[News] John Harbaugh Details Offseason Needs, Goals

[BR News]

The Ravens head coach spoke at a charity event and discussed where he wants to see the team develop.

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[Bob21043]

So,are they going to pitch players who haven't developed, then? (Elam, A. Brown)

[Ravenous_Ravens]

@ Bob 21403 - I would assume 'Yes', at some point you need to cut ties with players that are not working out. It's best for everyone involved. The team can then re-utilize that roster position to attempt to become better. The player can get some honest feedback about where they stand and try to make it work somewhere else, instead of wasting time. Although it's not what anyone wants to hear, the truth is sometimes you need to hear, even though it be difficult to listen to. It will either re-focus the player and help make them stronger moving forward (guys like Aiken) or it may be a wake up call that this is just not going to be a long term plan and to adjust their course. The Ravens are not a team that bails on players until the evidence against keeping them becomes too overwhelming to continue. It would be nice if guys like Elam and A. Brown could find that next gear, but with the competitive salary cap era you cannot afford to string guys along for too long that are not contributing improving the on field performance.

[RavensFanMania]

So,are they going to pitch players who haven't developed, then? (Elam, A. Brown)

If they don't cut them, it's because they performed well during offseason workouts and training camp.  I believe Elam will make the team, but A. Brown will most likely be cut. 

[NCMan]

So,are they going to pitch players who haven't developed, then? (Elam, A. Brown)

They could. Then, if history is a guide, they might go on to become stars w/their new respective teams. Just sayin'.......

Edited January 14, 2016 by NCMan

[fusuymada]

I have gotten really good at guessing what the Ravens are doing on draft day and who they are picking for their roster. I am always just 2 or 3 guys away. What I have learned over the years is do not believe anything that the ravens are putting out for public consumption. I remember days before the draft that they Ravens went so far out of their way to convince people that they were not taking a receiver, I cleaned up on bets that the Ravens would take a receiver in the first round. You have to weigh what they say against the obvious and usually it doesn't take a lot of smarts to figure out that what they put out there, they want the rest of the NFL to believe, and not because it is true.

[stixfix69]

FA market will go a long way on who we draft this year....

[chuchu707]

let upshaw go

[Purple Dawg 96]

My issue is the Ravens beat the hottest team in football so they say with backups on Offense so how much more do they need?! I'm sorry my issue is with Joe and I feel he isn't utilizing his players correctly or to the best of their abilities because like I said the Ravens beat the hottest team in football so they say with backups on Offense! Or change the entire team to cater to one player! Smh "That was no fluke" and it kinda raised our spirits after a jacked up season!

[Militant X 1]

The other point Harbaugh made is that the Ravens are going into next year with high expectations for their young players. The threshold to make the roster will be high, and the Ravens don’t plan on keeping many developmental players who will take a year or two before they can contribute.  “You’re going to have to take somebody’s job, or you’re going to have to fight somebody off trying to take your job,” he said.

 

“It’s not going to be a situation where we’re going to be waiting around for any player to come into their own. We’re not going to be looking at too much potential in any young players right now.  “We’ve done that the last couple of years. We’ve waited for some guys. And I’ve talked to those guys and told them, ‘The future is now. You better be making plays day in and day out, every single day on a consistent basis, or someone else is going to.’ That’s what you love about it as a coach. I want to see a bunch of guys battling their tails off, every single day, to make this team.” 

 

^ So, it took a 5-11 season for our coaching staff to finally come to the realization that...imo other teams draft their young players and then in their OTA's and Mini Camps they teach them, train them and then they trust them and expect them to produce at a high level in the regular season while the young lions for the Ravens are constantly pulling splinters out of their rears from riding the pine behind our old guys....I mean...veterans?  Smh....Lol!

