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Ravens new playbook

I really think they will crash and burn this year and for years to come until they get a new QB. Good for us!

As long as Lamar Jackson is their QB I have no concerns with the Ravens he is a RB is a QB disguise ...

j/c:

Lamar Jackson was 6-1 as a starter last year.

People are banking on the hopes it will all be figured out and Jackson will be stopped this year. Stats only seem to suit some people when those stats back up their opinions.

Teams will have him figured out this year we showed them how.

I don't think Jackson is as good as the media is portraying him, but I dont know if hes as bad as some want to think either.

I think he will fail if he doesn't learn how to throw the football better - but that can be learned. So we shall see.

I would bet he flakes out, but I wouldn't be surprised if has a solid career either.

I tend to agree with you. I feel it's just too early to say for sure how it will all play out.

I hope he is just good enough to keep their hopes up for 5 years and produce nothing.

Agree, just the way I am leaning. I think if by midseason his comp % doesn't tick up a good bit, and hes still running not looking to make plays downfield and taking big hits, he will struggle.

I think if he puts the passing game under his belt, we might be having some serious battles late in the year for division titles for a long time with him.

I don't recall who it was that pointed it out, but someone last season noted how almost all of his accurate completions were in front of him and if you forced him to look outside to throw, the passes were awkward and inaccurate.

If he does not progress in that regard, his career is already written.
Unless he's learned new tricks, we know how to bottle him up. Oh, he'll still get his from time to time, but he isn't likely to gash us like he did other teams, and the NFL will have taken note of how we did that and how the Chargers did the same to them in the playoffs.


Until they prove otherwise, they are a team that will be much more fluff and hype than substance.

I'm not ready to write-off Lamar and the Ravens. He still has the biggest upside of any QB in the league because of what he can do with his legs. The game will slow down for him this year and he'll make better decisions. Not sure he can fine tune all the skills it takes to be a great NFL QB, but I wouldn't send him out to pasture just yet.

It looked like the Browns and Chargers started to write the book on "stopping Lamar", yet he beat us, and showed in the 4th Q vs the Chargers how fast he can turn a game around. Should be an interesting year for the Ravens.

I'm with BADdog - hope he plays just well enough to keep their hopes up for the next five years.

And Trent Dilfer went 7-1 (regular season) when he won a Super Bowl with the Ravens back in 2000.

There are times when a QB's record doesn't tell the whole story. Jackson was very limited as a passer last year. His ability to run, along with a strong run game, were what won for that team. (Just like Dilfer)

Jackson threw for 1202 yards in 7 starts. He had 6 TD, and only 3 INT. He was given a very safe gameplan with which to work, and he did make it work, but the run game and defense make that run work.

In the games he started, they allowed 27 to the Chiefs, (Loss) and 24 to us. (Won by 2) In the rest, they allowed 21, 17, 16, 12, and 10.

I expect their defense to suffer this year due to the losses they suffered. They added Earl Thomas, but he replaces a quality guy in Eric Weddle. In addition to Weddle, they also lost Mosley, Suggs, Za’Darius Smith, and Brent Urban from their defense.

I think their passing game is going to have to step up a lot. We'll see if they can. Jackson is going to have to get a lot more accurate than he showed last year.

Basically, they're going to try to run the ball with very little passing game and not play defense as well as they did last year. A running O with a D that will give up more points.

With three QBs on the roster with similar skill sets, look for lots of gimmicky plays that try to rely on misdirection. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the rookie overtakes Jackson.

Solid, disciplined defense will shut them down, especially if you have a powerful offense. They are not being built to be able to play from behind or score quickly.

I see a battle for the division between us and Steelers. The Ravens and Bengals will battle it out for last.

I hate the Ravens, but they went 6-1 down the stretch w/Lamar to win the division. They also beat us in the last game of the season. As of right now, they have more substance than we do and we have more hype.

I hope things change and they very well could, but I don't believe it's time to be talking smack yet.

I don't discount the Ravens at all.

I know we are all happy but the other teams in the division aren't punks.

The team has some players but I think the QB is not going to work out as planned.

I don't view it as talking smack, at all.

Lamar is RG3 who is Michael Vick.
Guys who are much more a runner than a QB, by far, but I don't believe he is anywhere near as good of a thrower as either of those other two. They are a flash in the pan that will hang out and be relevant as long as their legs hold up. Especially with Lamar, you contain his running lanes and take away the middle of the field and he is dead in the water.

They barely beat us and did so on Lamar's running TD's and us giving them some really short fields. It took us that first half to figure them out and then they got not much of anything. The Chargers then used that exact same approach we figured out to beat them in the playoffs.

