FlocksGottaFeed

My 1st reaction - Did he just re-injure himself sliding? Are you freakin' kidding me? (This time agitated) Oh, he's cool, but wait a minute... (announcer says: 'Oh no this could be serious.') Are you freakin' kidding me? He looks OK. (This time jokingly) I saw the broken brace sticking-out and said - Are they going to call a TO? (announcer says: 'Oh no my goodness that could be a bone...') Are you freakin' kidding me? (This time nervously) Joe is hoping-off and Mallet is scrambling to find his helmet - I'm saying again - Are they going to call a TO? We're 1st down on a scoring drive!!! Lay-down Joe!!! But no...Afterwards I'm listening to the announcers thinking...Are you freakin' kidding me? You dudes don't know jack. I put it on the mute.

I think with our O-line core starters returning last week and Pittsburgh having 2 weeks to prepare for it knowing our strong desire to commit to the run - they schemed perfectly for it. They overloaded the strong side of run formations and provided an extra defender that could not be accounted for every time. We didn't audible-out or make any adjustments to compensate for it. It's understandable, because no one has done that to us thus far. I don't think it will be a problem going forward because adjustments should and will be made. We've had some success running the ball against fronts equal to theirs (when we chose to), so it's only reasonable to think that we will adjust, not telegraph those same scheme alignments and get back on track. I'm confident adjustments are being made. We have the talent, we've shaken-off the rust after returning from injury and now we need to just commit to balancing our offense for the 2nd-half of the season.

Funniest Thing: Announcer Says, "Flacco hasn't brought enough in past weeks..." he stops talking because on cue - 95 yard td by Wallace. Priceless.

It was great seeing SSS return. He brings an intensity like no one else.

Wow! Not even the most visceral, Raven-hating, pessimistic King of Trolls can sour this victory. Sweeeeeeeeeet!!

Good stuff. You deserve a better tag.

Stanley has never loss a NFL game (4-0 preseason and 4-0 regular season). Stay healthy big fella.

Absolutely. The Youngsters played lights out. Oz is looking more and more like...Oz.

Good - Tucker and Koch ELITE - ST Outstanding - Defense (We're back!!!!!) Bad - Need more creativity in our offensive run scheme but, it should improve with more play from guys just getting healthy again. Offense: Never take your foot off the gas to the final whistle (would have, should've been a blow-out). Ugly - Joe's knee brace. I'm thinking it's out for the rest of the season. In the words of Phat Joe, "Nothing can stop us we're all the way UP!!!"

@Inqui ur brilliant! I can appreciate the Colin article, as well. The ratings drop...It's truly complex. Good to read your comprehensive thoughts for a complex subject that requires it. Thanks. Agreed. Most likely we'll have to see what ratings look like a week after Nov. 8th to get a clearer evaluation. Ravens should be in 1st place in the division then. That's going to boost my personal ratings.

Agreed. We also need to rotate edge rushers on defense more and challenge our youngsters to get pressures, get sacks and just make plays. Whatever happened to those 'exotic' defensive pass rushing schemes that we ran at the end of our last AFC Championship game season? (Suggs and Doom lining-up over the center, 4 rushers lining-up on one side, CBs and Safeties middle blitzes, etc.) Is that suddenly against NFL rules? We need more creativity back.

I'm just shocked at how quickly the AFCN dropped-off. If it's part of NFL 'parity' campaign it's the most effective plan they've ever executed. They never get anything right. I just can't believe it (although you're probably right admittedly). This 'parity' thing is putting fans to sleep lately. It severely lacks something...

My thought is when it all comes down to it (like what we've seen in recent SBs) offensive time of possession and defensive team sacks+tackles will win in the end. The AFCN needs to get back to this.

It's like Christmas Eve around here for me. Love this rivalry! What makes it really special this year is I believe this will be the benchmark game for this generation's Ravens Identity. The timing is perfect and the stakes are high. Win or lose - when all the gift wrappings and bows are thrown-off and this purple and black box is opened - I want to see Ravens Pissed-off for GREATNESS! Play Like Ravens. GO Ravens!!!

Steeler Fans are saying, "We're underdogs in this one. We play better as the underdog..." Raven fans (we) are saying, "We're underdogs in this one. We play better as the underdog..." Other insiders are saying, "When the Ravens Defense and the Steelers Offense is on the field stay put. There'll be some good football...". They say take a bathroom break when they change possession. This is going to be interesting. Ravens win by 2 scores. GO Ravens!!!

Disney has just taken another victim. Somebody needs to get Mickie Mouse in check before everything is gone. Oh, the humanity!

