[News] Late For Work 1/2: Will Ravens Call Gary Kubiak After He Steps Down in Denver?

[Johnny-U]

  3 hours ago, sami said:

  5 hours ago, mrc724 said:

there has to be more changes to the coaching staff. Why are the Ravens so enamored with Pees. The secondary coach didn't change the pitiful secondary. There are many player who have to be let go.

They are enamored by him cuz we had the #1-#5 defense thru out the year. Our secondary was much better than last years. Our biggest problem was our pass rush. Not so much the players but the way it was set up. We kept getting in each others way.

Yes but pees' defense stats are like fantasy football QB stats, they are garbage. It means nothing except fantasy unless you win the games. Even the super bowl his defense gives up leads late.

I partly agree. A top statistical defense does mean something, but only if it backs-up those statistics when it means the most - in the 4th quarter with the game on the line. At those times the 2016 Ravens defense have probably lost more games than they saved.

[Johnny-U]

  3 hours ago, sami said:

  5 hours ago, mrc724 said:

there has to be more changes to the coaching staff. Why are the Ravens so enamored with Pees. The secondary coach didn't change the pitiful secondary. There are many player who have to be let go.

They are enamored by him cuz we had the #1-#5 defense thru out the year. Our secondary was much better than last years. Our biggest problem was our pass rush. Not so much the players but the way it was set up. We kept getting in each others way.

Exactly our problem since Pees got here has been scheme. He wants 11 Pro Bowlers. That just don't happen and Pees needs to stop making excuses.

We have CJ who made the Pro Bowl
Weddle who should have (and will probably be a late addition)
Brandon Williams (who may be the best at his position)
M Pierce.. (who played at a very high level this year
TJernigan (who also deserved pro bowl consideration.
Z. Orr... who played as well as any ILB this year including CJ
Jimmy Smith... who is a top 5 CB when healthy
Suggs....who still remained dangerous.

That is 8 of our 11 defense starters... who played at or close to pro bowl level this year

In addition he has
Elvis... who was not healthy but when he is... he is a dangerous pass rusher.

Judon....who showed a lot of promise.

Tavon Young... who was very impressive as a rookie and could be on the list above.

B Urban... who played very well in spots

L Guy who saw his numbers decrease bc of how good MPierce played but Guy is solid.

(in my opinion the only players on Defense who struggled consistently was LWebb, SWright, Elam, Powers, Elvis, and McClellan)

You can match that up with Seattle, Arizona, or any of the top Defenses around the league and person for person we are more talented and deeper then most. Yet we cannot depend on our Defense to close any team out since Pees got here / and no lead is safe in the 4th quarter. NONE! (you can not have 11 pro bowlers... but that seems to be what dean pees is asking for to be successful)! SMH

Have to disagree on a few:
Brandon Williams, I don't think he's really that good. Say him (along with Suggs) sleepwalking on a lot of plays against Pittsburgh, and won't even mention the last game. Our defense showed it can't stop the run too many times this year, and that starts with the inner defensive line (Williams).

Jernigen? Seems more potential than action.

Webb? I thought he seemed to play better as the season went on, and was by far one of the better secondary players the last three games.

[ByTheBay]

57 minutes ago, steelcityraven said:

3. He is not afraid to spend money on coaches.... Coaches like Leslie Frasier and others who could go anywhere... he spends the money to bring them in. Kubiack was very instrumental in our super bowl run and it cost us to bring him in.. but he did... this is the type of owner that we have.

Wait, what? I think your timeline may be a little off there. 

[Johnny-U]

Some are saying we should try to bring Kubiack back as an OC, or a consultant. HOWEVER;
(1) I'm sure Denver would be willing to offer him something similar,
(2) He's currently under contract with Denver, and
(3) He has more ties to Denver than Baltimore.

[TheConquerorWorm]

  2 hours ago, BigUgly said:

For all those thinking about cutting Joe loose any time soon, think again. We achieve no cap savings by doing so until 2019, where we gain $10M but incur a whopping $16M in dead money by doing so. In 2020, we save $20M with $8M in dead money.

