who still believes trading boldin was a bad idea?

[rmw10]

My point is we don't make the playoffs either way. At least now we have Dumervil as a center-piece of the defense. That's a lot better than watching Boldin walk in FA and getting nothing but a comp pick.

 

Exactly.  If we had kept Boldin for 1 more year, we wouldn't have Dumervil for 3-4 years.  We saw how putrid our pass rush was when his ankle was hurting.  His deal alone makes the trade worth it.  Getting an average Canty was an added bonus, and I even think the Spears signing for insurance was a good one despite him not lasting long here.  Michael Huff is the only real bust out of the money that was spent.

[billick]

_{Maybe we can get him back, for a six. Great trade, yaknow ?}

 

_{Who can we give away right now ?}

[Drew P]

Who cares

[Poes Crows]

Football / Personnel Acumen is revealed in the answer to the posed question.  In other words there are two kinds, those that Know and those that Don't.

 

There's a multitude of other variables surrounding the seminal event and it takes both a sharp and engaged mind to identify the salient variables and then correctly synthesize them.  Obviously, not everyone can do it. Heck even many General Managers can't and there is the Rub.

 

Some of the Salient Facts, though non-exhaustive are as follows:

 

We Lost Anquan Boldin and we failed to make the Playoffs, one could say our Pass Offense sucked;

Joe Flacco fell off measurably, losing his clear "go to" receiver;

Oz said, quote, "I took Flacco's Security Blanket away from him".  (That was one of Oz's better understatements.)

The San Francisco Niners acquired Boldin for the same salary and not only made the playoffs but were one bomb against from the Championship Game, losing a close one to the league champions.

 

The money "Saved" has to also be evaluated.  Who did Oz sign in Free Agency is the way one analyzes that variable.  When one adds up the wasted dollars on Michael Huff, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Dallas Clark and Stokely, most of which were payed to players that were cut,  (That's right Cut, we paid them to go fishing), the reality is we could have retained Boldin to much greater benefit.

 

This was one of Ozzie's all time dunderhead moves.  To minimize or defend it in any way is a disservice to Raven Fans everywhere.  Unfortunately, that decision does not stand in a vacuum.  The Raven organization and it's fan base are being forced to endure a spate of recent Newsome malfunctions.

 

There is a solution, but its one the owner is going to have to be prodded to implement.

 

 

i know this might annoy some people as its still a sensitive topic, but i saw a small remark in a very recent thread mentioning how getting rid of boldin was a foolish move, and i just decided to ask who still believes that it was a bad move? and who has gotten over the emotional ties to him and realizes that it was a business decision that had to be made? 

 

i think my opinion was just made obvious, the guy was simply going to be way overpaid and he would have left our team totally strapped for cash to the point that we may have had multiple special teamers starting full time on each side of the ball. i have no specific names or numbers to prove that theory, but if im not mistaken his cap hit would have been something around 7m in 2013? 

 

canty may not have been a huge impact player, but he allowed for a steady rotation on the d line, without him, arthur jones, ngata, cody, and tyson is essentially our entire d line rotation, jones and ngata get up near 100% of the snaps in a defense that was already worn out in every 4th quarter. 

 

pernell mcphee and courtney upshaw in a year where they both played pretty miserably, are our only options at ROLB. 

 

michael huff was viewed as a very good signing, obviously his play said otherwise. 

 

daryl smith was possibly the best player on our team in 2013. 

 

if we keep boldin, we are lucky to get ONE of these players, not only that, we may have to cut a few players who could develop for the future, for a 1 year plug at WR, boldin would have wanted more than we would have offered him when his contract was up anyway, staying with us in 2013 would have just delayed the inevitable imo. 

 

we all loved the way he played, but have we finally realized that it was a solid business decision that had to be made?

[orangle123]

What annoyed my as a fan (not a GM) is that we trade Boldin to save $2m as part of keeping Ihedigbo (released mid way through season) and Leach (who eventually is let go and comes back for a cheaper price).  I understand Steve Smith is a GREAT!!! addition to the team we wouldn't have otherwise, and Doom is priceless, but I feel trading one of the most important pieces of that SB run to save money, while keeping Leach who sat out MOST of last season because of the lack of run game, and Ihedigo (refer to above), it was frustrating to see.  Do I love and trust Oz?  Yes.  Was trading Boldin a poor decision?  I'll let you know in a few years when Doom, Smitty and Leach retire.  Until then, we won't know. 

I know releasing Boldin/Jacoby's injury have allowed Brown to shine, so that's a huge bright spot undoubtably.  But every oganization makes mistakes.  Remember several years ago when we released James Harrison?  How about when we released Jeff Saturday?  Well guess what, we've won two SB's in the last 15 years.  So we're obviously doing more right than 28 of the teams out there, that's a pretty damn good record.

[Inqui]

In the short term, it was a terrible move.***

Trade away your best possession WR / press coverage beating WR / blocking WR when you don't have a suitable replacement? And Boldin would have produced under Caldwell because Caldwell would have kept Boldin in the slot, running quick routes underneath like he did in Arizona and is now doing in SF. He would've been worth the 6 million cap hit, if anything he would've been a steal AND YES we would've returned to the playoffs with Boldin because Flacco would've had considerably fewer INTs and sacks / more 1st downs & points--look at how having WRs who get immediately open made all the difference for Brady and the Pats when his O-line was a shambles last year because of injuries.

When you don't have an O-line, you absolutely need a Boldin (or a creative OC who knows how to design and teach a short underneath passing scheme) to allow your QB to get rid of the ball FAST. Also with Boldin, teams couldn't double Torrey all game, so Torrey would've been more of a factor instead of disappearing like he did in the 2nd half of the season.

As for Boldin not re-signing once his contract was up--maybe he would have and maybe the Ravens would've wanted him back if he produced like he has in the past. As for the extra 2 million in savings from trading Boldin, Huff and Spears were wasted money. We would've been better off keeping Boldin instead of getting them.

 

In the long term though, who knows how it will all work out. That 6th rounder from the Boldin trade was needed to move up and draft Arthur Brown. So if he develops into a great player than that changes things. And Steve Smith is a suitable (and cheaper) replacement. So perhaps in the long term it will turn out to be a great move. But we won't know that anytime soon.

 

(*** Assuming that Boldin would've stayed healthy last year. Which was hardly a given considering how among our skill position players everyone not named Torrey, Tandon and Ed Dickson got hurt last year, even Marlon missed 1 game because of a minor injury.)

I disagree about us necessarily making the playoffs. Our offence was riddled with stuff like this:

 

Even if you have Megatron, Jerry Rice and Randy Moss as your WR trio on the field, there's literally no play there. Plays like that were a tragic staple of our offence and when Joe doesn't even have the chance to run for his life you know not even Boldin was helping that unit out.

[Tru11]

ow lord why are people still crying over this.

 

BAD FO thinks short term.

GOOD FO thinks long term.

 

its was and will be a good decision.

 

get over it.

[BSHU_Miami]

Oh MY LORD, PLEASE LET IT GO! He's gone!

He's not gonna win anything in San Fran anyways.

[JoeyFlex5]

ow lord why are people still crying over this.

 

BAD FO thinks short term.

GOOD FO thinks long term.

 

its was and will be a good decision.

 

get over it.

thank you, i am not crying, but i have seen people crying STILL, so i wanted to see what the boards think as a whole, what betetr way than to make a thread lol. 

 

but yes this point right here explains why poes crows is incredibly wrong with his very long and elaborate paragraph. we would have missed out on a player like doom, and the monroe trade probably also doesnt happen if we have boldin because we dont have the space to pick up his cap number while also retaining mckinnie for 2 weeks while we ease monroe in. 

