[News] Eisenberg: Losing For A Few Draft Slots Isn't Worth It

[BR News]

Give it a rest. The Ravens’ fierce competitive spirit is way more important than better draft positioning.

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[vscaccio]

Can I give this article a 1,000,000,000?!?

I literally cannot agree more with every word written, and this has been by argument with fellow Ravens fans for weeks! A culture of winning is built upon a foundation of playing with toughness and heart every week no matter what the circumstances are! To turn that off for the sake of moving up in the draft is to sell out everything that this organization has been built on in its 20 years of existence! People can laugh it off as coach speak all they want but the bottom line is that is why organizations like the Ravens are more successful than most! It is times like this that test your character as an organization and so far the Ravens are passing with flying colors!

[Dorota]

Beautifully written! Indeed, a winning organization is that, which always fights for the win, no matter the odds, no matter the stake. You're in it to win it.

[Jim Giampaoli]

The way it should be. You play to win. Very good article. I totally agree.

[Rants N Ravens]

Anyone watching Monday night saw why Harbs has to be regarded as one of the best head coaches in the league. To have your guys playing so hard, for nothing more than pride, is a resounding endorsement of your head coach's abilities.

[Corvus]

Agreed 100% Eisenberg. It's not like we were going to get the first overall pick anyway, the Titans have that on lockdown I think.

[purpledown]

no losing for draft position is not good especially for a franchise like this which is used to winning. Making the right choice is the main thing

[salamander]

Drafting wisely is the biggest concern, not whether we get a top pick. There is no pleasure in watching any sport in which effort is ho-hum or lacking. In fact, it's more than annoying, it's infuriating to me. No athlete who is a true competitor would play to lose. In a strange way, I have even more respect for the team this year than ever, when all the circumstances could easily have destroyed the mojo, passion and attitude of this team. Sure, the 2015 Ravens have some gaping deficiencies but Harbs and the team have impressively kept the "Play like a Raven" mojo intact. Hats off to all the players and coaches for showing the fans and the rest of the nation that, regardless of this year's hardships, at least the passionate desire to win kind of mindset is alive and well in Baltimore. As the saying goes, "We'll be back".

Edited December 3, 2015 by salamander

[bmorefan444]

It's hard for me to understand the people who are asking the team to lose. I think they are missing the point. Was that Monday night game not one of the most exciting finishes you've ever seen? I woke up my girlfriend because I jumped around like a little kid while screaming profanities. That's what sports are all about. Not losing to get move up in the draft.

[donaldc]

Great post.

[Bluesteel183]

Lets add some facts. The last several years we have drafted some top talent who for various reasons FLOPPED. Several stayed INJURED for multiple years and never panned out. It is how we ended up in the current condition we find ourselves. Stars leaving and NOTHING waiting to step and take their places. Some NEW coaching might also be a good idea, especially on DEFENSE

[cec327]

Really what difference does drafting position make? If that would make a difference--how come the Browns are where they are?

[cec327]

New England draft picks 2010- 2015

No first-round draft pick [32]

2010 27 Devin McCourty CB Rutgers [33]

2011 17 Nate Solder OT Colorado

2012 21 Chandler Jones DE Syracuse

25 Dont'a Hightower LB Alabama

2013 No first-round draft pick

2014 29 Dominique Easley DT Florida

2015 32 Malcom Brown DT Texas

2016 No first-round draft pick [34]

[KidNme]

I was one of the ones who figured that a high draft pick was in order this year but the "Play like a Raven" does mean something and even if we lost out, they keep playing lights out like they did Monday night, it will go a long way for future Ravens teams. Pretty cool actually.

[FloridalovesRavens]

I have said the same thing so many times in this site. Winning is the name of the game. Any wins we acrue this season is a plus. We are also getting a good look at some young guys who are hungry to show what they have to offer this team going forward. We may or may not win another game this season but I respect this whole organization for their never give up attitude. Go Ravens.

[bmoraven]

I agree 100%. Even if you get a low first round draft pick, you still will get a strong player. Every team has different needs whether it be a QB, Pass Rusher, Monster O lineman, etc. So Having the 4th pick vs. the 7th pick doesn't make as much a difference as most people think. Actually playing to win, and having young talent from college and around the league wanting to play in baltimore is much more important than 1 high pick...And who says OZ cant trade up for a higher pick if the player he wants is still on the board?? Play to win, and good things happen.

[Purple Dawg 96]

The Ravens are not built like that and when I read some posts people wanting them to give up made me FURIOUS! So furious I was issued a warning smh! I just Love my team and when I feel threatened I react! LOL now let's support the guys that are still out there and do what we do to the end! LETS GO!

[Guest]

Lets be clear about a couple things.

 

1st no amount of Heroics will save this season. Come to terms with it, let the peace of it be upon you.

 

2nd winning too late in the season or in other words winning when the playoffs are ruled out has pros and cons.

