oldno82

He didn't play well this year...so there he goes.

S**t! I'd rather have Boldin than Ellerbe.

This is pretty disgusting. Q was a BIG factor in the playoffs and he's one of those rare receivers who is open even when he's covered. They need to keep him for sure or I'll be really pissed!

Great site. Thanks. I bookmarked it.

I'd be real reluctant to take any more character-issue guys now that Ray is out of the picture and Ed might be following him. Those 2 guys kept miscreants in line.

I hope we're not expecting too much from Joe. Yes he's had a few clunkers and seemed to lose his way sometimes, but even the best quarterbacks, including Brady and Manning have had off days. I think the difference is, they have the stats to minimize media criticism. I'd like to see Joe throw for over 4000 yards every season, a goal he hasn't met once yet. I'd also like to see him keep up his high TD-INT ratio and get his completion percentage a bit higher. But, as he has ably shown, Joe is definitely a winner.

I really liked this and thought it was a good evaluation of the contract and what it means: http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Eisenberg-What-Joe-Flaccos-Deal-Does-And-Doesnt-Mean/ab2af88c-0a3a-4ee1-b766-2655410a586f

I think Joe's trying to keep his food dollar expenditure cap down.

I'm not real concerned about the out-years because they'll just restructure. As the article pointed out, its a good problem to have.

Considine---agree Dickson---either a 3rd round tender or let him go Ellerbe---this kids a player. Ihedigbo---I think they can keep him cheap. Jones---keeper Kemoatetu---let him go Kruger---can't afford him McKinnie---keep him at the right price Pitta---agree Reed---love to have him but he'll cost too much unless he's objective about his age and diminished capabilities and signs for less. Bellicheck or Pagano will offer him more. Williams---a goner

interesting. So things worked out almost the same for the Ravens.

Ellerbe is probably their top target because he's probably gonna be cheaper than Kruger. I have a feeling Krugs is gone as is Ed. They'll keep Boldin (probably restructure). If Vonta won't take a cut they'll probably cut him. We'll see how many rabbits Oz can pull out of the hat. Unbelievable that he attained just a $7mil cap hit for 2013 with Joe!

Good job, thanks Crav!

I passed out when I saw the site was down (LOL)

If his cap number for this year is really $7 million, the Ravens deserve an award for the contract and Bisciotti should have all of our thanks for putting up the dough---along with all the Ravens' fans.

Wow! I'm impressed. But I don't think I'm sold yet on the dynasty thing. I will say we definitely should have won the year before too though.

Yeah, I think Preston just gagged on his lacrosse stick.

You hit the nail on the head. You've got to pay a franchise quarterback because they're so damned hard to find and so important to your team. Before Joe we had something like 14 quarterbacks in 15 some years. I'm glad the deal is done.

Thats the plan but it does carry risks. The offensive line was a pleasure to watch after he rejoined it. I wonder what his weight is right now.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/24/a-proposed-joe-flacco-contract/ "If the Ravens want to make Joe Flacco the highest paid quarterback in the NFL, and if Flacco is satisfied to barely clear the bar set last year by Saints quarterback Drew Brees, theres a quick and easy way to get this contract done. Using Brees 2012 contract as the starting point, Flacco would get a $40 million signing bonus, a fully-guaranteed base salary of $5 million in 2013, and base salaries of $10 million in 2014, $13 million in 2015, $15 million in 2016, and $18 million in 2017. Under the rules of signing-bonus proration, $8 million would be applied to each years salary cap. That would result in a cap number of $13 million in 2013, $18 million in 2014, $21 million in 2015, $23 million in 2016, and $26 million in 2017. It equates to a five-year payout of $101 million $1 million better than Brees and, for now, making Flacco the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. The two sides would have to decide whether and to what extent the money due beyond 2013 would be guaranteed, for injury only or fully. Last year, Brees received $40 million in the first year, with $20 million guaranteed for injury only in future years. (The injury guarantees eventually convert to full guarantees.) The cap number in the final year would be a potential problem for the Ravens, since Flacco presumably would have one more long-term contract left before retirement. Specifically, the $26 million cap number in 2017 would translate to a franchise tag of $31.2 million in 2018. Thus, it would make more sense for the Ravens to tack on a sixth year at a base salary of, say, $21 million. This would keep the average north of $20 million per year and it would give the Ravens a more manageable franchise number of $25.2 million for 2019. Is it really that simple? Yes, it is. Which means that it likely wont happen this way. Even though it could be worked out in a matter of hours. Or, if both sides are truly motivated, a matter of minutes."

Yeah, that left me feeling a bit better. Boy, Ozzie really has his work cut out.

Depends on how much the cap goes up with the new TV revenue.

Yep it really caught on and increased very late in the season and the playoffs. I think Caldwell's play calling gets a lot of the credit with the way he got everybody involved on the Offense and took advantage of the weapons he had. He didn't try and force a system and play calling on the offense but instead came up with game plans and play calling that played to the strengths of many individuals. Also Harbaugh gets credit for listening to his players during that bye week.

Morty impressed me. I can't say I disagree with his analysis on anything. Wouldn't it be great to get Joe with a 2013 cap number of around $10 mil ?

Good stuff guys...thanx for the explanations!