 

doom and monroe are going to be here for a while, and they are upper 2nd tier players for a similar combined cap number to what boldin would have had in just 2013. 

 

now heres the real kicker, poes crows this is for you, the real disservice to ravens fans would be for our FO to think short term and not risk one season of mediocrity for the greater good of the franchise, keeping boldin for one more season that would have failed anyway, would have been stupid, period. i dont know if we even have a 1 game improvement on our record if boldin is in baltimore in 2013. 

 

boldin would have walked after that season anyway, but instead, we got a draft pick we used to get a ILB who is really turning heads this offseason and is even rumored to have a pretty big edge over our first round ILB, we made room to allow the pickups of dumervil and monroe, 2 guys that are the types of players that turn a team from pretty good to super bowl contender, we now have solved the LT problem that has plagued us for years, and we also the pass rusher opposite suggs we have wanted for so long, anyone who cant see this is blinded by fandom for boldin

[Tru11]

thank you, i am not crying, but i have seen people crying STILL, so i wanted to see what the boards think as a whole, what betetr way than to make a thread lol. 

 

but yes this point right here explains why poes crows is incredibly wrong with his very long and elaborate paragraph. we would have missed out on a player like doom, and the monroe trade probably also doesnt happen if we have boldin because we dont have the space to pick up his cap number while also retaining mckinnie for 2 weeks while we ease monroe in. 

 

doom and monroe are going to be here for a while, and they are upper 2nd tier players for a similar combined cap number to what boldin would have had in just 2013. 

 

now heres the real kicker, poes crows this is for you, the real disservice to ravens fans would be for our FO to think short term and not risk one season of mediocrity for the greater good of the franchise, keeping boldin for one more season that would have failed anyway, would have been stupid, period. i dont know if we even have a 1 game improvement on our record if boldin is in baltimore in 2013. 

 

boldin would have walked after that season anyway, but instead, we got a draft pick we used to get a ILB who is really turning heads this offseason and is even rumored to have a pretty big edge over our first round ILB, we made room to allow the pickups of dumervil and monroe, 2 guys that are the types of players that turn a team from pretty good to super bowl contender, we now have solved the LT problem that has plagued us for years, and we also the pass rusher opposite suggs we have wanted for so long, anyone who cant see this is blinded by fandom for boldin

 

well i think that alot of people  have no clue how the financial side works of running a team.

 

boldin production did not warrant his salary and with him not willing to take a cut ( he had every right though) he was going to be released.

 

well any draft pick is better then nothing.

 

so it was a good call.

 

1 post season doesent make up for 3 regular and 2 post seasons lol

[HoldingCall]

well i think that alot of people  have no clue how the financial side works of running a team.

 

boldin production did not warrant his salary and with him not willing to take a cut ( he had every right though) he was going to be released.

 

well any draft pick is better then nothing.

 

so it was a good call.

 

1 post season doesent make up for 3 regular and 2 post seasons lol

 

Keeping in mind that Boldin's yardage last year was just a few hundred yards short of Pitta's total NFL career receiving yards. Does this mean that you feel Pitta is overpaid? I ask because Pitta's recent increase is about where Boldin's pay was going to be. 

 

I think the trade was less about Boldin being overpaid while under producing than about the need for cap space. And, I believe Boldin had already been targeted for release well before the end of the season. So, yes I still believe his cut/trade was an ill timed decision as there was little or no negotiations.

 

What some are maybe assuming is that it was the only way a achieve what the team has done over the course of the past year. However, there is more than one way to skin a cat! If you eliminate the wasted signings and cut others who were/are taking up space everything that has been accomplished could still have been. 

[BloodRaven]

My point is we don't make the playoffs either way. At least now we have Dumervil as a center-piece of the defense. That's a lot better than watching Boldin walk in FA and getting nothing but a comp pick.

 

Dumervil is a situational player, not the centerpiece.

