RavensBaltimore

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Everything posted by RavensBaltimore

  1. I think Kamar Aiken is going to get more snaps and targets, and I think Perriman will be a starter at some point, maybe even week 1. If Pitta plays, and/or Maxx Williams can make an impact this year, we will probably run more 2 TE sets, and the RBs will probably get more targets. Barring injury, I'm still seeing Marlon as a rotational guy.
  2. 4 of the last 5 SB winners were not in the top 10 in rushing yds. The only one that was had the best D of this generation to fall back on. The 2011 Giants won the SB with a run game that ranked dead last. That proves that the run game is not the most important part of the game. Flacco's career high in yds was last year when our offense set franchise records. And the pass game absolutely does help the run game, which is why Ozzie Newsome told Justin Forsett that things just got easier for him when Perriman was drafted. When you beat teams down the field, they cannot stack the box against the run, which helps the run game. In our 2012 SB run, we ran the ball better in spread, 3wr, single back sets than we did in power running formations. We have come out throwing in the last couple postseasons, and we have averaged far more yds and points than in the regular season.
  3. The Ravens will run the ball in 2015, but they will not rely on it, and we will not have a "ground and pound" offense. Our offense was run heavy for more than a decade, and during that time, they were never better than mediocre. Never. Not once. Last year, we were pass heavy, about 55%-45%, and we set franchise records. As we see in the playoffs, our offense is too dangerous and explosive to anchor it down with a "stick to the run, even when it's not working" philosophy. We become more pass oriented, and much better, in the postseason. With the playmakers we drafted and the OC we hired, it's only going to perpetuate that reality. Times change, and the game evolves, and we are moving forward, not backward.
  4. Wrong. Tom Brady completed 3 of 16 passes that traveled over 30 yds in the air last year, and only 25% of the passes that traveled over 20 yds. The previous year, when the Pats got eliminated in the AFC championship game, Brady had a receiver on two different plays that got wide open, all by himself, behind the defense, and Brady badly missed both times. Saying Brady doesn't miss on deep throws as much is a complete joke. Brady is one of the worst deep ball throwers in the league, and Flacco is one of the best. Also, Brady has had no chemistry with his receivers at the beginning of each of the last 2 seasons. They haven't been hitting their stride until several weeks into the season, so if playing catch in April has helped, it certainly hasn't shown once the games that count start. You don't seem to understand the fact that every qb misses on most of his deep attempts, and a receiver having to slow down a half step doesn't necessarily mean it was a bad throw. There isn't a qb on the planet that can place the ball perfectly on most of his bombs downfield, without the receiver having to even make a slight adjustment. The fact that you would have to reach that far for a criticism shows that there isn't any valid argument to be made that not getting together on a high school field somewhere has held the offense back. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/2330/tom-brady
  5. Anyone who doesn't vote for the playoff win against the Steelers for "best game" should immediately be fired.
  6. No it isn't. It's not like that at all. Ray Lewis was a complete player that didn't have any weaknesses. He could fill the gaps in the run game, run down backs on the outside, and before he got old, he was great in pass coverage as well. Brady does have a significant weakness, which is why when our secondary wasn't thoroughly depleted, we always dominated him in the postseason. He had 3 TDs and 7 ints against us in the playoffs before last year. When you take away those easy completions, he is completely worthless, which is why he crumbled in the playoffs for the past decade before he beat a bunch of backups last year. With Ray, you couldn't just take away one thing, because he was good at everything. You don't have to apologize to me. I'm not a fan of the guy. I'm just looking at the facts. In the Patriots' first SB run, Brady threw 1 TD pass throughout the entire postseason. I don't think you can say it was all Brady.
  7. So if someone gets injured, it means they are declining? Are you aware that younger players get hurt too? The fact that Yanda was rated as the best offensive lineman in the league last year says he's not slowing down. He may have had the best season of his career last year, which is the opposite of declining.
