thundercleetz

This is the best news we could hope for after the loss. Even better considering he announced it right away as opposed to thinking it over and possibly taking a few interviews. Sounds like Kubiak is sure about his decision. Hopefully he is actively involved with WR scouting and drafting this offseason.

As good as our defensive line was this past season, remember we have Kapron Lewis-Moore and Brent Urban coming back. You have to love the way Ozzie has rebuilt the offensive and defensive lines. So much depth!

Not to pile on Torrey, but from my vantage point I don't think he had a good game run blocking at all. Forsett had lots of yardage left on that field because Torrey failed to block his guy on a few plays. I thought all the other receivers gave a great effort run blocking. What do I know. Mike Wallace got $60M from the Dolphins to be a pure deep threat (Wallace said he turned down $75M from the Vikings too). Torrey has every right to ask for that kind of money, that's what the market dictates. I want Torrey back. He's one of those players that goes beyond the football field for the organization. He's wildly popular, I think Ozzie finds a way. I also think Torrey's best football is still ahead of him.

This team is on the upswing. A couple of corners and we're set.

At first I thought Torrey should have jumped for that ball. It looked catchable to me. However a friend told me he popped up gimpy after the play. He may have hurt his hamstring with is why he didn't fight for the ball.

Not one player in the league that can guard that Brady-to-Gronk quick slant one-on-one. Hard to fault Hill there. Either the pressure gets to Brady, there's a batted ball or its a TD.

Good first half. This is going to be a thriller.

Don't mind that drive, you put them in a couple of tough third downs and stuffed the run. Pass rush is getting close. They know they can't run.

This start is huge, not only take the crowd out of the game, but with the media hyping the whole Ravens have the Pats number, do we get in their heads? Does Belicheck deviate from his gameplan?

Perfect start. When an offensive coach scripts his first fifteen plays I don't even think he expects this as a best case scenario.

Shocking challenge. Good call by Harbaugh. Even if we didn't win that, we slow the momentum. Our offensive line is killing the Pats front seven.

Well it depends on the public support. You can't force an owner to spend his own money where he doesn't want to. A investment that large in St. Louis probably isn't smart (for both the owner and the city I'd say). If St. Louis doesn't want to pay for a stadium, the owner should be allowed to move if he is going to pay for a new stadium elsewhere with no public money. IMO, owners need to start paying for their own stadiums. If a city like St. Louis loses their team, then that's an unfortunate consequence. If St. Louis wants to keep the team, put it on a ballot and let the public decide. But the real message here is new taxes being levied for a stadium when the public doesn't want it or doesn't benefit.

Touchdown!!!!!

Things are about to get interesting: St. Louis proposes a new $860M stadium. No new tax burden, supposedly. Will the NFL let the Rams leave when there is a new stadium offer on the table?

Ok I just researched this some more. The NFL isn't commenting because the state has until the end of the month to come up with either a plan for a new stadium or accept the $700M upgrades to the current dome. We'll see what happens. It will be interesting if the state offers a new stadium, because I believe a team can only move if all options have been exhausted.

The guy wants to build a stadium with his own money, he should be able to move the team. Interesting the NFL hasn't commented yet. I imagine the NFL is in a tough spot: the Rams won an arbitration hearing that stated it would take $700M to upgrade the Edward Jones Dome to a first class facility as specified in the lease. Since the city isn't willing to pay up, the Rams can convert their lease into a year to year lease. The other option to stay in St. Louis would be a new stadium, which I imagine would cost at least that. So does the NFL force the Rams to stay in St. Louis and fight for public money that St. Louis hasn't been willing to pay? Or do they let the guy who wants to build his own stadium in LA, without any tax help, move the team? NFL has to be careful about the message they want to send. A lot of these publically financed stadium deals are already controversial. I guess the other option is the NFL says no, a team can only move to LA if it plays in an NFL owned stadium.

Will Hill is a badass back there in the secondary. He plays with an attitude. It seems like he's finally getting comfortable in the defense, and that's letting him expand his range while being aggressive. Gronk will be a tough matchup, but remember that Hill played very well against Jimmy Graham.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-ravens-torrey-smith-anticipates-matching-up-against-imposing-patriots-corner-brandon-browner-20150106-story.html Torrey anticipates being matched up against Browner, so we'll see. As we saw against the Browns with Hayden, all it takes are a couple of big plays for Torrey to have an impact on the game.

Brandon Browner is one of the most penalized DBs in the league. Throw it up and hope to get lucky with big plays! http://www.nflpenalties.com/all-players.php

I finished all the episodes in two days. I got hooked. Interested to hear what everyone thinks.

We'll agree to disagree. I certainly think there is enough information, tape, analysis, and other resources out there to break down a player's game and make informed judgements on an individualized basis. And in the salary cap era, you absolutely have to take into account a player's salary in comparison to what other players are getting. So there's a bottom line performance factor whether it's fair or not.

We won, so this week there is no point in nitpicking it. When Torrey asks for a $60M contract this offseason, yes it will absolutely be worth nitpicking. Receivers who make that much money make those catches. People are nitpicking this one catch because it's representative of Torrey not being able to make this type of catch in the past. And I disagree with your second statement, we nitpick every single throw Flacco makes. When you make/ask for big money, you get analyzed on a microscopic level. Goes with the territory.

I'm not going to judge because it would have been an out of this world play. However, Desean Jackson was on the NFL Network saying receivers every week practice dragging the toe (I was very impressed with Jackson's commentary BTW). Jackson said Torrey is going to kick himself watching that play. Here's what it is: if Torrey tries to drag the tie maybe he doesn't even come down with the ball, or can't control it. Regardless you have to try and drag the toe first then worry about the catch. Yes, you are right, it would have been a super tough catch. However, that is a catch that the elite receivers make. Torrey is going to be a free agent this year, and you can bet he will ask for #1 receiver money. If it is Aiken in that situation, I give him a pass and forget. Torrey has to be held to a higher standard given the money he will command this offseason.

Feels even better the morning after! I've watched the highlights a few times already!

Thank you Preacher, very classy.