Are we a top tier team now?

[JoeyFlex5]

Good point on the edge rushing depth and I agree it should be an area of concern. As for the DL, the new guys have to prove themselves in the NFL before I can give them that much credit. Although it would be a nice surprise, I expect it to take some time before either play at the level of vets like Ngata or McPhee  and  sustain that level throughout the length of an NFL game; not an easy task.

like i said, clarence brooks. best DL coach in the league hands down. he makes pro bowlers out of guys like carl davis

[Drew P]

It's obvious that the offense and defense has gotten MAJOR boasts this offseason. When you compare our team to the other top teams(Patriots,Seahawks,Broncos,Colts,Packers and Cardinals) I think we can beat all of them. The defense(The Birdcage) is now a top run stuffing unit and should be a top secondary unit and The offense should be elite with the receiver/tight ends and running game.

Edit:

Is there a team that outclasses us?

How do you view the schedule now?

They got to beat the Bungles at least once this year

[Sami84]

lol..sometimes i wish we could have clarence brooks miked up

 

he's comedy.

[Drew P]

Bengals might've taken a step back, I can't remember ANYONE they drafted except for a LT with back problems. Plus they still have Dalton at QB.

 

They get Eiffert and Marvin Jones back along side AJ and Sanu they've been owning the Ravens...

[usmccharles]

you dont become a top tier team after a draft and the season hasnt even started.  We have been a top tier team and will continue to

[HoldingCall]

like i said, clarence brooks. best DL coach in the league hands down. he makes pro bowlers out of guys like carl davis

I am a fan so I hope it happens.

[Ravenslifer]

The rookies and second year players have to step up - in particular Perriman and Williams are going to be expected to carry starters' loads by the end of the season, and the same with Timmy Jernigan taking Ngata's place next to Brandon Williams.  Someone will have to fill the McPhee roll as the other guy after Sizzle and Doom.  Jimmy needs to come back and be Jimmy.  If those things happen, and the things that cost us last year - dropped passes, giving up big plays on the ground and through the air, are cleaned up, then yes we're a contender.  As I said before, talent wise we can compete with any team in the league, but we have a lot of talented guys who are short on experience, and we might see some gaffes as a result that cost us in big games.  That's just the nature of the NFL - entire seasons come down to a handful of plays, and we just have to hope that the right guys are ready at the right time e.g. Jacoby Jones getting free for the Broncos pass, Jimmy Smith stopping the 49ers from scoring in the Superbowl, etc.

[PurpleCity5]

like i said, clarence brooks. best DL coach in the league hands down. he makes pro bowlers out of guys like carl davis

Brooks is a great DL coach. I really think he can make Davis into a great player. 

[beasy2487]

like i said, clarence brooks. best DL coach in the league hands down. he makes pro bowlers out of guys like carl davis

 

Brooks is a great DL coach. I really think he can make Davis into a great player. 

 

Brooks, Monachino, and Wink are all tops at their disciplines. Our coaching staff has been stacked for some time...which is weird because we keep losing them.

[PurpleCity5]

Brooks, Monachino, and Wink are all tops at their disciplines. Our coaching staff has been stacked for some time...which is weird because we keep losing them.

Let's hope not with those guys lol. Those guys are critical to our success. 

Edited May 20, 2015 by PurpleCity5

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

In my eyes we have always been a top tier team but I am a "HOMMER" for sure. Now as far as the so-called-experts we are a playoff team at best but never a favorite were always expected / picked to lose with exception of Bearman from ESPN

[Tenacious Faulker]

They have been elite imho. How many other teams can say they made the play-off 6 of their last 7 seasons coming from one of the toughest divisions?  This draft and free agency solidified a lot of question marks on paper which is all anyone can say about any team at this time of year.  It;s their consistent winning tradition and deep run in the play-offs every year that puts them with the best teams.

 

Secondary - addresed in free agency with veterans and solid back-ups with drafted

Receivers - looking for young talent to contribute in year 1.  Risky, but they did get top caliber players with the high picks and tremendous value with the low/UDFA

Pass rush - They have a strong core group they've built.  These rookies are nothing more than addtional cogs in that rotation.  It's doubtful they fail to rise surrounded by all that success.

OL - stayed the same and was one of the best last year.  Trestman won't change that and knows the system.  

 

Then you throw in a SB MVP QB and a ILB that should've been the RDOY and you have an elite team.

