January J

I think Sidney Jones IV is currently my favorite corner and seems to be a good fit to start opposite Jimmy with Tavon back in the slot. He's very disciplined and has good tackling ability wrapping guys up...plays well in man and has shown off good ballhawking ability.  Plus I think we miiiiight be able to get him in the 2nd. ( may have to trade up though)

So right now ny dream first 3 picks would be 1) Tim Williams 2)Sidney Jones IV 3 ) Ethan Pocic

Unless we get a veteran center via FA or plan to make a permanent move to Urschel - then I'd go with the best wide receiver available in the 3rd or trade up to get 1 if we don't have to trade up for our 2nd pick. If only we were drafting a couple picks higher : /

Got a lot more homework to do though.

On 1/1/2017 at 11:06 PM, Cillmatic said:

Are we all in agreement that Lewis should return to LG and that Wagner should be retained? If so, I think we have a really good template, all we gotta do is add a GOOD center and we'll be really good on that front.

I know I am. That should definitely be the plan. Veteran center through FA or to draft one is the question.

On 1/2/2017 at 11:10 AM, L.J.50 said:

It would be nice to pick up Tim Williams in the first and Ethan Pocic in the second

I'd be very pleased with that. Then try to trade back up Into the early third for whatever corner or WR slips the most- depending on which position we address in FA.

But yeah 1) Pass rush 2) Center 3) WR/ CB is pretty much the order of priorities.

If we get a veteran center in FA then we can go 1) Pass rush 2) CB 3) WR. 

Either way Bisciotti is NOT letting Ozzie or harbs walk out that war room without a legit pass rusher in the first round UNLESS we've got a surefire WR or DB on the board that  drops down such as Peppers.

2 minutes ago, Moderator 3 said:

But you do have to consider the circumstances.  Prior to this year, Joe's pass-happy games tended to be those where we were behind and trying to catch up fast.  

Yeah that makes sense...esp late in the game or if down by 2 or 3 scores.

However most of our games were close  ( like down by 10 points or fewer) and sometimes still early in the game. In those cases we shouldn't have been scared to still run the rock. Taking control of the time of possession- tiring out the opponents defense- along with getting our own defense more rest is all essential. Going pass heavy is not the only way to climb back into games. Next thing you know you got a couple 3 and outs - your defense is tired and then they get scored on again only making it worse- and then we go from pass heavy to pass crazy and abandon the run all together. Then the defense just sits back and forces Joe to check down all day. Our defense starts getting run on BC their tired and before you know it they've milked the clock down to 6 minutes remaining. Every now and then we scratched and crawled our way back in- but we made it way too hard on ourselves. Its hard to stick with the run when your trailing and when it seems to just not be working- but you gotta stick with it regardless.

28 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Context is important here, though. We're going back to 2008 on these, so we're including Joe's rookie year and the time period where we were an extremely run heavy team and really never wanted Joe throwing more than like 25-30 passes.

Frankly, its just not feasible to think that you can have a QB getting paid this much or even being successful throwing it 25 times a game. Most starting QBs in this league are throwing it close to or more than 500 times a season, which is at least 30 pass attempts a game. Dak Prescott is like the only QB who may have come in under that, and if he played all of week 17, he probably would have been right at about 30 attempts a game. All of the QBs under that are guys who haven't played a full season due to benchings, injuries, suspensions, etc.

Even guys like Alex Smith, who is the epitome of what most fans consider a "game manager" and plays on a team that runs the ball a lot, he's still averaging about 30 attempts a game.

Unless you have a Cowboys-like running game and offensive line, 30-35 attempts per game is sort of the minimum standard for starting NFL QBs in an average game. Just the direction the NFL is going.

Good point and I was just about to point that out as well. In those earlier years we actually had a bellcow running back in Ray Rice- plus I think it's pretty safe to say we had a much better defense, regardless of the numbers. More leaders- more physicality- and probably more turnovers ( although I'd have to double check on that so don't hold me to it) we also got a little more help on ST back in Jacoby's Hayday. so yes context is very important - but I think that the fact the numbers still tell basically the same story more recently since  2013 only solidifies the statement to be true- We win more when Joe throws under 35 times, period. And its not like we didn't have a talented running back. We had 2. They werent going to light the league on fire but were more than capable of getting the job done- Along with what I would say was an above average line. We obviously became one dimensional which drastically effected the receivers getting open- resulting in check down after check down.

24 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

I suppose it would depend on situation. I would caution though that "projections" are just that, and they come from a lot of mock analysts or network talent evaluators who aren't nearly as good at those things as NFL teams are, regardless of whether fans think NFL teams are good or bad at it. 

So the only thing that would matter is if WE thought a Keuchly was a "can't miss" prospect. 

If you looked at those two specific examples, I'm not sure we would draft the LT, just because there's so much risk there and so many highly thought of, highly projected LTs have ended up complete busts. If it were a MLB though, sure I think we would take him, because I think we know that a guy like Orr isn't an elite LB. 

Granted we don't really have many "elite" (for lack of better term) players at any particular position where we only need one player. 

To me, its the equivalent of the Cowboys using like a high first round pick on a RB after taking Zeke in the top 5 last year, even if that RB is "projected" to be the next Adrian Peterson. They're simply not going to do it.

Yeah i was really referring to the Ravens regarding them as a can't miss prospect- not mock analysts or talking heads. But yeah I agree in those particular examples mainly  BC Mosley is nearing his contract year as well- so if we nailed a replacement there we would have a  contingency plan if he priced himself out of bmore or walked. ( not saying I think that will happen)  plus said player would have a year or two to learn behind him. So while nobody thinks ILB is a need right now- if a stud is there and is the BPA it would definitely be considered. Many people didn't understand and weren't too happy about the Mosley pick at the time either  if I remember correctly.

