Just Some Thoughts

[JEEPercreepermd]

Don't get much of a chance with my busy schedule to post as often as I used to, or would like to for that matter so I'm just gonna roll everything that's been brewing for the past few weeks into one topic burrito if you will.

First and foremost, I am absolutely proud of what this team was able to accomplish this past season, winning the AFC North title, Sweeping the division, and returing to the AFC Championship for the 2nd time in 4 years. That's the silver lining. in all of this. If you look at the pre-2008 Raven's franchise, and remember back to some of those years that we went 5-11, missed the playoffs and were just flat out disappointing you'd appreciate where this franchise is now. Putting not only a winner, but a Super Bowl contender on the field EVERY year is an almost impossible feat to accomplish in today's NFL. So, kudos go out to Ozzie,Harbaugh,Bisciotti ect.. for making the right moves year in and year out to put the best team possible on the field.

Secondly, The AFCC. We all saw it. Our hearts were broken. So I won't go into a HUGE amout of detail here, but looking back on it, I just don't think that it was meant to be. Our defense was nothing short of HEROIC. Chuck Pagano came into the game with an absolutely genius game plan..they didn't try to "confuse" brady. They just sat back, saw what the Patriots wanted to do, gave up the run to them but didn't let Brady,Welker, and the TE's go crazy. Geniouis. Another thing, Flacco's pass to Lee Evans was probably one of the best throws that any QB in the NFL could have thrown. It wasn't good, it was perfect. Look back at some of our most dissapointing losses over the past few years. We lost to NE in '09 on a Mark Clayton dropped pass. We lost to the Steelers in the regular season last year on an Ed Dickson dropped pass. We lost to the Steelers in the Divisional round last year after Boldin dropped the go ahead TD late in the 4th, then the game was officially over when Houshmazadeh dropped yet another perfectly thrown ball on 4th down. We need more talent in the WR pool.

Third I'll go into some needs going into next year.
Offense- O-LINE. The Ravens CAN NOT continue to win or expect to make a run at the SB with out some more size at Center. I love Matt Birk, he's a great guy, smart player, but he gets used and abused hard by large DT's. The Ravens haven't been able to be effective running the ball between the tackles for two seasons now, and it's gotta get fixed. Also, Mckinney was a decent stop gap at LT. I wouldn't be unhappy to have him back for another year, but the Ravens have to find the franchise LT very soon, because Oher just isn't it.

WR- We absolutely positively need another outside receiver, maybe Evans stays on the cheap? IMO the Ravens need to look long and hard at some of these guys like Williams and Doss. Anquan Boldin at this point is what we need to play the slot. He just doesn't have the speed to get open in man coverage on the outside. Torrey Smith was a big surprise, but when he doesn't have the outright speed advantage against a corner, he can't get open either..needs to work on his route skills. IMO the two biggest things that will help Joe Flacco will be WR's getting open, and improved run/pass blocking.

Defense- I am absolutely BURSTING with excitement about our 3 CB's. Lardarious Webb is going to be a star, Jimmy Smith IMO will benefit greatly from having a full offseasn with the team, and Carey Williams..impressive. I'm done with Zibikowski though, guy can't cover..and he somehow forgot how to tackle over the past few years. I think that maybe he needs to just go ahead and turn to boxing full time..it seems that's where his passion truly lies. We are set a SS with Pollard, but really need to start looking hard at where the team is going to go at FS when Reed retires. That brings me to MLB, Ray's coming back. That said, the defense actually looked great with Mclain and Ellerbe both starting so I think they'll be fine, but it's definitely a position that could be improved (after Ray). The rest of the front 7 is good IMO. I can see Kruger being a starter next year, possibly even Mcphee/Kindle. Oh and let's not forget our DPOY!

Special teams- Bye Bye Cundiff.

Misc- I'm really bummed that we lost Pagano so quickly, he did such an amazing job bringing this defense back from what it was during the Mattison years. Hopefully Peas doesn't change too much and understands what a dominant, attacking Ravens defense is truly all about. On the other hand, I'm super psyched that Caldwell is going to be working with Flacco, hopefully he can help Flacco's game get to the next level.