Additionally, they had the benefit of a kicker going 4/4 on FG's whereas ours could only manage 1/2. Had Greg Joseph done his job, that would have been a 'W'.

So, yes, they beat us - no, it is not smack. They won but they were not better than us - and they got worse in the offseason while we took gigantic leaps forward. Between our kicker and Baker having a pretty bad game with 3 INTs and a defense that got smoked vs the run and TEs in the seam early, we gave that one away.... I won't even go into things like the weak roughing the QB call on Ogun.

Yeah as really it is now Lamar Jackson's team. But still needs to come down clutch.

Really am excited about the Browns. They have lots of talent. Baker leading the way.

I was talking about the teams. They won the division. We didn't. Thus, they have some substance and as of right now, we just have hype.

I hope that changes and I think it will, but until we finish ahead of them, I am not going to say they lack substance.

We just have different opinions on it and I am not getting on your case. Just voicing my opinion on how I see it.

Hopefully, we will have the substance after this year.

yall do realize that if harbaugh gets him playing like he did in Louisville, this division is screwed, yes?

also, i dunno where people get all this confidence from. i think we're going to the playoffs, but i also didn't forget that with all the hype, we finished 3rd in the division.

we actually have to PROVE we're legit. the Ravens already did.

All I care about Lamar Jackson and the Ravens is that Baker and the Browns are better. The rest is of little concern.

Glad you edited that, bro. The "is" was killing me. LOL

Again, we each have our opinion and I think you are going to be right in the long run, but the Ravens w/Lamar vs Browns w/Baker are 1-0 and Baker threw three picks in that game including a game-ending inexpiable pick. Also, Lamar was 6 and 1 as a starter and Baker has a losing record as a "starter." Too early to talk smack.

With that said, I think Baker is the better qb and we have more talent. Not knocking your opinion, but I will choose to wait before talking smack. Hell, I probably won't even do that if we prove to be better than them.

He's not in Louisville. He's in the NFL.

We are confident because we are on a bit of a high, because we see the potential. I'd be disappointed if we don't make the playoffs in 2019.

You're right, we haven't proved anything. Nothing.

I don't feel I am saying this with false confidence: the Ravens of last year are fools gold, like the Browns with Derek Anderson.

Guess what lamp ... this year rats team hasn’t proven a damm thing either ... not a darn thing ...

Swish is smarter than this ... he loves him some Lamar and is still holding out hope he one day turns into something even remotely close to resembling an nfl QB ... (sometimes i miss the cess pool bro ... *L* ...) ,,

The rats lost there entire pass rush ... the whole thing .. they have like 3 sacks left ... *L* ... and they lost CJ ... HUGE loss .... that D went from the best in the league last year to above average - average ... thats HUGE ... and they need to play great D with that O ...

They have a QB that has not even proven he can be a terrible passer ... we shut him down in the 2nd half and the chargers who in week 16 couldn’t stop the rats shut their asses down in the playoffs ... the last 1.5 weeks was the DEFINITION of what having tape on someone does ... he was RENDERED USELESS ...

Lamar may get to being a below average witch would make him pretty lethal when coupled with his legs .. as long as he can stay healthy that is ... thing is ... he has a lot to correct in his throwing motion ... its not going to happen in one off season ... he also has no clue how to read an nfl D if he gets behind and the read option is taken off the table ... and this D ain’t what it used to be ...

I see what there GM’s doing ... its actually a very good plan .... but with what he did this off season he basically made this a developmental/transitional year ... they let the heart and soul of that D go and brought in a rookie WR that can stretch the field in Brown and another one that can stretch the field with a body and physicality to go out and make plays ... it’s going to take those rooks a year or two to develop while hopefully for the Rats (and swishes sake ... ... ) Lamar learns how to throw like even a below average NFL QB ...

I agree with Vers in that LAST YEARS Rats team had more substance than our beloved browns did LAST YEAR ...

As for THIS YEAR ... NEITHER TEAM has done DIDDLY ...

WE IMPROVED IMMENSELY ... THE TOOK A FEW STEPS BACK ...

Its a new year dawgs .... it’s YEAR TWO of the KING JOHN ERA ...

Give credit where it is due. Don't think much credit is due the Ratters at all. We lost that game late more than they won it in my opinion, and we had to work at mistakes to manage it. More shame on us than credit to them.

I still believe that the NFL is able to find a way to shut a player down. Vick, Slash, RG 3, a number of them, have become concerns more than game changers. I think we bring way more to the table. We are not replaying a single game from last year.

