Playoff Scenarios & Discussion

[Sizzlebshu]

[quote name='nextgen_RavensFan' timestamp='1354495574' post='1243023']
We still are in a very good position and maybe this can be our wake up call to get our act together. A terrible 2nd half by all like we expected to win no matter what and nobody gave a true "Raven Game" during the last 2 quarters.

You can bet that the NFL Network will have a field day with this loss so i cannot watch it for a few days.
[/quote]
Not to throw salt or be negative, but this is hardly the time to look at the positives. This what I was talking about before. Consistently instead of stepping on our opponents throats and finishing them when they are at their weakest, we leave the door open for them. We had a chance to potentially end the Steeler's season tonight and claim the AFC north and we left the door open. Not only that, but our schedule gets harder. We could easily drop two games with the opponents we have left and when you compare our schedule to that of the Steelers, its not unfathomable that they could catch us. We had a chance to end it tonight and finish this once for all but we didn't. The team should be ashamed of letting this one get away.

Ben's return and the softening of the Steelers's schedule means that they are only going to get stronger. I'll say it now, if this play continues we will lose the division to Steelers. I find it very hard to envision them losing another game this season, not because they are some great team, but because their opponents are mediocre at best. We had a chance to end them tonight, and we let it slip by at home. That is unacceptable play for a 9 win team.

If one good thing came out of this loss, its that the fans and some forum members here got a wake up call and finally realized that while our record has 9 wins we are not playing like a 9 win team.

[jdynamite]

[quote name='cnyravens' timestamp='1354495787' post='1243057']
[i]We are NOT in a very good position![/i]
[i]If the Ravens can't at least get the #2 Seed you might as well stick a fork in them![/i]
[i]We are mediocre on the road and considering we just lost at HOME to a banged up team lead by a washed up has-been in Charlie Batch every game from here on out will be against a tougher team than today.[/i]
[i]CHOKER PERFORMANCE![/i]
[/quote]

I wouldn't say any game left is against a tougher team, the steelers are hard nose grind it out team, the defense is playing at high level with or without Big Ben. Of teams left for us to play all of them have potential to damage us offensively with explosive plays, but they don't have mentality of Steelers, even the Giants whom have a top notch pass rush have a very shaky defense that doesn't compare to the steelers defensive will.

If u want to say something like well if batch exploited the secondary and found wholes what's going to happen in the next 4 weeks against the other teams. Then I could understand as of now. But every game is different steelers vs Ravens don't compare to any other games

[jdynamite]

At least the entire NFL has been inconsistent this year, even the 2 ( 11-1 teams ) have shown some serious deficiencies but have found ways to win much like us in previous games. Anyone can be beaten by anyone. It seems like some team will get hot and roll to a Super Bowl like the Packers and Giants last 2 years.

[ratedr]

[quote name='Sizzlebshu' timestamp='1354504031' post='1243898']
Not to throw salt or be negative, but this is hardly the time to look at the positives. This what I was talking about before. Consistently instead of stepping on our opponents throats and finishing them when they are at their weakest, we leave the door open for them. We had a chance to potentially end the Steeler's season tonight and claim the AFC north and we left the door open. Not only that, but our schedule gets harder. We could easily drop two games with the opponents we have left and when you compare our schedule to that of the Steelers, its not unfathomable that they could catch us. We had a chance to end it tonight and finish this once for all but we didn't. The team should be ashamed of letting this one get away.

Ben's return and the softening of the Steelers's schedule means that they are only going to get stronger. I'll say it now, if this play continues we will lose the division to Steelers. I find it very hard to envision them losing another game this season, not because they are some great team, but because their opponents are mediocre at best. We had a chance to end them tonight, and we let it slip by at home. That is unacceptable play for a 9 win team.

If one good thing came out of this loss, its that the fans and some forum members here got a wake up call and finally realized that while our record has 9 wins we are not playing like a 9 win team.
[/quote]I agree with all of this, it's not impossible for us to go 1-3 and the Steelers to win out, though it's unlikely imo.

