TBird

Kubes is gone after last night no matter what happens in Boston. Unless he doesn't want to leave. He's enjoying life here w/o the pressure.

I said about $8M in CAP savings w/o looking it up but that's still a lot of dead money. Ngata will be back. He proved what a force he still is last night with Jernigan out. He had fresh legs. Jernigan can't bull rush like Ngata can. He was a big reason for the pressure on Jen with 5 sacks and someone broke thru the line and got into Jen's face on the 2 pt conversion try forcing her to throw late allowing Elam to intercept the ball. I think that was Ngata.

One thing's for sure. WE need Ngata tonight and his legs are fresh from the time off but if Ravens cut him next year you're talking about an $8M CAP hit in dead money, I think it's that.

Exactly right but I disagree about the Ngata part.

Kubes name has popped up after Black MOnday when a number of coaches were fired including Rexy boy but at the presser today he told HARBs if anyone wants to talk to me tell them I'm a very busy man right now. I'm preparing for the payoffs. Now that's not a flat out NO, like in he'll never be a HC again. It seems he left the back door open for that. He did say when he was hired he wasn't going to use this job as a stepping stone to his next HC JOB. He just says he's too busy to be considered at the moment, so who knows. His offense set new records in his first year here. The Ravens set franchise single-season record for points scored (409) and total yards (5,838), and quarterback Joe Flacco had the best regular season of his career under Kubiak http://m.baltimoreravens.com/mediaItem.html?media-id=900558&media-type=N

PFF has Donald and Mack ahead of Mosley for ROY. That's bull shit. They're home watching MOsley in the playoffs. Fuck em.

DAMN - Not even Ray started out this well. CJ is only Ravens rookie to make pro bowl. CJ is front runner for DROY. Now another award. Barring injuries could he be better than Ray? He moves from side lines to side lines just like him and knows what plays are coming just like Ray. It took Ray a couple of years to know that and he credited Marvin Lewis for teaching them to him while he was still here. CJ is at least a Ray clone at this point and to think I didnt want him on draft night because he was from Bama but the guy I wanted made the pro bowl too as rookie and is a big reason Dallas did so well. They won it in the trenches this year with Zack Martin but Mosley is still the better player. It turned out he was the best player in the draft.

