Myth Busters

[ravensdfan]

Fact: Defense got 4 TOs in a game to go to the post season and the offense only scored 13 points off those turnovers while the offense also turned the ball over twice.

No one fully blamed the offense but they deserve a fair share of the blame.

 

That is one game.

 

Fact: The defense forced only one punt on the Steelers first drive in Game 1. Every other drive was a scoring drive.

 

Fact: The defense allowed the 3rd most points in the 4th quarter of all NFL teams.

 

Fact: All but 3 losses this year were 7 pts or less.

 

There is an obvious issue in the 4th quarter and it has nothing to do with TOP or being tired. Personally, I believe it has to do with Pees & how soft & conservative he goes in the 4th.

[Dr. Kelley]

That's not a myth.

Yes. Yes it is a myth.

[Dr. Kelley]

That is one game.

Fact: The defense forced only one punt on the Steelers first drive in Game 1. Every other drive was a scoring drive.

Fact: The defense allowed the 3rd most points in the 4th quarter of all NFL teams.

Fact: All but 3 losses this year were 7 pts or less.

There is an obvious issue in the 4th quarter and it has nothing to do with TOP or being tired. Personally, I believe it has to do with Pees & how soft & conservative he goes in the 4th.

THIS

This is fact. I don't understand how people stick their heads in the sand to ignore this. It needs fixed. But people on this board would rather make excuses, divorced from reality than face the truth.

[Moderator 3]

Gently, people.

[redrum52]

That is one game.

Fact: The defense forced only one punt on the Steelers first drive in Game 1. Every other drive was a scoring drive.

Fact: The defense allowed the 3rd most points in the 4th quarter of all NFL teams.

Fact: All but 3 losses this year were 7 pts or less.

There is an obvious issue in the 4th quarter and it has nothing to do with TOP or being tired. Personally, I believe it has to do with Pees & how soft & conservative he goes in the 4th.

Fact, you were a main person who said its how you perform later in a game than during the first 3 quarters. Now isn't the last game of the season a time when you want for to bring your a game? The offense failed in a crucial moment, being week 17. So by your standards, the rest of the season didn't matter cause we had a chance THEN to make playoffs and the offense wet the bed, as usual.

[Tru11]

That is one game.

 

Fact: The defense forced only one punt on the Steelers first drive in Game 1. Every other drive was a scoring drive.

 

Fact: The defense allowed the 3rd most points in the 4th quarter of all NFL teams.

 

Fact: All but 3 losses this year were 7 pts or less.

 

There is an obvious issue in the 4th quarter and it has nothing to do with TOP or being tired. Personally, I believe it has to do with Pees & how soft & conservative he goes in the 4th.

 

1st 1 is a myth:

 

Fact: the defense did force 1 punt , but they also forced 1 fumble which the offense manage to get 3 points off.

Fact: in that same game the offense had 3 punts, 3 FG( 1 set up by defense) and 1 TD.

Fact: steelers offense AVG 23.7 a  game and where held to 19.

Fact: ravens offense AVG. 20.0 a game and where held to 16.

 

Fact: the ravens defense AVG allows 22.0 per game good for 12th best

Fact: the ravens offense AVG scores 20.0 per game good for 25th best.

 

if there is 1 side that needs improvement its quite clear where.....

 

other then the denver game most of the blame of all other games did not and should not fall on the defense...

[ravensdfan]

1st 1 is a myth:

 

Fact: the defense did force 1 punt , but they also forced 1 fumble which the offense manage to get 3 points off.

Fact: in that same game the offense had 3 punts, 3 FG( 1 set up by defense) and 1 TD.

Fact: steelers offense AVG 23.7 a  game and where held to 19.

Fact: ravens offense AVG. 20.0 a game and where held to 16.

 

Fact: the ravens defense AVG allows 22.0 per game good for 12th best

Fact: the ravens offense AVG scores 20.0 per game good for 25th best.

 

if there is 1 side that needs improvement its quite clear where.....

 

other then the denver game most of the blame of all other games did not and should not fall on the defense...

 

Number 1 is not a myth. They forced only one punt and if you go back and watch the fumble, it was a gift & not a forced fumble. Either way - every other drive but those 2 were scoring drives.

 

Does it matter if they are ranked 12th overall if they wet the bed when it counts? Off the cuff I can think of 3 games where the offense tied up the game & the defense failed. Last Cincy game, Steelers game 1, Chicago game. They practically gave away the first Cincy game by blowing a 17-3 lead late in the game.

