thundercleetz

I do not have a problem with games being played in London, as long as the Ravens are not involved. I think trying to expand the game overseas is a good idea. Football is an awesome sport and the rest of the world should experience it. Now, as for having a team overseas... NO WAY!!!! Way too much travel time, US players will feel too alienated in Europe having to live there, some will probably refuse to play on these teams. Let Europe set up their own leagues. I would actually encourage a Super Bowl in London. The game would truly be on the world stage, and get international attention. I think this would be a good idea. The site would truly be neutral, none of this Steelers getting home field advantage crap. I agree with Outside, start in Canada. They have a growing college football system (a few players got drafted this year, Vaughn Martin for the Chargers is actually doing a very good job) and the interest for football is there. A team in Toronto would probably be very successful. That would be football weather.

This should be a very good game. This game should also tell us a lot about how good both teams really are.

I do not care how fast we score, a three-and-out is a three-and-out. If the defense wants to get off the field and rest, they can make it happen. The defense is hurting themselves letting up 10+ play drives. The Ravens defense of last year would not have had any problem playing with our offense of this year. How practical is it for Mattison to go up to Cam and say: "Hey, our defense just let up a 12-play drive, try not to score as quickly." What we saw last week was we would try and run the ball, get stuffed on first and second down, and leave ourself with a third and long. So instead of scoring, we get a three-and-out hurting our own defense even more. When you have a way of scoring points, you score the points. People just have to face it, our passing game opens up our running game. By the way, what does the defense expect? We are down by double digits in the fourth quarter, the offense has to score quickly! If the defense gave up that long pass from Favre because they were tired, then they just did not want to win that game enough.

From winter leagues to free agency to spring training, I am sure there will be a lot to talk about so lets just put it all here. First off, Snyder and Bell are tearing up the AFL: Good stuff from Brandon on wanting to win the open first base job this spring training: What do you guys think about Brandon competing for the first base job? He tore up AA, and his struggles at AAA have been largely attributed to a large ballpark (lots of deep fly balls that would have been homeruns in Bowie or Baltimore). Brandon is a very hard worker and has a high baseball IQ. It would not surprise me to see Brandon make the neccessary adjustments and tear it up in AAA (if he does not win the first baseman job in Baltimore, of course). Josh Bell is another guy who we could see starting in Baltimore in 2010. However, he has large problems hitting left-handed pitching from the right side. Should he become a fulltime left handed batter? Scouting reports say his bat speed from the left side is ridiculous, and his swing is fundamentally sound as well. From the right side Josh is reported to have a different looking swing with not nearly as much bat speed and power. Sure, there would be an adjustment to hitting left handed pitching from the left side, but with such a sweet swing, it would be nothing that Josh could not overcome. Basically what I am saying is that Josh has more potential as a fulltime left handed batter than as a switch hitter.

No, Willis signed a seven-year, $40.12 million contract on 3/8/07. Here is the breakdown: As you can see, his cap number really starts to jump in 2011. I would definitely expect him to be released or restructured by then. I am not sure what the cap hit would be for releasing him next offseason.

I completely agree, but Willis is still here because of the cap hit we would take for releasing him. With the emergence of Ray Rice, and the fact that this team has many holes and needs cap room to fill them, Willis may be asked to restructure his contract to stay or be cut. As much as I like Willis' new attitude and playing this season, we cannot afford to pay a backup that much money. If something were to happen to Rice though, God forbid, I would feel really comfortable with Willis.

I agree with you in that this loss would be a dagger for the defense. However, I do not see the team "tanking" with as good as our offense is playing. For a 3-3 teams, none of our losses have been more than six points. With our offense, we are sure to win a few of these shootouts.

