What Is More Important To You People?

[rlh445]

Guys, what the heck is going on on these boards? Where are all these idiots coming from? One touchdown and seven interceptions? Really? Is that the basis for wanting to pull Flacco in favor of (insert whomever)? Do you think that a quarterback is the answer to a winning season for this team? Let's be real, people. We're not going to have a playoff run, or a Superbowl year. Why? Because there are a LOT of pressing issues for this team. Why? Because, whether you like it or not, we're rebuilding. EVERYONE wants to win. But some people are smart enough to realize that sometimes, it's just not in the cards, at least not to the extent that some people want to believe. You know what Flacco looks like? Exactly what he's supposed to look like. A rookie quarterback who was thrown in as the starter to a season he was never supposed to start. Flashes of brilliance that will soon become the norm, and periods of underwhelming play. That's what he's SUPPOSED to be doing. Yes, we have a great defense. But we are depleted where it counts most - the secondary. That has been one of this team's Achilles heels for quite some time. We have to get over THAT hump before we tackle anything else. We don't NEED a better receiver. When McNair first got here, everyone was all over DWill and Clayton because he looked good. Why? Because we had an awesome QB back there, who unfortunately was getting up in age. They HAVE the skills and talent, but without some semblance of meshing with the rest of the offense, they've kind of faded away, just like Heap. We will get it together, and whether or not you impatient people like it, it's going to take time. I am fully willing to take a .500 season this year, in favor of WINING seasons through the next few years. I hate this generation of 'NOW, NOW, NOW!'. Good things come to those who wait. I'm waiting.

[Lets_Go_Joe]

very true, I think smith might win 2-3 more games then flacco will, If hes even healthy. But, Flacco can be a franchise QB where no one in the NFL believes troy will be a true star at QB in this league, hence his 5th round selection. I agree with many things you said except one...We need a reciever imo, not as badly as a talented young CB but I really think we need one. These guys arent getting open, I dont know if its the system or the routes, but clayton and D-will arent doing what they need to do imo. Mason is great, and heap will find himself soon I hope(if he can ever go out on a route more then 5 times a game) I think our draft needs or FA needs are CB WR and, if we cannot resign suggs-bart-ray, then we will need LB's too. I like barnes and Gooden though, they should be able to step up if need be.

Ill be happy with 7-9 this year honestly, before the season, with Flacco starting, I thought 6-10 or so..... then after the 2 games I got all excited but now I feel im back to earth, so 7-9 and above makes me happy this year bc we have tons of issues and need to build the whole team back up to where we need to be. Cam needs to get his guys in order to make anything resembling an explosive offense(which I would LOVE to see)

[YABOY]

winning now

[Lets_Go_Joe]

[quote name='YABOY' post='75808' date='Oct 13 2008, 12:18 PM']winning now[/quote]
This^^^^^ is why we are where we are.... Forever now, we have had the "Win now" mentality, and the defense is aging with not great depth especially at CB, we have good depth at Safety now, and decent depth at LB, the DL has a couple aging players in Gregg and Pryce, we need more depth there as well for when they cant play anymore.

The wr posistion has been a constant problem, and the qb posistion and the OL... but we have continued to pay defensive players big time money to keep a great D around... Not saying its bad but the offense has been forgotten it seems. How can you expect to perform on O when no money is spent on good players?

We need to rebuild, at least in a way this year

[tweety]

The next 4 games are almost sure wins looking at 6-3
[color="#FF0000"]Dolphins
Raiders
Browns
Texans[/color]
After we have a tougher schedule hopefully Flacco will improve and secondary will be healthier Landry, Rolle, and Washington back
[color="#FF0000"]Giants
Eagles
Bengals
Redskins
Steelers
Cowboys
Jaguars[/color]

[PuRock]

I'd like to have winning seasons down the road, if I have to sacrifice winning games today. But to say either Flacco or Smith can do this is completely absurd at the moment. Everbody seems to be choosing sides.

I'm a Flacco supporter because he's our starting QB, BUT he has to prove to me that he can be our QB of the future. I certainly do not want to hand it to him on a silver platter for being a first round draft pick, but I am willing to let him develop. He has the logistics to be a strong QB, but coming from Deleware to starting in the NFL, is a quick path to destruction, hence where we are today. But since he's under the gun due to Smith's illness, the team is going with it now. It's really no surprise that he has thrown 7 interceptions to me, it was a bigger surprise when we won the first two games.

