[News] Ravens Staying West After Two Road Games

[BR News]

Baltimore will fly to California after their Week 1 game in Denver, then stay in Arizona in Week 7.

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[RavensInNC]

I like it! Hopefully our players will be more comfortable and less jet lagged.

[ravensrock007]

Very smart guys! Much love to all Ravens

[TheRavengers]

Yaaaay, Purple Bay Area Tour!!

[Bandit666]

The schedule makers thought they were screwing the Ravens again, but the Ravens always find a positive from a bad situation. That is why the Ravens remain the class of the NFL.

[dc5bundy]

Seems highly unnecessary. Isn't there more value in being at the Under Armour performance center preparing on your own fields and in your own meeting rooms than in being on some high school field going over film in a hotel room just so you can adjust to a couple hours difference in time? It's not like they're flying from California to London, and it's not like it makes much difference between having a 1 PM kickoff time or a 7:30 PM kickoff time either. I really think this is overkill and the stress of having to prepare in some makeshift facility will take its toll on the coaching staff just as much as the players. If it weren't for the fact that Jim Harbaugh is John's brother, the Ravens would have prepared for the 2012 Super Bowl on the Tulane baseball field that was painful to run on instead of the Saints facility which very likely could have tipped the scale in the 49ers favor, enough for a Lombardi. This looks like an experiment not worth the risk. Look at how many players with very little game experience we need to play like starters this year. Too much adversity! Have them practice where they're just starting to get comfortable.

 

I don't know if you have ever taken a flight to california or not, but that is a long time to be on a plane. To take a 5-7 hour flight to come home for 3 or 4 days just to take the same type of flight again is highly taxing on the body. It makes way more sense to stay out west where the players know they can rest and not have to keep packing bags every other day. I don't know about you, but I would like the Ravens to win as many games as they can this year, I would love to see them get the no. 1 or 2 seed. If that means they have to stay out west for half the season then so be it. Go Ravens.

[hen826957]

It very tough to start the season 5-7 games on the road mostly on the west cost but around the end season we got 2 3 straight home games that will give us an extra boost to get in the playoffs. If we beat Denver and the beginning of the season, I think we start the season 3-0 and beat Oakland and Bengals at home which will be in great shape to start the year.

[Ugly Ball]

Scheduling the Ravens for failure will only make them stronger !

Edited June 18, 2015 by Ugly Ball

[redrum52]

I remember the schedule being set up in our favor and people still complaining...

Like the way it's set up and we still have it better than most teams do out west.

Edited June 18, 2015 by redrum52

[ravens4life86]

Sounds good to me. I fully agree with how important Sleep is to the mind, and body, focus mental sharpness etc.. Besides the time zones screwing with your head aswell. So this is the best option.

[stixfix69]

Schedule makers hate us as well.....Brutal first half of the schedule as well.....

[NCMan]

Great decisions by a great Front Office.

[balfan23]

As we consider this ... think about the concept of having a team in London. 

 

Please, NFL, just drop that silly notion. 

[The Greek]

i agree balfan 23 that the london idea is idiotic. if europe wants american football than start up the nfl europe league again

[Mt. Crushmore]

Makes sense

[Ngataninch]

Schedule makers hate us as well.....Brutal first half of the schedule as well.....

The Ravens requested back-to-back west coast games so they could stay out west... The schedule makers appear to have obliged them...  What more can you ask for?

[RavensInNC]

Imagine being a regular person squished into an airplane/bus ride to/from the airport... not exactly roomy is it? Now think how bad it is for a football player! Good move Ravens front office!

[757RavensFan]

Seems highly unnecessary. Isn't there more value in being at the Under Armour performance center preparing on your own fields and in your own meeting rooms than in being on some high school field going over film in a hotel room just so you can adjust to a couple hours difference in time? It's not like they're flying from California to London, and it's not like it makes much difference between having a 1 PM kickoff time or a 7:30 PM kickoff time either. I really think this is overkill and the stress of having to prepare in some makeshift facility will take its toll on the coaching staff just as much as the players. If it weren't for the fact that Jim Harbaugh is John's brother, the Ravens would have prepared for the 2012 Super Bowl on the Tulane baseball field that was painful to run on instead of the Saints facility which very likely could have tipped the scale in the 49ers favor, enough for a Lombardi. This looks like an experiment not worth the risk. Look at how many players with very little game experience we need to play like starters this year. Too much adversity! Have them practice where they're just starting to get comfortable.

 

 

There are studies for almost everything when it comes to the NFL.  I'm sure the Ravens studied the trends of teams playing back to back games traveling coast to coast.  I'd be willing to bet there's a lot of "L's" on that 2nd game.  Honestly, it doesn't hurt their preperation in anyway to stay out west for an extra week.  Anything they do to give themselves a better chance to win, I'm all for.

Edited June 18, 2015 by 757RavensFan

[stixfix69]

I get the request for back to back games out west, but having to do it twice in the first 7 weeks, with 3 straight division games in between is what i think stinks....

[bioLarzen]

Sounds like the most logical decision. Messing with the sleep cycle - coupled with potential sudden climate changes - can do much more damage than one might think so...

[ravennation1965]

Makes sense! Traveling cross-country always takes a tremendous toll on the players and coaches. This will help an already difficult first half of the season schedule-wise!

[harfordravenfan]

Makes sense! Traveling cross-country always takes a tremendous toll on the players and coaches. This will help an already difficult first half of the season schedule-wise!

Agreed, and planning it now has to make it easier with finding decent facilities for the team

[BmoreB]

I don't know if you have ever taken a flight to california or not, but that is a long time to be on a plane. To take a 5-7 hour flight to come home for 3 or 4 days just to take the same type of flight again is highly taxing on the body. It makes way more sense to stay out west where the players know they can rest and not have to keep packing bags every other day. I don't know about you, but I would like the Ravens to win as many games as they can this year, I would love to see them get the no. 1 or 2 seed. If that means they have to stay out west for half the season then so be it. Go Ravens.

I agree and tried selling this same concept to my wife. I bought tickets for the SF game and explained that while I was out there it would just make sense to go straight from SF to Arizona. She was buying it though. lol

[azgene]

very wise management decision...gotta love this organization

[BajanRaven]

I think it's a good idea, but an unsettling thought just occurred to me. How will being used to west coast time affect the players when they return to the east coast after the two-week stay over there?

[Saxxin]

That's good leadership right there. Biscotti knows it's worth the extra expense and made it happen. Just one more reason the ravens are one of the best run organizations in the league. SSS needs a ring. One more step to getting him one.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

I like the idea of keeping the guys as fresh as possible and it could end up paying off come January and February.

[ellicottraven]

That is what I call a very smart team plan anchored by sound scientific judgment! Sooner rather than later, every other team from the east coast or the west is going to be "Monkey see, monkey do" if we are successful!

[cobrajet]

This is a smart idea, kudos to the Ravens for doing it.

[Ravensfansince03]

Train hard, lift hard, be merciless, and show out for our primetime games, and all other teams that wish to defeat us. I want our team to smash every team we play this season.