oldno82

But they invariably don't make it.

Ah, thanks, my mistake. Maybe we can bounce back but the O-line and Joe can't just give it away. And the D has to play hard for 4 quarters. By the way, want to agree with Tsyl on the 2-point conversion call. We've always found that a hard play to make and going for it at that time was ludicrous.

It was pretty bad and downright ugly some of the time. I have to say I was shocked to see Stanley getting pushed around by a rookie. The protection for Joe was terrible and so was his throwing. The pass to Brown for a TD was lucky. If Joe gets good protection, he'll pick a defense apart, but pressure him and he falls apart. I give the defense a pass figuring losing their leader Mosley early on was a big shock to their psyche. They recovered for the most part in the second half. I'm not expecting much better this season. Maybe they can bounce back against Pittsburgh next week since their pride has now been wounded.

I think it will be a tough, close game that we don't win. But as long as we are competitive and entertaining I'll take it. It's just so tough to be going against an AFC North opponent in their house.

I have to agree, Tsyl. Using him for running plays is not a good option. I'd like to see them have him pass on a roll-out once or twice or catch a pass from Joe downfield.

Gee, the poor guy can't stay healthy. Bring up Gus Thompson or Turner if need be. They will contribute.

They've shown they're an upgrade for sure. It'll be very interesting to see how they do Thursday!

That's OK, 'Nado, they can use that for bulletin board material.

Lots of positives from this game...passing game with Joe, Defense all game. Pass protection. Receivers getting open and catching the wet ball. Negatives: Jackson isn't ready for prime time. Needs to use his ability to extend plays. Less running by him will be better for him and team. Outlook: Purple Kool-Aid on sale. Watch out for Thursday! Bengals will be tough.

Even more reason to run the ball.

Joe is confident, no doubt about it. He looks like he really can't wait to start this season. Seems happier to me too.

https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/late-for-work-9-5-ozzie-newsome-sheds-light-on-his-future Pundits Buying Into a Joe Flacco Resurgence The week leading up to Week 1 is always rife with predictions for the upcoming year (make sure to read LFW tomorrow to see what pundits have been saying about the Ravens’ chances). Analysts aren’t just predicting how teams will fare, but also which players are set to have standout seasons. Quarterback Joe Flacco has been mentioned in plenty of these previews, including ESPN’s. The website made a variety of predictions about how Baltimore’s season will play out, which included a big individual campaign from Flacco. “Flacco will surpass his single-season passing mark of 4,317 yards and reach 30 touchdowns for the first time in his career,” ESPN wrote. “Teammates say the drafting of Jackson has lit a fire under Flacco, who's also healthier than he has been since 2014. All signs point to Flacco delivering a career year.” Let’s hope ESPN is correct about that one. ESPN isn’t the only one predicting a big season from the 33-year-old. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King named Flacco as the No. 2 candidate to be the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, behind Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. This isn’t the first time King has praised Flacco this offseason. Back in mid-August, King named the Ravens as his most overlooked team for the 2018 season, and his reasoning for that was Flacco. “He’s supremely motivated to say, ‘You draft a quarterback No. 1? I’m going to make him sit for the next five years,’” King said. The presence of rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson may be factoring into Flacco’s motivation for this upcoming season, but only he knows that. However, a lot of pundits who expect big things from Flacco, ESPN and King included, are citing Jackson being a Raven as a big reason for him to put forth his best effort to raise his game. “The story of Joe Flacco is you test him and he turns into an all-time great. It’s incredible,” NFL Network’s Good Morning Football’s Kyle Brandt said.

I still haven't seen enough of this team to know how good the defense is or the offense. I'm eagerly looking forward to the Bills game to give me more data. Our first stringers looked good against other teams' second and third line players but it's hard for me to judge how good they will be against #1's.

I expect them to be better because I think they have a lot more talent and a healthy, fired-up Joe to get throws from. On paper and from camp reports, they are clicking well. Of course, I thought they'd be better last year after signing Macklin. And then Joe hurt his back. Ugh!

Looks like he made the practice squad.

Nacua is a bi if surprise. I guess that opens up another position that's overloaded like QB or WR. BTW Andrews did a hell of a job blocking last night.

You're forgiven, Max. The venom would have been out there for something else anyway.

I'll add another: But Crav didn't leave because of him. It's what Tsyl said that were the reasons as to why he doesn't post anymore. Still many posters have stopped coming because of the all pervasive negativity.

Losing Hurst for 3-4 weeks hurts but is not critical. Ditto for Henry. I agree Hurst was having a very good pre-season. Joe also had a very good pre-season and I think he elevates the play of Crabtree, Brown, and Snead. And vice-versa.

I've been watching football for decades and any team can and will have some injuries. So far, we've only had a few that are out for a few weeks and only one or two longer term ones (Deshaun Elliot, Jaleel Scott). It's ridiculous to believe you can go through camp, preseason and the regular season without incurring a handful of injuries.

Depth is good overall but the backups on the O-line appear to be pretty bad so far.

Yes Jackson is more maneuverable than either Joe or RG and he will continue to be----until he gets his first injury by running into and over tacklers. The OL needs help. I wasn't suggesting that Ozzie go get a free agent now but more towards looking to one who might get cut from some other teams for either cap savings or a roster numbers game. It's not likely but it is possible. The best we can do is hope to get some experienced backups. The O-line will be OK when Stanley and Yanda are back. Not great but OK.

I disagree. They should carry three quarterbacks. RG had a tough first half because the line was unable to hold off the pass rush. Jackson had his 'breakout' game against the Dolphins' rookie team. If Joe goes down it will be a long year without an experienced quarterback. I agree the O-line is hurting for good backups but can you imagine what the less mobile Flacco would have done if he had played? He wouldn't have been able to do much of anything because he's less mobile. Ozzie has to find some backup lineman on offense. And until they get a decent line they need to keep Griffin as the backup qb.

The thing that sunk Rice's career was the tape of him hitting his fiance. That stirred up the fan base and then the Ravens reacted. Sadly, no tape exists of Smith's aggressive behavior.

I'm tired of the line where they say they made a 'mistake' instead of just saying they did something wrong.