Next Up: Ravens vs Eagles M&T Bank Stadium December 18, 1300

[trevorsteadman]

Just a fun thing to remember to give people hope about the season....

The Ravens won the 2013 Super Bowl without their best corner who went down in Week 5 against Dallas. That corner was Lardarius Webb but at the time he was called the team's shut down guy. The team is lucky to see what happens against the Eagles to then make adjustments for the Bengals and Steelers. But they need to do it quick. I think we may see Weddle in coverage a lot more instead of in the box to try to help those corners out.

[Swift 1]

On 12/13/2016 at 0:00 AM, ludy51 said:

For all of you who called the Pat's game a must win, take note.

THIS is what a must-win game looks like

The next game against New England WILL be a MUST game.

 

[Ravens4Real]

No sign of Jimmy Smith again today. Thankfully Philly doesn't have the passing attack to expose this secondary.

[Drew P]

1 minute ago, Ravens4Real said:

No sign of Jimmy Smith again today. Thankfully Philly doesn't have the passing attack to expose this secondary.

Flashback! Case Keenum

[EdTheMythicalOne]

1 hour ago, Ravens4Real said:

No sign of Jimmy Smith again today. Thankfully Philly doesn't have the passing attack to expose this secondary.

Josh McCown and the woeful Browns ring any bells? Never forget the ability for the Ravens secondary missing its starters to make the average or below average QB look like a budding super star.

It is a winnable game. The Ravens can shut down the run and hopefully they can confuse a rookie QB enough to get to him for sacks.

[DomMcRaven]

13 hours ago, I*Bleed*Purple said:

Well then we're screwed. We MIGHT get past the Eagles, but we'll lose our last two games. 

That's how I see it. This offense just can't be trusted on the road especially since the Steelers defense tends to play better at home (heck they've been playing better as of late regardless).

5 hours ago, Rav'n Maniac said:

Brace yourself, the wrath of Mili is upon you. 

Calm before the storm. 

[usmccharles]

Well Jimmy is out....this should be fun

[redlobster]

1 hour ago, usmccharles said:

Well Jimmy is out....this should be fun

Was it ever a question that he would be out this week? A CB with a nasty ankle sprain is out the next weeks game, plus of all the games he could sit, Philly would be the better choice than Cincy and Pitt.

[usmccharles]

21 minutes ago, redlobster said:

Was it ever a question that he would be out this week? A CB with a nasty ankle sprain is out the next weeks game, plus of all the games he could sit, Philly would be the better choice than Cincy and Pitt.

I agree.  Just gonna expect some no name wr to have a career day

[robbie29]

4 hours ago, Swift 1 said:

The next game against New England WILL be a MUST game.

 

You mean when we play them again in 2019? I mean let's be real- we know what to expect with this year's team, and this year's team ain't winning 3 in a row. Sorry, that's just reality. 

[Bent_Wookie]

Win this game and there is a realistic chance at winning the division on Christmas, in Pittsburgh. That is epic folks. One game at a time...

[usmccharles]

36 minutes ago, robbie29 said:

You mean when we play them again in 2019? I mean let's be real- we know what to expect with this year's team, and this year's team ain't winning 3 in a row. Sorry, that's just reality. 

To be fair, reality is if we win 3 in a row we are in the playoffs.  It's definitely possible, however not likely.  I don't think we can go into Pitt and win, so I think we get a terrible Christmas present

[callahan09]

1 hour ago, Bent_Wookie said:

Win this game and there is a realistic chance at winning the division on Christmas, in Pittsburgh. That is epic folks. One game at a time...

If we beat the Eagles and the Steelers lose to the Bengals this weekend, then the Christmas game decides who wins the division (unless it's a tie, blech).

[Bent_Wookie]

2 minutes ago, callahan09 said:

If we beat the Eagles and the Steelers lose to the Bengals this weekend, then the Christmas game decides who wins the division (unless it's a tie, blech).

Right! Doesn't seem impossible! Would make for an even awesomer day should we win and they lose next week...

[omar586]

will see how horrible wright and powers play this sunday, gosh they are always chasing WRs i never see them challenging them. always a nightmare.

[Militant X 1]

“Everything we do this week has to be intentional. What we eat, what we drink, how much we sleep, how we prepare, how we practice. Intentional. Focused. Everything," Steve Smith, Sr. told me Wednesday afternoon.

“You almost have to wake up on the wrong the side of bed every morning this week. Pissed off at the way we played Monday night and carry that into Sunday. Lay it all out there against the Eagles. You can’t be afraid about it. You can’t be afraid to make the play. MAKE THE PLAY! That’s my mindset, and that’s what I look for from my teammates and coaches.

“You can say every game has high value. But, this game, and the two after, have higher value. YOU CANNOT PLAY REGRET FOOTBALL,” Smith continued. “We have to play smart, and that can include taking some risks. Play!”

^ There is NOTHING else to add to this, say or debate about!

GO RAVENS!!

[Militant X 1]

16 hours ago, ludy51 said:

Break out game!

Awww damn!  You to ludy?  Good grief!  It's turning into an epidemic in this place.  

