Ravens Season Ends With Wimper
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 17, 2010 11:00 AM EST
157 comments
After so much anticipation and a full week of purple passion that saw the city of Baltimore embrace their Ravens and we saw examples of our support everywhere you went in town, the return on our investment made many of us feel like we were just swindled in the stock market. The lack of return on our "investment" was not only poor, but after it was over, we felt almost betrayed in that it seemed we put much more into our preparation than what we saw out on the field.
The 20-3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts last night showed more than just a premature end of our season and playoff run. It showed something that everyone in the Baltimore Ravens organization and all the fans should be uncomfortably aware of. That "something" has proven itself over the past eight times and more specifically the last four times these teams have played and that is that the Ravens are still just not prepared or built to win these games from the top of this organization to the bottom.
Strong words coming from a simple fan, but the proof is in the pudding. Looking at the past four losses since and including the Ravens 15-6 loss in the 2007 playoffs, the Ravens have consistently underachieved and lost all those games the exact same way. Until the leadership of the team realizes their misgivings and makes the changes necessary to compete, the Ravens will continue to be a team that bounces from good to mediocre and back again. Good enough to beat the bad teams and the ones we are supposed to beat, but mediocre enough to stay in the game but find a way to lose against the better teams like the ones we keep losing to in games we could have and should have won but didn't.
In the past four games against the Colts, the Ravens QB's in those games were Steve McNair, Kyle Boller and Joe Flacco. Ironically, only Boller was able to lead the Ravens to a touchdown in those games as McNair (once) and Flacco (twice) have not been able to get this team into the end zone at any point. In three games over the past two years, Joe Flacco has led the Ravens offense to a total of 21 points, all on field goals, against the Colts defense. The Ravens running attack has not had a rusher gain more than 71 yards against the Colts defense in any of the four games since the 2007 playoff game.
The major problem that this team has proven itself incapable of over the years of losing tough games to tough teams is their inability to adapt or even re-load with players that are better designed to win those games. The Ravens pride themselves on winning by running the ball and playing suffocating defense but when the Colts are the opponents, it seems like the Colts are the suffocating defense and our run game disappears leaving the team without any chance of winning, as their passing game has consistently been among the league's worst for a decade at the very least.
The inability to change, regardless of the coaches, the players and front office, shows an alarming trend that makes us fans feel that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The cry on the airwaves and on Baltimore Beatdown for a big name wide receiver might be the answer, but more than likely, would not change a thing in the team's success. It is much more deep rooted and as long as this team stubbornly sticks to what they want to believe will be successful and in the end proves not to be good enough, is just so absolutely frustrating to us fans that probably has us more upset about the constant losing for the same reason than the players themselves feel.
I'm thankful that we have a team and ownership that is committed to having a class organization, puts a good product out on the field and embraces the city that embraces it. However, there always seems to be much more potential than the results show and that trend is where the high level of frustration begins to overflow. Until this team realizes that its defense is not as good as they think, that their running game is not good enough to win the game, the lack of either a passing attack or an imaginative game plan is more than just a lack of execution and their inability to play within the rules, then this team is destined for the mediocrity and a slew of "what if's" that we've seen over the past few years and especially throughout this season.
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What can we expect
from Flacco at this point? I feel that all those reads for him are not yet automatic. I am willing to be patient, but the fact that we have been in the playoffs the last two seasons still feels good.
I noticed the lack of execution from the beginning, mainly from Ben Grubbs. He got thrown around the whole game and looked weak. He allowed nearly all of the Freeney pressure, with the exception of Gaither’s holding calls. And, once again Oher shut down the right side.
But when the plays are shown again it is clear that the receivers are not getting open downfield. I understand the difficulty against the Colts’ fast defense, but perhaps the routes just down work well together. Maybe that is more of a playcalling issue.
Well, we get a higher draft pick. That could mean a lot considering the value we get out of the first round. Now I will go waste my time caring about mock drafts. Later.
There's no way Flacco was healthy
He didn’t look right last week either. Rice couldn’t possibly carry the load again. That dude is a gamer…build around him…
Bad Andy, Good Pizza.
Rice is a man among children
I love Rice but be careful not to rely on him too much year in and year out. If he keeps getting the reps and carries he wont be able to last beyond 28yo.
Gaither
Sorry guys, but Gaither’s problem is he is to tall and gets out-leveraged. I would find a way to trade the guy. And who is number 66? He couldn’t hold a block either in the passing game. and Number 66 in run block was not impressive.
You guys have an outstanding defensive line. You also have most of the personel you need to be world champs or at least compete for it. You need a new offensive coordinator, a cornerback, a big time reciever, and a QB coach!
The word is spelled WHIMPER
Unless you are trying to pull off a play on words with the word " wimp " for the wimpish display of the Ravens yesterday, you have failed miserably with the spelling of the word WHIMPER.
Wow, you got the "Wimp"er thing?
Sharp tool!
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:34 AM EST up reply actions
Reed is 50/50 on retirement?????????
Where did this come from? He is my favorite player, and this would just kill me. Can anyone elaborate on this? Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Classic frontrunners
The Ravens are a team built on DEFENDING a lead. Any team with a defence half as good as the Ravens can defend a two TD lead as they did last week against the Pats. However when forced to chase they do NOT have the tools to put points on the board. Mason caught 3 balls on the first drive and didn’t have another catch.
