RavensBaltimore

  7 hours ago, RavensBaltimore said:

  11 hours ago, bioLarzen said:

Winning another Super Bowl??? How about making the playoffs again first? Last season, with no notable holes in any position, and as few impact injuries as seldom in the history of the NFL, the Bengals flopping and the Browns - well, being the Browns... and with a not really a killer schedule we still managed to miss the playoffs...

"As few impact injuries as seldom in the history of the NFL"? I'm not quite sure what that statement means, but during the 4 game losing streak, we had something like 5 pro bowlers out plus our starting left tackle. When the offense finally got healthy and started playing better, the one guy we can't afford to lose on defense gets hurt.

And it's not like we've been so far off from the playoffs recently. We were a few inches from being in 1st last year with a game left, and I think the last game would have gone differently if it meant something. In 2013, we were in a playoff spot before Flacco hurt his knee, and missed it by one game. 2015, when we had half the starters on ir, is the only time in the last 9 years we weren't competitive. We have the 2nd most playoff wins since then. I really don't think the Ravens are a team that needs to show that they can make the playoffs before being considered SB contenders. They've already shown they can make the playoffs and win there.

The Ravens were nowhere near a playoff spot when Flacco got hurt in 2015. The game he got injured was against the Rams. Tuckers game winner put the Ravens at 3-7.

You misread my post. I said we were in a playoff spot when Flacco hurt his knee in 2013, and we were.

Winning another Super Bowl??? How about making the playoffs again first? Last season, with no notable holes in any position, and as few impact injuries as seldom in the history of the NFL, the Bengals flopping and the Browns - well, being the Browns... and with a not really a killer schedule we still managed to miss the playoffs...

"As few impact injuries as seldom in the history of the NFL"? I'm not quite sure what that statement means, but during the 4 game losing streak, we had something like 5 pro bowlers out plus our starting left tackle. When the offense finally got healthy and started playing better, the one guy we can't afford to lose on defense gets hurt.

And it's not like we've been so far off from the playoffs recently. We were a few inches from being in 1st last year with a game left, and I think the last game would have gone differently if it meant something. In 2013, we were in a playoff spot before Flacco hurt his knee, and missed it by one game. 2015, when we had half the starters on ir, is the only time in the last 9 years we weren't competitive. We have the 2nd most playoff wins since then. I really don't think the Ravens are a team that needs to show that they can make the playoffs before being considered SB contenders. They've already shown they can make the playoffs and win there.

From a physician vantage point, Joe's knee was still causing issues before the bye last year. When he came back after the home Pittsburgh game there was clearly a difference.

With the exception of the Cincinnati game at the end of the year, he put up enough points for us to win at Dallas, at New England and at Pittsburgh.

As an aside if Joe does go on to win another Super Bowl, he will pass both Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach and be tied for 6th all time in playoff wins. That assumes a first round bye.

If he has to win a divisional round game on the way there, he will also pass Brett Favre and be tied for 3rd all time in playoff wins (behind Brady and Montana)

I think the fact that he looked so much better after the bye had a lot more to do with the o-line being healthy than it did with his knee. The offense was pretty good when the line was healthy last year.

  4 hours ago, Moderator 3 said:

  4 hours ago, bioLarzen said:

Hmmm... looking at the adopted rule changes...

"Make actions to conserve time illegal after the two-minute warning warning of either half"

Does that include spiking the ball? The only goal of spiking the ball is literally to conserve time...

Or stepping out of bounds?

OK, this latter was a joke. But the first one is interesting.

I'm very curious about this, too.  I've seen no clarification on exactly what this is about.

This basically is changing the "10 second run-off" when the offense commits a foul (illegal sub, false start, etc). This foul could only be called when under 1 minute of play. Now it changes to under 2 minutes of play.

Nothing changes except for when the officials can enforce the penalty.

Where did you hear that?

