Dorota

Harbs for Spartans is way too funny. Who in their right mind would come up with that? Even if Harbs DID want to leave the NFL, which is highly unlikely to be his preference or that he would be forced to make that decision, Spartans wouldn't be the way to go. He has ties in 2 Big Ten teams up north and neither is Michigan State.

I can't imagine Justin Forsett tempting that ankle, after all, one game game is not the rest of the season and ankle injuries very easily turn from minor to major if underestimated. I'd rather see Buck tested and either the new guy or Magee being promoted from PS. He hasn't by any chance been stellar, but he wasn't a bust either. My guess is that SSS is more probable than Forsett for Sunday, though even if he does dress up, I don't expect him to get too many snaps.

Coaches have mentioned a comeback to the more blitz mentality on defense and Ravens have hopefully eliminated some of the penalties, so I'm hoping to see some defensive renaissance. Pass protection has been an issue, but at least I hope we hold Carlos Hyde to abysmal stats Sunday.

Shame about Forsett, but unless he's confident he won't make it worse, he should take a breather. Here's to hoping that Buck Allen will do a good job. I expect that Magee will be promoted to the active roster as back-up.

Each loss was close. It could have gone either way. The stupid penalties is what has hurt us the most. Without those penalties we would be 3-2. If we clean up the play and support our guys, things could turnaround. The injury bug hasn't helped either. I believe that we can win Sunday against the 49ers. I just hope Steve Smith Sr., Crockett Gillmore, and Forsett are all on the field.

I agree with you! And now we dismissed one of the perpetrators, which should reduce them some and also by cutting him sent a strong message to the rest. So hopefully, there will be no more games lost to those annoying yellow flags. So far it wasn't the other teams that beat the Ravens, it was mainly Ravens that beat the Ravens. I still believe we have enough talent on our roster to get by.

Blitzing constantly only makes sense if the execution is good enough to bring sufficient pressure on the QB so that we don't leave big enough windows to throw to, if we can't keep up on man coverage. Once we allow offense separation, it's essential that the QB can't make a decent throw. Can we do that?

Discipline crumbling is an effect of loss of locker room leaders, they need to have someone who holds them accountable. I was confident that someone in the defense would step up, but so far only Webby tried. There must be a guy the rest of you will follow and respect and fear his wrath when you underperform. There needs to be the guy who will hold players accountable. And each one on their own have to hold themselves accountable.

The Juice is good at that and I'm glad he's not fumbling this year....I remember him having a couple of fumbles last year, I believe.

You're right. I think he had two if I remember well.

A big part of the problem is actually that guys like Upshaw and Jernigan, guys the article said Ravens "scored" with weren't exactly wreaking havoc either on Sunday. Upshaw is in a contract year and isn't really making much of his new opportunities.

It's way too easy to blame things on Pees, and he likely won't get another season after this one, but from what I could see, the issue is less with the play calling and more with the total lack of execution by players on the field. I think it's time to make some guys take charge on the field and maybe even fire a player or two to shake up the rest from just phoning it in.

A few years back, Tandon Doss, I recall, became a much better player after he was cut for a while because it never occurred to him that his job was in jeopardy for lack of execution. And im sure his firing had some impact on those who survived the cut. A healthy fear of being fired might go a long way.

Don't know if you posted before the news on Babin and Melvin, but I guess they're thinking the same thing. Babin will showcase why you don't commit bonehead penalties. Jernigan, watch it! I actually like some of the talent and swagger Jernigan has, but I don't want to see any more 15 yarder penalties. Those break our backs.

I'm no expert and can't tell whether our secondary is getting burnt on coverage because they're slow or due to bad play calls, but I hope new blood from the PS will help. Shame about Webby being so brittle, because I like the guy as a player and as a person. It's frustrating.

I won't mourn seeing the back of Babin. I like Za'Darius better, he's a rookie, he'll still make improvements and he's fast! Hope to see some good stuff from Charles James II. It's a shame Will Davis is out, he looked promising.

"Next man up" when Justin went down so did the Ravens "CREATIVITY" to get in the endzone! I like the Defense like it is they growing together but the Offense can't put them in "JACKED UP" situations all the time and people find it "Convenient" to blame them! "MAN,GET OUT OF HERE"! Wheres Fitzgerald Toussaint and the Ravens Offense needs to point the finger at "THEMSELVES" instead of the Defense pointing it at themselves! Joe is coming up SHOTE! No yards and it is taking its toll! Red me up or point fingers at me like yall do my Defense! I will stand up for them because it's not all their fault!

We should be able to win with 30 points on the board and you know it! 23 points in Pittsburg and it was enough for a win you know why? Because the defense there held. Week 3, 24 points and we lost. Week 2, 33 points and we lost. Week 1 was the only one where we did not have enough points on the board to win an average game with 13. We won the one game, where we had the second least points so name the common factor - defense can't allow the other team to catch up on our points. I do realize that one of the scores somewhere was C. J. Mosley. But apart from that, our offense though bashed up and in no means flashy has done alright.

