tsylvester

Keep in mind, Wilson does not have a strong arm, while he can make all the throws, they tend to float. If the wind is a factor there, this will be inteesting. I think the Settle D and Bronco O cancel each other out. So the question is, what can the SeaHawk O do against the Denver D.. Specials teams too, both teams have electric returners. Frankly I hope Denver wins, not a big fan of Pete Carrol and I would like to see Manning win one more before he retires.

Based on the lack of improvement from the receivers over the course of two seasons, I just cannot get behind Hostler as an OC. Sure, some of that is on the players, but none of them took a step forward this year, the ones from last year even stepped back in their route running. Secondaries knew what routes were being run because the players were not able to hide them in their movements. That is on the coach imo. Of the top four, yes, Shannahan is my choice, even then, I am sceptical. If he choses not to come, Hostler will be the choice and that, is scary.

He is their top choice, the other three on their list, really stink.... not encouraged by what I am hearing..... this could set the offense back for half a decade...

NFL says Super Bowl is in warm weather areas, domes to make sure of an "even field"..... If a team plays home games in warm weather/dome, and another team plays outdoors in winter weather, how is a dome for the Super Bowl an even field? Teams that play in a dome build their players a certain way-for speed. To both take advantage of the carpet and the crowd noise. While teams in winter areas with turf or natural grass fields generly build their teams to pound. So again, where is the even field if say NO plays NE in a Super Bowl in a domed stadium? Frankly, every new stadium should have a retractable roof, imho, something the stadium authority here screwed up on when they improperly designed the stadium. They did such a poor job they can't grow grass because it faces the wrong direction........

Seattle will need the weather to cooporate, even then, I don't know that defense will be able to stop Manning, and his beavy of receivers. Yes, Baltimore, number 2 total defense back then (because of one game, the Jets) destroyed the number 1,2 & 3 offenses in the league on their way to the Super Bowl, but Seattle has not faced a receiving core like the Broncos have; they've been beaten, as home even, by far lesser offenses. Add Manning's ability to get the offense is favorable matchups and wow,this should be fun. Now, cold rain, big wind, will slow Manning, but enough? Both Thomas's, Decker, (all over 6-2) and Welker... add to that, their running game is pretty darn good too... Oh and then there is their defense, playing markedly better against a pretty one dimensional Seattle offense. Sure, Wilson moves around very well, but, aside from some "flukey" passes, he has not been very good this year, later parts of this year let us not forget. I don't know how this game will turn out, Auburn had a good run of "lucky plays" and lost to a better team. Denver is clearly the better team, the wild card is going to be Harvin, will he make game changing plays on offense & special teams?

Yes, a better throw. That pass should be to the corner, outside, not inside and should be dropped in, something Kap has trouble with, . He will learn though....

hehehe, pretty much backs up what Crav said. How good is a quarterback if they need perfect conditions to play well in, worth 100 mil? He is one of the great ones, yes, but not much good in windy or rainy/cold conditions.....

If you rewatch the play, they had one receiver to the right, Crab & three to the left. Two on the left went deep, all, all of the defenders on that side went with them. One, number 11, faked going out and came back to the LOS. He was wide open, had enough room to pick up 15 yards at least. With 22 seconds and 2 timeouts, that was the play to make. However, it appears, either that side was just bait and designed to only go to Crab on the fade, or Kap just locked in on Crab. A better throw, who knows, touchdown or incomplete.

To be fair to Billick, he also took the youngest startting roster in NFl history to a very good season. After the Super Bowl and following season, the team was beset with injuries to key players. Also to bad moves by the front office both in free agency and draft. Sure, Billick had avoice in those moves, but not the final say, that was Ozzie, Steve and the staff... Add to it, Cass, while good with the cap, is not as creative as he could be, as many others are in the league. A team is not just the players, nor just the coach. Sometimes a player needs the right coaching to succeed. Other times, the coach needs the right player. Best example of this is Nick Marshal of Auburn. With Georgia, an average safety. With Auburn, a very good college quarterback. Billick's biggest weakness was thinking he could make anyone a star with his offense. Ozzie's is not valuing the offensive line. Think back to the 2001 season, a decent right tackle makes the block long enough for Elvis to hit Ismail down the right side, rather than being hit as he throws. That is a 14 pt swing right there to start the game. If Q is able to catch that ball, he scores. But Brookings and Swayne whiff on the block. Billick lost the team, they stopped listening to him, he could not motivate them anymore with his special treatment of star players. Yes, every team does, but not to the extent Billick allowed. That is why he was fired, Steve knew, Billick knew, a change had to be made. Contrary to popular Billick hate reports, he could have had another job coaching, but chose, for family and his health, to go to the booth.

