Impact of loss of Pita and Boldin

[papasmurfbell]

Are you actually suggesting that the Ravens go with only 52 players this year? $555,000 is the league minimum salary for a 3rd year player. Even if you sign a rookie free agent to replace Williams, the Ravens would have play him the league minimum of $405,000.

 

I'm not sure about you, but I prefer the Ravens actually go with a 53-man roster.

Agreed.

[cravnravn]

If Boldin would have restructured it would have been a moot point, he didnt so HE forced the Ravens hand..

 

Didnt he also say that if he wasnt resigned by the Ravens he would retire?

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[oldno82]

If Boldin would have restructured it would have been a moot point, he didnt so HE forced the Ravens hand..

 

Didnt he also say that if he wasnt resigned by the Ravens he would retire?

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Yeah, it wasn't like we didn't want the guy. He was just too expensive for this year. Remember how tight we were at the time.

Sure. I miss him and so will the offense but you have go young sometimes.

[Geronimo]

I'm sorry but that makes no sense. When you lost boldin you lost your number 1 guy in redzone targets, redzone catches, catches in traffic, and I believe third down catches but it was alright because you had the number 2 in those categories in Pitta.

well now you go to number 3 in the categories. There's a gap between number one and number two that you guys are not acknowledging , so the gap between number two and number three i won't acknowledge. Losing Pitta is no big deal, we have nothing to worry about, Dickson, Juice, Furst and our young Wr's will pick up the slack, along with ray and pierce toting the rock. pitta should have signed ,his gamble didn't pay off, the season still must be played. we won't miss Boldin and we won't miss Pitta.

[Geronimo]

Geronimo...

 

Are you actually suggesting that the Ravens go with only 52 players this year? $555,000 is the league minimum salary for a 3rd year player. Even if you sign a rookie free agent to replace Williams, the Ravens would have play him the league minimum of $405,000.

 

I'm not sure about you, but I prefer the Ravens actually go with a 53-man roster.

I just threw Williams name out there , but you missed the point or you just want to be an A-hole, do you really think Ozzie couldn't trim 500,000 if he needed to. C'mon man. We're stacked on the D-line cut Jones. how about that.

[Money]

I just threw Williams name out there , but you missed the point or you just want to be an A-hole, do you really think Ozzie couldn't trim 500,000 if he needed to. C'mon man. We're stacked on the D-line cut Jones. how about that.

I didn't miss any point. What you said made absolutely no sense. They could have cut Williams, McPhee, Tyrod and Chykie Brown and replaced them all with undrafted rookies to save enough and still would then have nothing left as a cushion in case they had to sign someone else. Is that worth it for keeping Boldin one more year? You actually want to throw a very promising player away (Arthur Jones) who is just beginning to enter his prime in order to hang on to a veteran for one more year?

 

Sorry, Ozzie isn't going to sell out and destroy the future of this team to keep a "fan favorite". If he didn't do it with Heap, he sure as hell wouldn't do it with Boldin.

[Geronimo]

LOL, so cutting jones would be selling out and destroying the future of the team, if thats the difference between repeating and not repeating then it would be a good move.and you would still have money left over in case of an emergency. It's all "what ifs " anyway, bottomline :Pitta is gone and we won't miss a beat, we wasn't going to miss a beat with boldin gone and we won't miss a beat with pitta gone. You're a funny guy though"if he didn't do it with heap, he sure as hell wouldn't do it with boldin" , i guess you want to debate about heap and boldin now, try a different bait, cause thats not going to work.

[Money]

LOL, so cutting jones would be selling out and destroying the future of the team, if thats the difference between repeating and not repeating then it would be a good move.and you would still have money left over in case of an emergency. It's all "what ifs " anyway, bottomline :Pitta is gone and we won't miss a beat, we wasn't going to miss a beat with boldin gone and we won't miss a beat with pitta gone. You're a funny guy though"if he didn't do it with heap, he sure as hell wouldn't do it with boldin" , i guess you want to debate about heap and boldin now, try a different bait, cause thats not going to work.