Obviously it helps to simply be "better", but for the defense, there's no reason that a unit that plays so well throughout the game should keep crumbling in clutch situations. In the last 2 years, the Ravens lead the league in games lost when the offense had a 4th qtr, go ahead drive. I think the main problem there is the soft, scared coverage they play late in games. They're so afraid of giving up the big play, they just let the qb play pitch and catch down the field. Dean Pees acknowledged that the DBs were playing too far off on that last drive in pitts, so why not do something about it? The secondary staying healthy would go a long way as well. The offense just needs more playmakers. Rodney Harrison was right last year. It's not good when your best playmaker by far is a 37 year old coming off an Achilles tear.

It's bad enough some fans think we were one play away from the playoffs but now BR.com writers seem to have forgotten that we still had to play and beat the Bengals in CIN. Something we haven't done in once in the last 7 games including games at M&T. I guess that's why Mink doesn't write very often. Haha

Even at M&T? The Ravens won the very last game they played against the Bengals at M&T.

  On Friday, March 24, 2017 at 11:36 AM, RavensBaltimore said:

  On Friday, March 24, 2017 at 11:17 AM, Bat-mite said:

Flacco is not a guy like Brady who elevates the play of the people around him. Flacco needs a strong OL and talented WRs. If we can get them, he will put the ball in their hands, and we will win games. If we go into the season with an OL of similar quality to last year, then Flacco will spend all his time backing up and throwing off his back foot. I can't believe the FO is unaware of that fact; however, we have not seen any indication of what the OL or receiving corps are going to look like,

People say this all the time, and the facts continue to prove that it isn't remotely close to being true. If Flacco doesn't elevate the play of those around him, then how does Torrey Smith go from averaging over 800 yds and 7 tds to being virtually worthless in SF? Steve Smith was better at 35 and 36 with Joe than he was in his last couple years with CAR. Did he age backwards or did playing with Joe help him out? Mike Wallace's career was taking a nose dive until last year. Ed Dickson even had much better receiving numbers with Joe than he's had in CAR. We've never seen one receiver fail to be productive with Flacco and then light it up somewhere else. Never. Not even close. Meanwhile, whenever Brady gets hurt, his backup comes in and plays very well and wins games, but Brady gets credit for making others better and Flacco does not.

Sorry. Everything is situational. I disagree with just about all of this. Comparing Torrey being on the worst team in the league this year, vs getting his multiple deep shots every game with Joe doesn't make sense. Steve Smith was better at 35 and 36 with Joe??? You can't be serious! Steve Smith is a triple crown winner! A HOFamer. And those 2 massive accomplishments had nothing to do with playing with Joe. Once Again, like Torrey, Mike is a one trick pony. And like Torrey, he was stuck on 2 teams without a QB, and definitely without a QB that can throw the deep ball. Wallace lit it up with Ben cuz he could throw it deep. Stats never tell the whole story. And Ed Dickson?Really, Ed Dickson? I'll leave that one alone. And are you really comparing Joe to Brady, with any sentence or comparison at all. As much as I hate Brady, that's just dumb. And that's not true about Brady's backups. They still win a lot cuz BB is ridiculous, and far and away the best coach. And their D is always underrated for some reason. Brisset is a 3rd round pick, came in and played the Bills at home. The patriots did not score a single point. Yet Brady put up 38 points and 4tds, in 3 quarters, in Buffalo. Flacco has not received much help when it comes to providing him with a legit #1, but he also doesn't elevate those around him much, if at all. He can throw a deep ball, and I would love to see us get back to that. But the coaching has a lot to do with that. I think the line will turn out well too. Between the coaches and Flacco's play last year, I just really hope I can forget about it to be honest. It was embarrassing. New season coming up though. I would imagine Joe's knee is feeling better. But if his heart isn't in it, it won't matter. I'm not bashing Joe, but he should not be compared to Brady. Last year was his worst year imo and it's in the past. We need to get the man a John Ross, or Corey Davis. Ju Ju would be GREAT too!