Actually, I gave Hurst a higher grade. He kicked Kruger's ass when Kruger lined up against him and he switched to the other side and rushed vs Yanda where he stripped the ball from Joe taking us out of FG range just before the half. That never happened vs Hurst and Hurst didn't give up a sack against him after failing miserably vs Watt. Once again, they gave Hurst no help at LT. We didn't miss Monroe. I'd give Hurst a B+ and I seldom disagree with FS. Hurst didn't embarrass himself as an undrafted rookie. He'll be a star. ______________________________ I have not reported on the offensive line the last 2 weeks, during which time that Ravens’ unit has undergone significant changes. In particular, James Hurst was forced into action opposite JJ Watt in Houston and produced the first ever negative raw score by a Ravens lineman in 25+ snaps that I have ever recorded. Here is the scoring: Hou: 33 snaps, 22 blocks, 3 missed, 3.5 pressures, 3.33 QH, 1 offensive holding, -1 point (-.03 per play). F.Cle: 63 snaps, 53 blocks, 8 missed, .33 pressure, 1 offensive holding, 46.34 points, (.74). C, with or without adjustment.Hurst was thrown in versus JJ Watt and continually beaten outside by the Texans’ superstar. As you can see below, Wagner had not played well either, before departing with his injury. The good news is that Hurst immediately redeemed himself with a very solid pass-blocking effort versus the Browns where his only pass-rushing event was a 3-way-shared pressure. Let’s start with the scoring: Monroe: Any injury to this unit is significant with the success they have had, but given their other options, it will be important for Eugene to return against the Steelers. It will be interesting to see if Hurst or Yanda plays RT in the event Monroe returns. Scoring: Jax: 54 plays, 47 blocks, 7 missed, 1 offensive holding, 41 points (.76 per play). B- with adjustment.Hou: 58 plays, 50 blocks, 2 missed, 3 pressures, 1 sack, 1 offensive holding. 32 points (.55 per play). He gets bailed out of an F by a .06 adjustment for Mercilus and Watt. D.Cle: DNPOsemele: Despite the game against the Browns, Kelechi also finished the season with mediocre games against competition that is just average in aggregate. Scoring: Jax: 52 plays, 45 blocks, 3 missed, ½ penetration, 2 pressures, ½ QH, 1 offensive holding, 32.5 points (.63 per play). F.Hou: 66 plays, 62 blocks, 0 missed, 1 pressures, 1.83 QH, 1 offensive holding. 48.5 points (.74 per play). That’s a C with adjustment.Cle: 61 plays, 58 blocks, 1 missed, .83 (1/2 + 1/3) pressures, 56.33 points (.92 per play) A. That was Kelechi’s best game since week 8 at Cincinnati.Zuttah: It’s been a feast-or-famine year for Jeremy. When a nose tackle gets push on him, he can often do it consistently as was the case versus Jax. Scoring: Jax: 54 plays, 46 blocks, 3 missed, ½ penetration, 4 pressures, 1 false start, 32.5 points (.63 per play). F.Hou: 66 plays, 63 blocks, 2 missed, 1 penetration, 61 points (.92 per play). A with adjustment.Cle: 63 plays, 60 blocks, 0 missed, 1.5 pressures, .83 QH 54.5 points (.87 per play) B.Yanda: It was good to see Yanda fill in decently at RT, but the line is substantially downgraded with Urschel and Yanda at RG/RT as opposed to Yanda and Wagner. Scoring: Jax: 54 plays, 48 blocks, 6 missed, 1 false start, 45 points (.83 per play). B.Hou: 66 plays, 60 blocks, 2 missed, 1 penetration, 1.5 pressures, 1 QH, 52 points (.79 per play). That’s a B with adjustment.Cle (RT): 63 plays, 61 blocks, 0 missed, 1 pressure, 1 sack, 1 false start, 50 points (.79 per play) B.Wagner: Ricky finished a fine year with poor performances in his last 2 games. Scoring: Jax: 52 plays, 45 blocks, 2 missed, 5.5 pressures, ½ QH, 32.5 points (.60 per play). D.Hou: 35 plays, 25 blocks, 4 missed, 2 penetrations, 2.5 pressures, 1/2 QH, 14.5 points (.41 per play). F with or without adjustment, but based on the scores for Wagner and Hurst, I am wondering if my maximum adjustment of .10 is large enough for Watt.Cle: DNPGradkowski: He played 3 snaps versus the Browns, his first action since week 6 at Tampa Bay. You can see from the totals above that holding calls have become a serious issue the last 3 weeks. The Ravens OL had committed 9 holding penalties prior to week 15, but has committed 6 more in the last 3 games.

Will do, man. Film Study resides on 24x7 as a feature writer and he posts his grades on Sunspot and Scout. He played college football at Syracuse and resides in Bmore in the insurance industry. You should see his man cave where he does his writing. We posted pics of our caves one day and he has two large screens on the wall and 7 lap tops.