 

Overall, certainly they have improved statistically which is why I stated it is more a scheme thing late in games IMO then overall player performance. 

 

The offense was beyond disappointing this season but we put no effort into improving the offense unless you call bringing in 2 vets at the end of their career making an effort, yet we lost Boldin, Pitta & Jacoby. Did you expect them to perform at a high level after those 3 losses and no running game?

 

On defense we spent a high pick on Elam, brought in Canty, Huff, Spears, Doom, D. Smith. Pretty big difference.

 

Oh one more fact for you: Offense tied up the game in the 4th and the defense failed to get off the field

[gabefergy]

Yes. Yes it is a myth.

Give me one single way our defense was better last year.

[Tru11]

 

Number 1 is not a myth. They forced only one punt and if you go back and watch the fumble, it was a gift & not a forced fumble. Either way - every other drive but those 2 were scoring drives.

 

Does it matter if they are ranked 12th overall if they wet the bed when it counts? Off the cuff I can think of 3 games where the offense tied up the game & the defense failed. Last Cincy game, Steelers game 1, Chicago game. They practically gave away the first Cincy game by blowing a 17-3 lead late in the game.

 

Overall, certainly they have improved statistically which is why I stated it is more a scheme thing late in games IMO then overall player performance. 

 

The offense was beyond disappointing this season but we put no effort into improving the offense unless you call bringing in 2 vets at the end of their career making an effort, yet we lost Boldin, Pitta & Jacoby. Did you expect them to perform at a high level after those 3 losses and no running game?

 

On defense we spent a high pick on Elam, brought in Canty, Huff, Spears, Doom, D. Smith. Pretty big difference.

 

Oh one more fact for you: Offense tied up the game in the 4th and the defense failed to get off the field

 

it does matter where they rank lol

 

the defense held the steelers to lesser points then the avg.

the offense gained lesser points then they avg.

 

your ranks puts you where you belong.

your rank is based on how you preformed.

 

a defense that holds the opponent to 4 FGs on 4 drives does a better job then an offense who scores 1 TD on 4 drives.

 

you can twist stuff however you want , bottomline other then the denver game  the offense is the bigger reason we lost games.

 

the defense lost more players then the offense so common sense would say they should spent more on that side.....

also the defense lost the 2 best players of all times at their position, a starting CB, a starting MLB, a starting safety.

5 new starters out of 11 and you want them to be elite.

 

is it realistic to expect them to preform at a higher level then the offense?

 

here is a very good fact: TDs are worth more points then punts and FGs

another good fact: scoring TD increases your chances of winning a game instead of punting and kicking FGs

another intresting fact: when you score TDs instead of punting or kicking FG , you dont have to rely on the defense to close a game out..

 

defense holds opponent to 19 points while offense only manages 16 points and its the freakin defense fault lol.

only 5 teams avg less then 19 points a game on offense

thats 5 out of 32.

just to give you an idea about how impressive it actually is to hold a team to just 19 points.

 

 

[Willbacker]

That is one game.

 

Fact: The defense forced only one punt on the Steelers first drive in Game 1. Every other drive was a scoring drive.

 

Fact: The defense allowed the 3rd most points in the 4th quarter of all NFL teams.

 

Fact: All but 3 losses this year were 7 pts or less.

 

There is an obvious issue in the 4th quarter and it has nothing to do with TOP or being tired. Personally, I believe it has to do with Pees & how soft & conservative he goes in the 4th.

The 4th qtr stat is disturbing.

 

1st 1 is a myth:

 

Fact: the defense did force 1 punt , but they also forced 1 fumble which the offense manage to get 3 points off.

Fact: in that same game the offense had 3 punts, 3 FG( 1 set up by defense) and 1 TD.

Fact: steelers offense AVG 23.7 a  game and where held to 19.

Fact: ravens offense AVG. 20.0 a game and where held to 16.

 

Fact: the ravens defense AVG allows 22.0 per game good for 12th best

Fact: the ravens offense AVG scores 20.0 per game good for 25th best.

 

if there is 1 side that needs improvement its quite clear where.....

 

other then the denver game most of the blame of all other games did not and should not fall on the defense...

Too many times the D had to make a crucial stop in the 4th qtr to either

 

1- get the ball back so our O would have one more chance.