16 hours ago, Rav'n Maniac said:

Brace yourself, the wrath of Mili is upon you. 

These cats are hurting me with all of this offensive "break out" nonsense Rav'n. 

11 hours ago, DomMcRaven said:

That's how I see it. This offense just can't be trusted on the road especially since the Steelers defense tends to play better at home (heck they've been playing better as of late regardless).

Calm before the storm. 

They can't be trusted in general imo Dom.

Edited December 17, 2016 by Militant X 1

[nextgen_RavensFan]

I personally just am going to enjoy the rest of the season. No expectations of anything past week 17. Just would like to see some form of stability on offense. Everyone has the right to be a little on edge with our offensive woes as it usually is our downfall season in and season out. So let's jusr enjoy it as this may be SSR's last season and he shows the only real passion on the team besides Wallace.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

5 hours ago, Militant X 1 said:

“Everything we do this week has to be intentional. What we eat, what we drink, how much we sleep, how we prepare, how we practice. Intentional. Focused. Everything," Steve Smith, Sr. told me Wednesday afternoon.

“You almost have to wake up on the wrong the side of bed every morning this week. Pissed off at the way we played Monday night and carry that into Sunday. Lay it all out there against the Eagles. You can’t be afraid about it. You can’t be afraid to make the play. MAKE THE PLAY! That’s my mindset, and that’s what I look for from my teammates and coaches.

“You can say every game has high value. But, this game, and the two after, have higher value. YOU CANNOT PLAY REGRET FOOTBALL,” Smith continued. “We have to play smart, and that can include taking some risks. Play!”

^ There is NOTHING else to add to this, say or debate about!

GO RAVENS!!

And if you don't make the play, tear off your helmet, chuck it down the field 15 yards or so, kick something nearby like a stray football, then walk off the field and go cry about it in the corner. Because that's how you should handle adversity. Don't work on it to get better. Just go sulk about it after you throw a temper tantrum that would rival a three year old's.

[January J]

15 hours ago, robbie29 said:

You mean when we play them again in 2019? I mean let's be real- we know what to expect with this year's team, and this year's team ain't winning 3 in a row. Sorry, that's just reality. 

We won 7 straight games to start the season ( including preseason) and that was before we had learned anything about our team and with trestman. Unfortunately marty hasn't shown me anything different but its certainly possible. Realistically i see us winning 2 of 3 and having a strong shot at the wildcard but who knows.

[RavensPunkXVX]

5 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

And if you don't make the play, tear off your helmet, chuck it down the field 15 yards or so, kick something nearby like a stray football, then walk off the field and go cry about it in the corner. Because that's how you should handle adversity. Don't work on it to get better. Just go sulk about it after you throw a temper tantrum that would rival a three year old's.

Hilarious. A dude has a little fire in him so you break it down as a tantrum. He's a fierce competitor, sometimes it's okay to let it out. Maybe he should write Joey a strongly worded letter next time. 

[BKeyser]

Looking for comments...

Trying to figure out the current thinking regarding defensive game-planning in a pass-happy NFL. I'm no football coach and never played in an organized league, so I understand that smarter people than me are making these decisions. But hear me out.

Why 3-4? Seems to me that a few things have been trending for some time: Receivers are getting bigger and running backs, with few exceptions, are becoming obsolete. Quarterbacks are bigger and quicker on the release, and every NFL quarterback can carve up a zone D on a 7-step drop and 5 or 6 seconds to survey the field.

Why not 6-2-3? Six down linemen, 340 lbs, 300 lbs, and 270lbs from middle out, two 220-250 lbs linebackers, and three 200 pounders in the secondary. The linebackers would be of the hybrid style that can play run or pass, and there are six guys going for the QB on every play. This means the offense has to keep at least six guys in to block, plus the running back. That's 7 behind the line and up to four running patterns against 5 in the secondary. The quarterback gets three seconds to throw, routes are shorter, and no one gets beat deep. A good tackling team should theoretically hold completions to short gains and the D-line will rack up the sacks. A poor tackling team might get beat on YAC though.

Of course OC's will work up something to defeat this. Maybe the run game, but with disciplined DE's setting the edge, smallish running backs will struggle running into a 12-man line. Screens to TE's maybe, but screens usually take a while to develop and the idea behind two extra guys on the d-line should prevent that. And there's one consistent reality with Quarterbacks: if you make them react faster, they turn the ball over more.

I'm tired of watching our D get sliced up by QB's like Tom Brady when a 3 and 4-man rush never gets close to him. These guys are too good, and the secondary is at a huge disadvantage. I don't know. Maybe this makes no sense at all.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

1 hour ago, BKeyser said:

Looking for comments...

Trying to figure out the current thinking regarding defensive game-planning in a pass-happy NFL. I'm no football coach and never played in an organized league, so I understand that smarter people than me are making these decisions. But hear me out.

Why 3-4? Seems to me that a few things have been trending for some time: Receivers are getting bigger and running backs, with few exceptions, are becoming obsolete. Quarterbacks are bigger and quicker on the release, and every NFL quarterback can carve up a zone D on a 7-step drop and 5 or 6 seconds to survey the field.