  8. The Patriots went 11-5 with Matt Cassel. The next year, with Brady, they went.....11-5. Brady is far more overrated than Belichick. Brady "won" 3 SBs with game manager stats. He's never been able to make tough throws consistently, but he's almost always put in situations where he can get quick, easy completions and cover up his weaknesses. That's a sign of great coaching. Until last year, when he got to take advantage of a bunch of injury depleted defenses, Brady never did much in the postseason. It was the defense shutting down Warner's Rams and Manning's Colts(with help from cheating) that were the main factors in their SBs.
  9. You must have excellent reading comprehension, because that's exactly what I was implying!
  10. There are other talented teams that are coached well, but not one of them has won as many playoff games as Joe since he's been in the league. We had a lot of talent before drafting Joe, but we definitely weren't "doing something other than just appearing in the playoffs", except for missing the playoffs altogether. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed played 6 years together before Flacco was drafted: 0 playoff wins and only 2 playoff appearances. Other qbs have actually had a lot more talent on offense than the Ravens, yet none of them have come close to doing what Joe has done in the postseason, based on wins or stats. If Joe stopped playing at a level high enough to get to the SB, then you could point the finger at him, but so far that has not been the case at all. He has given us a better chance to win the SB on a yearly basis than any other qb in the league, and he has played well enough to be in 4 SBs. You can't point the finger at him when our depleted secondary gives up two 14 point leads, Lee Evans fails to secure a perfectly thrown TD pass, or Boldin and Houshmenzadeh drop key passes. And who are these other teams that are doing more than the Ravens in the playoffs?
  11. They did consider qbs who won in the playoffs elite until Joe Flacco started winning in the playoffs.
  12. If everything else was the same, I would definitely change the Lee Evans drop, but had he caught that pass, we probably would have been coming off a SB win going into 2012, and Cam Cameron probably wouldn't have been fired the next year. It's extremely unlikely that we would have won SB XVII if Cam was still the OC, and it was great destroying the Patriots after such a heartbreaking loss. If I could change one thing, it wouldn't be a play. I would change the fact that we didn't fire Cam after the 2009 season like we should have. That way, we would probably have multiple SBs in this era, and guys like Heap, Mason, and Double J could have a ring.
  13. 1. I already acknowledged Camp had a small sample size, but still, in his 9 targets, he had about half as many yds as Brown. He also went up and caught a TD in traffic, despite being hit, something that Marlon was not able to do. And the fact that Aiken had better production in less playing time disproves the "Steve Smith took away all my targets" excuse. 2. You could be right about that, and I think it's actually a combination of the two. Either way, if Aiken is getting open more than Brown, and/or Joe trusts him more, Aiken should clearly be ahead of him. 3. The question was about last season, and the play you're referring to was 2 seasons ago. You couldn't even come up with one example. Even in the play against Minnesota, he didn't beat a smaller defender, like I asked. He found a soft spot in the zone in the back of the end zone. I figured you would reference that play though, because it's the only memorable one he's ever made. You can go through all of his catches last year, and you won't find him winning a single "50/50" jump ball, because it didn't happen. I'm not sure if he's ever done that in his career. If we're going by careers as a Raven, then Jacoby Jones would still be on the team. It's about who has the talent to help the team in the future. If Camp, Butler, and 2 rookies provide a skill set to help the team more than Marlon, then they are better options than Marlon. Last year, you could have said, "there's no way a practice squad castoff was a better option than Marlon." But he was. And you have no idea if Harbaugh is expecting a big year from Brown. He was answering a question, and he would say that about anyone if asked. Of course he isn't going to say, "we're expecting him to be a rotational guy at best."
  14. How is it not objective? 1.Snap count is an accurate way to look at it, but if you want targets, according to footballoutsiders.com, Brown and Aiken had 31 and 32 targets, respectively, and again, Aiken had much better production across the board. Campanaro had a small sample size, but he had about twice as many yds/target as Brown, and Camp caught a higher % of his targets. Those are objective facts. 2. Smith was one of the leaders in catches and yds early on, and he clearly dropped off. Also, the fact that Aiken had more than 100 fewer offensive snaps than Marlon, but the same amount of targets, shows who Joe trusts more. 3. Maybe the defender did make a good play, but when a 6'5 receiver is consistently getting bested by smaller defenders, it shows he doesn't know how to take advantage of his size. If it was just mini camp, I wouldn't be concerned, but can you think of a play at all last season where he boxed out someone smaller and won a jump ball? I can't. Even with most of his TDs in 2013, he found soft spots in zones. I've rarely seen him take advantage of his size against man coverage.