It could have been another week to cry “This never was a playoff team.” Or “The secondary can’t hold up.” Or perhaps “The injuries were too much.” But, it wasn’t. The defense kept the Ravens in the game for 3 quarters and the entire team put together a 4th quarter that overwhelmed the underdog Browns while Kansas City punched the Ravens’ playoff ticket by beating Philip Rivers into submission. The Ravens enter the postseason a flawed team, but are on par with the other AFC hopefuls in terms of talent. Who were the Ravens’ defensive standouts on Sunday? Pernell McPhee had a monster game in just 33 snaps. Here are my notes: (Q1, 2:40) Pernell held the left edge vs. Dray as Smith tackled Crowell for a gain of 2. (Q1, 1:53) He chased down Hawkins for a 5-yard gain on a WR screen to deny a 3rd and 8 conversion. (Q2, 13:12) He beat Thomas inside to sack Shaw for a loss of 7. (Q2, 4:03) He held the right edge effectively versus Cameron and Barnidge as Mosley and Williams combined to take down Crowell for a gain of 1. (Q2, 3:23) Despite whiffing on contact, he pressured Shaw wide as he rolled right and was unable to connect with Gabriel in the end zone. The play allowed Hill and Smith to deliver big hits on the Browns’ receiver. (Q3, 10:40) McPhee brushed aside Cameron to take down West for a loss of 5. (Q3, 9:58) On the very next snap, he fought off the block from Cameron and maneuvered through traffic to record his 2nd sack of the day (loss of 2). (Q3, 5:12) He forced Shaw’s read-option run to the middle where Guy took him down for a gain of 1. (Q4, 9:18) On 3rd and 4, he absorbed a double team from Bitonio and McDonald. He then moved off laterally to make the initial contact on Shaw who was tackled for a gain of just 1. (Q4, 7:22) Shaw threw one of his few long passes of the day (incomplete 35 yards down the left sideline) as McPhee beat Schwartz for a QH. (Q4, 2:31) From ROLB, he stunted inside then leaped high to bat down Shaw’s pass. It will be difficult for the Ravens to keep McPhee, particularly if he contributes to a deep playoff run. A 4th (or even a 3rd) round compensation pick in the 2016 draft will be trivial consolation. Lawrence Guy had another fine game with a season-high 37 snaps. Here are my notes: (Q1, 9:58) He got tackle assist credit on West’s 2 yard run middle. (Q2, 13:40) He drew a drive-stalling hold on Schwartz to negate West’s 15-yard run right. (Q3, 13:12) He compressed the front-side pocket versus Schwartz as McPhee beat Thomas for the sack. (Q2, 6:48) He clung to West as Hill applied the punishment to bring down West for a gain of 4. (Q3, 11:54) Guy backed up Thomas and Dumervil held off Cameron to force Crowell inside for a gain of just 2 yards. (Q3, 9:58) For the 3rd time 4 weeks he came close to sack credit and got up dancing. This time it was Pernell McPhee’s dance that was more convincing as he was credited with the sack despite Guy’s initial contact. Don’t worry. We’re noticing. (Q3, 6:45) He worked off Schwartz to bring down West for a gain of 3. He is listed as the primary in the Gamebook. (Q3, 5:12) He worked of Bitonio to take down Shaw for a gain of 1 on the read option. (Q3, 4:30) He beat C McDonald for pressure as Shaw completed a 4-yard pass to Cameron. (Q3, 3:34) Thomas drove him back effectively to lead West’s 2-yard TD run. Guy had a portion of 6 tackles where the gains were 2, 4, 3, 1, 3, and 2, including 5 defensive wins. On 3 of those he is the first tackler listed, but he didn’t get primary tackle credit on any of those. That’s odd and visual inspection would indicate otherwise. It’s also a bit ironic in light of the 3 near sacks for which he has not received credit. Other good signs on defense: The Ravens finished 2014 with 3.6 YPC allowed. It was their 19th consecutive season with less than 4.0 yards per carry allowed. By and large, the Ravens made Joe Thomas look bad including sacks allowed to Suggs and McPhee. The Ravens continue to dip into the defensive line pool successfully and got some good play from Tyson and 9 snaps from Casey Walker. Rashaan Melvin was targeted 3 more times on defense resulting in a gain of 6 (Q4, 3:34), an incomplete knocked away by Hill underneath (Q4, 7:22), and a defensive holding penalty (Q3, 