January J

What do y'all think about them platinum white jerseys they have on the ravens store?

The Bears were not going to cut bait on Cutler at that point even if Trestman, the "QB Whisperer" himself, new he was a lost cause. Cutler is petulant and displays poor character under adversity. A coach needs a willing player that buys into his offense. Kubiak/Trestman's offense is predicated on run-first between the 20's sprinkled i with short yardage passes and pass-second near the red zone. By most accounts Cutler wanted to hold onto that "gun-slinger" rep and not follow the game plan.

one thing I do know is that joe and trestman will work together much much better than him and jay. Flacco doesn't get all flustered, he's also modest/ humble and open for new things. But he's also not afraid to speak up if he sees something wrong or if he has an idea. He also knows how to check down if need be. If anything Flacco will help trestman succeed and make him look good, Not the other way around .

Thanks for the links. Another case of fans trying to be loyal to the QB no matter what. Everyone knows Cutler was the problem, Trestman was the scapegoat.

As for the 2nd, everyone already knows the Bears ran so many screen passes because Cutler checks out of the run every chance he gets. (link)

The Bears were frustrated all right: the problem is they couldn't cut Cutler after that contract and no one would trade for him. So they got rid of the next responsible. Thankfully we have an organization that doesn't kid themselves that way.

exactly. Give the guy a break and give him a shot. Things happen, but a fresh start with a already successful team can do amazing things.

Inqui is partially right.... but that said; Do I subscribe to the "everyone hates the Ravens"???

No, not all the time.... but answer me a question... When is the last time you heard ANY of the media talk about the Ravens and their off season moves??? Potential Draft Picks??? or potential to compete this year??? I do watch NFL Network almost every morning while I am getting ready for work, and I can tell you I haven't heard them mention our team AT ALL... Why are they hyping the Steelers/Patriots season opener, when it's obvious the Patriots 1.) have the easier schedule; 2.) fear us more......

Does EVERYBODY hate the Ravens?? Not Everybody. Do I believe that there are NFL Favorites??? Absolutely. Even some of the "non-contending teams" who could only wish to be in the mix every year... but they seem to be the topic of conversation every day..... so... take that any way that you would like....

I just believe that we, as a Division, have a tougher than most others schedule this season...

i also watch the nfl network , nfl live and nfl insiders everyday. The ravens are never mentioned unless it involves Ray rice. It's been like that for years, they are never talked About until they make the playoffs and it becomes inevitable. And when they are mentioned, the analysts actually grimace and throw shade at them constantly. Doesn't bother me, and I like that they are always bet against and they always end up winning and making them look like fools. They hate it when the ravens are always in the mix and just won't go away. With the exception of boomer on Sunday nfl countdown, he actually always praises and bets on the ravens , the rest of them always overlook baltimore. Could it be they just have a certain disdain for the city or are they just tired of us knocking their favorite team from the playoffs? Who knows, but it's whatever to me.

In the end it's still all up to execution. If we execute properly we willl do just fine. And that's where the bears failed. Too many interceptions, too many mistakes in general. A good qb and a few playmakers can make or break an OC.

You are not buying Aiken/forsett jersey..come on.

why wouldn't i? I'm one of the believers that Aiken is going to have a breakout year and that Forsett wasn't a one hit wonder. Guess I'm in the minority there huh

Make of this what you will:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/01/27/baffoe-hey-baltimore-were-trying-to-warn-you-about-marc-trestman/

http://www.reddit.com/r/CHIBears/comments/2odbig/screen_pass_insanity/

And for a counterpoint, that also goes in-depth into some of the plays he ran in the CFL:

http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2013/1/16/3885086/bears-playbook-marc-trestmans-passing-west-coast-offense

