What exactly we're missing

[Alexir]

After the game I found myself contemplating, what do the top teams have that we don't? The answer is "Impact Players". look at the Bengals, Broncos, Cowboys, Lions, packers, Cardinals and Steelers, they all have two things in common, they're the top teams in the league and they all have top teir level WR's. The top teams in this league either have great QB's or really good recievers. Our offense nowadays can't get ANYTHING going against above average teams. I think it's because we don't have a clear cut great reciever. I'm tired of Ozzie never beefing up our offense. We have to options, draft a new QB or beef up the Offense so Joe is forced to play good. In conclusion, the two biggest spots in football are QB and WR, we don't have any recievers right now and our QB's play level changes from bad to decent when he plays plays above average teams outside of the playoffs. We have no continuity on offense and that KILLS teams. And our secondary woes ain't helping.

QB,WR,FS,CB

 

We do lack game changing athletes but I think we might be spoiled by history with Ogden, Ray and Reed.

 

As I said in another post, when AJ Green is the 3rd best receiver in your division, and you don't have anyone as half as good as him on your team, you are in trouble. We don't have an Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon or AJ Green. We have a 35 year old Steve Smith (who has been playing excellent but not exactly the future) and Torrey Smith, who is not a number 1 guy. It doesn't necessarily have to be a receiver. It could be a Tight End like Jimmy, Julius, Gronk or Gates. Pitta is good when healthy, but not like those guys.

 

We need an elite talent for Joe to rely on. One elite talent will raise the play of the surround role players. But it's not an easy thing to find but even with all of our needs in the secondary, I'd be shocked if Ozzie doesn't get a WR or TE in the first 2 rounds.

 

I think we need more time to see Will Hill. I think he can be a great FS for us. Elam, I don't know. He doesn't seem like a smart player but even so, you don't need to be smart to tackle and he leads the league in missed tackles. As for corner, I think you need 3 really good corners to compete in this league. So I can see us adding a 3rd corner via Free Agency or Draft. I don't see us drafting one at this time though in the first round, like I said. We do need that game changer on offense.

 

Things to be optimistic about? CJ2Ray (mosely). This guy was the best pick of our draft obviously and Id be shocked if he didn't win Rookie of the year. Defensive Line has a lot of youth, and when we get healthy next year, wow, with Urban and Kapron, we are going to be a force.

[gabefergy]

Kubiak's system is a tight end system .When Pitta went down,it hurt more than you think.

 

We need a stud tight end.

I know full well how much losing Pitta hurt, but at the same time lacking a big play WR is something the Ravens have always had to work around. Pitta is great for moving the chains and is a good red zone threat, but he isn't a playmaker. Daniels has pretty much stepped in and done everything that Pitta has. It would be nice to have both of them, but they aren't elite TEs like a Graham or a Gronk that teams have to gameplan around. Those players are extremely hard to find. I would love to land a stud TE, but a stud WR can be just as important in any offense and there are more of them coming into the league.

[Tru11]

Ya know, the WR coach and OC here at my college told the WRs one day: "If the pass is contested, you are not open."

 

Yes part of the blame does go to Joe but there's really only so much he can do with receivers who wo't get open and won't catch contested passes

 

a pass can become contested real quick if its under thrown or thrown behind a receiver though.

 

if a receiver has to slow down for a pass you have a real good chance it can become contested.

 

thats why QBs try to hit players in stride.

 

id say a QB can be as much at fault as a WR.

 

however here flacco is perfect and its the o-line , scheme , receivers , refs , weather , grass and you name it thats get the blame lol

[jazz1988]

a pass can become contested real quick if its under thrown or thrown behind a receiver though.

 

if a receiver has to slow down for a pass you have a real good chance it can become contested.

 

thats why QBs try to hit players in stride.

 

id say a QB can be as much at fault as a WR.