12:34) which negated his PD in coverage of Hawkins (Q3, 12:34). He made a big play coming off his man to help take down West for a 3-yard loss negated by Upshaw’s personal foul (Q3, 1:00). He’s now allowed 4 completions in 16 times targeted. The Ravens held the Browns to 59 competitive snaps (excludes 2 kneels) and 4.4 yards per play. The pass rush returned with 4 sacks, 3 of which occurred with a 4-man rush. …And a few Bad Signs: The Ravens received several gifts to win Sunday including drops, missed receivers and a completion that denied a TD because it was well behind the receiver. They lost coverage in the secondary several times, including the Levine/Hill miss that led to the 49-yard play to Gabriel (Q3, 3:45) which set up the Browns’ only TD. The Browns had too much success running to the outside, including the 15-yarder that was negated by holding. Penalties cost the Ravens some big plays. The personal foul call on Upshaw was simply awful (Schwartz literally threw him into Shaw), but after Elam got away with lowering his helmet on the next play, the Ravens had to feel even. Upshaw surrendered a 1st down by offsides (Q3, 6:01) and rather than take a free shot down the field, Shaw threw a 3-yard completion to Hawkins from a clean pocket. What amazes me about this version of the Ravens’ defense is how balanced it is in terms of contribution. McPhee is the Ravens’ defensive MVP on either an aggregate or per-snap basis (47.7% of snaps played this season). He’s been creating the pass rush opportunities that allow Suggs and Dumervil to get home with a 4-man rush and beating doubles inside consistently. In the last 2 weeks he has also stepped up against the run. Dumervil has provided needed pass rush and set the team record for sacks while playing just 56% of the defensive snaps. I’ve enjoyed his season thoroughly, but when he’s been doing anything besides rushing the passer, he is out of position. He’s had just 8 solo tackles this season that were not sacks. Suggs has provided rock-solid edge setting and heads-up screen coverage to go with 12 sacks. He fell from 84.1% to 79.1% of snaps this season, but his effectiveness increased. Will Hill has been the big patch needed in the secondary. He quickly became an every-down player after his 6-game suspension and has been one of the NFL’s best safeties since. Speaking of suspensions, Haloti Ngata was having one of his best seasons through 12 games before missing the stretch run. Timmy Jernigan proved to be exactly what the Ravens could have hoped as an explosive inside lineman who played a greatly increased pass-rushing role as the season progressed. His in-season improvement reminds me a lot of how the light went on for Arthur Jones in San Diego, 2012. The difference is, Jones waited until year 3 to emerge. Jernigan has already hit 3rd gear as a rookie. Smith and Mosley have been complementary ILBs who play essentially every down (96.4% and 98.5% respectively). Mosley deserves many of the accolades he’s getting, but he has a long way to go as a coverage linebacker (and I believe he will get there based on his speed). Smith contributes a little bit of everything, but is most valuable on passing downs. Webb has had a subpar season that Ravens fans hope can be explained by injury, but he has played better the last 4 weeks and the Ravens will need him to step up during the playoffs. It is an understatement to say Rashaan Melvin has been “not bad” for the team’s 9th cornerback of the season (I’m including Elam’s play as the nickel). Melvin has emerged to play at a striking level for 3 weeks with the press coverage skills necessary to maximize the team’s pass rush strength. He’s not one of the “near MVP’s” by any stretch, but he appears capable of playing well in the postseason. Finally, Brandon Williams has blossomed into one of the league’s premiere run-stuffing nose tackles. His snaps increased from 83 (8.2%) to 516 (50.3%) including a heavier workload since Ngata’s suspension. The Ravens now have 5 young defenders who have performed well and have ceilings that I can’t yet see (Mosley, Jernigan, Williams, Melvin, Hill). It’s unusual for any franchise to have so many potential stars still in their low cap years. Share This Share on