The only real answer is to find an offensive scheme that fits Joe, give him positional coaching that corrects his recurring mechanics issues, and provide him with a much better line, especially up the middle.

Best way to help Joe (or ANY quarterback) is to improve the line, find receivers who can get open and will ATTACK the ball.

Kenny Britt and/or Pierre Garcon - WRs that are not soft, one trick ponies (Wallace), can actually get open and more importantly will actually hang onto the ball. You could probably get both guys for the price of an overrated, injury prone Alshon Jeffery.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

7 hours ago, The Mom Gene said:

... and Tucker

True, not sure why the article writer didn't mention him, I just assumed he was mentioned.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

1 hour ago, Johnny-U said:

Some are saying we should try to bring Kubiack back as an OC, or a consultant. HOWEVER;
(1) I'm sure Denver would be willing to offer him something similar,
(2) He's currently under contract with Denver, and
(3) He has more ties to Denver than Baltimore.

There's the whole he's not coming back to coach at all thing because of his health.....

[Crusader]

Just replayed State of the Ravens from last year. I wonder how Steve likes to repeat himself about the need to run the ball, need for pass rusher, need a cornerback, and again a receiver.

[Rav'n Maniac]

The more I think about it, the less I think anything is going to change. I now don't expect Harbs to make any changes to his staff. Harbs likes guys who won't step on his toes and guys who have little chance of getting a HC offer. Plus we have to remember these guys are his friends. No, the only way I see anything changing is if the entire staff is canned.

[rmcjacket23]

1 hour ago, Rav'n Maniac said:

The more I think about it, the less I think anything is going to change. I now don't expect Harbs to make any changes to his staff. Harbs likes guys who won't step on his toes and guys who have little chance of getting a HC offer. Plus we have to remember these guys are his friends. No, the only way I see anything changing is if the entire staff is canned.

This post makes no sense on so many levels...

1. No HC in the entire league hires a coach on his staff that thinks he's going to "step on his toes". It would make no sense to do that whatsoever. I would challenge you to name one coach who has hired a coach on his staff thinking or wishing that said coach would "step on his toes".

2. If Harbs doesn't hire guys that he thinks won't be HCs, then why is are a ton of the coaches he's hired either former HCs or coaches who have a legitimate shot of getting another HC gig? How does Gary Kubiak, Marc Trestman, or Leslie Frazier end up on this coaching staff? I mean quite literally all he's done recently is hire OCs who fans criticized as guys that wouldn't be here long term, because they were HC candidates.

I think you are exactly 180 degrees wrong on that comment. I'm not even sure how you can support it with any factual.

3. Of course they are friends. Everybody in the league is "friends". Why do you think the same teams hire the same people over and over again? Why do you think the same coaches get fired 2, 3, 4 times from the same coaching position and end up with a similar gig elsewhere in just a few short years?

Its not difficult. You hire people you know and you hire people you trust. And Harbs isn't even the biggest defender of this, because his last two OCs that he hired didn't even fit that mold.

 

[rmcjacket23]

A whole off season of "UNNECESSARY FINGER POINTING" when it's the QB killing this team! To those that say Ozzie needs to step down KICK ROCKS!

You need to start watching games.

[Crusader]

“In promoting Reynolds when they did, the Ravens made sure he'll be on their roster heading into next season,” What a crock. This team is going to look completely different come September.

[Johnny-U]

1 hour ago, rmcjacket23 said:

1 hour ago, Rav'n Maniac said:

The more I think about it, the less I think anything is going to change. I now don't expect Harbs to make any changes to his staff. Harbs likes guys who won't step on his toes and guys who have little chance of getting a HC offer. Plus we have to remember these guys are his friends. No, the only way I see anything changing is if the entire staff is canned.

This post makes no sense on so many levels...