So yeah there's a lot of moving parts that teams have to consider ; such as depth and injury history with their current players- how stacked the draft may be at certain positions ( can I find a corner who's nearly as good in the third round BC this years class is deep, and take that pass rusher in the first BC they are not as plentiful?- or vice versa?- and most importantly $$, as some positions demand more money than others, which they have to take into account for the short and long term. Not as simple as just picking the BPA. 

13 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Lifetime (including playoffs):

< 25 attempts : 23-1

25-29 attempts: 22-3

30-34 attempts: 22-17

35-39 attempts: 14-12

40-44 attempts: 4-6

45-49 attempts: 5-11

50+ attempts: 3-9

So in his career, when he's under 35 pass attempts, the Ravens are 67-21, a win % of 76%. That's a 12-4 record over a season on average.

Thanks for the info bro. Pretty telling. You would think that coordinators would have figured this out by now- but I'm sure they'd spew the same "every situation is different ; depends on the flow of the game" nonsense -which has SOME truth to it- but in my eyes is mostly just an excuse.  Its so glaringly obvious they have not been playing to joes strengths.

Funny how the number gets worse and worse as the attempts increase. Without even any outliers.

51 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

I don't think you really understand what BPA is though and how we use it...

In reality, we use a BPA strategy based on a draft board that is assembled to reflect positions that we would like to upgrade. If we were using a true "BPA" strategy, then if the best player on our board in round 1 is a QB, we would take that player, regardless of whether we need a QB, which we don't. It would be the equivalent of us taking the best LT in the draft next year in round 1. 

You assemble a draft board to address multiple positions that you would like to address, and then you take the highest rated player on your board among those positions. In almost every season, the position list is quite lengthy, so we have maybe 4-5 positions or more that we could draft a player at.

Its also funny that when people knock the BPA strategy they do so ONLY by selectively choosing picks they didn't like or didn't work out. 

If Art Brown was a "need pick", then CJ Mosley was also. How do we know this? Well MLB was certainly a position we needed when we drafted him. In fact, the FO told us in the offseason prior to the draft that they would be upgrading the MLB position that offseason. So are you saying that Mosley was BPA and Brown was a "need"?

I mean this isn't rocket science guys. By the time the draft comes around, I and everybody else on these boards will likely be able to tell you the 4-5 positions that our first round pick will come from. It won't be a QB and it won't be a LT. Last year the positions everybody thought our first round pick would come from was LT, Corner, WR or pass rusher. We pretty much knew that going in. And guess what... we drafted one of those players.

The problem I think fans have is that they don't understand that taking the BPA doesn't mean you're taking a good player everytime. Every single NFL team rates a player highly on draft day and whiffs on that player on an annual basis. Every single one of them, every single year.

Fan logic when it comes to the draft:

Good pick = we used BPA

Bad pick = we reached for need

The reality is that you can make a BPA pick that doesn't pan out.

 

Obviously your spot on...but sometimes the BPA based on need gets thrown out the window if were talking about a blue chip player. Yeah your not gonna draft the BPA if its a qb BC of how much were currently paying Joe..but say they are 99% sure that a guy is going to be the next Johnathan Ogden, yet we just drafted Stanley? Are we going to pass? Or if we got a prospect who's projected as the next Luke Keuchly- do we pass BC we have CJ Mosley ( who's entering his 4th year)  ?

14 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

CSN-Mid Atlantic said since 2013, he's 17-6 with a 3-0 record in 2016.

Well there ya go- and I guarantee that the winning percentage is even higher since 2008. Numbers rarely lie.

20 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

He signed a 1 year $2.75 million contract with the Detroit Lions.

He caught 67 passes for 584 yards and 8TDs. That does work out to a pretty paltry and career low 8.7 yards a catch, but you aren't grabbing him to be a big play home run hitter. You're getting him to move the chains and catch those short redzone TD passes and he's proven once again he can still get it done. I think 8TDs for receiving would have led the Ravens?

Exactly- and Yep by far- Mr Sr. Led the team with 5. 

Plus we all know how how Joe likes those big body receivers who fight for YAC on third down. And we've seen what they can do together. I mean its certainly a thought- and he'd have to show he still had it next year in camp and earn the spot. I think its worth considering. I know most fans would love to have him back and welcome him with open arms. Would also soften the blow of steve leaving. I just think if we go the route of drafting another youngster then its not a bad idea to bring in another proven vet to fill the void left by Steve. Anquan also brings some fire of his own. He brings excitement; He's fierce and a great redzone target- which is where we tend to struggle.

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 11:07 AM, ellicottraven said:

Well John is talking the same old talk again. It is tiresome to watch him go on about how we need to do better and we will. Trying really hard to rationalize keeping all his coaches except add more players. I think we are doomed for 2017 if he keeps his coordinators. Just said explicitly that he is going to keep the coordinators. We are screwed and he must go in my view! This is just such a bummer because Marty is going to stay.

Marty and I both believe in running the football! He is so full of 'dung' it is unbelievable. He's keeping Marty simply because Flacco and Pitta put pressure on this guy coupled with his loyalty to his assistants.

I don't know about you, but I'm just dejected with the Ravens brass at this point.He also just said the players believe in him (I'm assuming he means Flacco and Pitta) and he believes in Marty too (loyalty I suppose). Same old cliches such as 'Get good at what we do', 'we are going to go to work', 'we are just a few plays away', 'we're fighting every single day to be great at what we do', etc.

We are going to have another failed season if nothing changes and that isn't forthcoming based on every cliche I've heard from John Harbaugh. I feel defeated as a fan by the team that I adore and by the owner I hold in high esteem.

Flacco and pitta had nothing to do with it.. Their comments had no bearing on the decision whatsoever...

And if you think that Ozzie and bisciotti didn't have just as much of a say in the decision as harbaugh then you haven't watched them do business over the last 8 or 9 years. This is a tight knit group that doesn't make decisions unless everybody's on board. There weren't many other options- certainly none that were any better, and yet ANOTHER change and ANOTHER mindset coming in could have been even more detrimental to the team. So that had to be weighed with the option of letting the guy who already has a relationship with his players actually get a full off season to do his thing.

