tsylvester

The quick strike is overrated,IMHO. I agree with Harbs there. Let it develope in a game, in a series naturally. I am fine with ball control, keeping the other offense off of the field, keeping our defense fresh. But have guys on the outside who have the quicks, the jitters to not only pull off a double move after the defense falls for the short passes, but do so in a timely manner. Bateman is one of those guys if he can stay healthy. Robinson did it twice, once in the playoff game. But is was only called for, properly, twice. But this also requires a line that can hold up, even the speediest of receivers needs time, see the Miami playoff game. Their line was in shambles, no time for deep passes. It also requires a qb who can properly read a defense, see that it is man on the outside, look off the safety, wait for the route to developed then throw accurately. Now you see the missing pieces right? Receivers, a strong line, a smart, accurate qb.... All needed, even if just for one play, for that play to work. People point out a receiver making the wrong read when Lamar over throws them by 10 yards. Maybe it was Lamar waiting too long to throw it properly or even not throwing it sooner, taking too long to see it. We saw that in the play off games too. A receiver broke free in the red zone, qb saw it a second or two late, dB was able to break up the pass.

With the firings from the Chargers, because the OC refused to run the ball more in the 2nd half of their playoff game, and likely in Tampa, Leftwich not the greatest even with Tom Brady.. Maybe, just maybe the Ravens see someone they like better than Roman, right? No, we should not always follow the masses, and I doubt they announce at the annual presser that Roman is joining Kingsbury in Thailand to hide from reporters... though that would be music to my ears..

This might be a gamble, but bring in a guy like Bobby Slowik, passing game coordinator for the Niners. He has a defensive back ground as well. Young, smart, can bring over some great passing concepts. Teams don't just not respect the passing game, they fear Lamar's running more than they do his passes. They gladly go man on the outside because they know Lamar cannot consistently beat them on the outside. This allows them to flood the middle, so he can't run free nor have many clear options to throw to. This confuses Lamar, apparently...

The running scheme works fine, plug & play. It is the passing game, the route combinations, the personnel packages, the plays called that are the issue. A runningback gets hot, the running game takes off and Roman pulls the back, & starts to throw, not even with play action. Those are the biggest issues. How Harbs, or the Biscuit cant see that is puzzling. Either they dont care because Roman is a friend or they are clueless, which is even scarier...

Well done young lady, I bow to you

Is it me, or did you adjust the color scheme? It looks delicious

What does this mean? What or whose popular belief? Is he talking about the fans, who frankly don't count or shouldn't count in this equation? The media, who like the fans are just lookie lus, the coaches? Some of his teamates?

No way either Jk nor Bowser is traded, too cheap right now to keep those very productive players

All I know is that I had beans and dogs for dinner and now I've got petrol, man it stinks worse than this off season is likely to be...

Yeah, the personnel packages really had me scratching my head, all season really. Roman tries to get cute, hide what he tries to do, and it back fires 9 times out of 10. I was in error earlier on the goal line plays. They did try the pass to the flat, poor play fake, even worse pass to the LEFT flat to Ricard. Of course the pass was too short, a proper pass and as I said, it works 90+ % of the time, Ricard fights his way in, one on one. Alas, Huntley was too short on the pass. But I digress The big issue is Harbs, his words- execution- as to why plays fail. Not that the play call was wrong. Now I don't expect him to come out and throw Roman under the bus, but I agree with him, as one old coach to jokingly said of his team's execution, yes, they should be executed. In this instance, Roman should be.. If the Biscuit just took his owner glasses off and put on his fan glasses, he would agree, even with all of the legit excuses, injuries, player execution, Roman, Harbs, are asking too much from some of the players as far as the plays, the packages so the execution has little to no chance. That qb sneak, yes, it would have worked IF Huntley runs it properly, a second later, they, like the London Bridge, all fall down, into the endzone. But Huntley just pulled off a game changing run, had the chance to be a true hero, and doesn't always see what is there. No, Roman couldn't have known nor even though he would try to leap up and reach over from a yard and a half out. But you could expect Huntley to maybe pull out from under center too quickly and fumbled Thus, not putting the onus on him, just stick Ricard in the back field,Faelele as an extra tight end, Gus or Jk behind Ricard and let the monsters push the Bengals into tomorrow tomorrow land for the winning score. No chance the defense gives up another touchdown after that score.

In all my years I have found that the Lady is always right. So she says, so let it be.

