Is Harbaugh on the Hot Seat Yet

[frozen joe flacco fan]

6 hours ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Couple of problems I have with this...

1. I have no issue not using a high draft pick on a corner recently. For starters, if there's one thing we know about that position specifically, its basically a coin toss in the draft. You've got 1st rounders who are studs and 1st rounders who are absolutely terrible drafted in the same year. There's more than one way to get good corners. Developing mid-rounders into good players is one way, which is something we've done, and being able to spend decent money in FA on one is another. I'm not even saying you have to spend top dollar for an "elite" corner, but willing to spend more than $2-3M a year on a FA corner would help.

2. I think fans view some of these draft picks as "replacements" for older players isn't really accurate often. For example, Matt Elam was never drafted to replace Ed Reed, largely because they don't even have the same skill sets or would have been asked to fill the same role. Elam was always more of a "box" safety, playing more of the Bernard Pollard role. If people recall, we lost our entire safety group after 2012, not just Ed Reed. So we didn't just need one safety, we needed two. We drafted Elam, and he didn't pan out, just like Huff didn't pan out.

3. I definitely don't think reaching a quality hierarchy of needs is an issue, because fans rarely complain about the positions we actually address with our high draft picks. The issue is with the execution of the draft picks, the talent evaluation, and in many ways, just some of the poor quality of college players coming out at certain positions.

Just adjusting the hierarchy doesn't change anything if you're not getting a quality player. We could have taken 3 corners in the 1st round in the last 5 years, but if one or two of them suck, what are we accomplishing?

I have no problems with what you said.

We have major problems on both sides of the line but I would say our hierarchy of needs starts with shoring up the defense. We need a CB who can play on an island. We need another S who can take over for Webb who is a stopgap solution at best and an OLB who can pass rush to replace Elvis who has left the house. After that, the offense needs a facelift with a speed-burning WR to replace SSS, a possession-type WR to replace Aiken who is afraid of his own shadow, a new C, another O-lineman, a wide-bodied TE who can catch and block (if possible a former Hoops player), and a bruising RB. 

Our first priority should be rebuilding the defense thru the draft 'cause our defense is very thin at all of the key positions. As a 2nd priority, revamping the offense is also crucial but we will have to do it through a combination of the draft and FA. We scored enough points in most of our games to win in 2016. With a great defense, a good team should win most if not all of its games when it scores 21 ppg. In the 1st SB year, we allowed 165 points. 21 x 16 = 336. Where I went to school, that's a 2:1 ratio. Like you are fond of saying, its not rocket science.

My approach to resolving the team's woes should appeal to some of Joe's most ardent detractors, who feel that its time for him to sink or swim, i.e., fish or cut bait. This would force him to do just that.

Since this thread has to do with the state of John's seat, I'd be remiss if I didn't say a word about him. I just wonder if the Wizard and John Harbaugh have ever read Steve Belichick's book on Scouting. Just a thought!

[RayRayRaven]

can read stevie b's mind at this point, "we were a tackle at the one  yard line from beatin the steelers twice this year and advancin to the playoffs" I jus gotta give me boys one more go at it!!!!.....nevah mind we were up by 10 and collapsed again. nevah mind pees vaunted D turned into a wet paper bag for the umpteenth time again.  Never mind we woulnd' have beat the beat up bengals anyway.  never mind both weddle and mosely couldn't tackle a small Antonio brown.  does anyone think ray lewis @ the same age of mosely wouldn't have stopped brown from scorin?   Heck Lewis would have killed brown on that play. its sickening, we got a bunch of second tier players can't pay to keep the best of them and can't coach the ones we can keep.  sick of harball, sick of bad drafts, sick of losing, sick of bisciotti.  we need a miracle

[usmccharles]