As far as the decision to keep Dean- I mean its hard to argue against somebody who had a top 5 unit in that many different categories. This is a smart guy who's been around for a lonnng time. He knows what needs to be done- and we need to get him some pass rush to work with.  He has gotten the most out of some very mediocre groups and made lemonade when given lemons. Hes been put in some very tough situations and had to game plan for some of the biggest games without our #1 corner. Lets get him some real depth to work with.  I wouldn't have been surprised or opposed to a change at either of these positions... But at some point  its on the players to execute and produce.

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 11:11 AM, Dr. Kelley said:

Well, it doesnt look like anything is going to change for next season.  Good to know the ravens are standing strong in their continued commitment to mediocrity going into next season.

 

What a joke

Or how about a commitment to continuity? Nothing wrong with being loyal and trusting your guys to get things right. I'd rather carry on with the same group who knows the mistakes they made and know what they need to improve as opposed to hitting the reset button and taking a chance on the unknown. We obviously aren't far away as we missed the playoffs by 1 game , nearly won the north and almost all the games we lost were only by one score or less. We're a player or two away.. Commit to pass rushing and having a more balanced offense and we're right there.

On 1/2/2017 at 5:10 PM, Doomville said:

Pretty tough schedule if you ask me, at least going by this year.

People literally say this every year.

On 1/3/2017 at 1:50 AM, RavensDieHard21 said:

Well that's great. Raiders, Steelers, Titans, Bengals, and Vikings on the road. Lol easily going to lose 4/5 of those. 

We play the Steelers and the Bengals on the road every year so what? 

We need to stop worrying about our opponents and focus on ourselves. We already can hang with literally any team in the league- make the right moves this off season and have another strong draft and teams will be worried about coming to face us.

We drew the AFC South- which is arguably the weakest division this year.  Only team in the NFC north that I could see giving us a hard time would be green bay. And the AFC north hasn't been as strong as it usually is. I could easily see 12 wins here- but a lot depends on how this off season goes and how healthy we stay over the course of the year. Hopefully this time we won't be so vulnerable if jimmy goes down- and a strong pass rush will do wonders for the secondary. Just as a strong running game will do wonders for the passing game and play action. Get back to ravens football and it won't matter who we play.

On 1/1/2017 at 9:25 PM, JoeyFlex5 said:

a lot of things went wrong this year, we had a 4 game slide early in the season when we were missing our starting LT, our top CB was out for a good portion of the season, Mosley was out for a while, SSS was out for a while, our QB was coming off of a torn ACL and hadnt hit his stride yet, and we still lost most of those games because of 1 or 2 plays that just didnt go our way or overly aggressive coaching, and we fell JUST SHORT of making the playoffs despite it all. So lets stop trashing everyone for a second and look at our reasons to feel good about 2017... 

we finally solved the disaster that was the LT position, this is HUGE moving forward. 

we have reason to believe breshad perriman can be a big piece and can realistically take a big leap finally getting an offseason to develop 

matt judon looked very promising not just as a pass rusher, but as an all around OLB 

we found a young stud at slot corner 

we found alex lewis who can start at a solid level at multiple spots and is great depth in case someone gets hurt 

kenneth dixon and terrence west are a dangerous 1-2 punch if we can get just a little bit more push up front 

flacco will not enter the season in rehab mode 

we have high upside guys who werent ready to play this year like correa, henry, kaufusi, and canady. 

we held the number 1 defense for most of the season despite having no pass rush. 

cj mosley and zach orr may be the best ilb tandem in the league 

we have a 3rd round comp coming in and were picking in the middle of each round, we have a chance to find some really good guys this draft and solve a lot of our problems 

 

i prefer to look on the bright side rather than call doom and gloom. we hampered ourselves early on with a bad month, if we win half of those losses which we very realistically could have with just 1 play made(moores drop vs oak, mosleys fumble vs was) then we are in the playoffs right now. this team, with all of its problems, is not as much of a disaster as many are claiming it is. step off the ledge people, winning comes at a cost and we are paying it right now, but we are far from finished.

Well said.

23 hours ago, K-Dog said:

How in the name of all that is good in this world did THIS post get negged?

 

I upped it by the way...

Wasn't me but I could see why.

1 hour ago, Purple_City39 said:

Honestly, it seemed like Perriman was the #5 or #6 options behind SSS, Wallace, Pitta, Aiken, and which ever RB Joe wanted to check down to.  Honestly, 500 yards and 3 TDs for an player below the #3 option is pretty good.  He also probably made the most spectacular catches on the team

Yeah for being behind those 3 guys- coming off an injury and not having any training camp since entering the NFL I'm definitely pleased with his season. Stayed healthy all year- showed major flashes and made more spectacular catches than anybody on the team. He hauled in atleast 5 REALLY impressive catches.. And was nearly the hero against Washington. Almost had another TD last Sunday too. So he came close to leading the team in TDs along with Steve. Not too shabby at all for the amount of oppurtunities and targets he got.

1 hour ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I do not view the check-downs as an extension of the running game. They're meant to be exactly what the name implies- a check down when no other passing option is open. If we're talking screens, swing passes, wheel routes, etc., then sure, I can see it being an extension of the running game. We didn't see that, though. What we saw was little dump offs over the middle that are a last resort for your passing game.

I had to look up what teams ran the WCO, but I found this- Bills (2), 49ers (4), Bengals (9), Eagles, (10), Raiders (11), Falcons (12), Chiefs (14), Broncos (15), Colts (16). Nine teams in the top half of the league run a WCO and were in the top half of rushing attempts. Four ranked in the top 10. Hell, the Ravens were behind the Packers and their WR converted to RB in rushing attempts. That's sad.

