[News] Eisenberg: Ravens' New Goal Is To Limit Disappointment To One Season

[jravens13]

I can take losing, It comes with any team in any sport but what disappoints me is the lack of effort, thats not Ravens footall. No doubt in my mind if Ray Lewis was on this team we would be 1-5(NO WAY) because he would not go for it.

1000X Thumbs up. This team lacks vocal leaders that care about wins and losses and have the ability to do something about it. 

Edited October 20, 2015 by jravens13

[Nexttime]

Here an objective view of the Ravens ailments:

Best team in the NFL at the draft since 2010:

1. Seahawks GM: John Schneider

Average position of 1st pick: 30.6

Total picks: 48

Pro Bowlers: 7

Best Pick: CB Richard Sherman %u2014 2011 5th round

Worst Pick: G John Moffitt %u2014 2011 3rd round

Seattle is the gold standard for drafting in the NFL right now. The 2010 draft netted Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Russell Okung and Golden Tate, laying the foundation for their 2013 Super Bowl team. Chancellor and Sherman were 5th-round picks, and they landed QB Russell Wilson in the 3rd round.

On the same list is the Ravens at number 25

25. Ravens GM: Ozzie Newsome

Average position of 1st pick: 30.8

Total Picks: 42

Pro Bowlers: 1

Best Pick: LB C.J. Mosley %u2014 2014 1st round

Worst Pick: LB Sergio Kindle %u2014 2010 2nd round

Newsome is seen as one of the best drafters in the NFL, but Baltimore has very little to show for its past five drafts. Drafting late has hurt them, plus they did not have 1st-round picks twice.

Full article:

http://nypost.com/2015/04/25/an-exhaustive-ranking-of-every-nfl-teams-draft-haul-since-2010/

[ravensdfan]

So we're 1-5. 9-7 can sometimes get you a WC but our only goal is to limit disappointment. Gotcha.

 

Fire Pees now. There's your first step to limiting your disappointment for the defense.

Get some WRs that aren't JV talent. First step to limiting your disappointment for the offense.

If you're really smart, you will do everything in your power to get one more season from SSS.

[Ravenshine]

there's a ton to be optimistic about next year bro. We still don't know what we have in perriman. We will have an absolute beast tight end corps. A Brandon Williams , Jernigan, and cj Mosley with another year under their belt. Suggs should be back from injury, along with camp and the others. And possibly a high draft pick to add some pass rushing depth and/ or to address the secondary. And that's just naming a few things off the top of my head. Your looking at the glass half empty.

I agree! I'll add Gilmore, Forsett, Juszczyk, keeping Tucker, a healthy and stay healthy Campanaro to that list. Also I think Aiken is developing nicely. Torrey Smith I loved him, but he wasn't consistent. Sure we miss him this year, but if Aiken and Perriman light up...well then, we have deep receivers again. And let's not forget Ross our returner looking good last game. Others I could mention too, that can and likely will improve because they are young and already off to good starts (Maxx and Boyle for example).

Edited October 20, 2015 by Ravenshine

[FloridalovesRavens]

Let's hold the disappointment to 5 losses not a whole season please! We can still have a winning season if we improve each game instead of go backwards each game. Go Ravens.

[Bob21043]

Man, it's getting old pulling up NFL.com every Monday and seeing articles of how this or that quarterback just had a career game torching Baltimore's secondary, and they're up for the FedEx Air Player of the Week! We will probably set franchise records this year yardage given up (per game average and total). Sickening

[steelcityraven]

