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I was certain that we would be the ones getting Alabama on the board in round 1, given Ozzie's Alabama lovefest. I just thought it would be one of two other prospects, Howard or Foster, not Humphrey. I am one trying to stay positive and realize that Ozzie's drafting strengths lie in day 2 and 3. I refuse to give up on Humphrey like others are already doing. He is still young, obviously, and developing: Just talking myself into trying to stay positive. It is tough seeing Howard slip through our fingers, though.

Great decision for him, obviously. As much as he loved the game, you know this was a hard decision for him to make and also critical that he makes the right decision, which he did. Fortunately, he got the warning and heeded it. What an amazing career from undrafted to All-Pro considerations in such a short time. I hope he is on staff as soon as this next season. I hope both Zach and the Ravens can turn this loss into a gain.

What is the definition of insanity?

Frustrated by the poor draft picks lately.  I think Ozzie needs to retire.  The game is changing and Ozzie continues with the defense first approach.

 

I agree. Ozzie focuses on defense and the offense staggers. Ineffective and inconsistent offense puts the defense on the field too much. Besides, even though Ozzie focuses on defense, JH doesn't always follow up with good choices at either OC or DC positions. We are malfunctioning from the top down.

Too many "if only's" for one game and one season. We could all add our own, like, "if only" we had played better during that 4-game losing streak instead of talking so much about how we have to get better after another loss.

Our new prevent defense should amount to preventing Dean Pees from protecting a lead in the 4th quarter.

Just keep running West. He wears out defenses when given a chance. Twenty carries, at least, would be good.

Pressure on Big Ben would be a nice Christmas gift for Ravens

finally a blowout against a team over .500, too.

Tucker bailed out Smith after his PF against Burfict and then bailed out Flacco's mistake after he ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage instead of throwing the ball away. SMH - where would we be without Tucker?! A rhetorical question. I saw an article on Yahoo Sports that suggested him as a possible MVP candidate.

Ray just happened to say it publicly. Many have expressed similar sentiments here. Flacco is reserved and laid back. It is not his personality to be outspoken. However, leaders need, sometimes, to move outside their comfort zone to serve the greater purpose.

And the Bengals lost on Monday night, too. We are now a full 2 games in first place over the Steelers due tie-breaker. I reserve judgment on our offense break-out, as well, for the same reasons as many have expressed here. The main reason, though, as bioLarzen explained below, our O-Line is in shambles.

RavensAll against Cowboys!

We must not go into Dallas cocky, just confident, defensively. We just need to minimize penalties, take care of the football and manage the clock. Well, maybe that is not all we need to do, but these three things will certainly help us get a W.

For Stanley, it was a long lay-off due to injury. It was his first game back going against Harrison, who gets extra fired up playing against the Ravens. And the part of his game that was most suspect had to do directly with the very thing he is still recovering from; his footwork.

He is a smart man, a hard worker and takes responsibility. I bet he will bounce back better from his bad game than Flacco does. If you see Stanley's explanation as "excuses", then treat Flacco the same way, especially since Flacco is the veteran. Is Flacco's technique improving? Is he seeing the field better? Is he reading defensive alignments at the LOS better?

Your turn. Bring on the "explanations".

9 hours ago, sizzlingdoom said:

As much as I hate to agree. I agree. He has been TERRIBLE. We'd be 0-7 if we didn't have the best D in the league right now. Hopefully it's confidence that he lost after the injury and it will slwoly come back. A lot does look like focus and preperation though. Hopefully this big win instilled confidence in everyone today. If Joe starts playing well, we are close to unbeatable. Random side note, I really hope Young permately just took Wright's spot. Wright is playing as bad as Flacco this year

We would be 0-7 if we didn't have the best D in the league and didn't have Justin Tucker, too. Flacco cannot carry this team. It is arguable if he can even direct this team. When he doesn't change plays at the line of scrimmage when he knows that the defense has lined up in a way not conducive for running the planned play, and he still runs it anyways, it leaves you wondering what he sees and what is going on inside his head.  

The offense is still a work in progress with a QB that doesn't seem to progress much at all. Vision, decision and precision...all Flacco issues.

It just seems so odd, yet pleasing, to say that the Ravens are in 1st place. Of course, we will take this win as ugly as it may have been. One thing is for sure. With the way our defense played, we deserved to win. That certainly cannot be said in relation to the offense which continues to struggle mightily.

But a win is a win, and against the Steelers, it is especially nice to be rewarded with first place. Bring on the Browns!

13 hours ago, FloridalovesRavens said:

So will the real fans stick around if we lose or will the fake fans give up on the season. Stay tuned til 4:30 on Sunday. I'll be around win or lose. Good luck Ravens.

There are probably very few fake fans left at this point. We could end the season on a 13 game losing streak and most, if not all, of the fans posting on these boards now would still be here, belly-aching and offering our opinions on how to clear the track and start the Raven train again.

If Big Ben plays, the critical issue is our pass rush. If he doesn't play, the critical issues are our offensive line and the running game. I would love to see a successful running attack with at least equal balance between passing and running; preferably, more running plays. I think we can beat Pittsburgh with a +50% passing plays because our OL is back to full strength and the Steelers passing defense is so poor. But I think it would do a world of good for us if the running game dominated.

1 hour ago, Rav'n Maniac said:

I hope Ben plays as I don't want to hear any excuses if or when we beat them.

I agree for the most part and understand what you are saying. However. I will take a win anyway we can get it at this point.

With the OL back to full strength, no more excuses, Flacco. And let's get that red zone monkey off our back. Yeah, I know; in order to do that we have to actually get to the Pittsburgh 20 or closer...something we were unable to do against the Jets. But the OL is back, Mornhinweg has had 2 weeks to prepare the offense and game plan, Pittsburgh has one of the worst passing defenses in the league, and Pitt is next to last in the league in interceptions. AND we are home - four out of the next five. No more time to waste. Go Ravens!

Generally speaking. when the team is doing well, the QB gets more credit than he deserves. And when things are going badly for the team, he gets more blame than he deserves.

Yes, this 3-4 underachieving team deserves equal opportunity blame. But don't just mention the offense, defense and special teams. Coaching has been culpable, too. There isn't a single dimension of this team that doesn't deserve critical comment.

I can't think of a better time to collectively step up our game than against the Steelers! Go Ravens!!

14 hours ago, The Beak said:

Your making a Big Statement, when your Kicker is the MVP...ugh

Italicize, mark in bold, underline, capitalize and repeat this comment.

He gets a lot of in-game practice with this team that seems to have a red zone anxiety disorder. Without this team MVP, we would be winless right now. I don't think we should ever go for it on 4th down and forfeit the productivity of his right leg UNTIL we start showing marked improvement offensively. We simply cannot afford to sacrifice 3 points. Who could ever forget that embarrassing futility with 1st and goal at the 2 and not scoring?!

Bisciotti made his millions in the personnel business. How ironic that his NFL team suffers in this very area! Personnel analysis at draft time and free agency is becoming more of a spotlight issue as time goes on. We have a great owner that has keen insight into these issues: Personnel and money disbursement.