14 minutes ago, RayRayRaven said:

can read stevie b's mind at this point, "we were a tackle at the one  yard line from beatin the steelers twice this year and advancin to the playoffs" I jus gotta give me boys one more go at it!!!!.....nevah mind we were up by 10 and collapsed again. nevah mind pees vaunted D turned into a wet paper bag for the umpteenth time again.  Never mind we woulnd' have beat the beat up bengals anyway.  never mind both weddle and mosely couldn't tackle a small Antonio brown.  does anyone think ray lewis @ the same age of mosely wouldn't have stopped brown from scorin?   Heck Lewis would have killed brown on that play. its sickening, we got a bunch of second tier players can't pay to keep the best of them and can't coach the ones we can keep.  sick of harball, sick of bad drafts, sick of losing, sick of bisciotti.  we need a miracle

yet another poster here living in the past.  You mean to tell me Mosely isnt as good as Ray Lewis....maybe you should be the new GM, nothing gets past you

[usmccharles]

5 hours ago, frozen joe flacco fan said:

I have no problems with what you said.

We have major problems on both sides of the line but I would say our hierarchy of needs starts with shoring up the defense. We need a CB who can play on an island. We need another S who can take over for Webb who is a stopgap solution at best and an OLB who can pass rush to replace Elvis who has left the house. After that, the offense needs a facelift with a speed-burning WR to replace SSS, a possession-type WR to replace Aiken who is afraid of his own shadow, a new C, another O-lineman, a wide-bodied TE who can catch and block (if possible a former Hoops player), and a bruising RB. 

Our first priority should be rebuilding the defense thru the draft 'cause our defense is very thin at all of the key positions. As a 2nd priority, revamping the offense is also crucial but we will have to do it through a combination of the draft and FA. We scored enough points in most of our games to win in 2016. With a great defense, a good team should win most if not all of its games when it scores 21 ppg. In the 1st SB year, we allowed 165 points. 21 x 16 = 336. Where I went to school, that's a 2:1 ratio. Like you are fond of saying, its not rocket science.

My approach to resolving the team's woes should appeal to some of Joe's most ardent detractors, who feel that its time for him to sink or swim, i.e., fish or cut bait. This would force him to do just that.

Since this thread has to do with the state of John's seat, I'd be remiss if I didn't say a word about him. I just wonder if the Wizard and John Harbaugh have ever read Steve Belichick's book on Scouting. Just a thought!

what does this mean? cant tell if this is literal

[RayRayRaven]

8 hours ago, usmccharles said:

yet another poster here living in the past.  You mean to tell me Mosely isnt as good as Ray Lewis....maybe you should be the new GM, nothing gets past you

lmao, if the new gm search hasn't started we will be another year behind AFTER  next year

this is chronic, hey maybe Flacco can pull us out of it

[rossihunter2]

6 hours ago, RayRayRaven said:

lmao, if the new gm search hasn't started we will be another year behind AFTER  next year

this is chronic, hey maybe Flacco can pull us out of it

we started the new gm search when we hired eric decosta in 1996 - we already landed our next GM - if anything we're ahead in the search

[#Nevermore]

On ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 8:46 PM, usmccharles said:

yet another poster here living in the past.  You mean to tell me Mosely isnt as good as Ray Lewis....maybe you should be the new GM, nothing gets past you

If the status quo remains (it looks like it will with this regime), the past is all we have.

[JO_75]

Think we can close this thread... Biscotti had this to say. 

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti: "If I fire John (Harbaugh), a lot of people would be happy except for me, Ozzie (Newsome, GM) and Dick (Cass, team president)." Bisciotti said he can't make a decision that would please his entire fan base and it wouldn't be the actions of a good leader.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

5 minutes ago, JO_75 said:

Think we can close this thread... Biscotti had this to say. 

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti: "If I fire John (Harbaugh), a lot of people would be happy except for me, Ozzie (Newsome, GM) and Dick (Cass, team president)." Bisciotti said he can't make a decision that would please his entire fan base and it wouldn't be the actions of a good leader.

That's not what he said. And it wouldnt please the entire fan base.

Just the emotional, reactionary ones. If owners and teams did what pleased their fans, they wouldnt be successful.

The Browns are the perfect example. Blow it up and scrap it when it doesnt work. 

Edited January 10 by BOLDnPurPnBlacK

[Steve0x]

On January 10, 2017 at 2:41 PM, JO_75 said:

Think we can close this thread... Biscotti had this to say. 

