varaven45

Crav, With Carolina and Tampa on tap, the D has an apportunity to turn it around and reagin some of its swagger.

Or just how mediocre the NFL D's are this year !

As God awful as the D has been, we are still 10th overall in the league (yards per game allowed). Considering the meltdowns against Buffalo & Atlanta, thats not too bad. Maybe the D can improve with Carolina and Tampa on tap. Just saying !

Agree on the non-dominance in th AFC. Not sure we can change our pass rushing ability or our "spotty" secondary play, but I totally agree it is wide open. If the Pats and their marginal (but very focused, intense) D can shut down Ben and the Steelers for 3 quarters, we can do the same if not better. In my opinion, our D just needs to refocus on fundamentals, being prepared every game, playing with a sense of urgency. Those are the keys. We arent the 2000 D (not even a shell) but our D is good enough to make it to the dance. Crav, did you see Brady call out his team after they squandered a red zone opportunity last night. Collinsworth & Michaels were interpreting but asserted that Brady was scolding his team mates about how they had to play mistake free ball to win last night's game. Every play was important. He was right. I wonder if Ray and Ed, who want a SB so bad, or even Joe F might have taken notice. Somebody on this team needs to take charge !

Not to digress but rather to reflect on the Atlanta game and the experience at the Georgia Dome, here are my personal thoughts on the venue and game: 1. The GA dome is a great venue. The place was electric, and was whipped into a continuous frenzy by Samuel L Jackson. The Falcons and their fans were pumped all night long. It was like their Super Bowl ! 2. The fans in Atlanta are passionate but still seem more like a NASCAR crowd to me. Oddly (or maybe not so oddly) they still hate on Ray Ray. I got hate comments before during and after the game. 3. On the field, the Falcons wanted this game more than the Ravens, plain and simple. They were more aggressive, energized and made the plays when needed. We were flat, listless, and seemed unmotivated for 3 quarters. We woke up in the 4th quarter. 4. Matt Ryan is better than Joe. He's more polished, quicker and makes amazing throws. Joes isnt far behind and was brillaint in the 4th quarter. 5. Weve heard it all a milion times but our lack of a pass rush (sans Suggs) killed us. My Falcon buddy (at the game) were joking about the time Ryan had to throw. It was crazy. 6. Our shoddy tackling (ability to wrap up) was also on full display. 7. Our defense was not ready for this game. Several times (at least 6 times) our secondary barely got into proper position right before the snap. Its amazing we didnt get beat on more balls. It could have been worse. 8. Our running game is extremly underutilized. As bad as we played, we could have run all over the Falcons. 9. Our passing game is disfunctional. Hot and cold. Boldin is a a beast and Stallworth needs to be unleashed. Now ! 10. We layed an egg against a possible SB team in their house. Wake up time for us. The Steelers opened the door last night. It will be interesting to see how this team responds. The league is wide open and its going to be decided by who gets the hot hand.

Max, I dont like our pass rush or run D. I think we will be flat, Matt Ryan has a coming out party, and the Dirty Birds continue their dominance at home. I'll be at the GA Dome with my 86 jersey and screaming my lungs out. It would be nice to go 7-2 come late Thursday night.

Thanks Max ! I'll give you the scoop when I return.

Woob woob woob woob ! Ruff ruff !

Going to Hotlanta for Thursday night's battle. Should be a lot of fun. Anyone have suggestions - hang out/dining places - for Ravens fans ?

Or our D ability to stop Ryan & Roddy White.

Didnt Koch do that in Dallas a few years ago. Maybe it was a run. Either way, both were huge ! Did you notice the Dolphins trying (obviously unsuccessfully) to call a time out right before the play.

Max, The D took over and game wes decided when we shut down Miami right before half. If they go in - its 14-13 Phins at half. Instead, we stop em (or at least Henne overthrows a WIDE OPEN Anthony Fasano) and we go in 13-10 at the half. That was huge. That was your game !

Max and Crav, I guess you guys were right - we did take care of business. Defensively, we controlled the tempo, esp in the 2nd half. Offensively, though, we have some serious problems in the Red Zone. Does the Offense, O Line, Cam and Joe collectively all pee in their pants upon entering the Red Zone. We might need to start calling it the Ravens "Yellow Zone". Max or Crav, you got a cartoon for that one ? Somebody has to explain how a team can go from First and Goal at the 3 to 4th and Goal at the 30. Oh, and then muff a FG attempt.

