[News] Eisenberg: Nothing Will Impact Ravens More Than Addressing One Position

[BR News]

What happened to the Ravens defense down the stretch of the 2016 season? It's not that complicated. A chain of events that precipitated the falloff began with Jimmy Smith’s injury.

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[mrc724]

Smith hasn't healthy since he was drafted. Is he fragile or can't play through injuries? If he can't stay on the field, he should be let go. Potential can only go so far.

[dirtybird66]

exactly! j smith is not reliable! DESMOND KING is the best corner in the draft,if they can grab him we will have 2 great corners,him and tavon young!

[The Greek]

need to fix the cb issue once and for all this off season. dre kirkpatrick is a free agent and will not be cheap but if they decide to let bw go than spend it on a solid corner and draft one in the 2nd or 3rd.. pass rusher and hard hitting safety as well

[thieverycorporation]

I see the greed of picks typically superseding the quality of picks and positions that remain suspect as being the stale MO used be the front office. Steve should laying down the demands for certain things this offseason. Every year the fans are majorly disappointed by the draft as Ozzie squanders picks on rubbish and I guess he calls it a Belichick type maneuver. Meaning the off the radar type player. Only thing is Ozzie weaknesses continue to be constant needs and seeming only half-heartedly addressed.

[MadStorkSociety]

I see the greed of picks typically superseding the quality of picks and positions that remain suspect as being the stale MO used be the front office. Steve should laying down the demands for certain things this offseason. Every year the fans are majorly disappointed by the draft as Ozzie squanders picks on rubbish and I guess he calls it a Belichick type maneuver. Meaning the off the radar type player. Only thing is Ozzie weaknesses continue to be constant needs and seeming only half-heartedly addressed.

Been saying this for quite a while - quantity of picks is fine but it does not supercede quality of picks. This especially becomes true when it is time to prune down to the final roster. A lot of those picks hit the bricks. We are missing playmakers and those come in the early rounds (most of the time). If we truly can judge talent (and i think we can), then we need to bite the bullet and trade up to get it. And for goodness sakes, let's nail down the CB situation.

[Crusader]

and yet the Ravens made him the second highest player on the team next year.

[ellicottraven]

The 2017 draft is deep with CB talent. I say take one with the first pick and either get the other in free agency or trade for 1. We need 4 talented CBs for our defense to perform like it did. I think you're right. We focus endlessly on pass rush, but pass rush becomes so much more effective with good secondary play, it isn't even funny.

[The Greek]

pkg picks and move up. time to target needs these next few drafts instead of following the bpa formula of past drafts.

[ravens4life86]

I completely agree with Eisenberg on this Defense must have improvements.

No.1 priority is Bonefied GameWrecker Pass Rush.
Last year they passed on studs like Noah Spence and Yannik Ngakwe for bums and high character Harbaugh guys like Correa and Koufusi.

Look how that turned out, 1 cant get on the field and other broke his foot.
Everyone knows a great rush helps a secondary. Combined sizzle,jernigan,Dum had 15 sacks this year. Mostly from sizzle 8 sacks.

So 1st round must be a Gamewrecker sizzle in his prime or Von Miller type edge rusher, whether its Barnett,Williams,Harris,McKinley etc
And I might take 2 in the 1st 2 rounds because lets be honest Dumervil is getting cut and sizzle has 1 maybe 2 years left probably

[Noteasy]

John, I won't disagree with the criticality of Jimmy Smith or the need for another stand alone corner, but I just seems like in most of these cases we were simply out coached.  The top flite teams with high end coaches know what we are going to do before we do it.  We lose JS and the pass rush goes out the window.  Doesn't seem to make sense but the opposition know what we're going to do and know how to counter before we set our players.

 

i can understand being outsmarted by the Pats.  They do it just about every time we meet them, and Marvin Lewis knows us pretty well so you might expect that.  But we are being out coached by almost any team that can watch film.  We are just too predictable.  Though it doesn't negate the need for better DB talent. Other coaches seem to be able to adjust to the talent they have.  Even with all of our key guys on the field we are really poor at mid-game adjustments of any kind.

