PsychoRaven52

THIS! SO MUCH THIS! The whole "running back by committee" approach has never really worked, less the Falcons situation with 2 premiere backs. Every back needs consecutive/consistent carries to get hot and make these explosive plays. The more touches they get, the more comfortable they get with the ebb and flow of the game. Sure depth is necessary and rest/subs are needed. But we need 1 starting RB, and I think Dixon could be it next season. West would be a great back up/sub/short yardage back, while Dixon has 3 down RB potential. Pair that with an improved O-Line and dedication to run the ball 30-40 times a game (better play calling/scheme), and improvements to the pass rush and secondary, and we'd be playoff bound. Oh, and please do not let Aiken hit the FA. If he was actually used as a starter this season, rather than an occasional piece, we'd have been a lot more productive. I love SSS as much as the next fan, but Aiken's season 2 years ago, when he was the primary WR, sold me on his ability. Offset him with the speed we now have and he's the next Q... Just sayin'... I agree about Dixon. Need to make him our work horse, he is amazing. He needs to work on his blitz pick ups though, which is a big deal but can be worked on. However, AIKEN?!?!? The guy is awful. He is a terrible special teamer. Terrible. And I'm all but sure anyone that watched every this year would completely agree with that. And he is without a doubt a below average wr at best. he does not have one trait that stands out and his hands aren't reliable. I can't even count how many times/ways Aiken cost us the Washington game. You mention his stats from 2 years ago. He had no choice but to put up numbers, our entire team was injured and we had to throw the ball to someone, esp considering we were almost always down. Plus he put 59 yards a game??? Just curious how that sold you. Not to mention he had 127 targets. Clearly we disagree. But if we rely on Aiken to catch any passes next year, our offense will be much worse than it was this year 944 yards as the only target available means was able to be a workhorse WR. He's no all star player, but he's a reliable, solid, physical WR. I watched every game this year, he hardly played. He was only targeted 3 times against WAS, so I wouldn't put that loss on him. If you put Aikens 2015 season up against the 3 seasons SSS played for us, Aiken is equal to or better that SSS, and SSS was the primary target for the first 7 games of Aikens 2015 campaign. Aiken 2015 (14 GS)= 944yds / 127 targets / 75 catches / 59% catch% SSS 2014 (16 GS)= 1065yds / 137 targets / 79 catches / 59% catch% SSS 2015 (7 GS)= 670yds / 73 targets / 46 catches / 63% catch% SSS 2016 (14 GS)= 799yds / 101 targets / 70 catches / 69% catch% I dunno, being the ONLY target and still producing like SSS when SSS played opposite other weapons? Albeit mediocre deep threats, and Pitta, it's still a lot more for a Defense to account for than Aiken had in 2015. I'm not saying Aiken's the second coming of Jerry Rice, I'm saying he's a solid, affordable possession WR that very closely resembles Boldin. He needs an opportunity to play to get the numbers though. Is he a terrible special teams player? Maybe... but he's a WR by trade. I never suggested he should be playing special teams and I don;t think that has any bearing on his WR ability.

THIS! SO MUCH THIS! The whole "running back by committee" approach has never really worked, less the Falcons situation with 2 premiere backs. Every back needs consecutive/consistent carries to get hot and make these explosive plays. The more touches they get, the more comfortable they get with the ebb and flow of the game. Sure depth is necessary and rest/subs are needed. But we need 1 starting RB, and I think Dixon could be it next season. West would be a great back up/sub/short yardage back, while Dixon has 3 down RB potential. Pair that with an improved O-Line and dedication to run the ball 30-40 times a game (better play calling/scheme), and improvements to the pass rush and secondary, and we'd be playoff bound. Oh, and please do not let Aiken hit the FA. If he was actually used as a starter this season, rather than an occasional piece, we'd have been a lot more productive. I love SSS as much as the next fan, but Aiken's season 2 years ago, when he was the primary WR, sold me on his ability. Offset him with the speed we now have and he's the next Q... Just sayin'...

Also - repeat offenders should be receiving fines a percentage of their yearly salary...increasing by 10% for every offense. 25K to a guy who made $3M last year (and stands to make another $8M over the next 2 years) is equivalent to the average joe taking his family out to dinner... Make it mean something, and he might just clean it up....

"pretty insulting article to CJ Mosley dont you think?" - No not really. Mosley is a great player, he's had 2 stellar seasons, probably top ten at his position for BOTH years he's been in the league. However, he's not a "nasty" player. He doesn't have that same bone crushing impact the great #52 brought to the table. That's specifically what this article is talking about. Mosley is solid - I wouldn't trade him for a Burfict, no way. But he doesn't "deliver big hits from sideline to sideline, intimidating opponents, and dominating games" anything like either Burfict does (or Ray did). Burfict brings the same intensity as Ray did.... Rayjust did it with class and respect. He never went out there to intentionally injure. He played his game clean (mostly) and earned the respect of his opponents. Burfict has earned zero respect... he's earned fear for a players safety going across the middle.

I'm not knocking Brandon Williams, he's no Ngata, but he is a beast. However, the gif in this article of him getting through the line is a designed screen play... which is why they LET him through the line. Notice the Steeler linemen peeling off to pick up blocks down field... The tag line "I swear there's a play like this every week" is an honest one, because screen plays are common place in the NFL every team has at least one... Football basics man, our writers need more of them...

@ellicottraven: As per ProFootballFocus.com, during the 2014 season, 87.88% of all FG's kicked between 30-39 yards were successful. This includes the pre-season, regular season, and post-season. I don't have any percentages on 2 pt. conversion success to compare that FG success % statistic against... but 87.88% is significantly lower than 99.5%.

Just when you think it can't get any better the Wizard pulls off some magic like this! All I can say is it's a damn fine day to be a Ravens fan. It always amazes me how this F.O. pulls together such strong off-seasons year in and year out. Every year I cringe (just like y'all do) when we watch our rookie crop from 4 years earlier leave for bigger paydays elsewhere. Those guys who get over payed and under produce for other teams... Every year I think to myself, "Dang Oz, you got your work cut out filling those holes." And every year there's a little part of me that worries that this year his magic might just wear out... And every year, right around this time I smile and wonder why that little part of me was ever worried to begin with. It's official, we have solid depth at every position. And it feels damn good.

As player who ended his career in High School. As fatherless young man owes everything to his coaches growing up... who knows where I'd have ended up or if I'd still even be here if it wasn't for football... As man who has spent years giving back to youth football, as a coach, for what it's done for me. Every single word of this post rings true to the core of my existence. Just when I thought Harbaugh couldn't get any more amazing in my books, he writes this. Love this guy. This team. This game.