[Kwothdaraven]

The only thing therr is to take away from this game is that this is not a championship team.

[tsizzle95]

Ive heard too many times that were going to turn things around and it never happens. i honestly dont see us going far this season, just being realistic. going to play the texans on there home field seems like an impossible task for our team right now. lets just lose all our games so we can get a good draft pick and get everyone healthy..

[Sizzlebshu]

[quote name='ratedr' timestamp='1354505390' post='1243985']
I agree with all of this, it's not impossible for us to go 1-3 and the Steelers to win out, though it's unlikely imo.
[/quote]
It really isn't. I think at best we can escape our remaining schedule with a 2-2 record. The Steelers can easily win out with their schedule of Dal SD Cincy and Cle? especially if Ben comes back

I think it depends on next week honestly. If we lose to RG3 its basically over.

[i82much]

Jeez. Even most Super Bowl winners can go back through their season and find bad games, tough stretches. The Ravens are not a perfect team and have a lot of work to do. But, they are 9-3, been to the playoffs for, I dunno, a bunch of years straight, have a 2 game lead on the division. Things are never as bad as you felt after your last loss or as good as you felt after your last win.

[T3hRaven]

I almost think the team would be better off in the long run dropping the next four games and missing the playoffs. That might be enough to shake the FO into cleaning house coaching wise, and it would net a slightly higher draft pick which this team sorely needs. If you can't win the Super Bowl, advancing in the playoffs and getting those lower draft picks is hurting your team.

[baroquenspirit]

[quote name='The Prestige' timestamp='1354496497' post='1243166']
Early on, I knew the kind of game it was going to be. Same old, same old. I am only emotional about the fact that I wasted time watching it.

I thought there was a 40% chance I was going to end up regretting watching the game, and it's my fault for sticking with it anyways

[b]Why would a fan not watch his team? Big rivalry game, chance to wrap up the division, etc and you don't want to watch because you think they might lose? If they were to have a bad year would you just bail? [/b]

Here's what we KNEW going in about the Ravens:

1. Harbaugh likes to give away possessions. He did it again before the half, not using any of his time-outs to try to move up to get 3 more points that would have been huge in this game.

[b]Do you realize Harbaugh has had a lot of success? Do you really think he had nothing to do with creating the team that you have right now? [/b]

2. Cameron would refuse under any circumstances to truly attack the Steelers' secondary. We saw a handful of 3-WR plays, usually with Doss or Jones instead of Thompson, Williams or Reed. Why are Ravens fans surprised on Facebook and stuff when Flacco gets sacked for a fumble? When you consistently put a FB, a TE, and a slow WR like Boldin out there when you have speed standing on the sidelines, what should convince Lebeau not to keep sending guys? [b]If the Steelers sneak in and end up at Gillette, watch how Brady will dismantle their team. It won't be with slow, mostly 2-WR formations.[/b] Besides, Hernandez and Gronk are much more elusive than Pitta. Pitta is a shorter Kyle Rudolph. He knows how to work in space, and is good in the red zone but he's just too slow, allowing defenses to condense.g

[b]No one, not even Brady and Bellicheat are going to [i]dismantle[/i] the Steeler D if it keeps playing at this level. However, they would definitely be favored, especially at home. [/b]

Here's what we learned:
1. MLB Dannell Ellerbe is a solid notch above Ray Lewis, and about three notches above Jameel McClain. He was definitely missed on the field today.

[b]Maybe at this point in his career. But Ray's on field leadership and intangibles are not chopped liver. The man will be a great position coach some day soon. [/b]

2. Harbaugh may have had the worst decision of the day not to let the Steelers run into the end zone with 1:47 left. The odds of an 80-yard TD drive were considerably better than the odds of a FG block or miss.

[b]That's just crazy. [/b]

As for the officials, I think it was pretty random that most of their bad calls either took off points, ended drives, prolonged drives or gave points. The 3rd and 4 bad call that helped the Ravens on the Q passing TD drive only helped because we know Harbaugh and Cameron wouldn't have gone for it on 4th. A lot of stuff hurt the Ravens (no call on the goal-line Boldin incompletion, roughing the passer, one more that would've given Baltimore a first down), but there's just so much the Ravens could have done that I'm not upset over the officials.