The way things are going Ray Rice will be done in 5 years if he is forced to be the first, second and ONLY offensive weapon. For God’s sake give this kid some help.
Defence
is spelled “defense.” You failed miserably.
by Ravens Boner on Jan 17, 2010 11:44 AM EST up reply actions
Right On, Bruce
Your analysis of what ails the Ravens was right on the mark. Let’s hope that some changes are forthcoming before next season.
Boner is an apt name for you
There are two spellings for defence/defense. Much like you can spell the word offense as offence. Ask a friend to help you use Google.
Boner is obviously short for Bonehead.
How
can I be witty like you? I want your sweet life. You have a clever answer for everything.
by Ravens Boner on Jan 17, 2010 11:48 AM EST up reply actions
Different spelling. Different meaning.
Syd…you might want to lay off correcting others spelling, especially when you make a post & spell a word wrong. True Offense can be spelled Offence and Defense/Defence, but each one has a different meaning. So, get your own dictionary and look up the definiton.
Or perhaps it’s because you get a boner every time you look at your avatar. I bet you and your husband look great in purple.
Some kiddie porn website
by Baltimore Warrior on Jan 17, 2010 8:43 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
It’s mostly play calling. We could have gone into 1/2 at 10-3 at worst but we passed twice and ran once burning 22 seconds off the clock and leaving a munute 38 on the clock. The Colts had 2 TO’s. They would have burned them on 2 runs. We then could have run again and got the clock down to about 30 after a punt.
For some reason, Cam thought his offense could march down the field in a 2 minute drill when they didn’t prove anything the whole game. They should have gone into 1/2 down by only 7. That would have been a success with the way our O was playing. The D was holding up fine. The Colts would have been a little nervous coming out with us having the ball to start the 1/2.
It’s little stuff like this that drives you crazy. If Flacco was actually moving the ball, I’d be fine with the call.
The owrst part is
Is that all week I said that if we could score 3 TD’s, we would most likely win this game. We do that, it is 21-20. How freaking hard is that against a defense that was ranked 18th all season, missing Bob Sanders, has no true Nose Tackle, and had 2 rookie CB’s playing?
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
I DID predict the Colts would
score 20 points. Unfortunately, I had us at 28. Oops!
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:36 AM EST up reply actions
Admission
Boner is that an admission that you failed miserably on your call that I failed miserably with my spelling? That call sure blew up in your face. Again, although judging by your avatar that’s not the only thing thats blown in your face recently.
Perhaps for your birthday someone will buy you a dictionary since its obvious that you didn’t get one for Xmas/Christmas.
Wow
that was so clever of you. I give up. You must be really smart with a bunch of friends.
by Ravens Boner on Jan 17, 2010 11:54 AM EST up reply actions
You are right
that scoring 3 TDs " may " have won them the game but that was always going to be easier said than done. They failed to score a TD against the Colts with numerous opportunities when they played them earlier in the year so scoring 3 TDs was a long shot. Not to mention the fact that the Colts are almost guaranteed to score 3 TDs against any defence.
Aside from Rice, big Joe had no targets. Perhaps Cam got a little too excited with how easily the Ravens moved the ball on their first series because after that they had very little to offer with the ball.
Gaither kept letting Freeney get inside with the same move. I was hoping Gaither would figure it out and force Freeney to roll out and around instead of the short way in.
Grubbs left his blocks early a number of occasions eliminating long Rice runs. He gives up too soon. With Rice you need to keep hitting your guy because Ray will extend the play.
Flacco needs to extend plays if the receivers aren’t getting open with original play. He can’t keep throwing terrible 3rd down passes. He has to give us a chance and be creative.
Plays should have been designed to get Mason open. He was a non-factor after torching the Colts on the first drive.
D-Williams was thrown a ball on 3rd down that should have gone to a better possession receiver. D-Will is a deep/jump ball guy. Not a Derrick Mason.
Ray Lewis hurts this team with his tough guy antics. That helmet to helmet really hurt his team. Devastating for a team leader to do that. He let us down and he knew it by his silence after the play.
Rice was 13-69. We did not use the run enough. Flacco threw 35 passes which was too much. Cams call that gave the Colts theball back with 2 left in the 1/2 killed our running game for the rest of the game. That series was huge and he was unrealistic with his plan.
Our D played great considering they again had to carry the load against the Colts as our offense waited until game time to figure out what they wanted to do. There was no establishing the run, the pass, a single player, a play, a plan, a gimmick…Nothing was done again. Just a boring, generic, easily read offense. How can you lose 8 straight times to a team. You have 20 coaches on this team watching film and preparing and you get an effort a 5th grader could pull together the night before.
most of rice's yards
came on that 33 yd carry where he fumbled at the end. he didnt really have any success anyway
by On3 Man Army on Jan 17, 2010 4:43 PM EST up reply actions
Agree with everything but the Ray hit
How does any aggressive player know exactly where the opponent’s helmet will be at the moment of impact. the league needs to look at “intent” in order to call those types of plays.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:44 AM EST up reply actions
I agree the defensive side of the ball is a lot different then the offensive side. Offensively the players know where they are going and it’s all about timing. Talk to any defensive player and they will tell you that the defensive side is mostly just reacting. They have to react so quickly and can’t think “I can’t hit him here, I can’t hit him there” Especially with the qb, if you touch him it’s a PI. I wish the league would change these rules but doubt it, because we all know the league wants those high scoring passing games and lean most of the rules to favor that side of the ball.