But on the other hand, I always thought Smith deserved his chance. But there must have been something the coaching staff and our organization did not see in Smith, hence the reason for us drafting Flacco. It's not like our coaches are like "Troy Smith, we don't like him, he's too small". The fans might, the coaches, no. They have scouting teams that do more research than all of us fans put together.

But ofcourse there are always diamonds in the rough. If Smith gets his chance to play, than I support him to be that diamond. But if he isn't playing because of the coaches and organization, then I have to stick with the prospect.

[RavensIQ]

What's to say we can't win now and later?

Who put the handcuffs on that possibility?

Where does it say the best way to develop a QB is by starting him his rookie year?

Where does it say if you win now you can't win later?

This is BS and most of us realize that.

Playing a QB his 1st year or sitting him his 1st year or 4years has worked both ways. So why is it the Ravens are the only team excluded from this equation?

Why is it that we have to sacrifice the opportunity of making the playoffs (once in the playoffs an opportunity at the SB) just because Playing Flacco "might" make him better. Sitting and learning "might" make him better. Are your expectations really that low that you only think our team can only win now or later?

You even acknowledged our team could win now by starting this thread. So why wouldn't you want them to?? Has anyone seen Aaron Rodgers of late?? Has anyone seen Phillip Rivers of late?? The up and coming premier Qbs of this league and they both sat their rookie season.

What's more important?

WINNING NOW

tomorrows not promised.

[wayne]

[quote name='RavensIQ' post='75821' date='Oct 13 2008, 11:56 AM']What's to say we can't win now and later?

Who put the handcuffs on that possibility?

Where does it say the best way to develop a QB is by starting him his rookie year?

Where does it say if you win now you can't win later?

This is BS and most of us realize that.

Playing a QB his 1st year or sitting him his 1st year or 4years has worked both ways. So why is it the Ravens are the only team excluded from this equation?

Why is it that we have to sacrifice the opportunity of making the playoffs (once in the playoffs an opportunity at the SB) just because Playing Flacco "might" make him better. Sitting and learning "might" make him better. Are your expectations really that low that you only think our team can only win now or later?

You even acknowledged our team could win now by starting this thread. So why wouldn't you want them to?? Has anyone seen Aaron Rodgers of late?? Has anyone seen Phillip Rivers of late?? The up and coming premier Qbs of this league and they both sat their rookie season.

What's more important?

WINNING NOW

tomorrows not promised.[/quote]
Everything you said is sooo true. Nothing is promised tomorrow, if you feel you have the slightest chance to win a SB, now is the time. There is no dominant, locked team established to win the SB and it is more wide open as ever in the NFL right now. Flacco can learn on the sidelines also!

[mcgaheewillrunyourassover]

both
you have to start trying to win early...you cant wait
and dont say it cant be done look at what the falcons are doing
new coach and rookie qb...so it CAN be done

NO ONE thought that team had a chance...and they just beat a team that destroyed the colts

[theFRANCHISE]

The problem with the "Win now" mentality is that, with this team, it's unrealistic.

This team has had only 3 losing seasons since 2000. Before last season, the Ravens had not finished last in the division since 1997 in the old AFC Central. As much as people don't want to admit it, we've been spoiled by success.

Think we haven't been successful? How many teams can say they've had a dominant defense or a dominant ground attack, even while on the losing end of games? How many teams can say they've still had players voted to the Pro Bowl even during a losing or non-playoff season?

You might say I'm looking at all of this with purple binoculars, but no one can deny that, even when this team hasn't had success, there's been something that has made you proud.

With that said, as with everything in life, the league exists in cycles. Teams are high one year, and then fall the next.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were perennial losers for DECADES before finally winning a Super Bowl in 2002. The Oakland Raiders were dominant in the '70s and '80s, and to an extent through the new millenium, and are now struggling. The Indianapolis Colts were losers after moving from Baltimore for several years, before success came in the form of Peyton Manning. The New England Patriots struggled mightily at one point, as did the Philadelphia Eagles for several years. The New York Giants were a joke after losing Super Bowl XXXV, and have only recently redeemed themselves with their Super Bowl victory last season. The New York Jets were pathetic without Joe Namath or Vinny Testaverde, and later became a joke even with the latter, albeit aged.

My point is, rebuilding seasons are bound to happen. Struggles are inevitable. Things can only get worse before they get better.

I understand that the door is wide open for this team to waltz right into the Super Bowl -- but don't you think 31 other teams realize that, as well?

I'd rather have this team be ridiculed now and take their lumps now. Because, at the end of the day, short-lived success isn't nearly as sweet as long-term dominance.

In terms of Super Bowl and playoff appearances, would you rather be like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or the New England Patriots?