2- to stop the other team from scoring the game winning TD.

 

Too many times it didn't happen. It shouldn't matter what the O scores. That is moot. Go back over some of those 4th qtrs.

[Willbacker]

Give me one single way our defense was better last year.

They made stops when it counted. Not counting the Skins game. Throw the stats out the window.

[ravensdfan]

 

 

 

it does matter where they rank lol

 

the defense held the steelers to lesser points then the avg.

the offense gained lesser points then they avg.

 

your ranks puts you where you belong.

your rank is based on how you preformed.

 

a defense that holds the opponent to 4 FGs on 4 drives does a better job then an offense who scores 1 TD on 4 drives.

 

you can twist stuff however you want , bottomline other then the denver game  the offense is the bigger reason we lost games.

 

the defense lost more players then the offense so common sense would say they should spent more on that side.....

also the defense lost the 2 best players of all times at their position, a starting CB, a starting MLB, a starting safety.

5 new starters out of 11 and you want them to be elite.

 

is it realistic to expect them to preform at a higher level then the offense?

 

here is a very good fact: TDs are worth more points then punts and FGs

another good fact: scoring TD increases your chances of winning a game instead of punting and kicking FGs

another intresting fact: when you score TDs instead of punting or kicking FG , you dont have to rely on the defense to close a game out..

 

defense holds opponent to 19 points while offense only manages 16 points and its the freakin defense fault lol.

only 5 teams avg less then 19 points a game on offense

thats 5 out of 32.

just to give you an idea about how impressive it actually is to hold a team to just 19 points.

 

 

 

 

 

Defenses' job is to get off the field. They failed all but 2 times.

Offense's job is to put up points. FGs are points - and it is the offense that makes the yards to get you there.

 

We have a lot of defense apologists on this site. They use different measuring sticks for offense & defense.

 

Ranking only matters here because it lets you apologize for the failures of our defense. We ranked bottom of the barrel in clutch time defensively, for points & red zone defense. Those are just facts.

 

If you look at our games & how they played out - but for our 4th quarter failures, despite an underperforming offense, we'd have made the playoffs. That is also just a fact.

 

The defense is not absolved of blame when our losses were close games and the offense managed to actually either take a lead or tie the game in 4 of them (if not more, that is just off the top of my head) in the 4th quarter.

 

Myth: The defense was significantly better than last season.

Fact: Statistically overall the defense was better but statistically they ranked at the bottom in the 4th quarter.

[Tru11]

The 4th qtr stat is disturbing.

 

Too many times the D had to make a crucial stop in the 4th qtr to either

 

1- get the ball back so our O would have one more chance.

2- to stop the other team from scoring the game winning TD.

 

Too many times it didn't happen. It shouldn't matter what the O scores. That is moot. Go back over some of those 4th qtrs.

 

sure ill watch those 4th quarters

lets all just forget what happend in the prior 3 quarters.........

 

also get the ball back to the offense to have  them do what they have been doing through the whole game?

is there some guaranteed that they would actually do better or just a chance?

[berad]

Ozzie Newsome said the defense not getting off the field cost us 3-4 games. So what are we talking about? They were better overall than the offense but not perfect and, yes, their failures contributed to our average season.

[gabefergy]

They made stops when it counted. Not counting the Skins game. Throw the stats out the window.

What about the Philly game? Pitt? They let Dallas drive down the field and needed bad clock management and a missed FG to win that game.

The only time they got critical stops in the regular was against NE and KC.

The truth is our D was much improved this year, but our offense regressed so much it didn't matter.

[Tru11]

Defenses' job is to get off the field. They failed all but 2 times.

Offense's job is to put up points. FGs are points - and it is the offense that makes the yards to get you there.

 

We have a lot of defense apologists on this site. They use different measuring sticks for offense & defense.

 

Ranking only matters here because it lets you apologize for the failures of our defense. We ranked bottom of the barrel in clutch time defensively, for points & red zone defense. Those are just facts.

 

If you look at our games & how they played out - but for our 4th quarter failures, despite an underperforming offense, we'd have made the playoffs. That is also just a fact.

 

The defense is not absolved of blame when our losses were close games and the offense managed to actually either take a lead or tie the game in 4 of them (if not more, that is just off the top of my head) in the 4th quarter.

 

Myth: The defense was significantly better than last season.