 

however here flacco is perfect and its the o-line , scheme , receivers , refs , weather , grass and you name it thats get the blame lol

 

I used to think yeah Flacco just needs to do more especially in Cam era but when i actually went to a game and saw the play calling well all I have to say is yikes!!!. It made me appreciate Joe Flacco alot more because he obvious has to be some kind of good to make the plays I saw.  

[jazz1988]

We do lack game changing athletes but I think we might be spoiled by history with Ogden, Ray and Reed.

 

As I said in another post, when AJ Green is the 3rd best receiver in your division, and you don't have anyone as half as good as him on your team, you are in trouble. We don't have an Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon or AJ Green. We have a 35 year old Steve Smith (who has been playing excellent but not exactly the future) and Torrey Smith, who is not a number 1 guy. It doesn't necessarily have to be a receiver. It could be a Tight End like Jimmy, Julius, Gronk or Gates. Pitta is good when healthy, but not like those guys.

 

We need an elite talent for Joe to rely on. One elite talent will raise the play of the surround role players. But it's not an easy thing to find but even with all of our needs in the secondary, I'd be shocked if Ozzie doesn't get a WR or TE in the first 2 rounds.

 

I think we need more time to see Will Hill. I think he can be a great FS for us. Elam, I don't know. He doesn't seem like a smart player but even so, you don't need to be smart to tackle and he leads the league in missed tackles. As for corner, I think you need 3 really good corners to compete in this league. So I can see us adding a 3rd corner via Free Agency or Draft. I don't see us drafting one at this time though in the first round, like I said. We do need that game changer on offense.

 

Things to be optimistic about? CJ2Ray (mosely). This guy was the best pick of our draft obviously and Id be shocked if he didn't win Rookie of the year. Defensive Line has a lot of youth, and when we get healthy next year, wow, with Urban and Kapron, we are going to be a force.

 

Green and Brown are pretty good receivers but what I like most about them  is how creatively they are used. When The Bengels or Steeeler notice that either their top receviers are struggling to get open they move them around the field or call different plays that they know will get them open. When AJ Green  was struggling against Joe Haden on thurday night  The Bengels moved him into the slot and has been moments where Steelers have done the samething with Brown.

 

 

Our offense is more creative than last year but we still fail to mix things up when it comes to using our receivers. Playmakers make plays but you can't expect them to make plays out of nothing all the time and it's  the offensive coordinator job to help his playmakers make plays. I still consider Torrey Smith as playmaker but currently Steve Smith is our better receiver and for two games he has disappear and for those  two games I have seen nothing from Gary Kubiak play calling to  help change that. 

 

 I remember Steve Smith saying him that Gary Kubiak offense is constantly about finding mismatches and I haven't seen that yet . I kinda expect Gordon to struggle a bit in west offense because I think he's more of a vertical receivers than anything but we shall see.

[J E T S]

Belicheck was not fired from Cleveland for sucking, that's not even a remotely true statement.

 

He was fired for being a talented coach then?

[jimmypowder]

I know full well how much losing Pitta hurt, but at the same time lacking a big play WR is something the Ravens have always had to work around. Pitta is great for moving the chains and is a good red zone threat, but he isn't a playmaker. Daniels has pretty much stepped in and done everything that Pitta has. It would be nice to have both of them, but they aren't elite TEs like a Graham or a Gronk that teams have to gameplan around. Those players are extremely hard to find. I would love to land a stud TE, but a stud WR can be just as important in any offense and there are more of them coming into the league.

In Kubiak's system ,Tight Ends are more important than receivers. While we also need a stud WR ,a couple of stud Tight Ends would make our offense a dominant one.

[Fear_the_Raven]

That's because all those teams have bad defenses, not including the Bengals who is a QB away from a super bowl

Which is what you end up with when you overpay on offense.

[Tru11]

I used to think yeah Flacco just needs to do more especially in Cam era but when i actually went to a game and saw the play calling well all I have to say is yikes!!!. It made me appreciate Joe Flacco alot more because he obvious has to be some kind of good to make the plays I saw.  

 

 

ow i consider flacco to be a good QB and ofcourse some part of the blame lies with scheme and play calling  as well.