I thought the exact same thing this past Sunday! The defense did not have the swagger they have had in the past, heck that they even had this preseason or even in the Pats game. The Vikings came right out and smacked us in the mouth. The defense looked lathargic and like they still had the momentum sucked out of them from the previous week against the Bengals. Very rarely had I seen an offense come out and pound the ball down our throats for 14 points on the first two drives. This loss of confidence concerns me a lot, it is like the defense is listening to what the media is saying and do not believe themselves that they are good.

It's the Yankees, it just happens.

Great points max, I guess based upon what you said we are really going to find out how smart of a DC Mattison is when he plays the Bengals for the second time. Can he learn from his mistakes and pick up on tendencies? As for running the ball, max, we have tried the past two weeks very persistently. The rushing attempts and ToP stats will not be there if you are getting stuffed on first and second down, leaving your offense with third-and-longs (see this past game). You have to understand the risks with running the ball against good defenses. If you get stuffed on first down, even a four yard gain on second down leaves you with a 3rd & 6. We have been very successfull picking up yardage through the air on first and second down leaving us with third and shorts. I am really tired of this we need to run the ball more, Cam knows what he is doing. Especially with Gaither out, you have to play to your strengths. If Cam thinks we can be more successfull running the ball, we will. Last week it just was not working against the Vikings, which is why the offense came out slow. When we started to run the ball is when the passing game started to catch on. We just have to accept here in Baltimore, especially with a multi-dimensional back like Rice who can spread the defense, we might have to use the pass to set up the run. That makes Rice even more leathal out of the shotgun and single back sets, while the defense still has to account for him on the screen passes. The defense is just going to have to adjust to our offense. I do not care, a three-and-out is a three-and-out, no matter how quickly your own offense scores. If the defense wants a rest, get off the field yourself.

Why all the hate on McGahee? He has been playing great this season and has been the perfect teammate in his backup role to Ray Rice, Willis worked very hard this offseason I think he got the message. But with the emergence of Rice as a fullyime three down back, and McGahee's cap number next season, I can see Willis being let go. We can draft a backup for Ray.

Eron Riley is extremely raw, Justin Harper would probably be a better bet. But look out for Riley next season after he gets a year of pro football under his belt.

You guys can hate on Allen all you want, but I saw him dominating out there. Oher was not blocking him alone, we had tight-ends and running backs chipping Allen all day. Everyone is calling Allen an ass-hole, but don't you want you big, gritty guys up front to be an ass-hole? I would take Allen on this team in a second, his numbers speak for themselves. Nevertheless, I thought Oher settled down in the second half and did a solid job.

I don't think that Ray would like Mighty Mouse. I like Colin's suggestion.

You are right, for what he is being paid he should be getting 15 sacks, but Suggs is hardly one-dimenstional. He is well rounded: He is outstanding versus the run, good against the pass, and is decent rushing the passer. He is good for about eight sacks a year. Not great, but by no means a slouch. But yes, Suggs is overpaid. And as for trading him, when you have a team that you believe is on the cusp of a Super Bowl, you do not trade one of your best players. Do you really think undrafted rookies could be playing better than Landry and Williams? Sorry, I don't buy it. Nakamora and Zibby have been getting more time as of late, this should continue if Landry struggles. As for Demetrius Williams, I heard he is in the coach's doghouse big time. He could very be out the door soon...

I thought it was a tale of two halves. Allen was completely dominant the first half. Oher slowed him down the second half and held his own very well. I cannot short Jared Allen at all, he is an elite player.

I do not think we will regret the deal, but they definitely overpaid. The bottom line is Suggs is a very solid player. He stops everything to his side in the run game and he is good in coverage. Also, he is really starting to come into his own as a leader. He is definitely a top ten linebacker. The key is linebacker, as I think that is what he has become. He is an inconsistent pass rusher now, he pretty much has one move, if you call getting off of the line quickly a move. Like I said, Suggs is a solid player, a fringe Pro-Bowler, just not an elite player. As for Ozzie deciding to keep Landry, D-Will, and Walker, these are all low cost moves. considering there were too many other options in terms of what we could do with the cap, you cannot really blame Ozzie. All three guys are free agents, and will most likely not be back. As for the Foxworth signing, it looks really bad right now, but all we can hope is that he improves and starts to play like he did in Atlanta last season. It is hard for me to believe that Ozzie missed the mark that much on this guy.

