oldno82

Not true Max. I have often spoken up for this franchise in the past and when they perform at a high level I praise them. No matter what happens with the Lamar deal, I'll still be a Ravens fan. That said, the state of the franchise right now indicates to me the organization would benefit from an overhaul.

That all may be true but only 4 teams finished with such a poor rating in the NFLPA poll. So something is/was rotten in the Castle.

The quarterbacks must all be drinking the same Kool-Aid. If this continues the NFL might have to exclude quarterbacks from the cap.

Indeed, I worry about his judgement in this whole affair. So we still just wait and see. Crap! I'd really like to see a permanent resolution this month but then, I'm neither owner, GM, or player. What a mess.

Article in the Sun today states it is possible that Lamar doesn't sign the tag until July and that we're right back here same time next year with same problem. No OTAs for Lamar that way. And despite what Monken said, I think that really hurts the installation of the 'new' offense. Drip, drip, drip? I still think they should put him under the exclusive tag and then trade him if they can't come to an agreement this month. And so the drama continues...

Since the lid is so tight on the negotiations, it is possible that anything we read is worthless. At least until Tuesday.

We are in danger of becoming a dysfunctional franchise. Time for Steve to take action... https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/analysis/preston/bs-sp-preston-ravens-offseason-mess-20230303-ffzytgr6dfeklessfvai2xok6u-story.html

Interesting. I hope they can do it in a way that doesn't totally hamstring the roster.

Yep...it shouldn't have taken them that long to solve the problem. Hopefully they learned a lesson.

And we're always told to praise the Ravens' 'culture'? https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-former-ravens-strength-coach-steve-saunders-criticized-20230302-p4peyso6inaqllks365bmfxdsa-story.html

Well...he should be working on one but who the hell really knows what's going on with them???

You're spot on...no trades needed. I like all 4 of them to varying degrees but I guess my choice would be between Carr & Geno and Baker Mayfield. Somehow I believe Mayfield just needs some proper coaching and TLC. Carr is competent. Geno is too. And what about Jimmy G.? Think he can stay healthy?

Yeah I know what you mean...most of what the NFLPA has wanted in the past, especially in regard to player safety and a solid floor under salaries, I agree with. But a fully guaranteed contract like Watson's is an outlier that should be allowed a quiet death not a bookend to a deal for Lamar who has one playoff win in the 5 years he's been here. Now football being a team game, it has to be said that I wouldn't be fair to Lamar if I didn't add he has had a pretty sad crew of wide receivers to work with. But he also gets sick and injured a lot and it wouldn't be fair to give him an outsized guaranteed deal. I'd be interested in seeing what a Monken could do with him but not to the point of offering him nearly $150 million plus, guaranteed. As you pointed out, the 7th of March is approaching. Right on the heels of the combine where Eric can hob nob with other GMs and see what a trade might potentially be worth to the Ravens. I'll wait until then and then we'll see, hopefully, some clarity in this very blurry situation.

I don't know how much of this is bullshit or not...I do know I have lost confidence in Lamar and $133 million or not does not matter to me; I still want him gone. This whole thing has become a mess and the best way to deal with a mess is to clean the room. Just give me the draft picks and a decent FA QB for a bridge and I'll be happy.

Ah...I see. So March 7 we may see things a little clearer. Sometimes I wonder if the NFLPA is the one influencing Lamar the most since he has no agent.

Total agreement with this. In fact, I don't know why they're even waiting. Deal him ASAP! The only thing I worry about is that no other owner would be dumb enough to pay him $230 million guaranteed and then we're stuck with him sitting out while we're paying $45 million for the franchise tag.

I don't think there will be a deal unless Lamar gets everything he's asked for. If that is the case we must trade him and, then, the sooner the better.

Good post! I like what he had to say especially his comments about the culture here. I was impressed by him stressing 'balance' on offense. He seems very smart and articulate. To me, he sounds like he'd be a very good head coach too.

Absolutely agree.

Max you make a good point but methinks this is more about Lamar than his doing something for the good of the NFLPA. I have to agree with Tsyl on this. Time to re-do our quarterback position. Otherwise, Lamar will just not practice until the season starts when he would begin to lose paychecks and our new offensive coordinator would start off his job with major heartburn. There's some decent 'bridge' quarterbacks out there that could tide us over until our new franchise quarterback matures. It seems every year there are more college quarterbacks making a good transition to the pros. I hate that it has come down to this but you can blame the Brownies and the Watson deal for this.

Rex was too brash in the past to be a head coach. It does require some careful wording when you talk publicly. Maybe he's changed a bit now though in that regard. He might land a HC job in the near future.

I agree. I was surprised Biennemy took the OC job with Washington. Why leave KC for a lateral move to such a dysfunctional organization?

Urban is especially needed in the rotation what with Calais getting older. Speaking of which, I hope they can bring Calais back at the 'right price'.

Here's a really good article on Monken and how he has run offenses and the results during the course of his career: https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-offensive-coordinator-todd-monken-stats-20230216-2emf2w4l75asjecwulaoekkto4-story.html

Yeah, it's a mess for sure. I still think the best course is to trade Lamar for picks and sign one of the bridge quarterbacks you mentioned above. It's the only way I know to keep enough talent to keep the team in a SB window for several years. Look, I love what Lamar did for us a couple of years ago and before. He was a scintillating player who excited the whole town. But $200 million+ guaranteed is way too much for any player. Cleveland ruined the pay scale for quarterbacks with what they gave Watson. All that being said, IF Lamar could be convinced to tone down his asking price and structure his contract for the cap, I'd love to have him back. But, otherwise, let him walk for picks!