thundercleetz

I think arguing about the Reed lateral is relevant. Ed realizes it was a bad play, the coaches do, and all the fans do. Bottom line is that is not what cost us the game. You bring up valid points about our redzone woes and Harbaugh's blunder with the challenge/time-out situation. More than anything, it was the wasted redzone opportunities that lost this game. Other than that, it was a solid gameplan on both sides of the ball. Even you have to be impressed dc with Cam's playcalling. I saw plenty of passes over the middle, quick slants, and other types of routes that I have not seen this season. Our chances deep actually seemed like they were being set up by our run game as opposed to just chucking it up like you have suggested. It all comes down to that goaline possession. As for the missed field goal, I am willing to give Cundiff a pass on that one. He hit four other very difficult kicks. The missed one did not hurt us because we gained valuable field position that nearly got us a touchdown. Cundiff was putting solid leg under the ball on the kickoffs, and save for one kickoff in the fourth, our coverage was sound. What needs to be examined is the consistent bad snaps on the field goals. Four out of the five snaps today were errant and saved by Koch (there was one bad punt snap as well that Koch had to save). I know Katula is dealing with an injury problem. If this is affecting his play, put him on the IR and get someone else.

The gameplan was there, it all came down to that series of plays on the goaline. We needed that TD...

We played against a championship calibur team today in Indy. None of the teams left on the schedule scare me, including Pittsburgh (who just lost to the Chiefs). If we could slow down Manning and the Colts offense, I do not see why we cannot do the same to Rodgers and Green Bay. At this point, I am thinking 10-6, win out and split with Pittsburgh. At the same time, I do not see why we cannot sweep the Steelers.

It was going to take a perfect game to win today and our crew nearly pulled it off. The defense had a solid gameplan today and executed it excellently. Save the long ball on Washington, the defense bended but didn't break. Even though they did not get a sack, they got consistent pressure on Manning to throw his timing off. They shutdown the run for the most part, and most importantly forced turnovers. Today's defensive effort looked earily similar to the defensive effort put against the Colts in that 2006 divisional game. Ray got hurt early, and was clearly playing on a bum ankle, but still managed to make plays. Webb, Foxworth, Landry, and Reed all put forth very admirable games. Webb and Foxworth played well on the outside together. More great games go to Edwards (this guy was busting his ass up and down the field), Ngata, Ellerbe, and JJ (our defensive MVP). All guys played very sound games. On offense, yes, we could not score a touchdown, but the gameplan was what we needed to win. We ran the ball, ran the ball, and ran the ball some more. We kept Manning off of the field and won the time of possession battle. Save for Joe's interception at the end and Oher's offside penalty, this was a very disciplined game by the guys on offense. Mason showed up and made plays and Double R fought his ass off for every yard. And how about that offensive line? Joe was touched maybe twice all game against a fearsome pass rush! This game in my opinion was lost on our inability to pound the ball in on the goaline. We had three chances on the one-inch line and could not deliver. One play call I did not agree with was running a counter one third-and-goal. Just pound that thing in. At the very least you are stuffed on the goaline again and you are in better position to go for it on fourth down instead of being on the two-yard line. To beat teams like the Colts, you need touchdowns, not field goals. We will get our chance again next week against the Steelers. Going back to the topic, before you criticize, realize that we put forth one of our best efforts this year against potentially the best team in the league. In fact, six of our last seven games have been against division leaders. We ARE NOT a bad team, we have just come up short. In my opinion, this team is on the verge of breaking through. We just need to continue to progress on both sides of the ball, and get a couple more playmakers at receiver and defensive back. One more thing, before you claim we have no chance against Pittsburgh, they just lost to KC in OT. This is a different team without Polamalu, and even with him they have struggled putting teams away letting inferior competition stay in the game with them. If we play like we did today, we will beat Pittsburgh's ass. I don't care about the playoffs, lets sweep Pittsburgh's ass!

Awesome post geo!

That Heap picture brings back horrible memories!!

My point is that the Panthers are a lot worse than the Colts. Do you really think the Dolphins would have beat a team like the Colts last night? I don't.

I am not sure if I agree with you saying "the Dolphins really had little chance to win that game," the Panthers are really not a good team. Both teams are very average and of the same talent level. However, I do agree with your assessment of Sunday's game. We need to play penalty-free football, that is the big thing.

This season is far from over max, even if we lose this week against Indy. It all comes down to the Steelers games. As long as we have Ozzie drafting defensive players, Flacco at QB, and Ray Rice running behind that offensive line, this team will be competitive every season.

