2015-16: The Baltimore Ravens Thread

[Oldschool739]

I'm not saying Torrey Smith or Owen Daniels are as good as Perriman and Maxx Williams. I think both of those guys stand a chance of being better. What I am saying is Smith spent years building that trust with Flacco. Most rookies struggle year one to make the adjustment. Now yes there are those that explode onto the scene like we saw with ODB this past year but that is rare. Same with Daniels in he is one of the few guys that I would say knows Kubiak's system better than any other player in the league. So he knew from day one what to expect. Williams has to learn a whole new playbook while also adjusting to the speed of the NFL. Now again I could be wrong on one or both of those guys and maybe they do explode onto the scene but if you are depending on rookies for your offense to be good then you are setting yourself up for failure.

As for the run game I agree the reason that Forsett found success has a lot to do with the OL and the adjustments from the year before. Again that is Kubiak stepping in. He did that with the Broncos when he was OC pretty much guaranteeing whoever started at RB was going to gain a thousand yards or more. As for Trestman we shall see what he does. He has had some success in the NFL coaching up quarterbacks but can't discount what happened at his last job with the Bears in which the entire team imploded and Cutler was just downright terrible. Now given Cutler is known as the coach killer so will discount that. Right now I just have a lot of questions. I could see the offense being very good but it wouldn't surprise me if they are middle of the pack either. Also Forsett did just fine under Kubiak before. He had his highest yards per carry average in 2012 under Kubiak. And that was in their terrible year that ended up getting Kubiak fired.

Also my comment about those teams was only geared towards the offensive side of the ball. Not the overall team. I like Baltimore to make the playoffs this year. I think they have the talent to be one of the better teams in the league. I just think with playing the NFC West and the AFC North that record wise it won't match possibly the talent on the actual field. The AFC West saw it happen this past year where the year before that they put 3 teams into the playoffs. They all ended up with tougher schedules with having to play the NFC West and record wise they dropped off even though not sure the talent dropped off. The Broncos are the only ones that stayed about where they were. Again many of those teams I listed I wouldn't put over Baltimore overall. Just with the questions on offense with so much changing from one year to the next I just struggle to see them stay at the level they were last year or to be even better. Can they be? of course but they have some tough defenses to fight through to get that.

Every year brings new challenges for every team, I like this saying that I use sometimes;
Healthy things grow,
Growing things change,
And changing things always challenge us.....

 

[cdumler7]

Every year brings new challenges for every team, I like this saying that I use sometimes;
Healthy things grow,
Growing things change,
And changing things always challenge us.....

Good saying...Again like I said these are just questions I have about the Ravens. Doesn't mean that they will end up being their downfall. Like I said Perriman and Williams I do think are more talented than the guys they replaced. IF they can rise above the usual rookie growing curve and be productive then the team should definitely have a strong offense. If Trestman can continue the success that was developed from last year then the Ravens have a chance to really make some noise. Every team has some if's about it. Some can rise above their weaknesses, some can have players really develop and turn a weakness into a strength, and then others just continue to fail and have the same questions going into next year.

 

[Tgann69]

Ravens lose the Supe to the Packers

Honestly believe they were the 2 best teams in the NFL this past season

Ravens lost a tough one, but now we know the Pats cheated

Packers we know should have never lost in Seattle

They make up for it this season

I'm saying Ravens v. Pack both have a great shot as well...

 

[Tgann69]

OldSchool,

I think it's pretty clear that he thinks the Ravens are a Well-balaced, middle of the pack team......

I'll be surprised given the lack of talent on defense and the first four losses that NE even makes the playoffs.

 

[Southieinnc]

I'll be surprised given the lack of talent on defense and the first four losses that NE even makes the playoffs.

Makes sense. You got surprised last year!

 

[Ravskins]

I would say where Ngata will hurt will be on depth. We saw this past year with Seattle where they lost some of the depth on the DL and in the Super Bowl when one of the starters went down early in the game they really struggled as the depth just was not up to par.