  15. I already read it, and my last post was a direct response to it. Explain how a postseason interception is "emblematic" of a guy who has been historically great at NOT throwing postseason INTs. It seems it would be the opposite to me. Show me a coach or analyst who studies film that says Joe is a bad decision maker, besides the injury depleted 2013 year.
  16. Show me a qb who doesn't make bad decisions when he has no time to throw and nobody to throw to. That's how the entire 2013 season was, and in the game you were referring to, we were down to 2 WRs, so we couldn't even run a spread offense in our 2 minute drill. Watch tape of Brady early last season, before Gronk got healthy, and you will see all kinds of bad decisions. Joe had no chance in 2013, but in his other 6 years, he's never thrown more than 12 ints, and he has 24 tds and 4 ints in the postseason in the last 5 years. All qb's have growing pains when they come into the league, and all qb's can be forced into bad decisions from time to time, and Joe is no different. However, overall, especially in big moments, decision making is a strength for Joe Flacco, not a weakness.
  17. Do you think we should worry about Suggs at this point? I think any objective outlet would agree that it's a little too early to start worrying about a 13 year veteran in June, and putting a positive spin on it, saying he is saving himself for the season, were actually Suggs' words. The writers were just telling us what he said. Also, keep in mind that the writers on this site are employed by the Ravens, so they aren't going to start bashing the decisions that the organization makes, and they don't offer negative opinions very often, but it seems that they give us the facts pretty straight up, which is all that really matters to me. If someone throws a pick six or drops a pass, they tell us about it. However, they aren't going to say, "Ozzie made a mistake by signing him." or "Harbs shouldn't be playing him". I don't really care about those types of opinions from writers any way. I'm more interested in the facts, and I can form my own opinions. Lastly, when your organization has won more games than just about anybody over the last 7 years, there's a lot more positive to write about than negative.
  18. Except the fact that Aiken played far fewer offensive snaps than Marlon last year, and Aiken had more yds, catches and TDs. Campanaro was on pace for more than twice as many yds as Marlon if they woudl have had the same amount of snaps. The fact that a 35 year-old, who clearly slowed down at the end of the year, took so many snaps away from a 24 year old says a lot. Plus a PS castoff even passed him on the depth chart by the end of the year. Marlon was our least productive receiver last year besides Jacoby. We lost Torrey, but got Perriman, and Waller seems to have much more upside than Marlon. Waller is as big and faster, and Marlon clearly doesn't know how to take advantage of his size against smaller corners. There was just a report yesterday that said Marlon was given several red-zone opportunities against smaller corners and couldn't come up with the ball, which goes along with what I had already been saying about him. Plus, Jeremy Butler has stood out a camp so far, and apparently looked great last year before getting injured as well. You can't keep them all. I have no idea who stays and who gets cut, but I think I gave you several OBJECTIVE reasons why Marlon could potentially get cut.
  19. I've never read any scouting reports saying Perriman has bad hands. They say he had focus drops, but they also say he makes difficult, contested catches and has a big catch radius. He dropped a few in the first half of one practice, then bounced right back like it never happened. Despite the fact that he had been catching everything besides that one half of a practice, they wrote an entire article about his drops. That seems plenty negative to me. They have also told us Schaub has been struggling, Suggs came back overweight, and Trey Walker was struggling to stay with Perriman in drills.
  20. It looks like some fans here jumped the gun on assuming that the Carter was just as good as Campanaro without the injuries. Camp's injury concerns are legit, but the "just as good" part was a baseless assumption. Camp was able to get open in NFL games, and he made contested catches when he wasn't open. Apparently Carter is having trouble getting open in mini camp, where the corners aren't even allowed to get physical at the line.