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti: "If I fire John (Harbaugh), a lot of people would be happy except for me, Ozzie (Newsome, GM) and Dick (Cass, team president)." Bisciotti said he can't make a decision that would please his entire fan base and it wouldn't be the actions of a good leader.

The Same reason why Peter Angelos don't want to fire Buck Showalter.. Because Harbaugh and Showalter are puppets to both owners

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

44 minutes ago, Steve0x said:

The Same reason why Peter Angelos don't want to fire Buck Showalter.. Because Harbaugh and Showalter are puppets to both owners

Definitely. Total puppets. 

Makes sense.

[usmccharles]

46 minutes ago, Steve0x said:

The Same reason why Peter Angelos don't want to fire Buck Showalter.. Because Harbaugh and Showalter are puppets to both owners

 

1 minute ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

Definitely. Total puppets. 

Makes sense.

Yea, we all know Steve is actually making the game plan decisions and the starting lineups.....

[rmcjacket23]

48 minutes ago, Steve0x said:

The Same reason why Peter Angelos don't want to fire Buck Showalter.. Because Harbaugh and Showalter are puppets to both owners

Or they're both good coaches... 

[RayRayRaven]

1 hour ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Or they're both good coaches... 

or puppety yes men

[rossihunter2]

20 minutes ago, RayRayRaven said:

or puppety yes men

If they were puppety yes men they wouldn't be getting called out by their owner in front of the press 

[rmcjacket23]

1 hour ago, RayRayRaven said:

or puppety yes men

Examples?

[frozen joe flacco fan]

6 hours ago, Steve0x said:

The Same reason why Peter Angelos don't want to fire Buck Showalter.. Because Harbaugh and Showalter are puppets to both owners

Now, you've gone too far! If you're trying to compare Bisciotti and Angelos, that's totally unfair. Afterall, Angelos' team made the playoffs this year. Steve said in his presser that the only thing bad he's heard from the fans about himself is that he's more concerned about continuity than winning. I would agree, Steve, but you should be more concerned about winning. A 31-33 regular season record since our Super Bowl glory days in the 2012-13 season is nothing to hang your hat on. Why that's not even average!!!!! 

[rossihunter2]

29 minutes ago, frozen joe flacco fan said:

Now, you've gone too far! If you're trying to compare Bisciotti and Angelos, that's totally unfair. Afterall, Angelos' team made the playoffs this year. Steve said in his presser that the only thing bad he's heard from the fans about himself is that he's more concerned about continuity than winning. I would agree, Steve, but you should be more concerned about winning. A 31-33 regular season record since our Super Bowl glory days in the 2012-13 season is nothing to hang your hat on. Why that's not even average!!!!! 

1.) that's almost as average as it can get

2.) he never said that it was true that he valued continuity over success only that he realised that that was some fans' perception of him - what he actually said was that his philosophy is that continuity (up to a point) works best to create success

[frozen joe flacco fan]

1 hour ago, rossihunter2 said:

1.) that's almost as average as it can get

2.) he never said that it was true that he valued continuity over success only that he realised that that was some fans' perception of him - what he actually said was that his philosophy is that continuity (up to a point) works best to create success

Re #1, average is 8-8. Its not a winning season. It raises an interesting question though. I wonder what Bisciotti's expectations were for the season. He did say he was "bewildered" whatever that means.

Re #2, I place a high value on continuity to a point. For instance, I feel our success has been tempered by having a revolving door at the OC level is bad. The same thing can be said about the Head Coach position. Pittsburgh has had three coaches in a lot more years of history than ours. However, there comes a point in time when you have to assess whether you've reached the point of diminishing returns. For me, we're there. After a 3-0 start, we wound up at 8-8 so we went 5-8 the rest of the way. It sounds eerily similar to our 5-11 record last year.