[Ozzsome]

i want that we win a lot of games in the futur cause we have a talented young offense and even some talented young players in the defense so i hope that we are a great team in 2 to 4 years

[PuRock]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' post='75833' date='Oct 13 2008, 01:54 PM']Because, at the end of the day, short-lived success isn't nearly as sweet as long-term dominance.[/quote]

Sounds like you need to update your signature Franchise. It's no longer about the respect of the media, it's a whole new animal now.

[Rinbee]

The right attitude is [b]play[/b][i][/i] as if I want to win now and accept our limitations if we make a genuine effort but lose. If plqyers accept this is a rebuilding season from the start, the effort will not be there and we will have no chance of winning. The best team does not always win the SB. The team with the most talent does not always win the SB. The Ravens without any legitimate offense plowed over better teams in winning their SB. We have deficiencies, like almost every other team, but creative and motivated teams find a way around them. Keep a winning attitude and make others beat you instead of beating yourself. Accepting losing now before the game is played is beating yourself.

[wayne]

[quote name='Rinbee' post='75838' date='Oct 13 2008, 01:21 PM']The right attitude is [b]play[/b][i][/i] as if I want to win now and accept our limitations if we make a genuine effort but lose. If plqyers accept this is a rebuilding season from the start, the effort will not be there and we will have no chance of winning. The best team does not always win the SB. The team with the most talent does not always win the SB. The Ravens without any legitimate offense plowed over better teams in winning their SB. We have deficiencies, like almost every other team, but creative and motivated teams find a way around them. Keep a winning attitude and make others beat you instead of beating yourself. Accepting losing now before the game is played is beating yourself.[/quote]
You couldn't have said that any better! Only thing I can look at our team to even mention the "Rebuilding" comment is our QB position and O-Line which O-line isn't even mentioned when it comes to rebuilding, it be the other positions!

[bossman419]

i don't think all of the flacco bashers realize what he is doing... he just made the jump from playing towson and rhode island to playing the fastest defense in the nfl (the colts). all of your are too impatient or just too stubborn in your beliefs to realize the facts. i think its unfair to put a rookie quarterback in a position where he has to comeback with no running game and poor starting field position.

[neepo13]

Winning is all that matters to me. Although, I am willing to make sacrifices right now, if we can field a legit contender every year. I want a team that makes constant playoff apperances and is always in the hunt late in the season. Not one that goes once every few years or needs a ton of help to get in at the end. If that means we have to be patient, I am ready and willing. The way the NFL is built every NFL team will eventually soar to new hieghts and eventually hit rock bottom, that is unless you are the Bengals or Lions then you just stay at the bottom. We've just got to be ready when our time comes and our coaching staff and FO has to do the work to keep us there when it does come. Its called parity people.

[bossman419]

[quote name='RavensIQ' post='75821' date='Oct 13 2008, 12:56 PM']What's to say we can't win now and later?

Who put the handcuffs on that possibility?

Where does it say the best way to develop a QB is by starting him his rookie year?

Where does it say if you win now you can't win later?

This is BS and most of us realize that.

Playing a QB his 1st year or sitting him his 1st year or 4years has worked both ways. So why is it the Ravens are the only team excluded from this equation?

Why is it that we have to sacrifice the opportunity of making the playoffs (once in the playoffs an opportunity at the SB) just because Playing Flacco "might" make him better. Sitting and learning "might" make him better. Are your expectations really that low that you only think our team can only win now or later?

You even acknowledged our team could win now by starting this thread. So why wouldn't you want them to?? Has anyone seen Aaron Rodgers of late?? Has anyone seen Phillip Rivers of late?? The up and coming premier Qbs of this league and they both sat their rookie season.

What's more important?

WINNING NOW

tomorrows not promised.[/quote]
if you think troy smith is gonna take us to the playoffs then you need a doctor... if our defense plays like that every game it doesnt matter if we have johnny u back there its not gonna happen.

we have no pass rush and we can't stop the pass right now... not exactly a formula for championship football

[YABOY]

[quote name='bossman419' post='75872' date='Oct 13 2008, 04:25 PM']if you think troy smith is gonna take us to the playoffs then you need a doctor... if our defense plays like that every game it doesnt matter if we have johnny u back there its not gonna happen.

we have no pass rush and we can't stop the pass right now... not exactly a formula for championship football[/quote]
or if joe flacco throws 3 picks in every game that won't help

[bossman419]

[quote name='YABOY' post='75876' date='Oct 13 2008, 04:33 PM']or if joe flacco throws 3 picks in every game that won't help[/quote]
i think he deserves a little leeway.. he kept it close against 2 great teams... the colts game just shows why he is a rookie.