 

i just dont agree with the popular thinking that flacco is being held back because his receivers arent apperently NFL worthy and if he had a top receiver like calvin johnson flacco would break every record out there lol.

[gabefergy]

In Kubiak's system ,Tight Ends are more important than receivers. While we also need a stud WR ,a couple of stud Tight Ends would make our offense a dominant one.

Your know who Andre Johnson is? He was pretty important in Kubiak's offense in Houston. Plus, who knows how long Kubiak will even be around. We need playmakers on offense, whether that is WR or TE I don't really care. I think they are both pretty big needs on this team. Just looking at the upcoming draft, there isn't that much at the TE position while WR is looking pretty good once again.

[BmoreBird22]

Belicheck was not fired from Cleveland for sucking, that's not even a remotely true statement.

 

 

1.sorry belichick was not fired for sucking bad he was in the process of building a great team,he was with them when they moved to baltimore so we fired belichick,    no talent at many postions   espn clevand brown 

Belichick had five seasons, I believe, and compiled a 36-44 record with only one winning season, with his final season being a 5-11 season, so no, he wasn't building a winning team. He wasn't doing well in Cleveland

[ravensnick]

With so much passion Joe exudes(without any words of course, b/c his receivers knows how to read his mind), no wonder his connecting with our receivers and being so productive on field!

Rivers<Flacco no doubt this year! Let's forget his 19/22INT last year. I'm sure being ranked 19th overall will only get better as seasons move along.

Flacco 'only wins' right? Screw how the rest of the team performs, its all him. Joe just 'wins' let's see it!

Flacco>Rivers easily. 2 good statical year with one playoff win don't make up for the rest of Rivers' career.

[ravensnick]

Belichick had five seasons, I believe, and compiled a 36-44 record with only one winning season, with his final season being a 5-11 season, so no, he wasn't building a winning team. He wasn't doing well in Cleveland

He did get that team to 11-5 and the playoffs the year before, quite a feat.

[BmoreBird22]

He did get that team to 11-5 and the playoffs the year before, quite a feat.

So, minus that season, he's 25-39. One good season doesn't make him a good coach when he was in Cleveland

[redrum52]

Flacco>Rivers easily. 2 good statical year with one playoff win don't make up for the rest of Rivers' career.

You serious? Only two good years? For every excuae made for Flacco last year the same can be said for Rivers for his bad seasons. Lmao. Do you watch other teams play?

[allballs]

Joe is one if not the most tough qbs in all of football. Joe may not look like, but he is definetly as passion or more passion than guys like Rivers that you see freakin out all over the sideline.

 

I'll agree we don't a a FS as off now, but Hill should take the job and run away with it soon. 

 

Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are long gone. And I hate to break it to you, but Mosely and D. Smith have been playing far superior to what he was the last 3-4 years of his career.

 

Our 3-4 works perfectly. There is absolutely not reason to runa 4-3, nor do we have the player designed for that.

 

T.O. didn't want to come to Baltimore.

good stuff you said,

i think our will gel, right when the time is right, which is now. 

i thought ed reed was gonna sneak up and surprise us around week 10 or 12...never know, he hasnt retired...

i hate that they front loaded all those division games on us, but the late bye week is a plus, we still can

win the division. cinci is fake, lake always. browns, too young. pit will run out of fuel before takeoff.

if we go win in saints, a team we own, we should win out, nobody wants to see us in the playoffs. 

brady's stats and rating worst vs ravens than any team. we always intercept manning. but, we never win in indianapolis, and they're gonna be in it. we made the game ugly for them, which is what we been doing, but joe cannot turn over the ball. 

i see us beating detroit in arizona...