[The Greek]

glad to see harbs put his foot down with the so called project players and the dime a dozen players we keep signing. pretty much every safety, wr and cb we have aside from webb jimmy sss aiken hill need to get their crap together or see ya later. the $$ saved from those guys could help resign a guy like upshaw who is a solid run stuffer. i still believe in elam but this is his last chance in bmore

Edited January 14, 2016 by The Greek

[thieverycorporation]

Put your money were your mouth is ! Ozzie are you listening to Harbaugh and the teams fans? Playmakers not developmental prospects as draftee's. There are day one prospects in every round. Find them please. You already have a headstart. A lot of these posers can help you Identify talent. Give us some of those we want ! i'm for not overly impressed with volume. We have a logjam @ receiver already. Time to jettison and retool. PS. Some teams are spying this board. Don't leak too many secrets. Dallas is watching lol

[harfordravenfan]

Hard to figure out sometimes. They dropped Myers pretty quick and they've been sitting on Brown and Elam for years (although they clearly know more than I). Perhaps that was one of Harbs subtle hints towards a few players?

[b93333]

"In Ozzie we trust"... used to be the word. This off-season will tell if that remains the case.

[merryjman]

"We've waited for some guys." Right away I thought of Arthur Brown and Matt Elam.

[merryjman]

I have gotten really good at guessing what the Ravens are doing on draft day and who they are picking for their roster. I am always just 2 or 3 guys away. What I have learned over the years is do not believe anything that the ravens are putting out for public consumption. I remember days before the draft that they Ravens went so far out of their way to convince people that they were not taking a receiver, I cleaned up on bets that the Ravens would take a receiver in the first round. You have to weigh what they say against the obvious and usually it doesn't take a lot of smarts to figure out that what they put out there, they want the rest of the NFL to believe, and not because it is true.

 

So you're saying that if e.g. Dante Fowler had been available they would still have picked a receiver? The only thing they don't talk about is who they have highly graded on their draft board, and how much they'll veer from their needed spots just to get somebody they love. They're almost always honest about what they need, because everyone can see what they need.

 

Take CJ Mosley: ILB was not really a position of need for us, at least not compared to some other glaring needs. But they felt CJ was the best person still available and they took him. Dude makes Pro Bowl first year, puts up almost identical stats the next year.

[Raveology101]

He finally stopped drinking the cool-aid it gets real when your job is on the line... Look at Tom Coughlin he is the prime example even multiple superbowls don't equal job security. He better get this team together or he will be assistant coach at Michigan next year with his bro struggling to beat Ohio St.

[Raveology101]

2012 is getting further and further away just saying..

[Raveology101]

cc: Terrence Brooks,Matt Elam,Upshaw,Kyle Arrington,Kendrick Lewis,Will Hill

[Raveology101]

cc: Marlon Brown I forgot abt him too lol

[757RavensFan]

cc: Terrence Brooks,Matt Elam,Upshaw,Kyle Arrington,Kendrick Lewis,Will Hill

 

Just stop!!

[Bandit666]

Drafting high, this is the make or break of the future. We need to hit homeruns with the first 4 picks and quality back ups with the rest. CB #1, WR #2, pass rush #3, CB #4, DL, LB, OL the rest. Ozzie needs to be aggressive in FA and stop basement bargain guys.

[steelcityraven]

Lets be honest.... Everyone says that this season was marred by injuries and while that may be true mediocrity (or worse) was evident long before the injuries really started to kick in. The lack of a play maker to stretch the field was evident from day 1. SSS was our go to guy but we had no one to compliment Joes strength (a cannon for an arm). Our DB has been horrible for 3 years now (maybe more) and this was also evident from DAY 1... For the first four or five weeks we made every QB we faced look like Joe Montana. We were inconsistent many areas, with too many penalties, too many turnovers and not generating enough turnovers! All of those issues were evident before the injuries set in. ON offense it is simple- we need Perriman healthy, SSS back healthy, a healthy forsett will be an asset, but still need another playmaker at WR who can stretch the field. On Defense it is just not that simple. I wish I could say that adding a S and CB would be the answer but not a single DB has played well under Pees. We have talent but since pees took over our defense has been apathetic and seems to lack an identity. We are not physical, are often out of position and late to making plays (causing us to give up big plays, miss tackles, miss TO opportunities and commit dumb penalties) costing us several games this year (at least 5) which is enough to have made us a potential playoff team! The issue is not talent on defense it is scheme and with pees still at the helm... I don't think this is an easy fix!