1. No HC in the entire league hires a coach on his staff that thinks he's going to "step on his toes". It would make no sense to do that whatsoever. I would challenge you to name one coach who has hired a coach on his staff thinking or wishing that said coach would "step on his toes".

2. If Harbs doesn't hire guys that he thinks won't be HCs, then why is are a ton of the coaches he's hired either former HCs or coaches who have a legitimate shot of getting another HC gig? How does Gary Kubiak, Marc Trestman, or Leslie Frazier end up on this coaching staff? I mean quite literally all he's done recently is hire OCs who fans criticized as guys that wouldn't be here long term, because they were HC candidates.

I think you are exactly 180 degrees wrong on that comment. I'm not even sure how you can support it with any factual.

3. Of course they are friends. Everybody in the league is "friends". Why do you think the same teams hire the same people over and over again? Why do you think the same coaches get fired 2, 3, 4 times from the same coaching position and end up with a similar gig elsewhere in just a few short years?

Its not difficult. You hire people you know and you hire people you trust. And Harbs isn't even the biggest defender of this, because his last two OCs that he hired didn't even fit that mold.

 

Way too much truth in the above.

[rmcjacket23]

20 minutes ago, Crusader said:

“In promoting Reynolds when they did, the Ravens made sure he'll be on their roster heading into next season,” What a crock. This team is going to look completely different come September.

Maybe so. Doesn't really have anything to do with Reynolds though.

They can sign him a reserve contract, meaning they control his rights. Its a smart move. Has no risk and unlimited reward.

If he doesn't make the team, cool. It cost us nothing to do this.

[billiejean]

  6 hours ago, billiejean said:

  7 hours ago, Minionhunter said:

  7 hours ago, bioLarzen said:

OK, so Kubiak has apparently made it clear that he's retiring from coaching in the NFL in general, not just from being a HC.

So, I guess we can put the idea/hope of luring him back, to sleep right here.

Not so sure about that. I would go with the same plan but run everything through Rick. Give Gary a light weight consultation job for a year - overall game planning the offensive direction and long term progression plan for both Joe and the offensive side of the ball. Make sure if he comes in that he stays sitting with Ozzie for the first year and only works part time with mandated minimum 4 days per week off. Give the reigns to Rick and make sure he brings in the same staff Gary had here especially the line coach and TE coach. And for the love of god lock Rick and he Joe in a room before the season starts and get them on the same page about chunk plays instead of waiting until half way through the year when Joe gets so fed up that he has his argument with the OC that chunk plays are needed. Yes, he even did this with Gary and the difference was that Gary actually listened and that is when the offense really started taking off.

Also please make sure we game plan really speedy two minute drills and for receivers to get beyond or at least to the sticks in 3rd downs. Please.

Not so sure about that?? Do you have a direct line to someone in Kubs inner circle? This is crazy, a 2 year plan and a schedule for the guy. Why in the world would Gary agree to do that. This is a pipe dream. Its not like Gary has this secret formula that Rick doesn't know about. Getting all of the same positions coaches is pointless and probably not possible. Everything doesn't have to be exactly how it was when Gary was here. Even if we were able to get all of the guys that were here in 2012 it doesn't mean that we would be just as successful as we were then. Whoever the offensive coordinator is should be able to hire the guys that he wants to hire. Whether its Rick or someone else. And I am pretty sure about the fact that Kubiak is hanging up the whistle. While were at it we mine as well hire Marvin Lewis to be our DC and bring in all of his assistant coaches that were apart of the 2000 team.

Because he said as much in his press conference. And part of why it went so well here was because of the extreme loyalty that Kubiak and his crew have for each of the and I see Rick doing something similar as what Gary did. Hell, the reason Gary even came here was because of Rick's loyalty to him. If Rick wanted to take over and run the show without Gary, fine, but I suspect he would want Gary involved. The schedule for Gary would be to protect him from himself by giving him a mandated year off that would allow for exceptions if he wanted to come back early while still maintaining the needed r&r.