Offensively I don't see it being a juggernaut. Perriman coming in is at best an even trade for losing Torrey Smith. I just can't see a rookie stepping in and being an actual upgrade over him. TE I could see an improvement but again you lost Owen Daniels who put up pretty good numbers. So again I see the draft pick in Williams being at best an equal move to that of losing him. Forsett is the one I can see having a decent drop off. Kubiak has been known throughout his career of making no name RB's into household names. Now that he is gone I could actually see the running game take a huge dip which then would mean more pressure on Flacco to have to raise his game. I mean they finished 4th overall in PFF grades for offense this past year. I can't see them being better than that. I see them falling back to middle of the pack. Not quite what they were in 2013 as that was just terrible but there are plenty of other teams offensively that I would take over them in a heart beat. I mean just off the top of my head...Indy, Green Bay, New England, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Denver, Philly, Seattle, and Detroit are all ones I think are much scarier than that of Baltimore. What I do like about Baltimore though is they are a pretty balanced team. They have playmakers on both the offense and defense that will help keep them in most games this upcoming year.

Good analysis but to add they do have good depth. Oz and Company has had great success with keeping the front seven loaded with depth. Every year they seem to lose a key cog but yet they are able to move on. I don't see any difference this year with young D lineman like Williams, Jernigan ready to step in. I do believe they have a Top 3 front seven despite losing Ngata and McPhee.

As for the rookies in the receiving department, the one thing that is a blessing with Tressman coming in this year is that he uses the RB's in the passing game much more than Kube's offense. You can see Forsett taking a step back but actually I can see him have just as productive season as last year....just in a different way. The new kid Buck Allen also is very good with catching the ball too so he can spell Forsett. This will also take alot of the pressure off Perriman and Williams. If they can have Pitta come back and use the RB's more, than they can still have a successful offense this year especially with that offensive line of theirs.

What I do like is that the Ravens are a very thick team...meaning very good players everywhere on offiense, defense, and ST. They have one of the best Off/Def lines in the league. They build from the inside out and that will always make the Ravens a tough out.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Good analysis but to add they do have good depth. Oz and Company has had great success with keeping the front seven loaded with depth. Every year they seem to lose a key cog but yet they are able to move on. I don't see any difference this year with young D lineman like Williams, Jernigan ready to step in. I do believe they have a Top 3 front seven despite losing Ngata and McPhee.

As for the rookies in the receiving department, the one thing that is a blessing with Tressman coming in this year is that he uses the RB's in the passing game much more than Kube's offense. You can see Forsett taking a step back but actually I can see him have just as productive season as last year....just in a different way. The new kid Buck Allen also is very good with catching the ball too so he can spell Forsett. This will also take alot of the pressure off Perriman and Williams. If they can have Pitta come back and use the RB's more, than they can still have a successful offense this year especially with that offensive line of theirs.

What I do like is that the Ravens are a very thick team...meaning very good players everywhere on offiense, defense, and ST. They have one of the best Off/Def lines in the league. They build from the inside out and that will always make the Ravens a tough out.

I'm glad you explained the thick comment. Because with all the talk of rookies and how confused that D looked last year against NE, I figured you were referring to their IQ

 

[cdumler7]

Good analysis but to add they do have good depth. Oz and Company has had great success with keeping the front seven loaded with depth. Every year they seem to lose a key cog but yet they are able to move on. I don't see any difference this year with young D lineman like Williams, Jernigan ready to step in. I do believe they have a Top 3 front seven despite losing Ngata and McPhee.

As for the rookies in the receiving department, the one thing that is a blessing with Tressman coming in this year is that he uses the RB's in the passing game much more than Kube's offense. You can see Forsett taking a step back but actually I can see him have just as productive season as last year....just in a different way. The new kid Buck Allen also is very good with catching the ball too so he can spell Forsett. This will also take alot of the pressure off Perriman and Williams. If they can have Pitta come back and use the RB's more, than they can still have a successful offense this year especially with that offensive line of theirs.