I can remember a similar situation when Marty Schottenheimer was the Redskins head coach. His team started out 0-5 and wound up at 8-8. At season's end, he was fired after one season as head coach. I disagreed with that decision because I felt the team had turned the corner and it would be foolish to fire him. In our case, the Ravens wound up with the same record as Schottenheimer's team but our performance got worse after a strong start. As an owner, he needs to ask why our performance got worse. If the #1 reason was the injuries, Mr. Bisciotti should have said so. To lay it all at the feet (no pun intended) of Joe Flacco is disingenuous IMHO. I think this team has some big problems in the front office and in the coaching staff, not to mention a lack of identity on either side of the line. If the culture doesn't change, neither will the play on the field. Motivation comes from within. Morale starts at the top and the morale of the team right now is not good and even a casual fan can see it. The Cincy game was an absolute embarrassment no matter how you spin it. Sometimes owners have to make difficult decisions. This owner is just putting off the inevitable. Consider the return on your investment, Mr. Bisciotti, and cut your losses (again, no pun intended).  

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

8 hours ago, frozen joe flacco fan said:

Re #1, average is 8-8. Its not a winning season. It raises an interesting question though. I wonder what Bisciotti's expectations were for the season. He did say he was "bewildered" whatever that means.

Re #2, I place a high value on continuity to a point. For instance, I feel our success has been tempered by having a revolving door at the OC level is bad. The same thing can be said about the Head Coach position. Pittsburgh has had three coaches in a lot more years of history than ours. However, there comes a point in time when you have to assess whether you've reached the point of diminishing returns. For me, we're there. After a 3-0 start, we wound up at 8-8 so we went 5-8 the rest of the way. It sounds eerily similar to our 5-11 record last year.

I can remember a similar situation when Marty Schottenheimer was the Redskins head coach. His team started out 0-5 and wound up at 8-8. At season's end, he was fired after one season as head coach. I disagreed with that decision because I felt the team had turned the corner and it would be foolish to fire him. In our case, the Ravens wound up with the same record as Schottenheimer's team but our performance got worse after a strong start. As an owner, he needs to ask why our performance got worse. If the #1 reason was the injuries, Mr. Bisciotti should have said so. To lay it all at the feet (no pun intended) of Joe Flacco is disingenuous IMHO. I think this team has some big problems in the front office and in the coaching staff, not to mention a lack of identity on either side of the line. If the culture doesn't change, neither will the play on the field. Motivation comes from within. Morale starts at the top and the morale of the team right now is not good and even a casual fan can see it. The Cincy game was an absolute embarrassment no matter how you spin it. Sometimes owners have to make difficult decisions. This owner is just putting off the inevitable. Consider the return on your investment, Mr. Bisciotti, and cut your losses (again, no pun intended).  

Did you even listen? He didnt lay it all at the feet of Flacco.

The cited very specific examples of the sorts of things that went wrong (yes, some included Flacco), why they went wrong, and why it doesnt make sense to just fire people because they went wrong. Just because a decision led to failure doesnt mean it was a bad decision. All the info available at the time made it the right decision, but mistakes happen, players dont live up to standards, people get injured, players regress, etc...

You defend Joe to the death, but want to lay the blame on Bisciotti, Ozzie or Harbs? 

As they said, correctly, Ozzie, Harbs, Joe and others are all part of the problem. But, as an intelligent owner he knows theyre all part of the solution as well. And, just so you know im a big Joe fan, but fyi his bad mechanics, poor decision making, and inconsistencies were part of the problem.

And to talk about morale and say it comes from the top... guess what, a lot of players look at their franchise QB for "morale." I dont always buy this argument, but at times it is true... and at times being "Joe Cool' is a great thing; other times its not. I know youll attempt to refute this, without success, but all out blaming the owner, coach or whoever while all out defending Joe is just as bad as those who throw it entirely on Joe.

And while 8-8 is average and the overall record after the SB is sub .500 if you take out the 5-11 season we're actually above average over the other 3 years. And you also cant just look at 8-8 and say ok, not good neough fire everyone. You have to look at and analyze why 8-8 happened, or why 5-11 happened to make decisions. Is it fixable with the current guys? Are they just incompetent? Are they doing their jobs? 