Make of this what you will:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/01/27/baffoe-hey-baltimore-were-trying-to-warn-you-about-marc-trestman/

http://www.reddit.com/r/CHIBears/comments/2odbig/screen_pass_insanity/

All I got from that "warning to baltimore " article is that Chicago fans are extremely bitter. They had a sucky team and a sucky quarterback. Just because they haven't been a winning organization in decades they are mad at the world. Yeah , maybe trestman didn't work out as the headcoach there, but fresh starts in new places change things, and most importantly he is not going to be our head coach!! Harbaugh is still leading the charge- and he doesn't let things get to the point of disaster before they fix the leak. Yes trestman is an unorthodox kind of guy who has had mixed results - but given the right environment (which I think is baltimore ) and given an offense that actually has potential he has a real shot to excel. I still can't believe the bears kept the cancer that has been killing them the last few years. Cutler is never going to be a winning quarterback. You can call all the plays in the world but if your qb doesn't know how to read defenses and call audibles you are constantly going to fail. Players have to have faith in the quarterback , and I just don't see any in Chicago. Blame it on trestman all you want , it's easy to pick out one scapegoat when you have 3 dozen problems with your organization from top to bottom. Thanks for the "warning " Chicago - but some organizations aren't incompetent and can handle their own. Baltimores got this.

I do think john fix will do a good Job for them but if they can't move on from cutler they are going to continue being stuck spinning tires.

Surprised by the number of folks who don't have Flacco's jersey (me included).

I think one reason for this, Atleast for me , is I don't want to look like the "stereotypical raven fan"... If that makes any sense? Just seems like fans of most teams always just get the quarterback or star player - which there's nothing really wrong with- I just like to go against the norm

Bold Prediction

Ravens 12-4

Superbowl 50 - Ravens

20th season - Destiny

I agree with both. I can see us easily getting 11 wins. For some reason I think it will be the ravens and cowboys in Super Bowl 50. Either them or the packers . This will be a season to remember

Curious to see how the majority feels about trestman now that he will be running the offense? Optimistic? And how well do you think he will get along with joe and mold with the rest of the players/ coaches? I'm still kind of on the fence- but right now I'm thinkin it could go one of two ways - complete success or complete bust. No in between. I can see our offense either taking off and even topping our numbers from last year with kubiak, finally getting joe over 4000 yards, really utilizing marlon in the redzone , and averaging 30 points a game. OR- the offense is a complete dud, drives constantly stall out due to bad playcalling, and trestman never really clicking with joe and there bein kind of an awkwardness there. Not sure what to think- haven't heard much about him or from him since the interview when he first signed on. I never followed the bears much either so not sure what to expect other than the fact hes known for being aggressive. I just hope he's being proactive getting to know the team and what not. Just something to think about during the long and boring drawn out period before the draft. What y'all think?

Black alternate C.J. Mosley and white away Jimmy Smith will be my next purchases, will also get our 1st round pick if it's a skill position player

sounds good to me. That black practice jersey does go pretty hard too .

This is tough - I don't have the money to be splurging on multiple jerseys so I really have to think this through. Right now id say it's between smith sr. , tucker, Forsett , or jimmy. But damnit I like Aiken too , this is impossible.

This guy gets it. Harbaugh is the definition of what an NFL coach should be. Would love to go to war for this guy. Him and his brother are both class acts, can't wait for him to bring a few more Lombardis to baltimore. I hope he continues coaching here for as long as he is physically able - no-one else I would rather have hands down. Thank you john for writing this and for everything you have done. Keep doin what you do- the rest will take care of itself.

It's a divisional road game on a short week just 4 days after playing the bengals(who are another tough divisional opponent).It's also Bell's first game back,our 3rd road game in our first 4 games and on top of all of that we usually lose in pittsburgh anyway.It's not really an attitude it's just me looking at it with my bias put to the side.Also we don't have the offense to keep up with denver.Thats a game we might have to put up 30 to win and as our team stands right now I don't think we can do that on the road.Especially not at the pace that denver can score.

