Ozzie the Great!

[Guest]

Hell let some people tell it the Ravens weren't even gonna be relevant without Ed and Ray. Harbs and Flacco weren't leaders and without Ray the team would fold. Ozzie mortgaged the future for Flacco. The offense won't be good without Boldin, Ozzie is drafting too many defensive guys in the first 3 rounds and not enough offense, Ozzie is losing his touch. All these things were said over the last couple years.

 

 

I don't believe our success or lack of it can be attributed to one man. Most of our success in the playoffs has been due to Flacco and our Defense. I think there's some debate upon who selected Flacco.  My recollection is that Newsome wasn't an integral part of the selection. That Bisciotti wanted Matt Ryan but was convinced to settle for Flacco. Late in the decision process, Bisciotti forced DeCosta to trade up when DeCosta was trying to hoard picks.

 

Without Reed, we still have safety problems.  We are hoping they will improve this year. Will Hill shows promise, he wasn't drafted though.  Without Boldin, we still have a lack of balance at receiver. We are hoping a motley crew of WR prospects will return us to the balance we had.  They are essentially unproven and will have to move substantially forward, though I believe they will. 

 

The Defensive Line is also in some flux and we don't know with certainty if it will be as dominant.

 

Since the purge, I'm not real eager to read continual praise of Newsome, until we get back to where we were. 8-8 and third in the Division even with the influence of Kubiak is not "back".  I've seen too many clear errors from Newsome recently, but we will give him a chance to fix them, win our Division and return again to the Championship. I think this is the year that finishes the debate. I'm optimistic it will be positive.

 

But either way, succeed or fail, Newsome will make for a very lively story.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Danny D

[Ravensfan23]

I don't believe our success or lack of it can be attributed to one man. Most of our success in the playoffs has been due to Flacco and our Defense. I think there's some debate upon who selected Flacco.  My recollection is that Newsome wasn't an integral part of the selection. That Bisciotti wanted Matt Ryan but was convinced to settle for Flacco. Late in the decision process, Bisciotti forced DeCosta to trade up when DeCosta was trying to hoard picks.

 

Without Reed, we still have safety problems.  We are hoping they will improve this year. Will Hill shows promise, he wasn't drafted though.  Without Boldin, we still have a lack of balance at receiver. We are hoping a motley crew of WR prospects will return us to the balance we had.  They are essentially unproven and will have to move substantially forward, though I believe they will. 

 

The Defensive Line is also in some flux and we don't know with certainty if it will be as dominant.

 

Since the purge, I'm not real eager to read continual praise of Newsome, until we get back to where we were. 8-8 and third in the Division even with the influence of Kubiak is not "back".  I've seen too many clear errors from Newsome recently, but we will give him a chance to fix them, win our Division and return again to the Championship. I think this is the year that finishes the debate. I'm optimistic it will be positive.

 

But either way, succeed or fail, Newsome will make for a very lively story.

My point exactly. We are spoiled as fans. You've seen too many clear errors yet the Ravens are still among the Super Bowl contending teams year in and year out. I bet teams like the Chargers, Chiefs, Texans, Flacons and others would love to have fhe errors that Ozzie has had if it means always competing for a championship.

I guess you never really appreciate what you have until it's gone.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

Ozzie could really be the first(and only) GM to be voted in the HOF twice. One as a player and one in the next 10year

I recall reading something about this and that it won't happen. I believe someone high up within the HOF workings was asked about it and his response was something along the lines that it won't happen bc you're not voted into the hall as any position, or with any team.

Ozzies achievements as a GM will simply be added to the list that was created when inducted as a player.

Basically he won't be eligible to be voted in a 2nd time. He's already in - they'll just continue to track his achievements as a GM and boost his status among those in the Hall.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

The 2014 draft was such a slam-dunk. Mosley and Jernigan could have HOF careers. Gillmore, Taliaferro and Campanaro look great and will be big factors this year. Urschel is probably one of the best backup G/Cs in the league, and Urban flashed before he got hurt again.

The 2013 class stunk overall, so it's fortunate that we got good players out of any round, but we still picked up one of the best FBs and RTs in the league, and two good backups in KLM and Jensen. Elam and Brown just underwhelmed so far.

I would say we rebuilt pretty quick.

And that's the crazy part. By our standards the 2013 draft stunk yet we landed a pro bowl FB (I know the position has been devalued but Juice is and will be important to our success) and Wagner was arguably the best RT in football last year.

Even if you whiff on every other pick, I think most teams would be thrilled if going into a draft you could guarantee them they'll hit on 2 immediate starters with All Pro potential.

[Tank 92]

I don't believe our success or lack of it can be attributed to one man. Most of our success in the playoffs has been due to Flacco and our Defense. I think there's some debate upon who selected Flacco.  My recollection is that Newsome wasn't an integral part of the selection. That Bisciotti wanted Matt Ryan but was convinced to settle for Flacco. Late in the decision process, Bisciotti forced DeCosta to trade up when DeCosta was trying to hoard picks.

 

Without Reed, we still have safety problems.  We are hoping they will improve this year. Will Hill shows promise, he wasn't drafted though.  Without Boldin, we still have a lack of balance at receiver. We are hoping a motley crew of WR prospects will return us to the balance we had.  They are essentially unproven and will have to move substantially forward, though I believe they will. 

 

The Defensive Line is also in some flux and we don't know with certainty if it will be as dominant.

 

Since the purge, I'm not real eager to read continual praise of Newsome, until we get back to where we were. 8-8 and third in the Division even with the influence of Kubiak is not "back".  I've seen too many clear errors from Newsome recently, but we will give him a chance to fix them, win our Division and return again to the Championship. I think this is the year that finishes the debate. I'm optimistic it will be positive.

 

But either way, succeed or fail, Newsome will make for a very lively story.

You make some good points, but as I watch teams floundering year in and year out I ask myself, what makes the difference in Bmore? And the answer I get is a top notch FO. Biscotti is without a doubt one of the best owners in the NFL, but Ozzie is without question one of the top players in his profession.

With the salary cap and crazy free agency spending, gone are the days of the "dynasty". It's time to rethink exactly what it means to be a dynasty. If my team is consistently competitive and in the conversation for the tournament, I don't think you can ask for much more.

[Guest]

You make some good points, but as I watch teams floundering year in and year out I ask myself, what makes the difference in Bmore? And the answer I get is a top notch FO. Biscotti is without a doubt one of the best owners in the NFL, but Ozzie is without question one of the top players in his profession.

With the salary cap and crazy free agency spending, gone are the days of the "dynasty". It's time to rethink exactly what it means to be a dynasty. If my team is consistently competitive and in the conversation for the tournament, I don't think you can ask for much more.

 

There's a number of reasons to be positive.  I don't want to give them too much credit, but even last year, but for the shenanigans in confusing eligible receivers and undoubtedly deflating their footballs on a cold day against us we were in a donnybrook with the eventual SB winners.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Danny D