Fact: Statistically overall the defense was better but statistically they ranked at the bottom in the 4th quarter.

 

fact: a game has 4 quarter and not just 1.

fact: an offense job is to score points and they where the 25th best in the league.

fact; an defense job is to stop other teams from scoring and the defense was 12th best in the league.

fact: above rankings are based on a full season and all quarters not just 1 specific.

fact: 12th best is better then 25th best.

[ravensdfan]

fact: a game has 4 quarter and not just 1.

fact: an offense job is to score points and they where the 25th best in the league.

fact; an defense job is to stop other teams from scoring and the defense was 12th best in the league.

fact: above rankings are based on a full season and all quarters not just 1 specific.

fact: 12th best is better then 25th best.

 

Are we arguing that defense was better than offense?  No we're not. I do believe I already said the offense was beyond disappointing. We're arguing about the defense's performance in the 4th quarter. You want to make some sort of argument that their late game failures didn't cost us games when it did.

 

Fact: A game has 4 quarters and not just 3.

Fact: If the offense ties the game late or makes a go ahead score at that point the game is in the hands of the defense.

 

It doesn't negate anyone's performance up to that point, but the offense cannot do anything else unless they have the ball. Once the offense ties the game or takes the lead, the game is then in the hands of the defense. If they fail, then they failed.

[Tank 92]

What about the Philly game? Pitt? They let Dallas drive down the field and needed bad clock management and a missed FG to win that game.

The only time they got critical stops in the regular was against NE and KC.

The truth is our D was much improved this year, but our offense regressed so much it didn't matter.

 

 

 As a whole, the D was better in 2013. Showing up for the critical stops? they usually folded. Dude is right. Even though they sucked for the most part, at times the 2012 squad tightened when they had to and contributed to us winning some close games.

[Tru11]

Are we arguing that defense was better than offense?  No we're not. I do believe I already said the offense was beyond disappointing. We're arguing about the defense's performance in the 4th quarter. You want to make some sort of argument that their late game failures didn't cost us games when it did.

 

Fact: A game has 4 quarters and not just 3.

Fact: If the offense ties the game late or makes a go ahead score at that point the game is in the hands of the defense.

 

It doesn't negate anyone's performance up to that point, but the offense cannot do anything else unless they have the ball. Once the offense ties the game or takes the lead, the game is then in the hands of the defense. If they fail, then they failed.

 

 

we are arguing who is to blame for a lost game.

 

you want to blame the part that failed on the last 1 or 2 drives.

i rather blame the part who failed on  the many drives prior to the last 1 or 2.

[redrum52]

we are arguing who is to blame for a lost game.

you want to blame the part that failed on the last 1 or 2 drives.

i rather blame the part who failed on the many drives prior to the last 1 or 2.

Exactly. If the roles were reversed I would be saying that the defense was what cost us the games but you can't have one side decide to only put in a quarter of work and pin it on the other side though they are the only reason you're in the game.

[Moderator 3]

"who lost the game" isn't fact. I think it's time to let it go and move on. The point was made that the defense wasn't all that some people want to believe (myth vs. fact). We all know the offense sucked...that IS fact.

[RavensAllTheWay]

Myth: Letting all of those FAs on defense walk last season was a huge mistake.

Strong opinion: Most of those guys were overpaid, and the ones that weren't either retired or had nothing left.

Fact: This was a transition year for the team.

[ravensdfan]

Fact: This was a transition year for the team.

 

And I'd be fine with that if we'd learned anything and were making necessary coaching changes. We are not.

 

What we should have learned:

 

1. Castillo's ZBS system is crap.

2. Eventually Joe will get hurt.

3. Castillo's system destroyed our run game in one off season.

4. While he may not be the best, the Ravens need Pitta.

5. Torrey has not made the transition to a true #1 just yet (WR coaching ???)

6. Rice is not effective injured.

7. You won't know what you've got until you let them play (Marlon Brown)

8. You can't have a functioning offense with a stale playbook.

 

But, Castillo is sticking around and getting more responsibility. - which is something else Harbs should have learned with Cam - don't hold on so tight to friends.

 

Caldwell is still here. We've made no coaching changes on offense. Why expect different results?

[gabefergy]

 As a whole, the D was better in 2013. Showing up for the critical stops? they usually folded. Dude is right. Even though they sucked for the most part, at times the 2012 squad tightened when they had to and contributed to us winning some close games.

