Baltimore Ravens: The Best NFL Franchise in the Last 5 Years

[FlocksGottaFeed]

The good guys wear purple and black. It's just the beginning.

 

[AsianRice]

I wish Mr. Bisciotti and Ozzie live more than 100 year.....lol

[FlocksGottaFeed]

UPDATE: Wow! The power of Ravens' this forum!

Just did a search for more information on 'NFL best franchises' and this nforum is already at page 3 on google out of over 52 million results. That's sick!!!

[1/28/01]

UPDATE: Wow! The power of Ravens' this forum!

Just did a search for more information on 'NFL best franchises' and this nforum is already at page 3 on google out of over 52 million results. That's sick!!!

Page 3. Ha, thats like being behind a billboard, thats behind a billboard, thats behind a billboard facing the other way on a highway, but I enjoy the enthusiasm

[FlocksGottaFeed]

3rd Shift Update: Huffington Post

Definitely worth consideration and posted 14 Dec 2013

 

Huff Post Sports - 5 Traits Of An NFL Dynasty

• A special QB:
• Stability at the top:
• An owner committed to winning and not just profits:
• A great scouting department, system and philosophy:
• Coaches who develop young players:

How do we fare in their criteria? I'm thinking...GREATNESS!

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Page 3. Ha, thats like being behind a billboard, thats behind a billboard, thats behind a billboard facing the other way on a highway, but I enjoy the enthusiasm

No, it's like being a gnat on the blind-side of a cow that's grazing in a pasture with millions of other cows 30 miles from the busiest 8 lane highway in the world and noticing that one car quickly pulled-over on the emergency exit and the driver got out with a pair of binoculars and out of all the cows in that pasture he zoomed-in on the cow with the gnat on it's blind-side because it was purple and black. The gnat had a paint brush. Ain't it cool?

 

For some reason very few journalist or commentators want to write/talk about what defines “The Best NFL Franchise in the Last 5 Years”, if you 'google' those words the 'Flock' comes up on 1st in your search. I'm just saying...glad it's here.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

A team of destiny?

[Gordo52]

A team of destiny?

My thoughts exactly. Same feeling as last year. Once our offense heats up, oh my.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

My thoughts exactly. Same feeling as last year. Once our offense heats up, oh my.

Absolutely. The offense is not there yet, but on it's way.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

I'm so truly thankful for getting an opportunity to go on this journey with the Ravens. Through it I have seen some of the most inspirational stories ever told through sports and beyond the game. This one is the most moving... (Sorry, there are no words).

If you've seen it already, I believe you'll know immediately upon watching that inspiration must come from places in the heart connected to spirits eternal.

Ravens Angel

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10148226

[Guest RBates]

Please keep this team together.  From the coaches to the scout team.  We need everybody.  We have something special with this group.  I like this team more than any other team in the history of our franchise.  

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Ravens Best Franchise Update:

Black and Purple Fan Base - From East Coast to West Coast

Loyalty Just Feels GOOD!!! Some of the Best Fans Ever?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw0vezor8uE

[FlocksGottaFeed]

It was nice to read a positive post. thanks op ! I  buy allot when we won the superbowl i had to have one of everything I saw.I wonder if raven fans are so loyal because they know what it is like to lose a team .Or could it be ya'll are just   a bunch of homers like myself . 

 

Having read this I can't fathom why Joe is called mediocre makes absolutely no sense to me .

 

Bold prediction: we win out make it to the playoffs and repeat . Go Ravens 

I'm all in! Been saying it and great to hear it!

[Guest I-70WestRaven]

Ah, Yes.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Best Franchise Update: Some are using the 'Dynasty' word.

 

Right after we beat New England last year one the Patriots said, "

"That team is going to be a pain in the butt for a long time," the player explained.

"A long, long, long, long, long time."

 

Article:

http://www.realclearsports.com/2013/03/03/ravens_looking_like_a_dynasty_109998.html

 

I wonder do we have to repeat or win another Super Bowl in the next 2 years for more people around the league to acknowledge it?

[FlocksGottaFeed]

More Ravens for "Best Franchise" Consideration

The Ravens vs Steelers is hands-down the best division rivalry without question.

That being said, some say the Ravens vs Patriots Rivalry is the best conference in the last 5 years.

 

 

Ravens: Two major NFL Rivalries that get top billing. Does it get any better than that?

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Another Best Franchise/Dynasty Consideration:

Ravens seem to rank as one the most prolific NFL draft classes between 2008-2013:

The 2008 Ravens Draft Class:

The Ravens deserve more than honorable mention for the 2008 draft: Joe Flacco QB, Ray Rice RB, Tavares Gooden LB (49ers 2012), Tom Zbikowski S (Bears 2013), Oniel Cousins G (Browns 2012), Haruki Nakamura S (Panthers 2012).

