oldno82

I'm a little concerned about the defense since yesterday. It would have been nice to see a few more 3-and-outs. The young qb from AZ had success against our vaunted secondary. It looks to me like they are currently having major miscommunications back there. I've saw too many wide-open receivers. The pass rush we put on looked good and the short pass coverage looked good but the Cardinals had a lot of success in the intermediate throws. They've got to clean that up or Mahomes will eat them alive. The offense is a thing of beauty to watch. I've been waiting for this for twenty years...no more 3 yard checkdowns...no more passes that have patterns short of the first down marker on third downs. We have very good receivers and a potentially great qb on our side. I think AZ was committed to stopping our running game. I don't know why Gus Edwards didn't get a few more hand-offs. We need him as our battering ram.

It was a great win over a crummy team which is what good teams are supposed to do. But in the NFL every week is a new experience. They have to stack victories together and not let all this rarefied bullshit lull them into a false sense that all they have to do is show up to win. The Cards are a lousy team on the rebuild but I think Suggs will have a productive game and we'll have some (or a lot of a letdown). I believe the Ravens will win and it might even be easy but it won't be as easy as the Dolphins game. And then the Chiefs game shows up in week 3.

I don't know...Vinny had a bad habit of self-destructing.

Yep it was great to watch and like Papasmurf said, they demolished a crummy team like they should have done in the past. If Jackson gets thay time to throw he'll kill you. Nice touch on deep passes and hitting receivers in stride so many times was dazzzling. Defense put pressure on Fitz all game. The Ravens were superbly coached for this game too. But we can't crown them yet. Let's see how they do against better competition. Oh, the last laugh is that we are the only team in the AFC North to win today. WTF happened to Cleveland and Pittsburgh? The Steelers play was shockingly bad. Ben look old and tired.

I am so amped for this season to start. It will be an extremely interesting season this year if all the reports about Jackson's passing improvements come through. I'm not looking for the second coming of John Unitas, just an effective quarterback working the offense to be exciting at least some of the time. Meanwhile I hope the D holds up. As for the Terps, all I can manage is 'Wow'!

That is exactly how I'm approaching this season. Hoping to enjoy the youth and speed and all the potential big playmakers. Then attacking the defensive pressure and offensive line next year...all leading to a deep playoff run in 2020!

That may indeed be true, but I see him as the best of a rag-tag bunch at LG. FWIW, I do think PFF overrated the Ravens O-line at #11.

Great analysis! I'm really charged up about this season because of all the major changes going on. Youth and speed abound.But I worry most about the lack of a 4 man pass rush. Teams that live by the blitz can die by the blitz too.I have a lot of confidence with Martindale. If he can pull off a number 1-5 defense it will be something to see. I'm hoping for organized chaos. One last thing...the AFC North is gonna be one bloody battlefield for every game they play against each other this year. I don't think I've ever seen before what I expect is going to happen.

Just read where Pro Football Focus rated the Ravens offensive line #11 in the NFL> Here's what they said about LG: " Rookie fourth-rounder Ben Powers looks set to start at left guard for the Ravens, and that’s probably not a bad thing after seeing him this preseason. He didn’t allow a single pressure on 107 pass-blocking snaps although we would like to see him clean up his four penalties. "

Eric did very well. I think the Vikes gave up on him too soon. He'll eventually find a team and stick just like Hauschka and Gano.

The Jets picked him up after the Vikes cut him.

Tough loss and so young. Geez.

I'd be surprised if they didn't at least look him over. They were supposed to be in the hunt for him earlier.

Some gutsy calls and and more youth. It was good that the decisions were hard but I like having young guys.

Keep Scott for now. As for the rest, meh.

I’m not anywhere near ready to.label Brown a probable bust but as I said, don’t take stupid risks with a small WR. I hate when they do stupid things like that.

Yeah, using Brown on punt returns is a disaster waiting to happen. Didn’t they learn that lesson from the Webb fiasco??? Brown doesn’t have the frame needed for returns. He’ll have a hard enough time trying to stay healthy as a WR. As for the defense, I think sure the D dropped a couple of notches by not replacing the experience Weddle and Suggs gave them but they’d be good enough for playoffs first round or two. They do need help on the Defense but that’s gonna be Eric’s task for next y.ear. This year they went all in for the offense and that was priority 1. We hopefully now have a group of young, fast, playmakers there. It only took 7 years.

Well, if they lose to Miami we’ll know it’s going to be a long season so it is a test just not the semester exam.

Good synopsis. We'll soon see how they good are when they travel down to Miami. 'Course the Dolphins ain't the Browns either.

All quite true but I’m not expecting playoffs this year. I’ll be happy with continued progress with Lamar and the offense and a stable defense.. I think this is a young team whose best years are ahead of them.

Smart...very smart.

Had his weaknesses for sure. So, who’s gonna play LG? I’d like to see Powers claim that spot but I haven’t been watching that position too much to make a sound judgement.

Didn't see that coming.

I agree. He showed too much talent and leadership.

I still think keeping him on active roster is the way to go. It looks like he can win games in a pinch.