oldno82

That produced some hope in me. Scouting has obviously sucked and needs a major overhaul. That's one of the GM's jobs and we'll find out how good Da Costa really is by how good the new infusion of offensive talent is. Unfortunately we are cap strung so that will play a part too. Max, Ozzie did build a great franchise here for quite a while. Until the last 2-3 years I was behind him. But the excitement level of the team and their swagger just vanished. Harbs had a lot to do with that. But Harbs worked for Ozzie and I think Oz could have done more to get a new coach and staff. While it would have been even more pleasing for him to announce getting a new coach and coaching staff at least I definitely got the feeling that this coming year is make or break for Harbs and friends. FWIW I'll give Da Costa a chance for one year. If it's more of the same I think then there will be a total organizational replacement. Or the fans will really revolt. Crappy GM's are a dime a dozen. There aren't many good ones under contract now let alone those looking for employment. That's why I say give Da Costa a chance to see if he runs a better show.

I like the questions posted on the board better. They're more directly to the point.

Good stuff. Hopefully the media will pose these questions instead of having a love-fest.

Good ones, Max!

As the Ravens brass keeps telling us, we need playmakers. Now why they can't draft any is amazing.

Far fetched I think, but I had a friend speculate the 'crew' won't be there because they are being re-organized, or (dare I say it?) fired.

I agree. He's shielding his staff from criticism and tough questions that make them squirm. Nice that he's stepping up to show ultimate responsibility but there will be questions that will be out of his area of expertise. And he must know that.

Well, not nearly all kids/parents are like that. Mine were always well behaved in public. The thing is you tend not to notice the good ones just the loud ones. And the same is true for adults.

On the other hand... http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-marlon-humphrey-arrested-0125-story.html

Good article by Preston. I agree with everything he says. If there's no SOTR press conference this critical year, it's going to be the beginning of the end of fans wanting to go to the games.

Weird. If that really is the only charge it's laughable and the League ought not to do anything suspension wise.

If they had the knowledge to build the staff once I wonder why they didn't keep it up. So maybe they either ran things differently before or were just plain lucky to have such staff talent. But it sure does look like they're hurting a lot lately. Maybe Oz has his lost his pizazz and should retire. And maybe Da Costa isn't as good as we're told he is.

Papa if you're not a fan why do you come here?

Stupid move by the Steelers.

I'm wondering are they going to have the traditional 'State of the Ravens' press conference or do they not want to face all the disenchantment? So far as I know it has always been done before the Florida meeting.

Tsyl: I had never even heard of the guy. I looked him up and he was apparently hurt nearly all this year. Stats prior to that were decent to good depending on the year. He's probably all the Ravens can afford in free agency. They like to pick up guys now whose last season was a downer and then hope and pray it was an aberration. And they're usually wrong (Maclin) but not always (Wallace). The cap kills us from taking any sure bets.

Here's Pro Football Focus take on the Ravens and next season... "Quarterback The great elephant in the room in Baltimore is the play of QB Joe Flacco, which is a problem and has been for some time now. Despite a late-season surge, Flacco’s PFF grade was just 76.7, which ranked 24th in the league and about in line with his previous two years. The Ravens need to start thinking about life after Flacco at quarterback. Wide ReceiverAs bad as Flacco has been, it hasn’t all been his fault, as the Ravens have very little in the way of impact receivers. This is an interesting year for receivers in free agency, and a player like Jacksonville’s Allen Robinson could help make Flacco look good if he can get back healthy. In the draft, Alabama’s Calvin Ridley has the speed to help make big plays happen, catching eight of 15 deep (20-plus air yards) targets this season for 361 yards and three touchdowns."

Not so sure this is a one year thing. I think the NFL has finally achieved its long term goal of all teams being mediocre. That said, the Ravens won’t be in the playoffs next year if only because of the schedule and standing pat on the coaching staff.

Unfortunately, all so true. It’s going to be a long, long haul.

No need. Oz's brain is hardwired to Alabama.

I don't blame him for the initial contract just his lack of a desire to renegotiate it after years of mediocre play. He'll always be a rich man as he got 60 million in guaranteed money the first time. But, really sorry to hear about your layoff. Hope your situation changes soon.

Interesting article from Preston. I think he was generous in his appraisals in some areas but it's good to hear a different view of the problems. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/mikeprestonreportcards/bs-sp-grades-20180108-story.html

Good for Roman. The first 3 things that come to mind when I think of Marty are: 1) get more yardage from checkdowns, 2) stop with the stupid read option plays, 3) Find a way to get the receivers to receive the pass at the 1st down marker on 3rd down. Oh, and fix the screen plays. Certainly a lack of playmakers on the team. I blame Ozzie. He's done very little drafting any offensive playmakers, Hard to believe he is a Hall of Fame TE and has allowed that to happen. Crappy drafts, mediocre FA signings and no cap money every freaking year (Thanks Joe) have killed the offense.

Maybe we can get Jim Harbaugh to hire his brother away from the Ravens??

Correct. Apparently it was these alphas who were team leaders and got the team playing up to its potential. After they left the coaching couldn’t provide the same leadership. They may have had their best days behind them but their motivation and leadership were still there.