[DomMcRaven]

good stuff you said,

i think our will gel, right when the time is right, which is now. 

i thought ed reed was gonna sneak up and surprise us around week 10 or 12...never know, he hasnt retired...

i hate that they front loaded all those division games on us, but the late bye week is a plus, we still can

win the division. cinci is fake, lake always. browns, too young. pit will run out of fuel before takeoff.

if we go win in saints, a team we own, we should win out, nobody wants to see us in the playoffs. 

brady's stats and rating worst vs ravens than any team. we always intercept manning. but, we never win in indianapolis, and they're gonna be in it. we made the game ugly for them, which is what we been doing, but joe cannot turn over the ball. 

i see us beating detroit in arizona...

Just curious, are you a Cardinals fan too?

[allballs]

The scheduling argument doesn't work, because the NFL doesn't pick your schedule of opponents OR where they are played. Those are part of a rotation and is set years in advance. I could provide 14 of the 16 games on the Ravens schedule, and location of those games, for the 2020 season right now, and so can anybody else that understands scheduling.

 

For example, the 2015 Ravens schedule will look something like this:

 

Home: Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Seahawks, Rams, Chiefs, Chargers

Road: Bengals, Browns, Steelers, 49ers, Cardinals, Broncos, Raiders

 

The remaining two games will be against AFC teams, one from the AFC South and one from the AFC East, based on where we finish in our divison. If the season ended today, we would play Jaguars and Jets, with one being at home and one being on the road.

 

The ONLY thing the NFL has determination over is the date those games are played and what time of day they are played. I guess theoretically you could argue that the NFL somehow rigs teams schedules to give them more difficult stretches of games, but thats unrealistic in my opinion, because the NFL can't guarantee that a team is good again the following season.

your research may be true, 

but superbowl champs on the road, 1st game of season, remember that, vs denver, who we beat on the way to the superbowl

4 of 5 on the road this year

div games usually played at the end of season, thats in all sports, why were we front loaded 5 div games

in 2000, we had like 5 straight road games, as, like 6 of 7 on the road, ask Billick, he will tell they hate us.

the only thing i do like about the schedule is a late bye week this year, its gonna be good for us...

and i love when we play cleveland, i hope its snow...

[mgridda]

Torrey Smith is quietly building himself up into the player he could be. He never does well against Cincinnati, who has 3 good cornerbacks (Leon Hall, Terrence Newman, Pacman) but other than that game he has posted up a touchdown in four of those five games (except for  Cinci), and two touchdowns in 1 to make up for it. If you look at Torrey in just the past five weeks, since week 6 at Tampa Bay he's actually a league leader.

 

In the last 5 weeks he's been:

 

16 catches, 270 yards, 5 touchdowns, 12 first downs

[allballs]

You serious? Only two good years? For every excuae made for Flacco last year the same can be said for Rivers for his bad seasons. Lmao. Do you watch other teams play?

people so hyped on quarterbacking...caught in marino Favre manning brady numbers. joe will never throw 5000 and 50. he might throw 50 ints, lol, but just don't give the game away joe. and thats the qb roll. control the ball. if he didnt fumble snaps vs indy, pit, man, we woulda had like at least 3  more superbowls... dont fumbles snaps. dont thro ints, do throw at guys feet. 

last year , joe 5 ints vs bills. i should have benched him after 3...

listen to this, Joe Montana doesnt even have 300 career tds...but more superbowls than marino, elway, and peyton, combined,

 and more than brady, and never lost one..and was clutch in all of them...

[gabefergy]

Torrey Smith is quietly building himself up into the player he could be. He never does well against Cincinnati, who has 3 good cornerbacks (Leon Hall, Terrence Newman, Pacman) but other than that game he has posted up a touchdown in four of those five games (except for  Cinci), and two touchdowns in 1 to make up for it. If you look at Torrey in just the past five weeks, since week 6 at Tampa Bay he's actually a league leader.

 

In the last 5 weeks he's been:

 

16 catches, 270 yards, 5 touchdowns, 15 first downs

3 catches per game isn't very productive. The TDs are nice, but at the end of the day he's a decent #2 with the ability to be a deep threat. 

 

I wonder what his value on the open market will be.

[mgridda]

3 catches per game isn't very productive. The TDs are nice, but at the end of the day he's a decent #2 with the ability to be a deep threat. 