That's true, but how many of those games would have been wins if the Offense wasn't inept? The defense kept us in pretty much every game this year, but the offense couldn't capitalize. There are only so many stops they can get.

[Tru11]

Because then it IS their fault. If the offense has tied the game or taken the lead - from there it is up to the defense. Period. The offense has now done their part to either take us into OT or win the game. Period. That is just a fact.

 

I don't care if we lead the game 7-3 with 2 mins left. We are winning. Whether we win or lose at that point is in the hands of the defense. No one else controls it at that point.

 

For every "the offense didn't score" claim you want to make about earlier in the game there will be just as many plays on defense that one can point to throughout the game. It is just a fact that once the game is tied or we've taken a lead in the 4th - it is now in the hands of the defense. If they fail - then they have failed. That is just a fact.

 

are you seriously that short sighted?

 

the only reason the team has a 7-3 lead with 2 minutes left is because the defense managed to keep the opponent to 3 points lol.

you have any idea how hard it is to hold a team to just 3 points for a full game?

with all the rules and such its not easy to play defense lol.

 

you should care, you should care alot to be honest.

 

a defense holding an opponent to 3 points for 58 minutes is impressive.

a offense scoring just 7 points in 58 minutes is well ...... .

 

instead of lookin at the situation as it is , your better off wondering how we got in that situation in the first place lol.

 

im not a fan of the blame the victim instead of perpetrator mindset some seem to have but to each their own.

 

no point in arguing.

[Tank 92]

That's true, but how many of those games would have been wins if the Offense wasn't inept? The defense kept us in pretty much every game this year, but the offense couldn't capitalize. There are only so many stops they can get.

 

 

Agree for the most part, but there were times when the offense did get things together towards the end of games, put us in a position to win only to have the defense fail. I just don't buy into "if we had scored more earlier it wouldn't have mattered" deal. Say if we do score more early in one of those close games. Who's to say the opposing team doesn't play more aggressively and scores more themselves?  

[gabefergy]

Agree for the most part, but there were times when the offense did get things together towards the end of games, put us in a position to win only to have the defense fail. I just don't buy into "if we had scored more earlier it wouldn't have mattered" deal. Say if we do score more early in one of those close games. Who's to say the opposing team doesn't play more aggressively and scores more themselves?  

Well the fact is in most games our defense kept us in it, and our O failed to capitalize. Isn't it easier to play with a lead than having to always play catch up too?

 

I just don't think it's fair to criticize the defense for not making a stop in the 4th quarter, when they have been making stops and getting the ball back throughout the entire game and the offense doesnt do anything with it. The Buffalo and GB games are perfect examples. In Buffalo our defense completely shut down the Bills in the 2nd half but we kept turning the ball over. Against GB, our D locked down Aaron Rodgers who had his worst game of the year, but we didnt have an offense until the 4th quarter, and then it's the defenses fault for not getting 1 stop? I know that last stop could have been the difference in the game, but how many times does the offense get a pass?

 

I'm not trying to say only the offense was to blame for the team's failures, but I dont see how anyone could objectively look at this year's Ravens and say the defense was the problem. I also don't see how anyone can just point to a very small sample of 4th quarter "failures" and ignore the rest of the game where the defense largely played exceptionally well. 

[ravensdfan]

You know that we didn't learn because of the moves we haven't made 10 days into the offseason?  And secondly, it shouldn't be a significant surprise to anyone that the offense took a step back when you consider how much focus we put on defense last offseason, plus we traded our best receiver for cap reasons, plus we lost our other very reliable receiver to injury for 12 games.  

 

I didn't hear as much about bad route running when we had Boldin, Mason and Housh.  And if nothing else, Torrey has at least expanded on his route tree.  He caught a lot more short passes this season, and early in the season was a beast after the catch.  

 

It's not like the play calling was flawless this season.  Early on, we used little crossing routes to Torrey for him to catch the ball and get YAC, which actually helped start a lot of our drives.  Why we went away from that as the season went on, I have no idea.  I also thought we threw way too many short passes all year, but maybe that had something to do with a lack of faith in the O lines ability to protect long enough for 10+ yard plays to develop.  We also never figured out how to stop double A gap blitzes all season long, and we had way too many free runners take shots at Flacco, and we kept getting in third and long.  These are are undeniable problems.  But as far as a lack of creativity, we did see stacks/bunches/different route concepts this year, just like we did in the SB run, as well as off and on (at best) during Cam's tenure.

