Baltimore Ravens Thread

HigginsJ

mikemac1 wrote: »

Interesting article from Aaron Wilson, beat reporter

Ravens face cap hell in 2014 :eek:

Now what the Steelers tend to do is restructure contracts and just push the problem down the road.

Ozzie has zero hesitation about letting vets go, sure he cut Todd Heap, Derrick Mason and Kelly Gregg the second the CBA ended



There are quite a few players looking for new contracts next year.
Corey Graham, Michael Oher, Dennis Pitta just the main examples

Not a hope they are all going to be kept

edit: Jacoby Jones is an expensive vet at 4.9 million this year. He won't be brought back in 2014

With Bernard Pierce looking like a very decent RB (admittedly in limited touches) could that weaken Ray Rice's position & they look to get him to take a pay cut?

mikemac1

He's on the second year of a 5 year 35 million deal

It's possible I guess though I don't see it happening

By 2016 the contract will be over and Rice will be 29

Pierce will be finished his rookie deal

If Pierce continues to impress then I'd imagine Rice will be let go. Willis McGahee was an excellent back but he was super expensive and the team burned themselves with a dead money hit. Never again will they put an older RB on a backloaded deal.
Rice's deal was front loaded so the cap hit is high now it will come down in future years

I think Rice will hit FA but that's a few years off.

Pierce was a 3rd round pick so he's cheap so they can afford to pay a running back at moment.

Emperor1989

Been impressed with this Ravens d despite just conceding a td as a write now.

Offense has basically meant that the D has been on the pitch the whole game so far. They have done very well shuting out the Bills twice when in the red zone.

Elam made a really good tackle as well in that TD drive for the Bills. Need to get the offense going now.

Emperor1989

2 picks for the Bills d...dear oh dear. Dickinson has had 6 dropped passes so far this year.

Incredible how much Flacco struggles without Pitta

Emperor1989

Suggs having a great game here against the Bills. Another 3 and out for the Ravens....this is just so bad its hard to believe the offense.

Pudsy33

Decent mini-documentary about JJ here

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/videos/videos/NFL_Network_Jacoby_Jones_Sweet_Moves/587898ef-3dc9-45a9-97b2-d9bd5afcf2f3

Paully D

Pudsy33 wrote: »

Decent mini-documentary about JJ here

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/videos/videos/NFL_Network_Jacoby_Jones_Sweet_Moves/587898ef-3dc9-45a9-97b2-d9bd5afcf2f3

Cheers Pudsy, I enjoyed that. Looks like there's a chance he may be back in action against the Packers on Sunday which would be a big boost to our offense and special teams.

kevohmsford

Looking forward to the Packers game on Sunday. I am currently in Austin Texas with work. Could get used to all the NFL on here.
The college game is just massive. I knew it was a big deal but it is not till you come here that you realise how passionate people are about football.

Paully D

Our last two defeats have been by 2 and 3 points. So frustrating that the offense is giving us absolutely nothing.

matthew8

Difference between winning and losing today? That stupid play call to try for a TD just before the half 75 yards out with one play. So idiotic.

Paully D

Huff and Spears cut. Harbaugh certainly not afraid to admit mistakes.

mikemac1

Omar calling.....

Turnover machine Omar Brown on the team! :cool:

Trawick too. He's been coached up not to flatten his teammates anymore

Paully D

Osemele out this week and likely for the season due to surgery. An awful O-line just got even worse.

422nd

This thread has gone too quiet. I hope we aren't losing fans. :eek:

So, how do people feel about our shot at the playoffs? Can we overcome our inability to win on the road in these final weeks? I'm quietly confident. I think we can hold on to our playoffs streak.

Ivefoundgod

422nd wrote: »

This thread has gone too quiet. I hope we aren't losing fans. :eek:

So, how do people feel about our shot at the playoffs? Can we overcome our inability to win on the road in these final weeks? I'm quietly confident. I think we can hold on to our playoffs streak.

I can't see it. I'll be happy enough if we go .500 on the year and try rebuild in the off season for next year. Our roster is too weak in to many areas this year, especially with the injuries. I'd love to get one playoff game just to keep the run going but I can see us losing 2/3 of the last games. We should beat New England, especially without Gronk but I think we lose to Detroit and Cincy. I hope I'm wrong.

Pudsy33

I think we will make it. I'm quite confident we will win 2 of the last 3. Wins like the one at the weekend give me great faith in the team. Clutch as ****.

Are we in the playoffs now or do we have to beat the Pats too? Good play the other night!

Ivefoundgod

Deleted User wrote: »

Are we in the playoffs now or do we have to beat the Pats too? Good play the other night!

We have to win out to be 100% sure of being in the playoffs. If Miami lose to either the Jets or Buffalo we can afford to lose one of the remaining two games. After my pessimism last week I think we have a great chance now. I think we beat the Pats at home, I don't know what way the Bengals game will go but I'm pretty sure the Jets or the Bills do us a favour and let us sleep a little easier.

Son Of A Vidic

Like last week, this is another game I'm predicting my Pats will lose. Losing Gronk yet again, has put the icing on the cake for what has been a nightmarishly jinxed season. So I can't see anything for us but a quick playoff exit. There has to be a limit to Brady pulling out last second wins and I think we have reached it this season. This time last year I told you guys the Superbowl was yours, the Ravens had destiny written all over them. Harbuagh seems to have mastered the art of getting his team on form when it matters. So earlier in the season when you guys looked like a disaster, I took it with a pinch of salt. Because I knew you would pick it up at crunch time.

