Are we entering a dark era?

[Sherly_Tebow]

How's that?[/quote

Well, Flacco should be ready for week 1.

I expect Smitty back, Forsett should be healthy, Allen will be even better. Perriman will be healthy. O-Line should be healthy. Our amazing TE core will only become more dangerous, plus pitta may come back (50/50). Suggs should be back. Defense overall should be better. Plus, after Flacco and others restructure, we will sign decent Free Agents, and have a good draft pick most likely.

[cobrajet]

I will agree this is the darkest season we have ever had injury and loss wise. We can not catch a break and yes we have a lot of positions that need to be addressed and coach changes that I believe should be made. I have seen teams in similar situations turn it around quickly and it can be done. I wish our salary cap space was a little better but if we can draft well, get healthy, and improve some of the coaching - I believe we can be right back in the hunt next season if our health can hold out for once.

[balfan23]

I feel like I'm in between the original comment to start this thread and many of the responses. I don't foresee us having a long string of seasons that look like this one. However, I don't think I'd put money on us being a playoff team next year, either.

 

I do think we have enough holes and a bad enough cap situation that it is unlikely we'll rebound to be a contender next year. I could cite all the places where, if this or that positive thing happens, that we might vie for a playoff ... but how often do all the ifs you can state work out to be true? 

 

I just think this year is so off the chart bad, that it is easy to not see that there could ever be light again. We do need to draft well next round. Even if we do ... how often do rookies come in and turn a bottom feeder team into a contender?

 

I think drafting well, working out a couple of bad contracts next year, gets us back into contention in 2017. I view 2016 as a potential transition year. 

[DomMcRaven]

Very interesting thread. I definitely feel that we're a few impact players away from being contenders from a playoff spot. But...........................

 

This coming offseason is gonna be the most important since 1996. If we whiff in free agency this year I don't see us being playoff team until 2017.

Hell yes! 

[Deflated Football]

I'd feel a lot better about next season if Flacco hadn't had that injury today. If he misses some time next year we could easily start 0 and whatever again and get back into a deep hole. We need a better backup than Schaub to start next season, that's for sure. 

[Guest Omerta]

I think our defense shows in glimpses that it truly can be a dominant defense. I think everyone with the exception of Brooks needs to get fired.

Now clearly on offense we need receivers plural. I think Buck and LT will be a solid 1-2 given they stay healthy. We learned today how valuable Zuttah is. KO's injuries are the thing that make me ok with letting him walk.

John needs to fix this penalty issue that has plagued us the past few years. The discipline has gotten worse and worse and it's killing us.

 

I actually think Urschel did very well, now that ryan Jenson guy got beat like a drum. Urschel from what I saw did ok, but Jenson had the worst performance on the line. If it were not for Hurst getting Joe cracked I would say more people would notice Jenson getting mauled. 

[Guest Omerta]

No we're not entering a dark area. I expect us to be a 10+ win team next year.

Not trying to be condescending but on what evidence ? 

 

Looking at the line we are going to lose KO probably, WR Smith may very well retire, we have no idea what we have in BP, we know Camp will miss games at some point, RT is a mystery, No timetable for Flacco yet. 

 

Our defense has put together 2 or 3 solid games this year and that is it. 

 

ST which was the lone bright spot until last week is now iffy. 

 

That is without even bringing up coaches. 

 

I just dont see 8 wins much less 10, I could certainly be wrong but I dont see where this post comes from.

[Nicky-B]

A few top-5 draft picks could gets us some more speed at WR preferably with the ability to separate and good hands, maybe another young, promising backup QB, and a couple speed rushers on the outside. It wouldn't hurt to have another really good CB WITHOUT a propensity for making "PI" penalties.

[January J]

This!Were having a down year but this offseason with the cap space we can potentially have and the picks we may have,we have the tools to stay as contenders.In addition,the guys we're getting back next year,the development of key positions we have such as our te's.Also possibly the biggest factor,which is Oz,Jon,Eric seeing that this staff,our disciplinary issues and they way the put this team together for this season has completely blown up in their face,a long look in the mirror for them is inevitable and heads will roll with accountability being paramount.This seasons bad from a winning perspective but it might be the slap in the face this franchise needs to get back to its old ways while still being open to new trends in an ever changing league.Our FO has been slipping,but i got no doubt in their ability to fix it.

couldn't agree more. This may be a blessing in disguise and it may be the kick in the [rear]that Ozzie needed to realize he needs to stop cutting corners and that he won't keep getting away with the cheap band aids. Edited November 23, 2015 by Moderator 2

[chunkywill25]

Winning comes with the price of picking late in the draft and we went to the playoff 6 out of 7 years. Not making excuses but it definitely doesn't help

[xxDarby]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we have a terrible cap situation going into this year's free agency.