 

These are all correctable without being forced to overhaul the offensive staff because this was the same staff, minus Castillo, that was here when we fielded way better offenses in years prior.  What does that scream?  To me, personnel upgrades!!  Torrey's not a legit number 1, and Jacoby's not a legit number 2.  Marlon, maybe.  

 

And again, I'm pretty sure we ran at least some ZBS when Cam was here.  We definitely ran our share of zone stretch plays.  I'm not going to break down why it's a good scheme because I'm not football smart enough to do so, but it can work.

 

Well let's break it down - we've released no one (namely Caldwell) which means (because anyone worth anything will be hired by the end of the week) it can be deduced with pretty high accuracy unless he is offered a job elsewhere, we aren't letting him go.

 

We basically just promoted Castillo.

 

The RB coach left on his own - probably because of Castillo, and I only say this with the current info that Castillo will be the OL coach next season and because the RB coach has been with us for a while.

 

Not to mention - the entire "no wholesale changes" quote. Pretty much - we aren't making any coaching changes unless outside forces make it necessary.

 

I guess you didn't hear about bad route running when Mason was here. Why would you? The man was a consummate route runner. Housh was decent and Boldin was good. All of them were veterans that came here with those skills already in place. Their skills in that area were not learned and/or developed here.

 

I already said the play calling was an issue but - Caldwell's still here isn't he?

 

I call bullycock on the creative part. Massive fail in the run game and we did not even attempt to scheme our way out of it. Sure we saw a play here or there, but there was no consistent creative play calling, not even within one game.

 

No they aren't the same guys.

 

Hostler - joined in 2008

Caldwell - joined in 2012

Castillo - joined in 2013

Moeller - joined in 2008

Washington - assistant OL coach joined in 2011

 

The only guy who has been here is Wade, the TE coach. Hostler has been here since 2008 - what WR has developed under him? Torrey - who still cannot run crisp routes and has tracking issues. Something that seems to be issues with all our receivers.

 

When Castillo ran the scheme in Philly they only had 2 years when the sack totals were under 30. I don't call that "working". They only had 3 years where the run game was in the top 10. Not an impressive resume.

[ravensdfan]

Well the fact is in most games our defense kept us in it, and our O failed to capitalize. Isn't it easier to play with a lead than having to always play catch up too?

 

I just don't think it's fair to criticize the defense for not making a stop in the 4th quarter, when they have been making stops and getting the ball back throughout the entire game and the offense doesnt do anything with it. The Buffalo and GB games are perfect examples. In Buffalo our defense completely shut down the Bills in the 2nd half but we kept turning the ball over. Against GB, our D locked down Aaron Rodgers who had his worst game of the year, but we didnt have an offense until the 4th quarter, and then it's the defenses fault for not getting 1 stop? I know that last stop could have been the difference in the game, but how many times does the offense get a pass?

 

I'm not trying to say only the offense was to blame for the team's failures, but I dont see how anyone could objectively look at this year's Ravens and say the defense was the problem. I also don't see how anyone can just point to a very small sample of 4th quarter "failures" and ignore the rest of the game where the defense largely played exceptionally well. 

 

I hate these sort of reasonings because it is perfectly alright to ignore the fact that the offense tied up the game or took the lead therefore, putting the team in a position to win or go into OT.

 

In GB we held TOP until the defense gave up a 6 minute drive for a score. What is their excuse for suddenly failing when it counted? We're not talking an amazing deep ball by Rodgers that put them inside our 20 and then they scored. We are talking a 6 minute methodical drive where the defense could not muster one single play to get the ball back or force a punt. That is a defensive failure I don't care who did what previously.

 

The point was never to say the offense was better than the defense - the point was that rankings do not tell the whole story - that the defense did not perform in the 4th quarter which is proven statistically - and that it sometimes cost us games every bit as much as the offense's ineptitude.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

I don't have any exact numbers but

Myth: Elam is a bust

Fact: you can't call a player that played decent(and out of position) a bust after his first year. Jimmy Smith alone debunks that myth.

Agreed. Many people did in fact say that Jimmy Smith was a bust during his 1st season.

http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/3596/how-jimmy-smith-turned-the-corner

And there are some that have said Elam is a bust, as well. You don't need exact numbers when stating a fact. A fact is just a fact.