[News] Late For Work 6/1: Offseason Power Rankings: Ravens Finally Get Some Respect

[jdynamite]

It's cool that Za'Darius Smith likes the comparison to McPhee, but I don't feel every article written needs to constantly mention McPhee when talking about Z.Smith.. Let this player create his own path.

[bioLarzen]

I think bio was just being witty by referring to the huge hit Upshaw laid on Roethlisberger last year in our first Steeler game.

 

Yessir!

Edited June 1, 2015 by bioLarzen

[bioLarzen]

Yup.... This one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oldw2BH_vj0

 

Yep, that's the one

[ravenwildman]

Ravens at #1 in power rankings??!! I haven't seen that since..... >.> have the Ravens ever been #1 in the PR? I don't recall so. About time SOMEBODY recognizes what the Ravens bring to the table. King knows it....this, is going to be a great Ravens year! GO RAVENS!

[January J]

interesting to see that indy was not in his top ten. Dallas either. It seems like for once that our roster is so strong on paper that king just couldnt deny it. I have us going 12-4 this year. Absolute worst case scenario would be 10-6 ... But even then we would probably hang on to the division. Its crazy to me that people think denver is a better team than us. I just dont see it- i think they are extremely over rated. New englands secondary is completely decimated- and i dont really see anybody other than indy or maybe pittsburgh even giving us competition in the Afc. We will cut cinci back down to size this year too- they got away with 2 last year by the skin of their teeth- this year we show them who is their daddy.

[Bmore#410]

its about time we get respect espically from somone from espn. But we have high hopes for this team i really see us being a force to be reconed with. If we can stay healthy even if we cant we do have a lot of young depth. This year will sart with a W in week one on the road against denver.

[riseNConquer81]

there's room to debate top 3-5, but the Ravens deserve to be in the company. Nobody's as consistent, i cant find too many ways to objectively argue against placing them at the top.

[rmcjacket23]

I think we are the number one team in the afc based on our roster. Indy has a good offense but weak offensive line an a qb that is a turnover machine with a suspect defense. New England lost there top two corners which is huge an barely beat us with our banged up secondary. Peyton manning is to old an that team for sum reason with all of that talent jus doesn't play as well as they should. Pittsburgh has no defense an cincy has Andy dalton. We will dominate this year an I believe sum of our mid to late round picks will surprise us during the season with there play.

Not really sure what the basis for calling Luck a "turnover machine" is. Doesn't really hold up statistically.

 

For some added perspective:

 

Luck: 37.7 attempts per interception

Manning: 38.7 attempts per interception

Brees: 39.6 attempts per interception

Flacco: 41 attempts per interception

Roethlisberger: 36.1 attempts per interception

[rmcjacket23]

interesting to see that indy was not in his top ten. Dallas either. It seems like for once that our roster is so strong on paper that king just couldnt deny it. I have us going 12-4 this year. Absolute worst case scenario would be 10-6 ... But even then we would probably hang on to the division. Its crazy to me that people think denver is a better team than us. I just dont see it- i think they are extremely over rated. New englands secondary is completely decimated- and i dont really see anybody other than indy or maybe pittsburgh even giving us competition in the Afc. We will cut cinci back down to size this year too- they got away with 2 last year by the skin of their teeth- this year we show them who is their daddy.

I think Denver has easily one of the most talented rosters in the league. The only real glaring weakness they have is at O-line, and with Kubiak there, he's shown the ability to mask those problems in the past.

 

I think they can run on anybody, they've got a QB who doesn't turn the ball over much and can pick apart a defense if needed, and their defense top to bottom is rock solid. Quality pass rushers, exceptional secondary.

[Bat-mite]

Ravens at #1 in power rankings??!! I haven't seen that since..... >.> have the Ravens ever been #1 in the PR? I don't recall so. About time SOMEBODY recognizes what the Ravens bring to the table. King knows it....this, is going to be a great Ravens year! GO RAVENS!

I think they were for about five minutes after they won the Superbowl. 