[K-Dog]

Its gonna be a long off season for sure.

But no this is not a dark era. Just a crappy season.

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

This season was a perfect storm of crap. Now our QB and RB went down

We have lost

Suggs

SSR

Forsett

Flacco

The entire oline at some point including the starting center out for the season

Perriman(and yes Sami, he would have made a difference with his speed. Defense would have had to respect him)

Campanaro

Not to mention

Jimmy and Wagner are coming back from a tough injury to recover from

CJ was returning from an injury(though he's been better lately)

So no. This season literally everything that could have gone wrong... Did. We need to get healthy stat. And even then. Before the Flacco injury. We have been in every game..

So no. We are not entering this so called "dark era". Honestly, we could be good as soon as next season again if we draft well and pick up a good FA or two. First priority is get healthy again.

We have a core to build a defense around that's honestly missing 3 pieces(I think we get rid of Webb). We need another pass rusher, a FS(which we might be able to promote from within tbh), and another CB. Quite possibly another ILB if we release Daryl.

Offensivley, we need another WR, and maybe an OG to replace KO.

[ravensdfan]

This season was a perfect storm of crap. Now our QB and RB went down

We have lost

Suggs

SSR

Forsett

Flacco

The entire oline at some point including the starting center out for the season

Perriman(and yes Sami, he would have made a difference with his speed. Defense would have had to respect him)

Campanaro

Not to mention

Jimmy and Wagner are coming back from a tough injury to recover from

CJ was returning from an injury(though he's been better lately)

So no. This season literally everything that could have gone wrong... Did. We need to get healthy stat. And even then. Before the Flacco injury. We have been in every game..

So no. We are not entering this so called "dark era". Honestly, we could be good as soon as next season again if we draft well and pick up a good FA or two. First priority is get healthy again.

We have a core to build a defense around that's honestly missing 3 pieces(I think we get rid of Webb). We need another pass rusher, a FS(which we might be able to promote from within tbh), and another CB. Quite possibly another ILB if we release Daryl.

Offensivley, we need another WR, and maybe an OG to replace KO.

I'm with ya, bud.

 

Don't know where this "dark era" and "scrap it all " stuff is coming from.

 

We have been in every game this season, we're not getting blown out, with all but what? 6 intended starters on the field? Now we're down to 4 I believe.

 

A good draft, some FAs to plug some holes and IMO not only can we be good next season, but close to dominate. Like you say though, have to get our guys healthy.

[52520Andrew]

I'd say 2008 was more important but this is easily the most critical since then and probably our 3rd most with 96 taking the cake.

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

I'm with ya, bud.

Don't know where this "dark era" and "scrap it all " stuff is coming from.

We have been in every game this season, we're not getting blown out, with all but what? 6 intended starters on the field? Now we're down to 4 I believe.

A good draft, some FAs to plug some holes and IMO not only can we be good next season, but close to dominate. Like you say though, have to get our guys healthy.

We need to start agreeing more often. You're not a bad poster, never were.

We have a core to build on. And to be honest, they're not doing bad.

Dumervil

Mosely

Williams

Jernigan

Davis

Guy

ZDS

That's not a bad foundation to build on. Throw in Jimmy and Will, and you have a foundation with a very good CB(when healthy, you can tell he's not comfortable), and a very good SS. You have a star in the middle in CJ, a damn good NT in Brandon, and two nice pieces(who may never be stars but they're still good pieces) in Jernigan and Davis. Dumervil is a good pass rusher, and well. ZDS needs to get better.

We get a Joey Bosa or Ogbah(if we go number one it would not surprise me one bit if we traded back 3 or four spots) and quite frankly, the problem solves itself. You get a potential franchise pass rusher to go along with a front 7 that's very adept with stopping the run and has two very capable pass rushers in Jernigan and Doom. Front 7 suddenly becomes potent again and with a probalby back to 100% next year Jimmy, and Hill, one more piece at CB might be enough to put the defense over the top(Honestly, let's try Brooks for next season. Probably the plan).

Offensivley, not as complicated. The issue has clearly been injuries. Every player on the oline has been dealing with something at some point.Your top three WRs same thing. We need to add another to replace Steve.. I'll drink to that. But we appear to have a Trestman back in Allen, and three good TEs. WR is a massive question mark, but unlike a few seasons ago we have at least one piece with a massive amount of potential.

There's more good here than bad

[Sami84]

We need to start agreeing more often. You're not a bad poster, never were.

We have a core to build on. And to be honest, they're not doing bad.