 

 

Edited January 7 by Noteasy

[BigUgly]

This draft is deep in DBs. We could get a viable starter in the second round. I'd be okay if we went WR or pass rusher in the 1st. We may also need another safety, as Webby ought to be a cap casualty (save $5.5M for $2M in dead money). It's conceivable to draft a CB and Safety 1-2.

[Purple Dawg 96]

The Defense got left hangin in several games so do not throw them under the bus! The position that is suspect and affecting this entire team is the "QB" position! Our Defense is missing that intensity that Ray Ray brought not saying Sizzle isn't getting it done but the MLB gotta be the heart and soul of the "D"! But like I said the Offense left the Defense hangin making Justin Tucker the MVP SMH! Offense had games within reach but choked every time!

[JacktheRaven]

As always, it's not that simple. One DB? How bout the pass rush, and stopping the run, in the last 4 games.

[terpmaniac]

That number ranked defense was an illusion, a mirage. It was never real because when the Ravens needed that defense to "bend-not-break." It bent, broke, and ran screaming from stadium in total embarrassment along the fans!

[BigUgly]

20 minutes ago, Purple Dawg 96 said:

The Defense got left hangin in several games so do not throw them under the bus! The position that is suspect and affecting this entire team is the "QB" position! Our Defense is missing that intensity that Ray Ray brought not saying Sizzle isn't getting it done but the MLB gotta be the heart and soul of the "D"! But like I said the Offense left the Defense hangin making Justin Tucker the MVP SMH! Offense had games within reach but choked every time!

Defense cost this team at least 3 games with late 4th qtr meltdowns - Raiders, Giants, and Stillers.  It almost cost us another game against the Stillers, and against the Uggles. That's not just due to 1 CB being out. Coaching plays a part too. We've just been conditioned to blame the offense for everything since 2000. The D has become increasingly suspect since at least the SB.

Edited January 7 by BigUgly

[Ravensfansince03]

Lets not kid ourselves, we did not have a tough schedule to begin with. Besides the Dolphins, our defense really did not have to face any tough opponents besides the Patriots, and Pittsburgh (the 2nd time). This defense needs to be steadily rebuilt up to the point where opposing teams fear getting hit by us. We have a soft defensive line whether you guys want to hear it or not. B.Williams is way to bulky, Suggs is getting older, and Z.Smith does not hunt. Jernigan, Suggs, and Urban (if he can stay healthy) are the only ones i really like.

[The Greek]

  53 minutes ago, Purple Dawg 96 said:

The Defense got left hangin in several games so do not throw them under the bus! The position that is suspect and affecting this entire team is the "QB" position! Our Defense is missing that intensity that Ray Ray brought not saying Sizzle isn't getting it done but the MLB gotta be the heart and soul of the "D"! But like I said the Offense left the Defense hangin making Justin Tucker the MVP SMH! Offense had games within reach but choked every time!

Defense cost this team at least 3 games with late 4th qtr meltdowns. That's not just due to 1 CB being out. Coaching plays a part too. We've just been conditioned to blame the offense for everything since 2000. The D has become increasingly suspect since at least the SB.

i agree but the offense did not help the defense out with a ton of 3 and outs either

[Ravensfansince03]

As always, it's not that simple. One DB? How bout the pass rush, and stopping the run, in the last 4 games.

Exactly, I hope we draft at least 4 DE's this draft. Convert a few of them into LB's/OLB's

[rave n us]

We definitely need a corner, but a pass rush makes the whole defense better, and our pass rush disappeared in the last 4 games. Age, conditioning, scheme, compensating for corner problems, offense not staying on the field consistenly tiring out the defense????? or all of the above. A Kalil Mack type rusher would fix a lot of problems.

[The Beak]

I'm still a big J Smith fan, Oz needs to get his act together , sign a top notch corner, not a 35 year old has been or a player that is some other teams garbage. Ravens FO needs to change its philosophy , and its coaching staff.