Why not 6-2-3? Six down linemen, 340 lbs, 300 lbs, and 270lbs from middle out, two 220-250 lbs linebackers, and three 200 pounders in the secondary. The linebackers would be of the hybrid style that can play run or pass, and there are six guys going for the QB on every play. This means the offense has to keep at least six guys in to block, plus the running back. That's 7 behind the line and up to four running patterns against 5 in the secondary. The quarterback gets three seconds to throw, routes are shorter, and no one gets beat deep. A good tackling team should theoretically hold completions to short gains and the D-line will rack up the sacks. A poor tackling team might get beat on YAC though.

Of course OC's will work up something to defeat this. Maybe the run game, but with disciplined DE's setting the edge, smallish running backs will struggle running into a 12-man line. Screens to TE's maybe, but screens usually take a while to develop and the idea behind two extra guys on the d-line should prevent that. And there's one consistent reality with Quarterbacks: if you make them react faster, they turn the ball over more.

I'm tired of watching our D get sliced up by QB's like Tom Brady when a 3 and 4-man rush never gets close to him. These guys are too good, and the secondary is at a huge disadvantage. I don't know. Maybe this makes no sense at all.

 

You're basically describing(in a very vague sense) the original 46 which is obsolete in today's NFL. Quick release offenses have nullified the pass rush aspect and a cb who you can trust to hold up with today's receivers on quick breaks are rare. Then you have nobody back deep on clean up duty. And you need zone drops from your lbs to make the qb hold the ball a little longer because it clogs throwing lanes.

[DomMcRaven]

14 hours ago, Militant X 1 said:

They can't be trusted in general imo Dom.

I trust them A LITTLE BIT more at home. Just a little bit. 

[BKeyser]

17 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

You're basically describing(in a very vague sense) the original 46 which is obsolete in today's NFL. Quick release offenses have nullified the pass rush aspect and a cb who you can trust to hold up with today's receivers on quick breaks are rare. Then you have nobody back deep on clean up duty. And you need zone drops from your lbs to make the qb hold the ball a little longer because it clogs throwing lanes.

Except, in practicality, that's not happening. The longer the QB holds the ball, the more likely a completion, if not a big gainer. We play a version of man, cover 2, or prevent on virtually every down and [almost] only when we get pressure on the QB, do we have success. I guess I'm from the Wade Phillips school of defensive scheming. Or Rex Ryan's. I loathe soft D's reacting rather than dictating.

Of course, when you're number one most of the year, it's hard to argue for change.

[JoeyFlex5]

22 minutes ago, BKeyser said:

Except, in practicality, that's not happening. The longer the QB holds the ball, the more likely a completion, if not a big gainer. We play a version of man, cover 2, or prevent on virtually every down and [almost] only when we get pressure on the QB, do we have success. I guess I'm from the Wade Phillips school of defensive scheming. Or Rex Ryan's. I loathe soft D's reacting rather than dictating.

Of course, when you're number one most of the year, it's hard to argue for change.

You nailed it in your last sentence. That heavy blitz doesn't work. Most of the great defenses in the league play heavy cover 2 or 3 with a 4 man rush and the occasional disguised blitz. Denver is the only great defense I can think of that schemes heavy pressure and they just happen to have maybe the best secondary in the league and a brilliant DC.

[Wildabeast88]

On December 13, 2016 at 5:33 PM, OUravensfan said:

If we don't win the division than I hope the Bengals do, my friends can have it this year, they'd rather lose and get a better draft pick at this point. It would be funny if this was the year they win a playoff game, it would also be funny to see them lose one too.

You're absolutely right to not be overconfident in these games, we'd be crazy to be, there is no offensive scheme, Flacco fit Kubiak's scheme better, this has him throwing too much for little gain, a run game could change that.

It's a little late for hoping to lose for a pick if we wanted that we should have started 6 weeks ago to be top 10 not 18th or so because 18-32 there are small differences but top 10 would be a bigger jump in talent

[Deflated Football]

On 12/16/2016 at 2:44 PM, usmccharles said:

To be fair, reality is if we win 3 in a row we are in the playoffs.  It's definitely possible, however not likely.  I don't think we can go into Pitt and win, so I think we get a terrible Christmas present

Now if we don't do that, our season is all but over, correct? What a failure it will be if we win these next weeks only to lose to the Bengals because they want to spoil our party. Unfortunately, I could see it happening. 

[frozen joe flacco fan]

One game at a time. This game may well be a defining moment for the team and the head coach. If we lose to the green birds, we could be facing the prospect of having lost our last four games. I don't think our owner will take kindly to finishing up with 4 straight losses and going 4-9 after starting 3-0 but that's just me. Good luck, Coach Harbaugh! Make it happen!!

[Inqui]

1 hour ago, Deflated Football said:

Now if we don't do that, our season is all but over, correct? What a failure it will be if we win these next weeks only to lose to the Bengals because they want to spoil our party. Unfortunately, I could see it happening. 

Or Joe takes a shot to the knee in primetime and even though we eke out a win we lose a spot in the playoffs because we lose to the Bengals in the last week because Joe's on one leg for the whole game.

That'd be a horrible way to end a season.