That is exactly why they need to cut him and not extend his contract. The Ravens had the lead in the 4th quarter with under 8 minutes left, what, five, six times this year and just needed the defene to make one stop. Yet in each of those games, no sacks by Suggs, no tackles for loss, not even by Dummervil, who granted, was hurt. So you have to let Suggs walk and find out if Ozzie's draft picks from Bama can truly step up. Frankly, I don't expect much from either of them, they are roll players at best. You also have to hope Dummervil is legit, and not just a pass rusher when some one else is getting double teamed. Frankly, honestly, niether he nor Suggs were doubled much, they were simply ineffective. Yes, they could easily have been 4-12, but just as easily 12-4 with a few plays from the "dangerous duo" so hyped last off season. They got the Super Bowl with an average team, so use it to rebuild the team over the next two seasons, it won't take long. Many teams will be rebuilding over that time so who knows, 9-7 could win it all, again...........

Why push money into the future for an aging vet? Injuries happen more frequently once a player hits 30. We all know it, player or no player, once we hit 30, we don't "mend" as fast. So why go into a mortgage with him knowing the lilikelihoodf him playing all 16 games per season and, being effective in each game, is very slim? All they are doing is costing the team a good young player, next year,the year or the year after because of the cap. See, the new CBA screwed the players on cap dollars, but they did not listen when nenegotiationsere going on, all they heard was the will get money momoney The cap will not rise to the % it once did each year, so aging players will lose money because it will not make it viable, feasible, to keep them, nor extend them. Look at the Redskins, I know, a slightly different situation with the penalties. However, we can learn from that situation as far as dead money. The Raiders too, also suffered with money they could could not use but counted aganagainstir cap. Both teams suffered from a lack of depth because of higher dollar vets and no money left for the cheap, intermediate players needed for depth, especially for special teams. Now with the Ravens it will not get that bad, but they are alsways tight up against the cap, since they came here, back in 1996; nothng has changed it seems. Sure, more money, better players, but still cap struck every year. They needed Boldin not for his play but for his teaching of the younger receivers, in route running and blocking. He was only counting $3 (?) mil against their cap, come on.... So now we want to keep Suggs, extend him, for what? Nine sacks, most of which came in one or two games? No sacks in the final five when they needed them most? This with a true pass rusher in Dummervil on the other side! Just say no to Suggs, cut him, save the most we can now and in the future, do so without "malice in the heart"...

Not because you corrected me, rather because you stated I lied, used false truths. The fact you could not comprehend this proves my point. Thanks... Have a great day....

How old are you, 12? I mistakingly used last year's numbers from a reputable website, a mistake, not a lie or mis-truth; grow up. Yes, Joe's number currently is, for this coming season, $14, Rice's is also even higher- $8,750,000- where are your complaints/corrections on this number? Yanda is also higher, $8.5 mil, no correction there from you? and the Biggest one, Ngata, $16 mil caphit, why no outrage over my "lie" on this one? Suggs, $12.4, yet not a peep from you on this oversite on my part? Or Dummervil, who this year will count $3.4 mil, slightly more than last season, my bad. Web, $10 mil, wow, great player, for when he is healthy to play, big cap hit and Jimmy, Penalty Smith is counting $2 mil... By the way, which position counts more against the cap, quarterback ($15 mil), offensive linemen ($13 mil), runningbacks ($12.8 mil), receivers ($3 mil), defensive linemen ($21 mil), linebackers ($23 mil), secondary ($14 mil) or kickers? An updated cap link- http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1923706-ravens-2014-salary-cap-breaking-down-overall-position-specific-cap-space#/articles/1923706-ravens-2014-salary-cap-breaking-down-overall-position-specific-cap-space/page/2 So yes, if you want to have a grown up discussion, feel free to act mature....

No, they are cap strapped because of Rice, Suggs Ngata, and Dummervil... Quarterbacks, in case you have not noticed, cost a lot of money and are very, very important to a team. It is rare that an average quarterback helps lead a team to a Championship. Does it happen? Yes, but far and few between. editted to add- http://overthecap.com/teamcap.php?Team=Ravens&Year=2013 Suggs- $13 Mil cap hit this year, Ngata- $11 Mil Yanda $7 mil then Joe, whose cap hit is $6.8 mil this year. Pretty cheap for a startting quarterback. Rice is $5.7 Mil, Dummervil is "cheap" ($2.5 il) if we don't count the dead money, $11 mil.....

