Ravens2343

I for one think it is time to move on from Pees, or atleast if I was Harbaugh I would start thinking about a change. I would like Pees to be more aggressive and have our players play to their strengths. Jimmy Smith is better at playing press man, he does well at jamming receivers at the line and using his speed and length to catch up to receivers. Yesterday I did not see Smith jam Cooper one single time (its possible I missed it but it was not often). I would be more satisfied if we lost a game where we were aggressive with coverage and blitzing instead of losing like we did yesterday where we sat back and dared a team to push the ball up the field. I think this defense even without Suggs has a ton of potential and could be top 5, but we need to take chances and put our players in positions to create turnovers and sacks, not just let them sit back and pray they make a tackle.

I agree we should have kept running the ball, but Trestman calls a bootleg and a throw that even if completed would have lead the receiver out of bounds. You could see Harbaugh on the sidelines furious with that play call. I do not know how much freedom Flacoo has at play calling and input into which plays we run, but he needs to have more. The Good: The offensive line looked much improved and Gilmore showed he has developed his receiving skills. Webb looks like he has gained some of his old form back, he is atleast a decent 2nd corner right now. The Bad: Pees has not adjusted his defense to defend today's NFL offenses. Jimmy Smith is big and physical yet Pees has him playing 10 yards off on a 3rd and 3 play. The defensive line was a non factor and Z'darius Smith/Courtney Upshaw cannot rush the passer The Ugly: Pees needs to go, i am not a fan of in season firings of any coaches but this is necessary. Brooks is a possible guy to take over but someone needs to replace Pees. With or without Suggs this defense has a ton of talent and shut down one of the better offenses in the NFL last week. This week there are open receivers running and sitting in holes while we sit in a soft zone. We need to blitz more without Suggs and have our corners play press man coverage when we do. I am not half as knowledgable as these coaches and players and even I can pick out where the open receiver will be. Harbaugh needs to rally the troops here and motivate this team. He is a great leader and motivator and he needs to prove this once again.

Is it time we give Clarence Brooks a chance at defensive coordinator? I would not fire Pees right now, but if this season continues to go poorly then we would have nothing to lose if we promoted Brooks and let him have 6-8 games of running our defense

I am not one to overreact this early in the season. I know the chances of teams making it after 0-2 start are not great, but we have the chance to get right back on track next week at home. This may be an overreaction but I truly think it is time we look at a possible change at defensive coordinator. I would wait and see how the next 4-6 games go but if it does not improve then we should make a switch. They were doing trips on one side and throwing quick short throws, Pees did not have our corners jam the receivers or anything, he had them sit back 10 yards as we failed to tackle the ball carrier. No pass rush whatsoever when rushing 4 guys, but we barely blitzed and when we did we got good results. Hopefully Babin can come in provide a pass rush because Z'darius Smith is not ready to play consistent snaps this year. Offensively we played really well as we should have, but Flacco flat out missed on that last throw to Smith Sr. that should have been a touchdown. We have a chance to turn it around but our defensive adjustments need to change and we need to come out more aggressive defensively next week or we will be 0-3

I agree I wish sometimes we would make bolder moves and use our later picks for that. In the case of Marshall though, his salary was way to high we could not fit him under the cap on our team. A lot of these guys who get traded for low picks have a high salary and a team like the Jets who had a ton of cap room are the only ones who can afford him.

So if Taliaferro and Forsett are both able to play, what do we do with Terrence Magee? I doubt we keep 4 running backs on the active roster if the other 3 are healthy. We could use a 6th corner or maybe Jeremy Ross gets called up.

It will be exciting to see this week if Taliaferro, Jernigan and Melvin can get back out there vs the Raiders. If Taliaferro is healthy then what do we do with Magee? Keep him up for depth at RB/KR or practice squad? It would be interesting to see who they bring in to fill his roster spot. Personally I would like to see a veteran Offensive Tackle or a Corner back brought in. If not then I vote to promote Jeremy Ross from the practice squad for KR/PR duties and a speed threat on occasion. Thoughts?

After watching the Falcons/Eagles game last night it really makes me wonder why we do not try and run some of the plays both teams did. The Falcons on numerous occasions saw a blitz was coming and had Ryan quickly throw a slant to Jones and he gained 10+ yards each time. Ryan did not even do a full 3 step drop back, he took one step back and quickly threw the ball. Flacco and Steve Smith or Campanaro could do this all day with their quick feet and speed. I would love to see more quick passes by our offense, especially when the defense is playing zone or off coverage man. We will need these types of plays when we face good defenses like St Louis, Arizona and Seattle.

I agree I do not think we have to go out and sign someone right away. The only concern I have is if we can still keep Dumervil off the field on obvious running plays. Having him fresh throughout the games and the whole season really helps this defense. If Upshaw and McClellan can handle running downs then Dumervil and Smith/Upshaw/McClellan can all rotate in for pass rushing downs. Keeping Dumervil fresh is the biggest concern right now

Its only Monday but it is looking like Carr wont play and they could be missing 3 secondary starters in D.J. Hayden (ankle), Charles Woodson (shoulder) and Nate Allen (Knee). Regardless of the injuries the Ravens should win, but the Raiders will be pretty banged up and this would be the perfect time to get the offense on track and have Z'darius Smith and Courtney Upshaw play more snaps to get them ready

I was more impressed with Webb mainly because he missed all preseason and came and played well. He was beat a few times but I think Denver's longest play was 18 yards or so? I am not saying he is back to his old form, but his play yesterday is encouraging. If our secondary can keep receivers In front of them then we will prevent the big plays. Melvin coming back will be huge to because then Webb can play a little bit in the slot and help out in run support and blitzing

I agree Simon is a no go. I doubt we make a trade, but a few names who could be available. Maybe Willie Young or Lamarr Houston from the Bears? or if the Browns are ready to move on maybe Barkevious Mingo. Mingo I doubt though because he was a high pick and it is in our division. Willie Young is a guy to keep an eye on though

I wouldn't rule us out signing a free agent or looking to a trade, but it is not necessary at this point IMO. Upshaw will be a 3 down guy now, which he is great at setting the edge so I am not worried about that part. Smith can rotate with Upshaw to help provide a pass rush and McClellan can be the edge setter for Dumervil to keep him fresh. It is not ideal to have to blitz more, but with the way our secondary played yesterday I will feel more comfortable if we do blitz more. Jernigan returning will also help the interior pass rush.

