RSR Article on Ravens

[Sami84]

http://russellstreetreport.com/2016/10/11/lombardis-way/who-are-the-baltimore-ravens/

 

 

[berad]

Please add your own content/commentary to this post, it's an orphan link

[Sami84]

Basically,

look guys..eventually people are going to realize that even the homers ( such as rmcjacket23) are just kidding themselves. The writing has been on the wall for a while now. taking out the kool aid juice which all homers live on its clear that the ravens situation is approaching that of the bears and cutler. It hasn't reached that level yet BUT that's the trajectory of this franchise. Joe flacco is not a good quarterback. He's an average QB whos capable of a few big moments and if you are lucky, like we were in post season 2012, he can have a streak. overall, if he were playing for the browns they still wouldn't have sniffed the playoffs. He isnt worth our long term investment. His QBR or whatever ratings you wish to bestow upon him are middle of the pack or lower. However, while i dont see us making the post season for a long long time, flacco isnt the MAIN issue..he is a big one. He's vastly overrated by the FO and homer fans who use Kyle Boller as a benchmark..but the biggest issue is John Harbaugh and the FO. They have little to 0 eye for talent and their player development is pretty awful. We have mismanaged the cap and have also placed too much emphasis on special teams, to the point where it could be backfiring on the players by putting so much pressure on simple tasks. We also have a coach who knows that our team cannot beat down the opponent and needs to scrape by and yet refuses to take points KNOWING that every game we play goes down to the last possesion.

 

John Harbaugh has been a losing coach since the SB season along with Joe Fluko. He's also a bit of an emotional wreck on the sideline. Whenever someone states a pretty damning but truthful question or fact he gets so passive aggressive or defensive rather than admit the cold hard truth. My question to the homers on this forum, unlike the RSF forum which doesn't sugar coat things, why does everyone here seems to think the John Harbs- Joe Flacco combination is the only hope we have?..I also think Ozzie/ Eric De costa are washed up in their abilities. Our draft picks since 2009 have been forgettable and our team isnt even talked about. We're irrelevant. You can talk about the market etc but the truth is, we are irrelevant because we don't have personalities and superstar ability to go with it.

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2016 by Sami84

[redlobster]

Regardless of anybody's feelings etc, Flacco will be with the team until 2019 at the earliest, cap consequences would be catastrophic. 

[Sami84]

2 minutes ago, redlobster said:

Regardless of anybody's feelings etc, Flacco will be with the team until 2019 at the earliest, cap consequences would be catastrophic. 

 

biggest mistake in the FO's recent history was giving him that extension.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Sami84

[Edug27]

3 minutes ago, Sami84 said:

John Harbaugh has been a losing coach since the SB season along with Joe Fluko.

Let's not over do it now.

8-8 (had a chance to make the playoffs up until the last game of the season)

10-6 (beat the Steelers on the road in the playoffs)

5-11 (injury plagued season)

3-2 (remains to be seen)

[Sami84]

1 minute ago, Edug27 said:

Let's not over do it now.

8-8 (had a chance to make the playoffs up until the last game of the season)

10-6 (beat the Steelers on the road in the playoffs)

5-11 (injury plagued season)

3-2 (remains to be seen)

1

we're a middle of the pack team thats trending downwards. Also, when was it the last time we won a game by more than 6 points? how old were you when it happened. Why are we actually awful to watch? We don't play good football. 2014 btw was the only time i said we'd make the post season out of all so far. We had a well balanced side and suggs doom mcphee, ngata, jernigan, williams etc was the reason why. I also heralded the Steve smith signing..

 

until this team can show it can handle injury adversity, it's not a good team nor is it a well coached team. It certaintly is not a FO i'd want to handle my draft lol

[rmcjacket23]

Wow, I got called a "homer", and I'm usually the guy saying a lot more negative things about the team than the actual "homers".

Well this is awkward...

[rmcjacket23]

15 minutes ago, Sami84 said:

biggest mistake in the FO's recent history was giving him that extension.

Excellent hindsight analysis, as usual.

[Edug27]

16 minutes ago, Sami84 said:

we're a middle of the pack team thats trending downwards. Also, when was it the last time we won a game by more than 6 points? how old were you when it happened. Why are we actually awful to watch? We don't play good football. 2014 btw was the only time i said we'd make the post season out of all so far. We had a well balanced side and suggs doom mcphee, ngata, jernigan, williams etc was the reason why. I also heralded the Steve smith signing..