Also, as a side note, NE actually passed the ball only 55% of the time and ran 45% of the time. That's nuts for a team that's viewed as all Brady.

Anyway, back on track. Baltimore actually ranked dead last in the NFL in pass to run ratio. Lower number meaning they ran the ball more, here are some WCO's and their ranks. Bills (31), 49ers (29), Bengals (23), Falcons (22), Chiefs (20), Oakland (19), Eagles (18), Denver (17). That's an even eight in the top half of run percentage plays and it looks like another four in the top 10. All of those teams listed were about 59% pass:41% run or closer to 50%:50%. 

Clearly there's a good chance to run the ball and still be able to have a very efficient passing game (Falcons, Bengals, Raiders, Colts). It doesn't have to be exclusive, and in the case of teams like the Falcons, it probably aided in one of the most proficient seasons ever by a quarterback.

The Ravens ran the ball pretty well as the season wore on. Dixon really hit a groove and West seemed to break off longer runs more consistently in the second half of the season. The Ravens just absolutely chose to not run the ball.

That's the way I see it. Couldn't agree more.

I also want to get the official number of games Flacco has won as opposed to losing when having under 35 pass attempts throughout his entire career. I guarantee you its a big difference.

5 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

Wallace is a big play waiting to happen, if he's in the right situation. For me he's not the guy that's going to make something out of nothing. He's not going to break a tackle and he's not putting moves on anyone to break free. If he has a step or is out in the open his speed will blow by most. What concerns me is that he doesn't consistently make the tough catch and he often shows alligator arms.

With Smitty gone we need a dependable, sure handed guy, especially at the price point of Mike. If the Skins don't retain Garcon, I can see him being that guy. His play reminds a lot of Boldin and he seems to be exactly what the Ravens need. But my guess though is that he stays in DC, so IDK.  lol

 

What about Boldin himself? I believe he's a FA...he seems to still be producing...would it hurt to bring him in on a 1 year deal and draft another youngster to develop? I don't see much downside- and I'm sure he'd highly consider a Baltimore reunion.

1)Wallace 2)Perriman 3) Boldin 4) Rookie x  5)campanaro 6)moore

doesnt sound like a bad corps..and you could actually afford to bring in another vet as well in that case.  How about:

1) Wallace 2) Garcon 3) Boldin 4)  Perriman 5) Rookie x 6) Campanaro 7) Moore

that would be 3 burners - 2 possession receivers and 2 potential slot receivers. Just a thought. Depending on perrimans development ofcourse he could work his way up- but I think he might still be just 1 year away. So a 1 year stop gap in a vet such as Boldin may not be a bad idea. Then again I really should've done my homework first BC I'm not even sure if he's available.

QB: C +.  Not a good year- threw a lot of interceptions and way too many check downs.despite that he put us into position to win alot of games- he gave us the lead late in several games only for our defense to falter and give it up. Gotta take into account he was coming off a torn ACL..and once again was forced to work with a new coordinator midseason- yet he still set a new franchise record in yards. Don't think he was utilized properly and you could see his frustration. His receivers didnt make many plays for him- alot of dropped balls and no YAC. Still displayed the bad habit of throwing off his backfoot and failing to step up in the pocket. He improved over the year though as i believe he got more comfortable with his leg. So overall I give him a slightly above average grade . 

RB: B -    hard to evaluate this position. I think we all were surprised by West bursting into the scene and becoming the number 1. Not sure why they seemed to basically give up on Allen. Forsett was a disappointment but Dixon showed major flashes and could be a real stud. Quite simply though they were underutilized... Didn't get nearly enough carries- and that's no fault of their own. Strictly going off of their body of work I'd say it was good - plenty of room for improvement...particularly in pass protection. But a lot of that is on the coaches.

TE: D+   Major let down here. What was supposed to be the most stacked position and " the best group in the NFL " basically fell apart. Watson went down in preseason- Crock  stayed hurt - Maxx showed zero improvement and also stayed hurt- Boyle got suspended and Pitta couldn't block a fly. Waller showed some positive signs and make big strides- esp making the conversion from WR. There were so many plans and all this big talk about double and triple tight end sets- and if not for Pitta bailing this group out and leading the team in receptions I would've givin them a big ole F.

WR: C.   Wallace started off hot but tapered off big time in the second half of the season.still put up 1000. Steve showed he still had gas in the tank and showed some explosiveness even after coming off the injury at 37. Perriman did pretty much what I expected from him his first real year. Started slowly but as he got comfortable he showed some real flashes. I don't think he was targeted enough though. A few concentration drops but came out the gate making the plays that came his way and made countless impressive catches. Moore was a complete bust. Finished with under 75 yards I believe.  Several key drops. Made plays on ST but major disappointment for a guy many of us had high hopes for. Hard to get a gauge on Aiken. He was obviously pushed back in the pecking order due to Wallace and steve- plus we had to attempt to develop Perriman. He would dissapear for awhile and then come up with huge catches very randomly...but overall he underachieved this year. Tough call on whether to bring him back. Wide receivers as a whole were a very average group who failed to make many big plays or get significant YAC. Once again- a lot has to do with the lack of a running attack- becoming 1 dimensional and the play calling..but still, very average.

O-Line: B+    a lot to be excited about here for the future. Stanley had a great rookie campaign along with lewis. Yanda was the mauler he always was and even played hurt and switched positions.  Wagner played well. Ducasse was up and down and caused a lot of penalties. Hurst is no better though. The only one who really underachieved and prevented this group from getting an A was Zuttah. He pretty much sucked it up and was a liability all year long. Overall this group did well and kept Joe clean for the most part. And that's saying alot when we started two rookies on Joe's left side. Upgrade the center position and retain Wagner and we're in very good shape here. 