WOW.... okay a couple of things: 1. We have come a long way in a week -from "We are not going to quit fighting" to "Limit the disappointment to one season". It took less then a week to waive the flag of surrender? We have conceded? Don't get me wrong... I don't think any expects us to right the ship and make the playoffs but when we are winning our mantra is, "Lets take it one game at a time" lets just win this week. Why does that not still apply when we are losing? 2. The trends are alarming! 19-19 since we won the super bowl? 1-5 vs the Bengals? 1-5 on this season? Ohhh boy... I didn't realize it was that bad! We are clearly moving in the wrong direction and here is the biggest issue. in the 3 years before Pees came we avged giving up (2010 -16.9 pts per game - 2009 -16.3 points per game and 2008 - 15.3 points per game) with Pees the trend is spiraling downwards (2015 -27.5 points per game so far 2014 19.0 points per game 2013 22.0 points per game, heck even go 2012 and we gave up 21.5 points per game).... Pees best season is the year he took over in 2011 and he gave up 16.6 points per game! The more he has implemented his system - the worse we have gotten and by far! 3. We haven't been great at Drafting WR's but we have hit the jackpot a few times with bringing FAs in (Mason, Bldin, SSS) maybe that is our ticket at that position... but we cant draft a CB or bring one in...no matter who we stick at CB (or even S) lately they suck????? Wait even in a failing offense (many years) we could get WR production out of Mase, Boldin, SSS, Torrey, etc. Why cant we get anyone to produce at DB.... maybe its not the lack of talent or depth .... maybe it truly is the DC...maybe the trends don't lie! Maybe we better make a change there or we can expect things to continue to get worse and these trends becomes the norm in BMORE! Pees gotta go!

[ellicottraven]

We'll see what happens. I see where John Eisenberg is coming from, but the truth of the matter is this. The Bengals are the class of the division not by better coaching, but by having better talent all around. They've drafted exceedingly well the past several years mostly because they stunk up the joint for several years before that and accumulated a vast number of high draft picks. The Ravens on the other hand not so much.

 

We have depleted talent on our roster not because of Ozzie or Eric DeCosta, but simply because we haven't had high draft picks in God knows how long! So, this kind of flies in the opposite direction to John's logic because one way to assure great talent is to have high draft picks and make sure we pick right! That I'm certain Ozzie and gang will do and even out the talent threshold in the division sooner rather than later.

 

So, I say try the rookies, whet them out, see if they deserve to be on the team but still try to win.

Edited October 20, 2015 by ellicottraven

[Puntit]

So we're 1-5. 9-7 can sometimes get you a WC but our only goal is to limit disappointment. Gotcha.

Fire Pees now. There's your first step to limiting your disappointment for the defense.

Get some WRs that aren't JV talent. First step to limiting your disappointment for the offense.

If you're really smart, you will do everything in your power to get one more season from SSS.

I see no point in firing Pees mid season -- we aren't going anywhere and there will be better replacements once places clean house at year end. Pags might be available even. Yes we are 1-5 but the 1 was against a QB-less Pitt and of the five welipst to three bottom dweller teams (including Cleveland at home). Saying 9 wins can get you a wildcard is a bit too ambitious based on what we've seen. This is a deeper hole than the Ravens have ever been in -- ever.

While having SSS for next year would be great, if he really truly plans to retire whatever draft picks he might bring from a WR needy contender are going to be worth more. This is a sunk season, except insofar as it paves the way to better and more draft picks for next year.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Puntit

[Ravenshine]

@steelcityraven - I think after the 5th loss they had to reevaluate their mission statement. Up until the last loss it seemed Harbs wanted to fight to stay in playoff contention. I see him/them saying here that's no longer the goal today. The goal is to get as many wins this year as possible but to do it with a level head and realistic expectation of the remainder of year. So in a way they are admitting playoffs look to be out of the picture, but the season itself is one to keep playing each game to win, and then next year renew playoff mission.

[ReginaldColeman1]

I thought I'd laugh and see who the Ravens could have picked just last year in the first four rounds. Byron Jones was just one. Quinton Rollins and Karlos Williams a couple more. The '14 draft was the one stacked with wide receivers. I noticed the Bengals picked up Josh Shaw in the fourth round despite the fact they're loaded at corner. Could it be they'be been building for the future instead of like the Ravens who've been trying to recapture the glory days on the cheap. Hey the Saints are in a cap snare too. You may have seen the tweets from a local sports guy on this site. He listed the WR's picked since Torrey was drafted and did the same for corners since Jimmy was drafted. It's eye opening. There never was an attempt to keep the Ravens future in tact. They were focused only on the present season without regard for the cap either. The disservice done by the Ravens media team that never let go of the branding thinking fans would never realize their idols made mistakes. The single biggest stumbling block to the Ravens future outlook is themselves. They're so sure they're right all the time having repeated the '12 season over and over in their heads. The system is the problem. Once they figure out what they should have been doing they can make adjustments. Maybe they will. But organizations are best known for sticking to their culture. It got them here.