Well, you did attack Ozzie when you said he had "ZERO plan." I certainly agree with your criticisms though. It is frustrating how Ozzie lets our guys go into the last year of their deals when teams like the Eagles seem to have no problem locking their players up (granted, the Eagles have had lots of unhappy campers with their contracts because of these under-market deals). I was not as angry about Scott leaving. Like Adalius, it would not make financial sense to re-sign him when he was an UFA or the year before. Scott is good, but I don’t want to be stuck with a $50 million contract when Scott is 32, same deal with Adalius. We got over Sharper, Hartwell, and Adalius, we will get over Scott quickly. It just takes some adjustment, like I stated. But I like what I see in Ellerbe. If we re-sign Scott (doesn’t matter when), then Gaither, Ngata, or Grubbs are gone. We could not have that much money tied up in LB. What got me mad was that we did not re-sign Jay Brown for a cheap contract when we had a chance, but then again, that could mean Grubbs is gone. Here is the main point though: for the most part, Ozzie has never lost a free agent that went on to superstardom. The Steelers operate the same way as us. They let their guys get to the end of their deals, then take care of the important players. The guys they let go nothing becomes of them. So before you go judging Ozzie’s moves, remember that 2002 team and how bad they were on defense before a lot of those players became a lot better. Foxworth especially is a guy I believe can improve. With Fabian and Landry coming off of the books, you better sure Ozzie is going to be looking for secondary help. I am not worried at all. As for retaining Landry and Williams, name me a cheaper, better alternative. These guys are in the last year of middle round rookie deals, dirt cheap depth. We were strapped to the cap this past year, there was not a better alternative. You cannot count these guys as free agent pickups against Ozzie. Those go on his draft record (and Landry is a special case, for he has not been the same since his injury). And for the receivers, as bad as they have been this season (with the exception of Kelly Washington) this should be an opportunity for Ozzie to get better. Provided there is a CBA, the free agent WR class is going to be STACKED (Marshall, Austin, Jackson, Bryant as the headliners plus guys like Boldin, Steve Smith, and Bowe as guys possibly available through trade). I do agree with you though, it was dumb not drafting a receiver this year so they could transition and be ready to contribute next year. I heard we really liked Mohamed Massaquoi, but he went off of the board before we picked. Who knows, a guy like Eron Riley could step up.

It also became more believable when you see Hauschka crying on the sideline after missing the FG in the Browns game. He comes across as emotionally unstable to me...

That is probably a little harsh. I do not think people realize how spoiled we were by guys like Cmac, Scott, and Rolle. Ozzie did have a plan on defense, it was to get SPEED. That is why guys like Gooden, Foxworth, Washington, and Carr came in. Unfortunately, these guys have been soft so far (although it was encouraging to see Fabian play solid in the run game on Monday, and Foxworth has stepped his play up as the season has gone on). On the positive side, look at guys like Ngata, Edwards (what a pleasant surprise he has been), JJ (our defensive MVP this season), Suggs, and Ladarius Webb. These are our building blocks. Then we have guys with potential like Krueger, McKinney, Ellerbe, and McClain. Foxworth is not a bad corner, he could be a solid #2. On offense, even you cannot deny that Ozzie has done a good job. The core of Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, Le'Ron McClain and our offensive line is going to give defenses fits for years to come. The offense is a work in progress as we still need quality receivers, but Ozzie is getting there. Do you remember how bad this offense was and how devoid it was of talent? How about that aging offensive line? Ozzie built this line from scratch, replaced a Hall of Fame left tackle, got us a franchise quarterback, and a franchise runningback. If that is not a plan, then I do not know what is. Here is the bottom line: For all the criticism our defense gets, we are still the #7 defense in the league. Do you remember 2002, Mike Nolan's first year as DC? I'll give you a penny if you can tell me what our defense was ranked... it was 22nd. And that was a defense that had Ray Lewis, Chris McAlister, Peter Boulware, and Ed Reed (rookie) all in their primes. This defense we have now is very much in transition like that 2002 team was. We lost some key players and a very good DC, and have a lot of young players coming in. In 2002 guys like AD, Baxter, Gregg, Hartwell, Weaver, and Demps struggled, but they become much better players as the year went on going into the next couple of years. And none of these guys were superstar talents either (which is evident by the fact they could not produce the same success when they left Baltimore). Who is to say we will not see the same progression with guys like Foxworth, Webb, Krueger (especially since he is going to see extensive playing time in these coming weeks), and Ellerbe? I think it was blind for us fans to think there was not going to be an adjustment period for Mattison and all the young guys coming in. My last point is that we are still very much in the thick of things, and even if we do not make the playoffs we have a solid core for Ozzie to work with to improve upon. Look how fast the Bengals improved. You think their fans were not saying all of the same things last season about their GM being clueless?

