nextgen_RavensFan

After the last 2 weeks of play-offs i have to say that everyone was right with Flacco. I think me for one had put expectations up that were not only unrealistic but was making comparisons that were wrong from the get go. Manning, Rogers etc played awful over the last 2 weeks and showed me that Joe really is playing just as good as any other quarterback in the league. The only difference is the system which they play in and poor Joe has had to change systems way to frequently and that just shows how flexible and talented he really is. My apologies to Joe and all of you who i may have offended by making unreal and untrue statements or judgements.

I think draft picks at round 1 and 2 are very over rated. The idea of the draft is awesome but talent can and does get found in every round. I think it depends on the coaching and situation as to whether a player succeeds or not. Kapernick is a great example. All the tools in the world but was rushed by Harb's V2 and was allowed to play college level style until the league caught on and now where is he. RG3 comes to mind as well. So the draft is not over rated but the thought of rounds 1 and 2 being the cream of the crop is silly. If that was the case the Browns should be set by now huh. LOL

For me it is Marlon Brown as well. When i first saw him on the field i thought now there is our next new go to guy to move the chains. I thought he had good reaction after a catch to gain the extra yardage etc. But he never took the next step to become reliable. His routes are awful, his hands are a mess at times and he just does not seem to have what it takes to get to the next level.

I was not trying to be anti Raven. I was simplt stating that as a Ravens fan i see the Steelers and Bengals as veru big threats that will be very competitive for years to come and if we do not improve we will be stuck in the same spot we are in which is 3rd place in our division. It is kind of sad to think that the Bengals Defense used to be us "Ravens". We were aggressive, fast to the ball and if you step onto our field you will get hit. We are no longer like that. No one fears us, we are not aggressive. We need that again. I love the Ravens as much as any fan could and want to see them win every year but it seems that we have fallen so far behind. I just do not see a quick fix. We need to settle our O'line which has put Flacco in harms way to often. Our receivers are lack luster at best and that is just offense. Our defense seems so undisciplined. No on can tackle, coverage is a mess and there are no leaders. The good players we do have are just temporary fixes. SSS is year to year. Suggs is probably at the point where he could announce his retirement in a year or so. Is just a hard time for the Ravens right now.

I hope Z will be our rock on defense for years to come. The guy just never quits, the motor is full throttle all of the time. A much different mold then the rest of our defense.

I do agree that it is a little of both. It is like trying to read a crystal ball. We all know Jimmy Smith has the attributes to be a killer corner and at times he shows it but more often then not he gets burned, slips and falls or gets a penalty. So i think our players do not show consistency. I think if a player can not be consistent they should go because you cannot game plan for a "maybe Jimmy will play good this week" scenario.

I agree. I love the idea of Smith coming back it is going to hurt us. Even if we make a game plan lets say with Aiken as the focus Flacco will always fall back to his security blanket. I wanted to see the Aiken//Flacco timing to get better and to finally either cut or atleast get through this jumble of a mess we call a WR corps. This will be going into year number 2 exactly like we did lasy year, so many questions and no answers.

Looks like we have finally got some things going our way. The God's (referees) were pretty fair with us today and the ball bounced our way. Should be a fun game against the Bengal. If we Held Brown down 2 times this season then we should be able to do the same to the Bengals #1's. And even if we do not win it still has been a pretty interesting season (never dull). I think we now know Aiken can be a strong #3 WR and Mallet could possibly be our answer as the QB backup to cool Joe. Go Ravens !!

LOL, man after he got called i was so upset. I went from the game is over and we WON to WOW Upshaw just gave Big Ben another chance which usually bites you in the rear. So glad we pulled in the reigns and held them from gaining the momentum. Great game. Is always a great day when we get a victory over the Steelers.

During the season i watch and start thinking back to when we were at our best defensively and it seemed as though our defense has no structure. I do not think it is a coaching issue nor a talent issue. I think the defense really lacks a true leader. Someone on the field who is willing to call out a player when they are not "doing their job". Our corners get burned and they shrug it off like no big deal. Which it is great to have a short memory as a defensive guy as everyone will be burnt once in a while but to not be held accountable by anyone leaves you not caring at all. I remember when Cmac would screw up Ray Ray would get in his face to let him know that he is letting the entire defense down when he uses bad judgement. I think the defense needs a leader. I know Mosley is a great player but he is not a leader and with Suggs out who is the leader now ? It is not just something our team alone is suffering from, as my title stated it is a problem around the league. A lot of teams seem to have the same issue. Guys want the big money and are playing for selfish reasons and not as part of a team in effort. Is a sad time i think. I preach to my kids that no team is successful when they do not play as one. You need to rely and depend on your team mates to do their part. The lack of leadership shows in the record and in the penalties as well.

