Tank 92

I'm torn. One part of me wants us to get the big, fast beast like Evans, Benjamin or even Coleman(project) who could be around in the second round. The other part wants a compact, quick, tough possession type guy that can move the chains like Beckham or Cook.

How about both? 

The bigger need seems to be in the slot.  The OP is right. We are missing that quick possession type guy that seems to be the common thread for big passing game success.  

Myth: Flacco is the 2nd worst starting QB in the NFL. Flacco has the worst stats to payroll (20.3m 2013) ratio in NFL.

 

Fact:  Flacco and Peyton Manning are tied for career post season victories. Look it up. Stats don't lie.

Just get The Flacco into the tournament............ :-)

My brother is a Redskins fan, and tells me that there is talk that the Skins may kick the tires on Pitta. That is the one team in the league we do not want to get into a bidding war with.

I don't know all of the particulars, but the cap penalty they had for the past 2 years will most likely handcuff the skins for a while. I'm guessing they had to restructure quite a few to delay hits to account for the $36 mil. penalty.

Stating the obvious, a healthy Pitta on the Ravens roster provides for one less issue to deal with.  I hope he remains a Raven.

Myth: we are capable of fun and entertaining discussion without derailing every thread to a Flacco is awesome/sucks thread

LMAO!  I was just thinking of posting something similar. It is getting out of hand and ridiculous.

Watching him fly off his feet when he ran into Yanda's butt was just embarrassing.

I'm not prepared to say he's done, the O-line was so bad this year it affected everyone. However, something was clearly not right with him this year, whether it was the injuries, or all that extra bulk throwing off his balance. Either way, he needs to figure it out and fix it. Hopefully, with better O-line play, he'll be back to form for next year.

The O line issue is definitely what killed the running game as a whole, but RR would fall down before contact in the open field!  You really can't attribute his problems to line play.  I hope he gets straight.

Myth: Ray Rice has "lost it".

Fact: no one did squat running the ball this year so we don't know if it's myth or fact.

Watching RR play this year I think it would be hard to not recognize it is a fact that he totally sucked. Last Sunday, I was beside myself watching him just fall down before contact. He played very little in the game and should have been fresh. I just don't get it. Moving forward, it doesn't mean he can't fix whatever the heck the issue is(fingers crossed!), but he was a total bust this season.

Pitta is no Jimmy Graham, but I can promise you one thing, with the lack of talent we already have on offense, he will be sorely missed and is not easily replaceable.

Pitta has the surest hands on the Team. And he's a baller.  It would be foolish not to keep him as long as he is healthy.

It's not totally unreasonable to say that if Flacco hadn't demanded such a large contract, the FO might have felt more comfortable with extending Boldin for a year or two and pushing some of his cap hit into the future.

 

Here's the simplistic reasoning that I am arguing against:

 

Person A: If Flacco hadn't demanded a huge contract we might have been able to keep Boldin.

 

Person B: Not true! Flacco's cap hit this season is only $6.8 million, it had nothing to do with us losing Boldin!

 

 

Person B is oversimplifying the situation. The FO is not only concerned with this season and next season. They have to plan according to their future obligations. With Flacco's contract, we have large future obligations that must be accounted for. It's really not that difficult to understand, I don't know why some are so unwilling to admit that Flacco's contract is a significant burden. You don't get something for nothing.

Boldin's trade had more to do with rebuilding the D than anything else. Flacco was getting his deal with or without any move with Q.

That's true, but Boldin was never in the long term plans of the team so extending him would be a bad move regardless of Flacco's contract. The point remains Flacco's contract does not become problematic until year 4 at which point it will either be restructured or he gets let go. Paying a Franchise QB 14.5M a year is perfectly reasonable, even cheap, if you look at what other QBs around the league are making. 

 

The real fact is players like Ngata and Rice are the ones with contracts that are hurting the team. 

This is fact.  When you find a franchise QB you pay him as one or he goes elsewhere. Simple supply and demand economics. When a guy has had consistent PO and Championship success you don't let him go.

No savings in doing anything with RR or Haloti.  Suggs' contract is where savings could be realized..

I guess you can make that argument, but I felt like every stop our D made was big because we were constantly playing from behind this year. Our D definitely stepped up when it counted in the postseason last year, but they were a sieve in the regular season.

I was thinking more of play at the end of games.  It just seemed that last year they stiffened up at money time and this year they usually folded when it mattered most.

But this year's D was so much better than last year. The difference was last year our offense was much better.

I think overall the D was much better this year.  But last year's D seemed to get the stops when they were needed most, this year????.  No.

Once upon a time Ray Rice was comparable. Call me an optimist but I think he still has it in him.

With a capable O line, I agree.

The Bears are playing golf because they can't stop running water on defense. Their offense is just fine.

All of these things were complaints in Chicago, and look at their offense now. Granted, we don't have Marshall/Jeffrey but that's what the draft is for (hello Mike Evans/Marquise Lee).

Matt Forte?

We haven't changed our offensive system since Joe's been here so...

These are all the complaints people had about Cutler in Chicago...then in comes Trestman and what do yoy know, their offense because WAY more efficient and creative. Alshon Jeffrey, who did little his rookie season, suddenly becomes a superstar.

It's not a coincidence.

lol!  The bears are going to play golf just like the Ravens.  And who on the Ravens would you equate to Alshon? 