[The Mom Gene]

Keeping in mind that Boldin's yardage last year was just a few hundred yards short of Pitta's total NFL career receiving yards. Does this mean that you feel Pitta is overpaid? I ask because Pitta's recent increase is about where Boldin's pay was going to be. 

 

I think the trade was less about Boldin being overpaid while under producing than about the need for cap space. And, I believe Boldin had already been targeted for release well before the end of the season. So, yes I still believe his cut/trade was an ill timed decision as there was little or no negotiations.

 

What some are maybe assuming is that it was the only way a achieve what the team has done over the course of the past year. However, there is more than one way to skin a cat! If you eliminate the wasted signings and cut others who were/are taking up space everything that has been accomplished could still have been. 

Very true, and no one expected Pitta to go down... and Jacoby...  and Dickson to get slippery hands.... and our O-Line to fail... and our running game to get stuffed....  I still concur that Boldin was NOT the only contributing factor to our feeling that it was a mistake.  It had 100% to do with circumstance.

[Tiz]

What annoyed my as a fan (not a GM) is that we trade Boldin to save $2m as part of keeping Ihedigbo (released mid way through season) and Leach (who eventually is let go and comes back for a cheaper price). I understand Steve Smith is a GREAT!!! addition to the team we wouldn't have otherwise, and Doom is priceless, but I feel trading one of the most important pieces of that SB run to save money, while keeping Leach who sat out MOST of last season because of the lack of run game, and Ihedigo (refer to above), it was frustrating to see. Do I love and trust Oz? Yes. Was trading Boldin a poor decision? I'll let you know in a few years when Doom, Smitty and Leach retire. Until then, we won't know.

I know releasing Boldin/Jacoby's injury have allowed Brown to shine, so that's a huge bright spot undoubtably. But every oganization makes mistakes. Remember several years ago when we released James Harrison? How about when we released Jeff Saturday? Well guess what, we've won two SB's in the last 15 years. So we're obviously doing more right than 28 of the teams out there, that's a pretty damn good record.

Ihedgibo was not released

He left via free agency. Trading boldin wasn't a factor in James at all as he was already under contract and was a small cap hit

[jazz1988]

Football / Personnel Acumen is revealed in the answer to the posed question.  In other words there are two kinds, those that Know and those that Don't.

 

There's a multitude of other variables surrounding the seminal event and it takes both a sharp and engaged mind to identify the salient variables and then correctly synthesize them.  Obviously, not everyone can do it. Heck even many General Managers can't and there is the Rub.

 

Some of the Salient Facts, though non-exhaustive are as follows:

 

We Lost Anquan Boldin and we failed to make the Playoffs, one could say our Pass Offense sucked;

Joe Flacco fell off measurably, losing his clear "go to" receiver;

Oz said, quote, "I took Flacco's Security Blanket away from him".  (That was one of Oz's better understatements.)

The San Francisco Niners acquired Boldin for the same salary and not only made the playoffs but were one bomb against from the Championship Game, losing a close one to the league champions.

 

The money "Saved" has to also be evaluated.  Who did Oz sign in Free Agency is the way one analyzes that variable.  When one adds up the wasted dollars on Michael Huff, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Dallas Clark and Stokely, most of which were payed to players that were cut,  (That's right Cut, we paid them to go fishing), the reality is we could have retained Boldin to much greater benefit.

 

This was one of Ozzie's all time dunderhead moves.  To minimize or defend it in any way is a disservice to Raven Fans everywhere.  Unfortunately, that decision does not stand in a vacuum.  The Raven organization and it's fan base are being forced to endure a spate of recent Newsome malfunctions.

 

There is a solution, but its one the owner is going to have to be prodded to implement.