If Ray doesn't make that hit...
its a touchdown right there. What exactly is he supposed to do? (I mean besides reading you mind from miles away and doing exactly whatever you as some random fan dictates as the proper way to excel at football).
That’s the biggest problem I see right there…for some reason the Ravens aren’t doing exactly what some random guy on the internet says to do. Damn it….Fix THIS!!!
"The ball always seems to find Ed Reed...The man is a menace"
by UMBC Oriole fan on Jan 18, 2010 10:26 AM EST up reply actions
The Lewis play
was a killer and going into halftime at that score broke their backs. Giving Manning more than a minute to move the ball just prior to the half was suicidal. The game is completely different if the Ravens go into halftime only down by one score as opposed to two TDs.
The Colts defence this year is much improved on previous years and it was always going to be tough, if not impossible to outscore the Colts by two TDs with their respective offenses.
No, the backbreaking part of that Colts' TD
was the wussy way we went three and out to give the Colts the ball back with time on the clock. No killer instinct to try to get points for us at the drive before we punted. Silly, stupid but sadly predictable.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:45 AM EST up reply actions
2 minute drill
I really think we might be the worst team in the league at 2 minute drill. That also seems to be the biggest time that flacco struggles. We also like to waste all of our timeouts early so if we do get something going we are in an even bigger rush because we have no timeouts.I would rather us just run the clockout, because when we do try to get points, the play calling is nowhere near aggressive enough to try to get some points.
Agreed
Obviously, Cam has zero confidence in himself or the team so he plays it conservatively in the 2 minute drill because he’s so afraid we will make a stupid mistake but who knows we might actually score once or twice if he tried to go for it.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 19, 2010 9:01 AM EST up reply actions
raven
I’m only going to say this once.
Raven, SHUT UP. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about with Flacco. If he leaves town I’m blaming all of this on your idiocy. Give it a rest and find something else to talk about. Flacco will be very good. Just not right now. Here’s why:
1) He is injured. Flacco has been dealing with injuries since the Vikings game. Notice the dropoff in his passing statistics once his was ankle was rolled when Jared Allen stepped on his foot. It’s like night and day. And he just hasn’t had the time to get better. Let’s see what he does this offseason. And watch his mobility magically return. No more “Joe Robot” when he’s healthy. Or did you forget all about his first season?
2) Flacco is in his SECOND YEAR. It is very hard to evaluate quarterbacks after two years in this league because they just haven’t had the time to learn all the intangibles that go along with being a prime NFL quarterback. It takes three to four years at a minimum. Only in very rare instances can a QB transition into this league and perform at a high level. We happened to watch one of those rare cases last night. How many Peyton Mannings are there? That’s right, one. And how many other franchises are struggling to find good QB play in the league? Over half. We’ve gotten to the playoffs two years in a row and yet this fan base cannot stop whining.
3) Flacco’s offensive line is young and promising, but still has a long way to go. While they are excellent at run blockng and create good holes and seal block well, their pass blocking is still suspect. This can be fixed with time and practice. But it doesn’t do Flacco any favors when the pocket gets crushed quickly, and his receivers are slow, which happened with regularity this season.
4) Flacco needs new receivers. This is obvious. Derrick Mason is solid, but aging. Kelly Washington is underused. But other than that, who can Flacco count on to make a play in the clutch? Watching last night, it was pretty obvious that he made the throws most of the time. But his receivers all had a case of butterfingers and alligator arms. Meanwhile, we see Reggie Wayne glue the ball to his hands and come up with plays in the clutch for the other side. Just a little disparity in talent there. Ozzie Newsome knows this. He will come through as he always seems to do (and for all you Oz haters out there, shut it. This team wouldn’t be nearly as good without him and you all know it).
5) As fans, we just don’t know what really goes on when the TV cameras are not fixed on the sideline. Flacco cares about this team. He is one of the most dedicated film watchers out there. It’s not like he isn’t trying to do the best job he can do. But he can’t be perfect. Even Peyton makes boneheaded decisions sometimes. It comes from being human. Yes, this town has been starved for good QB play. But we have to be patient…good quarterbacks don’t develop overnight.
raven, if you think you can do a better job than Joe then go and try out for the Ravens yourself.
I’m a fan of this blog, but am rapidly losing patience with it from all the boneheaded comments on here. Guys, moral of the story: THINK before you write!
by burds358 on Jan 17, 2010 12:13 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I agree with this, but let's avoid fights here
Give Flacco a chance, Raven! He’s still young, he IS our franchise
"We're only going to score 17 points?"
burds358- Your the type of fan that lets Peter Angelos keep doing what he’s doing. Your an owners dream fan. Settle for mediocrity and half time shows. The fans were ripped off. You play to win the game. You play to be a champion..not 4th runner up or a Wild Card wonder. I’m glad you like the current program. If you haven’t been a fan since the very begining, I understand your optimism.