We need an O line and better route running along with a healthy TE, not a QB.

I'm not sold on the idea that bringing in a new OC is the answer. Yes, the play calling was vanilla and often predictable, but that may have been due to the inexperience and lack of talent at key offensive positions.

If we do can Caldwell I think the likely candidates are Jackson and Kubiak.

Yeah, Tank 92

 

You got it. Those are definitely Capybaras!!

 

By the way, did you see Haloti's score for the Lion's game?  I thought he looked a brute and he scored out well too.  Here's to hoping we get his best the next two games! 

 

Tend to agree with you on J.Jones value too. He's turning into a force and his hands have definitely improved, especially since his Houston Days.

Haloti has been an absolute beast the past two games.  It seems the platooning is helping to keep him healthy and I hope he can continue his outstanding play. We need him.

I've been talking up Dragonfly since pre season when you could see that he was working hard to improve his skills. Unlike some duds we've tried at WR, Jacoby embraced the opportunity.  I think we'll be able to work something out and he'll be here for at least another couple of years.

First down!

Like hell it isn't, haha. They could barely do a thing against Detroit's #3 and 4 CBs. 

Yeah, it did seem odd. But I thought their whole D played pretty well despite the injuries.

Torrey kinda stunk it up at times.  Jones' 6 catches for 80 wasn't too shabby. It seemed like Pitta was out for quite a while, right? I think he only caught 1 or two and was off the field for a few possessions. Hope he's OK.

For me, the best part was, that we scored a TD, which we do rarely this season and that we were able to move the ball, which we started to do just lately. We lack in depth at the WR position. Jacoby is part of that problem for the Ravens offense. He is a great KR and if we can sign him as a ST player for ST money, than that's great for everyone involved, but he is not a viable complement to Torrey, who struggles himself to be a consistent threat in the passing game.

I don't know, he's looked pretty sharp lately. Actually he's been playing much better than Torrey IMO.

The WR position is not the source of the Ravens' offensive woes. It has been the lack of a dependable TE(great to have Pitta back), having the worst running game in the history of the NFL and fielding a sieve of an O line. Considering these factors, it's actually pretty amazing that the passing game has been as good as it has been and along with some decent defensive play, it's the reason we have been able to rescue the season.

I get the whole money thing, to a point. Should he be paid as a premier receiver? NO.  Should he be paid as an exclusive ST player, definitely not. Jacoby made clutch catches last year that allowed us to move through the [profanity deleted] and win the SB. He has improved as a WR this year and has made key catches in many wins this year. Obviously he should be paid somewhere in between the two for a 2 or 3 year deal. He's a viable, and more importantly, familiar option for Joe that can bridge the time while we develop the young guys we have or the guy we draft next year.

The best part of that play was Joe's quote "he actually caught it with his hands!"

That was kinda funny. Maybe it was the best part for you, but for Joe, the Team and fans, the best part was that it was another sign that he was continuing to improve as a receiver. 

Returning kicks is pretty cut and dry...you can't really manipulate the stats to mean something else. When players line Reed and Doss lead the league in returns it says something about the quality of ST unit. I don't think they are as talented as Jacoby, but they have been very effective. We can find someone else is all I'm saying. Jacoby is great, but he is part of a well oiled machine.

Save this pic somewhere. You'll be seeing a lot more that are similar. 

I have to be careful on this forum. There may be minors here (or grown folks that act like minors). Don't profess to know anyone you don't. I'm very aware of salary cap and I'm glad that I don't have to make those decisions, but I'm equally thankful that many speculators don't make those decisions either. I don't know if you read my statement right (which was a hypothetical not directed at you), but it clearly asked the question: "If we do workout an agreement with Jacoby and he's still contributing will fans still call for his head?"

imo - You can't keep everyone and must rebuild for the future, but take care of the one's that embrance your culture first. There's cap available and the best front office in football to make those decisions. I'm not second guessing any players career and calling myself a fan. We sometimes forget...these players are people. While there here I'm going to support and appreciate that.

Nice try, but he doesn't get it. 

Go  

Sorry, don't let the facts get in your way.

You confuse stats with facts.  Stats are a factual measure of a players worth in fantasy football. It's silly to think they alone measure a player's talents or their importance to an NFL Team.

I just keep reminding myself that last year, everyone said because both Kruger and Ellerbe had basically one season of production, they'd be easy resigns.  Instead some team shelled out WAY more than either of them were worth.  Jacoby is a better player than either could hope to be - I want him back badly, but he's a number 3 receiver/return specialist, and I know some team is going to throw starter's money at him, and that team won't be us.  It will come down to whether he values being a Raven over making more money.

This is a strong possibility, especially if Jones continues his upswing.

Nope, that's your opinion. The stats say something else. Maybe you forgot all the times Jones has muffed/juggled punts in the past? He was taken out of the PR duties last year at times because of it.

.........and apparently the opinion of the folks that cut D. Reed and that will soon cut Doss, again. That would lead me to believe that it may be factual.

Doss and Reed can and have matched what he has done on ST. That's fact. And they get paid 1/4 of what Jones does.

And anyone and everyone either cringed or turned their back every time either one of them was moving under the ball.  They are "C" football players at best no matter what their #s look like. That's fact.