[Bruce_Almty]

This subject, "Are we a top tier team" got me researching team and division wins for the past 5 years. This is NOT a perfect analysis of this situation but the results are telling. There are only 7 teams that accumulated 50 or more wins the past 5 seasons, and they are (with wins):

New England (63)

Green Bay (58)

Baltimore (53)

Pittsburgh (52)

New Orleans (52)

Denver (50)

Seattle (50)

 

The 'Payton Manning effect' is profound. The Colts missed the cut because of their Manning-less 2-14 season but Luck-ed out in the end and will likely join the 50 club next season.  Conversely, a Payton-lead Denver has posted 38 wins the past 3-yrs. Also, Seattle was a ho-hum team until DangeRuss' arrival. The winningest divisions the past 5-years are NFCN (173), AFCN (172), AFCE (167), and A/NFC West both with 158 wins. 

 

For those who can't get enough QB discussion....look at the QBs that guide these top 7 teams, they are all the cream of the crop. Far off the 50-win mark are the likes of Matty Ice, Cutler, Cam, & Eli.

 

I'll leave it to the reader to decide if the Ravens are worthy of top tier acclaim. Of course we homeboys think they always have been.

 

Again, not perfect analysis but I hope you all enjoy it.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Bruce_Almty

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I'm wondering when was the last time we weren't a top tier team?

2007 maybe??

I guess it depends on what your definition of top tier is... But I don't think there's any definition under which the Ravens aren't and haven't been a top tier team since 2008 when Harbs and Flacco came to town.

[Wildabeast88]

I'll comment on this after week 17 of the season. I can't remember the last time we made it to the playoffs where it didn't come down to one of the last two weeks.

It would be nice to clinch a spot in week 12 like the Patriots somehow seem to do every year.

if we played in that joke of a division we would too put the patsies in the north and they would miss they playoffs every other year

[Mt. Crushmore]

The Ravens have been a top tier team for years.

[ravensdan]

The Ravens have been a top tier team for years.

Other than a couple annomolies they have been a top tier team since 1999

[Wildabeast88]

They get Eiffert and Marvin Jones back along side AJ and Sanu they've been owning the Ravens...

If by own you mean lucky fluke bounces and a lame PI on Sr then yes otherwise no chance

[Wildabeast88]

This subject, "Are we a top tier team" got me researching team and division wins for the past 5 years. This is NOT a perfect analysis of this situation but the results are telling. There are only 7 teams that accumulated 50 or more wins the past 5 seasons, and they are (with wins):

New England (63)

Green Bay (58)

Baltimore (53)

Pittsburgh (52)

New Orleans (52)

Denver (50)

Seattle (50)

 

The 'Payton Manning effect' is profound. The Colts missed the cut because of their Manning-less 2-14 season but Luck-ed out in the end and will likely join the 50 club next season.  Conversely, a Payton-lead Denver has posted 38 wins the past 3-yrs. Also, Seattle was a ho-hum team until DangeRuss' arrival. The winningest divisions the past 5-years are NFCN (173), AFCN (172), AFCE (167), and A/NFC West both with 158 wins. 

 

For those who can't get enough QB discussion....look at the QBs that guide these top 7 teams, they are all the cream of the crop. Far off the 50-win mark are the likes of Matty Ice, Cutler, Cam, & Eli.

 

I'll leave it to the reader to decide if the Ravens are worthy of top tier acclaim. Of course we homeboys think they always have been.

 

Again, not perfect analysis but I hope you all enjoy it.

Love the breakdown I'm just wondering how those alleged elite QBs like Ryan Cam Eli Cutler Romo and Stafford still some how get ranked above Cool Joe

[The Mom Gene]

We most definitely ARE a top tier team.  How can anyone say we aren't?  We're in the mix every year.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

if we played in that joke of a division we would too put the patsies in the north and they would miss they playoffs every other year

You know, you always hear that in regards to the Patriots and playing in a joke division but according to the other post with top winnings teams/divisions over the past 5 years the AFCN has 119 wins outside the Ravens win total.

The AFCE has 104 wins outside the Patriots. So the AFCN minus the Ravens has 15 more wins than the AFCE minus the Pats over the past 5 years or 3 wins/yr or 1 win/team/yr.

Not really a huge difference when broken down that way. The Ravens divisional opponents average 8 wins per year over the past 5, and the Patriots over the same time average 7 wins.