The Rats D took some hits, but I bet they will be one of the better defenses in the league this year. Their DL is great at eating up blocks and allowing their LBers to make tackles. Their LBers are good against the run and their secondary is elite.

I could be wrong, but I think you are underrating just how good the remaining guys are.

I have to agree that the fact of the matter is we haven't proven it on the field yet. Do I think we can and will? Yes I do.

But what some seem to fail to mention is that we were 5-3 the last half of the season and still lost to the Ravens.

And I think it's also helpful to mention that for years on this board we've seen posters make the claim that the Steelers were in decline and we were closing the gap. None of that happened.

Sure we have a lot more talent than we did then. On paper we look very good. But with new coordinators and a first time HC, people may wish to wait and see before they start jumping to conclusions.

I think we're a better team from a talent standpoint, but how long it takes this staff to make that talent into a well oiled machine is anyone's guess.

U could be right ... they still have some talent there including Pierce in the middle ... he definitely eats up blocks ....

I don’t think you’d disagree they took a hit and a decent one at that ... where we disagree is how much its going to affect their overall performance ....

I’m fairly certain there going to take a big step back this year ... u know ... i’d Actually love to know what there D splits were before and after Lamar ... i think he had a lot to do with the D’s success down the stretch ... they were on the field a heck of a lot less once he took over ... that will definitely change this year ... unless Lamar can improve as a passer he’s been rendered useless ... just look at his last 6 quarters of play ... and there only counter to that is Lamar improving as a passer ... and thats not going to happen overnight ... he’s got a lot to change ..

I don’t see how losing your entire pass rush and replacing it 100% with unknowns is not going to hurt significantly ... they can absorb the loss of CJ a lot easier for the reasons u stated ... i can get on board with that ... the MLBer for the rats is going to always have great stats ... its how there D is designed and they didn’t lose the surrounding talent that makes that possible ...

But losing the entire pass rush ... thats gotta hurt and then u combine it with the loss of CJ ... thats a lot to absorb and stay a dominate D ...

we do disagree big time on the quality of there D backfield ... i don’t think its elite at all ... i think its “meh” ... U and I will debate/argue over pretty much anything ... but were usually doing it over extremely small differences of opinion ... not in this case ...

I may be missing something ... please explain why u think there elite ... i’m very curious ... u know way or about the game than i do so i’d really like your thoughts on this ... they may or may not sway me but i bet i learn and come away with a different perspective of them ... cause if u think there elite ... i’m Seriously missing simething and i’d love to know what ...

Please feel free to wait and see ... i get it ...

The difference between u and I ...

U wait and see where as i wait to see .. ...

And bro ... I have no clue what the relevance of last years final game result or record has to do with THIS YEARS GAMES ...

Neither team that took the field last Dec will be even remotely close to the teams that take the field when we play them this year ... NOT EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE ...

Please explain to me why u think last years results in the final game and last years records have anything at all to do with this years games? ....

I seriously see NO CORRELATION between last years results and this years games ... NONE ...

*shrugs* ...

Crap. I was almost finished while responding to you and I lost the entire post. I'll try again, but it won't be as in-depth.

Yeah, I could be right and then again, I could be wrong. Just talking football. I'll address a few of your points.

--Yes, they took a hit in regards to their pass rush, but they signed Pernell McPhee and Shane Ray to help there. I also think Chris Wormley and Willie Henry have upside.

--You mentioned Pierce and I think he is one of the better interior d-linemen in the league. I did see he came to OTAs overweight and Harbaugh got on his ass about it. Pierce handled it well and said he would fix the problem.

--I agree w/you about how the Rats' O helped the D. I disagree w/you about what will happen this upcoming year. I think they will once again control the ball and that Ingram will have a very good year. I think he is perfect for that O.

--I really like their secondary. Very underrated by some. Earl Thomas is one of the best to ever play. Weddle is also very good, but they aren't losing anything w/Thomas. Tony Jefferson is a tough SS and pushes the limits in regards to edgy play. Marlon Humphrey is a guy not many talk about at CB, but he can really play. He's a shutdown type of CB. Jimmy Smith took awhile, but he is a very good corner. Brandon Carr and Tavon Young provide depth at corner. They also Averitt. They are really deep in the secondary and some good players might get cut. I know they don't get a lot of pub, this is an excellent group.

I just don't believe you can make assumptions. We have both a new OC and DC. Freddie has never been a HC before.

That doesn't mean we can't be a great team. We can. But it also means that we don't know what this new group will or can do with the talent we have.

Will the D improve? I mean it pretty much sucked last year. We got more talent, but can the new DC make that work? Will he take cover corners and use them as cover corners?