Why Hill? As Jk said, you're not fooling anyone. That was a bad holding call, only 4 penalties all game, the lines on both teams were holding all game, why make that call now? Why not pick on Apple? He is terrible in coverage, holds more than anyone... You have 3 6 foot, 6 inch tight ends, use them all in the redzone! One of then is going to get single coverage, even in a zone one will be open enough for a jump ball.. Even then, inches away from you know who catching the tipped hail Mary to tie the game...

So he is a Vick or RGII, is what you are saying? Perhaps, but he clearly tried to be a pocket passer this season before he got hurt. Yes, he struggled on throws outside the numbers, especially down the sidelines. No, he can't yet drop a dime into a barrel 20 yards down field along the sidelines. No, I don't think inking him to the deal he wants is warranted, the one the Ravens reportedly offered okay, sure. Why,? Simply put, this team is put together for the next 3-5 years to make several runs at the Silver Betty. As I said, clearly, even with the poor play calling/design, the redzone too boot, with a better qb than Huntley, who yes did play his best game to date, this team wins 14 games this past season, and last night. Lamar, healthy, is better than Huntley. I've said for many weeks I wanted to see Huntley get his shot with the full first team, see if it was better. It was not. Yes, he gets the ball out quickly when it is there, but his limited arm strength and pension for trying to do more than he can kills this team's chance of winning, see the games he has played last year & this for proof. As Max noted, who else is there for next year and the year after? 1 Draft pick for Lamar is not enough. With that you might get lucky and get a really raw rookie in the draft. Even then, let him start, it is 2 years wasted, Purdy's don't come along every year, even then, their play caller and designer is top shelf, not so much here. So that is two years, if he pans out, of wasting this defense, the running game. Lamar might take the next step, seeing the field better, hitting those pen shots when the defense clogs the line, the middle, as they did this year. With our first rounder back from injury, Bateman, that should bode well for this passing game, with Robinson, Andrews, maybe spend the draft capital and get a real burner to streak through the middle, pull the safeties back, open up the deep middle for Lamar. Who knows. I was for letting him go, 2 first round picks, but it is slim pickings and if he wants to stay, at the right price, let him evolve here, I think he might. Vick and RGIII never did, Vick did by the end of his career to some extent, but by then it was too late. Griffith never could read a defense.

Some good players there, we forget Fuller because he was lost for the season. I would expect either he or Peters is back. Peters has said he wants to retire here, would love to have him back, though he has lost a step. Urban should be back, excellent role player, special teams standout, good depth on the d line. Drake will be gone, he did very well here, great effort, but age and health of Gus and Jk means he is not needed. Robinson should be brought back if he is willing, great effort, if used better, he would have produced much more. Oliver, another great effort guy, dependable blocker, though limited. But with Kolar, do we need Oliver? The others are all good depth, cheap contracts, special teams players. Other than those on the offensive line, bring em back.

Good question, in the past they said it was to keep him and Gus fresh. In the playoffs, screw fresh, when you see a player running like he did, breaking tackles, running fast , you fees that dog and run him until he begs to lay down like an English bulldog. We know they don't pay runningbacks, in this league today, it doesn't make sense to pay them big money. Ride them until their rookie contracts run out.

It may still be Lamar, if he wants to play here. The system is not that different, though some would say it is, including the Ravens. They saw Huntley every day since they drafted him, they knew his limitations, yet stayed with him. He is always someone who tries to do more than his abilities, admirable, until it leads to big mistakes as we have seen. That scares me a little. Sure they drafted Joe and Lamar, but they also brought in Elvis. Like Joe, they never built around him, a statue who needs a good line. I still remember that play in Pit, in the playoffs. Q streaking free after a double move, Elvis about to him for a long touchdown, but the turn style Swayne leads his man Olay, Elvis is hit as he threw, pick.. changed the game.. They drafted Boller, hoping he would turn into Josh Allen, we saw glimpses, but like Huntley, just has the pension to make the bone headed mistake. So then it was McNair, may he rest in peace. Loved seeing him in camp, a real fan friendly guy. But that was a bust, shockingly. I truly believe if the Ravens had Hinkley, Commandos qb, they win last night. He is slightly better than Huntley, but is limited as we saw with them. Trading for and taking on Carr's contract is not viable. Easily better than Huntley, but the cost is too high. Trading for an unproven player like say the other qb the Commandos have, Sam Howell, he can run this offense, has tasted the NFL, but will they trade him? The draft has a number of potentials, you know who I prefer, Will Levis, like Howell, has the tools to run this offense.. here I go rambling again, sorry..