Everyone will.

The line hasn't been the prob, this year, the secondary has. The o-line is much improved from last year with Wagner stepping in for Oher. Oher was a joke and they didn't try to bring him back. Wagner has become the 2d best RT in the game. PFF called him the best at times during the season. Ozzie signed Zuttah who is a big upgrade over Gino but there has still been some pressure on Joe up the middle between him and KO. Urscel had done well when filling in and will be the future Center according to DeCosta but Z just got that big contract but the Center is still better than last year. KO is doing better than Shipley, must better but there has been some breakdowns like in Houston and a little vs Clowns. Monroe has been OK. I always like Fat Mac when his game was on. MOnroe has been OK but a little disappointing at times but he was the best LT available. The o-line is still better than last year and picked up Kubes ZBS a lot better than last year's line. In fact, this year's Ravens offense has more yardage than the SB unit - over 5800 yds to 5700 yards and more first downs by a few yards. The o-line has a lot to do with that and Forsett's 1100 yard season. Last year nobody could run behind that line and Joe was the most blitzed QB in the game most of the year. Not so this year. The line is much better.

Yea, Hurst would have been a high draft pick by someone for sure had he not been injured on draft day. I think he was injured during SR Bowl or something. As soon as the draft was over about 20 teams called him to sign him as a FA. He chose Ravens because they were the best place he could make the team. Man, did he do his homework or what? He not only made the team but has seen a lot of playing time for a rookie. Prob for him is, Ravens signed Monroe to big contract but by the time it's paid off, Hurst will be more than ready to step up and Monroe could go even before the contract expires. NOthing is guaranteed, same with Zuttah. DeCosta said Urschel is the future Center for the Ravens. He's currently #1 backup for C and OG with Hurst #1 for Tackles. Urschel is another gem that has played great when called on. One thing for sure, we didn't miss Monroe or Ngata because of the depth Ozzie got in the trenches.

Kruger got his ass beat by an undrafted rookie. He did strip Joe of the ball but that was vs Yanda on the right side. In fact, there were a lot of plays when Kruger wasn't even in the game. Ravens have future star LT/RT in Hurst. I posted this on another board. Hurst did pretty well yesterday. I ran a thread last week that Cleve should run Kruger over Hurst with Kruger's 10 sacks but they didn't listen to me. They ran him a few times but he didn't cause any damage over Hurst, at least no sacks. Most of the time it was # 54 or someone else going vs Hurst. There was even one play that reminded me of TP creeping up on Oher while he was blocking Harrison a few years ago during a night game. Oher was totally confused. #54 pulled a stunt on Hurst starting to rush in. HUrst moved to his left as #54 dropped back. Then the other guy tried to move around Hurst who picked him up. NIce job as Joe hit Daniels for 40 pick up. SR caught another ball for a first down with Kruger rushing vs Hurst. On another play Kruger started to rush in and dropped back. Pass was completed with no pressure from Kruger at all. Kruger did most of his damage vs Yanda on the other side rushing in and stripping the ball from Joe before the half. Ball kicks around and took us out of FG range but that was the most damage Kruger did all day. Kruger went vs Hurst early in 1st qtr. Hurst had no help whatsover most of the game. This was a running play with 10 mins left in 1st qtr. Hurst hits Kruger who's stunned but gets in on the tackle for no gain but it wasn't a solo takle by Kruger thanks to Hurst. Another time Kruger rushed vs Hurst and was pushed past JOe. IN the second half Kruger pushed Hurst backward but Hurst recovered in time to push Kruger past Joe as he stepped up. Kruger never got by HUrst for a sack. A strip but that was over Yanda on the other side. There were different guys going vs Hurst all day. He was penetrated some but often pushed his man passed Joe. MOst of the pressure vs Joe came from the other side or up the middle. There was one miscue where Hurst got beat bad and he got a holding penalty. Hell, it wasn't a holding penalty, he picked the guy up and body slammed him into the ground to keep him from sacking Joe. ILMAO Saved himself from being charged a sack but I betcha some coach told him to do that if he's beat-lol. D on't let him hit Joe, ever. LOL I see Hurst turning into a real star, same with Urschel as the future CEnter. Hurst didn't embarrass anyone yesterday even if it was Cleveland.

TOLD YOU SO. HERE'S TO SIMULATIONS.

But we still don't want a Kruger v Hurts matchup. Wagner moved to RT last week so they could put Urschel at RG. That said, Monroe might be injured and miss in which case Hurst would still get in and Kruger moves over.

The Browns are tied with the Steelers at 26th in sacks. Interestingly the team with the least amount of sacks is the Bengals. The Ravens are ranked #3.

Good point about Squeelers. We probably lose up there but we still should get the right to go up there and try. I just watched Bahama's Bowl where HARBs used to coach and Central Michigan had the ball on their 25 with 1 sec left. They threw a bomb and guy catches it at mid-field. He's about to get tackled and laterals it off to guy behind him. He's about to get creamed and he pitches out several yards to guy behind him who scores - 49-48, W. Kentucky. Announcers are saying it goes to OT with the extra point but the QB trots out to the field. They are blown away. QB throws a jump ball and it looked like guy was gonna get it but misses and they lose 49-48. Point is, you just never know what's gonna happen, Ravens won't lie down like they did in Houston, that's for sure. I want the Squeelers.