What I do like is that the Ravens are a very thick team...meaning very good players everywhere on offiense, defense, and ST. They have one of the best Off/Def lines in the league. They build from the inside out and that will always make the Ravens a tough out.

You could be right. I guess to me I am viewing this in Trestman is a step down as OC compared to that of Kubiak but hey I have always been a huge Kubiak fan since his days with Denver and bringing us Super Bowl Championships so I might be a bit biased.

 

[Tgann69]

You could be right. I guess to me I am viewing this in Trestman is a step down as OC compared to that of Kubiak but hey I have always been a huge Kubiak fan since his days with Denver and bringing us Super Bowl Championships so I might be a bit biased.

What's important IMO to Flacco and the offense is the west coast style fits this team and QB.

The weapons this year for Flacco are better then last I can't wait to see them play.

 

[cdumler7]

What's important IMO to Flacco and the offense is the west coast style fits this team and QB.

The weapons this year for Flacco are better then last I can't wait to see them play.

I would say the weapons are unknown at this time. Steve Smith is another year older and is reaching that age where receivers have their huge drop off. You have a rookie WR across from him so no telling how quickly they will get the offense. Same problem with a rookie TE. Throw in everybody is learning a new system so that takes time for everything to gel and for the coaches to realize what works and what doesn't with this team. So again unknown more so than I would say better. It has the potential to be better for sure but there are a lot of question marks that have to go right to make that work.

 

[Tgann69]

I would say the weapons are unknown at this time. Steve Smith is another year older and is reaching that age where receivers have their huge drop off. You have a rookie WR across from him so no telling how quickly they will get the offense. Same problem with a rookie TE. Throw in everybody is learning a new system so that takes time for everything to gel and for the coaches to realize what works and what doesn't with this team. So again unknown more so than I would say better. It has the potential to be better for sure but there are a lot of question marks that have to go right to make that work.

Steve Smith is def going to be better with another year with Flacco. Our TE situation was a mess last year and now we are bringing back Crocket Gilmore as well as the best receiving TE in the draft and Pitta that's an upgrade.
At RB we have back Forsett and a healthy and slimmer taliferro who scored for us numerous times before injury plus Buck Allen from USC... More depth.

At Wr Kamar Aiken had a great year last year he's fighting to be a starter as well as Msrlon Brown who is in his 3rd year and 6"5'. The rookie class is our best in our history with Perruman, Carter,and others.

This is definitely a better class of Wr for Flacco. Remember in his first 5 years he had Mark Mason and an aging Todd Heap as his weapons.

 

[blue_suns]

I would say the weapons are unknown at this time. Steve Smith is another year older and is reaching that age where receivers have their huge drop off. You have a rookie WR across from him so no telling how quickly they will get the offense. Same problem with a rookie TE. Throw in everybody is learning a new system so that takes time for everything to gel and for the coaches to realize what works and what doesn't with this team. So again unknown more so than I would say better. It has the potential to be better for sure but there are a lot of question marks that have to go right to make that work.

The Ravens are actually keeping the same offense from last year (more or less), Trestman actually learned the offense instead of implementing something new.

Yeah I'm not putting much stock into the rookies until we see them on the field. But there's plenty of non-rookie WRs on this team stepping up.

 

[cdumler7]

Steve Smith is def going to be better with another year with Flacco. Our TE situation was a mess last year and now we are bringing back Crocket Gilmore as well as the best receiving TE in the draft and Pitta that's an upgrade.
At RB we have back Forsett and a healthy and slimmer taliferro who scored for us numerous times before injury plus Buck Allen from USC... More depth.

At Wr Kamar Aiken had a great year last year he's fighting to be a starter as well as Msrlon Brown who is in his 3rd year and 6"5'. The rookie class is our best in our history with Perruman, Carter,and others.

This is definitely a better class of Wr for Flacco. Remember in his first 5 years he had Mark Mason and an aging Todd Heap as his weapons.

We shall see. While Steve Smith might have some better timing his skills most likely will diminish as well. So it could end up being a wash.

