Freddy From Boca Chimes In on the Ravens—“Wait til next year”
Looking at the Ravens from a far.
To those who thought the Ravens were going to have a big year following last year’s Super Bowl win the question to you would be why? Few teams play really well after a Super Bowl win and the Ravens lost 12 starters off last year’s team. Many thought the team would be better by replacing older players like Lewis and Reed with younger, more athletic players. But most of you didn’t consider the fact that most of the players on this year’s team who are replacing the missing starters have never been quality starters in the NFL and some as in the rookies have zero professional football experience. Just because a guy is young and athletic doesn’t mean he can play in the NFL or be a good starting player. And, none of these young guns provide real leadership which Lewis and Reed did.
Joe Flacco is a part of the problem. His ego told him he should be the highest paid q.b. in football, which he became for about 3 weeks. It’s easy to tell someone what to do with his money and no one can be surprised that Joe went for every dime on the table. Joe should not have been hurting financially going into contract negotiations though none of us know how he invested his millions from his first contract. If Joe did what Labron James and D Wade did in Miami he could have taken less, still made a boatload of money and gave the Ravens a better chance of re-signing someone like Anquan Bouldin, who was Joe’s favorite receiver and go to guy on third downs. Bouldin took a lot of pressure off other receivers.
The offensive line is offensive. The big reason the Ravens made it all the way last year was the vastly improved play of the o-line in the playoffs. The loss of Birk at center, Yanda coming back from surgery and being banged up, Mckinnie not playing well and being replaced with an average player, and now Osemele’s injury has resulted in a below average offensive line. A line who has trouble run blocking and trouble pass protecting. In other words, they ain’t doin’ nothin’. Don’t blame the running backs. You can’t run too far without some sort of hole to run through.
The receivers are below average. They rarely can get separation from the d-backs which tells me these guys have no real idea how to run a tight, pass pattern. And as of yet the coaching staff hasn’t come up with new pass plays to try to get guys open. Torrey Smith may have a lot of yards receiving but understand the Ravens throw deep far more than most teams but Torrey like most Raven receivers are rarely open. At times Joe under throws guys. That can be blamed on Joe but more than likely it’s because Joe is being pressured and needs to get rid of the ball quickly and sometimes can’t get his whole body into the throw. Let’s be real, Joe has a very strong arm so when he under throws someone it’s not on him that often, though yes sometimes it is.
The defensive line has trouble stopping the run, particularly late in games. You can’t win games when you are allowing the opposition 6-8 minute drives late in the game. The defensive backfield is playing poorly. Only the line backers seem to be playing well.
Coaching decisions late in the first half and late in games have a lot of fans scratching their heads. The team starts games off very flat week after week. That’s on both the coaching staff who have to find a way to get guys ready from the get go and on the players who have to be accountable. Maybe they need to play a video of Ray Lewis before they come out of locker room.
When you lose 12 starters plus Dennis Pitta, replace those starters with mostly unproven players who lack experience and are unproven as starters, bring in some free agents who didn’t get the job done, lose your team leaders and have a hangover after winning the Super Bowl the result is the 2013 Ravens. As Dodger fans used to say and are saying this year….Wait til next year!
