oldno82

Unfortunately, I think our team is probably pretty demoralized and doesn't have the leadership it has had in the past. Especially the defense. Plus the defense as a whole seems to suck. With the possible exception of Humphrey, the secondary is ripe for another round of busted plays. I hope they surprise me and play good, tough, mistake-free football and we come out a winner. But as I see it right now, Steelers 31 Ravens 27.

I think Lamar is doing fine for his second year. Yesterday was the first time I saw him throw a ball into the dirt instead of the receiver and he used to do that several times a game last year. First INT after 238 throws or more. No fumbling like last year. But Earl Thomas is another story. I really don't think he's bought into the defensive system Wink is using. He admitted that in camp he was having a hard time adjusting to it. If he ain't adjusted by now I think he's a liability. He also doesn't seem to be especially coach-able either. I don't think he likes it here. Back to Lamar for a second...I'd like to see the coaching staff work with him on getting the ball out a little faster. The last 3 quarterbacks we've played are masters at it. The price for doing that will be accepting the fact that an NFL QB throws an INT every once in a while. Now, the linebackers are a mess. None of them is having the season they did last year. Ditto for the secondary which is missing Jimmy and Tavon. The buck stops with the defense. We have all the tools on offense...but the defense doesn't seem to have a clue. Didn't think I'd be saying this but they miss Weddle's brain, Suggs' leadership and experience, Mosley's tackling in the middle and the pressure from Z. Smith. I say this even though Weddle lost a step covering, Mosley could never cover but he did well on blitzing and tackling game. It appears we didn't find good replacements for any of those guys. Overall, this team is not ready for playoffs...it will take another successful draft and free agency to rebuild the defense. I think Wink has done all he can do with the talent he has now. They've been trying to play defense by using exotic schemes that the players don't comprehend too. Not as smart a group as a whole as last year's.

Agree with all of that.

Hey Crav, nice to see ya! Welcome back!

All in all a very disappointing performance that alarms me. I thought we looked kind of flat coming out to play as if the KC game had taken away their aura of invincibility. The offense had a good running attack but the offense didn't have a clue in the first 3 quarters. But what really killed us was the crappy defense. They are still having the same 'communication' breakdowns they had in the first 3 games and this time it really bit them in the ass. Communication has not improved one iota. I think losing Weddle's brain was a bigger blow than we thought. Who in hell is the on-field communicator for the secondary? And Thomas has not been what I was expecting by a long shot.

It is indeed a tough call. A very tough call. A lot will depend on the Ravens either being or not being really fired up. It's a big game. I just finished watching the whole Chief's game again. I feel better about our offense. Lamar overthrew a few receivers especially in the first half. He definitely had an off, but not terrible day. The running attack was superb and as I said before we should have used it both for moving the ball and keeping the hard charging KC offense off the field. Cleveland's defense will be much tougher than KC's. The Browns are loaded on offense but you wouldn't know it from the first 3 games of the season. Let's hope they don't gel suddenly for this week. And as Tsyl so aptly put it: Which Lamar and which Baker show up? Going out on a weak limb I'll join Tsyl and say Ravens 24 Browns 20.

Cleveland will be tough. The Ravens will be tougher. The Ravens will be pissed about KC and playing at home. The Browns will be trying to prove that all the pre-season accolades about them were true.

Too early yet to tell about Thomas. I'm not sure he's comfortable with the system. Maybe he's still learning. I hate to get down on Carr. He's been a great find. I really hope he can hold off Father Time. Lets see how he does against Mayfield and the rest of the Browns' offense. This is stating the obvious but the pass rush is mostly anemic. You can't give any QB 4-5 seconds in the pocket.

Our defensive personnel are not that good. At least at this time. The DL is mostly fine...the LBs are mostly not...and the damn secondary has too many breakdowns. Maybe Earl Thomas is past his prime by more than we thought. And I think the loss of Jimmy Smith seems to have really hurt the defense even though he's not quite as good as he used to be. I keep hearing about 'communication breakdowns' in the secondary but I think the problem is worse than that. As Max said giving up 800 yards in 2 weeks is simply not cutting it at all. C'mon Wink, tighten up the problems in the secondary because those guys are not supposed to be this bad. In any case, with the kind of high-octane attack the KC offense has, running the ball would have given the defense less time on the field which means less time for Mahomes to do his thing.

Last year's near win was done with the running game. The running game was still there this year but they elected to go passing early and often. If they play the kind of running attack they have, they deprive the opposing team much-o time on the clock. They should have run more especially when it became evident that the passing of Lamar was just not there today. But it's just one game. Maybe they'll learn something here. I'm still impressed with the playmakers we have. As I said they should have run Ingram and Edwards more. Early season disappointments: Boykin and Hill. They still have time to turn themselves around. The team still played a decent game but that ain't good enough against the Chiefs. Harbs: stop going for 4th and three in the middle of the field. You lose the ability to have your defense bottle them up near their goal line. And knock off the new habit of going for 2 after all TD's.

I'm cool with that outcome too.

Really nice work Dee...thanks!

I believe the best approach is to change the team system to fit a great quarterback.

Have to agree with this analysis of Lamar. Not in favor of Ramsey as he sounds like an overly paid primma donna. And I agree with Tsyl that two number ones or even a one and a three is above my threshold of worth for him

Man this game is really getting hyped by everybody. Maybe rightly so but we don't how good we really are. Plus, its just game 3 of the season. I'll be happy if the game is close and our secondary does a good job and the Lamar Express keeps going. If we can do those things and play a close game, I'll be happy; winning the game would be the icing on the cake. BTW, really glad the board is up and running again.

Test.

I tried to post a new topic Sunday and after I typed it when I went to post it never showed up. I also got a caution about others seeing what was in it because the connection wasn't secure.

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.