 

Everyone can see your agenda. I'm sorry Boldin is no longer on the team and I'm sorry you are distraught about it. You're going to have to move on though dude.

 

It's very clear to see that Ozzie believes very strongly that it's better to get rid of a player a year too soon than a year too late. He has made very tough calls in the past and he will need to do so again in the future. Of course (in a cap-less NFL world) it would be great to still have Boldin on the team. I'm sure the Packers would still love to have Greg Jennings. The Patriots would love to still have Wes Welker. It just doesn't always work out.

 

Have you not been watching the progression of Arthur Jones? The guy is developing into a heck of a football player. Do you not know this organization (or Ozzie) at all??? They have repeatedly stated they would not mortgage the future for a chance to repeat.

 

Here is some good reading material for you:

 

When was the first time after Sunday’s Super Bowl victory that the word “repeat” crossed their mind?

Owner Steve Bisciotti, President Dick Cass, General Manager Ozzie Newsome and Head Coach John Harbaugh looked at one another and each shook their head.

“I haven’t thought about it yet,” Harbaugh said. “The word repeat means nothing. You go back to work.”

What the Ravens want is multiple Lombardi Trophies. And in order to do that, they want to be in the hunt for as long as possible.

After winning the Super Bowl in 2000, the Ravens were in a similar salary-cap crunch as they are today. They restructured numerous veterans’ contracts in an effort to retain as much of the championship team as possible to make a run at another title.

When the Ravens fell short in the divisional round, they were forced to drastically slash the roster. Baltimore made the playoffs just once in the following four years.

Newsome and the rest of the front office learned their lesson.

“We will not repeat what we did in 2001 because we’re trying to deal where we can win Super Bowls more than just one more time,” Newsome said.

“We’ve got a great nucleus of young players, players that are just heading into their prime that we are going to build this team around. We are not going to be restructuring contracts, doing all those different things to be able to just maintain this team to make another run. We’re not doing that.”

The Ravens made a quarterback switch after their last Super Bowl win, going from Trent Dilfer to Elvis Grbac. That won’t happen this season, as Newsome said their offseason priorities start with getting quarterback Joe Flaccosigned long term.

But behind Flacco, there are other free agents such as cornerback Cary Williams, outside linebackerPaul Kruger, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and safety Ed Reed. The Ravens won’t be able to afford to keep all of them, and they won’t get crafty shifting money around to do so.

Instead, they'll rely on their younger players who got valuable playing time this season due to the team's rash of injuries.

Newsome said the Ravens only restructured two contracts over past two years, including guard Marshal Yandalast season. He would only do so this year if there was a player available that presented “great value.”

“We’re not going to get caught up in the moment and do things to our salary cap and make decisions in the euphoria of winning that could hurt us in 2014 and 2015 like we did in 2001,” Bisciotti said.

The Ravens’ Super Bowl run this season proved that any team can win once they reach the postseason. Baltimore had the No. 2 seed last year, a defense that was ranked higher and a team that was healthier. Yet it lost in the AFC championship.

This season, the Ravens had the No. 4 seed and had lost four of five games heading into the playoffs. But they got hot and healthy at the right time and rode that to a Super Bowl victory.

The Ravens have been consistent in getting to the playoffs, making their fifth straight trip this season. And they finally broke down the door.

“That’s our job, to keep on winning, to get us a chance to win,” Bisciotti said. “Get in the tournament. We say that and other people take that as not being good enough. But you have to be there. We don’t want to repeat. We want to be one of the 12 teams that have a chance to win every year.”

Newsome said Harbaugh talked to the team’s coaches about their decision to focus long term instead of pouring everything into next season. He stressed that it “doesn’t mean that we don’t want to try to go and repeat.”

But the Ravens are in it for the long haul.

Why win three when you’re in position to possibly win four or five?