We were 8-8 with a shot at being where we wanted to be - the playoffs. We've made the AFCCG after a 9-7 record and sneaking into the playoffs. So, should he have blown the team up had that 9-7 team lost one more close game and gone 8-8 even though we have the crystal ball of knowing that at 9-7 they made the AFCCG? What if the crystal ball told us that had we won the Jets and Steelers games and made the playoffs, we win in the WC Round and lose a tight one to the Pats, or heck even beat them? Would you blow it up then?

[frozen joe flacco fan]

8 hours ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

Did you even listen? He didnt lay it all at the feet of Flacco.

The cited very specific examples of the sorts of things that went wrong (yes, some included Flacco), why they went wrong, and why it doesnt make sense to just fire people because they went wrong. Just because a decision led to failure doesnt mean it was a bad decision. All the info available at the time made it the right decision, but mistakes happen, players dont live up to standards, people get injured, players regress, etc...

You defend Joe to the death, but want to lay the blame on Bisciotti, Ozzie or Harbs? 

As they said, correctly, Ozzie, Harbs, Joe and others are all part of the problem. But, as an intelligent owner he knows theyre all part of the solution as well. And, just so you know im a big Joe fan, but fyi his bad mechanics, poor decision making, and inconsistencies were part of the problem.

And to talk about morale and say it comes from the top... guess what, a lot of players look at their franchise QB for "morale." I dont always buy this argument, but at times it is true... and at times being "Joe Cool' is a great thing; other times its not. I know youll attempt to refute this, without success, but all out blaming the owner, coach or whoever while all out defending Joe is just as bad as those who throw it entirely on Joe.

And while 8-8 is average and the overall record after the SB is sub .500 if you take out the 5-11 season we're actually above average over the other 3 years. And you also cant just look at 8-8 and say ok, not good neough fire everyone. You have to look at and analyze why 8-8 happened, or why 5-11 happened to make decisions. Is it fixable with the current guys? Are they just incompetent? Are they doing their jobs? 

We were 8-8 with a shot at being where we wanted to be - the playoffs. We've made the AFCCG after a 9-7 record and sneaking into the playoffs. So, should he have blown the team up had that 9-7 team lost one more close game and gone 8-8 even though we have the crystal ball of knowing that at 9-7 they made the AFCCG? What if the crystal ball told us that had we won the Jets and Steelers games and made the playoffs, we win in the WC Round and lose a tight one to the Pats, or heck even beat them? Would you blow it up then?

I'm just a casual fan of the sport. It seems like you have it all figured out so there's no need to refute what you say. I said my piece in my last post on this topic. I would have fired John after the Cincy game and brought in someone with some knowledge of the Xs & Os of football. We have better cheerleaders on the sideline than John. What we need is a better coach! To answer your first question, yeah, I listened to Mr. Bisciotti and it became all to evident to me where he is. He has gotten to the point where he looks at the game like Jerry Jones does. Jerry regards his coaches and players as performers on a stage. He even said so earlier this year. As long as they entertain the fans, winning is not as important to him as making money. Unfortunately, Steve is following the same path. Well, the NFL product is becoming more boring with each passing year and if you felt entertained this year by our entry, then that's great for you. I didn't think it was that entertaining. BTW, this thread is about Harbaugh's seat. There's another thread for you to lambast Joe Flacco so how 'bout staying on point? Anyway, I have reached the final conclusion John's seat isn't hot;  in fact its not even warm yet as evidenced by the Final Presser. When Steve said Harbaugh could do a better job of coaching, that was an understatement but it spoke volumes. Thank you, Oh Master of the Obvious! 

[rossihunter2]

42 minutes ago, frozen joe flacco fan said:

He even said so earlier this year. As long as they entertain the fans, winning is not as important to him as making money. Unfortunately, Steve is following the same path. Well, the NFL product is becoming more boring with each passing year and if you felt entertained this year by our entry, then that's great for you.