Although I haven't been able to see where our franchise ranks amongst the rest of the NFL, when looking at the Ravens Draft Classes it looks like we must rank amongst the best. We've got so many guys that have contributed right out the blocks.

2008 – Flacco & Rice

2009 – Oher, Kruger, Webb

2010 – Cody, Dickson, Pitta, Jones

2011 – Jimmy & Torrey Smith, Doss, Chykie, McPhee, Tyrod,

2012 – Upshaw, Osemele, Pierce, Gino, Tyson

 

More than a few that cover drafts have said, "The thing that you can count on other than death and taxes is the Ravens will rule the draft." Gotta' love our front office and the culture.

[cursona pirate]

 

Although I haven't been able to see where our franchise ranks amongst the rest of the NFL, when looking at the Ravens Draft Classes it looks like we must rank amongst the best. We've got so many guys that have contributed right out the blocks.

2008 – Flacco & Rice

2009 – Oher, Kruger, Webb

2010 – Cody, Dickson, Pitta, Jones

2011 – Jimmy & Torrey Smith, Doss, Chykie, McPhee, Tyrod,

2012 – Upshaw, Osemele, Pierce, Gino, Tyson

 

More than a few that cover drafts have said, "The thing that you can count on other than death and taxes is the Ravens will rule the draft." Gotta' love our front office and the culture.

 

Yeah we have had some great drafts the last 5 years

As for other teams I can think of that are good as well in the last 5 years

 

 

Other Teams:

 

Dolphins:

They got themselves a QB

 

Colts:

got Luck

 

Patriots:

got two great TE in a draft and always have a decent draft. So they are up there too. 

 

Bengals:

Andy Dalton Aj Green

[cobrajet]

Second in merchandise sales, impressive!

[Nightman]

The Ravens and the Redskins are two opposite examples of how an owner can make an impact on a team, while Dan Synder  has run the team into the ground and had several head coaches, Steve Biciotti who deserves some but not all of the credit for making Baltimore an elite NFL team.  Some of the pieces were already in place when he bought part of the team in 2000.  The team under Brian Billick in 1999 went 8-8, Ozzie Newsome was becoming the wizard GM in the teams front office and I thought they were about to turn the corner in 2000 when the NFL forced Modell who was still having financial problems despite moving the team to Baltimore to sell to Biscuit, first as a partner, then around 2003-4 selling the rest of the franchise to him.  The Ravens owner was more of the last piece of the puzzle.  Sometimes I disagree with him such as the topic of stadium improvements, but compared to the owner of the team who plays in Landover  the difference in owners is like night and day we have the better owner of the only NFL team that matters.

[Ravens Lover]

Out of that list i think it has to be the Ravens ( a little bias maybe lol), but the Steelers havent been in the playoffs the past two years, New Orleans wasnt in the playoffs last year, The Giants haven't done anything in the post season outside of there one Super Bowl, neither have the Packers, The Ravens have one at least one playoff win each year, two division championships, 2 AFC Championship games, and a Super Bowl win, and are just two wins away from another division championship this year, couldnt ask for much more from this team the last 5 years love em!!

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Out of that list i think it has to be the Ravens ( a little bias maybe lol), but the Steelers havent been in the playoffs the past two years, New Orleans wasnt in the playoffs last year, The Giants haven't done anything in the post season outside of there one Super Bowl, neither have the Packers, The Ravens have one at least one playoff win each year, two division championships, 2 AFC Championship games, and a Super Bowl win, and are just two wins away from another division championship this year, couldnt ask for much more from this team the last 5 years love em!!

Agreed. No matter what recent doubters  may think, I believe we are still on the right track. I can't imagine us not getting even more formidable in the years to come. I probably won't get many chances to post too much with Christmas and everything. So, if anyone finds another stat referencing the last 5 years get it in. Thanks for keeping it up.

 

Merry Christmas Ravens Fans Worldwide!

[AsianRice]

butt whoop the Bengals...

[redrum52]

Why would there even be a poll in this thread?

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Why would there even be a poll in this thread?

I agree for the most part. Very little arguments (strange, but true). We Got This.

We were here!

[billick]

We were one second/call from back to back Super Bowls. Dat's near dynasty stuff, folks.

 

We can clearly vote Ravens without being accused of homerism.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

We were one second/call from back to back Super Bowls. Dat's near dynasty stuff, folks.

 

We can clearly vote Ravens without being accused of homerism.

Great point. Absolutely agreed. I remember that game oh so well, but we never let it stop us. We've been steadfast and in constant growth mode from the beginning. And if that's 'homerism' then it seems like a lot of front offices around the league are trying to model their team's futures the Ravens' way, as well.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Although our 2013 Season Ended on a Bad Note:

The possibilities of even more hope and excellence for the future are still there.