The line to Kubiak inner circle is pretty transparent if you consider their behavior, decisions, actions and words over their career.

Well I listened to the press conference (got a little misty eyed at the end there) and I didn't here anything even remotely close to warrant speculation that he will continue to coach in even a small capacity. Maybe there were two press conferences. If you get chance throw me a few quotes from the press conference you saw that made you think that he would still be interested in coaching. I do hope you are right though. The guy was the best OC that the Ravens have ever had and to get him involved in some capacity would be great. But, Garys health is not the only reason that he is retiring. And that seems to be the only angle that you addressed in the comments above. But I think a big part of this is his family. Here is a quote from an article written by Adam Schefter....

"The move might come as a surprise to many around the league, but there have been whispers throughout the year that Kubiak's family wanted him to leave coaching and move to their retirement ranch in Texas?"....

Ive seen that mentioned in a lot of articles. And its just hard for me to believe that he would want to have a role as an offensive assistant in Baltimore of all places. The guy doesn't have anything to prove and he most certainly doesn't need the money. I think you may have been listening to that press conference with purple ear muffs my friend. Hes hanging up the old whistle. There hasn't been any indication that Rick is coming here. But if he did there is no reason to think that he would need Gary to be involved. Rick is a big boy. I mean the guys are obviously close friends and I dont think Rick is going to try to force his buddy, whos health is in question, to come out of retirement against his families wishes. Again, maybe there is something that I missed in the press conference. If so enlighten me.

[Ugly Ball]

  8 hours ago, Minionhunter said:

  9 hours ago, bioLarzen said:

OK, so Kubiak has apparently made it clear that he's retiring from coaching in the NFL in general, not just from being a HC.

So, I guess we can put the idea/hope of luring him back, to sleep right here.

Not so sure about that. I would go with the same plan but run everything through Rick. Give Gary a light weight consultation job for a year - overall game planning the offensive direction and long term progression plan for both Joe and the offensive side of the ball. Make sure if he comes in that he stays sitting with Ozzie for the first year and only works part time with mandated minimum 4 days per week off. Give the reigns to Rick and make sure he brings in the same staff Gary had here especially the line coach and TE coach. And for the love of god lock Rick and he Joe in a room before the season starts and get them on the same page about chunk plays instead of waiting until half way through the year when Joe gets so fed up that he has his argument with the OC that chunk plays are needed. Yes, he even did this with Gary and the difference was that Gary actually listened and that is when the offense really started taking off.

Also please make sure we game plan really speedy two minute drills and for receivers to get beyond or at least to the sticks in 3rd downs. Please.

Not so sure about that?? Do you have a direct line to someone in Kubs inner circle? This is crazy, a 2 year plan and a schedule for the guy. Why in the world would Gary agree to do that. This is a pipe dream. Its not like Gary has this secret formula that Rick doesn't know about. Getting all of the same positions coaches is pointless and probably not possible. Everything doesn't have to be exactly how it was when Gary was here. Even if we were able to get all of the guys that were here in 2012 it doesn't mean that we would be just as successful as we were then. Whoever the offensive coordinator is should be able to hire the guys that he wants to hire. Whether its Rick or someone else. And I am pretty sure about the fact that Kubiak is hanging up the whistle. While were at it we mine as well hire Marvin Lewis to be our DC and bring in all of his assistant coaches that were apart of the 2000 team.

All good ideas!
Maybe we could get Ed Reed for our secondary coach
and Ray Lewis as our linebackers coach too !

[Ugly Ball]

Just replayed State of the Ravens from last year. I wonder how Steve likes to repeat himself about the need to run the ball, need for pass rusher, need a cornerback, and again a receiver.

Ouch !

[EdTheMythicalOne]

14 hours ago, birdseye said:

I might be reading too much into this, but I did think it was interesting that they did not start Alex Lewis at LT: is that an indication we are going to try and resign Wagner, maybe they see Lewis' future as a G, or possibly he just wasn't 100%? definitely the biggest storyline of the offseason will be retaining him over BWill. We all saw how ineffective Joe is without a quality line (which will be more important if we hire Greg Roman). Our run D isn't made or broken by one player so we can overcome losing Williams better than Wagner.

