[News] Biggest Weakness Of AFC North Foes

[January J]

Based on what I've seen from LeBeau and his defense the last few seasons, I'm of the mindset that its entirely possible their defense will be better without him.

no kiddin!

[law215]

I don't get this Dalton slaying the Ravens talk. The Ravens secondary has been poor post Ed Reed and Pollard. Any QB with receivers the quality of AJ Green and Sanu would have had success. Now Joe had a good mixture of receiver and the secondary (if healthy) can match up better.

[Postapocalypse Raven]

Met Jameel McClain last night at work in dc. Very respectful and humble man. The club was very lively and music was loud, I was in the front and just happened to see him walk out, and I tapped him on the shoulder and said "Jameel!", he turned around with a big smile gave me a huge dap up with the bro hug lol. I told him thanks for everything he did as a Raven, and he said back "hey you know im still a Raven". That was real cool.

I met Alonzo Mourning one time in DC.

[Postapocalypse Raven]

I wish we could add BERNARD POLLARD again since he's back on the market,he would be a great equalizer for the RAVEN'S secondary and he's still ranked #9 in NFL corner's,I wish the coaches and him could put their differences aside,he has stated he want's to be on a winner, he's very vocal because he wants to win.we would DOMINATE the AFC NORTH with him.

BP is a safety, and we'll dominate the AFC North without him.

[RavenManiac#7]

This article is right in stating that Every team has its weakness or weaknesses, including the Ravens. But, I really Do believe that we are strongest across the board and that our weakness is not as bad as our AFC North opponents. That said, I believe that this year will be no different than past years when we saw each season being a real dogfight. Any division that sends three teams to the playoffs is strong, and I think the AFC North Is the strongest. Even Cleveland gives us all we seem to be able to handle. There just are no "gimmes" in these games. I think that anybody who doesn't recognize the Squealers as having one of the entire league's most potent offenses is deceiving themselves. I just really hope that their revamping defense will be their downfall. That Rapistburger is one heck of a QB, I hate to have to admit, and with the receivers he has, and Leveon Bell in the backfield, they're still going to be plenty tough, questionable defense or not. I don't wish injury on anybody, but Rapistburger Has missed a fair number of games despite how tough he is. Believe it or not, I consider that they're biggest question mark on offense. And the Bengals and Browns Always play us tough. We often split with both of them. It would be real, Real nice to find a way to sweep both of those teams this season, although I think it will be tougher to do against the Bengals. Interesting season shaping up, fellow Ravens fans. Ready for some Football?!?!

[Bohica5]

I don't get this Dalton slaying the Ravens talk. The Ravens secondary has been poor post Ed Reed and Pollard. Any QB with receivers the quality of AJ Green and Sanu would have had success. Now Joe had a good mixture of receiver and the secondary (if healthy) can match up better.

So you didn't actually watch the cincy vs Raven games last year...................smh

[law215]

So you didn't actually watch the cincy vs Raven games last year...................smh

I saw a late 4th quarter catch on Chykie Brown by AJ Green and a depleted secondary playing on the road at the end of the year. What's your point? just about every QB placed yard on that secondary which is why pass defense is ranked in the 20s. What are you watching?

[Bohica5]

I saw a late 4th quarter catch on Chykie Brown by AJ Green and a depleted secondary playing on the road at the end of the year. What's your point? just about every QB placed yard on that secondary which is why pass defense is ranked in the 20s. What are you watching?

They Killed us!!!

[gekaap]

....and we'll dominate the AFC North without him.

 

This.

 

Pollard is a great player, and I'm still bummed that he's no longer a Raven.  But the simple fact is that the team parted ways with him because he was a huge disruptive presence in the locker room.  That kind of thing is far too damaging to a team's chemistry and cohesiveness.  The #1 job of management (in this case, the team's front office) is to keep their staff (in this case, the players) at maximum motivation and engagement.  Employees whose negativity can't be mitigated must be let go.  Whether it's a personality trait on the employee's part, or whether it's simply misaligned chemistry between the two sides, the sum total environment is always the most important priority.

Pollard is a great player, but we were exchanging raw talent for overall cohesiveness.  We can achieve the same level of ability with lesser positional talent and more team wide engagement/motivation.

[gekaap]

Any division that sends three teams to the playoffs is strong, and I think the AFC North Is the strongest.

 

Agree completely.  I kinda feel sorry for the Browns sometimes.  If they were in a different division people would look at them alot differently, because they'd end up being in the playoffs alot more often.  They can be at the bottom of the division but still be better than half the teams in the league.  Which seems to be the source of alot of misguided criticisms when we occassionally lose to them.  The AFC North is stacked like an Egyptian pyramid.  Makes me wish the pro bowl would be converted into an all star series where each division assembles a star pro-team from amongst its four teams, who then proceed on a single elimination pro-bowl tourney.  The AFC North team would slaughter everyone year after year.

[Postapocalypse Raven]

This.