[b]The calls in that game were even and maybe slightly in favor of the Ravens. In the first half the Birds put up 10 points that were aided by very ticky tack calls. Especially the P.I. that led to a touchdown. [/b]
[/quote]

[baroquenspirit]

[quote name='T3hRaven' timestamp='1354522824' post='1244321']
I almost think the team would be better off in the long run dropping the next four games and missing the playoffs. That might be enough to shake the FO into cleaning house coaching wise, and it would net a slightly higher draft pick which this team sorely needs. If you can't win the Super Bowl, advancing in the playoffs and getting those lower draft picks is hurting your team.
[/quote]

Wow. Just wow.

[Nitrofish]

It's amazing to read this entire thread, then hit this page after the Ravens lose to the Steelers at home snaping their 15 game home win streak.

From an outsiders perspective it seems odd to me that there is never any blame put on the O-Line. Joe Flacco is not elite, but he is a decent QB when given time to throw the ball.

But when the hits start piling up he begins to hear footsteps on every passing down and starts getting happy feet. Now of course part of that is the fact that Flacco is not a tough QB and is afraid to take hits, but to me it seems like it is the O-Line that is leaking especially late in games when the Ravens start falling apart offensivly.

I am also disappointed to hear many of you Ravens fans still refusing to respect Houston, calling them sloppy and echoing Lions fans about the OT loss in their stadium. Not a peep about Houston playing 10 Qts of football in 4 days and missing many of their D starters especially CB Joseph.

After watching the Pats struggle against the Dolphins, it is clear to me they are not the powerhouse people make them out to be and can certainly be beat by Houston.

It will be interesting to see how the AFCN plays out, but if any of you doubt that Houston will have the #1 seed, you are fooling yourselves. Texans are legit and can win in many different ways which they have proven.

The D will be healthy come playoff time and nobody is going to want to face the Texans.

#1 Texans
#2 Pats
#3 Ravens

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='Nitrofish' timestamp='1354540297' post='1244428']
Now of course part of that is the fact that Flacco is not a tough QB and is afraid to take hits...[/quote]

What exactly are you basing this opinion on? Regardless, you're wrong. Joe's got his fair share of issues, but toughness isn't one of them at all.

[I AM LEGEND]

We aren't winning the superbowl without that first round bye...even if we do win the division and get a home game in Baltimore..the only hope we have is hoping Andrew Luck or Andy Dalton comes here instead of Big Ben..but after watching Luck and Dalton...either one of them could easily come in here and pick apart THIS defense. ..

But even then we would be looking at away games in NE or Houston which is a tall order...

Can flacco and this team beat 3 superbowl winning qbs when we couldn't beat Batch, struggled against Leftwich and begged Matt Cassel to do us in..I don't think so..

[ravens88]

[quote name='T3hRaven' timestamp='1354522824' post='1244321']
I almost think the team would be better off in the long run dropping the next four games and missing the playoffs. That might be enough to shake the FO into cleaning house coaching wise, and it would net a slightly higher draft pick which this team sorely needs. If you can't win the Super Bowl, advancing in the playoffs and getting those lower draft picks is hurting your team.
[/quote]

[Latch]

I honestly think that there is a good chance we could lose every remaining game on our schedule. If we lose to Batch at home, imagine how we would play versus a Manning brother.

[gotekiraven]

Geez guys. Remember last year when the Giants had to win against the Cowboys just to make it into the playoffs? What happened when they won? They beat the Falcons, they then went on the ROAD to Greenbay and beat the NUMBER TWO SEEDED Packers who had a FIRST ROUND BYE. Then the Gaints went on the ROAD again to San Fran and beat the NUMBER ONE SEEDED 49ers in the NFC Championship game. Remember that the Giants got into the playoffs as a 9-7 team. This shows that you can't always judge a team on how they are going to do in the playoffs by how they performed during the regular season. This goes the same for the Ravens. Even with the loss against the Steelers, we are still 4-1 in the division and 4-2 on the road. Is there work that needs to be done, of course. But this is not a sound the alarm moment.