1. Never said Flacco doesn’t care.
2. Didn’t say Flacco was perfect but a 40 something pass % in the playoffs isn’t good. That’s WITH the Rice dump offs.
3. I like Ozzie.
4. Not asking Flacco to be Manning just for him to show up when it counts.
5. If I were the Ravens QB we’d have a better win % over the past 10 years. I’d be the O-coord on top of that. We’d play to win the game. A novel idea.
Agree with the o-line comments
but Flacco is NOT injured and while veryone is sore this time of year, that is NO excuse for his poor performances against the tougher teams. Want to give him credit when he has a great game against the weaker teams? Then blame him when he throws Red Zone picks that cost us games , or can’t seem to find an open receiver. Sure, let’s give him a top notch WR, but be careful, because if there is no progress with that, then what’s the excuse for him after that?
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:48 AM EST up reply actions
So true Bruce. Flacco is essentially in his 3rd year with the number of games he’s played. Telling still, he’s had the luxury of great D’s. Imagine his luck if he played with Cleveland. I refuse to believe that Joe is a mute when dealing with Cam. I would think that Joe has input and has the ability to check out of plays and make suggestions. If not shame on Cam. If so, then Flacco is not getting it done.
Good assessment on the Ravens final game against the Colts. The receivers missed catching almost all of Flaccos attempts which were made. Only Derrick Mason was dependable……..Also, where was McGahee??? Need to NOT overuse RICE!!!! Too predictable.
If FLACCO has been playing injured, WHY was Troy Smith not used for some relief!!!
We need a big play WR
At this point, defences can just double cover Mason. Flacco isn’t very mobile even when he IS healthy, the injury really hampered him. Flacco has a very strong arm, the way he underthrew the reciever on his first INT shows that he simply couldn’t step into his throws well at all.
"We're only going to score 17 points?"
Flacco injury…then sit the down and let Smith or Beck play. If he can’t throw or run then why play him. Is he better than the other two playing 50%. If you’re in the game you better get it done. If you don’t want to be criticized then sit down and lick your wounds. Cam shouldn’t play him if we have to talk about his bumps and bruises and how he couldn’t play well and needed protection and fresh diapers.
The Colts D gets a bad wrap. Manning scores fast and often and the D has possessions to give up. They can play prevent because they have the lead often. That hurts their numbers but they win.
But, how did Cam move the ball on the first drive. A reverse (which I applauded), 2 passes to Mason, Ray running, a McLaine smash up the gut. All that went out the window and it became Ray run, Ray Rice dump off. We played to the competition. We played to react to the Colts possessions. For once I’d like to see us go out and take the game and do what we want. Let Flacco go deep. Hit or miss, send a message that we are playing to win.
Too many teams know they can move up on the line and not worry about the big strike. Cam only has guts against bad teams. everyone else gets our pussy foot offense. Without D turnovers we have little chance to beat any good team. We can’t do it on our own.
Agree with you here raven
No idea why Cam shys away so quickly with what is working. It is almost like he is still trying to experiment to see what he can get away with, but against a great team like the Colts, experimenting will get you down in a hole very quickly.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Noticfe how well our offensive line does against the bigger
d-lines that we beat? And how poorly we do against the athletic d-line’s like Indy? Hmmm…
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:49 AM EST up reply actions
Yea. Everyone is pissed at Gaither for getting demolished by Freeney that game, but go back and look at our games in the past against the Colts, Ogden used to get destroyed also. It is not really Gaither’s fault, Freeney is just THAT good. Oher man handled Mathis though.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Ya I would have liked to give Oher a shot at freeney. Oher is more athletic than gaither and didn’t Oher go up against him the first time we played while gaither was out?
Ogden pretty much handled Freeney
and Gaither always gets beat by the better guys. Once again, this team can’t make its stats and rep ff of the bad teams, they need to be made off of the good ones, which isn’t happening win or stats wise!
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 19, 2010 9:02 AM EST up reply actions
I think everyone is overreacting...
The way I’m reading this, it seems like everyone is ready to give up on Flacco, Cam Cameron and Harbaugh. Why don’t you give it a week and then rethink.
Flacco – Everyone knows he’s been hurt much more than he leads on. My buddy was at the Indy game and met Flacco’s cousin. His cousin had said that since Week 8, Flacco was battered with injuries. Also, the front office needs to give Flacco a chance to be successful. Our receivers are D grade receivers at best. D Williams should’ve caught that third down throw. Instead, he tries catching it with one hand. He sucks. The only receiver that is average on our team is Mason. And with a double team, he is taken out. For those saying we should throw it deep to D Williams, why? He doesn’t catch it when we do. Before throwing Flacco to the wolves, give him some quality receivers to work with.
Cam Cameron – He is well known around the entire nfl as one of, if not the best OC out there. Quit blaming the inability of receivers to get open on Cameron’s play calling. It just gets annoying.
Harbaugh – He’s 21-11 in reg season and 4-2 in the playoffs as a second year coach with a rookie and 2nd year QB…get off his back as well. His numbers speak for himself.