In this one short passage alone you have run yourself round in circles: if they were more interested in entertainment than winning then the cowboys wouldn't be maybe the best team in football this year and the viewing figures would be better - the fact that you and a number of other fans were bored this year is proof that the NFL, while a product, is still a sport and not an entertainment show

[frozen joe flacco fan]

40 minutes ago, rossihunter2 said:

In this one short passage alone you have run yourself round in circles: if they were more interested in entertainment than winning then the cowboys wouldn't be maybe the best team in football this year and the viewing figures would be better - the fact that you and a number of other fans were bored this year is proof that the NFL, while a product, is still a sport and not an entertainment show

That's a 15 yard penalty for piling on! What I said is what Jerry Jones said, period. Professional football is becoming more entertainment and less sport with many games decided by P-poor officiating. The National Collegiate Championship Game was much more exciting than any Pro Game I watched all year. Unfortunately, I missed the Rose Bowl. The Cowgirls are as good as they are 'cause Jerry's kids outplayed our kids and his talent evaluators are better than ours. Put Zeke in the backfield with Joe Flacco and its a whole new ball game. I like running around in circles. It keeps me in shape and its entertaining. Do your homework and you'll find that the NFL brand is parity, except for the Patriots. Bill Belichick is so good that he and Harbaugh could switch jobs and Belichick would beat the Patriots with our team. You can take that to the M&T Bank! 

[UnitasGuy]

I know I'm a little late on the response but I absolutely have Harbaugh on the hot seat but he doesn't seem to concerned because as he said, him and Steve are friends. I have no issues with your friend working for you but honestly it's Steve Bisciotti team and it seems we will have John Harbaugh for one more year. I only hope he challenges himself to get better by watching the games again with an experienced outside football guy and explain some basic fundamental coaching decisions. Constructive criticism is good. A fresh set of eyes is good. Fresh perspective is required for growth. He obviously isn't at the top of his game, nor will anyone ever mistake him for a great motivator, not even a great offensive or defensive mind. Basically you have a fan/ friend running your team. Outside looking in, if you were to catalog all of the games where he went for it on 4th down within field goal range and we lost by 3 or less points we're in the playoffs 2016 and I bet you gain a game or 2 for each year we missed playoffs. I'm a loyal fan but I have little excitement for next year, hopefully something will happen to get me fired up before September. Stay tuned...

[rossihunter2]

1 hour ago, UnitasGuy said:

I know I'm a little late on the response but I absolutely have Harbaugh on the hot seat but he doesn't seem to concerned because as he said, him and Steve are friends. I have no issues with your friend working for you but honestly it's Steve Bisciotti team and it seems we will have John Harbaugh for one more year. I only hope he challenges himself to get better by watching the games again with an experienced outside football guy and explain some basic fundamental coaching decisions. Constructive criticism is good. A fresh set of eyes is good. Fresh perspective is required for growth. He obviously isn't at the top of his game, nor will anyone ever mistake him for a great motivator, not even a great offensive or defensive mind. Basically you have a fan/ friend running your team. Outside looking in, if you were to catalog all of the games where he went for it on 4th down within field goal range and we lost by 3 or less points we're in the playoffs 2016 and I bet you gain a game or 2 for each year we missed playoffs. I'm a loyal fan but I have little excitement for next year, hopefully something will happen to get me fired up before September. Stay tuned...

I think you've missed a lot of what harbs is and does - there's a reason that he's looked at by most of the league as a top 5 head coach and it's because he is a leader and somehow inspires his teams even in dire circumstances to play hard and close

[trevorsteadman]

9 hours ago, rossihunter2 said:

I think you've missed a lot of what harbs is and does - there's a reason that he's looked at by most of the league as a top 5 head coach and it's because he is a leader and somehow inspires his teams even in dire circumstances to play hard and close

I think a lot of people overlook the fact that he took the team to 5 straight playoff appearances and a super bowl with a couple others that could have been. What happened before the 2013 season when the team went 8-8? Matt Birk, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, and others out the door. Any coach dealing with that would be almost set up to fail. Also Boldin went out the door because of the struggle with cap space. That is 4 hall of famers on your team leaving and the team went 8-8 and to me that is actually probably overperforming. The team was more consistent on offense in 2014 that lead to them being in the playoffs but they weren't really much better than the team now. What needs to happen is there needs to be more continuity. Flacco can't be learning a new offense every time he brushes his teeth. He can't be throwing to new receivers every year, he can't have a new running back behind him every year, he can't have two rookies blocking his blindside.