[Crusader]

What the Ravens need is depth at all positions. Last year the it was Suggs and now this year its Smith. Ravens can't be that thin at positions but hats were the Salary Cap come in...again.

[purpledown]

Not a Jimmy Smith fan, dont think he would have made a difference in the defense and its decline. That and he cant be counted on anyway,.

[outkast1]

The offense was so bad that the defense spends too much time on the field ! You can't blame a top 7 to #1 defense when your offense keeps doing a 3 an out.A 27th ranked QB with a 21st ranked offense causes stress to your defense.
The defense just ran out of gas with two over 30 pass rushers and a prevent defense.

[steelraven]

This Is an offensive league so I don't really blame the defense, at the end of the day the offense needs to score points and stay on the field to protect the defense. Why pay Flacco all that money if you want the defense to protect the offense? Tell Flacco to give half of that money he got and maybe they can build a defense. And I know people will start naming all these other QB's that got paid, well look at where there teams are, at home just like the Ravens and look at where they're ranked in QB ratings. Until that happens the Ravens will always be a 8-8 team or even worse. Only a hand full a QB's should get paid that amount of money because they can actually carry a team. Ravens shot themselves in the foot again when they extended Flacco's contract which set the team back again another 4 years. Ozzie has really been slipping lately.

[The Greek]

houston lost jj watt for the whole season and still finished #1. we lose suggs last year and fall apart and brittle jimmy for 5 1/5 games and fall apart. no player gives back $$. they would be foolish to do so but flacco needs to get his act together and do whatever it takes to elevate his game and the players around him because he is making the kind of $$ that warrants it. i would trade pees for crennel in a heartbeat. his defense plays old school smash mouth football.

Edited January 7 by The Greek

[billiejean]

This Is an offensive league so I don't really blame the defense, at the end of the day the offense needs to score points and stay on the field to protect the defense. Why pay Flacco all that money if you want the defense to protect the offense? Tell Flacco to give half of that money he got and maybe they can build a defense. And I know people will start naming all these other QB's that got paid, well look at where there teams are, at home just like the Ravens and look at where they're ranked in QB ratings. Until that happens the Ravens will always be a 8-8 team or even worse. Only a hand full a QB's should get paid that amount of money because they can actually carry a team. Ravens shot themselves in the foot again when they extended Flacco's contract which set the team back again another 4 years. Ozzie has really been slipping lately.

I am sorry that you are unable to dictate the going rate for QBs in the league. There seems to be a misunderstanding of even basic Economic concepts here. And unfortunately, that is not surprising.

[law215]

I don't care what the offense did or did not do. A defense can not give up 21 points in the 4th quarter. And if it only take one player to have the defense fall apart, then it really was not a good defense.

[BigUgly]

29 minutes ago, steelraven said:

This Is an offensive league so I don't really blame the defense, at the end of the day the offense needs to score points and stay on the field to protect the defense. Why pay Flacco all that money if you want the defense to protect the offense? Tell Flacco to give half of that money he got and maybe they can build a defense. And I know people will start naming all these other QB's that got paid, well look at where there teams are, at home just like the Ravens and look at where they're ranked in QB ratings. Until that happens the Ravens will always be a 8-8 team or even worse. Only a hand full a QB's should get paid that amount of money because they can actually carry a team. Ravens shot themselves in the foot again when they extended Flacco's contract which set the team back again another 4 years. Ozzie has really been slipping lately.

It's not Joe's fault Webb is paid top corner money, and is now barely serviceable as a safety.  It's not his fault that the only consistently productive defensive players to be drafted since the Super Bowl are Brandon Williams, Timmy Jernigan, CJ Mosley and Tavon Young.  It's not his fault that the defensive coordinator has the corners play 10-15 yards off a receiver in 3rd and 5 situations, or that he can scheme a defense to play stout for 50 minutes before inexplicably disappearing for the final 10. 

[Jekkutin]

Defense, while it was not a top 3 ranked defense at all, was not our problem this year. It was the same as ever offense sputtering all the time. Typical Bmore offense either 3&out or moving the chains flawlessly to the red zone and then just completely choking..