 

The 49ers had more cap space than us during that time which is one of reasons why they  didn't mind paying Boldin the  money he was getting and they knew their offense was a much better fit for him. I hope you are not trying to say Boldin was the sole reason why they went deep in playoffs with out even addressing other key factors of their success such as having a a solid offensive line, better offensive coordinator, a solid  running back whom average 4.1 yards per carry, one of the best tights end in the league whom may had missed some games last year but not nearly as much as Dennis Pitta,

 

We did miss Boldin because last year we didn't have any leadership or  a physical receiver to make the tough catches when needed but when you have a offensive line ranked 28th in the league, a quarterback being sacked 48 times, running backs averaging 3.1 yards per carry, a first time offensive coordinator whom playing calling was not good at all for some odd reason  but i guess there's not much you can do with a passing when your running game sucks, and etc equals disaster for your offense.

 

We would had been in the playoffs if we had beaten The Bengels in our final game and that game was a huge example of how terrible our offensive playing calling was last year I constantly   witness our play calling being completely  vanilla and we knew Flacco wasn't healthy but consistently failed to help him out with slants, screens or any play that would require our receivers to get open easier. Our offensive coordinator for some reason thought it was a great idea to allow our receivers to run deep isolation routes all day while our receivers continue to get man handle in press man coverage which  made  it much harder for them to get open and easier for The Bengels to get to Flacco.

 

Micheal Huff, Marcus Spears , Brandon Stokley didn't work out  but every general manager  hits and miss. I thought Dallas Clark was ok  but I don't think we really expected him to  be our starting tight end  and honestly we would have been able to sign him and Stokley even if we still had Boldin. I'm not even sure if Ozzie should take alot of heat from such signings because we still got two great player in Doom and Smith (whom in my opinion had  a pro bowl season).If Boldin was still on our team I'm sure it would had helped but if you telling me Boldin would had helped our running backs average more than 3.1 yards per carry and actually had our offensive coordinator call better plays then wow that's crazy.

[gabefergy]

Dumervil is a situational player, not the centerpiece.

He's our best pass-rusher, so that's extremely important. Whether you want to call him situational or not, our defense would be crap without him.

[The Mom Gene]

Keeping in mind that Boldin's yardage last year was just a few hundred yards short of Pitta's total NFL career receiving yards. Does this mean that you feel Pitta is overpaid? I ask because Pitta's recent increase is about where Boldin's pay was going to be. 

 

I think the trade was less about Boldin being overpaid while under producing than about the need for cap space. And, I believe Boldin had already been targeted for release well before the end of the season. So, yes I still believe his cut/trade was an ill timed decision as there was little or no negotiations.

 

What some are maybe assuming is that it was the only way a achieve what the team has done over the course of the past year. However, there is more than one way to skin a cat! If you eliminate the wasted signings and cut others who were/are taking up space everything that has been accomplished could still have been. 

I think that Tru11 was referring to 2012...  Boldin's production in the regular season was not all that stellar.

[HoldingCall]

I think that Tru11 was referring to 2012...  Boldin's production in the regular season was not all that stellar.

Yes, I understood. I just question the need to say Boldin was overpaid for his production. I obviously disagree with that statement as a whole since he was also a stellar down field blocker (remember Rice's 4th and 29) and a good leader by example and otherwise. I am not knocking Pitta since I believe he also deserves his contract it's just that I think Boldin deserved his as well. 

[BmoreBird22]

Yes, I understood. I just question the need to say Boldin was overpaid for his production. I obviously disagree with that statement as a whole since he was also a stellar down field blocker (remember Rice's 4th and 29) and a good leader by example and otherwise. I am not knocking Pitta since I believe he also deserves his contract it's just that I think Boldin deserved his as well.

Something to consider is that Boldin was a slot receiver and the highest paid slot receiver in the NFL, Wes Welker, made $6 million. Are we going to say Boldin's production was even close to that of Welker? Welker may not have been the blocker that Boldin was, but he was the NFL's most productive slot receiver for five years

[billick]

Plenty of ways to save cap money, besides giving away AB.

