varaven45

A QB to consider this Spring is Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky. Likely a mid round pick with a helluva arm.

Hmm. It sounds like we are in 7 yr itch mode

Didn't Billick leave after 7 years (1999-2006) ? How long has Harbs been coach. 7 years ? Maybe a change is in order. If so, who ?

So Crav, as a fellow fan, what do you suggest we do ?

Agreed. Im ready to text Biscotti and tell him to put on his to do list for the bye week.

Here are the 5 things we learned: 1-5. We stink.

I don't see us cutting Joe even as bleak as things are right now. Still, we need to rework his deal, free up $, and pick up a beast and speedy WR from the FA market. This time, though, Ozzie cant do an impersonation of Peter Angelos and screw around and blow off the tier 1 FAs and wait for the leftovers. This team desperately needs legitimate NFL WR's to form a modern day passing program like in Cincy and Pittsburgh. Joe needs 1 more year with a legit WR/TE corps. Concurrently, we draft or bring in another legit QB (not another Schaub please) to push Joe or take over the next year.

Yes, make the change at the bye. That way we get a half a season to test the next experiment since this one has failed miserably.

Yep, hence the 3 yr rebuild for the D. That assumes we find a DC.

Ty', great post. This didn't happen overnight and it won't be fixed anytime soon. We are looking at a 2-3 year effort of reworking the FO, coaches and personnel. And the sooner we accept it, the sooner we return to relevance.

After they rework Joe, they acquire what they can afford then turn to the draft. They"ll need 2-3 years of good drafts to turn it around like they did in 2008 - after 2 years of abysmal play during BBs final years. Got to start somewhere.

We

Well, whatever model they start, they begin at 0 and only have 1 way to go and thats up.

Now that we are down by 10 at half and on a pace to lose by 15-20, how in the world did the oddsmakers make us 2-3 point favorites in Frisco? What doobies were they smoking ?

Crav, yep, even on the SB year, the D was beginning to decline with Ray, Reed playing their final years. Hard to believe only 1 D starter and 3 O starters remain from that SB team. It might be awhile before we see the playoffs. The Biscuit, Ozzie and Co have a lot of damn work to do. I wonder how that "we want to win multiple SBs " philosphy is being re-tooled or re-thought? Lots of work ahead.

Finally, some positive news . We need more Yandas

In addition to Dean Pees, you can attribute this team's decline to the following: 1. Diminishing Talent - Ozzie and Co have whiffed in recent drafts. Other than Mosely, I can think of a single D playmaker that Ozzie has drafted and can feel confident about building our team around, It has not only caught up with us; but we no longer have a star or future star on D (w/ possible exception of Jimmy Smith & Mosely). 2. Departure of Leadership - Since our SB year, we've seen the departure of Ray, Reed, Ngata, Pollard & Suggs (IR). You don't replace half your D and 2-3 HOF'ers overnight or, in our case, in 2-3 years. And there's no one I see as a future D leader. He might be there but I haven't seem him on the roster. 3. Demise of Attitude - Whether it be Harbs or Pees, this team doesn't carry the swagger it once had or was known for. It shows in the D frequent lapses, boneheaded penalties, poor tackling, and "soft" performances. This has never been the trademark of this team - sans the early years (96-97) and Billick's final year or two. Our D is (or already has) morphed into that soft, undisciplined mindset and there's no one who can change in the near term. The sooner the organization recognizes this sinking ship and problem, the sooner it can begin to formulate a plan for bringing it back to the surface and turning it in the right direction. I think if Biscotti is wise, he intervenes and begins making tough, important decisions to start the rebuilding process. Otherwise, we will continue watching a sinking ship and an irrelevant team in the NFL. The good news, in my opinion, is the Biscuit and FO are among the best in the NFL. They will identify and address the problems and right the ship, albeit it looks like a 2-3 yr. deal.

Dang T-Bird. You've got a heckuva memory and amazing attention to detail.

Yep. JO was on ESPN earlier this morning and lamented over the demise of our defense . He was quite kind and somewhat guarded in his criticism but simply said he hasn't quite figured out what happened to our defense . Reflecting on the franchise's early draft of Ogden and Ray Lewis make me realize just how special this organization was and still can' be with the right people making the good decisions . I'd really like to see the biscuit get involved, tweak the front office and start killing the draft,l again, especially on D. We need that big time.

This game has the makings of what Archie Bunker would call the "terlet" bowl. Both teams are on a collision course for a top 10 draft pick. After all the 4th Q meltdowns, I don't understand how we are favored in this game. I cannot envision a scenario by which we win this game, unless Kap thows 3-4 picks and/ or pick sixes. Niners by a TD, maybe 2.

Spen, I remember the game all too well. In fact, I watched every second from my Rosedale home with my Dad "in shock" as our guys got worked. Ironically, I later (1980s) became business partners and good friends with a CB on that 69 Jet team. He told me the Jets, as huge underdogs, were incredibly pumped up and felt that no one gave them a chance. They rode that into the game and showed up. For whatever reason (which I will never understand) the Colts didn't show up (and I suppose fortunately for the NFL) and the rest is history.

Max, we need 11 Steve Smith Seniors on both offense and defense . Come to think of it it's too damn bad we didn't have him on our two Super Bowl teams. It would been fun to watch he, Ray and Reed all play together.

Its clear that all the current D that supposedly "plays like a Raven" is the Harbaugh/Pees is the soft/no swagger version. Granted, we've lost personnel but so has every other team. Our D no longer has a swagger, puts fear in any opposition. And its very, very frustrating and ticking me off. We need to right this ship !

Ouch. That 96/97 D was atrocious and that's being kind. Like I said, we need to rebuild the whole thing.