Not one of your excuses holds water. 62 of Wallace's 72 catches last year were for FEWER than 20 yds, as were the majority of Torrey's catches in Baltimore, so saying the drastic difference in production is only because of the deep ball is simply false. And if Wallace didn't play with a qb in Minn, then how was a rookie, late round WR able to out play him with the same qb? SSS may be a HOFer, but how many HOFers get better after 35? There was a major improvement from his final season in CAR to his first season here, and he was on pace to do even better in his second season with Joe. Again, did he age backwards? I'm not saying Joe made him a great player, but it makes no sense to say he had nothing to do with that at all. Smith even Raved about Flacco's leadership style without being asked about it. They clearly had a chemistry that wasn't there with Cam, and Joe put the ball where it needed to be. As far as Dickson goes, you left that alone because the facts prove you are wrong. He had much better numbers with Joe than with Cam. There is a consistent pattern with pass catchers playing better with Flacco than without him, which proves he DOES make players better.

You said Brady's backups win because of BB. Who do you think coaches the team when Brady plays? You cherry picked a bad game by their 3rd string, rookie qb who was playing injured, but Jimmy G, without Gronk, had a better qb rating than Brady this year.He had 3tds and 234 yds before halftime when he got hurt. I realize that's a small sample size, but they had a top 5 offense without Brady all year when he tore his acl.

IMHO, if nothing else, the sheer fact that dome teams will get an unfair advantage with the extra point for kickoffs through the uprigths, renders this proposal hopeless. Dome teams play at least 8 games with no wind hindering their kicker's accuracy, while non-dome teams play a handful at most.

I don't see how that gives them an unfair advantage. If a team is playing in a dome, then their opponent is also playing in a dome.

3 minutes ago, Bat-mite said:

Flacco is not a guy like Brady who elevates the play of the people around him. Flacco needs a strong OL and talented WRs. If we can get them, he will put the ball in their hands, and we will win games. If we go into the season with an OL of similar quality to last year, then Flacco will spend all his time backing up and throwing off his back foot. I can't believe the FO is unaware of that fact; however, we have not seen any indication of what the OL or receiving corps are going to look like,

People say this all the time, and the facts continue to prove that it isn't remotely close to being true. If Flacco doesn't elevate the play of those around him, then how does Torrey Smith go from averaging over 800 yds and 7 tds to being virtually worthless in SF? Steve Smith was better at 35 and 36 with Joe than he was in his last couple years with CAR. Did he age backwards or did playing with Joe help him out? Mike Wallace's career was taking a nose dive until last year. Ed Dickson even had much better receiving numbers with Joe than he's had in CAR. We've never seen one receiver fail to be productive with Flacco and then light it up somewhere else. Never. Not even close. Meanwhile, whenever Brady gets hurt, his backup comes in and plays very well and wins games, but Brady gets credit for making others better and Flacco does not.

1 hour ago, Frank G said:

I appreciate the optimism, Kevin. But this has been the same optimism every year we haven't made the playoffs as well. Everyone always says "The Ravens have a had a sneaky good offseason", yet we fall short.

The Patriots have visibly good off seasons, and they remind us every season why they are better than us. They beat us on, and off the field. They outcoach us, proof of that can be found in every trick play they've ran against us (Edelman pass, blocked FG stunt).

Lastly, we didn't fall by short by inches because Antonio brown reached over the line, we could tell all season the Ravens were not championship ready.

Yes, we did fall short by inches, and no, we couldn't tell the Ravens were not championship ready. I bet you could "tell the Ravens weren't championship ready" after their 3rd consecutive loss in Dec of 2012, just like many of the other fans could. The fact is that we've made the playoffs or been extremely close in 8 of the last 9 years. The only time we weren't a playoff contender was when every one of our starting skill players went to IR. There's no reason not to be optimistic.

I don't understand Pitta's restructure. Guy comes off a major injury where he sat out most of two seasons and collected injured pay, then comes back and has the best year of his career and leads all TEs in receptions, and gets asked to take less money?

I am happy about it in that it frees up cap room so we can get some talent at WR and OL, but I really don't get it.

