ALPHA

On 10/16/2016 at 5:57 AM, -Truth- said:

I thought Whitehair was a first round talent. His mental acuity seemed to be beyond his years. He's currently PFF's 6th highest graded center, though I feel that he'd be even more comfortable at OG. Could play RT in a pinch.

Same, I knew the kid would be plug and play good and was hoping we could land him in the second. 

Bosa is a beast already, we all knew that (or most of us did). Thats why when he was having that messy contract dispute I was hoping we could sneak in with a trade for next years first. Oh well it's nice to dream.

On 10/22/2016 at 4:34 PM, usmccharles said:

We really need to find the C for the future.  Having Birk here was a huge advantage,  I would of rather paid Alex Mack the money than KO, i think that position is over looked.

It is overlooked, I thought it was obvious we needed an upgrade at C but we rolled the dice on Zuttah bouncing back. 

It's way too early to judge Perriman but we just never seem to have any ideas when it comes to developing receivers, our best all time receivers have come from free agency and we've had multiple opportunities to bring in guys like Brandon Marshall.

I think we're working at it with the draft process, the guys we seem to draft now are disciplined and rarely have character flags.

No to tanking, it breeds an apathetic quitter mentality. But I'd like to see us make trades for draft picks.

4 minutes ago, Dfence4champs2052 said:

Whether you think he should go or not, the fact remains nearly every Ravens record we have held dear to us from our defensive statistics, record coming out of bye weeks, record at home, things that we just considered sacrosanct have all been destroyed under Harbaugh. Not to say he is responsible individually but as the HC he is ultimately responsible for those milestones and they have all been destroyed. Every season we are destroying a franchise record or milestone. His tenure brought us a SB which was great but at what cost for our long-term ability to win. I think a regime change is in order both he and Ozzie. Hate to say it but the reality is upon us.

This is a valid argument, but it's a kneejerk one too and the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I would only want Harbaugh gone if the players have lost faith in him. My only real issue with Harbaugh is he is too loyal to players that work hard but lack talent.

2 minutes ago, jazz1988 said:

 

Harbaugh style is really no different from Pete Carroll and Ron Riveria. His style is not outdated at all and it hasn't been long at all since The Ravens been in the playoff.

I somewhat agree with this, he's coaching with urgency this season but there are areas he needs to improve on. If we were to clean house I'm sure the players and fans would be brimming with optimism but that fake, quick burning optimism often makes way for reality like it does in Cleveland every year or 2nd year.

The problem with coaching is that when teams start losing or playing poorly players lose faith in the coach and each other, of course it doesn't help that we've had a major decline in talent but thats not all on Harbaugh. I still think he deserves a few years to try and turn things around.

54 minutes ago, K-Dog said:

THIS.

You fix that o-line, you fix Flacco.

Granted I think he is getting a case of Boller-itus.  He is getting shell shocked from getting hit too much or running for his life on every single snap.  I am sure it gets old fast.  Hopefully this line can get its crap together before it is too late for Joe.

I don't think this is going to happen, we had opportunities to upgrade the oline in free agency but we rolled the dice and lost. Unfortunately we don't have a QB who can make anyone look like world beaters or who thrives when the pocket breaks down, but we could do a hell of a lot worse.

4 hours ago, Moderator 2 said:

A lot needs fixed and the team needs rest.  Let's discuss how to fix the team, Steeler thread will be up middle of the week.

I wonder what we're going to fix? my guess is very little.

10 minutes ago, Militant X 1 said:

You cats always say this year in and out without a guarantee that the Ravens will even make the playoffs.  Hilarious! 

You jumped the gun there, my post implies we have to get there first and it also goes without saying that we're probably not getting there this year. Man you really have to spell out everything for some people.

4 minutes ago, jimmypowder said:

I do think it's time to start looking at a new QB post Flacco

While I know we have a terrible oline it just seems that Joe's skills have diminished greatly  over the last few years 

and I really don't have much confidence in him . 

I do feel Ravens management will start actively looking for next year if Joe continues to play like this . 

A restructuring of his contract will also be necessary . 

 

Do you really want to start rolling that dice? if he goes to a team with protection and a ground game it's going to come back to haunt us.

3 hours ago, Dfence4champs2052 said:

Who knew the Tyrod Taylor crowd was right.......

Yeah that was unexpected, this is the 2nd year he's been better than Flacco. But I'd still take Flacco in the playoffs.

16 minutes ago, ellicottraven said:

You went to all that effort to convince me of something I already know? Nobody, least of all I needs to be convinced of Flacco's achievements with the Ravens. I don't dispute that he is a very good QB. All I'm saying is he isn't playing like a QB with all those accolades this year period. If you still insist on being an uninhibited homer about it, be my guest. I wish to live on the planet of reality instead. Its time we all posted what we thought instead of being policed by Flacco enthusiasts and apologists. Remember I appreciate Flacco just as much as many out here, but have enough conviction and clarity to call him out when necessary.

