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ExtremeRavens: The Sanctuary

Houschka released


cravnravn

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...but Ozzie and co. know what they are doing a lot more than any of us.

 

What does concern me however is that we gave Cundiff and Nugent a tryout last week and came to the conclusion that Hauschka was still the better kicker. Aaron Wilson said the Ravens believed that Hauschka's problems are mental. Sometimes kickers can work through mental problems sometimes they cannot, just like QBs. That is what it comes down to. If Hauschka is able to overcome his mental problems, we could regret this move. But we cannot wait for Hauschka, we need someone who can handle pressure. Hopefully Cundiff is better than Hauschka at doing so.

 

 

I am really starting to question what Ozzie knows. His decision making seems to be getting worse. There seems to be ZERO plan. It looks like see a problem and try to deal with it. I do not see getting infront of issues before they come around the corner.

 

I hope Housh becomes a 98% kicker and everyone in this city whines about why did we let him go.

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I am really starting to question what Ozzie knows. His decision making seems to be getting worse. There seems to be ZERO plan. It looks like see a problem and try to deal with it. I do not see getting infront of issues before they come around the corner.

 

I hope Housh becomes a 98% kicker and everyone in this city whines about why did we let him go.

 

That is probably a little harsh. I do not think people realize how spoiled we were by guys like Cmac, Scott, and Rolle. Ozzie did have a plan on defense, it was to get SPEED. That is why guys like Gooden, Foxworth, Washington, and Carr came in. Unfortunately, these guys have been soft so far (although it was encouraging to see Fabian play solid in the run game on Monday, and Foxworth has stepped his play up as the season has gone on). On the positive side, look at guys like Ngata, Edwards (what a pleasant surprise he has been), JJ (our defensive MVP this season), Suggs, and Ladarius Webb. These are our building blocks. Then we have guys with potential like Krueger, McKinney, Ellerbe, and McClain. Foxworth is not a bad corner, he could be a solid #2.

 

On offense, even you cannot deny that Ozzie has done a good job. The core of Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, Le'Ron McClain and our offensive line is going to give defenses fits for years to come. The offense is a work in progress as we still need quality receivers, but Ozzie is getting there. Do you remember how bad this offense was and how devoid it was of talent? How about that aging offensive line? Ozzie built this line from scratch, replaced a Hall of Fame left tackle, got us a franchise quarterback, and a franchise runningback. If that is not a plan, then I do not know what is.

 

Here is the bottom line: For all the criticism our defense gets, we are still the #7 defense in the league. Do you remember 2002, Mike Nolan's first year as DC? I'll give you a penny if you can tell me what our defense was ranked... it was 22nd. And that was a defense that had Ray Lewis, Chris McAlister, Peter Boulware, and Ed Reed (rookie) all in their primes. This defense we have now is very much in transition like that 2002 team was. We lost some key players and a very good DC, and have a lot of young players coming in. In 2002 guys like AD, Baxter, Gregg, Hartwell, Weaver, and Demps struggled, but they become much better players as the year went on going into the next couple of years. And none of these guys were superstar talents either (which is evident by the fact they could not produce the same success when they left Baltimore). Who is to say we will not see the same progression with guys like Foxworth, Webb, Krueger (especially since he is going to see extensive playing time in these coming weeks), and Ellerbe? I think it was blind for us fans to think there was not going to be an adjustment period for Mattison and all the young guys coming in.

 

My last point is that we are still very much in the thick of things, and even if we do not make the playoffs we have a solid core for Ozzie to work with to improve upon. Look how fast the Bengals improved. You think their fans were not saying all of the same things last season about their GM being clueless?

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I have not attacked Ozzie on his drafting prowess. He is if not the best damn near the best. I have been on him for yrs about his pro player moves. Those would include Dwil and Landry this yr. It also includes the gigantic hole we will have at WR after this season. Lets add letting all your Lb's be FA's at the same time. Throw in never getting deals done with guys before they reach FA.

 

All I can see is they get to a problem like Scott, Ray and Suggs are all FA's so who can we keep. Why was Scott allowed to get to FA. If you valued him so much why didn't you lock him down 2-3 yrs ago. Let me say again I was not for signing Suggs but 3 yrs ago they could have gotten a deal for far cheaper than 6 for $63 mil.

 

This off season Mason, Clayton, Dwil, and Washington will all be FA's. Smart money says Mason retires. Clayton has done nothing to warrant a big contract but he will get a raise going onto his new deal. The question is if the Ravens give it to him. Dwil is under the dog house and I would think is gone. Washington if free to go where he wants. I hope he stays here.

 

So lets immagine that we have all new WR's in 2010. That will be some great continuety with Joe. Couldn't they have drafted someone this past yr?