There's just a lot of questions left to be answered that people are assuming to know the answers to. It's not as simple as some would like to make it sound.

Good read. I have felt this needed to be done many years ago.

I think we're still behind Pitt/ravens for now. They are well run organizations and always have contingencies for players and coaches moving on. Thats why they are always in contention. We have alot more talent than in years past but we were really far behind. I still think we have the biggest question marks when it comes to coaching, I know everyone loves Freddie but I'm not sold yet until we see him in action. We know Ravens are going to be well coached and have great gameplans. We have to prove to do that yet, same with Pitt. Going to be the most anticipated season in recent memory, time will tell if it will be the most exciting.

j/c:

I understand that we are "hype" right now, as the improvements we made in the off-season are, so far, just on paper. But I am optimistic for our chances this year. Somewhat cautiously, but optimistic. As we get closer to the season, I am getting less cautious and more optimistic.

I am leaning toward the train of thought (i think diam and purp) that Balt also has to show it on the field, as they are not the same team they were. I get that Thomas makes up for Weddle, but they took a big hit on D this off-season. They still have some players, but the D is not what it was.

I also am not impressed with Lamar, at the risk of offending his fan bois. I get Balt won the division, and they had a good record in Lamaer's starts. But I am not so convinced that Lamar was the reason.

As was stated previously, getting Lamar to play like he did in college should not be the goal. Lamar needs to play like he is in the NFL, because that is where he is. I do not think he has what it takes to reproduce his college numbers in the NFL.

The halftime adjustments we made in that last game was a pretty nice blue print for playing Lamar. He was largely ineffective that second half. Sure, we lost. Thanks to a premature whistle. If that fumble would have been (correctly) allowed to play out, Peppers takes it to the house.

The Chargers took our 2nd half plan and built on it for the next week, in the playoffs. Lamar was epically bad. He showed nothing until the Charges changed things and sat on their lead in the 4th.

It was stated above that if the D takes away Lamar's running lanes, and covers the middle of the field, then he is done. He is woefully inaccurate. How many running QBs who couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat are successful in the NFL?

Long story short (too late) is I am not so concerned with Balt. They are all in on Lamar and I think as long as that is true, they will struggle to succeed. They did win a SB with a D and Dilfer, but Dilfer was a better passer than Lamar.

I think our challenge is with our old nemesis, Pittsburgh. I do think they will miss AB. JuJu is good, but he is no AB, and now that he will be the focus of the D he it will take more work for him to meet last year's numbers.

I agree and I disagree - I agree with the sentiment, and I agree that until we do it on Sundays and win games and win the division all we have is more talk ... and for 20 years we have had GREAT off-seasons, only to have reality come crashing down 1pm the first Sunday of the season ... so until we 'do' nothing else matters.

That said - I am 100% convinced this is different. For lots of reasons - but if you don't want to site one single change, it's Baker Mayfield and QB. We've never had a QB play like he has since 1999 in his brief time in the NFL. I fully expect us to be challenging for the Division title this year. I think it's a very reasonable expectation to have.

If you want proof - look to last season. We had the worst coach in the history of the NFL for half of the season. From the point of firing him as HC we won 5 of 8 games with an intermediate HC and a new OC. We were battling to win the division LAST year .... and we had Hue holding the team back for 8 games of last season. We're a better team this year with the additions - instead of Baker getting no first team reps to prepare for the season, he is the unquestioned leader of the offense, on D we have added several important and complementary pieces. . . . so expecting to compete for the title isn't or shouldn't be considered unreasonable.

I'm sure we will have bumps in the road - we aren't going to be 16-0 ... the new offense will take some time to gel, regardless of how good the players we've added are, it takes time to bring it all together with so many changes and new part/pieces/staff.

As for the Ravens specifically - I think they will be as good as Lamar Jackson makes them. I think he's a stunning, amazing athlete but is somewhat limited - and regardless of how well his throwing improves (which it has to if they are going to be good) I don't think he will ever read defenses or throw with the anticipation like we've seen Baker do so far. I think their D will still be good but I think it's less than it was last year. Until we beat them, sure it's all talk ... but I do expect to beat them.

isnt this what we hear from the good majority
of the posters on here
how the Ravens are going to falter and the Browns would stand on top of them.?
heck I heard the same claims when that QB room had Kizer and Kessler.

The Ravens are well coached.
they understand their idenity on offense.
yeah they lost some key pieces on defense.
last time I checked you still need a offense
to win games.
lest not forget the Ravens have nice pieces on offense.
Ingram...Edwards...Yanda..Stanley.
I think any team in the North can win the North this year.