[#1 D]

You guys probably heard this a million times.
Troy Aikman went 1-15 as a starter. Peyton Manning also sucked. Funny how Joe somewhat grew out of the same mold. and John Elway didn't start doing consistantly good (at least an 80 QB rating for two straight seasons) until his 10th year of playing football. Im just gonna be patient and take this one game at a time. it'll look like a long road if we try to look too much ahead, but the only way to get through this is to grind things out and let time be the cure.

[tweety]

I think we owe it to our defense and Ray Lewis to win now and win big.

[neepo13]

[quote name='YABOY' post='75876' date='Oct 13 2008, 04:33 PM']or if joe flacco throws 3 picks in every game that won't help[/quote]

You know what ,yes he made a ton of mistakes. But that still doesnt excuse the facts that our defense gave him very little chance to correct those mistakes. By the second half the running game had been taken away from him just because we were down by so much. We are not going to win games if our TEAM continues to play the way that they did.

[YABOY]

[quote name='bossman419' post='75879' date='Oct 13 2008, 04:35 PM']i think he deserves a little leeway.. he kept it close against 2 great teams... the colts game just shows why he is a rookie.[/quote]
i know he is a rookie but if he should get leeway so should the defense. it's sad the defense can't even have one bad game if they play bad the ravens lose when is the offense gonna step up ? the defense can get 3 & outs or turnovers & the offense never scores when those things happen

[Troy SmiTH Xx]

[quote name='neepo13' post='75884' date='Oct 13 2008, 04:43 PM']You know what ,yes he made a ton of mistakes. But that still doesnt excuse the facts that our defense gave him very little chance to correct those mistakes. By the second half the running game had been taken away from him just because we were down by so much. We are not going to win games if our TEAM continues to play the way that they did.[/quote]


What do you expect from a defense thats out on the field 90% of the time. Even Ray Lewis gets tired every now and then. Especially, when th offense doesn't help. That's why turnovers always kill us. We aren't blessed to have a pretty good defense with a great offense, like the Indianapolis Colts. We just have a Dominate Defense. That's it...

If we had a semi-good offense, with a semi-good quarterback, I bet we could've had at least 2 super bowl titles by now.

[#1 D]

[quote name='YABOY' post='75894' date='Oct 13 2008, 04:55 PM']i know he is a rookie but if he should get leeway so should the defense. it's sad the defense can't even have one bad game if they play bad the ravens lose when is the offense gonna step up ? the defense can get 3 & outs or turnovers & the offense never scores when those things happen[/quote]
Well we had the least depth we've had all season in the defensive back position all year and it was vs a pass-happy team in the colts. annoying how the same thing happened last year when we didn't have depth at the most critical positions vs the colts. I mean Rolle was out, our other hope in Fabian Washington was out, Landry was out, what do you have left? the same ppl we lined up last season other than walker?

[Byrdz]

im with ravensIQ all who roots for flacco dont even give troy a chance yall all hyped up over two games where we played nobobdy how about yall let troy get at least 5 games in then rip his head off. but yall didnt give him a chance last year nor this year. i dont want to hear about ya negativity about troy with starters or without we have have to play. that being said at least troy scored on Indy last year he even made at willis look good he would have had two Tds if figurs didnt miss the ball. so who said a 5th round pick cant start in this league colston was the last person taken in his draft and is better than all our Wrs to your point is not making sense. I wanna win now and its not even about me its about giving the best D in the last 11 years three rings or more. yall so stubborn to admit that troy wont turn the ball over as many times as flacco. and winning does start with the Qb position.

How many TO the Qb have will drasticly change the out come of the game. as many times we had a chance to score we would have blown Indy out the water. our D isnt here to stop people all game we were built to give our O a chance to win ya know get more offensive possesions than the other team.

yeah we all know troy and flacco is gonna have their ups and downs no matter who starts but its consistency that matters flacco has showed us that he can play duh he wouldnt be here if he couldnt. yall all say dont use numbers to prove a point but yall do it any way so u contradict yourselfs. yall want flacco to start the same flacco that couldnt beat Tyler Thigpin out forthe starting job in Pit. out of all of troys games he did well except that one title game that you all judge him off of. If he wasnt that good would he have won the heismen and no its not that that matter in this case. Its the different attributes they both bring i keep reading (oh flacco is gonna be the next Big Ben or Carlson or peyton) theres only 1 ben only 1 carlson only 1 peyton so stop compairing him to them just cause manning strugled his rookie year doesnt imply nothing but maning was garbage his rookie year . if you theory was right then Klye should be busting out right about now. You throw a Qb in the fire then ya get burnt you all know that if flacco was so special we would be 5-0. How can Flacco be compaired to Ben. Ben is Ben because he can avoid sacks. Peyton is Peyton cause he can read Defenses well so stop insulting ben or peyton with ya comparisons.

