RaineV1

I think signing Maxwell is doable if the Ravens give up on resigning McPhee and Torrey. To me, that trade off is worth it. Maxwell and Smith would be a great tandem.

Yeah, the Ravens already have a back that's really good at catching passes out of the backfield with Juice. We really wouldn't need to draft one high for that reason.

I doubt the NFL acts quickly enough for any decision to effect the upcoming Superbowl. However, this being the Patriots' second major scandal during a postseason run, the punishment needs to be harsh. I'd say, give them the same punishment the Saints got for the bounty scandal. Take their top draft pick (maybe their top two draft picks) and suspend Belichick for all of next season.

I don't know about this. Would have preferred a younger coach but at least he'll never get a head coaching job. For some strange reason I'm getting Cam Cameron flashbacks.

You really can't compare someone like Trestman to Cam. Trestman actually has a successful record as an OC, where he's improved the offense of every team he's gone to. Trestman got career highs out of Jake Plummer and made Rich Gannon into the league MVP. As opposed to Cam, where the offense always got better after he left.

Well...west coast offense...

I hate west coast offense. What is going to happen w/ our run game?

You realize that Kubiak runs a west coast offense too, right?

One other potential bonus for hiring Gase, he might be fired up by getting fired despite having one of the highest scoring offenses in the NFL. He did his job well, and got fired. That could make him want to light up the league just as a screw you to Elway. He'll definitely have something to prove after that.

The only way you get a backup capable of going all the way is if you pay a huge price to a recently let go starting quarterback. Which the Ravens have actually done before, giving Marc Bulger a 1 year, 1 million dollar contract. Aside from something like that though, there isn't much out there. You're better off with a mid to late round draft pick learning your system.

I agree , been saying that thee whole time he was here. 

Only experience he had in coaching was the Assi. H.C. before becoming the H.C. for the COLTS.

 

Imo, Caldwell had no clue what he was doing. And dare i say, Cam should have gotten more credit for the S.B. run than Caldwell.

Okay, definitely can't agree with that part. No chance in hell we would have won that Superbow if Cam was still calling the plays.

Keep in mind Peyton said the exact samething about Caldwell. Thats the only thing that makes me a bit nervous. But im with you, im liking the idea about signing Gase. Who ever our O.C. will be, i just hope they are Aggressive. I really want them to Throw first to set up the Run, not Vice Versa, i feel that has hurt us in the past imo.

To be fair, Peyton largely spoke of Caldwell's ability as a QB coach when we first signed him for that job. And, he was a pretty good QB coach, just not as good of an OC. Granted, he probably would have done better if the Raven's o-line didn't implode that season.

I'm warming up to the idea of Gase. Even before he was Denver's OC, he spent time as a WR's coach and a QB coach for them. Seems like a good history to have if you're going to be a long term OC. Also, while it's true Manning doesn't really need much of an OC, if Peyton is coming out and saying how great Gase is to work with and how smart he is with schemes, I'm willing to believe it.

The good thing that can come of Gase being hired though is that him and whoever the new QB coach is won't be a packaged deal, like Kubiak and Dennison were. So, if Gase does leave after a season or two, we could promote the new qb coach.

I can't put all the blame on Melvin. It probably wasn't his idea to play ten yards back and allow the short passes constantly. That said, he's a good nickleback or depth DB but not a starter.

If Dennison leaves with Kubiak (assuming he does leave) then Trestman would be the best choice.

I do think Elam is a bit of a bust as first round players go, especially when you compare him to some of the players that went after he did. However, that doesn't mean he can't be a useful piece to the defense, and it seems they finally found a good, consistent role for him.

I'm not sure if Jim Harbaugh is the long term answer for any NFL team, but I do think he can do better than most as a short term fix to help turn around a team. If I was the Raiders, I'd give him a shot. Not like you're going to get worse.

To be fair to Allen, Reggie McKenzie has to be one of the worst general managers out there, maybe the worst.

 

So what's strange about all this is that Mark Davis was essentially preparing to fire Allen a year in advance according to PFT. Davis loved Derek Carr so much he wanted to take him with the fifth pick of the draft. Why? As a way to lure Jon Gruden to Oakland for 2015. Davis felt that Gruden's favorite QB of the draft was Carr and having him would only make Gruden come to Oakland. 

 

Seems strange to me, so he took a guy who may or may not be the franchise QB but took him only to help bring a new coach in in 2015. Instead of taking someone who can help the current coach? Only the Raiders.

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/01/derek-carr-could-be-the-key-to-luring-gruden/

Yeah, hearing about other teams' GMs always make me happy that the Ravens have a guy like Ozzie.

Allen is likely an example of a guy who's a pretty good coordinator but not a particularly good head coach.

I actually prefer Brooks over Dix. Brooks is much faster and has the higher ceiling of the two. The only safety in the draft I would have taken over Brooks is Ward.

if it wasn't for the Boldin trade marlon Brown would have seen no time at receiver, may not have made the team. I know this was fortuitous and not a planned consequence of the trade. just an observation.

Also, it's not like the Ravens would have somehow won another Super Bowl if he was around. They might have won a game or two more, maybe snag the final wildcard spot and then lose in the first round. And then would have picked later in the draft and possibly gotten less talented players from it.

If that's the bigger picture, then the biggest picture is that teams that consistently pick offensive talent with high picks aren't winning championships. In the past 10 years you have the Colts with Peyton and Harrison (both generational talents), the Steelers with Ben (and they won with defense), Giants with Eli (Defense), Packers with Rodgers (another generational talent), and...who else? Who are these amazing offensive juggernauts that are winning championships? You can make the "in this day and age" argument but the two best teams in the league last year (SF and SEA) were built with high picks on...you guessed it...defense. So I have to ask, do you really want championships, or do you just want to see big offensive numbers? You can't have it both ways.

Don't forget the Saints. They had a team designed to score early and put pressure on the other team's offense to make them throw a lot. And a defense specifically designed to try to get as much interceptions as possible. Their defensive backs were just about the only really good thing about their defense.

Pretty lwt down we havent got a running back yet. Sad to see West go to Cleveland and Archer go to Pittsburgh. But all in all we have had a pretty decent draft. If we can find talent at running back, tackle, and receiver we will be alright. Anybody have any prospects at these positions we could possibly draft?

For running back, there's Storm Johnson (UCF), James White (Wisconsin), and Isaiah Crowell (Alabama State).

For tackle, there's Matt Patchan (Boston, he's actually one of the most athletic tackles in the draft), Seantrel Henderson (Miami), and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (McGill).

For receiver, there's Coleman (Rutgers), Jared Abbrederis (Wisconsin), and TJ Jones (Notre Dame).

Yes, the Jets also didn't make the playoffs again, thanks to an anemic offense. Maybe the fans had a point.

The bad offense last year was largely due to the offensive line not being able to block anyone, particularly in the middle of the line. But they now have Zuttah and KO is back. Now the Ravens will be able to run again which changes a lot.

The only thing that bothers me about this Jernigan is that Robinson and Adams was still there. But, it does fill a need since the Ravens lost Jones and Ngata will be gone next year.

The way I see it, Daryl Smith is getting up there in age and has been in the league for over a decade in a very physical position. He'll likely only be around two more seasons and the Ravens just got his replacement a bit early. Ravens keep Smith for the next two seasons. Smith and Brown will be the starters at first as Mosley develops, and then Mosley will take the job from Smith as the main starter opposite of Brown.

So now, for the next eight or nine years, the Ravens 3-4 defense will have two ILBs that can blitz, stuff the run, chase people down from one sideline to the other, and are good at reading and reacting. That's going to be tough for other teams to gameplan around.