I don't think he had the best year of his career. He had the most catches because he caught so many meaningless dumpoff passes, and as someone mentioned, he wasn't getting many yac or picking up enough 1st downs. He only had 2 tds, and they were in the same game. It was inspiring just to see him back on the field and contributing, but there's no need to pay someone that much if he's not an explosive playmaker or a consistent chain mover.

56 minutes ago, fusuymada said:

It's funny we mention John Simon because right now we are crying about needing pass rushers and here is a pure pass rusher and we jettisoned him. Not only is judging a draft too early a problem, but judging the individual players of that draft too early ended up as a problem for the Ravens. The ability of our coaches to judge talent comes in to question and where I think we are improving in that area, I wonder if it isn't an result of Harbaugh learning the head coaching job on the fly, on the job training as you will, and his skills are improving. I would think as a special team coordinator, as he was in his previous life, doesn't lend to a lot of analysis for players skills as far as individual positions, as he would be looking from the lens of special teams. I wonder if he wasn't a little green in that area when he took the job but slowly but surely is improving.

Now in his defense, not only do we turn over players and get so many comp picks in return, but we turn over coaches, who get better jobs in other organizations, quite frequently as well. Then you bring in someone who isn't quite as good as the last guy or he would have had the job to start with. By the time the Ravens magic works on him, he gets a better job offer. Talent evaluation and expressing that to the head coach and GM goes to deciding who plays and who stays and if that evaluation is flawed, then the decisions going up the ladder are flawed.

John Simon is the exception, not the rule. Most of the players we let go don't develop or don't live up to their contracts. Our coaching staff has a pretty good track record when it comes to evaluating our own talent.

  36 minutes ago, sami said:

We were a foot away from winning the AFC north after playing a team on a 5 game winning streak, in their place, with the top RB and top WR and one of the top QBs in the league. And you guys want to fire everyone and start over. I think you'd be happier in Cleveland, they start over every two years.

So 1 trip to the playoffs in 4 years is something to be happy about? It's not about how close we were in that game, it's about how far apart we've been from the playoffs since winning the SB

We haven't been far from the playoffs. Except for last year, when most of our key players were injured, we haven't missed the playoffs by more than one game, and most of the games we lost have been very close.

They should show how far our CBs were playing off the receivers on the final drive.

It's a shame because when our O-line is healthy, this team is 8-3. When Jimmy Smith is healthy, our defense is #1 in the league. The offense is averaging about 30/game in the last 4, and if we could have held on in Pitts, we could have had a home playoff game against the Dolphins and possibly gotten Jimmy back for a playoff run. With a #1 defense and the offense playing the way it is, we could have had a shot to go back to the super bowl. Maybe next year, we'll finally have better luck with injuries, but our pass defense needs some upgrades so they're not so dependant on one guy.

  1 hour ago, sizzlingdoom said:

  1 hour ago, whobilly said:

  6 hours ago, huntrgathrr said:

Steelers....big deal, we should beat these bums by 3 TDs. We should dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.....as we have every game for the last 3 years. Pees needs to dial up something special for Big Ben and make him eat dirt every time he drops back. just like the playoff game in 2014.Their offensive line should have no chance against the Ravens front seven which is arguably the best in the NFL.
But the offense has a golden opportunity to shine. With Tuitt and Heyward out they have no D line at all....practice squad players that wouldn't even maje the Ravens 53 man roster. Harrison and Timmons are old and slow...no match for Pitta. Smith, Wallace, Dixon, West or Waller. Joe should have a field day.
No penalties, no turnovers and Tucker......we spank these guys for the 5th time in a row.

Sounds as if you described us being a 12-2 team at this point. We are a VERY MEDIOCRE team right now.

Not today. NFL is week by week. Real fans know this. And we could easily be 12-2 with a couple different bounces. Go root for the Steelers would ya. Sick of our fans pessimism

I choose to root for the Ravens. Missed about 10 games in Baltimore over the last 20 years driving 250 miles roundtrip. Usually go one or two road games a year and attended both Super Bowls. When we are good I say we are. When we are bad I say the same. When we are middle of the pack, which we are so far I simply tell the truth.