I saw a lot of good and a lot of bad. And no none were the coach's LOL Bad - Benching Allen was a bad move Bad - Those Gold pants Bad - Penalties, will not mention names but c'mon man.. LOL Bad - Clausen was all over the place, missed way to many targets Good - Aiken looks like he may be making a bid for a permanent spot as the #2 or #3 Good - Special Teams looks excellent Good - The Defense showed a lot of pressure today against a pretty good O'line Good - Never say die attitude of those young guys out there Go Ravens !!

I could care less if the Steelers go to the big game or even win it. If they do then so be it. I only care about our guys getting playing time and doing what is best for us. My only wish would be that Flacco could be the one getting the playing time with the younger guys for the timing and comfort level. Is why i never understood shortening the pre season. We need every snap we can gather for just that purpose. If we play well the rest of the season and are at 500 from here on out it would not be a bad thing. Give the young talent a taste for winning and losing as well. I do think we as Ravens fans have had it so good with being play-off contenders every year when we do hit a bad season we tend to over react. I know i have done it and knowing full well what we had with the Baltimore Colts and then i felt selfish LOL. We are the luckiest fans in the NFL.

I am not sure where other fans stand but from what i have seen from our defense and our Tight Ends and Running Backs we do have a lot of great things to look forward to next season. The defense is looking like it will be very dominant and our base offense looks like they can and will fight for every extra yard they can get. I am so very proud of the way the young guys are stepping up. Aside from Schaub we totally owned that game. Special teams has looked sharp all season and i see no reason why the rest of the season of playing time can do nothing but allow them to grow and get the timing down etc. The biggest issue i think we need to overcome is the penalties which has stopped many drives for us and extended drives for opponents.

This may sound like a "Typical" Ravens fan post but i need to say it Please let this be the end of the Clausen experiment. I know he has only been in the system 2 weeks but his natural instincts are just terrible. Here is what is bothering me. Chose to lob the ball up instead of getting rid of the ball a few times under pressure. Arm strength was not there. Here is what i liked about his play. Kept plays alive with nice movement in and out of the pocket. Took control during the no huddle. Bounced back after very bad plays. OK even while i am typing this i like more then i dislike about him. Let's see what he grows into in the coming 3 games or so. Sorry for my over reaction as i am so used to Joe Cool with that powerful gun out there. I know i may be way off on this but i just felt uneasy the entire game just waiting for the next disaster to happen under center. Would love to know what the offense thinks of him. If the other players can buy into him being the leader why can i not ?

I also had high hopes for Brown but as already stated he has not improved at all. He had actually gotten worse. Just goes to show that raw talent is not enough in the NFL. You need to study, watch film and practice.

I love this discussion although it frustrates me. I know Schaub throws a lot of interceptions but even if we had kept Tyrod he had happy feet when pressured and was known to throw interceptions as well. Even Flacco i think has more interceptions then TD's this year and is not a "complete" QB. We just need to play on Schaubs strengths. There is not a situation he has not encountered before. He still has very good mechanics and could be a asset to our team. We have a base that could work to benefit both Schaub and the club. To me become that run first team. Keep the passes short and quick. Play action would be awesome. We have Forsett for finesse and Allen for extra protection as he is a great guy to pick up pass rushers. Both Allen and Forsett have very good hands out of the back field. We have the best trio of TE's in the league to utilize. So god forbid it but if Flacco's injury lingers we could still put a winning offense together IMO.

This is why i love these forums. Varying perspectives. I was just thinking O'line because of cap reasons.. Good defensive players always seems to be a great deal more expensive and it would be more cost effective to repair the holes. In your opnion friend why is Jimmy Smith so stiff when in motion. When the recetver breaks a route i see Jimmy either just fall or have a very hard time recovering while others seem fluid. Is it his size, I keep thinking hips and feet as turning on the run is a challenge for him.