[ravensdfan]

I see no point in firing Pees mid season -- we aren't going anywhere and there will be better replacements once places clean house at year end. Pags might be available even. Yes we are 1-5 but the 1 was against a QB-less Pitt and of the five we list to three bottom dweller teams (including Cleveland at home). Saying 9 wins can get you a wildcard is a bit too ambitious based on what we've seen. This is a deeper hole than the Ravens have ever been in -- ever.

While having SSS fir next year would be great, if he really truly plans to retire whatever draft picks he might bring from a WR needy contender are going to be worth more. This is a sunk season, except insofar as it paves the way to better and more draft picks for next year.

SSS is retiring or playing here. They aren't trading him if he decides not to retire. We have zero and I mean zero talent behind him at WR.

[RavensVAfan]

Realistically the Ravens only lost Daniels and T. Smith on offense. Daniels production has been replaced by the young TEs. I refuse to believe that the offense gets bad losing only T. Smith. The only other change was the OC. I start to look there.

On D, which easily has greater problems than the O, I can see up to a point how losing McPhee and Suggs has taken away pressure/sacks putting more work on the secondary. But the secondary for the most part are the starters. The 1st team are getting torched. The only other change there was losing Spags.

In my opinion you put Trestman and Weiss on the block with Pees walking up the steps. This isn't Ravens football.

[Ravensfansince03]

Realistically the Ravens only lost Daniels and T. Smith on offense. Daniels production has been replaced by the young TEs. I refuse to believe that the offense gets bad losing only T. Smith. The only other change was the OC. I start to look there. On D, which easily has greater problems than the O, I can see up to a point how losing McPhee and Suggs has taken away pressure/sacks putting more work on the secondary. But the secondary for the most part are the starters. The 1st team are getting torched. The only other change there was losing Spags. In my opinion you put Trestman and Weiss on the block with Pees walking up the steps. This isn't Ravens football.

 

Also remember they traded away Ngata

[Tank 92]

Here an objective view of the Ravens ailments: Best team in the NFL at the draft since 2010: 1. Seahawks GM: John Schneider Average position of 1st pick: 30.6 Total picks: 48 Pro Bowlers: 7 Best Pick: CB Richard Sherman — 2011 5th round Worst Pick: G John Moffitt — 2011 3rd round Seattle is the gold standard for drafting in the NFL right now. The 2010 draft netted Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Russell Okung and Golden Tate, laying the foundation for their 2013 Super Bowl team. Chancellor and Sherman were 5th-round picks, and they landed QB Russell Wilson in the 3rd round. On the same list is the Ravens at number 25 25. Ravens GM: Ozzie Newsome Average position of 1st pick: 30.8 Total Picks: 42 Pro Bowlers: 1 Best Pick: LB C.J. Mosley — 2014 1st round Worst Pick: LB Sergio Kindle — 2010 2nd round Newsome is seen as one of the best drafters in the NFL, but Baltimore has very little to show for its past five drafts. Drafting late has hurt them, plus they did not have 1st-round picks twice. Full article: http://nypost.com/2015/04/25/an-exhaustive-ranking-of-every-nfl-teams-draft-haul-since-2010/

 

 

lol   hawks are now 2-4 headed no where.  It happens. 

 

Without the major injuries we are at the very least respectable this year and if not for bad fortune would have been the ones to beat the hawks last year in the SB.  Dropped TD pass in 2011?  Sometimes the cards fall the wrong way. 

 

Besides drafting well, signing the right guys, coaching well, playing well. etc.,  it also takes good fortune to win the tournament.  I think we may be owed some in the very near future.