Yes, it is a bad joke, even though it is kind of funny though. What gave me a bad impression was the subtitle of "you won't believe this." When I the topic heading, I thought this was a serious topic. It scared me for a second. There should have been a joke topic warning or something.

You know that is bad when the head coach acknowledges it. As sad as it is, I would be willing to bet James could step in and immediately be better than anything they currently have.

Pittsburgh looked just as bad as us against Cincy in both games. Pittsburgh has looked the same as us in games against all of our common opponents. I am thinking we should split with them. I think we should beat Green Bay, and lose to Indy. Leaving us at 10-6. However, I see your view as well. The point is that this season is not lost and we have a solid chance at the playoffs. No I would not put money on us getting to the playoffs, I am just saying this season is far from over and we needed to get better at kicker. Did we get better at kicker? No one knows yet, but Ozzie and co. know what they are doing a lot more than any of us. What does concern me however is that we gave Cundiff and Nugent a tryout last week and came to the conclusion that Hauschka was still the better kicker. Aaron Wilson said the Ravens believed that Hauschka's problems are mental. Sometimes kickers can work through mental problems sometimes they cannot, just like QBs. That is what it comes down to. If Hauschka is able to overcome his mental problems, we could regret this move. But we cannot wait for Hauschka, we need someone who can handle pressure. Hopefully Cundiff is better than Hauschka at doing so.

No one is suggesting this at all. You say the FO did nothing to plug holes, well, you have to include kicker in that statement. Hauschka could not get the job done. Under you own logic, should we leave Carr, Washington, and Foxworth alone? All the front office is trying to do is fill a hole. It is just that at this point in the season there is not much we can do at the DB position, whereas kicker we believe there is a better player on the market. Getting a new kicker will not fix everything, but it puts us in a better position to win. This season is far from over, and even though we have problems as you correctly state, our four loses are to elite teams and we took all four games down to the wire. You have to believe we have a shot in every game we play, which makes us still very alive in the playoff race.

I am really not sure what you are getting at. You want us to bomb the rest of our games at the expense of a kicker? You seem to be the one with your head in the sand. Why are you even a fan if all you do is bash the team and suggest the season is over after nine games?

Hey SaintsMan! I am a Ravens fan that goes to Tulane down here in New Orleans, I will try and fill you in on C-mac. The truth is, no one knows how well Cmac's knee is. Before his knee injury, he was, in my opinion, still one of the better corners in the league. Still had his speed, and of course, his physicality. Then he hurt his knee and tried to play through it. The next week got absolutely burned in the Colts game last year and he has not played in an NFL game since. If Cmac's knee is fully healed, he should be a very good pickup for you guys. I have heard speculation that his knee is not healed completely, but I am certain your training staff put him through extensive tests before signing him. They must feel he can contribute in some way. As for the comments about Cmac having personal problems. I am not sure how true the drinking rumors are, but focus on the football field has always been a big problem for Cmac. These guys that are joking Cmac will be distracted in New Orleans probably have never been here outside of Mardi Gras. Like I am sure you know, while it is a festive city, there is trouble to be found in every city. I do not think Cmac will be a problem in that sense. It all depends on his knee.

Go ahead and think this season is over. Bottom line is that we have two critical games against the Steelers that will decide the wildcard. Don't watch anymore of our games, no one will care. I don't see how releasing Houschka is ignorant, we need to win games no matter what.

The ACL and PCL are cruciate ligament while the MCL is a collateral ligament. Cruciate ligament require surgery whereas collateral ligaments heal on their own unless it is a complete tear or in combination with a cruciate ligament, I believe. For what it is worth, Troy Polamalu slightly tore his MCL in Week 1.

Luckily the MCL in the grand scheme of things is pretty minor and typically heals on its own and pretty quickly (in comparison to the ACL and PCL).

Not confirmed yet. It is unfortunate for Suggs, but next man up! Maybe this will force Mattison to get more creative with bringing pressure. Time to see if Krueger and Barnes can get after the QB as well. And I doubt Gerard will get any PT outside of special teams. Webb barely plays even though he has proven that he should start.

Heck, the game versus the Browns was Ravens football. A shutout, 40 runs compared to 20 passes, a defensive TD, we have been spoiled by our offense this season to expect 30+ points every game. You cannot have it all every week. The big thing this week will be to reduce the amount of penalties. Those are offensive drive killers and on defense will extend the opponent's drive.

It looks like Hauschka realizes his struggles kicking from the left hashmark: What I do not understand, as dc has stated before, is if you are kicking from the left hashmark, wouldn't one want to push the ball right? So if the kick was going to sail wide, it would be to the right. Trying to hook the left goalpost from the left hashmark seems like a small target to hit.