 

If you have young players that don't have a winning tradition, its possible winning without attaining has it's positive aspects. For instance that may apply to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but its a stretch to say it applies to the Baltimore Ravens, even with the large number of recently departed veterans. We were in the playoffs last year before being eliminated by a team that likely deflated their footballs and abused the rules with substitution gimmicks to beat us.

 

Now...the playoffs are a positive reason to win, however there are other positives when the playoffs have been ruled out. Obviously, one of them is Draft Position. You can argue all you want that Draft Position is relative to what you make of it. However like the playoffs, there is no substitute for having the opportunity to tag that phenom before he is whisked away for ever. Nothing compares to having the ability to tag your guy and outside of the playoffs, it is the most important function a Front Office is responsible for. Playoffs and Draft...Nothing Compares.

 

Now the reason its so vitally important this year, is that we lost our Quad Core. Our Quad Core arrived in 1996, 2002, 2003 and 2006. When analyzing our Quad Core, be sure and examine where in the Draft they were selected. To get back...to get all the way back...and you know what I'm talking about... we are going to need our Quad Core. It doesn't necessarily have to be on Defense, but we must get our Quad Core back.

 

Look at the drafts both when we got our Quad Core and since when we've been drafting in "The Draft is Relative Zone". No amount of happy talk after insignificant wins is going to be more effective than a good selection in a great draft position when you have lost your Quad Core. And before you happy talkers get to brainstorming, we don't currently have a single Quad Core defensive player and there is only ONE on offense.

 

Let it be so

Edited December 3, 2015 by Danny D

[catgirl54]

There is no way in the world that a John Harbaugh-coached team is going to give up for higher draft picks. That's the opposite of the way the mentality of this team is built. The Ravens play to win, period. You can see the teams who have given up; the Dolphins, the 49ers, possibly at this point even the Browns. Those teams have owners who want a quick fix and are impatient; their locker rooms are divided; they have no respect for their coaches. That is not the Ravens' way. And that's why I love my team!

[birdseye]

I'm gonna play devils advocate here, and let me preface this by saying I loved our teams heart and always cheer for us to get a W however, its not the worst thing in the world that some ravens fans want a high draft pick. Winning games breeds a winning mentality, however, playing for a higher draft pick isn't such a horrible horrible idea if youre looking at the bigger picture. (I hope) that fans who want us to get a higher pick are thinking, like me, that this is a team that can be good, and with a couple improvements, better health, and some good fortune we can be a legit contender again SOON!... its not as if were talking about changing the mentality of the franchise by wanting high draft picks every year, were not the browns or lions. Also, drafting in the top 10 is much different than drafting in the top 20 because while you can more than likely snag playmakers in the end of round one (and other rounds), its not as likely that it will be at your most pressing position of need. When you get a top 10 or top 5 pick, chances are if your a smart drafting team, you'll get a bona fide playmaker in a position of need, something that ravens fans are definitely salivating over, i dont blame some fans for wanting a ray lewis, ed reed, Tsizz type defensive player to restore our D's swagger.

[NCMan]

Really what difference does drafting position make? If that would make a difference--how come the Browns are where they are?

You're right. Maybe they should just put 32 numbers in a big hat and let every team draw one. Great idea!! 

[4th&29]

Danny D, i think you raise good points but that Quad Core was made of players that were selected 26th, 24th, 10th and 12th : only one, and barely so, in the top 10. So let's say we pick 16th this year - right in the middle. That would be good enough for a Ray Lewis or Ed Reed.

And remember that it took 6 years after the last of this Quad Core was drafted before we won the Superbowl. It also took drafting a QB in 2008.

I would argue that our Quad Core on defense is in the making : Jernigan, B. Williams, CJ Mosley, a healthy Jimmy Smith could very well be a part of it... and others will complement it. I'm not saying the roster is perfect, far from it, but we have talented players both on offense and defense. Some of them will emerge as leaders, some won't. They are still young - and there's a lot talent around them too.

[ravens4life86]

Eisenberg, bringing up draft pick success in any round does nothing to sway opinion or prove a point, when its your JOB to hit on draft picks every year no matter the round. Fans could equally point to busts at this point and high end busts like Elam,Art Brown, Cody, Doss, not anybodies fault but Kindle etc.

While Im not rooting for the Ravens to lose out like some, this organizations annual goal achievements are SB or Bust, and first you get to the playoffs as a legit team.

So I dont care if they lose out or not, because if 6-10..7-9 is the alternative then a top 5 Joey Bosa type pick who may be the next JJ WATT when this team needs its next 1-2 transcendent Pass rushers/defensive game changers...with Mcphee and Ngata and everyone injured or gone.

Now if you tell me this team sweeps out, and goes on to get into the playoff at 9-7 and wins a game...ill listen. But thats under 1% chance

[ellicottraven]

Stop with the patronizing Mr. Eisenberg. Look, we are devoid of talent at several key positions. In this league of parity, it is critically important (at least for teams that do not participate in free agency aggressively) to load up on top tier talent and the mid - 20s' draft scenario doesn't help.