A lot of the touchdowns against us have been committed on penalties by our defense and because apart from Jimmy and Webb our CBs haven't been par. And Webb is off the field as much as he's on it.

It's not all bad, I believe we have a good front seven, I love our ILBs, both of them, I play in a 57 jersey in honor of C.J. and Buck is a beast. Everyone has to work harder. However, it's the defense that needs most fixing.

How many years is Wright a Veteran? I'm not sure, but the 'Next Man Up' philosophy is being re-defined right now, here in Baltimore. Has anyone else in the league had that many injuries? We've got about 10 guys on the Injured Reserved List and you wonder why players run out of bounds at the end of plays instead of pounding it into the defense for an extra few yards or break a few tackles and get more yards that way. It's not worth it and Forsett could have avoided contact on his last run, I noticed, but I was hoping he'd run over someone; of course, he ended up leaving with a bad ankle...Back in the late 70's early 80's RB's like Earl Campbell would never have taken the sideline route to avoid a hit. They wanted to punish the defender and maybe break one for a score. Times have changed...

I'm all for reintroducing more fullback carries. Have you seen the hits Juice can deliver carrying the football? The two that I'm thinking of are special team carries, but nevertheless...

I can't believe that crap. Seriously! How can Harbs say that he's confident in what the defense, namely DC is doing?!

 

He himself said with quite a bit of frustration in the preseason that for once he'd like to see his defense stop opponents within last 2 minutes of a half. Out of the last 10 games including playoffs and preseason, defense has given up leads at the end of halves in 8 of those games!!!

 

Has he forgot about his opinion during the preseason?! Why is he being ignorant regards to his DC's incompetence?? And this is not the first time Harbs is going about business very very unprofessionally based solely on his personal relations.

 

I seriously believe he's an onverrated HC. He has been blessed to have been surrounded with some of the best players and FO of all time. Now when he needs to be top tier and make tough business decisions, we see his true standard. He's a good coach, but he's not among the best in the league, definitely not a top 5 coach.

I disagee and think he is indeed a great coach, however he does share a trait with his brother and that is that he's not very good at talking to the media when things go south and on football specific topics. He won't tell media anything and will give you the same thing over and over until you're sick of it. However, as long as he's got the message straight internally and passes on what needs to be heard in the locker room and behind closed doors with coaches, I'm fine with that. Not throwing your people to the dogs is an honorable trait.

I could have told the team they need to close out the 4th quarter and that they need to win games, thus I hope they have a more specifically actionable plan than that.

Since the losses might never have happened but for penalties I'd take that one thing from Rex Ryan and introduce push-ups/burpees for every single penalty committed in practice and then double that for every penalty in the game. They can do them to start first practice of the week. It would be easier to take the losses if they came to teams that were genuinely more talented, but they didn't. The losses were mostly self-inflicted.

There is still a lot going for the Ravens, they just haven't capitalized on it, which is even sorrier. There are teams with poor management, with poor coaching and with underdeveloped or not talented enough players. Nothing of that can be said for the Ravens. Pitta and Gilmore on the bench are no excuse, because we couldn't get luckier with Maxx Williams and Boyle. I am aware that we took Maxx in the 2nd round, but even Ravens knew he was a project, because of age, not necessarily because of experience, but because aged 20 he has still to develop physically to be able to last a season. Which no doubt is why they also rely on Boyle, who is older and who has stepped up the game bigtime and does better than anyone has a right to expect. Ravens have one of the best offensive lines, supported by good blocking TEs and even RBs and SSS when he's in there. No primadonnas prancing around going "I should have the ball, I shall not block!" Behind that line is Joe Flacco.

Defense has looked abysmal for the main part, but front seven are decent on most occasions, for them yesterday was a freak day, not the standard. Ravens drafted alright to compensate for injuries that never even happened at the time - TEs again, but also look at rookie Za'Darius Smith, who still has a lot to work on, but shows flashes of what we want to see in the long-term. So this is why Ravens are a better team than many. So ACT LIKE IT!

Jason La Canfora said it: It's the penalties that have killed us. Babin might as well lost us the game with his hand to the face mask. Browns were on the way out and we gave them the first down and 15 yards on top. All the games except for Cincinnati were close. But almost win doesn't count. If we kept the penalties down, we could have won any of the close games. Damn, holding just happens sometimes, but keep the personal fouls to yourselves! I'm looking at you Babin. And you Jernigan (Carr late hit).

At this point, it's too optimistic to hope for play-offs. Damn, we're below the Browns and bottom of AFC North. But unlikely odds are not impossible, so if no one else, the team has to believe it and act like they're in for a win! At least don't go the Raiders/Bears/Browns route and have a decent finish. I love you guys, don't disappoint me.

