VermontRaven

12 minutes ago, January J said:

Reallllly wish Eric berry wouldn't have returned that pick 2. The cheifs now have to lose out in order to not clinch a wildcard berth. Would've increased our odds had they lost..BC they play Oakland tommorow night and Denver again I believe - so that game would've helped us either way. Now Denver losing is basically our only hope besides winning the division BC KC ain't losing out. They could've lost to Atlanta- Oakland and Denver- Opening up a shot for either wildcard spot. Shoulda coulda woulda what's done is done. Just like that freaking jets loss. And giants. And redskins. And Oakland. Game of inches I tell ya.

Look at the bright side of it though.  Let's beat Pittsburgh for the division and then their chances of a wildcard go way down!

7 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

Hopefully non of that ineligible receiver crap happens again.

I think the NFL has fixed that issue, but you can be sure that there will magically be some "technical error" with just the Ravens headsets.

1 minute ago, billiejean said:

I could be wrong but I don't think you can "inactivate" Moore unless he goes to IR. Otherwise inactivating him would mean adding him to the practice squad where other teams would be able to pick him up.

What I meant by inactivate him was to make him a gameday inactive (7 guys on "active" roster are inactive on gameday)  However, as other posters have pointed out, Moore makes a big contribution on special teams, so I don't think that will happen.

2 minutes ago, Tank 92 said:

I have a bit of respect for belicheat's football mind, but despise the patsies and all they are. Man I hope we kick their butts.

I have ZERO respect for cheaters.  I have absolutely no respect for the Patriots.  I can't stand the Steelers, but I respect them.  I would LOVE to beat down the Patriots at their place twice--Monday night, then again in the playoffs!

3 minutes ago, January J said:

6.5 mil sounds way too steep for Aiken...don't you think?  I was thinking we would offer somewhere between 2.5 - 3.7...I guess some WR needy team with cap space galore could offer more but I don't see him making more than 5 a year anywhere. 

Agreed.  I can pretty much guarantee you that if Aiken gets 6.5 million, it won't be with the Ravens, that's for sure.  I could see us offering him around 3 mil, but no more than that.

24 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

It's a tough group of FAs this year.  A couple of big names, but also some important role players

The big names:
Rick Wagner
Brandon Williams

Obviously I think we'd like to retain both of these guys, but with Wagner's recent surge, it may be very difficult to keep both, especially with the guys in the next tier.  I'd expect one of these guys to re-sign, but couldn't tell you which one.  I love Williams, but if I had to pick, it'd be nice to have some consistency on the OL.

The next tier:
Kamar Aiken
Lawrence Guy
Kyle Juszczyk
Jerraud Powers

These are also all guys I'd think we'd like to retain, but it's not the end of the world if we don't.  Out of anyone on this list, I'd prioritize Guy.  I don't see any being overly expensive to hang onto, but there's a good chance that they could get a decent offer elsewhere.  Juice and Guy would be my guesses to stay here.

Take it or leave it:
Vladimir Ducasse
Matt Elam
Anthony Levine
Chris Lewis-Harris
Ryan Mallett

None of these guys are priorities, but I'd expect some interest in retaining them.  No one here should command much money at all.  I think Mallett is likely to go elsewhere in hopes of finding a competition for a starting job.  Levine has always seemed to be a piece we really like, but they just aren't using him.  I'd give Elam a 1 year prove it deal.  Ducasse and Lewis-Harris aren't bad depth options.

Gone:
Devin Hester

This was always a 1 year deal for him.

 

Overall, it's a tough year because I only view us as having 1 guy that we would have no interest in retaining.  Obviously, some of these guys will likely walk and no one will bat an eye, but I still think there's going to at least be a little bit of interest in keeping nearly all of our FAs.

Great breakdown @rmw10 

"Big Names"  I agree with you here.  I'm hoping we can retain Wagner at a respectable price as well.  I think that would have a big positive effect on our O-line.  Stanley at LT, Lewis at LG, Center still a ???, Yanda back at RG, and Wagner at RT.  Plus, I think it can't be understated that Lewis is a nice option as a backup swing tackle.  Williams I love, but I think we are much more capable of filling that gap.

"Next tier"  Pretty much agree with your thoughts here too. Guy is definitely at the top of my list here.  He has been great for us!  Powers and Aiken would be the next priorities for me.  Assuming SSS retires, Aiken at least gives us a known option at WR.  Powers has been a respectable, not great nickel corner for us...as Ozzie says, you can never have enough CBs.  Juice is another solid guy that I can't see being too expensive, since fullbacks just don't get paid much in today's NFL.