I only dog Harbs for his red flag and TO use. i like the guy. he’s a head coach. his coords run the game. he just needs to wave swords and shovels and not burn TO’s.
He had the shovel to help dig our grave for after last night and the sword to slice the birthday cake for Joey.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Next year will be a disaster. Too many needs and minimal growth this year at multiple positions.
Declined: McClaine (running), Clayton, Suggs (pass rush), Price (age), Walker, Ivy, Landry, Lewis (age), Mason (age), Reed (health), Flacco, Heap (health), kicking game, kick return, TE position, receiver position, Gooden.
Improved: Rice, McGahee, Webb, Carr, Oher, Foxworth, Ellerbe, Yanda, Zibby….
Our depreciation of players/positions outweighs any improvements. I’ll leave Flacco alone to keep everyone happy. He might be great one day when we load up with Pro-bowl receivers.
You think FOXWORTH improved???
Based on what – his 10 yard cushion on coverage and his fear of hitting someone once they’ve caught the ball?
"Talk’s cheap. Let’s go play." - Unitas
Yeah. He gave up less big plays as the year went on. I didn’t say he was great just that he improved. I always give him a hard time for his shirt tackles but over all the entire DB field improved- Even Frank. They contained Manning enough to win.
Gotta disagree with you
What i saw last night was a guy who was still too far away from his cover and who, when the cover caught the pass, was either slow to take him down – like 10-15 yards slow – or just slow-played until someone else did it for him.
"Talk’s cheap. Let’s go play." - Unitas
Foxworth made HUGE progress
this season and remember he is on the opponents’ #1 WR, which is always tough. Unless you are always expecting a Revis or Woodson type here, you need to see the good he has done lately.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:51 AM EST up reply actions
Sorry, not the way I see it
Wasn’t that Foxworth 5 yards off the receiver in the endzone Saturday with his back to the ball??
"Talk’s cheap. Let’s go play." - Unitas
Yup, he was
but I also can’t believe that everyone knew Reggie was cutting in front of him. However, Reggie is way better than most of the guys Fox’s faced. He did well against Moss.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 19, 2010 9:03 AM EST up reply actions
Here is what the Ravens need to do about Flacco
1) Baltimore needs to fire their QB coach and get someone to teach Flacco how to read defenses and find his receivers .
2) He the guy is not a leader yet when the team is asking him to take the lead. The commentary last night said it best when they mentioned Ray lewis is the team leader. If he is your team leader you are in trouble. A good QB leads the entire offense and team. Look at Ben and how is friends with his O-line and treats his receivers by working with them. Remember Charlie Batch has helped Big Ben a lot. More then most of us think. What Baltimore needs to do is let Troy Smith go and get a veteran 2nd string QB to help Flacco out.
3) I think the receivers are an issue but Flacco needs to stop staring down his targets and spread the ball out more. I think even if Flacco had Larry Fitz he just stare him down all the way. It is just way to easy to read his eyes. Also Flacco has work with then one receiver and find out what their strengths and weakness are.
4) I know the fans of Baltimore want a trophy but it takes time to build a good team.
I think Flacco could be good but I think next year will tell if he has signs of greatness or not. The question is can he survive the Baltimore sports media before they run him out of town on a knee-jerk reaction.
by steeler_in_maryland on Jan 17, 2010 8:16 PM EST up reply actions
Well said
I do agree about our QB coach, Hue Jackson. The funny thing is, there were talks of him maybe getting a head coaching spot during the regular season. He might not be the right coach, he might be. He coached Mike Vick, so he knows how to work with scrambling QB’s. But Joe needs to be a pocket QB, but also needs to work on his scrambling and……..it goes on and on.
As for letting Troy go, I agree. Love the guy as our back up and I do trust him if we had to use him, but we need a veteran and not a bunch of 2nd and 3rd year QB’s like we have now with Smith and Beck. Upset that we never got a guy like Jeff Garcia, Brunnel or even Warner in here.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Well, maybe we can get Favre...
Is his tour of NFC teams over yet?
"Talk’s cheap. Let’s go play." - Unitas
HA! When I read
QB coach, Hue Jackson
This^, I had an image of wolverine from “Epic Movie” flash through my head.
"OOH! A piece of candy. OOH! A piece of candy."
-James Woods
This team has
been too one dimensional for too long and they are sadly lacking big play weapons on offense. Opposing teams know that if they can get a decent lead ( i.e 10pts ) against the Ravens that they will be facing a very limited offense coming back at them. The Ravens can’t afford to get into a shoot out with any team, let alone a team with the offensive options and diversity of the Colts.
They need to get another WR and quickly. I don’t know why they didn’t make a play for Chris Chambers during the season. He would have at least provided Flacco with another option. When your RB is your leading receiver it is painfully obvious that your offense is very limited.
In saying all that, I still think that Harbaugh and Flacco are the best options for the future of this team.
You write
offense and defence. Can I borrow a dictionary?
by Ravens Boner on Jan 17, 2010 12:30 PM EST up reply actions
Let it go
Bonehead. If you had a friend or two they might lend you a dictionary. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and in this case to spell certain words. Now that the season is over perhaps you can take a few night classes and see if you can get that IQ of yours into triple digits. Perhaps a little more time over the books and a little less time drooling over muscle bound men will help your cause.
