Have We Re-Found Our Identity?

[Ravenfano3]

I don't know that we need an "identity" persay..but Rice needs to get the football more. Hand it off to him, Pass him to him, and when you're done with that, get it to him some more. Nothing against the likes of Boldin or Mason, but Rice is easily our best playmaker. I think there was one play against NO, was like 3rd and 16, something like that. Flacco just dumped it to Rice like 3 yards over the line, and he just made moves to get the 1st and then some. That worked very well for us last year. Don't mess with the winning formula.

[yakraven]

I have said before "identity" is a lot of garbage.
This whole "identity" thing is a writers/media thing; it gives them buzz words and
buttonholes that they can throw into their articles and reports. For years, the Ravens
were known as a running/defense team because we sucked finding a QB.
Then we get Flacco, things happen and Joe is our starter and we bring him along slow
and at the same time we get an RB that no one thinks will be real great.
Then yr two, Joe and Rice bust a move and we go wow, we got a run game still but now
we got a QB who can throw too.
The fans scream, "we need elite receivers for Joe so we can win the SB"; they make
silly statements like, "trade Magahee, trade Heap, we need receivers; we need CBs"
We get these receivers and now we're a "passing team"
We run early but we can't get it going and we blame Gaither; we don't win by 30 pts/
game and we blame the OC; and then we start to blame the Oline and sya when will Gaither
be back, the Oline stinks.
And then we beat the Saints - we run the ball! We pass the ball. Now, is this due to
all the modifications we had to make during the first 6 weeks finally gelling or was it
a one off.
I think our identity is a team. We have talent everywhereand they all win or lose together;
our special teams are awesome; our D is great and our O is better than we've seen so far.
But we play as a TEAM, and that's our identity
Stop living in the past and enjoy today's Ravens

[JEEPercreepermd]

The Ravens identity right now is 10-4 and that's it! All of this talk about the Ravens losing their identity because they "haven't been running the football" It's not that they haven't been running the football, they have. They just haven't had the kind of big plays in the running game that takes that 3.8 average up to a 4 or 5 yd per rush average..that's the only difference. Execution that's it. Not coaching.

[theFRANCHISE]

Now, I will concede that having an identity is important for young teams; teams without experience need an identity in order to manufacture as many wins as possible on which to build a foundation. Emphasizing one area over all others is not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not something that a veteran team or a balanced team like the Ravens needs to do to win. Having an identity as a run-first or pass-first team gives a young team the confidence it needs to string together wins because they know that, if they are able to specialize in a particular area, they are more likely to win each game than if they were to stray from their formula. The Ravens, however, have found multiple ways to win, and a lot of the victories have been rather convincing, with none more convincing than the game against the Saints.

[Twoo]

[quote name='JEEPercreepermd' timestamp='1292946498' post='582501']
The Ravens identity right now is 10-4 and that's it! All of this talk about the Ravens losing their identity because they "haven't been running the football" It's not that they haven't been running the football, they have. They just haven't had the kind of big plays in the running game that takes that 3.8 average up to a 4 or 5 yd per rush average..that's the only difference. Execution that's it. Not coaching.
[/quote]

Amen.

The Ravens don't have an identity and that's what makes us dangerous. We can pass, run, do whatever we want and the fact Joe is rarely out of the shotgun keeps the defense honest.

IMO we're the most dangerous team in the NFL and we made that statement on Sunday.

[JEEPercreepermd]

[quote name='Twoo' timestamp='1292946692' post='582505']
Amen.

The Ravens don't have an identity and that's what makes us dangerous. We can pass, run, do whatever we want and the fact Joe is rarely out of the shotgun keeps the defense honest.

IMO we're the most dangerous team in the NFL and we made that statement on Sunday.
[/quote]
Agreed 100 percent. Just look at the 4 games that we have lost as evidence. They are all games in which the Ravens have lost due to lack of execution and bad decisions. There isn't a team in the AFC that the Ravens can't beat it's just up to them to play to their full potential and show exactly why they were Super Bowl favorites going into the season.

Sure the defense isn't as dominant as in years past, but they are still one of the best in the business. On offense we have been scoring 20+ points in the first half of games regularly, the Ravens just need to find a way to keep the pedal to the metal until the game has clearly been decided. Special teams has been solid, Cundiff has been reliable. If nothing else, the Ravens have been learning the hard way how to win close games, and how to weather the storm and pull out a victory when the opposing team has stolen all of the momentum. Those could prove to be very valuable lessons come playoff time

[hawkprey]

Why does every thread turn into an "I don't care as long as we win" discussion? Yes you do care! Otherwise you wouldn't have an account here. You can't tell much about how this team is going to play in the future by the 10-4.

[kash96ravenstotalfan]

I don't give a damn about what our identity is. All I want for a late Christmas present is for the Ravens to win on 12/26