"Take it or leave it"  Completely agree.  If the price is right on all of these guys, they are solid depth options.  If the price isn't right, none of them is a huge loss.

Gone--Agree, Hester is gone.  Hoping Reynolds will be ready to go next year, at least as a returner.

20 minutes ago, leziRav said:

I agree, we have to sign Williams, if we can't sign him the offseason then we have to put a franchise tag on him. He is the best and he is in his prime so Ozzie will sign him. I know it is not time to talk about the offseason yet, we have to make the playoffs but the future is bright for a dominant Ravens in NFL. Once we sign Williams and Orr, then we can let Wangler walk away if his price is expensive, we have Alex Lewis who can play RT. Also we will have to spend some draft picks on OL anyway ( quality back up Center, guard, and tackle). I think our front 7 is the best, no need to spend draft picks there, our draft picks should go the secondary and OL. I wish we pick a first round CB and move T.Young to safety. I see him as a good ball hawk, play maker safety. I don't think so he will survive as outside CB with his size. We will see once the offseason come.

No way that happens, the current franchise tag for defensive tackles is $13.4 million. (and I'm sure that will go up a little for next year)  I love B-Will but doesn't make sense to overpay for an interior defensive lineman.  Ozzie and Co. are great at finding good to great interior defensive linemen.  At that price, I'd rather we let BWill go and use that money elsewhere (WR, CB, Pass rusher, etc.)

Defensive tackle: $13.4 million ($10.7 million)

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000636218/article/estimated-2016-franchise-tag-figures

9 minutes ago, OUravensfan said:

d much rather the Bengals spoil it for Pittsburgh

That would be great!  I also like the fact that those 2 play each other right before we play Pitt.  Those are always hard-fought, hard-hitting games (and often times dirty hits with Burfict and the Bengals)....Obviously not rooting for injury, but having Pitt after a hard-hitting game could be to our benefit. 

My dream world has us beating Pats and Eagles and Steelers losing to Bills and Bengals to clinch division before Christmas. 

My more realistic hope is we beat Pats and Eagles and Steelers drop 1 of those 2...then we'd have 2 chances to play our way into winning the division (@Steelers, @Bengals)---Scenario also works if we win 1 of 2 from Pats/Eagles and Steelers drop both to Bills and Bengals.

14 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

Right player, right price.  If we were the raiders were we had 60mill in cap space then sure why not.  If we would of kept KO that means no Weddle and no Wallace.  When Stanley has played, our line looks decent and will continue to develop.  Not too many people here were aboard giving KO 13mill, because look at the holes it creates elsewhere.  Next year I expect our line to look even better.  You have to use context when talking about things, its like saying why didn't you buy a Ferrari as your first car...because you didn't have the money, obviously. 

Well said.  KO was a great player for us, but I definitely think the Ravens made the right decision there, despite the struggles we've had on the line.  I certainly don't want to think about our defense without Weddle or our offense without Wallace.  Similar decisions coming up with Williams and Wagner.  It all depends on how much it takes to retain them. I really like both players, but with the salary cap, you can't overpay everywhere or you will be in rough shape.

1 hour ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

Tornado700 said:

So you think the Ravens can hang 31 points on a Patriot defense that is every good as ours? Both teams have allowed the exact same amount of points scored against us. I love your optimism but we gotta be real here. They are 9-2. We are 7-5. We are playing in Gillette stadium. It's supposed to have alot of rain there. About ten years ago, my wife and I went to New England to watch our Ravens. The game was played in a steady, all game down pour, Ravens got beat 21-3. As Mod 3 said, advantage goes to the home team. I know that everybody is jacked up because we thumped Miami pretty good. We played our best game of the year while Miami played their worst game of the year. This will be a defensive game. I love my Ravens, but got to be real here. Pats 20 Ravens10. Hope I'm wrong.