 

until this team can show it can handle injury adversity, it's not a good team nor is it a well coached team. It certaintly is not a FO i'd want to handle my draft lol

Again.. Perspective...  We've been a middle of the pack team for all of 1.3 seasons. 2015 was the first season under Harbs where we weren't playoff contenders. Bad season all around. A lot of blame to go around there as well. Injuries didn't help either.

So far in 2016, some issues have been corrected, but there are still some things from last year that are still biting us on the field. This is where Harbs needs to right the ship. We are 3-2 with a tough schedule coming up. New OC coming on board. Let's see how the rest of the season starts to play out. 

Edited October 13, 2016 by Edug27

[rmcjacket23]

I do find one thing particularly amusing about the article... Lombardi's lack of understanding of what Steve cares about or how a business works.

1. Broker ticket prices have nothing to do with Steve. He doesn't make a dime off broker ticket sales... the seats have already been sold to the brokers, so what the broker sells it for has nothing to do with Steve. And as such, broker prices tend to rise and fall with the on-field success. When a team is good, broker prices are usually high. When they aren't good, they fall. Applies to 32 NFL teams.

2. Empty seats doesn't equate to tickets not sold... at all. Empty seats can be tickets that were sold where nobody shows up for whatever reason they choose.

As it were, I checked the Ravens official ticket sales site to see if I could buy any tickets to the Ravens next home game against the Steelers. They have a grand total of one ticket available. That means that every single other ticket in the building has been sold. THAT is what Steve cares about. When he has 5,000 unsold tickets for a game, that's a problem. When all of his tickets are being snatched up by brokers and they don't sell them, that's not really his problem, because he gets the revenue stream from the broker buying the ticket. He would obviously prefer a full stadium, but it doesn't necessarily hurt his bottom line in terms of ticket sales. 

A bit disappointed that somebody writing for RSR doesn't understand this concept.

 

[Ravensdoordie]

I agree with you sami84 about Harbaugh... I can live with Flacco as our QB ... he is to me one of the better QB's in the 

NFL... I think if they gave him more of a free reign to do what he feels is needed on the field rather then have to go by

someone else calling the plays we would be a lot better off... Also, I truly can not evaluate how good he is because of

the Oline he is always under..... They offer him no protection at all... I think if he were a little more mobile and rolled

out from the pocket more often he would get better results. 

 

I agree 100% with you about Harbaugh ...I never liked him and think he definitely needs to go. No matter how bad we are now 

at this point our record should be 5 - 0 but because of harbaughs lack of confidence in the offense to score points and the defense to prevent points he makes boneheaded decisions that cost us both games we lost this year...not to mention other games in past years...

also his sticking with his friends that he hires for too long and making excuses for them as well...

the final straw with him is he was formally a special teams coach and they were a complete joke this past week against the redskins....

 

biscotti ti after this season needs to get rid of him... And I still think it was biscotti getting involved in the firing of testerman and not all completely Harbaugh that had him fired...hopefully, biscotti is getting tired of Harbaugh and after a losing season will finally get another head coach.... 

 

To me a head coach should have a vision of what he wants his team to be... And then hire the personell to carry out his vision... In my opinion it appears to be the other way around on this team....

 

lastly, , I see you take a lot of flack on this forum for your opinions... That is why I came here thinking it was going to be different from the scout forums where the click ruled and everyone had to bow to them as if they knew it all... And if they didn't they were banned or completely ignored..  I am starting to find out quickly with some of the answers to some members of this forum that things are a lot similar to that dying forum that only a handful sof people even visit... And they ask why has there site gone down hill.. They can't even see it is because of their know it all attitude and people finally got tired of it.... 

So hopefully, you respect my opinion... And I like a lot of what you say....

[Cawtious]

3 minutes ago, Sami84 said:

Basically,

look guys..eventually people are going to realize that even the homers ( such as rmcjacket23) are just kidding themselves. The writing has been on the wall for a while now. taking out the kool aid juice which all homers live on its clear that the ravens situation is approaching that of the bears and cutler. It hasn't reached that level yet BUT that's the trajectory of this franchise. Joe flacco is not a good quarterback. He's an average QB whos capable of a few big moments and if you are lucky, like we were in post season 2012, he can have a streak. overall, if he were playing for the browns they still wouldn't have sniffed the playoffs. He isnt worth our long term investment.

 

 

 

There is more to Joe's struggles right now than Joe.  Get him making play calls and having more input into the game planning.  Use his abilities fully and I think you'll see a different result.