D-Line:  C +.  Another one that was tough to guage. Started off the year red hot and it looked like nobody was getting an inch through the running game. Then in the last quarter of the season they just ran out of gas and collapsed. I don't know if they got out schemed or if they just got tired ..but it hurt to see them finish like that. Didn't get much qb pressure from them either so again- average.

LB: A-   The only A on the team . Mosley got past that little sophomore slump and returned to top form. He also got much better in coverage as seen by his interceptions. The UDFA Orr also bursted onto the scene and led the team in tackles.  Doom was obviously playing hurt and disappointed- but Suggs showed that he still had it, even after tearing his bicep. He slowed over the course of the year ,but after all he is on the back 9, and like I said he had a freakin torn bicep. A lot of what he does doesn't show up in the stats. ZSmith was a major letdown( hopefully a sophomore slump) but the addition of Judon kind of offset that. I was kind of upset to not see Levine used here hardly at all..BC I thought he would've done well there..but the play of Orr may have made that hard to do. More pass rushers are needed- and I almost split the grades between ILB and OLB..BC obviously one is lacking more than the other- but as a whole I'm gonna still give this group an A-

CB: C+    could've been a great group if Jimmy had stayed healthy, but the dropoff when he doesn't play is far too evident. Shareece failed to live up to expectations after a huge first game teasing us lol..but Tavon Young atleast played so well that he showed he could even play on the outside. Powers was up and down- but as much as he was raved about during camp he didn't live up to that. 

S: B+    Weddle was a HUGE addition. Not only from his play but his leadership was key. His positive attitude was contagious and rubbed off on the entire team. He didn't play perfectly and gave up 2 or 3 big plays- but the improvement here cannot be overstated and he was snubbed from the pro bowl. Webb also did a good job...he's taken a lot of flack but overall I saw him have a pretty solid year. Him and Webb looked good back there and were a solid duo...they didn't give up many big splash plays and they made a lot of tackles. Was hoping Elam could've made an impact in his return but he didn't really do anything, and Levine didn't really get any playing time. Kendrick Lewis probably shouldn't have made the roster in hindsight, and is an obvious cut this off season.. Webb also has a pretty high cap number  but  we will see what happens. As far as play on the feild the year- they did very well.

OC: F -    What an atrocity. From trestman to Marty , it got no better. The things we thought Marc got fired for- Marty did the exact same if not MORE. made no sense. Zero commitment to running game and nothing but excuses. They kept saying every game is different and the flow of the game dictates the run/pass ratio yet every single game no matter the situation we just kept on passing. First and goal from the 2. Pass. 3rd and 12- check down. Just completely backwards- constantly throwing short of the sticks. You can blame this on Joe if you want- but when you become one dimensional its hard for receivers to get open- and we've seen what Joe can do with a successful running game with balance. The play action was completely ineffective and it was just like both OCs were completely oblivious. Total failure and the downfall of this team IMO.

DC: C.    Being top 5 in the league in several categories means your obviously doing something right. But when things went array and not according to plan it seems like pees never had a plan B and just has trouble making in game adjustments. The breakdowns at the end of games and that damn prevent defense was the death of us. The offense gave us the lead late in the fourth in 4 or 5 games I can remember and instead of staying aggressive we played to not lose instead of playing to win.  The defense collapsed and cost us at the very least 3 games. And IMO  it was the soft playcalling. We did manage to get a ton more turnovers this year- but I think that obviously had more to do with Leslie Frazier than it did pees- whom is a good potential in-house candidate to precede pees. Yet again- average.

HC: B-   Harbaugh always does a good job getting the guys ready to go and inspiring his team. He didn't get much help from his staff this year and they let him down and made him look bad alot- yet he still took responsibility.. As he should.  He made a lot of aggressive decisions that paid off. Many of them got overlooked in all the chaos of winning or losing...but a few of them backfired and ofcourse went under the microscope. The main thing that continues to plague him and he's failed to correct is the clock management. Been an issue for quite some time and they keep saying it will get fixed and it never does. No urgency whatsoever ( a lot of that is on the players as well ) but they always seem to have trouble getting the plays called in situations where time is of essence. Instead of just letting Joe do his thing( which seems to work best) they keep a leash on him and just lackadaisically move along. ( sometimes this is also on the OC) ..we could be down 10 points with 5 minutes left and we're just taking our good ole time like it's all good. And often we come up just a few seconds or few yards short. We take timeouts at inopportune times and dont seem to value them. Once again we just overall need to manage the clock better. Harbaugh is a great leader and he's not the problem here - but he DOES need to do more to fix things.

Overall -  C     average team with an average record. Showed glimpses of greatness and had the ability to go on a run and hang with any team in the league.. But we always came up just short..literally by  inches. We could've been 12-4 and we could've been 6-10.. Just another one of them years where nearly every game came down to 1 or 2 plays..and we lacked the playmakers to make them. We had several games within grasp and we just let them slip away. We were undisciplined and highly penalized..but I think its pretty easy to see that most of the blame can be placed on the coordinators on both sides of the ball. Players have to execute..but coaches have to put them in position to win ..and the play calling was atrocious. We played to not lose instead of playing to win..when we were able to finish we got off to too slow of a start and when we started fast we weren't able to finish. Typical Ravens. An improvement from last year- but nowhere near up to our standards. Almost doesn't cut it , and a  .500 record is indicative of exactly what we were- AVERAGE.  

Really sick and tired of losing in Cincinnati. We haven't won there since 2011 I believe. That's ridiculous. What's also ridiculous is continuing to pass the ball inside the 3 yard line on first and goal with a more than capable o line and running back (s)..also baffles me why we kept running behind the right side of the line in short yardage or goal line situations when we've got Stanley and yanda on the left side? Makes no sense. In those situations you run behind the strong side of the line. I honestly don't even know if we did that yesterday BC I couldn't even bring myself to watch the game- (It wasn't televised in my area anyway) but it was something I noticed over the course of the last 3 or 4 games.  I'm just glad we didn't win last week and then go out and get eliminated by losing this game- not that i think that would've happened...but man would that have stung. Not sure which would've been worse. Would've loved to go out with a win- esp it capping off Steve's career- but being 16th in the draft order is atleast one small silver lining and puts us in range to get a game changer. If we have another draft like last years we will be in great shape.