The way things are going, play-offs are very unlikey for Ravens unless they win the rest and they can't do that unless they fix things. Defense, really? It's not funny. Offense has managed to put scores on the board even with Smith Sr, Campanaro, Perrimann, Gilmore and Taliaferro out. 30 points should be enough to win a game.

How old an inexperienced is Babin to be able to afford penalties like that? One cost us a touchdown. Browns would have punted if the penalty didn't give them a 1st down. I'll take the occasional error from a rookie, but Babin should know better. Za'Darius Smith over him anytime. The defense was sad to watch yesterday. A bright light out there was Jimmy Smith, who seemed to be where needed. What is it about our inside linebackers that made them look bad yesterday? Both Mosley and D. Smith are very smart players with quick wits and good tacklers. However, I've noticed a while back D. Smith isn't very fast. He gets beat on man-to-man. Seemed to me that was the problem with Mosley yesterday too. What's your take on it?

As to offense, I like the way Trestman utilizes Juice, I like to see some fullback action and I've been noticing him the past two weeks doing good things. I like the way he hits even when he's carrying the ball. This one was on special teams, but I remember a similar one his rookie year, also against the Browns special team, that left the defender wobbling and falling over. Just a shame we didn't use our tight ends more yesterday. We have good ones that are physical and both Boyle and Williams have good hands. They had a quiet day on catches last night. But was glad to see they both did their job blocking.

Good move, Ozzie must have saw my comment yesterday when I criticized the staff for not getting a guy specifically to play the KR PR position. Lol

Or mine earlier when I said it makes most sense, if taking someone off PS to take the one who provides returner skills, but back-up WR as well if needed, considering our troubles.

Or rather, Ozzie is a damn smart man who knows what he's doing

Just pay the man! Before someone else does. Also, please don't jinx Forsett, of course I hope he completely burns the Browns. Would be nice. There are reasons why I like Marlon Brown, but he hasn't been showing a lot of that lately, so hopefully he does step up this game. Also, that Chris Givens is ready and has good natural chemistry with Flacco so that we're set for some touchdowns come Sunday and from then on.

Never mind that 2/3 of TDs so far were scored by players not active for this week's game, I'm pretty sure we'll do alright. Love the walking dead analogy. Part of being a winning team is never giving up. 49ers will never lay their hands on Marshall Yanda. Ravens really won't let him go.

He looks good on highlights and if he can catch, then that could go a long way for us, not only throwing TD passes, but opening up the running lanes and easing up the blitz game. Also, his responses are funny I'm to add another fan favorite maybe. Glad someone mentioned Jacoby Jones, as opposed to Torrey Smith. That a skillset we are desperately lacking now.

The black and pink will look fantastic! Gotta agree with Courtney Upshaw on that. Also, in my memory, donning the black means a win, so excited about that too. Such a shame they don't wear it more often, the black uniforms are impressive and intimidating.

The quotes from the two tradeable receivers might be torn out of context, but based on those, please not Roddy White! Seems to have attitude issues. We don't need no primadonna. It's not comparable to the talk SSS has, because if you look at him, sure, he makes plenty catches, but when he doesn't he blocks like if his life depended on it, probably screaming "I'm Marshall Yanda!" in his head. Blocking is important and those players on the field that aren't currently carrying the ball need to learn to do it well and with pleasure. Good blocks are what helps yardage. Tate has a better attitude (based on the quotes in the article only), Ravens hate losing too. However, I doubt either will happen.

Timmy Jernigan might have fallen to Carl Davis for two reasons:

1. Durability - he has had some issues with minor injuries

2. Discipline - the late hit on Derek Carr might have lost us the game. And it wasn't accidental or an oops error, that was deliberate.

Apart from that, I like Timmy a lot. It's good that he has solid competition, it will make him earn his position in the line-up.

Asa Jackson looks good once he's on the run and can be explosive and a difference maker, however, this is marred considerably by stupid decisions, that lead to fumbles, such as not calling a fair catch when he should have and in result losing the ball. I would be worried. Either use someone who is already on the roster, like Webb, Givens or Allen, or bring from the practice squad a receiver, of whom we are lacking, which would be Ross. Although, I'm not really in favor of using Webb, though he could do well - he's been playing well at CB this year, better than last season for sure and we know he's injury prone, so depth or not, he would be a loss.

He looked fantastic against Steelers. I loved the speed, which helped contain Vick and Bell and also good hands and good reactions.

I want Crockett's T-shirt!

I'll be happy with just someone who can catch and keep drives going... Pitta does that, whats the point of stretching the field if you cant catch? 

That's true. However, don't know of a four TE set where we could utilize them all at once and I think that Gilmore, Williams and Boyle have all shown good hands. It's the receivers you're worried about and unless Pitta wants to play receiver, then all the good he does us is keep the other TEs fresh by being in the rotation. He's a benefit to what the Ravens are already doing well, not a solution to a problem.