Reading these threads all Flacco fans just know for sure like they got a crystal ball somewhere that he is gonna be great right after he bites the dust. Now That a dumb fan. Well Manning threw 28tds and 29 ints, Flacco isnt even on pace for 28 Tds. Lets go Flacco 5 games whether starters was in or not 2 Tds (run&throw) 8 INts, Long 54 yards. Troy 2 games 2Tds 0 Ints Long 76 yards and may i add it was to mason against trufant. You all say that troy is not the answer how do you know if he never really got a shot he sat for a whole year learned from McNair which can prove to be useful. Flacco sat 0 years and is learning from loses ( i dont wanna hear bouman) which is costing us as a Raven fan we shouldnt have to waste a whole season on 1 person. You ask win now or later The Cards ar in the same water do they waste a year developing Matt or we win now with Kurt. Dont take a rocket scientist to figure out that winning now will translate into developement and winning later ( if your Qb dont retire).

There is nothing you can bring to the table that says Troy is destined for failureand there is nothing you can bring that says Flacco is destined for Greatness. every is not the same, so that doesnt mean if flacco struggles now he will fill out next year how about this year breaks him like kyle then what? answer that one. I read someone saying that after he throws 29 ints he will ten come into the role thats not true. many of you talk about Derek Anderson doing good then him doing bad this year he is having a bad year like not one has ever had a bad game. last year shows that he is capable of doing good and when dude said that troy can be another derek anderson he ment troy leaving us like derek did and go onto to prove that he can play. we let a good Qb slip through our hands and derek is good he cant help the fact the people cant catch

[Byrdz]

[quote name='neepo13' post='75884' date='Oct 13 2008, 04:43 PM']You know what ,yes he made a ton of mistakes. But that still doesnt excuse the facts that our defense gave him very little chance to correct those mistakes. By the second half the running game had been taken away from him just because we were down by so much. We are not going to win games if our TEAM continues to play the way that they did.[/quote]
we were taking up the slack for the offense for years. if our D allow 30 points so they can have a bad game we dont just stop teams all day we give our offense a chance to score more than the other teams and three point wont win no game the d didnt let a big play every play so they did the part

[RayLew52]

THANKYOU, we get 2 wins at the start of the season and all of a sudden everyone EXPECTS to go to the postseason.

[z06tim]

We were on the path to the post season, our D ranked #1 and our offense is the best we've had since I can remember. Aside from turning the ball over to much there is no excuse for our record and us not making the playoffs with our talent

[Byrdz]

[quote name='rlh445' post='75797' date='Oct 13 2008, 11:09 AM']Guys, what the heck is going on on these boards? Where are all these idiots coming from? One touchdown and seven interceptions? Really? Is that the basis for wanting to pull Flacco in favor of (insert whomever)? Do you think that a quarterback is the answer to a winning season for this team? Let's be real, people. We're not going to have a playoff run, or a Superbowl year. Why? Because there are a LOT of pressing issues for this team. Why? Because, whether you like it or not, we're rebuilding. EVERYONE wants to win. But some people are smart enough to realize that sometimes, it's just not in the cards, at least not to the extent that some people want to believe. You know what Flacco looks like? Exactly what he's supposed to look like. A rookie quarterback who was thrown in as the starter to a season he was never supposed to start. Flashes of brilliance that will soon become the norm, and periods of underwhelming play. That's what he's SUPPOSED to be doing. Yes, we have a great defense. But we are depleted where it counts most - the secondary. That has been one of this team's Achilles heels for quite some time. We have to get over THAT hump before we tackle anything else. We don't NEED a better receiver. When McNair first got here, everyone was all over DWill and Clayton because he looked good. Why? Because we had an awesome QB back there, who unfortunately was getting up in age. They HAVE the skills and talent, but without some semblance of meshing with the rest of the offense, they've kind of faded away, just like Heap. We will get it together, and whether or not you impatient people like it, it's going to take time. I am fully willing to take a .500 season this year, in favor of WINING seasons through the next few years. I hate this generation of 'NOW, NOW, NOW!'. Good things come to those who wait. I'm waiting.[/quote]
where is the message that say flacco will be good if he is not good this year he will be next year i guess since we werent good last year we will be the patriots this year