The Good: Special Teams of course. Tucker the Bruiser. Love that tackling. Allen is a huge asset. Aikens showed some promise as did Butler. Loved to see Urban on the field. Things finally bounce in our favor with the referee gods.. The Bad: Jimmy Smith had a horrible game again. Tackling was awful by the entire D. Schaub is.... well Schaub. Ravens fans complaining about a win ? Getting away from the run way to early, why why why.... Even though i would love to see us get a top 5 pick i think in the long run and scheme of things a win will help the team over all as confidence plays such a huge factor in any athletes performance. With that being said, i hope this momentum keeps going and we can play 500 ball from here on out. I do think we need to male some additions and remove some players as well but i think all in all we have a lot to look forward to. Me just being an average fan and have the knowledge of just an average fan think we need to let go of the notion of Jimmy Smith ever being a true #1 cover corner. He is frustrating as his size and speed say he should be a #1 but he just has bad footwork, plays way to soft in coverage and never plays the ball., Move Webb to FS as he just looks more comfortable there and it seems that he has lost his tackling technique. I used to love it before as i knew if he got a hand on you he would tackle you but for some reason he lost that. I also think our biggest need is along the O'line. If we can buy Joe more time we can not only control the tempo and clock but get back to running the ball as well. I think that should be a priority over the defense. To me a true #1 corner and a solid safety would go a long way on defense but we need Joe healthy and we need to be a run first team. I try to think in terms of the salary cap but it is beyond my skillset to be honest and we could vastly improve the O'line for way less coin. Most likely my entire post is way off so do not crucify my, educate me. In any case, i love to see us get a W in any shape or form it comes in.

Wow to Allen's blocking. I love his aggressiveness. Webb looks better each week, Jimmy not so much. lol I think we need to game plan to treat Schaub like he is Dilfer.

Amen !!

We go into the game yesterday with little to play for but pride. Knowing the Rams were cheap shot artists and right away we see JF fall with a broken arm. After that i saw our defense show pride and a toughness i have not seen thus far this year. I know we had a lot of penalties but we could not and should not allow a team to come into our home and man handle us and we did not. Our defense stepped up and and dealt them blow for blow and i am very proud of them. They played with tenacity, toughness and showed the league they may be young but will not be walked on and for that i am so very proud to be a Ravens fan. Thank You to each and every player on our team, Flacco included for showing the entire league we may be down but we still are a handful when you come into our house.

I agree, the players do what they want regardless of penalties or outcome it has on the game. There is no leadership nor punishment for mistakes etc. Is like they are back on the sand lot playing ball. Harbs lost this team and the team has no leadership so no accountability. Everyone is just showing up and not progressing at all. From the top down something has to change and someone needs to answer for all of this. I would love to see Steve B start tossing folks out on their rears and i bet the rest of the clowns fall in and shape up. Someone, anyone please show some pride and fire for the team.

I started like everyone else and was shocked with our season but then i look and watch and see what it does to our players and i think we needed a bad season to get our top players to get to their next level. Let's look at Flacco, folks would say he is not a leader of the team and up until has not shown that he is. This season has and will continue to make Flacco stronger for the team. True talent will always shine through but to be a leader you need to know winning and losing and until this season Joe just knew the play-offs were ahead. Well this season there will be no play offs. But he needs to find a way to keep his team ready and want to fight for a win week in and week out. I know his nickname is Joe cool but he needs to and has shown urgency and the want to score this season on numerous series. I just think we needed a season like this so we never over look another team or take anything for granted. Go Ravens !!

This team lacks discipline and shows zero sense of urgency. Hats off to the coach's for creating a group of care free players who celebrate single plays mean while they over all are a pathetic group. I would fine any player who celebrates after a play. No reason to be happy for individual success when as a team you are clueless. Harbaugh seems complacent, Pee's does not know how bad he actually is and the players... just wow to them. Folks are thinking of trying to ask SS Sr to play another year for this team, what an offer huh ? Trade him to a team in contention he deserves it.

LMAO did you see the play where Jimmy was just moving down field and the receiver had stopped 15 yards behind him. I almost cried i laughed so hard. He never ever has played the ball. Is why i never understand why folks say he will be a shut down corner when unless the play happens to be in front of him he does not even know where the balls is