I agree we need to run more play action but Denver has some really good corners and coverage middle linebackers. This is almost identical to last years season opener where everyone was concerned with Kubiak's play calling. I believe Trestman will adjust and run more plays Flacco is comfortable in and we have a good matchup against Oakland where we can get it back on track

I agree that we do not have the linebackers for that. There is no reason to panic right now and switch our defensive philosophy around. Losing Suggs is obviously a huge blow, especially from a leadership standpoint. But there are guys on this team who can step up and the defense as a whole should still be top 10. Upshaw will slide into Sugg's spot and Doom/Smith will split some snaps on the other side. I think the most important thing is we need to be able to keep Doom fresh, so Smith or if they bring in someone else will have to be able to handle early down work. McClellan could be a guy that could rotate in as well, he played well yesterday in limited snaps. I think overall our defense will be fine, our secondary looked vastly improved and our defensive line looked great and that was without Jernigan. We will be fine

Has anyone heard if Tyson is playing tonight? He didn't practice after Saturday's game with his shoulder injury. I guess by not waiving/injured this week he must be good to go for tonight's game. It is odd that we have not heard anything about his injury yet, but I guess we will see in a couple hours.

Bilukidi is a hard worker I'll give him that. I don't necessarily not like him, I think its more along the lines I like KLM and Guy better then him. Id like it if we could keep 7-8 DL because I think all these guys can play. At the end of the day who I like and don't like is irrelevant, I want them to put the best 53 out there and if Bilukidi is one of them then ill learn to like him haha

I agree KLM needs to have a good game to secure a spot tonight and maybe that wont even be enough. I am just not a fan of Bilikuidi so that probably has swayed my judgment. I hope KLM shows tonight and he makes it, the kid has been through a ton its amazing he is even being considered for a spot. You make good points with Jackson and Vaughn, Jackson definitely does not have much competition at returner. If we keep 6 corners (which I cannot see how we don't) then I believe the its between Vaughn and Jackson. I really like Vaughn's starting experience, but like you said Jackson's most likely going to make it because of his returner job. Campanaro is to fragile to have returning now.

I am not so sure about Tyson. His shoulder injury looked like it could be serious and if it is, then I think KLM makes it. I think we only keep 6 defensive lineman this year with Urban getting the IR-DFR. I agree with your other points, but I really think Vaughn has played better then Jackson and Pointer. I am curious to see if Magee gets any shot at kick returning tonight, maybe he can steal the job from Jackson. Boyle and Reuland will take all the snaps tonight. All of the starters including Gilmore will not suit up tonight. No worries for Gilmore

Here are some guys I think will end up on the roster with a good showing tomorrow night. 1.) Kapron Lewis-Moore DL- Tyson's shoulder injury could be serious and if it is KLM has a good chance to stick with a good showing. I am pulling for him. 2.) Cassius Vaughn CB- I believe the 6th corner spot comes down to Vaughn and Jackson. Jackson has underperformed as a corner but is our only realistic returner at this point. This battle will be interesting 3.) Terrence Magee RB- Whether Magee makes the team is entirely up to Taliaferro's health and recovery. Magee is a good, hard runner who at worst deserves a spot on the PS 4.) Jah Reid OL- He has played much better this offseason then his other previous ones. With that said, he needs a big game on Thursday to seal a spot. I ultimately believe his spot will go to Jensen if healthy. Those are my 4 guys who can either earn a spot or be cut Saturday. I think about 50 spots are pretty much sealed up and the last remaining few could go to any or all of these 4 guys. Who do you guys think is on the bubble and needs a good performance tomorrow night?

Good thing is right now we don't have many expensive players that wont be on the 53 man roster except for Pitta. Nonetheless we have about 7.5 million available now, but that number could be cut in half atleast by the time the roster is set.

Taylor would be a great addition to our defense, especially in backing up Williams at the nose. One thing we all have to remember is, our cap space is going to dwindle come September 5th because we will have to account for all 53 players on the roster and everyone on the PUP, IR and Practice Squad. Just something to keep in mind, we might not even be able to afford Taylor, Jennings or anyone else prominent that may come available.

Lawrence Guy returned to practice today so that is great news for our defensive line depth. Jernigan, Perriman, Jensen, Melvin, Taliaferro and Tyson all sat out. Melvin is sitting out again with an undisclosed injury, hopefully nothing to be concerned about. Williams is still in the red jersey so hopefully its just bruised ribs and they are being cautious. I am starting to be very concerned about Perriman's week 1 availability. If he is not back by Monday, then I doubt he plays in Denver.

Melvin White was cut this morning by the Panthers. Not a big name by any means but I wouldn't mind if we brought him in for the 4th preseason game and gave him a look. He is big 6' 1'' 205 lbs and has starting experience. He got burned a lot last year but that could have been scheme related and other factors. He is worth a look

I guess Mean's injury is more serious then any of us thought. They placed him on IR last night with a groin injury. He was a guy I thought could contribute this year so he must have really been hurt. It is telling they didn't put Urban on IR last night yet either, they must be hoping to use the IR-DFR on him.