Patriots only match us in 1 defensive category--that is points scored (which there are a lot of factors in that)...starting field position etc.  Ravens and Pats tied for 2nd best.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&role=OPP&offensiveStatisticCategory=null&defensiveStatisticCategory=SCORING&season=2016&seasonType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=false&Submit=Go

Ravens 1st in Total Yards, Pats 9th

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&defensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&conference=ALL&role=OPP&season=2016&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=TOTAL_YARDS_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=1&d-447263-n=1

Ravens 7th passing defense, Pats 12th

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&defensiveStatisticCategory=TEAM_PASSING&conference=ALL&role=OPP&season=2016&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=PASSING_NET_YARDS_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=1&d-447263-n=1

Ravens 1st in rushing defense, Pats 10th

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&defensiveStatisticCategory=RUSHING&conference=ALL&role=OPP&season=2016&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=RUSHING_YARDS_PER_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=1&d-447263-n=1

So, I'll take the Ravens D over the Pats D any day!!!  Not sure the Ravens can put up 31 against them, but I'm definitely not sure the Pats can put up that much on our defense.  Personally, I expect a much lower scoring game than that.  Hopefully, the Ravens pull out a low-scoring nail biter on the leg of Tucker!

1 minute ago, January J said:

Exactly.. Doesn't make much sense to me but they're the professionals running the show so maybe there's a method to the madness.

Yeah, I trust their judgement a lot more than mine.  Who knows how Camp has looked since coming back.  Maybe he's struggling in practice.  Obviously, other teams aren't crazy about Camp either, or he would have been snatched from our Practice Squad (or called up to our Active roster if someone tried to claim him and we wanted to prevent that)

13 minutes ago, January J said:

How about will Chris Moore ever make a catch? Seriously how many has he had all year? 2?

Close.  6 receptions for 41 yards. (and 3 runs for 19 yards) http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/team-statistics.html

12 minutes ago, January J said:

Yep- and there were still a few drops..Chris moore dropped two that come to mind. He's really been a disappointment. Replace him with camp!!

Yeah, I'm shocked this hasn't happened yet.  I would think they'd IR Taliaferro (why are we saving a roster spot for a 4th string RB who is hurt a lot?), promote Camp, and inactivate Moore (that way he can still practice and continute to develop, which hopefully helps him contribute next year-and if an injury occurs, you could always activate him for the next game)  I'm sure Camp would be at least as effective as Moore, plus he'd give a backup punt returner to Hester. (or maybe put them both back there in certain situations-we've see Webb and Hester back there together)

I'm surprised that Taliaferro hasn't went to IR.  He wasn't a key contributor, even when he was healthy.  I would have thought they would have IR'd him and called up Campanaro to the active roster.  That way, if Hester struggled or got injured, you'd have another option at punt returner.  Also, Chris Moore hasn't done much, so you could activate Campanaro and inactivate Moore, and give him a small look at a few snaps on offense.

Lewis not being IR'd doesn't surprise me since we aren't desperate for that roster spot.  He is our best backup option at tackle if he is healthy.  The Ravens don't want to IR him, then have a tackle go down and have to start Hurst (in a possible playoff run)

Gillmore, I'm a bit surprised but we haven't gotten consistency out of TE, especially from a blocking perspective.  Again, not desperate for a roster spot, so no harm holding on to him in hopes he can get healthy and make an impact.

9 hours ago, JO_75 said:

Steelers @ Bills: The Steelers head to Buffalo as they look to remain neck and neck with us in the AFC North. While the Bills season is over, this is the final stretch of the season where teams out of contention upset teams looking to make the playoffs. Does Rex Ryan and the Bills have something up their sleeve to slow down Big Ben & co and help their former team?

I would argue that the Bills season isn't over, but is on the brink.  Still unlikely, but it is POSSIBLE, if they run the table to go 10-6, they could sneak into the playoffs.  Denver COULD lose 3 of their last 4 (@ Titans, vs. Patriots, @ Chiefs, vs. Raiders), Miami could lose 2 more (one game is vs. Bills), and the AFC North runner up could be 9-7.  Hoping for a desperate, inspired performance by Buffalo!

1 hour ago, Rav'n Maniac said:

I want these next three games so bad, I can taste it. Win the next three and it won't matter what we do in the last one. If we don't win this game, I will be majorly disappointed.

I agree.  I find it odd that I have seen it written in several places that despite what we do against the Patriots, if we win our last 3, we win the division.  I haven't seen anywhere that says if we win the next 3 (@Patriots, vs. Eagles, @ Steelers), we win the division!

49 minutes ago, K-Dog said:

Zero chance of that.

Yeah, I agree. You don't fire the coordinator of a #1 defense!

18 hours ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

The real question is, will denis ever score ANOTHER TD this season

 

Or, will he score a TD on the road this season? ?

5 hours ago, Sherly_Tebow said:

In a way, I feel that if the Bills beat the Steelers and we beat the Patriots, we win the division. Here's why...

We'd be 8-5, Steelers would be 7-6.