[hen826957]

If Urschal can play center than let's make him play center in a couple of snaps in a first team offense with Joe Flacco un preseason. If he plays well than we could think about cutting Zuttah to save some room to sign both K.O. and Yanda and that would be a good idea moving forward or maybe sign another cheap veteran next year in case Urschal doesn't play well during the season. Another thing I will like to see in the preseason is to let these guys like Perriman, Maxx Williams, Darren Waller, and DeAndre Carter play more snaps with the first team offense with Joe Flacco as well. We all know what Steve Smith could do so he could play less snaps in this preseason let some of the young guys play.

[Rat]

Would rather be overlooked.....instead of in the top spot. Who cares if others don't give us respect.....they do that at their own peril.....

[Joey Flac]

i find it amazing we had three players invited to the Rookie meetings... seems like a small group went and to have 3 on our roster is pretty telling of how the Ravens operate!

[badmanbizzle]

look i think the guy will be a stud and all, but Breshad's hairline is just straight up non existent! Dude needs to make like frozen and let it go! And anyway you cant deny he would look ten times meaner bald?

[Maryland]

Perriman, my bro, you gotta cut that hair. Most of us have gone or will go through what you're going through, some earlier than others. It's time to let it go and accept baldness with dignity.

[rmcjacket23]

If Urschal can play center than let's make him play center in a couple of snaps in a first team offense with Joe Flacco un preseason. If he plays well than we could think about cutting Zuttah to save some room to sign both K.O. and Yanda and that would be a good idea moving forward or maybe sign another cheap veteran next year in case Urschal doesn't play well during the season. Another thing I will like to see in the preseason is to let these guys like Perriman, Maxx Williams, Darren Waller, and DeAndre Carter play more snaps with the first team offense with Joe Flacco as well. We all know what Steve Smith could do so he could play less snaps in this preseason let some of the young guys play.

1. Zuttah isn't getting cut this season. Cutting him now would free up only $1M in cap space, with decent dead money going towards next season. Won't help us resign any players. If he's going to get cut, it will be next offseason.

 

2. Never been a big fan of just giving young guys playing time just for the heck of it. Can still reasonably evaluate players in the preseason regardless of whether they're playing with the 1st team or not. Additionally, every WR on this team, including SSS, needs plenty of reps with Joe, so this offense certainly doesn't have the luxury of just running young guys out there in preseason games just for the heck of it.

 

We've got a great coaching staff that are great at evaluating talent. They can tell through daily practices in training camp and the preseason who is qualified to play significant snaps and who isn't. There's never been some phantom "doghouse" as some fans proclaim. That's just an excuse they use to explain something they don't understand.

 

Remember, coaches see everything we see AND everything we don't see. 

[stampedehero]

The truth of the matter is it's one guys' opinion in June not September. 

[WNC-Raven]

So in all honesty where is our major weakness this year? I'm trying to have perspective but we seem set at all levels on offense and defense this year. How is our special teams looking? Anyone have an opinion? Thanks

[Ravens_Flock]

@WNC-Raven Keep in mind that injuries happen, and NO team is as good as they look in OTAs, camp, or preseason. You can never count on that.

[boldtown]

peter king picking the ravens anytime of the year is shocking.

[January J]

I think Denver has easily one of the most talented rosters in the league. The only real glaring weakness they have is at O-line, and with Kubiak there, he's shown the ability to mask those problems in the past.

I think they can run on anybody, they've got a QB who doesn't turn the ball over much and can pick apart a defense if needed, and their defense top to bottom is rock solid. Quality pass rushers, exceptional secondary.

nahhhh, not only did they lose one of their big playmakers on offense, theyve already had a few season ending injuries to some key players. And more importantly peyton is on his last leg. The last quarter of last season he looked absolutely horrible, that forced them to try and impliment the run game bc he was so beat up. Didnt work out for them so well. Thats why they were one and done. I thought they were overrated last year and so far they look even worse. 2013 was peytons last shot, they are above average at best but certainly not a contender, atleast not at this point. Alot of ppl are holding on to the hope that peyton will go out on top when in reality it rarely happens that way. Edited June 2, 2015 by January J

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

I am just curious why are people down on Zuttah? Did I miss something?

