The Raven

No, I just didnt feel the need to scream and give psuedo-inspirational speeches. I couldn't possibly care less about that garbage. Maybe I just have enough inner drive to where I didn't need to get motivation from some amped up ball of testosterone screaming at me.

Uh, can you blame em?

Joe lacks passion..? Because he's not a loudmouth? Huh. Well, okay. If screaming "get off the field" and ranting about all the dogs in the house is what it takes to have passion, then dammit, I don't even know what to expect. I can count on one hand how many times Ray's nonsensical rantings motivated me to do anything other than take a trip to the restroom.

I think we have a bigger problem on the edge than on the inside. If we lose Brandon Williams, we still have Jernigan, Guy, and Pierce who can all start. Willie Henry, Kaufusi, Urban, and Carl Davis could figure it out. There's actual depth there, especially if we transition to that 4-3 as it appears we're doing. My concern is on the edge. Suggs has turned it on of late, but it took him a while to get hot. Doom is gone. There's no way I see us keeping him at $6 million next year. And, Correa, Judon, and ZDS have shown very little. It's disappointing. I don't want to have to spend a high pick on an edge rusher, but I think we're going to have to. Because, right now, we're just trying to maintain the status quo. We're talking about not getting worse. But as it stands, our pass rush is pretty poor. If you ask me, we need upgrades on the edge. I'm seriously worried about our front next year. The young edge guys have shown very little and we need them to figure it out if we want to be an effective defense in the end of this season and next year.

Oh I guarantee that's what holds us back. I suspect it might even get in the way of a playoff berth. We're two starters down heading into the heat of our schedule.

Is Willie Henry going to real IR or the phantom IR? I don't remember him being hurt. Regardless, it's a shame. He needs the practice time to figure it out. He's a physical specimen. Just a freak. Kind of reminds me of Antwan Barnes. All the physical ability, and none of the technique or mental capacity.

... don't run the team

Okay, misread. But by that same terrible logic, our 2000 offense must've been dynamite, because we led most categories that year, too. http://www.nfl.com/teams/baltimoreravens/statistics?season=2000&team=BAL&seasonType= Or maybe our defense is carrying more than its fair share

Heated seats? What kind of mambi pambi land crap is this? Doesn't sound very old school smash ball to me

Yep, and he's the only one. Did you notice that?

I do think 08 was the last year you could play real defense. I don't think there's any way to accurately quantify this with statistics but 09 was definitely the first year in the Era of the Yellow Flag.

2008 and 2011, by far. 2008 was just plain exciting. Holy hell, we were relevant again, and surprisingly able. 2011 was crazy. That Pagano-led D was fierce. Our run game was beasting. Joe had a not terrible year. That should have been a Super Bowl year.

Kickers don't make the Hall of Fame. Ray is the next Raven to go to Canton.

This is going to be fun. Cowboys have the best line in the league. We have the worst line in the league. Can't wait.

That's my point. Dolphins addressed their OL issues and are doing much better. We didn't do enough and now we're struggling. Castillo's not to blame. Ozzie is, or maybe Harbaugh.

It's like you're in some kind of weird portal, stuck in the past and oblivious to the fact that the Dolphins are 2nd in yard per carry, 18th in sacks, and 19th in QB hits. Not top of the league, I guess, but better than us. Newsflash! The Dolphins no longer have the worst line in the league.

That list is for last season. See the part where it says "10 months ago"? And by the way, this season we're ranked 20th in sacks, 26th in QB hits, and 28th in yard per carry. Dolphins are beating us bad in each category.

Sorry for the bump, but check out Paul Kruger in the Saints game. He's a wrecking ball of the edge. He looks better than ever.

I honestly put the blame at Ozzie's feet. Look at the Dolphins. They had a crappy, crappy line, and over the offseason, they invested in it big time. Now it's poppin'. Imagine if, instead of drafting a project in Ryan Jensen, Ozzie actually got a quality guard. I think he gambles and puts a little too much faith in Castillo to get satisfactory results out of mediocre players. Robert Myers and Ryan Jensen fit that description in my book.

Fire storm coming in 3... 2... 1...

Anybody watching the Denver-New Orleans game? Watch the Saints run game. That's how big an impact a dominant center has on an offense. Max Unger is a tank. Go compare him to Zuttah and come back to me.

And you can add an underperforming right tackle to that list. Wagner is a top 10 right tackle but that's due in large part to his pass blocking. Michael Oher in his last year might have been a better run blocker than Wagner is right now.

Where did I say no one is accountable? All I said is that it's not Castillo. If you want blame, blame Ozzie for not doing enough to address our interior and not getting a better center. Blame Harbaugh for playing Lewis at LG instead of Jensen, who is head and shoulders better as a run blocker. Blame Wagner for not being a bully and driving guys off the line. Castillo shouldn't be criticized for an injury-plagued line, a mediocre center, a below average left guard, and an underperforming right tackle who just can't drive anybody. Against Pittsburgh, I mean, they just shut it down. They stacked the box. They blitzed. The oline sucked. I forget which lineup we had but it was ugly. I'm going to attribute the run game struggles to Lewis and Zuttah. They were bullied into the backfield on almost every play that game. Against Cleveland, we were hurt across the line.

For the millionth time, Castillo is responsible for technique and player development. And if you look at player development, Castillo is doing one hell of a job. Kelechi Osemele wasn't the dominant force that he became until Castillo got here. Rick Wagner is lowkey one of the best right tackles in the league. Until his injury, Ronnie Stanley was looking like a top ten left tackle -- as a rookie. Alex Lewis held his own at left tackle and is coming into his own at left guard. Ryan Jensen has gone from a no-name D-2 linemen to a very reliable backup that would have been a starter ten years ago. He's by far the second best run blocker on our roster. The question marks are Jeremy Zuttah and John Urschel. Zuttah came in here as a vet, someone who Castillo wouldn't be able to make an impact on. And his issue, I think, is just strength and nastiness. For Urschel, I no longer think his heart is in it. Either that, or he had a bad offseason, because he just looks weak/ Simply put, position coaches should be graded on player development, and if you think our offensive linemen aren't developing, you don't know what you're watching. Wagner, Stanley, Osemele, Lewis, and Jensen have all demonstrated significant growth. Castillo is not the problem.

Are you serious...? What are you even saying?