We beat the Eagles, lose to the Steelers, and beat the Bengals to go 10-6.

Steelers beat the Bengals, Beat us, and beat the Browns to go 10-6.

We win common games tiebreaker and the division. I know that a lot can change, but that's how I feel like things would go if we beat the Pats and the Bills beat the Steelers.

Yeah, if those 2 things happen Sunday and Monday, we'll be in a fabulous position. Win any 2 of last 3 and we'll win division. I'm not sleeping on the Bengals yet though, especially if Green is back.

12 minutes ago, callahan09 said:

I just took a look at the playoff machine on ESPN, and found numerous ways we get in as a wild card at 9-7.  Basically, it relies on Denver faltering down the stretch and ending at 9-7 (or worse) themselves, and then we'd have a tiebreaker over them, and the only other threats to us at 9-7 would be teams in the AFC South, but it's very unlikely for one of them to surpass us for a spot at 9-7... So really, I think the key to us getting in if we don't take care of business against Pittsburgh is to win two of our other games and hope Denver only wins one more game.

Gotta watch out for Dolphins as well (7-5 currently.  We obciously hold tiebreaker, but they'd have to lose 2 more games to fall to 9-7.

And possibly the Bills if they win out (6-6).

My gut says someone is going to make it to 10-6 for that final wildcard, but that's by no means guaranteed.  Makes this game @ Patriots huge. Win this one and we are looking at winning 2 of 3 vs Eagles @Steeleres and @Bengals to get to 10-6 (and having good shot at wildcard even if Pitt runs the table)

1 minute ago, rmcjacket23 said:

We are referencing the Cowboys game, not Sunday's game.

My bad.  I will look to see if I can find anything.

6 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

No just total play outcome. I'm not going to go back and watch film to see what YAC was for individual segments, but I'll see if I can find a resource online that has it.

Doesn't break it down by half, but the chart on this page shows how far down field Flacco's passes were caught.

http://www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/126989/best-and-worst-qbs-of-week-13-andy-dalton-carves-up-eagles

2 minutes ago, Deflated Football said:

Yea. It's tempting, but just not worth it. I'd pay around 7ish per year, but that's it. Dude looks like a stud WR, but I need to see a couple more years of that before I hand over 10+ million. Needless to say though, it's very impressive to see what he's doing for an awful team and a revolving door at QB. He would be perfect for Flacco, but if the Browns were smart (they're not), they'd keep him to pair him with Coleman at all costs. I never in a million years thought we'd go after Weddle or Wallace, so who knows. 

I'm with you.  Definitely tempting, but I think $10+ mil is too much for a guy that has only done it for 1 year.  I think somebody will pay him that, but I don't think that will be the Ravens.  If somehow he accepted 7ish per year, I'd be all for it.

5 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

If Oakland wins the 1 seed we almost certainly won't see NE in the championship. It looks like we will win the 3 seed if things go as hoped, if NE wins the 2 seed and we win the wild card round then we will see them in the divisional round. The 1 seed plays the lowest remaining seed And the 2 seed plays the highest remaining seed which would have the 2 And 3 face off in the divisional round.

Possibly, but WAY to early to predict these things.  Raiders have a tough remaining schedule. (@ Chiefs, @ Chargers, vs. Colts, @ Broncos)  Definitely could be a playoff preview either way.

"If the Steelers beat the Ravens on Christmas day and both teams finish with the same record, then more complex tiebreaker procedures will come into play." 

What's not mentioned here is that the Ravens would win those "more complex tiebreakers" (not factoring in any ties)

The 3 records the Steelers/Ravens could tie with are 10-6, 9-7, or 8-8. 

If we are tied at 10-6 (and Steelers beat the Ravens), the Ravens would have to win all remaining games.  2nd tiebreak is division record, which would be tied (both teams at 5-1)  3rd tiebreak is "Common games" record which Baltimore wins.

If we are tied at 9-7 (and Steelers beat the Ravens), Steelers would have to have at least one more division loss (games left vs. Bills, @ Bengals, and vs. Browns)...meaning 4-2 in the division would be the best they could do.  Even if Ravens lost to Pitt and Cincy, their division record would be 4-2 and we'd still win the common games tiebreak.

If we are tied at 8-8, Pitt would have to lose 2 division games, and we would still win tiebreak (Bengals would have to lose a game in this scenario as well)  Bottom line, Ravens are guaranteed to win any tiebreak with Pittsburgh (barring ties--haven't calculated those possibilities)