Macklin is likely to stay in Phili, I hope so, he has trouble staying healthy. The Steelers are likely to keep Sanders, one major reason they have struggled offensively is because of losing weapons familiar with Ben. Tate will want a lot of money, he is very good, but not as good as he thinks. Decker is the interesting one, great hands, quick feet, controls his body well giving a very large catch radious. However, will Denver want to keep him, badly, will Manning not only work to keep him, but will Manning return? If I had to chose between them, Decker would be the choice. Tall, quick, knows how to work a defense, strong to get off press coverage, and great hands. Money will be the issue. The question will be, do the Ravens think, as all the mocks show, a receiver will be there at 17 or even later is they want to trade down. They have said they like the core they have, need to improve a bit, but only in size, and they have one on the PS, they are "high on".... Ozzie loves tight ends and they need one of them as well, the North Carolina tight end is big & good, projected in the top 20, he could be the pick and take a way the need for outside help at receiver.... hmmm

He only hates one part, the part that did not hire him so many moons ago....

Norm could still be had, they only have to get permisson to speak with him, then offer a position slightly different, more than just OC, done a lot of time... And Yes, Joe can run the west coast, most quarterbacks can, the quesiton is; does the current coaching staff want that and are there player here who can work in that offense. You need quick receivers, which the Ravens have none of at the moment. Smith takes 10-15 yards to get up to full speed and that is if he gets a clean release....

I hope they give Norv Turner a call, but I highly doubt it.

He is wrong more times than right. He only writes to draw attention to his articles and the lemmings follow along.... He claims he knows football, claims he knows the team, but without his "inside info person" (usually disgruntled player) he is Srgt Shultz.......

He does.....

This is true, but return men lose their top speed after a few years, maybe with all the extra playing time, Jones is slowing down, who knows. As for Pita, great hands, moves well, body control fabulous. However, he can't block, doesn't break tackles and there are faster tight ends, bigger, faster ones who can block, out there. So tagging him, in my opinion, would be a waste of a tag and over paying him. Same for Monroe, sure, he is decent, but not much better than McKinnie was, so ws there truly an upgrade? Why would you even slightly over pay for him? Leach, yes you keep him. I know, there are full backs/h-backs out there with better hands, more fleeter of foot, but few block as well as he had. Even so, the Ravens have shown great ability to find full backs in the draft who would be upgrades, cheaper, over Leach. The biggest issue, he and Jones are the ones who bring attitude to the offense, toughness. Jones is the best blocking wide out on the team, not that it is saying much with this crew of nail painters.

so, apparently, according to Berry, he is not selling the ring. Gave it to a friend to keep in his (friend's) safety deposit box who gave it to the auction site, said site will not return calls.... Ah getting stabbed in the back, nothing like it.

SanFran has big boys, they run a combination of zone and man blocking, pending plays. Big & athletic is possible. Zone blocking is a matter of smarts & practice, which apparenty, were lacking from most of the line men. That is why they traded for Monroe, he is strictly a zone blocking tackle. The thinking is, I believe, that Yonda and Kelechi can assimilate and they just need a bigger center and a better right tackle.

I may be newly "back" but are you serious? You want to fire a coach who has been to the playoffs in 5 of his 6 years as coach? Not just one & done mind you, but multiple AFC championship games, one which includes a Super Bowl win and, includes beating teams statistically far better than the Ravens were in each of those 5 year playoff runs. Has he made mistakes? Of course, ALL coaches do, every coach, every year, except one year in the history of the NFL have cost their teams games with poo in game management. Hiring friends, as you call it, happens on every team, always has, it even happens in most jobs todday dating back to the history of the world. I am not a huge Harbs fan, but I have been around the game for a long, long time and no, you do not fire him, not even if the team goes 5-11 next year.

Something to think about, one "reason" to give more chance. The Ravens were the first team to win a super bowl and then, have to "deal with" the new practice rules. Now, most players use practice and the preseason to get in shape, play into shape. Normally this is not a big deal. However, after a super bowl win, every player is asked to do things off the field, some for them selves, money, some for the team/league. Then there is the big sigh of relief when not only have you won it all, but the circus is finally over. Now, take the extra time for public relations and such, this takes away time from working out, from family time, etc. Now factor in the new practice rules, a minor, nagging injury through the off season & pre season, little practice/playing time and you get a sloppy, slow start. However, as anyone who works out, or has worked out knows, the reason you work out hard ALL off season is so you have the stamina late in the season, not just for the first few games. I think, what we saw was just that, a slow start and now staying power to finish the season strong, worse than last season. Maybe, hopefully, the players learned a valuable lesson, not just the Ravens, it hit a lot of teams as well, (could explain the Falcons fall off). Time will tell. Any time you add something to your day that normally isn't there, it takes time away from something, it breaks the routine and athletes need routine. Just my 2 cents.... something to chew on...