tsylvester

Caldwell is fine, go back to the Billick days, what was the issue? Can't make chicken soup without water. Same holds true this year and even into last year. Over shadowed by the Super Bowl win and the "luck" that goes along with every team's championship was the inconsistency of the running game and the receivers struggling against press coverage. The great catches by Boldin were required not because the passes were off, but because there was no room for error he was so tightly covered. Same for Smith, Jones, Pita etc. Last year, the dump off worked well because safeties were unsure of the "quality of the deep threat and linebackers made sure to take deep drops to keep the middle of the field, Pita, covered. This year, no Pita most of the year, and teams knew more of Smith, Jones, Clarke, Stokely- in other words, no deep drops needed by the backers and the corners could cover one on one. This is what Caldwell has had to deal with. If the receivers struggle with route running, with no selling routes properly, how can you expect them to run more complex routes, that, take some time to develop? Especially with this line? The biggest issue I saw was the lack of game conditioning the players had. The key players seemed to come into this year out of shape, trying to use the age old way of getting in shape, practice and games. What they, and many teams, did not factor in was the change to the practice rules. This hurt many teams, the Falcons, Niners to a point (their offense not as good as last year) Pats, and especially the Ravens, mostly on offense. I think another year is needed to fully evalute Caldwell, time for Brown to learn more, Smith to get stronger, Pita healthy, a more athletic line that can not only pull but run screens. Caldwell loves the screen game, both normal and wide receiver screens. Add, hopefully, a quick footed receiver and I think you will see a much better offense, better play calling-less predictable.

With linemen, the 40 time is not the key, the shuttle and 3 cone drills, the splits for the 40, what is it at 10, 15 & 20 yards. those are the important numbers, after size & strength of course. The quicker the better. As you saw, this current line cannot pull, they can't run screens.....

Name calling? Oy........ Was Joe bad this year? Sure, but you want to play semantics with what Preston said? Joe made many poor decisions this year, leading to incomplete passes and interceptions. Some of those incompletes were in the red zone, where he did not look off a safety, or did not get properly through his progressions and see an open man underneath. I coud list many that were his fault. However, even with what he did wrong, this team had five games with leads in the late 4th quarter, all could have been won. All given up leads by the defense, is that Joe's fault? Can you or Preston, dispute what I said about the line or receivers? I'll be happy to sit down with all 16 game tapes and show you exactly what I am saying. The routes have been run wrong- this leads to interceptions, late reads by Flacco, making him hold the ball longer, not being able to get through his progressions properly. They run them too fast at times, yes this can happen, too slow at times and at wrong depths. This all leads to tighter windows for any quarterback to complete passes. Proof of what I say is in NE, Brady, his worst completion percentage of his career this year, why? Because of everything I just outlined here in Baltimore. So please, dispute, counter, agree with my points, don't retort with name calling.....

Good snap or bad snap.............

Hmh, top 10 for sure, which is what i consider elite, the new catch phrase, it used to be franchise. Either way, he has proven the team can win a Super Bowl with & because of him. So contrary to what Mike and you feel.......

There are a number of very good receivers coming out this year, this may be the best over all draft for receivers. LSU has two coming out in Landry and Becham, both great over the middle, quick feet, and hand catchers, though not as big. The issue for the Ravens will be draft picks, the quicker receivers who need a little work will be lower rounds, which the Ravens have few. Then there is the issue of developing receivers, never been done. Even Smith needs a lot of work, still, even though he had a statistically good year. He struggles with contested catches, with finding and adjusting properly to the ball in the air. Then there is staying on his route....... Brown is going to be a star, size, good speed, hands, hands and more hands. If the Ravens ever get Joe consistant time, Brown will kill teams over the deep middle. This year, teams were not scared of the receivers, could pressure with just four and their linebackers stayed within 8 yards of the los, which is why dump off passes didn't work any longer. Single coverage on the outside leaves safeties in the middle making every throw across the middle contested, congested. Quickness, real quickness at the reciver spot will stop that, for certain and open up the deep game again.

