RavenMad

This was a nice catch week 1 against the Hair:

Did Mike or Papa stop to think that perhaps the Ravens run defense has suffered because of the pass. So many teams have went pass happy that the D hasn't been designed to stop the run. The Pats in the playoffs were passing all the way. They got all their yards off draws and delayed hand offs when the D was in pass D. I have zero problem with that. The D also has a team and a RB that has given them fits throughout the nauties. It used to be Kansas City and their huge line and Priest Holmes. We also used to have a little trouble with the smaller scat backs. The Bengals had some success but the D also did their part against them. The only team that really lined up and won consistently was the Texans. But I will take the W and run D getting beat up for 16 regular season games and 3 playoff games if that is what it takes.

I also read something of interest a while back but have no link. If all the governments that bailed out the banks had instead provided the money to the people struggling to pay their mortgage, there would have been no banking collapse and the economy wouldn't have tanked as credit would have still been available to small businesses and startups. We might not have learned from it, but we wouldn't be going through the pain we are now. I don't and haven't struggled to pay my mortgage but if I lose my job I'm f***ed and the banks won't care despite the fact I own a share in them through the bail outs. The prospect of getting another job in todays employment market doesn't look great. Thanks w**kers, I mean bankers for the little extra stress you have provided every worker in the world.

Nonsense. The Steelers have been tight to the cap for years and are regularly renegotiating deals to provide cap relief thereby implying they don't know when to cut ties with vets. Just look at how old and slow their D looked last year. I agree on the Patriots though. Bill seems to be a master of getting players in who can provide something to the team on the cheap (see Randy Moss) and getting rid of players just before they decline so they can get value back in return (see Richard Seymour). That said, I'm totally convinced the Patriots and Steelers don't win those Superbowls without Tom and Ben.

The whole banking culture is the problem and it's still as bad as it's ever been. These guys take huge risks so that they can earn huge bonuses for making a profit. If it backfires no one gets held accountable and they move on to the next opportunity. Do they pay their bonus back if they make a loss......Of Course Fucking Not! And in some cases I have read about guys get bonuses even when they fail. A bonus for being shit! I wish I could get one of those.

Sorry Crav, the other Brits you are talking to are wrong. The games are sold out because people come from all across Europe to see the games and they are fans of all 32 teams not just the ones playing on game day. They can do that because it's 1 game per season but if you ask them to do it for 8 home games a season plus the possibility of playoffs it's not going to work at the price they are charging for tickets plus the cost of hotels in London plus the way the Euro is tanking. The casual fan who watches the games the odd time might think it's a pussy sport because of all the pads and the helmets and they were probably brought up watching/playing rugby. However, having played rugby the 2 can't be compared. In rugby it's about tackling with technique. You never run into someone head first. In football you can get away with leading with your head (although less so know) and as such players leave their feet and the hitting is a bit more ferocious. I have nothing but respect for those athletes who play this game. A team in London also won't work. People going to these games don't necessarily support the teams they are going to watch. Heck, I have been to 2 of them and the Ravens are yet to play there. We all go for the experience. Many of us can't afford to fly across the pond to catch games because it's either too expensive or in my case I can't get the time off work but we still support certain teams. Just because they will place a team in London doesn't mean the Uk and Europe are suddenly going to change their allegiances and start supporting this new team. The demand is there at the moment for the 1 game per season but once you increase the supply 8 fold then you risk outstripping demand.

If Oher get's his false starts under control that helps the offense with about another 100 yards of less penalties. "Michael, we are going on 4. Ready, 1,2.....For f**k's sake Michael we said 4!"

Come on Yager, you should know he had the "Curse of Crav" working against him. DD had no chance of being good.

There is plenty of time to worry about that next year.

I can't say I understand the Steelers description. Last year everyone was saying they were too old on D so they get younger on D and now they are too inexperienced. The offensive line has been a concern for years so they go out and get a couple of nice young parts and it's still a concern. If I have learnt 1 thing from the AFC North it's that you never discount the Steelers.

For every Mason there is a Foxworth etc.....With how little we rely on FAs hitting a 50/50 rate is acceptable. We build through the draft and supplement where necessary through FA. We don't spend big unless we have a glaring weakness. I'm fine with that. It works better than the Redskins model and allows your team to be much deeper in terms of talent because building through the draft is cheaper.

The Lee Evans one was good!

Was this him?

I still like our LB situation even with the loss of Suggs and now McAdoo. Sure, some guys are needed to step up but what if they all do. We have Kindle, Kruger, Upshaw as pass rushers and then add to the rotation McClellan we should be fine.

The Jaguars are just another stain on Tagliaboobs resumé. I liked them because of the Del Rio and James Harris connection with Baltimore but now I have no reason to give them a 2nd thought. Plus they cost Baltimore a franchise 4 years earlier than when the Ravens arrived in what was a disgraceful decision.