What... Lol

Pollard is a great player, 

Bernard Pollard wasn't a great player then, and he's definitely not a great player now. What he was was a decent player, and fan favorite because of his hard hitting playing style and play like a Raven attitude. His coverage skills were suspect at best even when he was in his prime. That alone would most certainly disqualify his from being considered a "great" player, but when you throw in the fact that he's 30, AND coming off a major injury(torn Achilles) things aren't exactly looking up for him. 

But hey, don't take my word for it. Here's what Tyler Lombardi from Russell Street Report had to say.

 

RSR: Bernard Pollard Is Not The Answer

 

Whatever the Ravens do to help offset the void left by Elam – promote current players, trade, free agency – Russell Street Report is adamant that former Ravens safety Bernard Pollard not be part of the equation.

 

Some fans immediately looked to the free-agent market on the day news of Elam’s injury hit. One person sitting there is Pollard, and we can all remember the massive hit he laid on Patriots running back Stevan Ridley that forced a game-changing fumble in the 2013 AFC championship game.

 

“What [fans] don’t remember is that Bernard Pollard was torched two weeks later in New Orleans,” wrote Tyler Lombardi. “He was a big reason why the 49ers came a play away from the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

 

“In a league that continues to be pass-happy, coverage has become more important for safeties. The player who was once nicknamed ‘Bonecrusher’ by his teammates at Purdue has a playing style that doesn’t fit with the NFL’s current state.”

 

Lombardi also remembers when Pollard publicly called out Harbaugh in connection to reports of a near “mutiny” in the locker room in 2013.

 

“Is that really the type of player you’d want to be a Raven? Someone who will call the coach out publicly as soon as he is no longer connected to the team?” asked Lombardi. “I know I don’t. Add to all this the fact that Pollard is coming off of a torn Achilles and it’s easy to see why no team has signed him yet. There are plenty of better options already on the Ravens roster. And those players won’t cause half the headache.”

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Late-For-Work-85-Jason-La-Canfora-Sees-Potential-Trade-Partner-For-New-Safety/52ef9b4b-8100-4e7c-880a-5781f586f7b9

 

But the simple fact is that the team parted ways with him because he was a huge disruptive presence in the locker room.  That kind of thing is far too damaging to a team's chemistry and cohesiveness.  The #1 job of management (in this case, the team's front office) is to keep their staff (in this case, the players) at maximum motivation and engagement.  Employees whose negativity can't be mitigated must be let go.  Whether it's a personality trait on the employee's part, or whether it's simply misaligned chemistry between the two sides, the sum total environment is always the most important priority.

Yep, so to put it quite simply the disruption created by his mouth outweighed his production on the field... He gone.

 

Pollard is a great player, 

You already said that, and I thoroughly explained why he is not. If Bernard Pollard was soooo great then he would not be currently unemployed. He's waiting for the phone to ring, but the only thing he hears is crickets chirping.

 

but we were exchanging raw talent for overall cohesiveness.  We can achieve the same level of ability with lesser positional talent and more team wide engagement/motivation.

Yep, and apparently Harbaugh and the rest of the coaching staff at least to some degree felt the same way. When the problem outweighs your production we no longer need their services. He gone.

[harfordravenfan]

This.

Pollard is a great player, and I'm still bummed that he's no longer a Raven. But the simple fact is that the team parted ways with him because he was a huge disruptive presence in the locker room. That kind of thing is far too damaging to a team's chemistry and cohesiveness. The #1 job of management (in this case, the team's front office) is to keep their staff (in this case, the players) at maximum motivation and engagement. Employees whose negativity can't be mitigated must be let go. Whether it's a personality trait on the employee's part, or whether it's simply misaligned chemistry between the two sides, the sum total environment is always the most important priority.

Pollard is a great player, but we were exchanging raw talent for overall cohesiveness. We can achieve the same level of ability with lesser positional talent and more team wide engagement/motivation.

Summed it up nicely, I loved having Pollard and was upset to see him go (especially at the pay rate we had him at). Made me really wonder how bad his personality / locker room behavior was for the team to downgrade a position

[stampedehero]

In fact, Dalton hasn't been plaing as great against the Ravens as we are inclined to think. He played 8 games against us, I would definitely take out the week#17 game of the 2012 season, because it was a game that didn't matter, and so Dalton only played a quarter, and even that largely against non-starting lineup on our D (and even that way he only posted a 10/15, 78 yards, 1/0 stat line).

 

The remaining 7 games he produced the following average stats:

 

22.71 comp./39.85 att.; 278.28 yards; 0.86 TD / 1.71 INT

 

These are by no means huge numbers - I would much rather call them average. Less than 1 TD and more than 1.5 INT'S per game... under 300 passing yards... slightly over 50%  completition percentage... Never more than 2 TD's in one game, and only 2 full games without an INT. No, these are definitely not great numbers.

 

We remember a much better Dalton because he had an AJ Green who somehow developed a habit of making an absolutely ridiculous circus catch each game against us... If he doesn't collect the hail mary two seasons ago, it would have been a simple W for us, not an overtime one. If he doesn't make that incredible catch of the ball dribbling off our CB's hands Week#1 last season, we would have probably won that game...

 

No, it's not Dalton we need to focus on IMHO, but AJ. Green. That guy always has at least one special trick up his sleeves for us...

+ Great stats and interpretation