You are snockered on the purple kool-aid today, Crav. I rest my case but hold to my opinion. I hope yoy are right on Joe. Hes going to need a big game. I'm out !

Hey Crav, I liked your "beached up dolphin" better but you are in denial,dude. Unless Harbs told the team to lay down and sandbag it for the first 7 games, this will be a very, very close game. Book it !

Many folks (fans, media) seem to be taking this one as a likely slam dunk win. Make no mistake: The Fins are a tough group, balanced, very stout on D, and have played good teams very tough. The only blowout was vs NE. They are a blown call (Stealers) from being 5-2. They dominated the Steelers and held their running game to 2 ypc. They should have won that game. In my opinion, this game is a tossup and I dont buy the week off from the bye advantage. Plus, the Fins are very balanced, strong on the road and have dangerous weapons on offense (Bess and Marshall). If we repeat the Buffalo experience, we will get smoked. This should be a very tough, low scoring game, probably won by a late 4th FG.

A washed up/roidless Merriman and the Bills ? Ahhhhh, sounds like a perfect fit !

Max, The door is indeed open. Of course, its open for others, too - Pats, Stealers, Colts, Jets. The real question is - will we take advantage of this opportunity ? Will we see the team that looked strong against the Broncos, Jets, Stealers or "played down" to the Bengals, Bills and Browns. I am excited to see which team shows up.

Say what you want about Trents weaknesses - and there were a few - but what about his strengths -of which there were many. Forget the bad throws, occasional poor decisions. The guy had character and toughness; something I think our 2001 QB (Mr Grbac) might have lacked, huh ? I rest my case.

I am not a rear view mirror guy, but the loss of Gaither on O and Dom Fox on D cannot be overstated. The Gaither loss has resulted in a patchwork OL that may take the whole season to get straight (if it does at all). Its almost like the Searcy loss back in '01.

Yep, Max. And its not a quick fix - it will take a couple years. The D, esp the secondary and LB, has been largely ignored (forget Kindle). Oz may need to spend 75-80% of his 2011/2012 draft picks on D, unless he is able to pull off another Boldin type signing or two on the D. Until then, we are going to suffer through some sieve-like D games for the forseeable. I can suck up watching our D getting schooled by Big Ben, Matt Ryan, or even Carson Palmer. But the thought of TB's Josh Freeman, Cleveland's Colt McCoy, or Carolina's QB Matt Moore possibly carving up our secondary is downright nauseating !

Max, Why didnt they ? They came out gunning from the get go, right ? Some observers are saying that Rice isnt hitting the holes as fast this year, McGahee is still tap dancing. Maybe Cam is saving it or he only wants to run after we establish the pass. Either way, the bye gives them a couple weeks to re-establish the running game. They are certainly going to need it down the stretch run.

Geo, Thanks. You are right - I took a pessimistic angle. There are many positives but after a skin-of-your-teeth win vs the BILLS !!!!! its hard to highlight the good stuff. Maybe the bye week will do the team some good, huh ?

Here are some traits/tendencies I have observed from this year's team so far. 1. Ray Rice is slower in hitting the holes this year (related to knee injury) ? 2. Joe and the O have plenty of toys but just arent using them consistently ? 3. Ray Ray and Ngata are the only consistent defensive players. 4. Our STs (sans Koch and Cundiff) are killing us in terms of field position. 5. We havent had 1 decent, unpenalized punt return this year. 6. This team doent know how to "step on the opponents throat" after taking a huge lead. 7. The pass rush/ defense is becoming increasingly more suspect with each week. 8. The run defense has become swiss cheese against pedestrian running backs - Peyton Hillis, Woodchuck, etc. 9. This team plays with no sense of urgency and/or purpose. 10. Our team's decreased production from the draft is beginning to show, esp on the D and secondary. Any thoughts or reactions ?

Yep. The FOs failure to draft any impact defensive players is starting to show its ugly head. This has been obvious the last couple years but been magnified the past few games - Orton, Brady and Fitz. The FO has really whiffed on the LB & secondary position. We could use one helluva draft the next few years. Yes, Max, the 2000 D is bit a distant memory. I am convinced we will never see that again.