[I AM LEGEND]

[quote name='gotekiraven' timestamp='1354546056' post='1244582']
Geez guys. Remember last year when the Giants had to win against the Cowboys just to make it into the playoffs? What happened when they won? They beat the Falcons, they then went on the ROAD to Greenbay and beat the NUMBER TWO SEEDED Packers who had a FIRST ROUND BYE. Then the Gaints went on the ROAD again to San Fran and beat the NUMBER ONE SEEDED 49ers in the NFC Championship game. Remember that the Giants got into the playoffs as a 9-7 team. This shows that you can't always judge a team on how they are going to do in the playoffs by how they performed during the regular season. This goes the same for the Ravens. Even with the loss against the Steelers, we are still 4-1 in the division and 4-2 on the road. Is there work that needs to be done, of course. But this is not a sound the alarm moment.
[/quote]

Giants had a great pass rush and superbowl winning QB who loves the spotlight of big games..we have none of that

[AsianRice]

The problem comes down to our offense, not our defense. Our defense do their parts to make turnovers and many 3 and out serious, but our offense was stalled and Joe gave the ball back to Pitts after the turnover.

We win or lose depending on Cam and Joe cuz our defense is good but not great like last year.

Cam just doesn't know who has hot hands in game; Joe was horrible and rattled all night, but Rice and Pierce were tearing it up on the running game. He chose to abandon it and throw, again trying to outsmart the opponent.


PS: It always look like we were always in the postseason, but Cam will make sure this offense playing mediore as much as possible.

[gotekiraven]

[quote name='I AM LEGEND' timestamp='1354546371' post='1244590']
Giants had a great pass rush and superbowl winning QB who loves the spotlight of big games..we have none of that
[/quote]

So with their superbowl winning QB and great pass rush, they finished the season at 9-7? Last year, we were one reception in the end zone in New England from going to the Superbowl. This season we beat Tom Brady. My crticism has been 70% Cameron 30% Flacco. The next four games wil define the Raven's ability to be a Superbowl contender, going against threee superbowl winning QB's who are all only playoff bound teams will be the test.

[AsianRice]

[quote name='gotekiraven' timestamp='1354546056' post='1244582']
Geez guys. Remember last year when the Giants had to win against the Cowboys just to make it into the playoffs? What happened when they won? They beat the Falcons, they then went on the ROAD to Greenbay and beat the NUMBER TWO SEEDED Packers who had a FIRST ROUND BYE. Then the Gaints went on the ROAD again to San Fran and beat the NUMBER ONE SEEDED 49ers in the NFC Championship game. Remember that the Giants got into the playoffs as a 9-7 team. This shows that you can't always judge a team on how they are going to do in the playoffs by how they performed during the regular season. This goes the same for the Ravens. Even with the loss against the Steelers, we are still 4-1 in the division and 4-2 on the road. Is there work that needs to be done, of course. But this is not a sound the alarm moment.
[/quote]
They don't have Cam on their boat...

[gotekiraven]

[quote name='AsianRice' timestamp='1354546508' post='1244597']
They don't have Cam on their boat...
[/quote]

lol, Good point, very, very, very valid point!!

I've always said that the Raven's could be that of a high performance sports car on offense, but what is holding it back is Cam Cameron who is a busted up transmission.

[I AM LEGEND]

[quote name='gotekiraven' timestamp='1354546491' post='1244596']


So with their superbowl winning QB and great pass rush, they finished the season at 9-7? Last year, we were one reception in the end zone in New England from going to the Superbowl. This season we beat Tom Brady. My crticism has been 70% Cameron 30% Flacco. The next four games wil define the Raven's ability to be a Superbowl contender, going against threee superbowl winning QB's who are all only playoff bound teams will be the test.
[/quote]

No they finished the season with a Superbowl

[gotekiraven]

[quote name='I AM LEGEND' timestamp='1354547178' post='1244618']
No they finished the season with a Superbowl
[/quote]

Was it Flacco's fault in New England to why they didn't get the Superbowl?

