Baltimore Ravens Thread

kevohmsford

Seems Flacco will not be the same player after his injury last season.

Pretty much season over for us now. Losing the last four games against these teams has been disappointing.

johnciall

kevohmsford wrote: »

Pretty much season over for us now. Losing the last four games against these teams has been disappointing.

I dunno about that, we're 3-4 , the current 4th ranking in the AFC is 4-2, the Browns we're not.

We're ranked 8th in the AFC and we need to move to 6th or better for play offs, completely achievable if we turn it around on the by week and start getting more in the win column.

kevohmsford

johnciall wrote: »

I dunno about that, we're 3-4 , the current 4th ranking in the AFC is 4-2, the Browns we're not.

We're ranked 8th in the AFC and we need to move to 6th or better for play offs, completely achievable if we turn it around on the by week and start getting more in the win column.

I hope you are right. It would be great if we can turn it around but I just don't see it happening. Our offense needs to improve dramatically. Looking at the schedule at the start of the season I thought we had a decent chance of making the playoffs. Steelers, Browns, Cowboys and Bengals up next after the bye week.

Paully D

Well, beating Pittsburgh is always very welcome!

The run defense was superb. Absolutely superb. Regardless of the circumstances, holding Bell to 32 yards on 14 carries for an average of 2.3 yards per carry is just exceptional. It's one of the best run stopping performances against an elite back I have seen in a long, long time. On the passing game, I thought Big Ben was playing hurt but when they let loose in the 4th quarter he looked his old self so it's hard to know how much of it was our D being monstrous in the first 3 quarters or not or that we just started to play more soft coverage when we took the big lead?

That said, the offense is very worrying. Flacco, while always fairly inconsistent, has regressed massively from his peak in 2012 and 2014. I know he's coming back off a serious injury but we are through week 9 now and according to PFF he is grading out as one of the worst QB's in the league. Regardless of what people think of Flacco, there's no arguing he's better than the level he is showing this season. It's concerning.

We play at home to the Browns on the upcoming Thursday Night Football, so should be moving to 5-4. I'm still frustrated that despite how average we have been we are not looking at a chance to go around 7-2 here because of the way we blew previous games and the kind early schedule, but with the Bengals, Cowboys and Patriots to come in our next 3 of our next 4, anything other than a win here is unthinkable.

Best case scenario now I feel is that we're 7-6 (going 3-2 from Browns/Bengals/Cowboys/Patriots/Dolphins) coming into a home game with the Eagles followed by the return game @ Pittsburgh on Christmas Day. Imagine how big that Steelers game will be on Christmas if we're within touching distance at that stage. :eek:

Paully D

It wasn't pretty but at least we got the much needed win on Thursday night.

Man, our defense is playing lights out this year. If Flacco was even playing to an average level that D would give us a serious shot of going all the way.

Paully D

Nice to get the win over the Bengals for the first time in 5 attempts going back 3 years and end their season. They're a team we have really struggled against in the division over the last few seasons.

Run defense was absolutely superb once again, holding the Bengals to just 64 yards. The run D are giving up only 76 yards per game which is 5 yards less than 2nd best Panthers. Joint 1st in terms of rushing TD's given up (4) and 1st in yards given up per attempt at 3.4. Fun fact - despite the run D being the best in the league this season, we have actually given up the longest rushing TD of the season in the league at 85 yards to the Browns in week 2. It makes the stats we are putting up now even more impressive as imagine just what our run D numbers would look like without that on our record!

Jimmy Smith is a big loss in the secondary and although I've been saying it for 3 years now, improving the CB's should be the priority on D in the offseason. The Bengals put up almost 300 yards through the air on us today without AJ Green though I may be being a bit harsh as our pass D ranks top 10 overall. They also came up big on the last drive batting down 4 of Dalton's last 9 passes (!!!) and had a couple of strip sacks/forced fumbles throughout. Dumervile made a nice return with the winning play and Suggs came up big too.

