oldno82

OK...who are you picking to win and which team would you like to see win? I think LA will win, but I want the Bengals to win though for nefarious reasons.

Agree with that and the teams own all the cards. No psl's, no team.

Whoa...like I said, don't ditch the draft at all but sometimes you can trade a mid-round pick or two and get an Anquan Boldin for example. It'd be nice to do that and pick up a RT so we can concentrate on LT and C this draft. Villaneuava has to go and Stanley might not make it back. This way gives us a path to improve a position or two outside waiting for talent to mature and then losing them to free agency.

It's become my opinion that the Ravens have to be more active and bolder in free agency and the same with trading draft picks for good players. I'm not advocating giving the draft process the heave-ho but there are probably some good players out there who we could bag for a third for fourth round pick. And in free agency, I think we have taken the 'right player, right price' philosophy too far. Sometimes you've got to pony up the money if you want play-makers. Enough from me. Here's what Mikey says: https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/analysis/preston/bs-sp-preston-decosta-impact-players-20220208-xniklm66nbfrvg5fevqgzykwqa-story.html.

Thanks for posting the transcript. EDC obviously can't get too specific but I kind of got a sinking feeling when he was talking about our running backs making it back this year. Sounds like he'll be looking to draft a RB and maybe go the free agent route in order to give us some back up in case Dobbins and Edwards won't be ready.

Yup...gotta pick up a potential replacement for Stanley. It's a tossup between LT or speed rusher at 14. Whichever one we don't get as a FA we have to draft.

Agree really nice job by Cass. Hope the new guy taking over has a good run too.

As I was saying: https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/analysis/preston/bs-sp-ravens-offensive-line-overhaul-preston-20220203-jykoxcx4vfhapjfeqhmhatx2ae-story.html

So many needs and so few resources cap wise. OL is the priority to keep Lamar from getting killed---57 sacks given up last year! I agree Stanley may never be the guy he was before his injury. A 2-year layoff is tough to overcome. The D needs some attention too as Max pointed out but there's only so many picks available. If there is a way we have to free up cap space for quality free agents as opposed to the roster fodder we usually look for we should do it. I dunno...are trades an option?

Now hold on a minute. Lamar played excellently before the Miami debacle. He was reading his progressions,, throwing and completing outside the numbers and was in the talk for MVP. The failure of the coaching during and after Miami PLUS all the injuries is what blew him up. Lamar can be successful but he needs a flexible OC. As defenses adjust, our offense has to adjust. I'm certainly willing to wait and see about Lamar after about 6 games this season. I'm also wanting, really wanting to see us get an A-1 pass rusher for the defense. Making up new schemes for blitzing to create pressure to overcome a lack of pass rush talent eventually runs out of gas. Right now Joe Burrow is on everyone's lips and I'm glad for Cincy because they went decades trying to find a #1 QB. Ditto for Cleveland. Quarterbacks of that caliber don't grow on trees and there is no telling how many drafts and free agents we'd go through trying to find one. They weren't called the Bungles and Clowns for nothing. I was really glad to read this: "Harbaugh said the road forward cannot look exactly like the road behind. The Ravens will rely on Roman’s run designs but probably not to the degree they did in 2019. They will have to continue asking more from Jackson as a passer, a process that seemed well underway in the early weeks of the 2021 season, before the offense stagnated. Harbaugh did not forecast a ground-up rebuild but said Roman and his staff will spend the next few weeks sorting out their scheme priorities."

Well it sure sounds like we're going to have another season with Roman. Maybe we'll get lucky this year and he'll actually change some of his approach. Harbaugh, Mr. Positive, didn't seem to have any insight into our plethora of injuries other than it is something cyclical. He and the F.O. need a better answer than that.

Ah, I see. Thanks! I hope he means it.

do the other really elite playoff teams have a whole other level up on us when it comes to team speed? it's something I've noticed for a few seasons now and I will say we seem to be getting faster but there's still separation between us and teams like KC when I see their players flying around on offense and defense? So is it just me seeing this?

Hey this off-season might be more fun and exciting than the regular season that just nosedived into hell. I'm selling on this one too. We need a genuine non-blitzing pass rush and we have no one on the team to fulfill that role. We actually need 2 first-rate pass rushers on the line. Exotic scheming can only take you so far as Wink found out. At some point, you need the talent. And that's where DeCosta comes in.

Art should be a shoo-in for the Hall. It's disgusting one sportswriter from Cleveland can keep him out.

I am not so cavalier about it as you, Pops. Fans would still come out and watch the games both in person and on TV but those who are intensely loyal to Lamar will carry a grudge against the management and ownership of the franchise. Those things can get worse over time if the team can't produce a Super Bowl contender and even then there will be resentment. I am not saying to trade or not trade Lamar at this point. He has injected an excitement in this team that hadn't been there for years before as the Ravens went around and around on the quarterback carousel. He is immensely popular and many would think he would have received a raw deal if the team let him walk away after his rookie contract ran out or if he were traded. That's what would happen UNLESS he was replaced by an immediate successor who would be a big winner right away and those quarterbacks don't grow on trees in pro football. I have stated and stand by the proposition that we give Lamar a good chunk of this season coming up to see if he has improved or regressed as a total quarterback. If he shows that improvement we give him the big contract. If he hasn't we can trade him by the trade deadline. We owe him that much, I think. One last comment...where and how long will it take to find his replacement? I don't have a good answer for that.

I want to hear what he sees as the shortcomings talent wise for our defense and how he plans to shore it up. For once, we don't really need any offensive skill position players this year. That is, unless you believe we should kick the tires on a pocket quarterback.

It's about time on the press conferences. I'm really interested in what DeCosta has to say especially.

Well so much for that. https://www.baltimoreravens.com/

Agree. And they might yet go to him.

I don't have a problem with anything he said. I agree with him much more than not.

Good catch, Max. Now I'm feeling better about him. The whole affair still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth though. I think Harbaugh used Wink as a scapegoat.

I'd like to think we could do better than Payton but maybe I'm underestimating him. Or maybe Drew Brees made him look good.

Don't know the guy at all except he's another member of the Harbaugh tree. Sometimes around the Ravens, that's all you need to qualify for a job.

Great special teams player. Not afraid to stick his nose in there on a hard tackle. Decent defensive sub. Glad he's staying.