All ye of so little faith-lol. You dudes worried about Clowns? Come on man. Ok, here's something to worry about and since yoos are worry warts think about this. A possible matchup of Kruger the Beast vs Hurst at RT. Wagner is on the IR, the 18th Raven to go on that list. That means Kruger lines up vs him and will be breezing by him. That's because Kruger has 10 sacks this year, most of his career after 4.5 sacks last year - his first in Cleve. HARBs better not leave Hurst on an island like Sunday and in Indy. Yanda did move over to RT when Wagner went down so they can put him there again and move Urschel up to RG. However, it is possible that Monroe is injured too and might not play so Hurst goes to LT. Kruger the Beast will follow over.

Dig this: 6. Baltimore Ravens Current record: 9-6 | Weighted DVOA: 22.0 percent (5) Total playoff odds: 54.8 percent | Super Bowl odds: 2.0 percent San Diego currently holds the No. 6 seed in the AFC thanks to its head-to-head 34-33 win over Baltimore back in Week 13. If the Chargers can win in Kansas City, they will take the final AFC playoff spot. The problem is that this requires winning on the road against a Kansas City team that also still has a shot at the playoffs and is actually the superior team according to DVOA. (Kansas City is ninth in weighted DVOA, San Diego only 18th). The Chargers only win that game about one-third of the time in our simulations. The Ravens, meanwhile, get a home game against a crumbling Cleveland team with huge quarterback issues. We have the Ravens winning that game 80.7 percent of the time, and that's enough to make Baltimore, not San Diego, the true favorite to win the final AFC playoff spot.

Good point but like last year the defense gave up a lot of big plays at the end of the game like vs GB and it cost us a few games and shot at the POs. Im sure Biscut is thinking about that. The game with the d-line standing around and not getting enough pressure is on Pees. The week before he got the pressure but the d-line looked tired and weak in Houston. He was also out-coached again.

True. He might fire just Pees this year. A lot of us believed he put the pressure on to fire CAM who got HARBs into coaching back at Indiana years ago. HARBs stuck with him as long as he could so Pees is definitely gone if we don't get in POs. If HARBs was truly pissed enough to come that close last year he will be gone too. Maybe HARBs would fired everyone and promote Kubes? Just a suggestion. But you're right. It would all be impulsive which terminations are.

UM, no not a reliable source. One of those she said, he said type of comments. My friend said he was at a big party attended by Biscut. He was easily approachable and mengled around. Everyone loved him. My friend said he told them that he was this close to firing HARBs last year but Ozzie talked him out of it. I don't know if that's true or not but one way to find out is to see what happens this year if we don't make the POs next week and it doesn't look like we will. It's possible but that's the long of it. Somebody else is gonna have to lose and Cinci just beat Broncos tonight on a late pick from Manning. So if we don't get in next week, lets see if he fires him. Biscut was pissed last year after not getting in and put guys on notice that he was not going to allow for a mediocre team.. He said I have to be fair this year but not after this. So I expect HARBs to go if we don't get in. Biscut wants to get in every year after all the money he gives Ozzie for all the scouts and equipment and what not. He sets them up to succeed but wants a return. He fired Billick for missing POs in 04 and 05 and 07. Maybe he'll give HARBs a third year and maybe not. But Biacut was pissed enough to fire him last year and that's a fact. Cooler heads prevailed.

What a difference a day makes. After yesterday the fans want him gone. The boards are blasting his play calling. LOL Not only that Joe got killed with pressure up the middle yestereday on blitzed the o-line hadn't even seen in practice. KO moved over to help Monroe out and left the A gap opened for a blitz on Joe as he threw. Joe said they put a lot of pressure up the middle that disrupted the plays we tried to make. If we miss the POs for the second straight year I expect Bisciotti to fire the entire coaching staff especially after yesterday's game, not give Kubes a raise. He almost did last year until Oz talked him out of it.

It looks that way now but I still have hopes for both. I think it was McShay or someone who said Brooks was his fav in the draft and someone else said he was the steal in 3rd round. As for Elam, we drafted at the very bottom and he was projected as a first round pick by every team and even higher before the draft. He fell and now we know why but the other guy was the one many of us wanted - Cyprien - and he isn't doing much better, His fans are calling him a bust. Then the Saints benched their Saftey, Ricky Vicarro for screwing up. Eric Reid seems to be the only one in that class from the first round that has turned out. It's too early to write off Elam and Brooks. Hell, look how long it took Kruger the Beast to develop.