDs. Any time I see someone judge a CB purely on INTs, I know the convo is pointless

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

Between the two.......I'd prefer getting Marshall and letting Perriman take the #2 spot and then praying either Camp stays healthy or Moore learned how to catch. Okay, reasonably I'd take Torrey between the two. At least Joe seemed confident throwing deep to Torrey since they had their "omg, there's no safety coverage, let's bomb it" connection

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

That's since 2010 though. We're Mike Wallace's 4th team since that same point in time. The locker room cancer thing I can't really argue. Seems like he's been a problem everywhere. Who knows, maybe it's just a serious "competitive spirit". I mean, Steve Smith Sr did punch his teammate in the eye. I don't think I've heard of Marshall getting into actual fights with teammates. His Denver issues were over the top though

If this happens I'd be one happy fan. Nothing against Boldin, but I remember wanting Marshall that same year since they were both trade options (although not for the two 2nd round picks Miami gave up). He had a very down year last year and 3 season ago, but with his size and skill set, he should be able to play another 3 years, at least, at a high level in the right system and he can definitely be that "complimentary receiver" the front office talks about. Pair Marshall with Wallace and Perriman and aggressively go after a top CB in the first round of the draft.

I do find it interesting that a lot of the time, people compare Joe to Rodgers/Brady, as if those two aren't all time greats and future first ballot HoF players. Sure, we can want Joe to match that, but if you're honest and can truly dissect football, you'll know he's not on their level and never will be. Then again, most comparisons are pretty bad. Sure Matt Ryan has all those great stats yearly, but he's also had better offensive talent yearly. Ryan's had worse defenses so he sees less regular season wins also. Difference between the two is who steps up when it really matters. Ryan just started playing well in January in his two most recent playoff appearances with superior talent

I don't get this line of thinking. The 2012 defense was average at best all year. The 49ers are tied for the NFL record for most points scored in a superbowl loss. Did Ray not inspire the players that played next to him? And will we also ignore that players have come out and said Ray's words don't do much for them? I know Flacco himself has said it and he was the MVP of that superbowl run easily. Defenders have said it also, like McAlister years ago for example. Harbaugh's team won that superbowl regardless. Only 5 members were part of Billick's regime (Yanda, Suggs, Ray, Ed, and Koch). And we're apparently going to ignore the injured teams since Ray's departure that were a game short of being in the playoffs (2013), barely lost the divisional round to the eventual champs (2014), and heavily injured (2015). Let's also act like the Ravens never missed the playoffs 3 of 4 years when Ray was rah rah'ing it up all game long and in his prime (2002-2005).

I'm starting to think those that say the team should get rid of Jimmy because of injuries are people that think it's easy to find a corner of his caliber when it really isn't (see corners between Rolle's departure after 08 and Webb's high level of play in 2011). 12 games of a healthy Jimmy Smith & 4 games of his backup >>>> 16 games of any other CB on this team

I'm pretty sure Yanda was considered a top 10 guard in 2012. And as previously mentioned, Matt Birk and Ray Rice were top 10 at their positions also. I get your point though that this team doesn't need a bunch of superstars to win a superbowl. Even this season, just a few minor changes would have made Baltimore a playoff team with the roster they had (running the ball more and at the right times and Jimmy staying healthy. Literally just these two changes would have added at least 2 wins)

It's really a shame that Jimmy is considered injury prone. A broken foot, two ankle sprains, a concussion, and a sports hernia are more bad luck than "injury prone" to me since those aren't all that preventable. Maybe he could heavily tape his ankles more, idk. Hopefully he can play and start another 16 games this year like he did in 2013 and 2015.

My mistake. Definitely misread