  21. Marlon Brown- "several times was given an opportunity in the end zone against a smaller cornerback and couldn't come up with the ball." That's what I've been telling everyone since last year. Everyone talks about him being 6'5, but he plays much smaller. He doesn't know how to box out and win jump balls against smaller players. With all the talent we have fighting for a spot, I really don't see what Marlon brings to the table that can't be replaced. We have other big receivers that are faster. Aiken is a better possession receiver. Campanaro is great in the slot, and if he can't stay healthy, Butler has apparently stood out so far. I think Marlon is a solid rotational player, and any other year he would definitely deserve a roster spot and some snaps on offense, but with how deep we are at WR this year, I'm not sure he should be a lock to make the roster this year.
  22. A bad decision in the postseason is emblematic of something Flacco DOESN'T do, seeing as how he's been so great at not turning it over in the playoffs, despite that 1 play. When people argue against him being in the top 10, they bring up fantasy stats every time, not his decision making. Like I said before, coaches and analysts who watch film NEVER say Joe is undisciplined or a bad decision maker, and most of his critics don't even say that. They simply criticize him for not putting up big numbers, like the Browns writer in this article did.
  23. Williams and Davis will most likely not start right away, but I am very confident that Perriman will be starting at some point in the season, if not week 1. The reasoning they gave for him not starting was pretty terrible. They listed a bunch of undrafted players he's competing with, none of whom had more than 300 yds in the NFL last year. Yeah, some of those guys have looked good in mini camp, but so has Perriman, and none of the other players are going to be drawing double coverage and providing the speed and playmaking ability Perriman does. Perriman won't have the starting job handed to him, but based on his ability and what I hear about his attitude, he is the clear cut favorite to be starting alongside Steve Smith.
  24. This is pretty much my point, but I was recapping the last 5 years. 5 years far outweighs one play. Remember the 2011 AFC Championship game? NE was up 3, late in the 4th qtr, and Brady "took a deep shot" to seal the win, and Jimmy Smith picked it to keep our season alive. Is Brady an undisciplined qb? You can blame Joe all you want, but it makes no sense to define him by 1 play. Otherwise, everyone would be a reckless, undisciplined qb, because you can cherry pick bad decisions from everyone. There is a huge difference between calling it a reckless play and calling Joe an undisciplined qb. The former is debatable; the latter is just ridiculous. Let's say that Flacco made the worst, dumbest throw in NFL history. Are you honestly saying that 1 play negates all the great things he's done and takes him out of the top 10? No, because that's not what happened. Smith never scored in that game, and the play that you're referring to was the 3rd qtr int, not the final one. Winning is what perennial winners do, and Flacco has won more games since he's been in the league than anyone, including Brady and Manning. He also has more playoff records than both of them combined, and he's done it with much less talent to throw to. Joe doesn't have all the accomplishments they do, but they don't have all the accomplishments Joe has, either. All of them are perennial winners. Sami was just making the same point that I was making. 1 play doesn't exclude anyone from the "perennial winner" list. Otherwise, that list would be blank. Flacco has an uncanny ability to be aggressive without turning it over. It didn't work out once, but is has been a major factor in the Ravens' success. Nothing works out every time, no matter what you do.
  25. When people argue that Flacco shouldn't be in the top 10, they act like the playoffs don't matter at all. They also act like the qb is the only player on offense, and the system and his receiving corps doesn't matter. Flacco's stats are usually somewhere between 8-15 in the regular season, and they are clearly #1(he's on a level all by himself) in the postseason. If you average that out, that put's him somewhere between 4-8, and when you consider the fact that he has done it without ever playing with an elite WR/TE, he's up there with anyone. I don't see how Brady and Manning are on another level when Manning has been awful in the postseason, and Brady has been mediocre in the postseason for the last decade, except when he got to play against a bunch of injury depleted defenses last year. Another thing that people ignore is physical ability, leadership, and poise in big moments. Flacco has the ability to take over and beat anyone, anywhere, even with a mediocre receiving corps. Many qbs that are ranked ahead of Flacco can't do that, nor can they make all the throws he makes on a consistent basis.