thundercleetz

Steelers up 24-20. What is going on here? It looks like Gradkowski has to go on the 2-minute drill.

Raiders just went up 20-17. Too bad this game is not televised. The Saints/Skins game is pretty good though.

Raiders just went up 13-10 with 8:21 left in the fourth.

Suggs looks a little pudgy there.

Did anyone see this?

I agree with you. The win in Pittsburgh will be very difficult. Lets just take care of business now. Even though this is not the best Ravens team we have seen, if we make the playoffs this team will have faced the most difficult road to make the playoffs out of any Ravens team in the past. For them to overcome so many rollercosters this season really says something. The fact that we still have a tight lockerroom and we have not heard of any lockerroom splits like we have in the past is a testament to Harbaugh as well. This team is no longer the offense versus the defense. For the first time in Ravens history this team wins and loses as a team, and not a defense and an offense. While winning a Super Bowl may be unrealistic, putting together back-to-back playoff season would be HUGE in my opinion (even if we are a one-and-done in the playoffs).

BA-ZING!!!!

And if you are a business major you should also realize that everyone does not always make perfect decisions, and the nature of the supply and demand model. Every team is competing for the best talent at the most affordable prices. It is basic economics, there is a scarce amount of resources allocated to a population (or talent to 32 teams). Not everyone will get the best deals. I think your theory is pointless, it is merely 20-20 vision. If you feel this way about football, what happens when you lose money in the stock market? Or if your house loses value? How does anything entertain you? If anything at all, you should be able to appreciate a win even more than the average person knowing how difficult it is to put together a team.

Well, I am not sure how to respond to that being we are right in the thick of a playoff race, but since the list is here I'll comment on it. For the most part I agree with you, so good job on the list! I think we have seen the end of Heap, Pryce, Fabian, Gregg, McGahee, Clayton, and Landry. Like you, I would love to bring back Kelly Washington and Sam Koch (who needs to be locked up long-term). I think Dwan Edwards has more than proven that he is capable of being a solid starter at Pryce's 3-4 DE spot. I would love to have him back. I think Pryce is going to retire or be cut, he just does not have much in the tank. We have to use him very cautiously because he wears down easily. He has admitted in the past that his motor is not what it used to be. Edwards is definitely in line for a long-term contract as long as it does not break the bank. I like the idea of trying Gooden at a SS. Maybe not even fulltime, but we could put him in the box in run situations as we would a SS. gooden seems like he has problems keeping his weight up and he is not physical enough to take on guards and fullbacks as a 3-4 ILB. He would probably be a better fit as a 4-3 MIKE or WILL. As for Gaither, I think he has more than proven that he is the guy at LT. I encourage you to read these two scouting reviews on him from the past two weeks: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=118&f=1666&t=5239025 http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=118&f=1666&t=5190748 According to FilmStudy (and this guy knows his stuff), Grubbs is the guy who has been the relative disappointment. His play is better than last year, but not as big a step as we would have hoped. Based on our roster, here is how I would rank our needs: 1. WR - this is pretty obvious, we need playmakers. We need a redzone threat, we need a big guy with strong hands and a big catching radius who is not scared to go over the middle. 2a. CB - Webb makes me feel a little better about this position. Ideally I would love to draft a potential #1 CB in the first round of the draft, so we can slide Foxworth over to the #2 corner spot and keep Webb in the slot. Webb is a monster in the slot and it would allow him to keep KR duties. 2b. TE - same with WRs, we need playmakers. Ideally a TE who has the speed to stretch the field.

This is a valid point that has become very popular among NFL analysts. I think everyone can agree that there is NO defense in the NFL right now that is considered a "Super Bowl winning" defense. When is the last time we have had a season like that? Because of this, we will probably see a Saints-Colts Super Bowl. Our offense is probably above average (13th out of 32 teams), and our defense is 10th in the league. Those are actually very good ratings, we just can never seem to get the two going at the same time. We have proven we can slow down a team like the Colts, Pats, and Vikings, we just need our offense to score touchdowns in order for us to take that next step. We probably need a little more talent at the receiver position before we can do this.

Um... a little early for this, don't you think?

I see what you are saying VA, and I agree that we cannot get ahead of ourselves, but Crav has a good point. Green Bay has one win against a .500 team and loses to Cincy, Minnesota (twice), and TB. With the exception of TB, does that sound familiar? Green Bay is very much in the same boat as us. They have beat up on the easier teams (with the exception of TB, again), and have had trouble closing out games against the more difficult teams. We do have wins against Denver, SD, and Pittsburgh, though (I think people forget this sometimes). What I am getting at is this should be a very good game that is basically a toss-up between two teams that have had a similar season. Harbaugh has never had trouble beating below-.500 teams, Detroit, Chicago, and Oakland will be *** I'm stupid for thinking this game is easy ***s. We have dominated inferior competition this season.

Someone tries to cover their tracks: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4707191

Good stuff on Kruger. We will need him to step up his game in the pass rush this week. Hopefully Mattison will find ways to use Kruger even when Suggs comes back. He is certainly an asset to this team with his size and athleticism. I heard Cam has been lobbying to use him at TE.

Where did you get that assumption? Joe gets plenty of completions when we go to 4 receiver sets. Either that or he gets sacked :P Believe me, I have watched the tape. Joe is perfectly fine in reading the middle of the field and going through progressions. In both Bengals games you may have a point, but those are conveniently Joe's two worst games of the season. You don't have a 90+ QB rating through and only throw 8 INTs in eleven NFL games by just hitting checkdowns and staring down receivers. If that were the case Kyle Boller would still be our QB.