[rmcjacket23]

nahhhh, not only did they lose one of their big playmakers on offense, theyve already had a few season ending injuries to some key players. And more importantly peyton is on his last leg. The last quarter of last season he looked absolutely horrible, that forced them to try and impliment the run game bc he was so beat up. Didnt work out for them so well. Thats why they were one and done. I thought they were overrated last year and so far they look even worse. 2013 was peytons last shot, they are above average at best but certainly not a contender, atleast not at this point. Alot of ppl are holding on to the hope that peyton will go out on top when in reality it rarely happens that way.

LOL, yeah I'm not even remotely buying that. Just a massive overreaction there.

 

Most people think that the "transformation" of the Broncos from a pass team to a run team occurred in week 12, after they were buried by St Louis in a week 11 loss. For the next six regular season games, the Broncos went 5-1, averaged close to 150 rushing yards/game, averaged about 4.5 YPC, and still averaged over 30 PPG in that span. And that's all with a QB who allegedly can't throw. I'm not going to all of the sudden panic because their LT, who was terrible last season and was never a good run blocker, is out for the year.  Their defense arguably got better, and added a HC who has been running successfully on the entire league for about a decade now. If the gauge of "well that didn't work out for them" is based on the ONE loss they had to Indy in the playoffs, then sure, I guess they are terrible, but that seems a bit short-sighted to me.

 

Needless to say, I'm not concerned about Denver's ability to win double digit football games next season, which in the AFC, puts them well, well, well above average. 

 

If I'm a realistic Ravens fan, I'd be a bit more concerned with my own team is doing rather than pretending like you aren't afraid of a team who could beat us by 20 in the first game and it would literally surprise nobody. Despite what these fanboards suggest, there are certainly no shortage of question marks surrounding this team, particularly on offense. 

 

A bit early to be writing off other teams as overrated when you don't even know what you have with this team. 

[RavenzOz]

If Urschal can play center than let's make him play center in a couple of snaps in a first team offense with Joe Flacco un preseason. If he plays well than we could think about cutting Zuttah to save some room to sign both K.O. and Yanda 

 

Depth, we need it at every position group, not just where the injury bug hit last year (CB), and we're not that hard up for cap-room.  The injury bug can hit anywhere (and it was OL just a few years back).  We got Joe upright right now, lets keep him that way.

 

I am sure we got the money the next few years for what Oz thinks KO and Marshall are worth.

[rmcjacket23]

I am just curious why are people down on Zuttah? Did I miss something?

Wouldn't say most people are down on him. Just more of a cost-benefit scenario. I think most people agree he's an average to slightly above average center in this league, which I have no problem with, because you don't need All-Pro centers in this league to win. He would carry a $4.2M cap hit in 2016, and we could save half of that and spend it on somebody else. If we thought Urschel could be as good or close to as good, then he should compete for that job either this season or next season. That's where you are getting similar production for like 10% of the cap charge.

[RavensFootballFan]

#1? By Peter King? Did someone break into his laptop and change rankings for laughs? I love being a blue collar underdog, been that way my whole life with all of MD and Baltimore sports teams. Makes me proud the Ravens got respect, before training camp, but still, can we go back to being blue collar underdogs? I like the way things were. lol

[hen826957]

@RavenzOz I was really talking about next season about cutting Zuttah not now if we want to save some room so we could keep both K.O. And Yanda if Urschal can play center that's all. I know we need depth this year.

[hen826957]

@rmcjacket23 same goes to you wasn't talking about cutting Zuttah this year. I was explaining if Urschal plays well at center we could think about cutting Zuttah next year if we have to free some room to sign K.O. And Yanda. I'm just making suggestions. We might have room next year anyway to sign both but if we need a little bit of room then it was an idea just saying.

[hen826957]

@rmcjacket it not just a heck of it. Steve smith can play snaps I'm just saying that he has the most experiencing as a Wr so that we know what he capable of we just got to let our young recievers get the flow to the NFL. I want to see what Perriman can do, Maxx, Darren Waller with Joe. Steve can play reps that's cool one or 2 possessions then let the young guys do the rest like for the 3rd preseason game when they play like for 3 quarters. This game is meaningless any way don't y'all think.

[RavenzOz]

@RavenzOz I was really talking about next season about cutting Zuttah not now if we want to save some room so we could keep both K.O. And Yanda if Urschal can play center that's all. I know we need depth this year.

 

fair call