Right now for you to be saying that this group is all definitely better than last year is just homerism like most of us fans for our team. We see the best in our own team. Last year's offense for the Ravens was one of the most efficient of any team in the league. So to actually be better would mean being one of the top-3 or so offenses in the league and at least right now I have my doubts of whether they will be that or not. Now they could prove me wrong but I need to see this group on the field as there are so many new moving parts.

Also just to comment towards blue_suns comment of Trestman taking over and trying to run the same system to me is not the best decision. Kubiak has been perfecting this offense that he likes to run over 20 years of coaching. To then say somebody is going to come in learn the playbook and know the ins and outs of it and be able to run it to the same success in year one that somebody has been doing for 20 years is asking a lot.

 

[Tgann69]

We shall see. While Steve Smith might have some better timing his skills most likely will diminish as well. So it could end up being a wash.

Right now for you to be saying that this group is all definitely better than last year is just homerism like most of us fans for our team. We see the best in our own team. Last year's offense for the Ravens was one of the most efficient of any team in the league. So to actually be better would mean being one of the top-3 or so offenses in the league and at least right now I have my doubts of whether they will be that or not. Now they could prove me wrong but I need to see this group on the field as there are so many new moving parts.

Also just to comment towards blue_suns comment of Trestman taking over and trying to run the same system to me is not the best decision. Kubiak has been perfecting this offense that he likes to run over 20 years of coaching. To then say somebody is going to come in learn the playbook and know the ins and outs of it and be able to run it to the same success in year one that somebody has been doing for 20 years is asking a lot.[/QUOTE

i disagree with everything u said. But that's ok we have different opinions.

 

[Tgann69]

The Ravens are actually keeping the same offense from last year (more or less), Trestman actually learned the offense instead of implementing something new.

Yeah I'm not putting much stock into the rookies until we see them on the field. But there's plenty of non-rookie WRs on this team stepping up.

Exactly.

 

[cdumler7]

That doesn't surprise me that you would disagree with everything I say. Like I said we like to see the best in our team. Such as for me with the Broncos I see adding Kubiak as being a huge boost to our OL play this year compared to last. That doesn't mean it will happen but right now look at it through my orange and blue homer glasses that is what I see. I also see with our defense a group that could push Seattle for best in the NFL. I could be completely wrong on both though and see the Broncos come falling back to earth.

 

[Southieinnc]

That doesn't surprise me that you would disagree with everything I say. Like I said we like to see the best in our team. Such as for me with the Broncos I see adding Kubiak as being a huge boost to our OL play this year compared to last. That doesn't mean it will happen but right now look at it through my orange and blue homer glasses that is what I see. I also see with our defense a group that could push Seattle for best in the NFL. I could be completely wrong on both though and see the Broncos come falling back to earth.

I think Denver improving on defense is a lot more realistic than Baltimore improving on offense. Just sayin'

 

[Tgann69]

I think Denver improving on defense is a lot more realistic than Baltimore improving on offense. Just sayin'

Baltimore had its best year offensively in team history last year and have added better TE talent Wr talent and RB depth while having one of the best offensive lines in the league return.

Better this year but ya not surprising why u feel differently.

 

[Ravskins]

I'm glad you explained the thick comment. Because with all the talk of rookies and how confused that D looked last year against NE, I figured you were referring to their IQ

NO, not IQ. I was actually talking about the football being more thick compared to the Pat's.....but we won't go there.

 

[Ravskins]

You could be right. I guess to me I am viewing this in Trestman is a step down as OC compared to that of Kubiak but hey I have always been a huge Kubiak fan since his days with Denver and bringing us Super Bowl Championships so I might be a bit biased.

I agree that Kube's is seen as one of the best and Trestman is not. Like I mention that could be a blessing for this year because of the role the RB has in his passing scheme. I do believe WR, TE (hopefully Pitta will be back), and SS are questions right now. The players are there but they have yet to prove anything.

BTW, I am curious to see the impact of Kube and Phillips. Gonna be good.