 

We are a winning team and proud of it. But we are mainly a playoff bound team and consider a non- playoff year a bad year regardless of wins or losses. Therefore, it is not so outrageous that some of the fans would like a top 5 draft pick this year to shore up on critical positions in the draft. Especially, with the majority of our key starters on IR, why is it so bad to start young players to try them out?

 

So please don't try to be so patronizing in your articles. Give the fans some credit as well. They care for the welfare of this team just as much as you may.

 

Just to clarify my personal position, I like us winning, but don't like to be told I am right and every other fan that thinks losing isn't such a bad thing is wrong! There are several ways to skin a cat remember?

Edited December 3, 2015 by ellicottraven

[ravefan52]

The Browns game was awesome and I'll take that type of win any day. BUT I don't want us to win out because we just aren't going to make the playoffs. I agree a winning culture is important, and we have that here so to me a high draft pick could be more useful. I wouldn't want our coaches and players to give up, I just wouldn't mind if we kept barely losing that much. Obviously you can get great players throughout the draft, but people here act like picking higher doesn't make a difference. You have a much better chance of getting an impact player when you pick higher, especially when you have Ozzie Newsome as your GM. People make a list of impact players grabbed later on, well here's another list of our 1st sections in each draft.

 

1st pick - top 18: CJ Mosley (17), Joe Flacco (18), Haloti Ngata (12), Terrell Suggs (10), Jamal Lewis (5), Travis Taylor (10), Chris McAlester (10), Duane Starks (10), Jonathan Ogden (4)

8/9 of those guys were great selections. That's batting 88%.

 

1st pick - 19-32: Breshad Perriman (26), Matt Elam (32), Courtney Upshaw (35, traded back from 29), Jimmy Smith (27), Sergio Kindle (43, traded back from 25), Michael Oher (23), Ben Grubbs (29), Mark Clayton (22), Dwan Edwards (51, traded original 1st rd pick), Kyle Boller (19) Ed Reed (24), Todd Heap (31)

4/12 Ozzie hit on (Not counting Perriman yet). Batting 33%.

 

Winning out would probably put us at right about 20 and not making the playoffs. I can't fault someone for wanting to win, and yes we get impact guys thought the draft, but don't tell me us picking higher doesn't matter that much. It clearly does.

Edited December 3, 2015 by ravefan52

[ravefan52]

Really what difference does drafting position make? If that would make a difference--how come the Browns are where they are?

Because they're the Browns and they suck at evaluating talent. On the other hand Ozzie turns the few high picks we do get into impact players and that is partially why we rarely pick there.

[January J]

It would be so funny if the Ravens actually scrapped their way back in it and happened to make the playoffs and just went on a crazy run and made it to the Super Bowl. How freakin crazy would that be? How stupid would all of those writers, commentators, and analysts feel for counting us out and literally saying it wasn't even a possibility? That would be the most epic, historic run in football history. Put the probabilities aside for a second and Just ask yourself what if?

[steelcityraven]

The goal is to win! I have seeing # 1s overall become a bust. Anyone you take in the first round should be an immediate starter or at least an immediate impact player / I don't care if you are picking 1st or 31st.... The entire draft is a little bit of a crap shoot... and while I admit that you lower the risk the higher you pick... I also believe that you have a commitment to the season ticket holders and the fans to put the best team you can on the field and to give them the best chance of winning each and every game. Taking a family to a football game cost a lot of money these days and the goals is to go and see your team win... how can you expect the fans to make that type of investment week in and week out... if the team isn't doing the same thing. No body spends a lot of money to go see a sub par effort... if that is the case... if we are just waiting until next year to see us put our best foot forward then Ill just wait until next year to buy tickets/// SMH>... the goal is to win and to win every game. I get that draft status but the commitment is to win / not hope we land a top draft pick... that is a losers mentality! Heck teams like the Raiders, Jags and Browns have been landing top draft picks for years and that has meant little because their priority has not been winning first! Lets not get that confused in BMORE!

[cec327]

Regarding the draft picks; New England ha been more successful than the Ravens. Their draft picks?

2009 No first-round draft pick

2010 27

2011 17

2012 21

25

2013 No first-round draft pick

2014 29

2016 No first-round draft pick

[Purple&Black]

If you start throwing games, what do you think would happen to this team moving forward? You would see a lack of motivation in trying times. Go through a 3 game losing streak next season and players will start to believe the season is over. You never want to bred defeat in your team, because when things look gloomy they won't have the fight to carry through. Do you think we win that game in Denver if the year before we started playing for Drafting position? I don't. What's the point have having mottos such as, "play like a Raven" when you don't live by it? Keeping this team motivated like it is will only make us stronger moving forward.