 

The money was spent, on less productive players.

 

Big mistake.

[gabefergy]

Plenty of ways to save cap money, besides giving away AB.

The money was spent, on less productive players.

Big mistake.

But we had Jacoby Jones to lead the team in total yards. Who needs Boldin?

Big surprise you would have this opinion though. Dumervil was a less productive player huh?

[HoldingCall]

Something to consider is that Boldin was a slot receiver and the highest paid slot receiver in the NFL, Wes Welker, made $6 million. Are we going to say Boldin's production was even close to that of Welker? Welker may not have been the blocker that Boldin was, but he was the NFL's most productive slot receiver for five years

 

Maybe that's why Welker left NE and good for him. However, last season Welker wasn't nearly as solid in Denver as he was with the Pats so perhaps credit have to go to Brady as the QB and Kaepernick as Boldin's new QB, do we really want to do that?

 

Thanks for your view of things, I am just offering my view. I am not trying to persuade anyone to see it my way or agree with me. It's just my opinion and I stick by it. 

 

When evaluating a team I think many fall into the human trap of counting faces. Example: It's been said the Ravens 2011 was a better team than the Patriots 2011  that went to the Superbowl and better than the Ravens 2012 team that won it all. Heck, Denver was said to have a better 2012 team than the Ravens 2012 but we know what happened. 

 

Obviously, I am in conflict with those who say due to the Boldin cut/trade, we have a team that will create more wins because of a face that's been signed. There's a lot more to it than that. It's a non-provable argument that does not automatically  translate to more team wins. 

[Tiz]

Welker played in 13 games and had the most tds of his career.

I think his drops were higher but over the last few years welker appeared to drop it in key situations more and more.

All in all his yards and ypg in,ine with his 2009 season and again his tds highest of his career.

So its not completely accurate to say his play was any different than what we saw in New England at one point or another.

Still, don't like the guy, just something about him irks me.

[Tru11]

Yes, I understood. I just question the need to say Boldin was overpaid for his production. I obviously disagree with that statement as a whole since he was also a stellar down field blocker (remember Rice's 4th and 29) and a good leader by example and otherwise. I am not knocking Pitta since I believe he also deserves his contract it's just that I think Boldin deserved his as well. 

 

depends on how you look at it.

 

boldin cap number for the ravens in 2013 would have been the 12th highest of all WRs in the NFL.

his production never has been in the top 20 of all receivers when on the ravens.

 

in the end a receiver needs production to warrant a given salary.

 

you dont pay a receiver top dollar to block or because he is a good leader just like you dont pay the QB to hand the ball off or the RB for pass protection.

 

his cap number simply did not correspond with the production he showcased for 3 regular and 2 post seasons.

 

keep in mind the time frame.

 

3 regular seasons and 2 post seasons of production below his cap number means you will be ask to take a cut.

 

if flacco has 2 more seasons like he had last year then the same will happen.

same with rice if he sucks it up this season again.

 

its the dreaded bussines side most fans cant/refuse to understand and accept.

[BmoreBird22]

Maybe that's why Welker left NE and good for him. However, last season Welker wasn't nearly as solid in Denver as he was with the Pats so perhaps credit have to go to Brady as the QB and Kaepernick as Boldin's new QB, do we really want to do that?

 

Thanks for your view of things, I am just offering my view. I am not trying to persuade anyone to see it my way or agree with me. It's just my opinion and I stick by it. 

 

When evaluating a team I think many fall into the human trap of counting faces. Example: It's been said the Ravens 2011 was a better team than the Patriots 2011  that went to the Superbowl and better than the Ravens 2012 team that won it all. Heck, Denver was said to have a better 2012 team than the Ravens 2012 but we know what happened. 

 

Obviously, I am in conflict with those who say due to the Boldin cut/trade, we have a team that will create more wins because of a face that's been signed. There's a lot more to it than that. It's a non-provable argument that does not automatically  translate to more team wins.