 

I can keep ratteling off these issues all over the team. There is no forward thinking in the front office. They do not get ahead of these problems before they arise. That is Ozzie's fault.

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I should save your post cleetz for the times I'm feeling down about this team and their future, There is an 'overall team' core of players to build upon. It's no longer limited to defense.

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I have not attacked Ozzie on his drafting prowess. He is if not the best damn near the best. I have been on him for yrs about his pro player moves. Those would include Dwil and Landry this yr. It also includes the gigantic hole we will have at WR after this season. Lets add letting all your Lb's be FA's at the same time. Throw in never getting deals done with guys before they reach FA.

 

All I can see is they get to a problem like Scott, Ray and Suggs are all FA's so who can we keep. Why was Scott allowed to get to FA. If you valued him so much why didn't you lock him down 2-3 yrs ago. Let me say again I was not for signing Suggs but 3 yrs ago they could have gotten a deal for far cheaper than 6 for $63 mil.

 

This off season Mason, Clayton, Dwil, and Washington will all be FA's. Smart money says Mason retires. Clayton has done nothing to warrant a big contract but he will get a raise going onto his new deal. The question is if the Ravens give it to him. Dwil is under the dog house and I would think is gone. Washington if free to go where he wants. I hope he stays here.

 

So lets immagine that we have all new WR's in 2010. That will be some great continuety with Joe. Couldn't they have drafted someone this past yr?

 

I can keep ratteling off these issues all over the team. There is no forward thinking in the front office. They do not get ahead of these problems before they arise. That is Ozzie's fault.

 

Well, you did attack Ozzie when you said he had "ZERO plan." I certainly agree with your criticisms though. It is frustrating how Ozzie lets our guys go into the last year of their deals when teams like the Eagles seem to have no problem locking their players up (granted, the Eagles have had lots of unhappy campers with their contracts because of these under-market deals). I was not as angry about Scott leaving. Like Adalius, it would not make financial sense to re-sign him when he was an UFA or the year before. Scott is good, but I don’t want to be stuck with a $50 million contract when Scott is 32, same deal with Adalius. We got over Sharper, Hartwell, and Adalius, we will get over Scott quickly. It just takes some adjustment, like I stated. But I like what I see in Ellerbe. If we re-sign Scott (doesn’t matter when), then Gaither, Ngata, or Grubbs are gone. We could not have that much money tied up in LB. What got me mad was that we did not re-sign Jay Brown for a cheap contract when we had a chance, but then again, that could mean Grubbs is gone.

 

Here is the main point though: for the most part, Ozzie has never lost a free agent that went on to superstardom. The Steelers operate the same way as us. They let their guys get to the end of their deals, then take care of the important players. The guys they let go nothing becomes of them. So before you go judging Ozzie’s moves, remember that 2002 team and how bad they were on defense before a lot of those players became a lot better. Foxworth especially is a guy I believe can improve. With Fabian and Landry coming off of the books, you better sure Ozzie is going to be looking for secondary help. I am not worried at all.

 

As for retaining Landry and Williams, name me a cheaper, better alternative. These guys are in the last year of middle round rookie deals, dirt cheap depth. We were strapped to the cap this past year, there was not a better alternative. You cannot count these guys as free agent pickups against Ozzie. Those go on his draft record (and Landry is a special case, for he has not been the same since his injury).

 

And for the receivers, as bad as they have been this season (with the exception of Kelly Washington) this should be an opportunity for Ozzie to get better. Provided there is a CBA, the free agent WR class is going to be STACKED (Marshall, Austin, Jackson, Bryant as the headliners plus guys like Boldin, Steve Smith, and Bowe as guys possibly available through trade). I do agree with you though, it was dumb not drafting a receiver this year so they could transition and be ready to contribute next year. I heard we really liked Mohamed Massaquoi, but he went off of the board before we picked. Who knows, a guy like Eron Riley could step up.

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I should save your post cleetz for the times I'm feeling down about this team and their future, There is an 'overall team' core of players to build upon. It's no longer limited to defense.

 

This season is far from over max, even if we lose this week against Indy. It all comes down to the Steelers games. As long as we have Ozzie drafting defensive players, Flacco at QB, and Ray Rice running behind that offensive line, this team will be competitive every season.

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We definitely have the young talent on this roster that should give us all enough confidence that we will be competitive in the next few years. A couple tough losses and a tough schedule have put us in a hole this year, and we might not make the playoffs, but at the end of the year, we will either have made the playoffs, or just missed it with one of the toughest schedules in the league, and fan's should be alright with that.

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This season is far from over max, even if we lose this week against Indy. It all comes down to the Steelers games.

 

Its a MUST win Sunday or 99.9% chance we dont get into the tourney, Jax and Houston will have better conference records than us, especially with Denver and Houston already defeating Cinncy.

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