Next year, we'll get our shot at the Giants. We'll get another shot at the Pats. We'll get to show Tebow what a real defense is. We'll get to have a chance at continuing our domination of the Cowboys, there will be another battle between the Ravens and that team just south of us, oh and we'll also be taking on the Cheesesteaks in philly (god I can't wait)!
-Jeep

[Markus92]

agreed

[Radinho84]

agreed on every point you´ve mentioned!

[scrock]

i dont know about agreeing with everything but I think you said pretty much what everyone else has

[K-Dog]

long time no see Jeep.
Post like this one make me glad to see you back.

[flynismo]

A topic burrito, eh? lol

Agreed buddy. Hope your music career is taking off!

[Ed_Reed20]

Fine post JEEPer.

The fourth down pass to Dickson against the Steelers back '10 wasn't dropped though. It bounced at least a foot from his feet. He did have a horrible drop with room to run earlier in the game though.

[cobrajet]

Also agree with all points.

[SizzleSuggs55]

Good points and nicely ended post, Though i do feel that we need another pass rusher opposite of sizzle. ( I'm hoping for Ronnell Lewis in the draft) Regardless of what goes down next season we do have a very exciting schedule, and play well in prime time games. I'm from CT and these past two weeks have been hell, listening to numerous giant and patriot fans bragging excessively and hating on the mighty men of Baltimore. even people who didn't even watch a regular season game! and of course are now giants fans. All i know is that i love raven football, and playing and hopefully beating the pats and Gmen next year will be very fulfilling and exciting games, also cant wait!

[Yoonkeem]

who're you going to go for kicker?

[Yoonkeem]

O- i agree completely, i say replace him with Konz, or Brewster.
D- The 3-headed tandem we have will not last long, as their skills develop, we won't have a locker room big enough for all.
but as of now, it is a great problem to have, deciding who goes out there first lol

Pagano- yeah, i mean, he was such a great fit in Baltimore, it feels like we only got a taste of what was to come, and then boom, he's gone. The nfl is full of Baltimore alumni when its head coaching jobs, so deep inside, i really hope that Pagano fails completely as a head coach, because the others did, and well, we dont need any more competition in the AFC lol.
I'm really going to miss him, and looking forward to Pees coaching our Defense.
I was reluctant about Pagano when he started, but a pleasant surprise he was. I hope the same for Pees.

[Alexir]

Fixing the offensive line is going to be the hard part. Only person we have under contract I see being there long term is Yanda. Oher won't ever make that transition to LT as we hoped, McKinnie is old and slow, Birk will retire, and we don't know if we will sign Grubbs.

It's a shame too because if Gaither had the work ethic to actually try, the 2007 draft class would of been up there as ONE of the best draft classes in Ravens history (Grubbs,Yanda,Gaither)

[Dudeman]

Good post, with great points all the way around. I like how you highlighted the positives and didn't exaggerate the negatives.

I am not so sure I agree about Cundiff though, even Stover missed some kicks. But missing that kick in the final seconds of the AFCC sure was a doozy. He'll have next year to prove his mettle, but if he's having a bad year up to midway through the season then we may have to replace him midseason.

The O-line and Birk have been much maligned, but Flacco could make them look better. I have been an ardent supporter of Flacco, and (especially with Caldwells coaching) I think the sky is the limit for Joe. But that being said, the best QB's in the game bring the best out of everyone around them. Peyton Manning never worked with an all-pro line, and Jeff Saturday is an under-sized center. But his quick decision making, and pinpoint accuracy elevated everyones game. There are more times Joe could throw the ball away instead of taking the sack. As far as the run game goes it flourished when we committed to calling 20-30 runs in a game.

[CapoRocky]

Cundiff never should have had to attempt that kick. Evans needed to get down after he caught that ball before the defense had a chance to knock it out of his hands. He'll be regretting that pass for the rest of his life. Cundiff said that he is over the missed kick. Kickers are trained to overcome pressure. [b]WE[/b] won't easily forget it. Wide to the left. It was similar to how the Bills lost the Super Bowl to the Giants. That was a long kick. This was a chip shot. Cundiff must go. Stick a fork in him, he's done. We need a rookie with a big accurate leg to replace him.