When you look at Denver vs New England, system certainly factors in, but the amount of weapons that Denver had was absurd. He was the third option on most plays, whereas in New England he was always the first or second option. I think that's why he was in increase in touchdowns- less focus on him in the red zone. When Boldin went to San Fran, he was again the guy when Crabtree went down

I don't think any view on this is wrong. This was a move that was very much going to sting. Losing Pitta certainly didn't help at all. I liked the move, however, because of the long term effects. I doubt the Ravens have him this year, but they got Canty, Dumervil, and Daryl long term, which makes a big impact in my opinion. New faces do not always work out, like Michael Huff, but I do think most of those moves were good signings. On a side note, I don't think Huff was given enough of a chance because he had a poor game against the best pass offense ever, but I am glad Elam got onto the field.

New faces do need time to get chemistry and adjust, and if you look at the 2011 Eagles, it proves that. That's why I like the long term of this move over the short term. Short term was going to suck, but long term should get progressively better

[HoldingCall]

Good Post!

[Ravensuperfan1]

As of this moment it was still a horrible trade, we didn't owe him that much money and his cap wasn't that bad.

 

 

Especially because we couldn't secure Ellerbe or Ed Reed (greatest safety ever) it looked doubly foolish.  Not that we didn't try, but we totally jumped the gun on Boldin.  He and Flaccco were on the same page were really jelling well and clicking. Gave us great toughness and leadership.

 

 

People shouldn't read into anything from these training camp stories.  Last year all the stories were great from training camp. The defense sounded like it was going to be elite, we had a new running scheme that was going to be even better and all these hungry wide receivers ready to step up.  So don't count your chickens before they hatch.

 

We lost Pitta and Jacoby for stretches to injury and couldn't run the ball. Boldin was an imposing reliable threat, that stayed healthy and could make those clutch third down catches.  Basically Torrey was the only consistent offensive threat we had. Ray Rice was hurt, the offensive line sucked, Pitta was injured, Jacoby missed a few games with injury. Boldin definitely would have helped and people who think otherwise are drinking the Kool-aid.

 

There were dozens of plays or offensive series last season where the offensive couldn't move the ball or convert on 3rd down. Boldin easily could have given us a good option/look on some plays.  And I think having him on the team could have easily gotten us 1 maybe 2 more wins in some of those close losses. Like against Greenbay or Chicago.,  9-7 or 10-6 and we could have made the playoffs.

 

 

After last season we would have had to resign him or release so basically when you talk about Boldin your only talking about last season the final year we had him under contract. We can't evaluate this season yet, no clue if the offensive will be decent or terrible. It's not going to be elite though I can say that much with the looming Ray Rice suspension. 

[JoeyFlex5]

The o-line was obviously a serious hindrance last year, but don't you think Boldin would have been open on some of those passes that ended up as interceptions? 

boldin plays, then marlon doesnt, we likely dont have that comeback victory vs minn because marlon used his 6'5" frame to elevate above averyone and snag the ball, i dont think it plays out the same with boldin instead of him.

[The Raven]

As of this moment it was still a horrible trade, we didn't owe him that much money and his cap wasn't that bad.

 

 

Especially because we couldn't secure Ellerbe or Ed Reed (greatest safety ever) it looked doubly foolish.  Not that we didn't try, but we totally jumped the gun on Boldin.  He and Flaccco were on the same page were really jelling well and clicking. Gave us great toughness and leadership.

 

 

People shouldn't read into anything from these training camp stories.  Last year all the stories were great from training camp. The defense sounded like it was going to be elite, we had a new running scheme that was going to be even better and all these hungry wide receivers ready to step up.  So don't count your chickens before they hatch.

