RRRRRavens

A lot of our losses last year were by less than a touchdown. You don't mock a team that you beat by that small amount. You just get on the bus and go to your next game and be thankful that somehow you made one less mistake than your opponent.

I'd be more worried about voodoo. I can just see Slay sprinkling some chicken blood over a jersey SSS has worn and uttering some chant from the Caribbean. The next thing we know SSS has both his legs fall off.

I usually like to give pees the benefit of the doubt but this does drive me crazy. Its literally every single game. And no matter how long of a third down our defense is up against I never feel comfortable. Could be 3rd and 23 and somehow we always manage to give up a deep pass over the middle or commit P.I and just hand it to them. Frustrating as hell. Try not to get too upset over all this pre-season stuff. We're still tied with all the rest of the 31 teams for first place at 0-0 for the season.

I hate to say it but l agree with you. It's gonna be an average season. Maybe we will get like a 9-7 or 10-6 to squeeze a playoffs at most. Until John realizes to get rid of Dean Pees the defense won't get any better. If we had like the 2011 Ravens defense or even 2008 this team could be a 13-3 easily due to the easy schedule we have this year. The schedule is easy, but the Ravens will make it difficult than it already is due to lack of play on defense. You guys could be right about our poor chances of success this season, especially considering some of our disappointing play on defense so fat. But there's the other side of the ball to consider - our opponents during the real season. We have one of the weakest set of opponents in our schedule, especially through week 11 except for the Steelers at M&T. Not saying it is likely but we could be 7-0 by the time our bye week comes up during week 8 since our opposition will supposedly be so weak themselves. Not exactly a compliment to our team, I guess. But hey, a win is a win. 7-0 huh? Well, that would be nice, but you know it ain't gonna happen. The only team the Ravens play, who had a worse record than B'more last year is the Browns, and they have their struggles with them. I'd be happy with 4-3, and still in the playoff hunt. I find past records useless. I use current consensus power rankings to compare current teams which, I grant you, are also not so hot but better than year old news.

I hate to say it but l agree with you. It's gonna be an average season. Maybe we will get like a 9-7 or 10-6 to squeeze a playoffs at most. Until John realizes to get rid of Dean Pees the defense won't get any better. If we had like the 2011 Ravens defense or even 2008 this team could be a 13-3 easily due to the easy schedule we have this year. The schedule is easy, but the Ravens will make it difficult than it already is due to lack of play on defense. You guys could be right about our poor chances of success this season, especially considering some of our disappointing play on defense so fat. But there's the other side of the ball to consider - our opponents during the real season. We have one of the weakest set of opponents in our schedule, especially through week 11 except for the Steelers at M&T. Not saying it is likely but we could be 7-0 by the time our bye week comes up during week 8 since our opposition will supposedly be so weak themselves. Not exactly a compliment to our team, I guess. But hey, a win is a win.

I favor Mallett. I like his accuracy and I really like his quick release.

I'm thinking (and I could be wrong) that the running backs problem was more of a O-line problem. For a running back to run thru a hole there has to BE a hole. Agree. I think they missed Urschel at center. He really looked good against the Panthers.

JJ only shot is practice squad. He has to forget a roster spot. No way he makes the 53 man roster. I believe we only keep one backup and that's Mallett. JJ is better than Mallet. So what does say about the organization? I don't see them cutting him in favor of Mallet. Disagree. They are equal in accuracy but Mallett has the quickest release of any of the QBs I've ever seen in a Raven QB. It was part of the reason Aikens scored the TD yesterday.

Ah, he's been tested for eight years. Leave him alone. And even just handing off can get some clumsy lineman rolling around after the play rolling up on Joe's back leg and snap goes another ACL. Football involves risk but let's take it with the franchise QB when a game or season is on the line, not during a no-count pre-season game.

Well, might have something to do with the fact that people who have actually interacted with Phelps in Baltimore don't exactly find him to be that great a person. And people only care about Olympics accomplishments for about two weeks every four years (and that might be a stretch). Agree

Going by the ESPN's most recent power ratings Ravens should finish 10-6 but lose both games to Steelers and Bengals. Outside our division only Patriots and Raiders beat us. According to ESPN.

Agree. Smolka's advice above seems sensible to me too.

Yeah, but I really don't see how he's going to build a rapport with Flacco during the season. There isn't much actual practice time during the week when the regular season starts where Joe and Perriman would be working out together. Its a lot of gameplan installation and getting reps with guys who will actually be on the field that week. The type of rapport we are looking for can really only be obtained in the offseason. So, basically, its likely just another lost season for Perriman. Disagree. Mallett did pretty well last year with NO offseason practice with his receivers. This "chemistry" stuff is highly overrated. Put Perriman in a couple mid-season games and he'll get all the real experience he needs against real teams and not the fake experience he would have had in preseason against fake teams (second stringers or worse of other teams).