Update today from Hensley's Twitter. Here is the quote from Harbaugh, it is not looking good for Samari...

Is Ray Rice the next Brian Westbrook or what? I see many Pro-Bowls in this kid's future. Rice, Flacco, and that outstanding offensive line (including McClain at fullback) are going to scare a lot of defenses for years to come. We just need a big, play-making receiver now.

I agree with you on the New England statement. What I was referencing was the discontent from the fans saying how bad the offense looked in the first half when these were the same fans who were clamoring to run the ball when our offense was successful passing the ball against New England. Basically what I am saying is that running the ball does not always solve all the problems and fans need to understand the risks of an over-reliance on the run (we should know this after ten years with Billick). Sometimes it is the pass that opens up the running attack (especially with how this offense has performed this season), not vice-versa.

That was the second drive of the game, it was a three-and-out. That play was on second down after a no gain run on first down. The offense was flat simply because the run game was not working. Everyone was clamoring after the Pats game to run the ball, well we had less than ten yards rushing in the first half. Do not forget that Flacco had 143 yards passing in the first half. If you decide to run the ball, especially against a run defense like the Vikings, you have to take the risk that your offense could face multiple third-and-long situations if the run game falters.

I kind of agree, but if a guy like Tex, who is young, is there where you don't have to prospects, why not fill the hole? Sure, Tex might not be any better than Gonzalez/Fielder/Cabrera, but we would not have had to given up prospects. In my opinion, Tex is a special hitter. Not only is he a switch hitter, he plays Gold Glove defense at first (something Gonzalez does, but Fielder and Cabrera do not). Do I even need to stress the importance of good defense at first base after watching Huff, Wiggington, and Millar lug around the bag the past few years? If these big bats are so common, why haven't we gotten one yet? By the way, Fielder and Gonzalez are both going to command Tex-like contracts in two years (and Fielder is a Boras client too). So you talk about the "right price", is the right price three top prospects and a $180 million contract when we could have just given Tex the contract? Here is something else you have to consider. Anytime one of these Hall of Fame, special-type of hitters come along teams like the Yankees and Red Sox pursue them driving them out of our price range. Seriously, if Tex got 8-years, $180 million, how much do you think the Yanks would have given to Pujols? Easily over $200 million. Do you really think we would pay any player that much money? And what would make you think a Pujols-type player would even want to come here? I guess you could say the same thing about Tex, so maybe a trade is the only way to get such a bat?

The offense is flat? Over 440 yards? Yes, we started slow because we tried to stick with the run game, but the gameplan worked. The defense eventually got tired and we started to break off some long runs, ultimately opening up the passing game. As for Joe's missed TD to Mason, this week it was the receiver's fault. Mason looked up way too early, he should have ran through the ball to make the catch. At the very least, why didn't Mason dive for the pass? Last week the pass was Joe's fault, this week it was the receivers. All the more reason why we need a big deep threat.

Good point, this gets me absolutely furious. Teams counter our blitz by going on different snap counts. If this happens and we show our blitz prematurely, why not just check out of it or audible into a different blitz? For as much as everyone misses Rex, the same thing happened last year as well. It is reasons like this why I miss Mike Nolan as our DC. Nolan would just line up in a traditional 3-4 and play football. I hate to say it, but Nolan would probably have great success coaching this defense. For how badly we are doing, you cannot deny the talent.

I agree with dc, Ray and Reed are not part of the problem at all. Lewis is still out there making plays, and is getting sideline-to-sideline no problem. Lewis just does not look as good because the ILB next to him is not doing his job of taking on blocks (why isn't Ellerbe playing? He is much better than Gooden!), thus linemen are able to wall Ray off.