 

We lost Pitta and Jacoby for stretches to injury and couldn't run the ball. Boldin was an imposing reliable threat, that stayed healthy and could make those clutch third down catches.  Basically Torrey was the only consistent offensive threat we had. Ray Rice was hurt, the offensive line sucked, Pitta was injured, Jacoby missed a few games with injury. Boldin definitely would have helped and people who think otherwise are drinking the Kool-aid.

 

There were dozens of plays or offensive series last season where the offensive couldn't move the ball or convert on 3rd down. Boldin easily could have given us a good option/look on some plays.  And I think having him on the team could have easily gotten us 1 maybe 2 more wins in some of those close losses. Like against Greenbay or Chicago.,  9-7 or 10-6 and we could have made the playoffs.

 

 

After last season we would have had to resign him or release so basically when you talk about Boldin your only talking about last season the final year we had him under contract. We can't evaluate this season yet, no clue if the offensive will be decent or terrible. It's not going to be elite though I can say that much with the looming Ray Rice suspension. 

 

Since when is 6.5 million not that much money? Wow!

[JoeyFlex5]

As of this moment it was still a horrible trade, we didn't owe him that much money and his cap wasn't that bad.

 

 

Especially because we couldn't secure Ellerbe or Ed Reed (greatest safety ever) it looked doubly foolish.  Not that we didn't try, but we totally jumped the gun on Boldin.  He and Flaccco were on the same page were really jelling well and clicking. Gave us great toughness and leadership.

 

 

People shouldn't read into anything from these training camp stories.  Last year all the stories were great from training camp. The defense sounded like it was going to be elite, we had a new running scheme that was going to be even better and all these hungry wide receivers ready to step up.  So don't count your chickens before they hatch.

 

We lost Pitta and Jacoby for stretches to injury and couldn't run the ball. Boldin was an imposing reliable threat, that stayed healthy and could make those clutch third down catches.  Basically Torrey was the only consistent offensive threat we had. Ray Rice was hurt, the offensive line sucked, Pitta was injured, Jacoby missed a few games with injury. Boldin definitely would have helped and people who think otherwise are drinking the Kool-aid.

 

There were dozens of plays or offensive series last season where the offensive couldn't move the ball or convert on 3rd down. Boldin easily could have given us a good option/look on some plays.  And I think having him on the team could have easily gotten us 1 maybe 2 more wins in some of those close losses. Like against Greenbay or Chicago.,  9-7 or 10-6 and we could have made the playoffs.

 

 

After last season we would have had to resign him or release so basically when you talk about Boldin your only talking about last season the final year we had him under contract. We can't evaluate this season yet, no clue if the offensive will be decent or terrible. It's not going to be elite though I can say that much with the looming Ray Rice suspension. 

his cap hit was absurd, what are you talking about? 

 

and there were tons of games when boldin was here, where we had better pass blocking and better production from our run games, and he still couldnt help us convert 3rd downs, boldin disappeared at times, and it was a problem his whole time here. for example, when we lost to a horrible jacksonville team, he was absolutely blanketed by average at best corners, KC of the super bowl year, did he even hit 10 yards receiving that game? aside from the super bowl postseason, boldins entire time with us was mediocre, and its not like boldin carried us in that postseason either, everybody lit up the colts, torrey lit up denver, pitta and boldin combined lit up NE, and everyone played lights out in the super bowl, the 1 constant factor was PASS PROTECTION, not boldins production. when joe has time to throw, we win games and he looks like a stud, except for when our receivers dont get open whatsoever, which is a problem boldin had for entire games at times. hell before talib got hurt boldin was shut down in the championship. he dropped a crucial 3rd down redzone pass against denver that hit him right in the hands, he dropped a game winning TD in the endzone 2 years prior in pitt in the playoffs(yea, lee evans wasnt the only one). boldin simply did not produce enough to justify his salary and he wouldnt take a paycut, that 6m cap hit wouldve been insane for us to pay. and if you think about it, we probably dont FINALLY end up with a long term answer at LT if we keep boldin, because we wouldnt have the space to pick up his contract