It's not rocket science. When he played in the same offense for 5 seasons and was playing 3 years with Boldin and Smith what happened? Oh wait they won a super bowl. Their offensive line wasn't the best but played well down the stretch. But it is all about getting your quarterback comfortable in a system and finding decent pieces to put around him. 

People need to realize that Flacco had a bad season not because of Flacco. But the front office is not putting him in a situation to succeed. That is why I love the Mornhinweg move of staying at OC. He will put a new system in place next year unfortunately which is another system he will have to learn. But at least they have a half season under their belt working with one another.

[AsianRice]

2 minutes ago, trevorsteadman said:

I think a lot of people overlook the fact that he took the team to 5 straight playoff appearances and a super bowl with a couple others that could have been. What happened before the 2013 season when the team went 8-8? Matt Birk, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, and others out the door. Any coach dealing with that would be almost set up to fail. Also Boldin went out the door because of the struggle with cap space. That is 4 hall of famers on your team leaving and the team went 8-8 and to me that is actually probably overperforming. The team was more consistent on offense in 2014 that lead to them being in the playoffs but they weren't really much better than the team now. What needs to happen is there needs to be more continuity. Flacco can't be learning a new offense every time he brushes his teeth. He can't be throwing to new receivers every year, he can't have a new running back behind him every year, he can't have two rookies blocking his blindside.

It's not rocket science. When he played in the same offense for 5 seasons and was playing 3 years with Boldin and Smith what happened? Oh wait they won a super bowl. Their offensive line wasn't the best but played well down the stretch. But it is all about getting your quarterback comfortable in a system and finding decent pieces to put around him. 

People need to realize that Flacco had a bad season not because of Flacco. But the front office is not putting him in a situation to succeed. That is why I love the Mornhinweg move of staying at OC. He will put a new system in place next year unfortunately which is another system he will have to learn. But at least they have a half season under their belt working with one another.

I never dispute John should be gone in 2017; I wanted him to stay to improve his team in 2017, but if he shows no improvement like Bisciotti projected like 5, 8, 11 wins, his seat will be hot.  Bisciotti didn't expect him to prove that he needs to win SB in 2017 in order to sustain his career with the Ravens; Steve wants to see improvement, not downward spiral results.

 

11-5 is the absolute expectation for 2017 record, and John can't go lower than that.

 

Pressure on.............

[Adreme]

Saying 11-5 is the expectation considering the schedule seems a little more of a goal than the expectation especially considering there is still free agency and the draft with a couple important players possibly leaving.

Basically knowing the opponents and what they will likely be you are looking at around 9 or 10 wins as the expectation and to be fighting with Pittsburgh for the division again.  Depending on what happens in off season for a lot of teams that could go up or down.

[PurpleCity5]

38 minutes ago, Adreme said:

Saying 11-5 is the expectation considering the schedule seems a little more of a goal than the expectation especially considering there is still free agency and the draft with a couple important players possibly leaving.

Basically knowing the opponents and what they will likely be you are looking at around 9 or 10 wins as the expectation and to be fighting with Pittsburgh for the division again.  Depending on what happens in off season for a lot of teams that could go up or down.

There will no excuses in losing to teams we should beat. Biscotii is probably grinding his teeth at the thought the we lost to the Redskins at home, and to the Jets at New York, both are games we should have won. Maybe losing to the Redskins has some meaning considering the replacement at OC, but Trestman's days were numbered anyways. If you can't pull out the win vs Washington than beat the Bengals week 17 and make the postseason. 

I think this season will be a no-excuse season for Harbaugh unless we have another injury plagued year. 

[Purple_City39]

I think it's amazing how easily a few games can make such a huge difference in the perception of a HC.  One extra win in 2013 and they were a playoff team even with all the players lost and the worst run game in league history.  Mosely doesn't fall against the Steelers and he helps wrap up Brown and we sweep and likely beat the Bengals also since the team would have had motivation to actually play.

Just that and Harbaugh makes the playoffs 7 straight years, makes it 8 of 9 years overall, and nobody questions how warm his seat is.  Two games play out differently and Harbaugh is the man practically unanimously as opposed a 50/50 split.