Now get back to your baby oil.
Thanks
for putting me in my place. You are so smart.
by Ravens Boner on Jan 17, 2010 1:01 PM EST up reply actions
That was REALLY WEAK, son.
Now change that icon AND YOUR NAME, because I’m embarrassed that you’re a Ravens fan.
Our Offense could be great next year.
Flacco could be ready to have a break-out season. People have to understand that Flacco’s injury was far more serious that Harbaugh or Joe indicated. His throws have looked awful from the Oakland game. 2nd year is always tough, just ask Matt Ryan, I think next year we’ll have a true number number 1 WR and Flacco will have a pro-bowl season.
Rice should improve and become one of the best HB’s in the league. I’m not sure what we’re gonna do with Willis, he’s too good to be a backup and we may have to trade him.
Our WR’s…gah. If Mason stays and we get Dez Bryant or Boldin or Marshall, we could finally have a decent WR core. This would allow us to open up our passing game and let Flacco use his strong arm. This would also likely improve our running game a lot.
Our O-Line should also improve significantly. Gaither is very good, he struggled mightily yesterday because of his injury. Oher should make long strides to becoming one of the best linemen in the league. Matt Birk is very good.
"We're only going to score 17 points?"
Edge, sorry to inform you
but Flacco is not any more injured than anyone else this time of year. Even Joe said he was surprised to hear that so many people were even talking about it, as he thought he was fine and even went as far to say he was completely healthy for the Colts’ game. Zero excuses from him, so stop making them for him.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:53 AM EST up reply actions
You may be right Bruce,
But I’ll point out that the player is the last person who’s going to admit that they’re injured
"We're only going to score 17 points?"
In all cerealness
You all had a great season, much better than I thought you would. I still cannot comprehend why Ray Rice only got 13 carries? And 19 rushes total? If you have a 4.6 ypc and your feature back has a 5.2, why wouldn’t you run it more? Looked like a Bruce Arians called game out there.
Please don’t draft or trade for a WR again this offseason. Thanks.
Optimism. Positivity. Win.
When the defense gets you down 17-3 going into the 2nd half, you kind of have to start throwing it way more.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
You don't have to completely abandon the run though
Maybe if it is late in the 4th, but I don’t see the point in abandoning it as early as they did.
Optimism. Positivity. Win.
Besides, nobody expects you to run when you're down.
Any good DC will play a version of prevent when they have a lead in the 4th. Just opens up huge gaps for 10+ yard runs, and if you have an explosive player (like Rice) who can juke a safety out of their jock strap, you just might get those 30+ yard rushing TD’s.
"OOH! A piece of candy. OOH! A piece of candy."
-James Woods
If the run was working, we'd keep using it.
But the Colts were shutting it down pretty well and then Joe was , just Joe as he’s been the latter part of the season.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:54 AM EST up reply actions
But we were left with way too many
third and longs and needed to pass more.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 19, 2010 9:04 AM EST up reply actions
Why can't the refs let us hit like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxsleIHdiVc&feature=related
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
A well played, hard fought game
Just kidding…you guys are terrible. Why would you even start to think you had any chance of beating the colts? HA HA HA HA
See, I respect Manning as the greatest QB of all-time
But fans like you just make the respectable colts fans look bad.
"We're only going to score 17 points?"
Wow...
you make Colts fan look terrible when you troll like this. GTFO Troll…
In all seriousness it was a good game. Colts played some of the best D I have seen them play. When you can hold Ray to under 100 yards rushing, you know you did something right. It’s always fun watching these two teams play. Good luck next season Ravens fans.
Bob Sanders does not play Hide-and-Seek, He plays HIDE and PRAY-HE-DOES-NOT FIND-YOU!
One player....
If it wasn’t for ONE player – no Indy fan would even be watching football this time of year. You’d be watching re-runs of American Gladiator with Mike Adamle and Larry Csonka. So, don’t crow about being a Colts fan – you’re a Manning fan. Exit Manning, Colts lose. It’s obvious. Enjoy the man while he’s there because Indy will never be competitive again in the NFL once he retires. It will be over for you quicker than a 9th grade blow job. Let’s see just how dedicated the Indy fans are when the team is spending the next 20 years searching for a new identity that will never come. Helloooooooooo? Is there anybody hooooooooome? What’s that echo? Ohhhhh, it’s the sound of emptiness in the RCA Dome…..
Yea, no shame in telling us we suck. We know this already.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Nope
Haven’t been fishing since the 6th. Did catch some nice flounder and rockfish during those couple days
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
I'm having de `javu here
this Cowboys/Vikings game is worse than our game last night
Lonely Ravens fan in Cheese Head country (Watertown, WI)
Just wait - I hear Favre is going to take over the Tonight show
And Jay Leno is going to QB the Vikings next year – if they can get an exemption for his chin always being offside.
"Talk’s cheap. Let’s go play." - Unitas
We lost one monkey
We did finally get rid of the Pats monkey this year. Looks like we take the Indy monkey with us into 2010. Joe is going to get better. I am still convinced Indy put something on the ball last night that repelled the Ravens receivers from catching it or holding on to it. The league should look into this….in all seriousness we have been here before and we will rise again (with all the necessary changes we need- many already mentioned). It was a tough loss just because our team looked so good last week. Sadly we changed back into the pumpkin before the game last night. I had a hearty cup of the purple kool-aid. Today I am more positive and am looking forward to next year.