Dumervil

Mosely

Williams

Jernigan

Davis

Guy

ZDS

That's not a bad foundation to build on. Throw in Jimmy and Will, and you have a foundation with a very good CB(when healthy, you can tell he's not comfortable), and a very good SS. You have a star in the middle in CJ, a damn good NT in Brandon, and two nice pieces(who may never be stars but they're still good pieces) in Jernigan and Davis. Dumervil is a good pass rusher, and well. ZDS needs to get better.

We get a Joey Bosa or Ogbah(if we go number one it would not surprise me one bit if we traded back 3 or four spots) and quite frankly, the problem solves itself. You get a potential franchise pass rusher to go along with a front 7 that's very adept with stopping the run and has two very capable pass rushers in Jernigan and Doom. Front 7 suddenly becomes potent again and with a probalby back to 100% next year Jimmy, and Hill, one more piece at CB might be enough to put the defense over the top(Honestly, let's try Brooks for next season. Probably the plan).

Offensivley, not as complicated. The issue has clearly been injuries. Every player on the oline has been dealing with something at some point.Your top three WRs same thing. We need to add another to replace Steve.. I'll drink to that. But we appear to have a Trestman back in Allen, and three good TEs. WR is a massive question mark, but unlike a few seasons ago we have at least one piece with a massive amount of potential.

There's more good here than bad

 

We have a core to build on. And to be honest, they're not doing bad.

Dumervil

Mosely

Williams

Jernigan

Davis

Guy

ZDS

 

Davis and in particular ZDS have shown absolutely nothing this year. Davis looked ok in his first game and has been MIA since. ZDS looks like a typical out of the league player in a few years type. Doom is old.Jernigan hasn't yet taken the next step we thought he would. Guy is just an ok player and won't be anything more. Williams is the bomb. Mosley will have better years.

[Tru11]

doubt we gonna see more seasons like this in a row so i dont see how this qualifies as an era.

[Maryland]

How dark of an era are we talking here? Are we talking like just a couple year rebuild or are we talking multi-decade Orioles perpetual rebuild?

 

If Joe heals up back to 100%, then it can't be that dark. Most teams don't have a franchise QB, and that's the hardest part.

[RedFire]

long as the redskins and steelers don't make noise we can survive a slight down period or bad season....our fanbase will still be strong and ravens won't ship out on the mayflower. 

[Ravens2343]

This!Were having a down year but this offseason with the cap space we can potentially have and the picks we may have,we have the tools to stay as contenders.In addition,the guys we're getting back next year,the development of key positions we have such as our te's.Also possibly the biggest factor,which is Oz,Jon,Eric seeing that this staff,our disciplinary issues and they way the put this team together for this season has completely blown up in their face,a long look in the mirror for them is inevitable and heads will roll with accountability being paramount.This seasons bad from a winning perspective but it might be the slap in the face this franchise needs to get back to its old ways while still being open to new trends in an ever changing league.Our FO has been slipping,but i got no doubt in their ability to fix it.

 

Another silver lining type note is that hopefully Flacco and these offensive guys wont have to learn a new system this offseason.  Trestman has no way been an excellent coordinator, but he should remain there for 2016 and that will benefit Flacco and this entire offense.  Flacco can focus solely on rehab while we have a young guy (hopefully) draft pick QB come in and take a lot of reps during the summer.

[JEEPercreepermd]

To answer the OP's Original question.

No.

This is a season that not only has been just decimated by injuries from the start, but some terrible luck has also played part in it too.

Every one of our games had been within 1 score..that is historic. It also tells me that even with all of these players in and out of the lineup, the team has been able to have an opportunity to win every game they've played. If we we had all hands on deck, we are probably all but guaranteed a playoff spot by now.

Let's hope for some good things in the draft, and also hope Ozzie can find some quality FA talent to fill the gaps.

The core of this team is strong...I wouldn't be surprised at all to see an 11-5 turnaround like after the 07 debacle.

In a glass half full sense, now they are truly going to be able to evaluate some guys..those that are worth keeping will have that much more experience going into next season. They will also be able to make some decisions on who needs to go (Monroe. .cough cough. .)

[Sherly_Tebow]

Lets look at each position...

QB: Flacco - We're fine here as long as he's healthy. If he isn't healthy, maybe we pick up Peyton Manning. A source somewhere said he wants to play next year, whether it's with or without the Broncos. I'd be fine with him starting for us until Flaccos healthy. The only concern with this would be money. I know its not really realistic, just a fantasy lol. Realistically, we get Schaub, Wenning, etc.

RB: Buck has shined. Ever since that goal line fumble in the preseason he looks more matured and better as a player. Foresett i assume will be healthy? If not, I think Buck can do the job until he returns.