We didn't have Reed until week 7 but we had Zibby and Nakimura as cover and this was their 4th year so while they were never going to be Ed they were at least going to be reliable. I guess the problem here is the fear of the unknown. We brought in Sean Considine who can at least provide some experience back there and the rest are rookies including our 4th round pick Thompson. I suppose I have a little bit of the fear of the unkown here. I'm not worried about the CBs as we have got great depth there and competition for 2 starting spots which is great especially with the level of play there last season. I'm not concerned at all. The O-Line is a little easier to cover for until you start to lose multiple starters so losing Yanda for a few games wasn't too big of a deal. Would Torrey Smith even have started if Lee Evans hadn't got injured in camp? It also took him a bit of time to learn how to catch and he was still dropping too many balls for my liking. I'm not getting into the debate over who is better. I think the Bengals are happy with Green and the Ravens are happy with Smith. If Torrey or Q gets injured will we have a similar story of one of our young WRs stepping up this time? That said, the pickup of JJ was a good one to give some experienced depth so again I'm not overly concerned about our WRs. Being in shape and being in football shape are 2 entirely different things. Ask Suggs how it worked out for him training on his own in Arizona and not being around the team facility in the offseason the year he was looking for the big contract. Many thought he got overpaid after he stayed away due to the ensuing poor season he had and then he dedicated himself to the team and has been a beast ever since.

I'm a little worried about this upcoming season. Last year we never really suffered that major injury that forced a player who wasn't ready into the starting line up. Sure guys got dinged but generally they only missed a game here or there. The only guys I can think of are Ray Lewis and Lee Evans off the top of my head. Ngata seemed to be playing through an injury late in the season and his production dropped off a little. That is a very rare thing in the NFL and something I just don't see us repeating. We have already lost Suggs before preseason. That means we have to start 2 first time starters at OLB. That said I liked what I saw from Kruger in a limited role last year and I love what I see in Upshaw. Perhaps Kindle can provide something, anything this year. That leaves me to think about what other stars we have that if we lose we could be in trouble. I'm not worried about Ray. Our LBs did just fine without him and he provided leadership from the sideline. Losing Ed Reed would be bigger as only him and Pollard return with any experience in the Ravens D. Ray Rice has me the most worried. The rest of the RBs on the depth chart have a combined 3 carries in the NFL and he has been such an important cog in the offense. Not to mention with each passing day of holding out he edges closer to a Chris Johnson like season even if he is healthy. If Ngata goes down we are in trouble on the D-Line as well. I could see a situation were the backups get in and do well but it's not enough to carry us to anything more than a 7-9 season. A gutty performance given our schedule but not enough to get us into the playoffs. We seem to be very slow to bring rookies and first year players into the line up. Whether the coaches aren't bringing these guys on quick enough or the vets are just playing too good to let the younger guys get reps is a question that is hard to answer. A few big injuries this year will answer this question and reveal whether we have the right coaches in place.

Yeah he lost the weight too quickly and it resulted in a loss of strength. I still thought he did ok last season, so hopefully with increased strength and even better conditioning he will be a beast in the middle this year.

Jackson, Osemele and Thompson were all signed.

I hate all this talk about Suggs returning in November. Even if he does return, he will be nowhere near ready to play. With the depth we have at OLB now I think it would be far better to just sit Suggs for the year and effectively give him 16 months to get ready for 2013. Let him come back really hungry and ready to go. I just worry that if he comes back in November it will be too early and he will re-injure himself or never really give himself enough time to fully heal. I also want to give our young guys a chance. Next man up and all that.

Don't backtrack John. Everyone else outside of New England is thinking the exact same thing. Don't apologise for the truth.

Osemele is one strong dude. He benched 32 times with 36" arms!

Gino is either going to be another David Hale. A real head scratcher of a pick or he is going to be a very good pick. From what I have read about him is he is smart and plays with a mean streak. That is a very good combo for an O-Lineman and especially a C. I think Jackson was drafted to be our kick returner and anything he offers on D will be a bonus. He also has potential to be a gunner on special teams. Not a bad pick if we get all that out of him. My favorite pick was Upshaw. I loved him before the draft but never thought he would fall out of the top 15 until the whispers after that combine. This guy just lives in the backfield. The fact we traded back and still got him means I think this draft was at least an A right from the start. About the only thing we have failed to do is get that ILB we all wanted as Ray's heir. I'm getting worried that we aren't going to get someone in before Ray retires as anyone replacing him will be better for having played a year alongside him or backing him up. That said, we are never going to be able to replace Ray. We might be able to replace his production especially as his production drops off with each passing year but his all round package will never be matched.

I would like to give a shout out to Papa as well. Although I don't agree with him on a lot of his points, his good work in the NFL Draft forum allowed me to go there to get a lot of info on some of our picks with links to highlights and various sites projected draft rounds. Very nice work Papa

So is Ben Jones the consensus at the top of the 4th? I like the kick returner Adams from Arkansas if is available at the bottom of the 4th. After reading the piece on Burfict I would take him in the 5th if he is stil available but he might have burned too many bridges to get drafted. Those 3 would make it a really good draft for the Ravens. We can wait another season to get a LT I hope.