I could not agree more, Mike just writes to get people to talk about, Him. This quote struck me as clear- Lost? They clearly have a "franchise caliber quarterback" they even have an "elite quarterback" pick any name one wants to use these days. Joe had an average of 2 seconds to throw this year. His receivers, even on short routes, took an average of 2.5 seconds to get well into their routes and get a semblance of seperation. You do the math Mike. Joe as sacked 2nd most in the league this year, some on him holding out hope some one would get open, some on the line, ole` and some on the receivers running the proper routes, to the proper depth. Come on Mike, you can do better with your break down of the team. Yes, injuries to the line hurt some, but not all. Last year they did not run very well, nor pass block very well either, even with helathy bodies in there. Oher has been terrible since he came into the league. Yanda, average at best, Kelechie, average, and the left tackle, pick one, has sucked since JO left. Factor in the receivers and tight ends not very good at blocking and you get 2.5 yards per carry. Factor in the receivers struggles to run good routes, not telegraph them and the line's inability to give Joe time, and you get a plethora of crossing routes where the middle is jammed with defenders. You get receivers re-routed by a slight push, hugging sidelines giving Joe no room for error on go routes. Throw a seam pass? No time, no one to run them. They have speed at receiver, but that speed takes 12-15 yards to get to full speed and they only have one gear. What they need at wide out is quickness, that is why Stokely was brought in, they hoped he had a little more left in him, alas, he did not. So they need to revamp the line, get a bigger tight end who can block and a quick, hands receiver; plenty of them in the draft. I would also look at position coahces, with all the firings today, some better positional coahces, cough, offensive line, will be available.

Joe has takena step back? Really? You do relaize, for most of the season he has had two rookie receivers, both very raw, as the #1 and #3, right? You do realize, with no training camp, one of the offensive lineman was an out of shape older vet, right? You do realize, he was also missing his starting center and gaurd this year, right? Add to that a more down field passing game plan and you get his completion %, a career low, but an improved touchdown to interception ratio. Is he Brady, P Manning, Brees or Rogers? Nope, but then who is? a step back, I think not, and I guess you frget he beat the Steelers for a 2nd time in two years, with a game winning drive; both games in Pittsburgh.... Yeah, a lot of quarterbacks do that........with the cast of characters Joe has had to work with. Other than that, what you have said has been said in the other threads on this subject. Ed is the best option at the safety position. Is he the Ed of old, no, but his leadership and instincts are needed far more than Ray's. Last night Ed was playing hurt, reinjured on the attempt to tackle at the goal line when he went shoulder first in the runningback's hips. The receivers don't get open because 1) Tory is still raw, never did run good routes, but he is improving. He is a deep threat for the most part. Evans is still learning the offense, and Boldin runs the same routes. A good portion of the issue is play selecion. Cam does not like to use everything in each game, he likes to use just enough in the route tree... Foolish, yes, but it has gotten them to 10 wins, man, people will cry about everything...........

Junior could cover pretty well. Something Ray can't do, he would not be any better than what the Ravens have now at outside backer, infact, he would be worse.