[Tank 92]

smh at people looking for the team to tank.  Have you ever played a sport?  Even t ball maybe?  

[bucketonuts]

We have to stop bringing in mediocre players and then talking them up like they're starting material. Perfect example is our safeties. We went into game 1 with two under achieving career starters that combined to have 6 INTs in the last 8 years of combined service. Both were let go by their previous teams because they were not productive. Why do we keep thinking under achievers will come here and do better than their previous teams? We don't have the coaching or leadership for that kind of mentality any more fellas... Hopefully we'll have enough money after getting out of salary cap hell to make a splash and bring in some top talent and not guys with "high ceilings" and low talent.

My thoughts exactly.

Here's what's gone wrong with the Ravens.

From 1996 to 2008, their first round picks were

1996 - Jonathan Ogden & Ray Lewis

1997 - Peter Boulware

1998 - Duane Starks

1999 - Chris McAlister

2000 - Jamal Lewis & Travis taylor

2001 - Todd Heap

2002 - Ed Reed

2003 - Terrell Suggs & Kyle Boller

2004 - No pick

2005 - Mark Clayton

2006 - Haloti Ngata

2007 - Ben Grubbs

2008 - Joe Flacco

In 2003, the Ravens traded their 2004 1st round pick to the NE Patriots who took Vince Wilfork. The

Ravens got Kyle Boller with the 19th pick in 2003.

Except for Kyle Boller, this was a Super Bowl class of picks.

Since then, their first round picks have been

2009 - Michael Oher

2010 - No 1st round pick

2011 - Jimmy Smith

2012 - No 1st round pick

2013 - Matt Elam

2014 - C. J. Mosley

2015 - Breshad Perriman

Except for C.J. Mosely, the latter group are all busts. Courtney Upshaw has as much agility as a turtle and Jimmy Smith is overrated and can't cover on 3rd down.

What happened to the scouting department that prompted them to make such terrible picks early on? Sure, the first pick is not always going to be the perfect pick or turn out to be Pro Bowl caliber but they are always the most expensive and these busts have cost the Ravens dealry.

 

Two more things -

 

1. We need a new receivers coach. Somebody needs to teach the receivers that the ball doesn't come to them. They need to go to it.

2. Who let Cam Cameron back onto the sidelines? Really? 3rd & 3 and you go long? 2nd and long and you run 90% of the time? It's no wonder we're in the bottom ten in 3rd down conversions.

[Kwilliams84]

heres what we need to do, Fire D.pees, Draft in 1st round cb/s Jalen Ramsey fsu that kid can straight up ball, 2nd round draft, wr Mike williams- Michael Thomas-Josh doctson-Will fuller or Travin dural 3rd round 4th 5th round draft pass rushers and cbs. and convince steve smith to come back one more year or and with all that dead money for rice and ngata and stop paying pitta if he isnt going to ever play and also cutt webb always injured .sign alshon jeffrey

[balfan23]

In order to keep this to a single season bump in the road - it seems to me the only solution is to start winning now!

 

That is not to say that we shouldn't put players on the field that we think might be in our future, just to see what we have. I'm saying, when we do that, we will either see success with those players of the future or our troubles will likely be longer term that we hope.

 

I say this, because I am struggling to think of another franchise that has had a strong measure of success for an extended period go through a season where the bottom completely drops out and recover from it ... without a regime change (which I am defining as the combo of HC and QB). That is why turning this around now is a major part of avoiding a long term skid.

 

If anyone can think of any examples, I'd like to hear who they are. I can't think of any. 

 

Others want to think that a one year tanking leads to high draft picks which will lead to an immediate turn around. I'm not seeing much evidence of that. The only way to avoid a long term problem is to see a group of young guys currently on this roster step up now and prove to us that they are our future.

[RavensVAfan]

I love my team but 9 of the 12 draft picks (rds 1-4, last three years) were defense. Those rounds are supposed to be difference makers. The defense shouldn't be this bad. Is it bad drafting or bad coaching?