Yardage wise (which is the common measurement for determining the best offense and defense) the Packers give up the fewest yards a game at 281.5. So technically they have the best defense in the league. While they have given up 21 passing TDs, they have 18 INTs. They play a lot of bump and run single coverage, so there are plays to be made in the passing game, but there is just as much of a chance for turning the ball over. The Packers lead the NFL with a take-away/give-away ratio of +17.

I would be willing to challenge that through tape. The problem lies within the playcalling and personel. We don't have a redzone threat like the Bengals do. For that matter, we don't run that type of route in the redzone. Most of the time there are not any progressions to go through, for we will only have two receivers in a route. Either that, or we will have pre-designe plays where Flacco is to get the ball out to a pre-determined receiver very quickly, which was the case Sunday night. When we do have four or five receivers in routes, Joe does go through his progressions. Boller couldn't go through progressions. Joe does, it should be obvious just by watching him play.

BTW, I loved the mean streak I saw out of our players last night. We were not going to take any crap from them. JJ planted Ward in the turf on a screen pass and stood over him. And did anyone see Harrison get shoved to the ground twice? Oher shoved him to the ground near a pile, then he got up and Rice shoves his ass right back down to the turf. Our guys really came out to play last night.

I'm tired of this Joe does not read the middle of the field crap. The problem with the middle of the field pertains more to our personel. Clayton and Mason are smaller guys, not a very big catching radius. So in other words, if your QB does not deliver a perfect pass, the chances for an INT are very high. To make it worse, they are both body catchers, that does not work over the middle. You need a receiver with big, strong hands who extends for the ball. The solution to this problem is to get a big, physical Keyshawn Johnson type receiver. I for one don't want Clayton or Mason going over the middle, they just are not big enough. I have horrible visions about the ball bouncing off a shoulder pad. Simply put, because of our personel we do not run many routes over the middle, that is why Joe does not look, because there are NO receivers there. Kelly Washington is a guy who fits the description of a receiver who can be consistent over the middle, but Kelly does not see the field nearly as much as he should. That is the fault of the coaching staff, not Joe. Oh yeah, and we DID have success over the middle when we ran those plays. Washington was hit over the middle for that 15-yard pass, Clayton was hit for a 20-yarder, Mason was hit on that 3rd long which set up that last 4th & 5, Flacco missed an open Mason earlier on a pass over the middle which would have been a big gain, and the pass to Rice at the end was a crossing route over the middle (that was the exact same play as the INT in the Colts game). Flacco was certainly reading the middle of the field, but most of the plays were either designed quick hitters or longer routes working the sidelines.

The Pats just gave up... Brady is out. That is crazy. BTW, as good as the Saints looked, it was good to see Cmac get beat on the double move on the long completion to Moss.

I thought Mattison's blitzes last night were a lot better than usual. This time we actually had our blitzes timed, instead of giving them away like usual. I saw a lot of fake blitzing, guys coming up, then backing off. I saw a lot of checking out where if the Steelers did go on a hard count and we gave away our blitz, we checked out. However, the Steelers were just well prepared. I would like to think those blitzes would have worked on a poor offensive line like the Packers, but I guess we will find out. BTW, it's probably pointless to talk about the playoffs, the Saints are going to win the Super Bowl. They are playing UNREAL right now.

I agree with you for the most part. I don't think Foxworth is going anywhere, he would be a solid #2 corner if we had a #1 guy to match up against opponents' #1 receivers. At the very least, Fox would provide solid depth with Webb and a new guy starting. I think we can all agree that Foxworth is heads and shoulders better than Carr, Walker, and Washington. Gooden played very hard-nosed last night, but he has been pretty soft this season. He does not like to fill, and takes bad angles in pursuit. Maybe last night could indicate a change for him. I like McClain and Ellerbe a lot, but we need to find that stud replacement for Ray pretty soon. So linebacker is going to be a big need pretty soon. We need pass rushers that can win 1-on-1 matchups. Even Suggs has been poor at this. Suggs is still too valuable as his play against the run and dropping into zones is very good. The defensive line is not in as bad of shape. Kruger is going to get bigger and be able to play as a 3-4 end. Of course we have Ngata and Edwards has been a very solid starter this season. Then through in McKinney, and we are fine. I don't think this is that big a need. I completely agree with you on WR. Not drafting a receiver really hurt us. Teams like the Giants and Vikings just kept drafting receivers until they got productive guys. Even if we draft a rookie next year, how likely is it that guy will be able to contribute right away? At this point, we need to nab one of the elite free agent receivers. All in all, the holes are not as bad as everyone thinks. I think this team could be shored up awfully quickly. Every team has holes. We just need to do a better job of playing disciplined football.

Do you even enjoy being a Ravens fan? All you do is bash the team and according to you we never have a chance to win. I don't understand how there are Ravens fans that cannot even enjoy a win against the Steelers. As for Landry, he played very well last night, and the week before against the Colts. These guys are not giving a lazy effort, our team has played their heart out the past few weeks. The bottom line is that we have been in every single game this season right down to the end, why should that change this week? I will take my chances knowing we have a chance to win it in the end.

This is what everyone though about Manning and the Colts. Knowing that we are outmatched in the secondary, we need to implement a bend but don't break philosophy. Hold in the redzone, and we are in it. Just because Rodgers gets big passing yards, doesn't automatically mean they win.