Does anyone feel that Ozzie made the wrong decision for Head coach?
I felt that Rex was the guy who should’ve took over last year. I know we’ve made it to the playoffs the last two years, but Rex absence really showed this year.
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
My kool-aid was spiked with 151%
Especially after last night. My battery expired like the Ravens did in the 3rd qtr. The monkey on our backs was a silver backed gorilla. The season ended in fitting fashion; like the other bad performances this year. My anger had major mismanagement this year. More than the previous years, because the expectations were much higher. After last years run, I anticipated more progress, since we retained our talent and added more through the draft. But, the one glaring deficiency we continue to not address is a bonafide deep threat wide receiver. Not taking away from Derrick Mason, but, like the majority of the receivers we get, they’re better suited for slant and crossing routes. That’s why we always have problems playing the Colts; it’s because their speed and zone styled defense tends to better defend against those type routes. That’s one of the reasons why Todd Heap, Clayton, Washington, and Mason couldn’t be effective. Aside of course, from the dropped passes, turnovers, penalties, Flacco’s injuries, etc…….Our defense did as well as it could. Keeping Indy to 20 points is as good as one can expect from our defense. I knew in order to have a chance in this game, we would have to score at least 21 or better on points. If we are going to have a chance to improve next year, we MUST get a veteran bonafide deep threat receiver, and draft another like the latter. Our defense is aging, and may have 2 years left to play at a competitive level before a big overhaul is needed. But, right now and until then, we must address the offense immediately. If we don’t, it will all be the same ol’,same ol’, and more likely worse. The front office MUST NOT squander this opportunity to build on the talent we have!
I bid you all farewell to this season’s end, and hope Ozzie and Gang can make the right call’s to lead us to another ring. Sooner, rather than later!
It's funny
that you classify our receivers as slant and crossing route runners. It perplexes me even more now why we don’t have any slant route in passing game. Always to the outside.
Hilarious
Great post, archon!
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:56 AM EST up reply actions
Jets win
17-14, moving onto the AFC Championship Game to face the Colts.
Good for Rex Ryan. At least we still got some “Ravens” in the playoffs.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
LT will never get a Superbowl
It is a shame to see players who are considered by many to be the greatest to ever play the position not get rings.
LT and Reed will never get rings and they have been the best at their positions the last 10 years. It is a shame.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Sorry, but I disagree about
LT being the greatest at his position. Reed, on the other hand…
That is, unless you’re referring to Lawrence Taylor. :-D
Not saying LT is
But he is considered by many to be the best RB ever. And he has definitely made a case for that. I do not think anyone was better than Barry though.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Watching Chris Berman
I am sick and tired of these guys always acting surprised when Jets beat the Chargers, when Ravens beat the Patriots. Just because they are wild card, it means to these “experts” that it is the most amazing thing if they win. I hate that crap, these guys are such homers and only want Colts-Patriots every year.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
That’s changing slowly. I am actually amazed that the Ravens get as much attention as they do considering there poor record in big regular season games. They get plenty of props.
I'm not big on college football, but from what I understand, Dez Bryant is the one we want
Can someone tell me:
At our current DP, do you think we can get him?
Which current recievers is he similar to?
tyvm
"We're only going to score 17 points?"
Nope
In most mock drafts, Dez is gone by pick 11. Kiper got him ranked as the number 1 WR and a top 10 player on the big board. Only way we get Bryant is if we thorw everything to move up in the top 10 or if he falls into the late teens early 20’s. Other then that, we should be looking at Tate and Benn.
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kiper is a moron...
he is a little bit more accurate than picking random names in the draft. Next draft, print up all the prospected kids on a sheet and have a small child pick the names at random. Outside of the very top of the first round, the little kid will smoke Kiper. I did it with my two year old niece last year.
"The ball always seems to find Ed Reed...The man is a menace"
by UMBC Oriole fan on Jan 18, 2010 10:35 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, but his hair
looks great! Still!
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 19, 2010 9:06 AM EST up reply actions
It will all depend on his Combine performance most likely
I have seen mock drafts of us getting him at 25 and seen mock drafts of him going in the top 10. Alot of people have Dez Bryant going to Miami.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Boomer
was so pumped at half-time that it was going to be the 4 best QBs fighting it out. The underdogs had to go mess it up. It would be so funny if the Jets knocked off Indy since they were the ones that layed down for the Jets. That would make me feel a little better. Tall order but not impossible.
I thought about that too,
and I can’t wait to see it happen. That’ll give the so-called pundits something to talk about later.
I hope so
Rex really deserves it. I hope he rubs it in Steve and Ozzie’s faces also for not making him the H.C. of Baltimore!!!!!!!
FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't want to see Rex win because
he will continue along with Bart to say they were the reason we didn’t do as well this year w/o them, which I disagree. However, seeing that spoiled brat Rivers sulk and whine on the sideline was priceless. How in the world can you ever compare his demeanor or performances with Peyton’s when discussing the best QB’s in the league!?