Flacco continues to look a shadow of the 2014, pre-injury Flacco but at least we didn't abandon the run today and stuck with it with 30 attempts for almost 100 yards. Dixon and West were a nice 1-2 and kept the chains rolling.

Special mention to Justin Tucker who continues to show that he is the best kicker in the league. 34 straight now with 3 kicks made from 50+ today. The man's pure money.

Overall, a solid enough win ahead of a huge game at home to the Dolphins next week who are on a roll themselves. Tied for 1st in the division again now but are remaining games are vs Miami, @ Patriots, vs Eagles, @ Steelers and @ Bengals. All very tough games.

It's a shame the Steelers got such a huge slice of luck with Luck missing the game on Thursday with a concussion as I feel they would have lost there but what can you do. I think going 2-1 from the next 3 games is needed as I would expect the Steelers to do at least the same if not one better from their next 3 and they have the virtually guaranteed win against the Browns on the last day.

Christmas Day is shaping up to be a mouthwatering contest.

evil_seed

I've family in Baltimore. My cousin said there's reports that the Ravens are getting a London game next season

Paully D

evil_seed wrote: »

I've family in Baltimore. My cousin said there's reports that the Ravens are getting a London game next season

Yep. Rumoured to be playing @ Jaguars in London.

Paully D

Brilliant win today. One of the sweetest in a while as it was perfection on both sides of the ball.

I was a little worried early on when we didn't seem to be running the ball at all as that has ended up being an issue in the past for sure, but the coaches must have seen something on tape as we constantly targeted the middle of the field and completed passes time and time again there.

Flacco made a ridiculous mistake on the INT, but it's very hard to criticise 36/47 for over 380 yards and 4 TD's! Overall, that was his best game in a long time.

Yet again a word to the defense. 6 points conceded (which even came on a Pitta fumble), 62 yards on the ground and 215 through the air, 3 INT's. Another immense defensive stand that further cements this defense as being the best in the league. It reminds me of the Ravens of old.

Our offense ranked 26th prior to today. I've said it on here a few times now but man, if we could even get to an average level of offensive play on a consistent basis we would have a serious shot behind this D.

The commentator during the game said statistically our strength of schedule is the toughest remaining in the league. With @ New England, vs Eagles, @ Pittsburgh and @ Bengals it's easy to see why. We need to go 1-1 over the next 2 weeks to make that Pittsburgh game very meaningful. Anything at New England would be a huge bonus though I suspect all eyes are very much on the Eagles in week 15 now. If we were to lose both then there's a good chance the Steelers could afford to drop that game against us which is unthinkable at the moment.

Now to become a Giants fan for the night!

kevohmsford

Ravens playing in Wembley next season. I will try my best to go to that. Game is against Jaguars.

kevohmsford

So that's it for another season. Always a tough game against the Steelers. Antonio Brown proved to be the difference.
Expecting big changes before the start of next season. Steve Smith Sr will be missed. Legend.

tang1

kevohmsford wrote: »

So that's it for another season. Always a tough game against the Steelers. Antonio Brown proved to be the difference.
Expecting big changes before the start of next season. Steve Smith Sr will be missed. Legend.

Ye are sorted on defence for next while, Flacco is a good QB but could be great if he had decent targets to throw to. Smith is 37 years old and probably done after tonight, if Mike Wallace was any use no way the Steelers let him walk. If Ozzie gets some decent receivers in free agency or the draft(not likely with current class) Ravens are a force.

Paully D

So Marlon Humphrey is the pick at #16. I can get on board with that. I think the board didn't fall all that great for us considering that 3 QB's went before we picked. The 3 top WR's went (Davis, Williams and Ross), as did 2 of the best realistic pass rushers in our range (Barnett and Reddick).