The fact of the matter is, this team is right where they should be; in the playoffs. I think it was Dan I was talking with on facebook before the season. I said then, this was more or less a rebuilding year, in as much as younger players were going to see a lot of playing time. You can hide on or two young players, but the Ravens were going to use three or four on each side of the ball. That means inconsistent play. It has been very valuable experience for them. The defensive line has youth, good, very good talent in McFee, Cody, Jones, (even have one stashed on IR). However, they are trying to get used to this longer season so they have to get their legs back. Thus, little pressure on a trip like that to the west coast. The same on offense, remember, to start the season, they had two rookie receivers getting major playing time. Even their tight ends, while first year players, are hitting the wall right now. The offensive line has two old players on it, in their last year of playing. They too tire out this time of year, though Birk played well last night. For them to have been in a position to have home field throughout was a testament to their determination this season and a clue as to how good they will be moving forward. However, we see the holes too. Line backer, good players who just need reps- move over Ray. Secondary, one ego driven cb in Smith, very similar to C-Mac in size, speed, and talent. But like C-mac, he needs to get his head on straight. Even so, he should be above average. Web is ok, more fast than good to be honest. Ed is Ed, yes older, slower and injured. Not just his neck, but last night he hurt a shoulder, again, so it really slowed him yesterday. Pollard is good, but he needs another safety with him. Nok and Zib are decent players, but not the answer at safety. So the team clearly has to address the secondary this off season. The offensive line, oye. Grubbs, Yonda, then who? No left tackle and an average at best right tackle in Mr Blind side. No center after Birk. No back up for Rice, Williams is done after this year and even to finish out this year, I can see him costing the Ravens a game with a fumble or two. Fortunately for the Ravens, in the AFC, there is no definitive elite team. They can match up with anyone in the AFC. The Pats can't stop the run and are only so-so against the pass. Yes, even with the Ravens suspect secondary which plays very well at times, they would beat the Pats. Denver could have yesterday if they had a real quarterback. I'm a big fan of Tebow's, but if Denver had Cam Newton, they win. The Ravens can own the clock against the Pats. We know they can beat Pit, anywhere this year and now Ben supposedly has a high ankle sprain. If true, that slows him immeasurably. The other teams are way below the Ravens, yes even the Chargers. in 10 games, the Ravens would beat them 9 out of........ They just did not belong as a number one seed, too inconsistent because of the youth and even the age in major positions. A week off would help, some, but I don't think enough. The real issue would be the Super Bowl if they made it. Both GB and NO can really abuse the Ravens' secondary, and have strong enough lines to hold off the rush (if GB gets their starters back)........ For me, this has been a win, a great season, they answered a lot of questions- wide out, defensive line, edge rusher to go along with Suggs. even linebacker...

He didn't see it the last three years, not sure he will now.

Come on guys, what did you expect? A Night game, on the West Coast, against a historically great December team = loss. It did not help that the refs followed league rules for prime time games and held their flags. The dismal Charger line was tackling players all night long, Gaither espcially. That is why there was no pass rush. Rice could only get 10 carries, they were being blown out from the get go. Frankly, I thought the mix in the first half, we perfect, we had them gussing. However, Flacco had little time thanks to a Sunday night game on the west Coast and an old left tackle, an over hyped, average at best right tackle. I just don't know how anyone could have thought the Ravens were going to mock history and win in SD, on a Sunday night in December. As some one said, of most concern is the kicking game; can't win games missing field goals like this.....

It's not just throw to the man he is covering. Teams know Ray cheats up and is quick enough to get the proper depth in the middle on pass plays. So they throw over the middle, under the safties. If Ray would get proper depth, 15-17 yards, those passes could not be complete. Did you see Ray barking on the sidelines in the first half, after they gave up the 3rd touchdown? JJ rolled his eyes and walked away. The playerrs know it, he may make a play or two per game, but by and large he is a detriment to this defense.

Yep, young backers and a very young defensive line that is getting better with each game. Sure, they will have a hiccup or two, but this new line is young, strong and hungry. They even have one or two stashed on IR who are starting material. Add in some very young and talented secondary players and this defense got young and, key, good quickly. They need to keep Reed as long as possible, imo, he is more important than Ray. Ngata will keep the d line hungry and working hard. Reed needs to feed those young bucks in the secondary.........

You can not look at one or two games without Ray and say one way or another about the improvement or down grade of the defense. The new backers, or even just moving from weakside to strong side backer takes a little time. Over the next few games we will see. One things is glaringly obvious, as mentioned; speed. The speed of the backers is much improved. Hey, Ray is old in football terms, you lose speed not matter how much weight you ditch. This will be vitale in covering the tight ends, something Ray has really struggled with over the past few seasons. He was good for a hold or two quite often because he could not keep up with the quicker ends. If this team has to face the Pats, they will need the speed to keep up wth their tight ends; a big part of their offense. As many of you know, I too was in favor of unloading Ray tow, three years ago when he held some value. a great leader yes, but no matter what the talking heads say, what the stats say, if you watch the game, watch him, it is clear, even with one or two big hits per game, his tackles are largely five, six yards down field. He is getting caught in the wash most every play and not in position. His blitzing stinks, he knows he can't run over backs any longer because he dropped weight to try and keep some speed, so he just bangs into them and stops. I look forward to see the new tandem of backers and see how they progress.