[rmcjacket23]

7 minutes ago, Edug27 said:

Again.. Perspective...  We've been a middle of the pack team for all of 1.3 seasons. 2015 was the first season under Harbs where we weren't playoff contenders. Bad season all around. A lot of blame to go around there as well. Injuries didn't help either.

So far in 2016, some issues have been corrected, but there are still some things from last year that are still biting us on the field. This is where Harbs needs to right the ship. We are 3-2 with a tough schedule coming up. New OC coming on board. Let's see how the rest of the season starts to play out. 

As I've said before, there are some fans on this board who quite frankly could use a decade of straight losing. Like a Buffalo/Cleveland level time period, where all they know is losing. I think some fans on these boards have said and done more than enough to earn that.

I'm not interested in seeing that personally, and most aren't, but if it were to happen, I can say it would be the obvious silver lining for me. I'd come on these boards and laugh at all the "fans" who wanted to tear down the place after a bad season. They're so clueless about what's happening around the league that they don't even understand how difficult it is to win even for a few years.

 

[Militant X 1]

This meme is so on point!  

I also agree with the questions in the article....."Who are the Baltimore Ravens and what kind of team are they?"  The article even mentioned the dreaded "I" word..."IDENTITY" and the Ravens lack thereof.  I can remember when myself and a few other fans mentioned this lack of "Identity" in here a few months back.  Our views about this were quickly dismissed and cats insisted that the Ravens didn't need an identity (of being a running or passing team etc.) to win football games.  Really?  In my Dr. Phil voice; "How's that working for ya?"

My opinion is that the FO and coaching staff seem to be really trying their best (to no avail) to make this team into what they clearly are not....a quick strike, spread'em out 3-5 wide, high octane offense to accommodate Joe Flacco's huge arm. This is a passing league....I get it!  But you also have to have the personnel for that.  Joe functions best by utilizing a strong and physical rushing attack, TE's and playaction.  I also believe that he can utilize the Gun formations effectively as a change of pace.  I miss the days of our "3-headed" monster in our rushing attack!  I miss the days of ground and pounding our opponents into submission while we control the clock.

There's an old African proverb that states; "Be who you is cause you can't be who you ain't!"  The Ravens need to take that to heart.

GO RAVENS!!

Edited October 13, 2016 by Militant X 1

[jboy19]

I think it's fair to complain about the over-inclusion of pure special teamers on the gameday roster when their contributions have been few and far between. I think it's fair to complain about Harbaugh's decisions in the past couple games to an extent. Also, I think it's fair to complain about the lack of success of more recent draft classes. I'm usually one of the more defensive posters on here defending players and coaches, but I do think there are a decent amount of gripes. I don't think the team is in a hopeless downward at this point though. I have no idea if Mornhinweg is going to turn things around on offense. It'd be hard to with the injuries along the line. But if the offense can play just better enough to put one more touchdown on the board every game, this team will be in decent shape. Its going to be hard to snag a wildcard spot, but I don't think it's out of reach quite yet. 

[OUravensfan]

Without having read it I'm assuming it's very negative and the only success on the horizon would come if we change coaches and QB?

[rmcjacket23]

4 minutes ago, Militant X 1 said:

This meme is so on point!  

I also agree with the questions in the article....."Who are the Baltimore Ravens and what kind of team are they?"  The article even mentioned the dreaded "I" word..."IDENTITY" and the Ravens lack thereof.  I can remember when myself and a few other fans mentioned this lack of "Identity" in here a few months back.  Our views about this were quickly dismissed and cats insisted that the Ravens didn't need an identity (of being a running or passing team etc.) to win football games.  Really?  In my Dr. Phil voice; "How's that working for ya?"

My opinion is that the FO and coaching staff seem to be really trying their best (to no avail) to make this team into what they clearly are not....a quick strike, spread'em out 3-5 wide, high octane offense to accommodate Joe Flacco's huge arm. This is a passing league....I get it!  But to me, you also have to have the personnel for that.  But to me, Joe functions best by utilizing a strong and physical rushing attack, TE's and playaction.  I also believe that he can utilize the Gun formations effectively as a change of pace.  I miss the days of our "3-headed" monster in our rushing attack!  I miss the days of ground and pounding our opponents into submission while we control the clock.  Fix it!

Yeah but those days are done pretty much league-wide. There isn't a team in the league that does that anymore. 

Even the teams that other fans consider to be "physical" are throwing the ball 450 times a year, and their defenses are usually more sound in the back end than they are in the front end. Long gone are the days of the 08 Ravens/Steelers rivalry where both teams would just line up and run the ball at each other and see who breaks first. Just not smart football anymore.