This is the first I have heard of Joe's knee being in pain after a workout. Apparently it's been like this all along. Be ready for him to miss some time in the regular season as these things can have a way of flaring up after a few games. Good thing they have Mallett as backup and that he did well last week as well as last year. Also a good thing that Joe is not letting his ego get in the way of prudently managing his injury. It's easy to re-damage joints during the healing process when you play too soon or too much. We've seen many players throughout the NFL and other sports re-injure themselves when they returned too quickly or demanded too much from their body too early in their recovery. Go slow, Joe. You've got many playing years ahead of you if you are unable to get fully into this season as I'm sure you're tempted to do.

Jimmy's 6'. It's the other side I am worried about. Panthers took advantage of it last week. Fear other teams will too.

I like what I'm hearing too but I still worry about our secondary and what tall receivers are going to do to it.

I was concerned when I saw how easily the taller Panther receivers caught passes over our shorter defenders during their first drive. Will this be a trend when the regular season begins?

The only issue the front office was concerned about was the bottom line as the timeline of this affair at the time clearly indicated. The "Ray Rice affair" will go down in history as the Raven's version of the Dreyfus affair (see French history, early 20th century). I am going to close my comments on this thread on this issue now as I suspect the Mods will soon be closing in on us.

I have the quotes of Roger Goodell and Dick Cass of the Ravens in another post in a forum thread. Just look for the runningback's name. Roger says that Ray mislead him. Dick Cass makes a long comment that politely says that Ray lied to him. Then there is the actual full video to look at. My memory isn't faulty at all. Seems like others want to engage in revisionist history. There is only one person to blame for the position Ray Rice is in. It isn't any of the Ravens front office. It isn't Roger Goodell. It isn't anyone from the media. It isn't anyone from a domestic violence group. The one person to blame is Ray Rice. Period. And you believe these people? After all the lies that were exposed about this incident that they told at the time?

The only reason why he is not in jail is by the grace of his now wife. Had she decided to press charges he would not have been able to get off with just entering a diversionary program. She forgave him. You, apparently, cannot.

i'm not still punishing him - just dont think he needs to be rewarded with a second chance in the nfl Yes you are. Just look into your own heart and see if you don't find a touch of vengeance there. It shows in your writing, if nowhere else.

most people who get to leave those legacies have to do the time first - ray didnt do any time - if he hadnt been a successful football player he'd probably still be in jail Read your history before commenting, please. He was given all the legal due process you or I would have received. A judge decided what punishment he should have and Ray accepted it. Unfortunately people like you want to keep punishing him even though you are not a judge. Where's the fairness in that?

Ray Rice did Ray Rice dirty. Ray Rice is to blame for why Ray Rice isn't playing for a team right now. Ray Rice spit on his wife, hit her once, and then slugged her and knocked her right out. Ray Rice then decided to lie about it to Roger Goodell and the Ravens. Ray Rice decided to sit there and act like it was his wife's fault that he slugged her like that in the press conference he held with Janay after the fact. Ray Rice is lucky he's not in prison. Ray Rice poisoned his name and Ray Rice doesn't deserve the privilege of playing in the NFL and making millions of dollars playing a game. Ray Rice is free to seek employment in any other venue he chooses. Ray Rice should be used as an example to NFL players that if you do something completely horrible you might very well be forfeiting the privilege to play in the NFL. You can't just get away with everything because you are a special athlete. Stop doing drugs, stop beating up women, and stop hanging out after midnight with guns in nightclubs. Ray didn't slug her he slapped her when he backed away and she came after him but since she was drunk the slap knocked her down, she hit her head on the rail and THAT knocked her out. Yeah he shouldn't have done it but take those 5 seconds out of his life and hes a model citizen. And apparently still is.

I agree 100% JP. I thought the Ravens were supposed to have their players backs. They threw Ray under the bus to appease the media. I was very disappointed in the front office that day. Totally agree, Sami.

I think you may be quite mistaken. Had the Ravens kept Rice, he would have continued to stay in the news, he would have continued to be a target for abuse organizations and he never would have been able to participate in the things he did to help him get his life back together. The Ravens would have been picketed, you had people burning Ray Rice jerseys and the publicity factor was too negative and would have had an effect on the locker room. Hardy is proof that even a very bad person can get a job in the NFL if they have the skill set. There are 31 other teams and, like Hardy, had they felt he was good enough, he would have gotten a chance. People told him over and over, go to the CFL, go to Arena, go somewhere where you can show you still have it and he chose to pursue a NFL career only which is never going to happen based on his skill set not his legal issues. He can still pursue a career in Canada where he could prove his worth, but he chooses not to do that. That is his choice. I agree JohnnyPurple with your point, but let me add one more point. Hitting his girlfriend now wife in an elevator, knocking her unconscious was bad. His name would come up every time someone thought about domestic violence in the league. Yes that hurt his career, but the fault is not our Baltimore Ravens Brass it is his and only his. They didn't tell him to go out and knock out your girlfriend, That was a choice made by Ray Rice and now he has to live with the consequences of his actions. And he becomes the poster child for what not to do, as he is now. A legacy of making a mistake and then redeeming himself. An example to all and how to be the spokesman for what NOT to do.;