Will you all please chill out?

by jackmca on Nov 24, 2009 3:26 PM EST Comment 30 comments

I come on here after a tough loss--a very tough loss--and while I expected to hear the usual complaining about our weaknesses, I'm absolutely shocked at how far people think we need to go in order to turn things around.

WE'RE TERRIBLE! WE NEED TO FIRE EVERYONE! THE LOSS IS CAMERON'S FAULT!! HARBAUGH CAN'T DISCIPLINE HIS PLAYERS!! WE'RE TOTAL LOSERS!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!

Sound familiar? Sure, fire Cam Cameron--or Harbaugh, even--so we can have our third coach at that position in a four-year period and we can join the Redskins and the Browns as a team that can't trust their philosophies and stick with their guys. Forget the fact that Cameron is the first guy in a decade to develop any sort of respectable offense on this team. He needs to go. (And all this time I've been polite enough not to point out that this guy engineered the development of Phil Rivers and Ladanian Tomlinson and is considered by the rest of the league--as in, people who are not overly emotional following a Ravens loss--to be one of the elite Coordinators in the NFL.)

Every good coach--every good team--has had down seasons before. Parcells had bad years. Jon Gruden had bad years. Those individual seasons do not mean that they are bad coaches. So please, Ravens fans, calm the hell down and let the coaches and talent evaluators go back to work. This might not be our year, and there might be plenty wrong with this team right now, but your proposed solutions aren't as simple as they sound and there's a reason you don't get paid to do this like they do.

The opinions posted here are those of the administrator of this blog and his loyal readers. They are in no way official comments from the team, and should not be misconstued as such, even though he thinks he could do just as well or even a better job!

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I will not chill out until we start playing relevant football

6 straight games without a first half touchdown? That is one of the most pathetic things I have ever heard.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Nov 24, 2009 3:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

very funny

how there was once a time when we didn’t score a touchdown on offense for five straight games. Remember that year? We won the superbowl.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we’re going to win the superbowl. But you guys definitely don’t have the answers. The ravens, their coaches, and Ozzie are going to go back to work like they always do and we will improve. You want it to happen yesterday and it’s just not that simple.

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 24, 2009 3:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

We should have never had to get to this point. This is one of the most talented ~~team~~ group in the league. We have a bunch of individual players who cannot work well enough together to get the job done. No excuse that we should be 5-5.

And the thing is, with the QB and “weapons” we have, it is embarassing that we cannot get in the endzone in the first half for 6 straight games.

In 2000, we TONY BANKS at QB with a rookie RB, with Billick and Cavanaugh calling the shots. We have a much better system now and cannot find the endzone. I can honestly say that it might go 7 straight weeks without a first half TD this week against the Steelers.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Nov 24, 2009 3:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you're missing my point

i agree that it is not good. It is obviously not good.

Here’s my point: what do you propose as a solution? BAM—You’re the GM now! What’s your solution?

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 24, 2009 3:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

GET A THREAT AT WR!

Should have made a move for Marshall or Boldin. Ozzie is a pussy for that crap.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Nov 24, 2009 4:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

We’ll get a receiver for Rays, Eds, Greggs, Birks, Price’s, Masons last year when they are playing PT because of injuries and age. Don’t want to solve problems too fast.

by raven on Nov 24, 2009 4:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

we’ve all been in pretty much unanimous agreement that we need a threat at WR. Nothing we can do about that right now. So… like I said… chill. Everyone has to ride out disappointing seasons and this is one of them.

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 24, 2009 4:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

We're close but SOOOOO far away.

2nd and 1 inch is all you need to know about this team. Too much stupidity when it really counts. Chill out. These guys are losers. 7 straight loses to Indy. Wimps. Come on superstars haven’t you seen them enough to win 1. I guess it’s Cams turn to get into the act. Having Pitt and NE as your alternative daddy’s isn’t enough.

We can’t beat any QB who isn’t 1/2 dead.

by raven on Nov 24, 2009 4:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How about setting an all time NFL record.

Most punts / kicks / picks returned for a touchdowns?

The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."
-George Carlin

by Cdsumm on Nov 24, 2009 4:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I couldn’t agree more Jackmca. Yeah the Ravens are not playing their best football but for the most part, the problems with our defense have solidified (not to be construed with corrected) and our offense is actually trying to both run and pass the football. I would like to see McClain get the ball more, I think he deserves it! Maybe not enough creativity went into the play calling in terms of running the ball. I understand that our play calling was focused towards the left side and that’s not too creative but, at least were trying to run it more…. Correct me if I’m wrong all I looked at was the box score. I’m in Mexico rooting for the Ravens and you all wouldn’t believe the amount of Colts fans down here…. It’s disgusting! Good ol Cam will straighten things out and our defense will continue to work through their problems.

Does anyone know what happened to those trick plays we ran a year ago? A little surprise here and there could go a long way towards scoring some TDs. First time I dropped a comment on the Beatdown! Hopefully we all have more positive things to write about in the future. Let’s see more Kruger! I hope he works out!

by Flagstaffer83 on Nov 24, 2009 3:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

we used an almost-good-looking trick play against cleveland. a RB pass from Rice to Heap but rice threw a second too late and it was broken up.

And before a million people jump in saying how dumb that was to use that play in that situation, let me say that I agree. It just doesn’t mean that you need to fire your OC.

