megalomarc

I am outside of Baltimore, I live in Quebec city. I became a fan due to Ray Lewis and especially Ed Reed. Without Smith Sr, I fear I might find it hard to watch.

So we need change, the problem is not with the HC. I agree. And after that, you say that the problem is we failed in previous drafts. So, should we fire Ozzie ? He brought some great veteran talent with Dumervil, Weddle and Smith Sr. But he also got rid of valuable veteran talent with Ed Reed, Bernard Pollard, Osemele, Haloti Ngata, Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Courtnez Upshaw. Since 2012, this team has been almost completely dismantled and I find it harder to identify myself with it. Each of these moves have been reported as no brainers, but I have real doubts bout it. I have faith in a combination of veterans and young talent at each position. The defensive line would still benefit from the presence of Ngata, especially when the game is on the line. In one year (2013), we lost our 2 veterans safeties, letting this position unstable, putting too much hope and pressure on rookie Matt Elam without having a veteran from the house to mentor him. The offensive line has been a concern since winning the Superbowl, and the front office didn't make a serious offer to keep Osemele, even after Flacco's injury. Maybe Flacco could offer some of his money for a better OL. Giving virtual reality stuff or other gifts they don't need is not what is going to have him have a better OL. We are also rather week at center position since the departure of Matt Birk. It seemed to me that Torrey Smith was never the same without Anquan Boldin on the other side. Both of them seemed to increase each other's value. So it still seems like a huge mistake to let Boldin go. Since then, the receiver position has been unstable. Relying too much on Smith Sr to do all the work is not a winning situation. The corner position hasn't been seriously adressed since we drafted Jimmy Smith, often injured, I thought we could have got a good one in 2016's draft. As surprisingly good as Tavon Young is, he is not a franchise cornerback. He cannot match with Gronkowsky for example. The outside linebacker position is now a concern. So basically, what we have now that is a strenght is middle linebacker, quarterback, running back, left tackle, guard, defensive line, kicker, fullback. We have a lot of needs, and I don't like saying it, but I believe the GM has a great part of responsibility.

Even if we lose to Pittsburg, I see us having a good chance of making the playoffs by finishing 1-1. - Dolphins play the Patriots and the Bills, and I believe the Bills have a good chance of beating them. - Broncos hve 2 difficult matchups: Chiefs and Raiders. They may easily lose one of these. - Then someone has to win the AFC South division. If it's Houston, they can be 2-0 no problem. And then the Titans has to finish 1-1 (they are playing the Texans and the Jaguars). If it's the Titans on top, they can be 2-0 no problem, but then the Texans has to finish 1-1 (playing the Titans and the Bengals). As we see these two teams are playing against each other. So without a doubt, one will go down. So basically our hopes of the backyard way for us to get into the show is by hoping the Bills beat the Dolphins. The rest has a high chance to happen. And of course, we must beat the Bengals at the end.

I mean, we lost four of our last five games.

I remember in 2012 we lost our four last games, and ended up winning the superbowl. We were torched against a great team, the Denver Broncos, that we saw again in the playoffs. A guy like Anquan Boldin said he was happy to see them again. Well, maybe for now we are not completely ready yet. But there is an other three games before the show starts. There is still room to improve. Jimmy Smith could come back when january comes. the offensive line and the running game has room to improve. There is still hope, folks. If this is the last year of Steve Smith Senior, the football gods could be cheering for us.

Apparently, believing some analysts, the Ravens are not contenders, but are pretenders. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000752469/article/contender-or-pretender-borderline-teams-in-nfl-playoff-race The Steelers and the Colts, on the other side, are said to be contenders. A good way to motivate the troops !

Lewis is one great motivator. I think he chose the right words to do that in 2012, to light the fire in Flacco's game. He might have seen that it's the time to say something to bring him back to that similar state. This is time for the Ravens and Flacco to have a statement game, to shock everyone else. This could be a turning point of the season, where the Ravens can realise they are serious contenders. And this realisation has to start with the play of the quarterback. It seems to me that Flacco didn't play to the same standarts that he is used to. He is used to be considered as a tough quarterback, but since his knee injury, it seems to have changed a little. The sense of self sacrifice for the team seems less. (in my humble opinion). So maybe Ray saw that too, and thought : "I will piss him off so that he elevates his game in a crucial statement game".

If this season ends like last one, I believe John Harbaugh will be on the hot seat. His decision to hire Trestman was his, even though he didn't fit with the Ravens philosophy. This season, his (Harbaugh) coaching seemed dubious at times and costed us at least the game against Oakland. The decision to not make a strong push to keep Osemele was also dubious. The ofensive line has always been crucial to the Ravens's success, the tradition starting with Jonathan Ogden. It is a pity to see it like it is now. It's no Marc Trestman's fault, it's more Harbaugh and Ozzie's responsibility. I would have loved to see what Trestman would have done with the same kind of offense we had in 2012. We obviously are nowhere near that. Since the last Superbowl, this organisations got rid of dozens of character player, starting with Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard, who made the identity of the organisation. Now our defense is a shadow of what it was. The offense too is a shadow of what it was. The special teams are special sometimes, and ordinary on other times. We have the right kicker. But I always thought that kickers are not real football players, so that's not what will make the whole team competitive. So yes, I believe Harbaugh is on the hot seat if it continues like that.

True. And what about the stupid penaltie(S) of Wallace in the end-zone after the last 2 point conversion.

Great article. Very nice to see the spirit of this Raven's team. So far they have an identity indeed. Urban is such a good giant for us.

I tried to write "[profanity deleted]ached" and they use censor for profanity. LOL they, "who reached" semi-finals...

Bills : have a 1-2 record against opponents that has a combined record of 5-4 (Close one vs baltimore and jets) 7-13 vs baltimore 3-0 31-37 vs jets 1-2 33-18 vs Arizona (WIN) 1-2 Jaguars have a 0-3 record against opponents that has a combined record of 6-3 (close game against Baltimore and green bay) 23-27 vs green bay 2-1 14-38 vs san diego 1-2 17-19 vs Baltimore 3-0 Browns is 0-3 against opponents that have a combined record of 7-2 (and almost won vs dolphins) 10-29 vs eagles 3-0 20-25 vs Baltimore3-0 24-24 vs dolphins 1-2 If we deny the value of Baltimore based on numbers, we must evaluate the other numbers. It happens that the only big loss by the Browns happened vs the Eagles who are a hot team right now. The Bills gave a beating to the Arizona Cardinals who reached the semi-finals last year and lost vs the Panthers. The Jaguars had two close games versus Baltimore and Green Bay. They lost big vs the Chargers. How people evaluate if a team is good or not just three weeks into the season is a bit pointless. But the combined numbers and the way they lost tend to show that these 3 teams are not as bad as their records show.

A third rounder for Jalen Ramsey, means we would not have Ronnie Stanley and Kaufusi Bronson. That would have been a sound move. It almost happened. But we can't be unhappy with Stanley.

if they get Alexander, we have a great corner.

Predicting the CB Mackenzie Alexander. If not there : Noah Spence.