[steelcityraven]

How we draft will have everything to do if WETHER OR NOT WE CAN RE_SING KO. If we can- then we go CB first (McKenzie Alexander or Ramsey). If not we go T (LTunsil or RStanley)... But that one issue changes everything in how we draft from that point on. We will have the max for comp picks again this year however so that should help bc we have some needs!

[Crusader]

"%u201CWe need wide receivers. We%u2019re looking at corners. I wouldn%u2019t mind having a safety. We need pass rushers, more than one.%u201D So in other words you guys did not fix the same problems you have the last three years?

[Crusader]

YEA and hiring Ed Reed would have made your secondary so much worse than the last three years. Get a clue.

[edthehead]

sounds like, judge TREAD,will be here to judge CB's play.

[Raven_Don]

You guys forget... John only makes suggestions... Ozzie makes roster decisions... so trying to blame the roster on John is laughable... and if you think 2 losing seasons are enough to get rid of John... that's also laughable... you get rid of a head coach when your team doesn't respond to him... players respond to John... and for the team to be competitive with the roster being in shambles... we had a shot in every game except the Seattle game... I am sorry but the game plan for that game was terrible... Give Russell all day to pass knowing your back end is a group of moving parts??? Makes absolutely no sense to me... I understand that you can't blitz to often but come on that was terrible... I agree we need another WR but I think pass rush is the biggest concern... you can hide your secondary if you can get after the passer...

[EdBallhawkReed20]

My issue is the Ravens beat the hottest team in football so they say with backups on Offense so how much more do they need?! I'm sorry my issue is with Joe and I feel he isn't utilizing his players correctly or to the best of their abilities because like I said the Ravens beat the hottest team in football so they say with backups on Offense! Or change the entire team to cater to one player! Smh "That was no fluke" and it kinda raised our spirits after a jacked up season!

I totally agree with you! All of Joe Flacco's backup especially Mallett hit and targeted multiple receivers and had better completion yards to receivers. I say this all the time, but if your QB hasn't had one young receiver remain on the team in eight years. Really whose fault is that! Joe lacks accuracy and some fans would rather blame wide receivers than their QB! Joe Flacco can't keep the one's he does play well with because they are old and on their way to retirement. We are the graveyard for high quality cheap veterans. Thats not the front office fault for giving up players that are already about to retire. Torrey Smith isn't here because he is a bad receiver. He isn't here because Joe Flacco could not get him the ball. The Ravens had to evaluate him based on his gameplay which looked questionable due to his number of times targeted and lack of completions. The front office probably came to the conclusion that Joe Flacco can't hit a speedy receiver deep down field and said anyone will do. The Rvens led the league in defensive pass interference yards due to that fact! Why give Torrey a big pay day when you can get a fast first round for Joe to under throw passes to and do the same thing. People open your eyes he had Ray Rice in the beginning. Nobody can tell me Joe Flacco got you guys to the playoffs his first three years in the league. Joe has not progressed since he came to Baltimore. He still can't read coverages like a rookie. He just had different pieces Baltimore never had before like a speedy receiver, so teams had to adapt and Joe capitalized with a Super Bowl. Teams know how to gameplan for the Ravens and we are losing now! Wake up Ravens fans a lot of you seem to be so stuck on past accomplishments and him being the best QB you had in a 19 year franchise (its not all that impressive Joe broke all these records) that you won't consider someone being better. That is ridiculous. Before people criticize tell me what has Joe done for you lately...

[OzzieBisciotti]

Sounds like Harbs wants a whole new team based upon all the positions he's listed and based upon his desire for more play makers across the board- sounds like Oz didn't do a good enough job for Harbs based upon all these requests. How many more safeties does Oz have to draft/ pick-up via free agency before we find one that is sufficient? Why are we drafting safeties every year when we really need corners. The Deadskins took a project where they turned a WR into a CB (Dunbar I think was his name), and he started this year- seems like we're not doing a good job coaching the secondary or we're not doing a good job drafting players for the secondary- it's got to be one of these...