The truth is that the Ravens had a bunch of key players returning from injuries and we were playing without 5 pro bowlers and our starting LT for most of our 4 game losing streak. Since the bye, this team is 5-2, with both losses coming to the #1 seeds. We were a middle of the pack team in the first half of the season. We are much better than that now.

Not sure why Mink bothered to cloud the picture by mentioning Texans or Titans. They don't matter. They play each other in week 17 and the loser of that game will be out via tie-breakers at 9-7. MIA and DEN are all that matter ...  

I think it is even a stretch to worry about these other games that ensure that NE has something to play for in week 17. When was the last time NE had nothing to play for and didn't bother to try to win? NE wins in week 17 at home vs. MIA whether the rest of the world perceives that they have nothing to play for or not. I wouldn't expect a wholesale resting of starters if they have the #1 seed locked up. That's just not how the evil genius rolls. 

Your first paragraph is correct. If we went 9-7, it is literally impossible for one of the AFC South teams to get the wildcard, so the Titans and Texans games don't affect our chances in any way whatsoever.

As far as the pats not resting their starters, just recently, I think it was last year, they rested their starters in week 17 and lost to the Dolphins, so they would probably do that again if they had the top spot locked up.

FLACCOS 4000 yard season means nothing when you look at his td/interception ratio,plus his horrible turnover ratio.

In the second half of the season(since week 9), Flacco has 13 TDs and 6 ints, and he's completing nearly 70% of his passes. His bad stats came from the first half, when all the skill players were coming back from injury and the line was decimated by injuries, giving him absolutely no pass protection.

He's right about Jimmy Smith... need him healthy for this one.

I don't think we're going to have him for this one. We did blow out the Steelers in the playoffs a couple years ago without Jimmy Smith. When he isnt on the field, our defense usually plays off the receivers to guard against big plays, which doesn't hurt us as much against Pittsburgh as other teams. Ben doesn't stick to the short, quick passing game. He likes to hold onto the ball and make plays down field, which allows us to play off of their receivers and gives our pass rush time to get there. Our pass rush will be key in this one.

  5 hours ago, budkretz said:

  6 hours ago, omar586 said:

the key to pit game is our secondary, if they contain all those WRs/TE, we can win, if not, get ready for the draft. we have to win out basically, if we lose 1 game we're out b/c dolphins/kc will pick the WCs

We all know if we win both games we're in. Ravens just do it, so we don't have to play the what if game. However, the what if game is: If we go 1-1 and it doesn't matter who we lose to and end 9-7 we can get the #6 wild card If: Miami must lose both games (they are at Buf and then home against Pats) they win one game they have the #6 spot by record. Tenn and Den must lose at least one of their last two games to have the Ravens tie or better them and we have the tiebreaker on both. At best the Colts and Buf can tie and we have tiebreaker over Indy and beat Buf head-to-head. The first wild card slot #5 will go to either Oak or KC whoever doesn't win their division.

Merry Christmas to all and on Christmas night around 7:30 we hope to be cheering a Ravens victory to cap a great day of family celebration.

In my eyes, if we do not win the division we might might as well just not the playoffs anyway because l don't see them going to the Super Bowl as a wild card team and have to go on the road the rest of the way. They need to set up like they did in 2012 Super Bowl run; win the division and start off with a playoff home game in the wild card round then go on the road in the last two to get to the big dance.

In 2012, we had to beat the top two seeds, the Broncos and Patriots, on the road. I really dont think the location of the first game made a difference.

  7 hours ago, fusuymada said:

The Steelers aren't exactly blowing people out and had to stage a comeback just to beat the Bengals. If you have watched the games, Ben has been horribly inaccurate here recently and if we can stop LeVeon Bell, we will go a long way to defeating the Steelers.

Let's hope Marty can keep his common sense hat on through the whole game and if not lets hope after 9 years, Flacco can soon check out of a bad play. I have always noticed Flacco changing from a run to a pass, but rarely do you see it otherwise.