 

I wonder what his value on the open market will be.

 

Actually, he posted 4 catches twice, 5 catches once, 3 catches once and 0 catches once in that 5 game span.

 

If Torrey and Joe could get the Cincinnati monkey off their back, it wouldn't average to 3.1 or whatever for Torrey. I can't believe he got shut out for the Cinci game. Joe spreads the ball around though, and Torrey was targeted twice against Cincinnati. He was targeted a season high 8 times against Tennessee.

 

New Orleans doesn't have a good defense. Let's see if Joe can target Torrey 12 times against them.

 

 

I don't know what you're talking about, Torrey is here to stay. It's not saying much at all, but he's by far the best receiver the Ravens ever drafted and only a 2nd rounder. 

 

I'll just point this out:

 

AJ Green's Targets this year: 9, 9, 7, 6, 10

 

Dez Bryant's Targets this year: 6, 14 6, 7, 14, 10, 12, 7, 10, 8

 

Calvin Johnson's Targets this year: 11, 13, 10, 2, 1, 15

 

Julio Jones Targets this year: 9, 13, 11, 8, 16, 12, 8, 6, 11

 

Demaryius Thomas Targets this year: 11, 7, 9, 16, 12, 9, 12, 11, 14

 

Antonio brown's Targets this year: 6, 12, 10, 11, 12, 10, 13, 13, 16, 9

 

Jordy Nelson's Targets this year: 14, 16, 7, 12, 3, 16, 5, 5, 6

 

 

 

Torrey Smith's Targets this year: 7, 3, 8, 3, 8, 5, 5, 2, 7, 8

 

 

The most targets Torrey can get in a game is 8, and it goes as low as 2. And he's perfectly healthy for all these games. Meanwhile, Jordy Nelson's has had four games with more than 10 targets. Brown has had 8 games with 10+ targets, DT has had 6, Julio Jones has had 5, Dez has had 5, Calvin has had them in four of his six games played.

 

 

Torrey Smith still hasn't had 1 game where Flacco has thrown the ball his way over 10 times. 

[PurpleCity5]

What?! No Way! Baltimore does not need a new QB, Flacco is clearly the guy! Yes, the problem is a lack of a huge young play maker. Steve Smith is great, but he won't play for that long for the Ravens Torrey will need help in the future as well. 

 

People don't realize the underlying problem with the Baltimore Ravens and Wide Receivers in the draft. The Ravens used to be aggressive in grabbing WR's, but they never worked out for them. They all flopped in the end.

 

Also, here's another thing, The Ravens wanted a wide receiver in last years draft but by the time they arrived, they were all taken. Mike Evans is a guy Baltimore really wanted, they were gunning for him and even considered trading up for him just for assurance, it wasn't until he destroyed the combine that his stock exploded. So, in turn he was out of reach. By the time the pick was with Baltimore, there were no quality WR's available that Baltimore felt was worth a first round pick.

 

CJ Mosely turned out to be a great pick. Really loving that guy.

 

 

Eventually Ozzie will find a play maker, he knows how to build championship teams, I'll never doubt him. 

[gabefergy]

Actually, he posted 4 catches twice, 5 catches once, 3 catches once and 0 catches once in that 5 game span.

 

If Torrey and Joe could get the Cincinnati monkey off their back, it wouldn't average to 3.1 or whatever for Torrey. I can't believe he got shut out for the Cinci game. Joe spreads the ball around though, and Torrey was targeted twice against Cincinnati. He was targeted a season high 8 times against Tennessee.

 

New Orleans doesn't have a good defense. Let's see if Joe can target Torrey 12 times against them.

 

 

I don't know what you're talking about, Torrey is here to stay. It's not saying much at all, but he's by far the best receiver the Ravens ever drafted and only a 2nd rounder. 