Flacco has now established a pattern of having some terrible games during the season. But like Eli, he plays his best stuff against us and I expect the same again today. While your offense might never light it up during the season, you have that Holy Grail us Pats fans seek - a fantastic defense. Defense does win Championships and you guys yet again have one of the, if not the best one in the league. So for me, the most dangerous team in the playoffs this year are the Ravens. The AFC team most likely to win the SB this year is the Ravens. And the AFC team, that NFC teams will least likely want to face has to be the Ravens.

My advice to any Ravens fans worried about making the playoffs this year? Keep calm and trust Harbaugh. You guys will get it done.

matthew8

I would disagree. While I predict a Ravens win today, the team is generally muck on the road and should lose next week. The defense is good but won't win games on its own and the offense badly needs to produce. They can't score TDs and if not for the best kicker in the league (this year) we would be eliminated already. Even with a win today it will be hard to win in Cincy with no run game and a passing game that is average at best.

Paully D

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Like last week, this is another game I'm predicting my Pats will lose. Losing Gronk yet again, has put the icing on the cake for what has been a nightmarishly jinxed season. So I can't see anything for us but a quick playoff exit. There has to be a limit to Brady pulling out last second wins and I think we have reached it this season. This time last year I told you guys the Superbowl was yours, the Ravens had destiny written all over them. Harbuagh seems to have mastered the art of getting his team on form when it matters. So earlier in the season when you guys looked like a disaster, I took it with a pinch of salt. Because I knew you would pick it up at crunch time.

Flacco has now established a pattern of having some terrible games during the season. But like Eli, he plays his best stuff against us and I expect the same again today. While your offense might never light it up during the season, you have that Holy Grail us Pats fans seek - a fantastic defense. Defense does win Championships and you guys yet again have one of the, if not the best one in the league. So for me, the most dangerous team in the playoffs this year are the Ravens. The AFC team most likely to win the SB this year is the Ravens. And the AFC team, that NFC teams will least likely want to face has to be the Ravens.

My advice to any Ravens fans worried about making the playoffs this year? Keep calm and trust Harbaugh. You guys will get it done.

We still have a hell of a lot to do to even make the playoffs IMO, let alone talk of us going deep into them. Tonight is a huge task. Then if we do manage to win we may have to go to Cincinnati and also win there. Much easier said than done.

Things are looking like they might be clicking into place though. Pitta coming back is huge given a) Flacco's trust in him and b) it means defenses have to take away the middle of the field now thus often leaving Torrey Smith one-on-one on the outside. There's also not many QB's I would take over Flacco in a final drive with the game on the line, whatever one can say about him, there's no denying he is clutch and Tucker is the best kicker in the league which is an underrated aspect of the team. However, on the opposite end of the scale, we can't run the ball, can't move the chains in short yardage situations and can't score TD's. Not a good combination.

I think the line tonight is about right, Ravens -2. It will be close. Hopefully the Bills can do us a favour against the Dolphins, but if we both win tonight it leaves us having to go to Cincinnati and win. A very tough task and I would be surprised if we made it without the Dolphins imploding against the Bills or Jets.

mikemac1

Four pro bowlers

Suggs
Ngata
Yanda
Tucker

None of the first three had especially good seasons, maybe a bit of name recognition there?

However Tucker deserves it for sure :cool:

Paully D

mikemac1 wrote: »

Four pro bowlers

Suggs
Ngata
Yanda
Tucker

None of the first three had especially good seasons, maybe a bit of name recognition there?

However Tucker deserves it for sure :cool:

Yeah, it's a popularity contest more than anything. Yanda was probably next most deserving after Tucker. He's been by far our best O-lineman, although that's not saying much :pac:

Happy Christmas/New Year to all Ravens fans by the way. What a great year it has been for us:

GoldFour4

Been spending the day lazing about on the laptop. Came across this video, not sure whether many of you have seen it before but I thought it was a pretty nice little vid about one of the best games of last season!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHoK5dnAKs

kevohmsford

Disappointing end to the season for the Ravens.

Flacco just never looked like getting it done. His injury must be pretty bad.

Where does the team need strengthening ? A new wide receiver would be great. Will John Harbaugh keep his job ?

Pudsy33

kevohmsford wrote: »

Disappointing end to the season for the Ravens.

Flacco just never looked like getting it done. His injury must be pretty bad.

Where does the team need strengthening ? A new wide receiver would be great. Will John Harbaugh keep his job ?

The defense is young and is getting better so we are fine in that regard.

All the issues are on the other side of the ball. I find it hard to lay much blame on Flacco tbh. We have poor depth at receiver, a sieve for and offensive line and a pair of running backs who seem to have forgotten how to play. Couple that with some awful play calling and it's easy to see why Joe struggled. We need, in my opinion, a big possession receiver, like Boldin. Torrey Smith is a great deep threat but he's not hugely dependable. I don't know enough about the draft class but I will do some research. Then we should just take linemen.

Harbs has no chance of leaving but Caldwell needs a kick up the arse

kevohmsford

Flacco was just not getting enough protection/ options really. Pitta and Osemele being out so long did not help either. We had a lot of red zone fever. Yeah a big wide receiver would be greatly needed.

Pudsy33

The redzone stuff took years off my life absolute crap playcalling.

mikemac1

1. WR
2. Offensive lineman
3. Tight End
4. WR
5. Middle linebacker
6. Cornerback
7 What the hell, draft a punter as Sam Koch is costing a lot of valuable cap space

Always willing to get disagreed with
Just a quick plan for next April

Pudsy33

Mlb is a need, but I'd genuinely take more linemen. Marlon Brown has impressed me. I think one receiver would add an awful lot.