On the int to Andrews, first series, had Huntley looked, he had I believe it was Robinson on a deep crossing route, single safety, wide open. It would have gone for 20-30 yards. Not to bash Huntely, Lamar had done this as well in past games, missed seeing wide open receivers. But what we saw was Roman putting more on Huntley than he could handle. Running game working real good on the first series, he starts throwing the ball, and not even with play action. They get into the redzone, first half, he gets cute with fake pass, hand off, that gets stoned at the line of scrimmage. Sure, they ran more than they passed, barely, but when you know the lack of talent of your qb, plus his injury, and the running game is working so well, why not keep pounding them? Sure, had Huntley not reached out, a second later his teammates would have pushed him in for the score, but why ask him, after a 35 yard run, to then try and power in when Gus, a power back, JK, who ran like no one could stop him, could have done better? Why not even fake the hand off, slip a tight end into the flat, that works 90% of the time!

I think we can all agree that with better qb play, the Ravens not only win that game, but likely win 14 in the regular season. What does this tell us? That we don't need a super hero to win games, just someone better than Huntley. Game over

That to me is the biggest question. Harbs is deathly loyal to his guys, he still has foot prints on his neck from when the Biscuit made him fire coaches in the past. I hope the Biscuit is putting on cleats this time. Good to see you again

Max, the key states is third down, 3 of 11, 2 of 3 on 4th down. You can't win if you don't convert 3rd downs against good teams. That is play calls, play design.

Ya know, in the backs of our minds, I think we all wondered how great this defense was, their turn around built against bad offenses. Well, that fleeting thought was destroyed after the past two weeks, especially after last night's game. What a performance but the defense, 17 pts, 7 of those on a short field. Against one of the best offenses in the league, again. The Ravens offense racked up over 300 yards of offense, but only 17 pts. Even after the gaff at the goal line, they had what, 11 mins to put more pts on the board?! Jk ran like a man possessed, on the ground and out of the back field on passes. I agree with him, they should have fed him more, especially at the goal line. That play was the pinnacle of this offensive play calling. I was shocked that this game was close, Huntley was Huntley, some great effort for someone so limited. That run was epic. If there was any, I mean any tear in this team over Lamar, their play put that to bed. Humphries tucked it in for a good night sleep saying how Lamar has been limping around the facility, how he hopes he signs the Ravens deal. What ever happens, this defense is great, the running game outstanding, it no matter who is at qb, the play calling has to change. Harbs saying the calls were right, that it was execution, is wrong. A good coach puts their players in a position to succeed. Knowing your players limitations. Roman failed in both. What a game, what a season, what a future this team has.

Oh and Jones did what not even Lamar could do, throw for over 250 yards (301), 2 tds and run for 50 or more, 78 yards in a playoff game He also did this with scrubs for receivers. What did we learn from the games so fat this weekend? The right play designs and calls are more important than who is running the routes. That an accurate passer can make all the difference in a wide out getting yards after catch. That just because you have the 2 fastest men on the field does not mean 1) they will get open, 2) your qb can find them 3) you will win

Man, two great games today, that doesn't bode well for tonight's game, so glad the Gmen won, all of those weapons the Vikes have, yet like the Chargers, in big games they always find ways to lose.

I know we don't get the participation over here that we used to get. But I just browsed a few other message boards, wow, what junk. From the look, to number of duplicate threads, the infighting, wowza I don't miss that. On one board there are 16 different threads on Lamar, are you kidding me? I know he is a hot topic right now, but that many threads all saying the same thing? His contract demands, his injury, his talent level passing.... Some even talk about his off the field activities, rumors they are spouting as truth, as if they even remotely know the truth. Thanks Dee, for a great looking site, thank you to those who keep coming back to talk foootball, our Ravens, in an adult manner. Thanks Max for keeping us young. Now back to the game tonight, as I have an early morning, I will not be watching it all tonight, a full night sleep is more important and recording is so much easier in today's world...

Phins have a make shift line that includes a practice squad guard and a rookie qb. 4 mins left they are down by 3, have put up 31 pts and their big 2 receivers have barely been a factor. Turnerovers have been the key. I've seen Waddle and Hill drop big passes, run routes on top of each other, cut routes off almost.leading to a pick. Yet people complain about our receivers. OH yes, and they have run out of timeouts because they can't get plays in on time. And been penalized for delay of game. 4th and less than 1, delay of game, they miss on the 4th and 6, turnover.on downs. With no timeouts, this game is over