It's not a perfect analysis because obviously in the AFCN you've got a disparity between the teams with the Browns well below the average and 2 typically more difficult opponents where the AFCE has 3 teams more likely to be close to the mean of 7 wins.

Still it does make the point that it's not as big of a "joke" division we all make it out to be (myself included for the record).

Edited June 1, 2015 by BOLDnPurPnBlacK

[terpmaniac]

I simply ask myself this question. Is there a team in the AFC that WE CAN'T BEAT? Anyone? The answer is NO. Do I expect to go 16-0 no. Do I expect to have a fairly decent shot to beat every team on our schedule, absolutely! Brady does not scare me, nor Manning, nor Luck not our biggest rival Pittsburgh, they all have weaknesses, they all have deficiencies. I feel good about this coming year and YES we are top tier(I hate saying this but even the Sports Message board brigade as dismissive as they can be toward our Ravens are even giving us some respect for next year). Go Ravens!

[Tenacious Faulker]

You know, you always hear that in regards to the Patriots and playing in a joke division but according to the other post with top winnings teams/divisions over the past 5 years the AFCN has 119 wins outside the Ravens win total.

The AFCE has 104 wins outside the Patriots. So the AFCN minus the Ravens has 15 more wins than the AFCE minus the Pats over the past 5 years or 3 wins/yr or 1 win/team/yr.

Not really a huge difference when broken down that way. The Ravens divisional opponents average 8 wins per year over the past 5, and the Patriots over the same time average 7 wins.

It's not a perfect analysis because obviously in the AFCN you've got a disparity between the teams with the Browns well below the average and 2 typically more difficult opponents where the AFCE has 3 teams more likely to be close to the mean of 7 wins.

Still it does make the point that it's not as big of a "joke" division we all make it out to be (myself included for the record).

Well we can simply say that the Pats are "aided" by their division rivals fewer wins.  I'm not sure where those win numbers come from, but the AFCE has consistenty sent 2 teams to the playoffs iver the past 5 seasons AND 3 teams in 2 of those.  When was the last time the AFCE did that?  The Browns, may lower the win totals to make the two seem more comparable, BUT if the Ravens had the same overall caliber of rivals the Pats did, we'd be on course for almost 15 consecutive years as division winners too.  Put the Pats in the AFCN and they wouldn't appear nearly as dominant against Pittsburgh and the Bengals of the past half-decade.  

[Tenacious Faulker]

BTW - Peter King seems to think that the Ravens are the top team ranking them #1 in his June power rankings in MMQB today.  I think he's right for a change.   Still "June-faith" is not "October-faith".  We'll see if he stays true.

[Drew P]

If by own you mean lucky fluke bounces and a lame PI on Sr then yes otherwise no chance

 

The ebb and flow of the game.

[Wildabeast88]

Well we can simply say that the Pats are "aided" by their division rivals fewer wins.  I'm not sure where those win numbers come from, but the AFCE has consistenty sent 2 teams to the playoffs iver the past 5 seasons AND 3 teams in 2 of those.  When was the last time the AFCE did that?  The Browns, may lower the win totals to make the two seem more comparable, BUT if the Ravens had the same overall caliber of rivals the Pats did, we'd be on course for almost 15 consecutive years as division winners too.  Put the Pats in the AFCN and they wouldn't appear nearly as dominant against Pittsburgh and the Bengals of the past half-decade.

I totally agree with your assessment we would win the East every year while the Pats would miss out more years than not

[Wildabeast88]

The ebb and flow of the game.

I don't know if I would call a pass that AJ Green bats in the air and takes 80 yds or Sanu tipping up a ball and taking it 50 yds is ebb and flow when those are plays that would be made less than 10 percent of the time

[Rodgers_To_Nelson]

You guys are a great team. I fear for us if we have to play you in the super bowl. Best wishes. Hope you guys stay healthy and have a great season.

[Drew P]

I don't know if I would call a pass that AJ Green bats in the air and takes 80 yds or Sanu tipping up a ball and taking it 50 yds is ebb and flow when those are plays that would be made less than 10 percent of the time

 

Call it whatever the hell you want it went down as a loss with a billion excuses everytime they play the bungles.

[AsianRice]

Ravens are always in the top tier teams but the real question to be asked is that are the Ravens the king of all other top tier teams.....