This would be the second dumbest move they have ever made. As you said papa, all those busniesses who count on those few weeks. Many of them just for training camp. Add to that all those job with S.A.F.E. that will not longer be filled and those with the folks who run the Ravens play area. This does not count all the fans who have never been able to see camp and I may be biased, but if you are a fan, it is a great experience, a great atmosphere to see camp. Horrible move, if they decide to ditch McDaniel and stay at Palace. They may not lose an entire fan base, but I would bet they lose some fans just because of this elitism...........

Thanks BB,............ Who ever runs that field at Stanford should be ashamed. These supposed experts think they can just toss sod down and have it playable in a week are nuts; a waste of money. It only looks good for tv, they are better off playing on a terrible looking field.... I won't judge Luck on one game, and I do agree with Kirk, the kid has no one to work with to show off the arm. Even so, I would not spend a number one on him at this point................

two things. Papa, notice his stick throws, all in front of him. Most people, other than an eagles punter, can make that throw. I'm talkin the deep out, the wr slip screen, even an out pattern 10 yards down field, on the opposite side of the field. as I said, I've not seen much of his games, other than the high lights, so perhaps tonight he can show some real arm strenth. As for Cam, i've never seena quarterback go from so far inaccurate to where he is now in just a week or two.... Unreal. We are not talking about inches here, going from the broud side of a barn to a barn door..... No, we are going from him not being able to hit a barn to him putting it in a tin cup at 100 yards. He is amazing. I do have a theorey, but need to see more interviews with him. I honestly think he has aspergers. It would make perfect sense for him to master the NFL game so quickly, after being so inacurate... either way, he is fun to watch and yes, I do think he will do this against defense that are fast & good.... His accuracy is that good and the speed of his passes is incredible.... He has touch when he needs it, one special talent there.

So, he will be on prime time tonight, big game against the Ducks. Has anyone seen him play? I've only watched the high lights of his games. One should not judge a player based soley on highlights, but if I did, man oh man is he gonna be eaten alive in the pros. From what I have seen, his delivery is slow and deliberate, not much zip on the ball. Sure, he can technically make all the throws in the NFL, but with little if any zip on the ball, bat downs, pick-sixes in his future. I know the talking heads have compared him to Elway, but only so far as to say that he plays for Cards and is more NFl ready, as Elway was...Frankly, he reminds me very much of Joe Montanna, Wekp, we should geta good look at him tonight.

did ya notice the 3rd down conversion rate 23 first downs, 18 via the pass top? holding the squeelers to just 1 of 4 in the redzone1

It was not just the two minutes to end the game, let us not forget the end of the half drive. It resulted in a very important 50 yard field at Heinz field........ Oh, least we forget, Joe did the exact same thing last year, to beat Pit, hitting Whoseurmommma with no time left........ It's just been a secret that Joe knows who to game............. The players quit on the coaching staff............ they all must go............... Lee Evans is a beast!///////////////

Ben Grubbs, whom without, they would not have won..............

This game was just waht this team needed. To be down and come back for the win, the way they did. This team needed to see Joe struggle early, as he did in Ten and Jax, but rebound in the 2nd half and be almost flawless, leading to a win. Who cares if it was the Cardinals, they were not playing like the down trodden team from Arizona. Their defense stepped up, the receivers were tightly covered. They played bump and run, something these receivers struggle with (something the Steelers will do as well), yet Joe found away to get the ball to them where they could make the catch. Yes, Q helped him with some great catches, but as he said; That's why they brought him in here". They still have a long way to go, but take nothing away from this win, as I am sure many of the pundits around B-more will. This was a signature win.

awesome game when they make you run the emotional gamut

Toiry! Tory! Tory!