We need our QB to go to football college in the offseason and lets do some work on that extremely low football IQ he has. Little less diaper duty and more passing to your receivers and watching tape. It is the off-season but for 120 million we expect work in the off-season.

And the Ravens had to stage a comeback just to beat the Browns.  C'mon now! 

The Ravens are clearly not the same team that they were in the beginning of the season. If we're comparing common games, the Steelers got dominated by the Dolphins, and we beat the Dolphins by 32. Since the bye, the Ravens are 5-2 with both losses coming on the road against the teams tied for the best record in the NFL, by 10 and 7 points. Both teams have looked great and terrible at times this year, but Sunday is its own game.

  5 hours ago, The Greek said:

wonder what harbs does if camp fumbles one away

Nothing. That's his golden boy. 

Is that why he cut him earlier in the season?

Idk if anyone saw, but Nick Boyle #86 was making the silent plays that really showed why he is worth keeping. Great in blocking, there was one play where Kennith Dickson got stood up after a run. Nick Boyle came from behind him and basically wrapped up Dixon and pushed him forward for more yardage. The technique he used in that split second was so smart and showed his determination and refusal to back down. By him wrapping up Dixon he prevented other tacklers from hitting Dixon directly. If Doyle can stay off the drugs, or at least keep from getting caught, he will be good.

It will be refreshing to see Gillmore back in the action catching passes as well.

Im not sure if all 4 TEs are going to be active when they're all healthy.

  3 hours ago, nj_ravens said:

  4 hours ago, robbie29 said:

  4 hours ago, OriolesMagicPlease said:

  5 hours ago, respecttheRaven said:

My heart went out to Joe last game when....how many balls were dropped that were right into their hands??!! I saw at least 4!!!! C'mon man........You can't put it ALL on his back. The offense has to work like a well oiled machine, their just low on oil. How many games this year has the O-line been whole,.... healthy? 3,4 games? I understand that some people need to blame "someone" but it all can't be on him. That's all you see around here anymore. Oh, and most of those balls that were dropped were for pretty good yardage.......and the penalties!!!! How many plays were brought back??!! I am not saying anyone is perfect....just saying it is a team effort...all the way around!!!!    

The hate really amazes me. Joe has messed up plenty and most certainly deserves criticism. He does need to do better, no doubt about that. The money he is paid is thrown around constantly, but it is often forgotten that is what quarterbacks cost. They make more than the other positions on the field. I believe a lot of the vicious hate is rooted in jealousy of his wealth and success.

"it is often forgotten that is what quarterbacks cost"

No- $120 million is what TOP TIER Quarterbacks cost. Joe is currently bottom tier (lower than 25th), and has been 3 of the 4 years since his postseason run. That is where a lot of the frustration comes from.

How is he lower than 25th if he's 5th in passing yards this year? are you talking QBR or something? What is he 25th at?

And wrong, $18mil+/year is now starter money, not just top tier money. Joe makes a little more because, in case you forgot, he won us a Superbowl. Sure you want him to be better, but he got his market value. Tyrod is making $18mil a year for crying out loud.

18mil is NOW starter money, your right...back when he signed the contract though it was top tier, he should've been paid significantly lower, I like Joe...but Anquan Boldin and Pitta got him that contract cuz he was flailing the ball up like he always does, Boldin n Pitta were just coming down with amazing catches

I guess the other QBs who played with Boldin didn't get the memo that you can just "flail the ball up" and have the greatest postseason of all time and win a SB.

The Ravens will find a way to squander it away and lose at least 2 of the last 3 games and blow the playoff chances again. Harbaugh is going to be canned after the Bengals game. Mark it down in sharpie. If Ozzie was smart, he would find a way to get rid of Flacco in the offseason and get a competent QB in here to play some actual football. 85% of his passes and under 5 yards. That is a clueless quarterback who cannot read of bait a defense into any successful play.

Yes, let's get rid of the head coach/qb that have more playoff wins than anyone in the league since they've been here.