Teams can be physical and want to run the ball, but its not anywhere near the level it used to be and it won't be anytime soon. 

Edited October 13, 2016 by rmcjacket23

[Sami84]

Here is my question. Can this team win EVEN when there are more than a couple of key injuries?

unlike other teams who have gone into games ( heck the redskins were missing 5 key defensive players)..it seems that unless we have 95% of our strongest roster out there we cant/

[Sami84]

2 minutes ago, OUravensfan said:

Without having read it I'm assuming it's very negative and the only success on the horizon would come if we change coaches and QB?

more about the coaches. Harbs and the FO are actually a bigger issue than flacco.

[OUravensfan]

1 minute ago, Sami84 said:

Here is my question. Can this team win EVEN when there are more than a couple of key injuries?

unlike other teams who have gone into games ( heck the redskins were missing 5 key defensive players)..it seems that unless we have 95% of our strongest roster out there we cant/

Looks like we'll find that answer out the next few weeks unfortunately 

[Militant X 1]

5 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Yeah but those days are done pretty much league-wide. There isn't a team in the league that does that anymore. 

Even the teams that other fans consider to be "physical" are throwing the ball 450 times a year, and their defenses are usually more sound in the back end than they are in the front end. Long gone are the days of the 08 Ravens/Steelers rivalry where both teams would just line up and run the ball at each other and see who breaks first. Just not smart football anymore.

Teams can be physical and want to run the ball, but its not anywhere near the level it used to be and it won't be anytime soon. 

I get that Jacket but to totally abandon the run when it was working?  Again, I'm cool with throwing the football.  I get that but don't go away from your true or purest identity is what I'm saying.  And if you do; bring in the proper personnel to do so.  Do you feel that this receiving core can be that high octane and explosive passing unit?  I don't think so but I'm willing to hear your take on it.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Militant X 1

[OUravensfan]

2 minutes ago, Militant X 1 said:

I get that Jacket but to totally abandon the run when it was working?  Again, I'm cool with throwing the football.  I get that but don't go away from your true or purest identity is what I'm saying.  And if you do; bring in the proper personnel to do so.  Do you feel that this receiving core can be that high octane and explosive passing unit?  I don't think so but I'm willing to hear your take on it.

If we're gonna have 3 starting offensive lineman out I prefer to run into a wall every play versus watching Joe get demolished. 

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I disagree with @rmcjacket23 at times... but my gosh, is it spot on that some here deserve a decade of Browns-like football.

 

Only would a bunch of spoiled babies cry about their 3-2 team, that could and probably should be 5-0, and analytically is still one of about 7-8 teams with an above 50% chance of making the playoffs be all chicken little, doom and gloom. 

Regardless of what you think about Joe Flacco, i dont think even his biggest haters would say theres more than maybe 12-14 QBs better than him in the NFL... and thats 12-14 QBs drafted over probably 15-20 years. So, our team is stupid for choosing to hitch their saddle to one thats already proven in the right situation CAN win you a SB... and not just ride your coat tails to one... can actually LEAD you to one...

And instead should take that 10 year roll of the dice where history pretty much bares out that you have less than a 50% chance of finding a better QB over the next decade plus. Yea, smart business right there. Wah, i think i can do better and even though logic, as much as i hate it, tells me i have a similar shot of winning the Power Ball... I'm going to run the success of my franchise on the hopes of a scratch off ticket basically.

It's like youve got a $1m winner in your hand; but because theres a handful of $5m winners, two $10m, and one $100m winner out there - let's trade that cool mill in... well bc theres like a 25% that at some point in the next decade we COULD find someone better.... even though the chances of doing so in any given year approach maybe 3% or less.

 

On to Harbs... i think literally everyone who is considered a professional in the field of football considers Harbs one of THE BEST in the field... well outside of Baltimore media, well and of course fans... but i said professionals. 

Lets try and trade up... bc there's like 1 guy EVER who's been better. Oh, but hes on a downward trajectory!! Except he got off to a tie for the franchise best start ever this year while playing badly. We looked downright BAD in 2012 for a long stretch and you same people who think you're so smart were knee jerking to change everything and fire this and that... until it turned around and worked.

The Steelers and Tomlin went through a funk for a couple years. They're back now, but for a couple years there they werent themselves. Well they were transitioning away from an identity with all-time, all-time type players and coaches leaving. It took some time, but the Rooneys patience and faith in that there arent many better than their guy out there, and therefore impatience would be stupid - served them well. They're back and very much a contender.