[ravens4life86]

I feel like every time I watch I Harbaugh Ravens team, its a bunch of Mr Nice Guys. Everytime its a presser you get the standard "Tough and Hardwork" etc.. But what you dont find on this Ravens team or any Ravens team since SB when Harbaugh got more power is... Those Alpha Dog, Killers Assisins that strike fear into our opponents like Ravens should.

Harbs partly or mostly aided in Q,Jones,Pollard,Ed all leaving.. Assasins, killers.

Now like I stated before I like Harbs.. But you dont win football games with MR NICE GUYS..."Tough and Hardwork Guys"

You win with killers like Ed,Pollard,Q,etc..

John should have little to no power in personnel decisions going forward.... And Ozzie and company should get back to drafting "THE RAVEN WAY" The most badass killer player.. No more Mr Nice Guys

[ken_j]

Is there an issue with fitting the offensive scheme to the players skills? Our receivers seem tentative at times; looking lost down field and are sometimes out of position or late getting to their spot. The confusion in route running seems to also affect Flacco: he seems less confident that his receivers will remain on schedule and that appears to make him more tentative and less likely to throw with anticipation. Right now, Flacco seems to trust Steve Smith Sr and the Tight Ends and no one else.

 

The Defense is a mess. One guy goes down and the pass rush goes south. The outside LBs periodically fail to set the edge and have issues tackling in space. The secondary has problems with press, off man and zone coverages. Double moves confuse them and they are slow in pursuit. Tackling in space has been (and is) an issue and their assignment discipline is getting worse. Finally, the Defense telegraphs their blitzes which allows the opposing QB to change protections and/or the play.

 

The solution is probably not to fire coaches right now, but John Harbaugh needs to make them more accountable. Bringing in players off the street and off practice the practice squad might seem like a good idea but it just creates more problems with coordination and communication.

 

The short term answer is probably on the coaching side. First, they need to put a stop to opposing WR getting free releases off the line. Coaches need to re-emphasize the fundamentals like tackling (including wrapping up), punching and rerouting receivers at the line, positioning in coverage and taking the right angles in pursuit.

 

Finally, the coaches need to make sure their players know the playbook. Corners and safeties have been out of position on numerous occasions this season. In my opinion, the coaching has been awful and the coaches did not seem to have this team ready to play going into last week's game against the 49ers. If they don't get their coaching act together, the Ravens just might be looking up at the Browns the rest of the year in the standings.

Edited October 20, 2015 by ken_j

[RavensVAfan]

"Also remember they traded away Ngata"

True. I did forget Ngata. Ngata was mostly a run stuffer and while no one is Ngata (not even Ngata in Detroit) other guys stepped up as evidenced by the relative high ranking run defense.

[ciro]

while i think some coaches need to go as soon as possible, i don't think harbaugh is one of them.but apparently if we go 1-15, he might be.what have you done for me lately indeed.

http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2015/10/20/9567357/head-coach-john-harbaugh-could-be-on-the-hot-seat-by-seasons-end?ref=yfp

[The Greek]

not all of the problems on defense are pees fault. a change at dc does need to happen at some point and should be someone that will run an attacking style aggressive scheme. the db and cb coaches are not qualified and/or ready. teryl austin did a great job running the secondary and as soon as he leaves for detroits dc job which he deserved the secondary has been doo doo. injuries have hurt this team especially on defense and some guys are not playing to their abilities and some players have regressed due to age. it is obvious that are #1 need in the offseason must be to upgrade our olb's/pass rushers. suggs and doom are on the downside of their careers. z smith is a rookie and we have to wait and see on him and that is all we have. upshaw is a one trick pony as a run stuffer. we do have talent on defense but we need to add more future studs that a new aggressive dc will turn into a top 3-5 defense like the days of old. on offense i am not ready to give up on trestman yet. he has been inconsistent with his play calling but the receiver group is awful and hand cuffs some of what can be done on offense. flacco has made some bad decisions and part of that has to do with not having any trust and confidence with these guys aside from sss and i cannot blame him when these guys are dropping passes weekly and not getting open weekly. front office needs to do a better job drafting because some of these early rd picks lately have yet to pan out. the fo has also wasted several 5th and 6th rd picks on guys that they cut in training camp because they did a poor job of grading their draft board. stefon diggs should have been drafted by us in the 5th and now he is killing it with the vikings while we ended up cutting our 5th rd pick. need to utilize the talent that we have and stop waiting on players like aiken/brown and half the secondary to get better. patriots are great in utilizing their talent and making adjustments. harbaugh needs too ask why this team does not make adjustments and why this team cannot utilize the strengths of its players. a loss monday should put this team in experiment mode the rest of the season and start younger players and try new schemes. go ravens!!

Edited October 20, 2015 by The Greek

[eek]

RavensVAfan - Losing T Smith probably hurt the most on offense, if you have no one to take the top off, then the safties are going to play closer and not sit deep back. It really shows in all our WRs aside Steve Smith and from what i saw of campenaro. they seem like the only 2 guys that can get separation. Kamar Akien is good enough to be a 3, but he is not a 2. and im not sure what happened to Marlon Brown but that guy is a disaster

[windew007]

Other than a Good receiver I think we are OK (Not Great) on Offense. Offense is moving the ball and keeping us in games as evidence of the points differential in each of our losses. Defense is allowing the other teams to stay in game and come back. I think we need a New D-Coord and Secondary's coach.

[rmcjacket23]

My thoughts exactly.

Here's what's gone wrong with the Ravens.

From 1996 to 2008, their first round picks were

1996 - Jonathan Ogden & Ray Lewis 4 and 26

1997 - Peter Boulware 4

1998 - Duane Starks 10

1999 - Chris McAlister 10

2000 - Jamal Lewis & Travis taylor 5 and10

2001 - Todd Heap 31

2002 - Ed Reed 24

2003 - Terrell Suggs & Kyle Boller 10 and 19

2004 - No pick

2005 - Mark Clayton 22

2006 - Haloti Ngata 12

2007 - Ben Grubbs 29

2008 - Joe Flacco 18

In 2003, the Ravens traded their 2004 1st round pick to the NE Patriots who took Vince Wilfork. The

Ravens got Kyle Boller with the 19th pick in 2003.

Except for Kyle Boller, this was a Super Bowl class of picks.

Since then, their first round picks have been

2009 - Michael Oher 23

2010 - No 1st round pick

2011 - Jimmy Smith 27

2012 - No 1st round pick

2013 - Matt Elam 32

2014 - C. J. Mosley 17

2015 - Breshad Perriman 26

Except for C.J. Mosely, the latter group are all busts. Courtney Upshaw has as much agility as a turtle and Jimmy Smith is overrated and can't cover on 3rd down.

What happened to the scouting department that prompted them to make such terrible picks early on? Sure, the first pick is not always going to be the perfect pick or turn out to be Pro Bowl caliber but they are always the most expensive and these busts have cost the Ravens dealry.

 

Two more things -

 

1. We need a new receivers coach. Somebody needs to teach the receivers that the ball doesn't come to them. They need to go to it.

2. Who let Cam Cameron back onto the sidelines? Really? 3rd & 3 and you go long? 2nd and long and you run 90% of the time? It's no wonder we're in the bottom ten in 3rd down conversions.

Wanted to put out something though that you overlooked...

 

I put in bold the actual selection number of those players, as it matters significantly, since obviously historically, the better your draft pick is the better the player is likely to be.

 

If you'll notice, of the 15 players taken in the first round from 96-08, 8 of those players were taken with draft picks in the top 12 of the draft, with 7 of them coming in the top 10. Generally, speaking the most common method of obtaining a draft pick in the top 10 or even in the top half of the draft is by losing more football games than you win the previous season.

 

If I go ahead and lump 2008 in with the latter half of the group to separate the "Harbaugh era" from the other group, you'll see that the average draft position of the former group was roughly 16th, while the average draft position of the latter group is 25th, with only one first round pick inside the top 20 in the last 7 years.

 

If you'll notice, with the exceptions of legendary players like Ed and Reed (who don't really exist in football anymore and were drafted in some cases almost 20 years ago), the "elite" group of players drafted on that almost exclusively come from the top half of the draft.

 

Your Suggs, Ngata's, Boulware's, Jamal Lewis', etc. aren't that easily found in the back half of the first round in most cases.

 

So what does this all mean? Well, frankly, in my opinion, its a trade off. If you want stud first rounders every year, you either better trade up to get them (borderline impossible from the 20s) or you better start losing a lot of games. 

 

Win you win more, your draft picks generally get worse, and vice versa. There's a direct correlation that still exists today for this.

[PalmBayRaven]

Maybe we need to look at what other teams are doing? Green Bay builds from the draft and are constantly contenders. Belichick has lead his team to 6 Super Bowls and won 4 and they are always drafting towards the end too. The Ravens tout their superb conditioning yet lead league in injuries the past 2 years. We need a major shakeup across the board. Ravens scout on their own but it's not cutting it any more because the players we have can't play. We wasted our #1 pick on receiver that hasn't contributed since OTA's. The 2nd round pick hasn't played lights out either. Our 3rd and 4th round picks this year have been playing pretty good but still look at all the misses in the last 5 drafts and there you have the 2015 Ravens. That's how we got here. Do I believe we have just the men for the job? No!

[Space11jams]

My thoughts exactly.

Here's what's gone wrong with the Ravens.

From 1996 to 2008, their first round picks were

1996 - Jonathan Ogden & Ray Lewis

1997 - Peter Boulware

1998 - Duane Starks

1999 - Chris McAlister

2000 - Jamal Lewis & Travis taylor

2001 - Todd Heap

2002 - Ed Reed

2003 - Terrell Suggs & Kyle Boller

2004 - No pick

2005 - Mark Clayton

2006 - Haloti Ngata

2007 - Ben Grubbs

2008 - Joe Flacco

In 2003, the Ravens traded their 2004 1st round pick to the NE Patriots who took Vince Wilfork. The

Ravens got Kyle Boller with the 19th pick in 2003.

Except for Kyle Boller, this was a Super Bowl class of picks.

Since then, their first round picks have been

2009 - Michael Oher

2010 - No 1st round pick

2011 - Jimmy Smith

2012 - No 1st round pick

2013 - Matt Elam

2014 - C. J. Mosley

2015 - Breshad Perriman

Except for C.J. Mosely, the latter group are all busts. Courtney Upshaw has as much agility as a turtle and Jimmy Smith is overrated and can't cover on 3rd down.

What happened to the scouting department that prompted them to make such terrible picks early on? Sure, the first pick is not always going to be the perfect pick or turn out to be Pro Bowl caliber but they are always the most expensive and these busts have cost the Ravens dealry.

 

Two more things -

 

1. We need a new receivers coach. Somebody needs to teach the receivers that the ball doesn't come to them. They need to go to it.

2. Who let Cam Cameron back onto the sidelines? Really? 3rd & 3 and you go long? 2nd and long and you run 90% of the time? It's no wonder we're in the bottom ten in 3rd down conversions.

I liked your comment because you had more that i agree with than disagree with. I don't think Jimmy is overrated. Before he got injured he was statistically in the top 5 rankings for CB. He has the skill set to play good but I don't know what's going. Upshaw is a edge setter which he's really good at. We're asking him to do more than what he can since Suggs is out which sucks. I'm not going to cal Predator a bust either because he's been injured and we haven't been able to see what he can do just yet since he hasn't played a NFL game yet.

 

Really, college teams are making the players they use to anymore. The schemes and everything that is ran in colleges is HORRIBLE. This is resulting in players coming out of college and being major bust. Especially QB's. It's hard finding your Ray's, Ed's Ngata's, Suggs in the draft now because of the way these kids is running defense or even offense. I do think we need to hire a new WR coach because they are poor at getting separation. As much as I like Torrey, his route running was terrible lol. None of his routes were crisp in/out of breaks. Other than you're right, I wish Fox didn't get fired. lol