20 hours ago, ALSKAN RAVEN FAN said:

I had mixed feelings about Dean Pees but today I think that's gone. I believe Pees should be let go and we should get new coaches doing the offensive and defensive play calling next season.

I feel the exact same way. I watched his presser after the steelers game and I kinda got the feeling I wanted him back and that it wasn't really on him- but after yesterday I'm just done. A change is needed there. Pagano may get canned so who knows if he may be an option.  If he doesn't retire then I know he has a great relationship with the ravens and Baltimore's a place he would love to be.

20 hours ago, FGSB said:

"B-BUT HE W-WON A SUPER BOWL HALF A DECADE AGO ON THE COATTAILS OF RAY LEWIS HE M-MUST BE G-GOOD RIGHT?!?!"
 

Its a shame we extended him. Hes the main problem no matter how much you want to bury your head in the sand. He can't hire a good OC and he can't see that his DC is garbage

Give it a rest dude.

20 hours ago, terrynjulia03 said:

The Good: Hopefully Pees has seen his last game as a DC in this league. We see Zuttah and Ducasse are no more than backups at best. Elam finally goes bye. Better draft pick. The OL showed who stays and who goes. We don't have to worry about paying BWill  

Bad. We need to get rid of Pitta  force Joe to target others over the bum safety valve  

 

You could be a little less harsh on pitta and have a little more respect for somebody who should be the comeback player of the year. Nearly EVERYBODY was saying he needed to hang up his cleats- no one expected him to return or have an impact at a position where we were stacked. Well- we quickly went from stacked to depleted- and not only did he bail us out but he led the freakin team in receptions. I get that a lot of them were garbage check downs and blazay blah but that's still a hell of a feat for somebody who was thought to be done- so just think about that and go easy on the guy.

19 hours ago, HazDaGeneral said:

lol man HARBS dont never just say what is right regardless if the performance is pathetic i mean look at this quote too

Drew Forrester ‏@itsahooded4iron  41m41 minutes ago

Harbaugh: "We did not play well, especially in the first half. I'm proud of the way they worked though. We're going forward from here."

Hmm, so I guess he should've said " We played well, especially in the first half. I'm not proud of the way we worked though. Were going backwards from here." 

18 hours ago, robbie29 said:

*only when he catches the ball

Man y'all are ruthless when it comes to Perriman. Go easy and cut the kid a little slack. It's not like he dropped that many passes. What , 4 or 5 maybe? That's pretty common even for long time veterans. Go look and tell me how many drops Steve has had in his first 2 years here in Baltimore.

18 hours ago, rmw10 said:

If only he could run routes consistently.  That one flat route he ran on what I believe was his first target was very, very bad.  Hopefully a full offseason of work will help him develop there

Yep, he's had a grand total of one day of training camp since entering the NFL. And he still has shown improvement. Alot of y'all didn't even expect him ready for the season - and he played all year long and showed up every game healthy.

14 hours ago, Cillmatic said:

Stanley was quietly REALLY good this month. Looks like we got a franchise LT. That and a serviceable QB are the most important positions in football. If we upgrade our center we should have a really good O-line next season. I'm cautiously optimistic. 

Yep, along with Alex Lewis who was a pleasant surprise and very solid. We need to retain Wagner and get a new Center like you said- and Dixon could be in for a real breakout year.

On 12/31/2016 at 6:41 PM, JO_75 said:

What OC out there is similar to Kubiak scheme wise without actually bringing back Kubiak?

Dennison. Familiar with ravens - Used to coach Joe- and is basically the Kubiak mini- me.  He's been under Kubes for years so they have a very similar thought process. He'd definitely be a top candidate if he's even interested.

On 1/1/2017 at 9:00 AM, K-Dog said:

This is why I think Marty stays.

Unless someone amazing falls in our laps I think Marty will remain at O.C.

He was thrust into the position at half season.  I give him this off season to make some changes and get everyone on the same page.   Poor Joe can't keep a coordinator for long.

No chance whatsoever.. I don't see any scenario where he remains the OC. 

On 12/31/2016 at 7:58 AM, sizzlingdoom said:

HUH?

Sarcasm. Harbs ain't the problem. Look what happened in San Fran when they moved on from Jim. They fell off a cliff. Teams that have continuity are most successful. Coordinators have been the problem. Had kubiak stayed things would've been MUCH different. Damn Elway.

On 12/31/2016 at 8:57 PM, PurpleCity5 said:

I could say nearly the same thing for many of the other guys who we have relied to step up on in the past and will be relying on to step up on in the near future in regards to Perriman. To be fair to the guy we know the factors that contributed largely and a bright spot to it is that we feel that it won't be an issue for him. What I mean by that is more reps and most importantly establishing Chemistry between him and Joe which absolutely was not there this year. Let me ask you this, do you trust Michael Pierce, Maxx Williams, Crockett Gilmore or Matt Judon more? Those guys faced a significantly less cliff and didn't do much at all even when healthy. I mean these are guys who we're going to ask to step up and become an integral part of the team next year, why not expect our 1st round pick who has shown much more than these guys. I mean, if I can recall we asked Shareece Wright and Chykie Brown to step up. Reguardless, someone is going to have to step up for this team because we won't be able to do all the work on this team via FA/Draft.

Now I think we can upgrade Wallace and add another cheaper WR next year, what we really need is some one at the slot position because we haven't been effective there for a long time now, that's where I really want us to go at because it's a position that can really rip teams apart. 