Bisciotti's patience will prove the same.

 

The defense has been this team's identity forever. It was going through  transition, and has been infused with talent. It's back.

And now they're working through the offense. It just needs to be good enough, and it will be. You watch.

 

And when we're in the playoffs, competing down to the wire with the Steelers, Patriots and Broncos.... you dont get to enjoy it. Grass is always greener. I swear some people wouldnt know a good football coach, good GM, good QB, good football period if it smacked em in the face. 

Things always even out. Our formula is tried and true. Eventually a time will come for Harbs to go... where Oz will retire, where Joe is no longer the solution as Ravens QB - but we're not there yet. In fact, we're a ways off.

 

 

Edited October 13, 2016 by BOLDnPurPnBlacK

[rmcjacket23]

19 minutes ago, Militant X 1 said:

I get that Jacket but to totally abandon the run when it was working?  Again, I'm cool with throwing the football.  I get that but don't go away from your true or purest identity is what I'm saying.  And if you do; bring in the proper personnel to do so.  Do you feel that this receiving core can be that high octane and explosive passing unit?  I don't think so but I'm willing to hear your take on it.

That's not what I'm saying. I want the team to run the ball more, because frankly, its hard to run the ball less. Has nothing to do with it.

I generally find that most people who are living in the past and want the "smashmouth" or "Ravens football" to come back are the guys who want to see the reincarnation of the 2008 Ravens.

It was a tough defense that stopped the run well, we ran the ball 600 times (about 35-40 times a game) and Joe would throw the ball about 20-25 times a game in a game manager role. We just lined up and ran it up the middle and punished people. I think that's what people want.

The problem is... they're never going to get that. Not for many, many years. No team in the league does that anymore, mostly because it wouldn't be effective.

[BmoreBird22]

56 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

A bit disappointed that somebody writing for RSR doesn't understand this concept.

I truly, truly believe that Brian McFarland and Ken McKusiak are their only quality writers. No idea why those two aren't pursuing something a little more well known and credible, but it is what it is.

[PurpleCity5]

1 hour ago, rmcjacket23 said:

That's not what I'm saying. I want the team to run the ball more, because frankly, its hard to run the ball less. Has nothing to do with it.

I generally find that most people who are living in the past and want the "smashmouth" or "Ravens football" to come back are the guys who want to see the reincarnation of the 2008 Ravens.

It was a tough defense that stopped the run well, we ran the ball 600 times (about 35-40 times a game) and Joe would throw the ball about 20-25 times a game in a game manager role. We just lined up and ran it up the middle and punished people. I think that's what people want.

The problem is... they're never going to get that. Not for many, many years. No team in the league does that anymore, mostly because it wouldn't be effective.

Agree with all points. You won't have that Ravens team anymore. We need to be able to win by the pass. Everyone on this board is clamoring for an elite offense well all of the elite offenses in the league have a lethal passing attack. 

[PurpleCity5]

LOL, some of you all really do deserve a decade of Cleveland Browns misery. 

We're 3-2, not 1-4 like Carolina or 2-3 like Arizona. Look at our scheduled, if we pull out this win against the Giants than we have a very favorable match up against the Jets and you're looking at a 5-2 record. After that we got Pitt at home and that game could put us 1st in the division. 

Some of you guys are seriously hilarious. 

[Sami84]

27 minutes ago, PurpleCity5 said:

LOL, some of you all really do deserve a decade of Cleveland Browns misery. 

We're 3-2, not 1-4 like Carolina or 2-3 like Arizona. Look at our scheduled, if we pull out this win against the Giants than we have a very favorable match up against the Jets and you're looking at a 5-2 record. After that we got Pitt at home and that game could put us 1st in the division. 

Some of you guys are seriously hilarious. 

 

when its 5-2 let me know..

5-2 was the minimum required taking into account the next half of the schedule.

We probably aint beating the giants..esp with a patched up offensive line.

[rmcjacket23]

Just now, Sami84 said:

when its 5-2 let me know..

5-2 was the minimum required taking into account the next half of the schedule.

We probably aint beating the giants..esp with a patched up offensive line.

No such thing as a minimum requirement. Inferior teams beat better teams on a weekly basis in this league, so all of the "guaranteed losses" some of these clowns think they see on the back end of our schedule are far from it.

We beat a really good Pittsburgh team last season with guys from the movie The Replacements, but all of the sudden its a guaranteed loss this year.

As usual, the real world deviates substantially from the world some of you are living in.