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 24, 2009 3:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Does anyone know what happened to those trick plays we ran a year ago?

Great question. I’ve been wondering about this all year. The offense seems bland compared to last year. It was like we had a ridiculous amount of variety. An even distribution between three running backs, a balanced passing game, and at least a couple of gadget plays per game—it seemed. I even remember John Madden or someone noting that the Ravens ran more trick plays than anybody in the league last year. What happened to that?

"Alex Ovechkin makes Chad Johnson look like he's reading the paper."

by bigmac1124 on Nov 25, 2009 2:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

When we got into the Red Zone

just before the interception in the Indy game, I said this would be a great place for a halfback option pass into the end zone.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Nov 25, 2009 4:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i can't count the number of times

i would have wanted to see a reverse, or a double-reverse, or a HB pass, or a flea-flicker, or anything cool like that…

still, cameron has presided over an elevated level of play on his offense, he deserves the time to make things right, even if we’re dissatisfied with his playcalling after this game.

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 25, 2009 7:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why he does call trick plays

against the weaker teams (Cleveland-Rice incomplete pass) he just won’t resort to that against the better teams when one could break open a tight game is beyond me?

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Nov 26, 2009 10:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You can dissect it all you want..if this than that..blah blah blah. Top to bottom chokers.

Trick plays? Yeah, did you see Flaccos slow motion run right when we crossed mid-field. Can you say wasted down.

by raven on Nov 24, 2009 4:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

so you hate every player we have because they’re all chokers and there is no way this group can ever win. Thanks, why did i read your comment again?

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 24, 2009 4:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I just want Ray Lewis to bring back Festivus…I think that will solve all of our problems…

by OldBay83 on Nov 24, 2009 4:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tell you what,...

I’ll be real positive all week through the Steelers game. If we win, we’re on our way together towards a playoff berth. If we lose, then how can you tell us to be positive and chill out at that point? Agreed that all bets are off if we lose?

Until then, GO RAVENS!!!!!

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Nov 24, 2009 5:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

don’t confuse me with being positive. I agree that we look awful right now. But I’m arguing that all of these knee-jerk reactions calling for heads to roll are a bit premature.

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 24, 2009 6:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

if we get swept by Pitt I will consider the possibility of firing a coordinator in the offseason. But it really all depends on who is available. I’m not really well-read on the Offensive Coordinator market right now and I don’t just want to fire a guy just for the sake of firing a guy. Teams who do that get bad replacements and problems continue.

But for now, chill out. 8-8 is below our expectations but it’s not the end of the world. There is no reason to think we can’t compete next year given that the players drafted in the last few years mature like they usually do…

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 24, 2009 6:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can't disagree w/ you, jack

as we have usually been a much better second half team and we will see what happens Sunday before we all start jumping not only off the bandwagon, but the tall ledges as well.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Nov 25, 2009 9:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

thank you

thats pretty much all i’m saying. good teams sometimes go 9-7 and miss the playoffs. it doesn’t always mean there’s anything inherently wrong with the program, it just means they had a bad year…

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 25, 2009 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Steelers fan here....

I can’t believe the Ravens are 5-5. There’s WAY TOO MUCH TALENT to condone that record. Now, I still believe that, somehow, much to the dismay of the Steelers, the Ratbirds will make the postseason…and I’d worry about them much more than the Bengals, who’ve swept both of us.

Now’s the time when fans stay true…the sky is not falling, the end is not near…this is a damn good football team, who’s going to give the Champs all they can handle on Sunday…

Let’s hope for a good game, and a Bengals loss!!!!!

breathe in deep feel your heart beat, just to know that life's worth livin'. feel your feet on the earth, better love it while it's still here spinnin'.

by NoCal-SteelCity on Nov 25, 2009 1:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

nobody here is condoning it

but i’m just the guy saying “the sky is NOT falling.”

43 is still out with that knee right? Without him, we can do business. If he’s in the game, I don’t like our chances.

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 25, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No, his backup is pretty good and

could probably start for most teams. At least we can say we’ve only lost to 1st place teams while the Steelers have lost to Chicago and KC. If we can beat those two (already beat KC) and split w/ Pittsburgh (at least), then if we tie for a playoff berth we get the tie-breaker. IF, IF, IF!

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Nov 25, 2009 4:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

from all reports that I’ve read, Troy is questionable “at best,” – to quote Coach T. As fas as his backup is concerned, Ty Carter, I wouldn’t say that he is “pretty good.” I would say that he is a servicable backup, but is not of starter quality (at least compared to the the safety play that Steeler and Raven fans are used to). Carter is pretty decent against the run, a big hitter, but his coverage skills are questionable. He’s a bit older, lost a step or two, and often can’t make plays in the passing game simply because he lacks the athletic ability. A secondary of Ryan Clark and Ty Carter is very much in danger when the ball is being thrown consistently.

breathe in deep feel your heart beat, just to know that life's worth livin'. feel your feet on the earth, better love it while it's still here spinnin'.

by NoCal-SteelCity on Nov 25, 2009 7:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

thanks for the objective analysis

and oh boy am I glad that 43 isn’t gonna play.

"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden

by jackmca on Nov 25, 2009 7:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

43 is OUT

Carter is a pretty good backup and like some of our reserves, could probably start on most teams.Combined with their other safety, they have two hitters out there, despite the loss of Troy. Ask Willis.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Nov 26, 2009 10:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs