vmax

Nice homework OTR. Looks like frying pan to fire with that guy.

Good...light a fire under him...turn the heat up. If he overcomes it he'll be rock solid.

The Ravens lost in all 3 phases of the game yesterday and it's time to right that ship. Yes the 2009 offense is better than last year in yardage and points but the defense is not. They are worse. The Ravens are getting killed in the time of possesion battle...especially in their losses...and the field position battle. The D needs to rest until they solve getting off the field. Go back to last years 3 headed monster to start the game...let the O line get physical...not in passive protect mode. Soften up the D line and LB's...then the O can do anything they want. Hell...they can't move the ball in the 1st half and score much anyway...might as well wear down the D for the 2nd half and then you can open up the playbook and it will be effective. The offense is not starting fast so get something done by wearing down a D and controling the ball and clock. I love Ray Fucking Rice but I'd rather see him get 500 yards rushing and 500 receiving on the year and win, then see him get 1,000 yards rushing and 900 receiving and lose. And here's another reason to do it: You can't count on the Ravens receivers to get open against CB tandums of 'B' or better. The playoff caliber teams have them. Surrender. Not happening with this lot. Brick wall. 2 games against the Steelers comming up and they know how to shut that door. Joe couldn't find an open man yesterday. Rice as the leading receiver means Joe has to check down way too much to find an open man. Pull those safeties into the box and give the WR's some help. Pull them into the box and let 'Bring the Pain' McLain soften them up. Get back to being a punishing, physical O line and running game. Get back to controling the ball and field position. That puts you in position to win against the good teams.

I'm with you on this OTR. The implied "it's really not as bad as it looks" or "it's very fixable stuff" doesn't float with me. On the flip side I really believe they (Harbaugh and his staff) let it loose on the guilty players...because all coaches do that from Pop Warner on up. OK...so Harbaugh can't say to the media that Frank Walker is a 'No Covering Mo Fo' or 'We're fucked. Suggs got his money and is enjoying himself...his head is elsewhere' or 'My fault, should have signed Stover.' but at least admit his team is not playing 'Ravens Football'...they are not communicating, executing, blocking, tackling or winning the 1 on 1 match ups.

You can't fix this overnight unless you are lucky to pick up a #1 corner in the off season.

I don't see the 2009 Ravens making the playoffs. They are not a playoff caliber team....there are several pieces and fundamentals this team lacks. now...I don't regularly post here because I'm a fair weather or band wagon fan. Win or lose I back this team....even when let down or disgusted by performances like yesterday. I do believe they will be playing meaningfull games in December. It might be a tease such as "Not mathematicaly out" or some of the wild card teams hit the skids but we will have games that matter. From a long term fan dating back to the Baltimore Colts, here's the hope that you look for: That the 2009 Ravens close out the second half of the season strong and on a roll that carries over to success for 2010. You're looking for the answer to "Is this team ready or about to take it to the next level?" Right now the answer is "no". For example: the 1999 Ravens finished out their last 7 games going 5-2 with wins over division rivals Titans and Steelers (@ Pittsburgh where they had never won). They had their 1st shut out in team history (vs Bengals). They were a few pieces away from being contenders at the close of 1999....mostly on offense. They needed a QB, a RB, a TE, a FB...and Ozzie got them in the off season.

Looks like it was two thirds of the team.

To open the game, the D let the Bengals convert on something like 4 out of their first 5 3rd downs. That ate up clock, kept the O off the field and got them exhausted. I have serious doubts about Mattison now, and I respect and understand those of you that want him gone (I'm almost there myself) but... Let me remind you that Art wanted Marvin Lewis fired after the '96 season and Ozzie told Art that Marvin wasn't the problem...he just needed better players. The 2009 Ravens are in that exact same situation. Shitty secondary, no pass rush and no playmakers. It took 2-3 years to get them. I think we have a 2 year wait again.

Ravens offense was 1 for 10 on 3rd down. They ran 20 less plays than the Bengal offense. 7 penalties for 80 yards. 2 turnovers. The offense was murdered in Time of Possesion with a sickly 20 minutes to the Bengals 40. 40 minutes! and Joe...I'll give you a mulligan but a 48.3 passer rating says you were a big part of this.

and that is a sign of an undisciplined team. Which is why they don't execute. Which is why some players get caught trying to cover for those who are out of position. Which is why they give up big play after big play. Which is why they don't find ways to win. and...Harbaugh has not been able to get this corrected.

The Ravens are screwed for at least a year or more if they can't get a legit #1 corner this off season...just forget any playoff talk.

I can kind of come up with one but I may be stretching it a bit... The D held the Bengals scoreless in the second half with only a FG in the 2nd quarter. However I have little doubt that if the Bengals needed a score, they could have got one.

So what are your thoughts on this Marvin?...

Porters right. The history of NE getting the calls (and not getting called) is way too long.

Besides Mexico's Team he can say the same thing about the Eagles other divisional rival...the Potomac Drainage Basin Indiginous Persons.

17-14 ...I still can't believe that was the score. The Bengals left at least 17 points on the field IMO. We got a high scoring shootout comming Sunday.

Well Duh!?! No shit they have to prove something. Orton couldn't or wouldn't throw deep so they weren't exposed as usual. Last week means nothing other than there was good pressure by the Ravens D on the QB. That's a good sign. According to Ken Wiman the Ravens are 1-0 without Frank Walker in the lineup.

Nice try dc... Try photoshopping this...put Wards smiling face on it because he's out of breath...

The turnover battle is huge. Look at the Ravens stats...

You'd be in good shape if you were a Bengals fan...

I read this from the Ravens website and saw one area of Joe's game that he can improve...being streaky...hot/cold...start slow and then heat up... FYI...he tied Grbac...

I put up a thread 'No Pressure No Win' and read some of you say stopping Benson would be a key so I thought it would be fun to hear your thoughts on what you think would be 3-5 Keys to a Ravens Victory. We've got some great minds here....we've got brains... Let's try using them and we might create a weekly thread called "ExtremeRavens Keys to the Game." 1. Post 3-5 of your Keys to the Game 2. Then we'll narrow it down on Friday Night or Saturday morning or last minute like the way we deal with all our life responsibilities... .. ...narrow it down to the "Consensus of The Board of ExtremeRavens" 3. Check it after the game to see if we nailed it. For me this is more worthwhile than predicting a score. I'll start with a general Key: Execute better than the Bengals by winning the one on one matchups.

It's one thing for us, the fans, to see this quality in Joe but acknowledgement from his opponents validates it. It's his second season and it looks like the sky is the limit.