“If you think that we can build this up to try to repeat, it’s fool’s gold,” Bisciotti said.

“We’re not the favorite to win next year. We’re not even one of the top four teams favored to win next year. We want to make sure that in 2015 we have as good a chance to win as 2013.”

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Ravens-Aim-For-Consistency-Over-Repeat/def10a1c-1079-4b3e-b408-f7203ca063e4

[Geronimo]

dude , i've been over the Boldin move,I've said many times in this very topic that boldin is gone and we'll be ok, can you not read, Pitta is gone and we'll be ok.we will field a very competitive team. i brought up boldin to make the point about Pitta. if you would just read what i'm typing and stop with YOUR agenda we would stop going in circles. I'll state my original point again since you seem to have a hard time comprehending. IF the Boldin move will not effect us then the Pitta injury will not effect us, thats my point all of the "what ifs' are counterproductive. I don't get it , if you're not even going to read what i'm typing whats your point of responding?

[Money]

I'll take the mentality that alot of my fellow ravens fans took when we traded Boldin, and apply it to the Pitta loss, "we really don't need him" i'm paraphrasing but that's been the mentality in a nutshell. Boldin's contributions to our superbowl run have been minimized so i'll do the same for Pitta. Pitta really isn't that important just as long as we have Joe. If Boldin wasn't going to be missed then neither is Pitta.

 

This is exactly what you said and everyone can see what your agenda is. You have always been pissed because the Ravens signed Joe to a lot of money and said goodbye to Boldin. The funny thing is the two have nothing to do with one another, because Joe's cap hit this year is minimal. If you want to place blame on current players being the reason Boldin is not here, then cast your stones at Suggs and Ngata. Tell me which one of those guys you would have wanted the Ravens to discard so they could afford Boldin. Boldin actually would have been a $7.5 mil cap hit this year which would have put him 3rd behind Suggs and Ngata and right ahead of Yanda.

[Geronimo]

You're all over the place, you're a joke, you jump from one topic to another. Now you're talking about Joe Flacco. show me where i've said anything about joe Flacco and his money, now you're going in on suggs and ngata. Ozzie can't trim 500,000 or he'll ruin and destroy the franchise. You are a complete Joke. You putting words in my mouth and just plain making up stuff LOL. You're doing all of this because i agreed with what the majority of people were saying about Boldin and that is we don't need him and i'm saying we don't need Pitta either. Money get a life cause you're living in some kind of bizarro world where you think just because you say something that makes it the truth

[Money]

Again...do you honestly think people aren't intelligent enough to read your posts and figure out your agenda???

 

You just brought your tired, old, useless act from the ESPN boards to here. When are you going to start a "It's all Flacco's fault" thread?

[Tornado700]

The loss of Pitta is huge. Sorry, but unless somebody steps up big time, the Ravens offense under Joe Flacco is going to suffer. Pitts is a huge offensive weapon. I hope they can regruop and figure it all out. My gut tells me that they won't until the second half of the season.

[Money]

The loss of Pitta is huge. Sorry, but unless somebody steps up big time, the Ravens offense under Joe Flacco is going to suffer. Pitts is a huge offensive weapon. I hope they can regruop and figure it all out. My gut tells me that they won't until the second half of the season.

 

Pitta is definitely a loss, but I think he would have been a much bigger loss to Cam's offense than he is to Caldwell's. The Ravens have all training camp and preseason to adjust. I'm not sure it will take until the 2nd half of the season.

[Geronimo]

Again...do you honestly think people aren't intelligent enough to read your posts and figure out your agenda???

 

You just brought your tired, old, useless act from the ESPN boards to here. When are you going to start a "It's all Flacco's fault" thread?

Poor Money, now i'm someone from the ESPN boards LOL

 

 

Pitta is definitely a loss, but I think he would have been a much bigger loss to Cam's offense than he is to Caldwell's. The Ravens have all training camp and preseason to adjust. I'm not sure it will take until the 2nd half of the season.