Purely based on talent I'd be shocked if Foster wasn't BPA on our board at the time but Ozzie would have more information than anyone when it comes to Alabama products (which also helps when it comes to Humphrey) and it's obvious that the medical flags were real considering he fell to #31.

One thing is for sure, our secondary has improved immensely since the end of the season. Next season we will be starting with Jefferson, Weddle, Smith, Carr, Young, Humphrey. That's such a huge improvement, the front office have done a good job there. The Humphrey pick means our season won't be as good as over when Smith picks up his inevitable injury.

Now, we still have huge needs at EDGE, O-line and WR. We simply must get Flacco some help, but we are also desperate to add to that line and to get some pass rush. I think our best hope for tonight is to hope that there's a run on RB's and S's early (which I feel there may well be). We badly need to get out of tonight with two of the above positions addressed. It's hard to comment on the third round without knowing who will be there, but if we get out of the second with someone like Rivers/Williams/Willis/Lawson/Basham (all rushers), Zay Jones/Samuel (WR's) or Robinson/Lamp/Dawkins (O-line) I'd be happy.

Here's a good scouting report on Humphrey from PFF:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/draft-pff-scouting-report-marlon-humphrey-cb-alabama/

mikemac2

Is everyone listening The Lounge podcast ? It's produced by the team so all official

The two lads Ryan and Garrett are hilarious

This week they had
Joe Ortiz Director of college scouting
Vince Newsome director of pro personal
Eric deCosta assistant GM

All give a good insight into their roles. The podcasts are very funny with stories and tests like testing Ortiz on random long snappers from Ohio he is supposed to have scouted

I got a message read out a few months back when they were praising pumpkin beer for a few weeks. Near impossible to find in Ireland and there is a reason, it's muck

Paully D

Okay, first off I'll say I LOVE the Tim Williams pick. No one will get more information on Bama players than Ozzie, and while there is concerns, if he can stay out of trouble he's arguably the best value pick in the entire draft at #78. I would have been delighted with him at #47 even. He's a great scheme fit and he will hopefully come in with a huge chip on his shoulder.

I don't know as much about Bowser, can anyone shed some more light on him? I know Mayock said he's a less polished Hasson Reddick for comparison. I badly wanted Carl Lawson in that slot but he has slipped to day 3 so what do I know! :pac:

Anyway, D has been seriously loaded up on. We had one of the best D's in the league last season and we've subsequently added Jefferson, Carr, Humphrey, Bowser, Williams as well as Wormley. If Humphrey plus one of those drafted rushers works out then it'd be brilliant.

All that said, who is Flacco actually going to throw the ball to and who is actually going to keep him upright? I know we don't reach for players and I know we stick to our board, but the offense is very concerning and it's inexcusable to go through the offseason and draft without adding to a struggling offense in any way, shape or form. Boldin would be a solid WR option but you're probably looking at a situation now where we will have to go all out for Mangold and Dunlap on the O-line.

The stark reality is that unless we get the offense sorted we are going to be losing a lot of games by 7 points or less next season.

Ivefoundgod

While I'm really happy with Humphrey as a pick and can't complain about the pass rushers I just think we're so lacking on offense right now that it's all going to be pretty irrelevant in the end. Our offense has been terrible for a couple of years now and none of our WRs are a number 1 WRs anywhere else. Our RBs are unproven and Flacco just has zero weapons. I really wanted JuJu and am disgusted one of my favourite college players is gone to the bloody Steelers. Hard to be optimistic though our Defense is likely to be Top 5 again given all the talent picked up. Maybe that will be enough to get us to the playoffs and elite dragon Flacco can reappear

Side note, my fiance got me tickets to London game for my 30th, can't wait. Anyone from here going?

Joe Mixon

Great draft for the Ravens, and not just with Humphrey, But Bowser and Wormley fulfill team needs on the defensive side of the football.

Paully D

Devastating news today with Pitta re-injuring his hip in OTA's. He did so well to fight back from the injury in the first place as it looked to be a career ended at the time but this could now very well be the end for him.