 

Who Knew?

In order to rebuild for future; and yet stay competitive, we found ourselves without every vocal, dynamic, big impact play type leader that solidified our culture. This is not to say that leaders were not on the team this year, but just not those kinds of leaders. Because of this, during the off-season very few picked us to even to compete for the division title or playoffs. It was accepted throughout that this would be a 'rebuilding year', but they were wrong. 8-8 was not stellar, but even our mediocrity during the season bettered and/or was respectfully dangerous to most other teams in the league.

When you just consider the odds of us having a meaningful game at the end of season, it seemed pretty remote at the beginning of the season even for the most dedicated fans. So, I believe that this can also be a testament to what defines a great franchise. Recognizing: "One season does not a great franchise make." That's most likely why very few commentators, insiders and interviewers don't report on this until 10 years have accumulated. That being the norm, I believe that's just playing it too safe. In these years of parity due to complex salary-cap and franchise player rules it is more and more difficult to become a 'dynasty' over a 10 year period. Most likely we will rarely see this happen in the future. The odds are just so nearly insurmountable. My thoughts, if there is any team that has the possibility of challenging this 'impossibility' it would be a team like the Ravens. The Ravens have been the best NFL franchise in the last 5 years with little argument. What the next 5 years holds is undetermined, but it's undeniable that "We were here!" and still have the best potential to beat all the odds and become that new 'unthinkable' dynasty. 

 

Stay true. We are just getting started! 2014 and beyond...

Watch this space.

[nyc9192]

Although our 2013 Season Ended on a Bad Note:

The possibilities of even more hope and excellence for the future are still there.

 

Who Knew?

In order to rebuild for future ;and yet stay competitive, we found ourselves without every vocal, dynamic, big impact play type leader that solidified our culture. This is not to say that leaders were not on the team this year, but just not those kinds of leaders. Because of this, during the off-season very few picked us to even to compete for the division title or playoffs. It was accepted throughout that this would be a 'rebuilding year', but they were wrong. 8-8 was not stellar, but even our mediocrity during the season bettered and/or was respectfully dangerous to most other teams in the league.

When you just consider the odds of us having a meaningful game at the end of season, it seemed pretty remote at the beginning of the season even for the most dedicated fans. So, I believe that this can also be a testament to what defines a great franchise. Recognizing: "One season does not a great franchise make." That's most likely why very few commentators, insiders and interviewers don't report on this until 10 years have accumulated. That being the norm, I believe that's just playing too safe. In these years of parity due to complex salary-cap and franchise player rules it is more and more difficult to become a 'dynasty' over a 10 year period. Most likely we will rarely see this happen in the future. The odds are just so nearly insurmountable. My thoughts, if there is any team that has the possibility of challenging this 'impossibility' it would be the a team like the Ravens. The Ravens have been the best NFL franchise in the last 5 years with little argument. What the next 5 years holds is undetermined, but it's undeniable that "We were here!" and still have the best potential to beat all the odds and become that new 'unthinkable' dynasty. 

 

Stay true. We are just getting started! 2014 and beyond...

Watch this space.

Preach.2014's offseasons gonna be big.We got Ozzie(who by himself is better than most front offices entirely) and a loaded draft with guys to fill all our needs and some decent free agents on the market that can be had for cheap.Scary to think that if we got rid of Cam sooner and a different bounce here or there we could've been in a couple of Superbowls.I'm content.Im mad but content.Maybe this was the season we needed to have in order to seriously revamp this team and overhaul this staff to form the most complete flock we've seen.2013 taught us fans and this team alot about where it needs to be but I got a feeling what we experienced last postseason is right around the corner again.We had a tough year but it was something this franchise is gonna savor and never wanna taste again.Black and Purple 2014!

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Preach.2014's offseasons gonna be big.We got Ozzie(who by himself is better than most front offices entirely) and a loaded draft with guys to fill all our needs and some decent free agents on the market that can be had for cheap.Scary to think that if we got rid of Cam sooner and a different bounce here or there we could've been in a couple of Superbowls.I'm content.Im mad but content.Maybe this was the season we needed to have in order to seriously revamp this team and overhaul this staff to form the most complete flock we've seen.2013 taught us fans and this team alot about where it needs to be but I got a feeling what we experienced last postseason is right around the corner again.We had a tough year but it was something this franchise is gonna savor and never wanna taste again.Black and Purple 2014!

Absolutely. The lessons learned and how we've applied them over the years is why other franchises wisely try to emulate us.

Thanks for your response. There's no doubt that this team will continue to evolve into something special.

 

Watch this space.