And would you go and figure, Poor Money actually is in agreement with me that Pitta won't be missed, but the schitzo can't even figure that out.

[Money]

Poor Money, now i'm someone from the ESPN boards LOL

 

And would you go and figure, Poor Money actually is in agreement with me that Pitta won't be missed, but the schitzo can't even figure that out.

 

Okay there RastaMax...

 

You might want to do a little research on what "Pitta is definitely a loss" means. Every team will have players that are missed.

 

BTW...not sure the moderators here will put up with the name-calling and trolling. I hope you decide to become a productive member of this board.

[Tornado700]

 

Pitta is definitely a loss, but I think he would have been a much bigger loss to Cam's offense than he is to Caldwell's. The Ravens have all training camp and preseason to adjust. I'm not sure it will take until the 2nd half of the season.

 

 

I am not saying that this season will be a make or break because of the Pitta injury. I have full faith in this new outstanding defense to get us where we need to be at the half way point. What I was saying Money, is that I believe something will click at the start of the second half offensively which will catapult this team to the playoffs for the sixth straight year. An unknown receiver will become an outstanding receiver. Who that is -remains to be seen.

[thundercleetz]

The difference between 2013 and 2008 is we have SPEED to burn at WR. Our 2008 receiving core was slow, could not get separation and was no threat for the big play. 2013 we have Torrey, Deonte, Jacoby, Dickson, and Streeter all with great to elite speed. Our problem will be the intermediate passing game.

 

Joe has grown leaps and bounds since 2008. The passing game will be nowhere near as anemic. We will have the big play potential every play and that should open up advantages for Caldwell and Joe to expose the defense.

[Money]

 

 

I am not saying that this season will be a make or break because of the Pitta injury. I have full faith in this new outstanding defense to get us where we need to be at the half way point. What I was saying Money, is that I believe something will click at the start of the second half offensively which will catapult this team to the playoffs for the sixth straight year. An unknown receiver will become an outstanding receiver. Who that is -remains to be seen.

 

I definitely get what you are saying Nado. Pitta is a loss no matter how you slice it. I would just be a lot more concerned if we were coming back this year with Cam's offense.

[papasmurfbell]

Joe is also fully exp now. With that Cam is also gone. They also have 2 studs at RB.

[Money]

Well...the Seahawks just lost their big offseason pickup. Percy Harvin needs surgery and is most likely out for the year. This after giving up a 1st, 3rd and 7th round draft pick and signing him to a 6-year, $67mil contract (with a $12mil signing bonus that has to be paid by the end of the year).

 

Ouch!

[Oldschool739]

I like a good fight, bravo men .....Now let me chime in here.

There is no way you lose a Boldin or Pitta and not be affected by it, but when you have capable players in the incubator that are ready to plug in, you proceed as planned....

That's where many star players have come from in this league in the past and are presently shining bright.

Can you say, Brady, Rodgers, Unitas, just to mention a few biggies....

No worries mates, Harbs and Co., know what to do, and they are looking for the same thing we are....

 

REPEAT !!!!

[cravnravn]

Fight yes, pissing on each other no, right rasta?

[tgann68]

I am a huge Pitta fan...But in my mind I can see Dickson stepping up and we have plenty of talent behind Jacoby Jones at the 3rd. Very excited to watch Deonte Thompson he was very impressive last year in the preseason and with Doss's size and speed he could be a viable substitute for catches.

 

After adding Leach back with R Rice and BP in the backfield with our young fast wr corps and Super Bowl MVP QB we will be fine on offense. Add that our D was crap last year couldn't stop <hit and this year we will have a pass rush and run stop. I expect HUGE things from this group on D.

 

we fight for the AFC championship again Book it!

[Tornado700]

 

I definitely get what you are saying Nado. Pitta is a loss no matter how you slice it. I would just be a lot more concerned if we were coming back this year with Cam's offense.

 

No doubt about it.