Thats fair, I'm a huge Flacco fan but when he's playing poorly i'll always call it what it is, he's never been hugely accurate or efficient but i'll take him over a new QB every 2-3 years. In a team sport eveyone is responsible we can't blame it all on the guys around him forever.

47 minutes ago, Ravensfan23 said:

Honestly I think we have, injuries have just crushed this team the past 2-3 years and as bad as injuries are they're worse for young players. Another factor is FA. Things aren't like that used to be. Now a good role player will cash in on a big deal from another team. 

I'll start by saying this team will never have another JO, Ray or Ed. Those guys are once in a generation talent. However you can add great players to those positions and I think both Stanley and CJ will be great a long time for the Ravens. 

Clearly haven't found that play making Safety yet but it'll be easier to develop one under Weddle as opposed to trail by fire. 

Now on to replacing the great players we've had. I think the Ravens did a nice job of replacing Ngata. I'm a fan of a 7-8 man rotation opposed to one really dominate DT. I think it's cheaper and allows guys like Peirce to develop faster. I love Timmy and BW, hopefully FA allows us to keep them long term. 

I think Orr is proving to be that Bart Scott type Robin to CJ's batman. I like what he's been doing. 

Jimmy is a big physical CB we like on the outside and I think Tavon is fully capable of being that Webb/Rolle type. Canady and Price are wildcats. 

The pass rush is TBD. We'll get a good idea of those guys this week without Suggs and Doom. The jury is definitely out. 

Offensively I think losing KO sucked because he definitely replaced any other LG we've had and could have been the replacement for Yanda as that dominant interior guy. I like Lewis but not sure he's that guy. 

I don't think replacing Ray Rice is a huge deal but I think the duo of West and Dixon will be plenty good. 

As for WR/TE we're just gonna have to deal with the growing pains of young players. I feel this team is a lot more talented than many believe.

I think our problems boil down to the trenches, no pass rush and lack of stability and talent at the offensive line. 

4 hours ago, gtalk12 said:

The end of an era, this is sad. All the guys I looked up to as a kid are gone. Ngata is the only one and he's in Detroit. Suggs looks slow, could be mostly rust but I've noticed he's jumping the line trying to get to the QB early. All the sacks I've seen have been coverage sacks, nothing that he's created with a push. I am open to being corrected, but from what I've seen it does not look as good as we would all like or have come to expect from him

Suggs tore his bicep

20 hours ago, Rav'n Maniac said:

You're right. Per @Filmstudy, Suggs had 1 sack, 2 QH and 4 pressures against the Giants. The rest of the team had 9 pressures total. Sorry is the only way to put it. Somebody needs to flame ZDS' butt. He hasn't done crap this year. Maybe they should try Urban on the outside on 3rd down. He isn't playing with Guy in there anyway.

Yeah ZDS was talking big game this offseason but he's gone missing since then, and our three overhyped rookie pass rushers have shown that they are just rookies.

11 hours ago, Ravensfan23 said:

From an individual the positives are

Tavon Young. I liked this guy from day one but i did not see him playing this well. Pleasant surprise. Tavon plays with the confidence and play making ability I'd love to see at FS. Will not compare him to Ed because it'd be unfair and i'm not even sure he'd be a good fit at FS but I just think he'd be a ball hawking FS and would actually put fear in offenses again. 

I really like the front 7. That rotation is really strong. I think they'll only get better. 

I think Stanley and Lewis are going to be great on the left side and Lewis has so much versatility. 

Love what West is doing and can't wait until Dixon gets his legs under him. 

And lastly I really like what I'm seeing from Perriman. First of all the guy is staying healthy. Secondly while there has been some rough patches I think he's shown enough potential to keep people excited about that light turning on for him. I think he'll develop into that #1 guy the Ravens have been looking for. 

 

I hope you're right, we haven't done a good job of replacing the old guard and need guys to step up in the worst way.

22 hours ago, VermontRaven said:

Way to early to say Dixon has the injury bug.  Campanaro, yes.  Dixon--let's wait and see. 

He missed some games with knee and ankle injuries before we drafted him, and now he can't stay healthy. It is what it is.

The positives for me is that we have a young team and an experienced, not terrible QB.

The way we're playing maybe we should be making moves to secure more draft picks.

3 hours ago, Bltravens said:

2011 is when I noticed the boards started changing.  Just be happy we don't have anymore 43 vs 34 threads, I lost years on my life in those.

It sounds like I missed a fun period.

I'm off the Dixon bandwagon, he's got the injury bug and on gameday the best ability is availability.

On 10/17/2016 at 5:49 AM, JoeyFlex5 said:

If kc gets on the field it won't be as an edge rusher. If you saw him there in preseason you would agree. He gets a full head of steam and then gets blasted off his feet by backpedaling tackles. It's hilarious. He has looked ok at ilb though. Id prefer to see him in instead of McClellan but he isn't taking snaps from orr who has been lights out.

I noticed that too, hopefully it's just a case of poor technique or lack of strength development. If it's still happening in 3 years then it's a real issue.