 

I'll just point this out:

 

AJ Green's Targets this year: 9, 9, 7, 6, 10

 

Dez Bryant's Targets this year: 6, 14 6, 7, 14, 10, 12, 7, 10, 8

 

Calvin Johnson's Targets this year: 11, 13, 10, 2, 1, 15

 

Julio Jones Targets this year: 9, 13, 11, 8, 16, 12, 8, 6, 11

 

Demaryius Thomas Targets this year: 11, 7, 9, 16, 12, 9, 12, 11, 14

 

Antonio brown's Targets this year: 6, 12, 10, 11, 12, 10, 13, 13, 16, 9

 

Jordy Nelson's Targets this year: 14, 16, 7, 12, 3, 16, 5, 5, 6

 

 

 

Torrey Smith's Targets this year: 7, 3, 8, 3, 8, 5, 5, 2, 7, 8

 

 

The most targets Torrey can get in a game is 8, and it goes as low as 2. And he's perfectly healthy for all these games. Meanwhile, Jordy Nelson's has had four games with more than 10 targets. Brown has had 8 games with 10+ targets, DT has had 6, Julio Jones has had 5, Dez has had 5, Calvin has had them in four of his six games played.

 

 

Torrey Smith still hasn't had 1 game where Flacco has thrown the ball his way over 10 times. 

That's a lot of numbers, but it all adds up to a pretty average player. Maybe if he was getting open more he would get more targets.

[Dr. Kelley]

He was fired for being a talented coach then?

Are you serious? He was turning that franchise around. Do you even know what you're talking about, or are you just trying to hate on bellicheck?

[Dr. Kelley]

Belichick had five seasons, I believe, and compiled a 36-44 record with only one winning season, with his final season being a 5-11 season, so no, he wasn't building a winning team. He wasn't doing well in Cleveland

Ever consider that Cleveland was a bad team and it took him a few years to lay the groundwork for a contending team? Which, he was actually accomplishing until the franchise moved.

[The Raven]

Ever consider that Cleveland was a bad team and it took him a few years to lay the groundwork for a contending team? Which, he was actually accomplishing until the franchise moved.

 

This.

[ravensnick]

You serious? Only two good years? For every excuae made for Flacco last year the same can be said for Rivers for his bad seasons. Lmao. Do you watch other teams play?

Have you watched Rivers career besides the numbers? he had a very bad peirod for multiple year in between when LT left and last year. Flacco has been good during the reg season and amazing during the playoffs. Phil failed to get his team to the playoffs for a couple years in a row. So in short, LT controlled that offense in the begininng and Phill then struggled until last year when they got Ken Whisenhunt. Stats lie, or Matt Stafford is the second best qb in the league.

[redrum52]

Have you watched Rivers career besides the numbers? he had a very bad peirod for multiple year in between when LT left and last year. Flacco has been good during the reg season and amazing during the playoffs. Phil failed to get his team to the playoffs for a couple years in a row. So in short, LT controlled that offense in the begininng and Phill then struggled until last year when they got Ken Whisenhunt. Stats lie, or Matt Stafford is the second best qb in the league.

I know how awful he was during the years and yes I watched him. In all honesty, he might have a ring if not for him LT and Gates being injured in 07. His o line was atrocious and weapons were constantly injured. AJ Smith should also be banned from making FO decisions with what he did with those draft picks as well.

[jazz1988]

I know how awful he was during the years and yes I watched him. In all honesty, he might have a ring if not for him LT and Gates being injured in 07. His o line was atrocious and weapons were constantly injured. AJ Smith should also be banned from making FO decisions with what he did with those draft picks as well.

 

One of the major reason why Philip  play was awful over the years was because Norv Turner offensive system aka just like Cam Camerons / Jim Caldwells system isn't build to adapt. Everything has to go prefect  for that offensive system to work and it requires alot from  offensive line, receivers, quarterbacks and etc . It's not the most quarterback friendly offensive system in my opinion 

 

I'm defintely glad we don't run  that style of offense anymore  and once Flacco and Kubiak get on the same page this offense is going to be dangerous. In my opinon thats what our offense is truly missing and I hopeful that will change after the bye week