Maryland

Sign me up for the Mike McCoy sweepstakes. I really liked what he was doing with SD's run game despite a lack of talent on the OL. It wasn't until later in the season that he was forced to go pass-happy after losing many starters on defense and the emerging Melvin Gordon. Injuries seemed to make him the scapegoat.

Well said. If you can't get your team fired-up to win for Steve when he's leaving his heart out there on the field, then I'm not sure if he can motivate them for anything. I mean, the season ending in Pittsburgh last week on an 80-second drive was certainly an emotional blow, but it seems like Harbaugh could have found a way to piggy-back off of SSS's retirement to get them motivated. This is what I'm thinking as well. Probably one more year for Harbaugh and Pees, Mornhinweg (and Trestman) becomes the scapegoat. Drastic change doesn't come easily, at least not with the Ravens, for better or for worse.

If you've watched the Ravens over the past few years, you probably weren't stunned by the TD drive, just disappointed.

I think the Steelers/Ravens rivalry is more love/hate, at least in my experience; I enjoy talking smack with my Steelers friends. However, the Patriots rivalry is nothing but hate. You look at Suggs, he at least gives Roethlisberger respect for being a redoubtable opponent; he doesn't even say Brady's actual name lol.

Alright, we got a loss vs Washington, an OC being fired afterwards, a little locker room discord between players and coaches... you see where I'm going with this?

The Packers have Corey Linsley though, and he was their starter the last couple seasons. Maybe they just roll with him next season? I'm not sure if Tretter is good or not. I no longer buy PFF, and I don't exactly notice guys play Center unless they're terrible or truly spectacular lol.

Regarding those folks who want us to address Center in FA, I don't really see any UFAs who would be an upgrade over Zuttah (maybe Wisinewski) and I don't see any impending cap casualties either.

I love what the Chargers are doing on offense. Granted, half of that is having a great QB in Rivers, but like you said they've got a really nice run-game, and they're producing gaudy passing stats with guys like Inman and Tyrell Williams as their top WRs. However, I don't think they clean house with their coaching staff, since clearly they've been hit by the injury bug, and their coaches have them overachieving. Here's an interesting chart on that: Agreed. I don't see Norv as an innovator. He's not someone who is going to come in and revitalize the offense. Also, doesn't he run a man-blocking scheme? I'll let The Raven help me out on that. I wouldn't be upset by this. His stint in Washington was essentially sabotaged by the owner, who undermined his authority at every turn. And if you're someone who longs for the Kubiak offense, Shanahan is the closest you can get without doing something drastic at HC and bringing in Kyle Shanahan.

Pissed him off with his recent comments is more likely

I await the day a division winner or wildcard is determined by a coin-flip lol--only have to push on 10 or 11 other tiebreakers

I wonder where the 7-9 Seahawks were generally ranked when they won the NFCW a few years ago lol. I can't blame other people for being bearish on the Ravens. The offense is really hard to watch right now, and the defense is good, but lacks a strong edge rush. I don't care if pundits rank us in the 30s, if we just win our games, that's all I care about.

At first I just figured it was just his brace. Then they showed him on the sideline hopping on one foot and my heart sank because he gives us our best chance to win of the two QBs on the roster. Then I was relieved to see him out there. He really should have stayed on the field and given us an injury timeout, however. Pretty dumb to just limp off the field and send in Mallett immediately when you could have gotten a free injury timeout.

I enjoyed this podcast by Tony Lombardi interviewing Joe Hortiz. Pretty insightful http://russellstreetreport.com/2016/11/05/podcasts/ravens-scouting-process/ I found it interesting we're 1 of only 5 teams who don't use the National and Blesto scouting services (maybe we should lol).

Honestly, that YPC is way too low--I want that closer to 16, preferably more like 20. He's supposed to be a deep threat, after all, so make it 10 catches for 200 yds.

I get that he really is injured, but it does seem like they build it up as much as possible to make Roethlisberger into some kind of larger than life superhero. Every time he comes back from injury it's built up to be like Rocky overcoming his injuries in the 12th round of the match against Apollo Creed lol. I expect him to come out there minimizing the severity of his severed knee ligaments by referencing the time he played with a fever of 104 and two broken toes.

For the first time in a long time, I'm excited to see Elam take the field.

I think it's too early to call Barnett going ahead of Williams. It depends if you want an OLB who is more balanced in stopping the run and rushing the passer, or the best DPR in the draft who could possibly develop into an every-down LB. It's almost like choosing between AJ Green and Julio Jones at the rush-LB position lol.

I liked the comparison to Ansah that I heard someone else make. His physical strength and quickness gives him the tools to become a truly phenomenal player with a little coaching. He could take the Suggs route and just be a DPR early in his career before learning to become an every-down LB. He really does have some Clowney-like quickness--he's already over the LOS before most O-Linemen are even out of their stance lol. That said, I doubt he's in our range come draft day (maybe I'm being overly optimistic on how good we are this year, but I see us going 8-8 and getting a pick in the late teens). I mean, if Leonard Floyd--an inferior prospect by comparison--can go #9 overall, I doubt Williams falls into the teens, even in a stronger draft class. Maybe we'll trade up for him, considering the need is dire, and the Alabama connection is in our favor. Plus I kind of like the fact his snaps were limited prior to this season--means he wasn't overworked like most Bama players.

Or they get overdrafted despite having stiff hips and sub-par speed like Stanley Jean-Baptiste lol

In watching Ryan hook up with Julio on timed routes so reliably, it reinforces in my mind just how important it is for the QB and WRs to build chemistry. That's what you lose when Perriman doesn't have the preseason to practice with Joe. Hopefully more time together will get Perriman going.

I'd be thankful if Correa ever "blows up" to have a decent year, mainly because I'm doubting it at this point. Elam is kind of in that boat right now--if he blows up to have a decent end of this season, I'd be pretty thankful, even if it makes him harder to re-sign. It would mean he's not a bust and might actually have a future on this team, which would solve a big hole on our roster going forward.

In the same way that you wouldn't match a short corner with a tall receiver, you generally don't match a tall corner with a small, quick WR. You need all kinds of corners to cover all kinds of receivers. Everyone has their niche. Thankfully we've got Jimmy to match-up with big WRs, so it's really not a huge concern. And besides, if a corner plays with good technique, has good recovery time, and can fight for the ball, size doesn't become an end-all factor. Brent Grimes had wins and losses covering Calvin Johnson because he's athletic enough to recover quickly and time his deflections (or in this case, interception).

Didn't Waller have a big completion at Pittsburgh to put us in FG range last year? I remember Camp and Steve both going out that game and him being targeted deep middle of the field... Anyway, wouldn't be disappointed to see Waller testing their secondary with some seam routes, especially off of play-action.

That's surprising, at least when I think back to preseason when he was outperforming Powers and Wright. I know nothing about Chris Lewis-Harris, but I'm guessing this move is more indicative of a dislike of Davis than a liking of Lewis-Harris, considering he seemed to be the last corner in the game vs Giants

Looking at sacks alone is not really useful for understanding how well the OL performs. You should also look at what the OL does in the run-game, as this sets up play-action; time to throw; and total pressures (hurries, hits, sacks). QBs can avoid sacks by throwing the ball away, which may conceal how poorly the OL is pass-protecting if you're only looking at sacks. Conversely, having a QB who takes a lot of unnecessary sacks can amplify this number.