We could've had that slot receiver last year in the draft to replace Steve and once again we passed. Sterling Sheppard was there for the taking-  and has produced right away. He has a football oriented family which Ozzie tends to love- and he's a fiesty guy with great hands. seemed to have been the perfect replacement... But too late now. Passed on Diggs the year before in the fourth round. I know what's done is done but its  just really frustrating to see all these teams getting Immediate production from their receivers and we can't seem to hit on one to save our life . I AM excited about BP and I think he can become that number one with a full training camp with Joe- as long as he stays healthy. But theres still that void with Steve gone. Camps a good slot receiver- but we all know that story. Aiken is a question mark- did he have a down year due to lack of targets and being pushed down in the pecking order or was he struggling to get open? Wallace started off the year on fire but tapered off pretty heavily, and didn't finish the season strongly at all. He didn't seem very happy either. I was excited about Chris Moore and his big play potential- but so far he's been an absolute dud. Maybe he'll surprise some people and make huge strides next year- but we can't count on it. Garcon has been the name thrown around the most- but I'm sure other names will arise as things start to become a little more clear. Even Desean Jacksons name has been thrown around and boy would he look good in purple- but do we really need 3 burners? Or would we move on from Wallace if we did that?  Just really anxious to see what happens here. One things for sure: Joe Flacco CANNOT have that many damn pass attempts next year- and we HAVE to get back to the run first mentality. Then  the deep ball will become a part of our game again. Fortunately we seem to have a strong Oline intact for next year ( resigning Wagner is a must) and a young running back in Dixon who looks ready to take the league by storm. West also provides a strong number 2 to compliment Dixon for a change of pace or to be our short yardage bruiser. Keep Joe under 30 attempts a game!! 

22 hours ago, Ravensfan23 said:

I think it's highly unlikely Pitta takes another pay cut. I personally don't think he had a great year but his numbers suggest he did so I doubt he and his people would take too kind to a pay cut. This is probably the biggest reason I see him no longer with the team in 2017. I think the Ravens will be more than willing to take their chances that this group of young TEs. 

I think this is a huge factor as well. Pitta played a full season and that's great, but that doesn't mean he's out of the water injury wise. His hip is a ticking time bomb and while it sucks to treat him like a throw away players, his contract situation makes things tough like you said. I'd be very surprised to see Pitta a member of the 2017 Baltimore Ravens no matter the route that is taken to reach that conclusion. 

A lot of people are forgetting about Watson as well- I'm guessing they're just assuming he's a definite cut ( which is 85% likely true) but I'm not so sure about pitta. He led the team in receptions for christ sakes- and he had to take it real easy during camp with the hip and then the finger injury. He's definitely the comeback player of the year. I don't think he returns at the current number- and I think pitta sees the writing on the wall and will be willing to either restructure or take a straight up paycut. First off he knows he's at higher risk for injury- he's noit gonna wanna uproot his family from bmore- and his bromance with Joe and juice and the guys is like no other. He will take a paycut to stay. I'm also excited about Waller and I think he will be a real weapon next year. Disappointed in Gillmore and Maxx- Along with Boyles suspension. But I think we go into the year with 1) Pitta 2) Waller 3) Maxx 4) Gillmore . Boyle will battle it out for that last spot with crock- and if crock can't stay healthy Boyle might get the nod. If pitta doesn't take a paycut then I think all 4 will make it- but that will leave us pretty vulnerable with no real proven talent at an important position. Had such high hopes for crock but he seems to have hit a wall and has just been stagnant. Hasn't improved- been hurt- and just doesn't show that fierceness that he once did. And maxx is kinda the same- hasn't improved and has just been hurt. The jump to the NFL just seems to have been too much for him. Now I know it takes some time to develop tight ends- but obviously we all expected more. We thought we beat Pittsburgh to the punch and they've gotten far more from Jesse James. Hunter Henry is another guy who came in right away and produced immediately- even behind a HOF'r in Gates. Could it be coaching? I don't know...but its a problem . the group looked so stacked and claimed to be the best in the NFL ...well that was a joke.

I know many people are going to speculate about kubiak returning as an OC after stepping down from the broncos HC gig- and I do think he will stay involved in the game in some capacity in a position that's less stressful since health was his main concern and he's not announcing his retirement.. But its just not gonna happen guys. Man it would be great and it's an awesome thought- but its just too much of a long shot and he's bound to stay within the Denver organization. So keep dreaming. Let's just hope we can find somebody who knows how to truly have a balanced offense.

11 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

Somewhat unrelated, but still kind of related... I'm looking forward to seeing Onwuasor start this weekend for the injured Zach Orr.  We know Orr has some limitations in coverage, and PO is a good dime candidate.  It would be nice to see if he's an option for that type of role next year and Orr might not be a full time player, at least on passing downs, anymore.

I'm also looking forward to seeing what peanut can do. Word was he was a fiesty one in training camp- let's see some of that on the feild.

Looking forward to seeing Perriman and Moore get a nice share of targets too, although we need to send sss out the right way. We want to keep Wallace happy as well who is just short of 1k yards... .I'm sure he will want to hit that mark. Lotta mouths to feed. Anybody have the exact number on how many yards mike needs for 1000?

On 12/26/2016 at 1:05 AM, Deflated Football said:

I'll take a crack at this since I was right about us signing Weddle and Wallace when a lot of members said there was no way in hell.

1.) Sign Brandon Marshall. He's having a down year, but he has had abysmal QB play. He's that guy that can go over the middle or physically manhandle any DB on any route. The Jets want to clean house and rebuild, and he could be a cut candidate. Perfect target for Flacco.

2.) Trade for Kyle Fuller. Cut Shareece and PLEASE don't re-sign Powers. Have Jimmy and Tavon on the outsides with Fuller in the slot. Address the rest of the position in the draft or free agency (cap casualties, UFA's, etc). 

3.) Cut Pitta. His time here is done. Maxx, Waller and Boyle needs more reps. I cannot emphasize this enough. I'm not sold on Crockett.