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:58 AM EST up reply actions
Under the radar
is a good thing imho. The Jets could make it happen. The red hot Chargers, not so hot. Just like Romo was going all the way…home.
Imagine if mason retires and we don’t really address the WR position. Mark Clayton would be our #1 receiver and we will be screwed.
I really would not be surprised if Clayton and Washington are our WR next year with some scrub he signs off FA. Would not surprise me at all.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
And Rice, don't forget Flacco's second favorite target...
"OOH! A piece of candy. OOH! A piece of candy."
-James Woods
defense is our go to
we need cornerbacks just as much as wide recievers
what is the bigger need for the ravens this offseason db’s or wr’s
Loosing Ravens!
Loosing this game by the Ravens couldn’t happen to a( better LOL) team. Yeeeppeeeeeee.
No perspective...
I love reading these posts. Everyone here is an expert. That’s why they’re in the NFL calling the shots lol. The Ravens were an AFC semi-finalist this year. They were one of the eight best teams in the league. You don’t fire the second year head coach after two playoff appearances. You don’t bench Flacco and play Troy Smith (oh, God how clueless some people are) just to “see what he can do.” You don’t trade away your young starting left tackle. The Ravens have some subtle adjustments to make and I have all the confidence in the world that Ozzie & Company will do it. One good thing about making it this far into the post season is that a team’s obvious weaknesses become that much more obvious. Teams get exposed by very good competitors. It’s easy to identify where the issues are. The Joe Flacco critics? The guy’s a second year starter. I’ll give you $20 – go buy a clue. The Ravens need a legitimate number one receiver to scare a defense and draw double coverage. Flacco’s job gets easier when that happens. Derrick Mason is a serviceable receiver still, but I’m talking Larry Fitzgerald or Andre Johnson “number one.” Foxworth? The Ravens paid him stupid money that no other team wanted to pay him. He’s an ok CB but he’s not going to fare well drawing the opposing team’s number one WR game in and game out. He’s certainly not worth what they paid him. In addition to a top offensive threat in a bonafide number one receiver, the Ravens need a legitimate DE pass rusher that can create havoc in the offensive backfield by pressuring the QB. They need a good “shut down” corner, and a fast and physical LB to replace Bart Scott. The problem is, they are now contending with an aging defense where Ray and Ed are about done. I like the young offensive line and backfield – which will only improve. They are a WR or two, and maybe a TE away from being pretty dangerous. I’m worried about the defense. After Ed, Ray, and even Trevor Price fade – there are going to be some huge holes to fill and I don’t see who’s waiting in the wings. Can it be that the Ravens will morph into a top-contender in most offensive categories over the next few years while the once dangerous defense gives up 24+ ppg? Get ready, we may be watching Arizona Cardinal style football in Batimore soon with games ending 48 to 45. LOL
Yeah, right
From your mouth to god’s ears. Keep believing. Thanks for the solid post though.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 18, 2010 9:59 AM EST up reply actions
You don’t fire the second year head coach after two playoff appearances. You don’t bench Flacco and play Troy Smith (oh, God how clueless some people are) just to "see what he can do." You don’t trade away your young starting left tackle.
You don’t?
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Not unless you...
own the Redskins or something….
"The ball always seems to find Ed Reed...The man is a menace"
by UMBC Oriole fan on Jan 18, 2010 10:22 PM EST up reply actions
it's been fun
Hey Bruce, just wanna say thanks for maintaining this forum. It’s been a real insight into the views of the purple faithful & a fair place for me to offer my observations. After reading your article I see we agree on so much but differ on what hurts the Ravens & keeps them from competing with the Colts. Maybe I’ll start a thread sometime, but bottom line is until the Ravens, Ray Lewis & the fans learn that the “Raven Way”, accepting penalties for “ILLEGAL HITS” is OK because it’s just football as Ray says, they will never mature into a championship caliber team. That “Raven Way” attitude leads to losses on the field & more importantly sloppy play. Anyone who wants to see the Ravens improve must see the consequences of Ray’s continued battles with the officials & the NFL. You hear after every game from every team & player, they have to learn from their mistakes. Can anyone argue that the amount of dumb Raven penalties didn’t hurt them this year? & is a problem that needs to be fixed? so how do you correct it when your star & fans accept it, because it’s just football?
anyway, enjoy the rest of the season, I’m rooting for Farve.
Where Have You Gone Johnny U?
Bright spot this year
Has to be Ray Rice’s coming out…….as a New Jersey native I’ve watched him at Rutgers as he ran through Big East competition. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when we drafted him and almost got Kenny Britt this year (damn you Titans!). Anyway, there are some needs to be addressed and it has definitely been a roller coaster ride this year. I don’t like underachieving but to make it to the playoffs this year after how we’ve played was definitely a cause for celebration. Hope the Oz approaches the draft and free agency a little different this year. We have a need for a WR, TE, CB and potentially a safety if Ed hangs it up…which I hope to God doesn’’t happen. With such a standout resume people forget he hasn’t been playing that long (2002). Maybe the projected CB we are looking at from Florida State will be impactful.
by Dfense4champs2052 on Jan 26, 2010 8:43 AM EST reply actions
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