WR: I don't think Smitty reitres, but he comes back with a slightly lesser role. Perriman is a big question mark, but I'm hoping he comes back strong. Aiken, Butler, Camp, and Givens have all shined, but they need to mature. We may (should) sign a FA WR or draft one.

TE: Boyle, Gillmore, and Willams. Enough Said. Pitta is a plus if he comes back, but we're just fine without him.

O-line: Yanda, Zuttah/Urschel, Monroe, etc. Osemele probably wont be coming back. We'll have some unanswered questions here, but I think we find a way to keep a decent O-line.

K: Tucker, P: Kock LS: Cox #Wolfpack

CB: Jimmy, I think Webb stays, Arrington, Walker matures? I think we draft or sign a CB in Free Agency.

S: Will Hill + ?  Lewis? He hasn't been impressive.

I think we're fine at D-line and Linebacker, but this is definitely an area to draft/ sign a FA in. 

There's a lot of variables like cap space, health, etc, but I think this is a 10+ win caliber team next year. I'm confident in our team moving forward after this year. I probably missed some things, but this is just off the top of my head.

[RavensFanMania]

We are having a bad season with Flacco, Suggs, SSS, Forester all on Injured Reserve among many others players.  This is a very young team that is keeping every game close even when its own fanbase thinks we are going to be blown out.  The average loss has been under 4 points per game with no game more than 8 pt differential.  All it's going to take are a couple key players on each side of the ball and some of them we already have.  

 

Go Ravens!

[Moderator 2]

I personally think we are seeing lots of injuries because the CBA is so limited on a players time with his coach in the off season and you lose the professional coaching of the trainers, the amount of time in the weight room so you will see the Achilles type injuries. It sucks for all around.

[FastEddie]

I personally think we are seeing lots of injuries because the CBA is so limited on a players time with his coach in the off season and you lose the professional coaching of the trainers, the amount of time in the weight room so you will see the Achilles type injuries. It sucks for all around.

 

That's interesting. I'll be honest I sort of overlooked the CBA holdout/agreement, but do you see that as something that the players wanted in consideration for more time off?

[sflegend89]

Draft will be huge for us his year. Ozzie never get's to nab the guys on the top of his board, round after round he has to pick out of the scraps of what is left by the time we pick. We are essentially getting two 1st round picks this year because Perriman hasn't played a snap for us and will certainly be full-go by camp next year. 

 

Also consider Patriots don't have a pick this year, there are only 31 1st round picks, if we end up #1 overall as we are the favorite to be we are talking about the 32nd overall pick, the equivalent to having 3 new 1st round picks going into next year. I think we clean house on the coordinators and get a massive injection of high end young talent next year. I trust Ozzie to do damage with that kind of draft position. Also don't forget we can trade comp picks now, we could trade off some of those picks and move back into the 2nd round again easily. So many opportunities to get premium talent with our great draft position and trade assets.

Edited November 23, 2015 by sflegend89

[Winchester]

With very little cap space these problems are not being fixed in one draft!! Even if oz does pull a miracle out and actually draft some impact players, it is taking a season or so for these rookies to play at their optimum levels. Suggs will be 34 returning from Achilles. How many edge rushers are near elite at 34 much less returning from injury!! If ravens plan om anything from perriman there's 1 strike there for next season already.

Defense will take a couple seasons to fix. Couple drafts and an offseason with some cap space for signings. The offense for does have an opportunity to carry the team to a championship. Joe will work harder than ever rehabbing from this injury and return strong. Keep the Oline in tact. Tunsil is my favorite draft prospect so far. He could make ravens Oline best in the league. Draft a WR early and sign or trade for a young vet receiver either established or ready to breakout with a better QB throwing to him. Max gets in better shape and returns stronger faster and more dangerous. Joe Cool has forced throws to receivers who can't get open all year. With a franchise qb in place and dominant Oline the offense has an opportunity to be truly special.

[cursona pirate]

Last season we had a lot of injuries as well but this is much worse.

[Moderator 3]

I personally think we are seeing lots of injuries because the CBA is so limited on a players time with his coach in the off season and you lose the professional coaching of the trainers, the amount of time in the weight room so you will see the Achilles type injuries. It sucks for all around.

  

That's interesting. I'll be honest I sort of overlooked the CBA holdout/agreement, but do you see that as something that the players wanted in consideration for more time off?

  

Last season we had a lot of injuries as well but this is much worse.

I think with the reduced practice time (especially padded practices) allowed under the CBA, this increase in injuries will be the new norm. Many injuries are caused by poor technique. As the vets "age out" and are replaced by younger players who came up under this CBA, technique will continue to decline, along with the quality of games, and injuries will increase.