Bingo! That would be my answer too, but you and I have never been as hyper critical of Flacco with no set (documented) standards to judge. It simply asked: 'What are your personal statistic/salary standards for Joe and if those are met will this satisfy you?" The stats fill-in is basically to allow those who are 'all over the place' and somewhat incoherent to document their personal performance standards for further evaluation and better future dialog on the subject. That's all.

Thanks. Not 'bumping' at all K-Dog. It's easy to see that this thing ain't going away anytime soon (remember is Flacco Elite Thread?) Just trying to bring a little levity. I'm truly curious. I doubt anyone will fill in the blanks, but if they did...they would probably have something tangible and measurable to hold-on to. It could ease their minds and crystallize their focus in conversation. For example one could say (not me): "50 passing TDs and 6000 passing yards and +100. QBR and 2/3rds of the salary he currently has in I'll just love this dude..." Then we could hear all about it at the end of the season and have a 'measurable, tangible dialog. Just a thought.

Ravens have an average B+ draft rating over a 22 year period (including the past 4 years). http://ebonybird.com/2016/02/07/ozzie-newsome-grading-every-ravens-draft-class/ That's the highest average of any of the elite NFL front offices. Not bad.

Tough Talk meets Real Talk: Just curious. What would it take for Flacco critics to be satisfied with his play, salary, stats, etc.? I mean really...what are your real expectations? How many touchdowns this season?: How many passing yards this season?: How many interceptions this season?: How high of a QBR this season?: How much is a fair price for him once he meets your personal standards?: How highly ranked by the end of the season?: Currently 14th Fill in the blanks. It can only bring more levity to the conversation. I'm just curious.

Thanks. That is some good information. The quality of play does have a lot to do with it, but for football purist like Warren Moon and all of us - the quality of play has been in decline for over 2 decades. Even with a poor play and officiating last year the NFL had record ratings. I like most of what the SI article suggested - http://www.si.com/nfl/photo/2016/10/20/nfl-television-ratings-decline-causes They rank it this way: The Election Lack of Star Match-ups Oversaturation - TNF must go National Anthem Protest - I'd move to the very bottom New Generational Youth Disconnection - They have different interest. Officials Fantasy Sports Poor Planning - " DFS almost certainly helped inflate the ratings to record highs last season, and legislative action limiting FanDuel and DraftKings in many states, plus the end of the daily ad blitz has cut into that boost this year. Fans who have money riding on certain games are more engaged and will watch more. " This is what you call a multi-billion dollar corporation 'brain-fart'. Ok? The Cubs and Indians Historic Run Twerking Ban - No Fun League Concussions The only thing that I would change is to add the season 'launch' that didn't happen (HOF Game). How do you start a season like that and expect it to not affect anything? The NFL also hit a 50 year Landmark Season and gave nothing back to the fan base (ticket reductions, favorite team packages (example - I just want to purchase my team's (Ravens) entire season , not the whole league), a simple National Fan Thank You Tour, reduce streaming rates, etc. Last season the NFL got caught exploiting veterans for profit. There can't be anything more polarizing or controversial than that. Nothing. And yet, it didn't affect viewership at all last season. The NFL just dropped the ball...no one else. No forward thinking or actions to provide a better product and compete in future markets.

Truth of the matter for the ratings decline is not very simple at all. It's multifaceted. Deflate-gate - Went on for over a year and sucked-up NFL fan interest til the well went dry. In-Season to Off-Season to In-Season. For what? Hall of Fame Game - The one that never happened. Fans are creatures of habit. Sure most HOF games are barely watchable, but we wait the entire off-season to get there. It's tradition...sheeezz. No season begins without it...until now. We deserve better and if the NFL doesn't find it's opening game to be important enough...than why should we be excited about anything following that 'bush' league garage? Technology - We don't watch 'one' football game to it's duration in front of the tube in the living room anymore. Playstation, Ruko, Smart Phones, Sports Bars, PCs, etc. We watch as many games as we can while switching back-and-forth to avoid commercials and boredom during slow games. Fantasy - Yes, the NFL did it to itself pushing it out there with multi-million dollar ad campaigns before once thinking, "How are we going to increase viewership when the fans have less interest in teams and more interest in individual stats?". That happened. And last, but not least - This has been the most watched election cycle in history brandishing, obscenely record numbers of viewers. All other ratings outside of football have suffered equally. That said, it has very little to do with any players. It has more to do with the under-performance of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate with very little foresight or intellectual fortitude to build their product and keep fans engaged while doing so. The NFL dropped the ball. Nobody else.

Agreed. To add, the Ravens and/or tax payers would have to payout more for the additional army of law enforcement and security which would have to be present.

^^^^^True, true.

Possibly, but it doesn't matter. Ben or no Ben, we've imposed our will before. That's what it comes down to in the end.