[Twistidfunk]

There is no way we win out the rest of these games.

Flacco is just not a consistent QB. Mixing Flacco's inconsistencies with Cam Cameron is not inspiring with our schedule ahead.

We will be lucky to win two and even then I have my doubts.

[Rinbee]

[quote name='Sizzlebshu' timestamp='1354504031' post='1243898']
Not to throw salt or be negative, but this is hardly the time to look at the positives. This what I was talking about before. Consistently instead of stepping on our opponents throats and finishing them when they are at their weakest, we leave the door open for them. We had a chance to potentially end the Steeler's season tonight and claim the AFC north and we left the door open. Not only that, but our schedule gets harder. We could easily drop two games with the opponents we have left and when you compare our schedule to that of the Steelers, its not unfathomable that they could catch us. We had a chance to end it tonight and finish this once for all but we didn't. The team should be ashamed of letting this one get away.

Ben's return and the softening of the Steelers's schedule means that they are only going to get stronger. I'll say it now, if this play continues we will lose the division to Steelers. I find it very hard to envision them losing another game this season, not because they are some great team, but because their opponents are mediocre at best. We had a chance to end them tonight, and we let it slip by at home. That is unacceptable play for a 9 win team.

If one good thing came out of this loss, its that the fans and some forum members here got a wake up call and finally realized that while our record has 9 wins we are not playing like a 9 win team.
[/quote]

Now wee need Harbs and the FO to get that same wakeup call. Actually, may be just the FO b/c I think Harbs is part of the problem. but that's another story.

[Sizzlebshu]

[quote name='Rinbee' timestamp='1354552387' post='1244784']
Now wee need Harbs and the FO to get that same wakeup call. Actually, may be just the FO b/c I think Harbs is part of the problem. but that's another story.
[/quote]
I think Cam is such a problem that if firing Harbs meant getting rid of him I'd do it and I like harbs and respect his ability to coach.

[Tank 92]

[quote name='AsianRice' timestamp='1354546421' post='1244593']
The problem comes down to our offense, not our defense. Our defense do their parts to make turnovers and many 3 and out serious, but our offense was stalled and Joe gave the ball back to Pitts after the turnover.

We win or lose depending on Cam and Joe cuz our defense is good but not great like last year.

Cam just doesn't know who has hot hands in game; Joe was horrible and rattled all night, but Rice and Pierce were tearing it up on the running game. He chose to abandon it and throw, again trying to outsmart the opponent.


PS: It always look like we were always in the postseason, but Cam will make sure this offense playing mediore as much as possible.
[/quote]

Allowing a game winning drive from the 15 is not what I would call a "good" defense. Our pass rush and coverage just plain sucked yesterday.

While the O played like crap, they did put up 20 against the # 1 D. From all pre game accounts that should have been enough to win the game. Not defending their play or the play calling, just sayin'.

[Nitrofish]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1354540657' post='1244439']
What exactly are you basing this opinion on? Regardless, you're wrong. Joe's got his fair share of issues, but toughness isn't one of them at all.
[/quote]

I am basing it off of his performances. I watch the games. I see how Joe is before he starts getting hit and how he performs after taking a few. All you have to do is take your homer glasses off and you will see it too.

Joe Flacco is [b][i]not[/i][/b] a tough QB.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='Nitrofish' timestamp='1354620979' post='1246134']
I am basing it off of his performances. I watch the games. I see how Joe is before he starts getting hit and how he performs after taking a few. All you have to do is take your homer glasses off and you will see it too.

Joe Flacco is [b][i]not[/i][/b] a tough QB.
[/quote]

I'm not sure what games you're watching. I'm not a homer when it comes to Flacco. No QB likes getting hit and no QB is going to be completely comfortable after taking a few shots either.

Not having missed a game in his career and playing through several injuries through most of the ''09 season would suggest he is a tough QB. You have no facts to back up your claim.