Didn't mean to sound like a jerk if you could hear my tone I was kind of just being funny. I see what you mean though- of the first four games I actually think Pittsburgh is the one we will most likely lose, but I damn sure wouldn't bet on it. For some reason Denver doesn't worry me the least- if manning thinks he's gonna toss another 7 Tds he's got another thing comin. I see us actually shutting him down and their running game doing more against us than the passing game. He will throw a few picks and might throw a td or 2. But flacco will outplay him hands down. I'm gettin impatient man! C'mon September

Yeah I'm glad we're not wasting our time with these free agents. None of them have what we need or are worth what they are asking. The draft is the way to go, plus utilizing what we already have.

opponent wise, not too bad, but travel wise.. extremely tough. and so far as i know, a bye week means no games played anywhere, so its three weeks at the bank.

that's still 4 straight weeks in baltimore with no travel. I agree with you that I don't think the steelers schedule is any tougher than ours, although the analysts on espn seem to think so. What the hell do they know. Just to clarify once again- we DID NOT receive our schedule request with back to back games in the west. Harbaugh asked for oak-San Fran to be played consecutively so we could stay in the Bay Area. Yes we could have figured who our opponents would be long ago , but that doesn't mean that the scheduling of the games means nothing. There are quite a few "coincidences" that could have worked better in our favor, not saying it was done purposefully but it also could have been made a lot better. Yeah They don't want to show favoritism, seems like we never even have to worry about the perception of that. Anyway- I like it this way- like i said if we make it through the first quarter of games with Atleast 3 wins we should be all good. And we will definitely be battle tested for the playoffs.

I just really got a chance to examine the schedule and I'm thinking we go ATLEAST 10-6. However I could see us easily getting 11 or 12. It kind of all depends on how well we do against the division, we can certainly improve from last year. We will have cincis number this year- and we will Atleast split with Pittsburgh. Ofcourse we sweep the browns. But seriously I can see us getting through the first half of the season with Atleast 6 wins- and then after that we will go into cruise control against a bunch of less than mediocre teams. If we can finish strong we will win the north easily. Easier said than done, but if anybody can do it it's us- we are due for a 11-12 win season.

sure, when wearing all black uniforms.

That first four game stretch stole my little bit of optimism.Denver and Pittsburgh are both losses IMO.That Cin game could be a loss too.The last four games also look tough.

Denver is not going to be the team they used to be. And what the hell makes you think we won't beat Pittsburgh? I don't like your attitude

They've still got to cut him first, don't they? Maybe they draft a young guy and release Vernon after, but I don't see us trying to do a "reverse Boldin" with the 9ers for Davis.

I think we will trade for a tight end after the draft and he will be one of the guys we look at. If he's cut that would be even better. Not sure but we will be adding veteran depth at the position one way or the other.

I see us shooting for Vernon Davis. He will do much better with a real quarterback

half of this thread has been people posting about how much schaub will "help the system" because he "knows the system" and he will "coach the system". hes getting paid to stand around and hold a clipboard. the only relevance he'll have with this "system" is if (knock on wood) flacco does down. even then, how confident how are you with the guy? he got cut from the raiders in favor of derek carr. LOL. to answer your first question, I have more faith in trestman and morningweig than matt schaub, if you would rather have matt schuab preaching knowledge to Joe then wow, no wonder you dont work for the NFL.

. I would rather have all 3 of them preaching to joe. The more knowledge the better.

Espn reported 1 year deal

Trade gradkowski (sp?) and a 6th round pick for glennon. Id like Fitzpatrick as a backup but wouldn't happen.

My only issue is with the refs not giving ample time for the d to make substitutions and the signal for eligible / ineligible being the same. Also them not taking the time to explain to harbaugh. Ofcourse he didn't wanna burn a timeout just for a referee to give him an explanation? That timeout could have been crucial. Also not clear if they reported before or after the huddle, or if they were even really huddling at all. I do know that they missed a penalty when one of the pats players( can't remember the name ) was supposed to come out for a play. That would have stalled that entire drive and changed everything . So yeah , I expect the pats to pull [profanity deleted] like that bc they can't win playing blue collar football, but my issue is with the referees.