Also, Tavon Young has done his ACL. Humphrey will now need to have a big impact early on.

It's starting early for us this year

helimachoptor

Surely thats Pitta done with the Ravens now Paully?

helimachoptor

helimachoptor wrote: »

Surely thats Pitta done with the Ravens now Paully?

And he's been cut

mikemac2

It's for the best. This is his third serious hip injury and the first two were either side , not just the same hip

Many fans while not claiming to be medical experts thought he shouldn't have attempted his last comeback at all.

Fair to say he has the best hands on the roster so he'll be missed but the team has been drafting TE's as if he wasn't coming back and also signed veteran Ben Watson last year. The team will move on

A fan favourite for sure , he has his Superbowl ring

Had an amazing catch back in his rookie pre season, I always remembered it

https://youtu.be/gCvvtPoAvug

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

Tristram

Sad to see him suffer the same injury again. Were it not for injury he was surely one of the most talented TEs in the league.

kevohmsford

Joe Flacco out for the next few weeks. Kenneth Dixon out for the year. Was looking forward to seeing him play more this season.
John Urshel has retired from the NFL.

Paully D

Injuries and retirements are really an issue already and we are only in camp one day FFS!

Orr, our leading tackler, retired and is now talking about coming back with another team. Urschel may well have earned the starting C spot and is gone, although he is far too smart to destroy himself playing football. Dixon gone for the season, Young gone for the season. And of course Waller got himself suspended for the year too.

I would love to see stats over the last 2-3 years of games lost to injuries because we have to be right up there if not top, right?

mikemac2

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2017/2016-adjusted-games-lost

I did not know such stats existed. There is a section for AGL aggregated games lost. Covers injury

Ravens were a terrible 30th of 32 in 2015 and a surprisingly decent 11th of 32 in 2016


The list of shame for suspensions was posted earlier this week in the other thread
https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2017/07/26/one-year-later-dallas-still-top-nfl-suspension-list

Second in the league for suspensions, jaysus Still the Cowboys won that list of shame with nearly double!

Ye our suspension and injury stats are embarrassing

Itssoeasy

Isn't the flacco thing just them taking it handy to not agrivate some tightness in his back ? That sounds like a good strategy to make sure flacco is there for the business end of the season.

Paully D

So rookie G Nico Siragusa has done his ACL, MCL and PCL while taking starters reps today.

That's 7 players lost for the season since June 1st.

Will we ever catch a break with injuries? It's actually just ridiculous.

Paully D

Great read:

Ravens guard Marshal Yanda may be unknown to casual fans, but he’s a star in the eyes of NFL defenders. Entering his 11th season, Yanda is set to keep climbing — and quietly destroying all comers.

https://theringer.com/marshal-yanda-baltimore-ravens-35ceabea56a0

Ivefoundgod

Seasons finally here and after being totally underwhelmed by our offseason I've been convinced by Bill Simmons that we actually won't be terrible. Sure our offense is going to be somewhere between bad and godawful but our defense looks set to be Top 5. Combined with a bad AFC and I'm hoping a declining Cinci and rebuilding(aren't they always) Browns in our division we've got an ok chance of making a wildcard run or maybe just a winning season. I'd take 9-7 honestly.

This game will tell us a lot, we need to win all our divisional games vs browns, cinci and maybe 1 of the steelers games to have a chance. I think the steelers win the North easy. We've got a decent start with no tough opponents, if we're 3-0 coming into week 4 game vs steelers i'll be delighted. I'm going to Jax game in Wembley so would be nice to see us grab a win there against one of the worst QBs in the league in Bortles.

Paully D

7-9 for me and no playoffs for the third season in a row.

Defense will be out of this world good at times, but we won't really be able to move the ball at all.

That's further emphasised by the fact that we've already been unlucky with injuries. I just wish we could, for once in recent years, have a relatively injury free season.