Alex Lewis will replace Wagner at RT. We've got plenty of in house candidates for RG and is is easier to find and cheaper usually to find interior linemen.

[KidNme]

On 1/2/2017 at 11:20 AM, bioLarzen said:

I wish there was someone at the season concluding presser who would ask the followiong questions from Steve:

- Do you agree that what the Ravens showed this season was mostly mediocre?

- If you do: do you accept mediocrity on the long term - especially after one of the best off-seasons in team history, with a draft and free agency that might both go down as among the best in team history?

- If you don't accept mediocrity on the long term - how do you plan to stop it?

- What exactly do you see in coach Harbaugh that gives you hope that things will turn around, after such a promising season - a great roster with few injuries - was lost in such an unacceptable fashion?

- What gives you the reason to believe Harbaugh will somehow get the hang of how to spot a good OC? He had 5 OC'S, and four of them - Cam, Caldwell, Trestman and Mornhinweg - were obviously NOT good enough. And worse: the tendency is worrying: the last two ones were the worst by far. What makes you think this tendency won't continue? WHY wouldn't it continue if the same man is allowed to pick the next OC who picked the previous ones?

- Aren't you afraid that the Ravens are gonna lose more and more fans if the Ravens continue to be a team that's seldom fun to watch - even when they win?

- What's your stance on Flacco's performance in 2016?

- If you agree that it was easily his worst season ever, how do you plan to make him seem like a QB that actually wants to play and win - like he used to do?

- Do you think we, Ravens-fans deserved this seasson?

- Do you agree that it was shameful,. borderline insulting for Steve Smith to have to end his career like this?

And most importantly:

- What has to happen to convince you that Harbaugh is not what he used to be, anymore? That he's been wasting good, potentially successful seasons since the Super Bowl?

You see, I agree that continuity is a great asset and that it should never be underestimated. But it shouldn't be overvalued either. I'm afraid that insisting on prioritizing continuity will come at the price of prolonged mediocrity for the Baltimore Ravens. As the owner who finances all this mediocrity - is this really what you want? Is this what you're willing to settle for?

A reporter would never be allowed to ask those questions. They are very guarded and if someone were to ask questions like that, First, Harbs would be all over them then they wouldn't be invited back again. Trust me. Even if someone could get those questions out, you know the answers would be generic. Here's the answers to your questions, as the talking heads would have it.......

-"Are you afraid we'll lose fans?" - No, our fans are the best in the world, they know football and they love our team.

-"What's you stance on Flacco's performance?"- He did a great job for us but we have to give him more time in the pocket.

-"If you agree this was Joes' worst season, how do you plan on making Joe play with passion, like he used to?" - I don't agree this was Joe's worst season. Joe has more passion than almost anyone on the team and no one wants to win more than him, no one. You all know that isn't Joe's style. We love him for his cool demeanor and it has served us well many times. He also passed for over 4000yds this season so that doesn't sound like it was his worst season to me.

-"Isn't is a shame that SSS had to go out this way?" - Ya, I'm sure Steve would have liked to get a ring upon his departure however, Steve has been playing for a lot of years and knows that getting that ring is the hardest thing to do in Football. Steve of all people deserve it but it's just not what was meant to be. He has had an illustrious career and will most likely be in the HOF. If you were to ask him, I think he'd say, his legacy is more important than how many rings he's gotten.

-"What has happened to convince you that Harbs is washed up?" - John's not washed up by any means. It's not easy being a HC, there's a lot of moving pieces and we feel John has done an admirable job in keeping the ship running in the right direction. It's a journey and one that will ride with John.

Shorty after this interview, Mr Reporter would be taken to the side and [profanity slapped! He'd be reporting on the Carolina Panthers next season.