4.) Cut Doom. He's ineffective, slow and oft-injured. Unleash the beast that is Judon. I think Sizz still has one more season left and we can find his replacement in next years draft, or have Correa put in a lot of work in the offseason because his first step is insane and we need him to realize his potential.

5.) End Jabrill Peppers' slide and select the versatile monster who can also be a force in the return game. If he's not there, take Mike Williams. Him, Brandon Marshall, Mike Wallace, Breshad, Campanaro and Moore. Not bad. 

6.) Cut Zuttah. He gets pushed back into Flacco way too often and draws too many drive killing penalties. Draft Ethan Pocic in the second and beef him up. Look how he helped Fournette. 

7.) Fire Pees and go hard after Gus Bradley, Chuck Pagano (if he's fired), Rex Ryan (if he's fired), or literally anyone else. I'm sick of his crap. 

8.) I'm willing to give Marty one more season unless Hue Jackson or Mike McCoy become available. 

I'm sure I can think of more, but I'm absolutely drained from tonights heartbreaking loss. Onto 2017! 

1) don't like his off the feild commitments and could be a potential distraction but his talent would be worth the risk, very intriguing option- and less injury prone than a guy like Jeffrey. I remember when he asked harbaugh how he would feel about him being a raven and still doing inside the NFL and harbs said something like they could work something out. Nice thought.

2) not a bad thought but takes two to trade. Shareece isn't bad depth  either but we did overpay him. Give him a paycut and if he refuses thern seyonara. We do need another REAL corner who can actually step up if jimmy goes down so we won't be dead in the water and left hanging. Been working with scraps for far too long.

3)not so sure. Crock hasn't been healthy- maxx  has shown zero progression- watson should be a definite cut- and boyles next slip up will be 3 strikes. I think waller will make big strides for us...but that still leaves us without a true vet..the tight end position takes a long time to get down,  and Pitta's rapport with Joe is like no other. Ofcourse we cant keep him at the current number...but I think he's more than willing to take a paycut to stay with his buddys and keep his family in Baltimore. To be continued.

4) Agreed. Doom is done here and siz has 1 more good year left in him once he gets that bicep right.  Priority has to be pass rush this off season and we need to focus on getting KC where he needs to be instead of confusing him with multiple opositions. Let Judon Blossom into the beast he's destined to be.

5) don't know how you think we're in range for peppers but I wish.. That would kill 2 birds with one stone as well but we would have to give up too much to get that high...and with the way Ozzie turns 3- 5 round picks into gold I doubt he's willing to mortgage that much..but we'll see. A lot will depend on if we win or lose Sunday and how far peppers slides. One can dream.

6) YES. zuttah has been a liability all year. Trade for a vet or draft one in the first 3 rounds.

7) disagree here. After I just saw pees most recent presser I changed my mind on him. This guy gets it- he just needs the personnel to succeed. ( more pass rushers) continuity is key here and the players surprisingly love him. Only guy I would consider as a replacement would be Marv Lewis... But who knows if that will even be an option.

8) not sure about that either- I wouldn't hate it- and ANOTHER OC for Joe to go into the season with is pretty ridiculous.. But he has to show he will be more committed to the run. Keep him around unless a no brainer candidate becomes available. Norv Turner is a thought but I'm not sure about him either.

9) obvious cuts such as arrington , watson and K lewis along with a few others. Need to get Webb's number down a bit more - he's always been a team player and willing to help out but he may not budge this time. I don't think he would get much elsewhere though and he knows that. Put a 2nd round tender on Orr, not sure what to do about Aiken. Give SSS some time to himself and then maybe offer him a 1 year respectable deal- many think its time to move on but the fact is he still can produce and we can limit his snaps and use him as a true #3  third down receiver .. Not taking any snaps away from perriman.. Still need to bring in a vet receiver though..the consensus seems to be Garcon is the best option.

A wr corps of 1) Wallace 2) Perriman 3) Garcon 4) SSS 5) Aiken 6 ) Campanaro 7) Moore sounds pretty intriguing to me with or without Steve.

Dixon is the guy who's gonna carry this offense. I'm telling yall- he is going to explode onto the scene as long as we keep him healthy.

Either way we should have a very healthy cap number going into next season and our hands will be a lot less tied. We don't usually make big  FA splashes but I smell a few big acquisitions.

I really liked what dean pees had to say in his latest presser and his explanation of our loss to the steelers. I think he was spot on. I was kind of ready to move on from him but Im not so sure. Aside from continuity being important for this team, I think pees really understands what needs to be done, and I think the players rallied behind him this year and really like him. We just need to give him the players ( pass rushers ) he needs to succeed. Once again he took mediocre talent and turned it into a top 5 defense. I know many have a Iove hate relationship with him here- but we need to give him another shot unless another obvious candidate is just jumping out at us. Originally I was thinking Frazier would be a good answer since he's already in-house... But we didn't hear too much about or from him this year. Never heard the players talk about him or anything. Now I think he did a great job with the secondary ,  which is why I would elect to keep him there. The only person off the top of my head that I would consider exceeding pees would be Marvin Lewis- and we have no idea if that will even be an option or if he will want to go back to coordinating after coaching. I'd be highly surprised iif Cincinnati didnt move on from him though.

1 hour ago, NYCRAVEN4LIFE said:

sad though, that our path is always on the road because we're NEVER good enough to compile a record which gets us a bye week. harbaugh's got to go. enough is enough already

Yeah man I'd love to become the 49ers.

Just now, AsianRice said:

Marvin Lewis as DC is too good to be true; dude has great defensive mind......

No kidding.. If only we could lure him here. He's not a distracting personality like Rex either. But neither is Frazier- who's already in-house and would make for an easy transition. If they even decide to move on from Dean.

I think when/ if Marvin Lewis gets fired we should atleast kick the tires on him to see if he's interested in the DC position. But we might already have the answer in- house in Leslie Frazier?