Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
AT THIS MOMENT:
D -- weaker at LB: we lost Ray, Ellerbe, Kruger; added McLain. Yes, we have some young LBs, but largely unproven
weaker at CB: lost C WIlliams; Webb will be back, but exactly when and at what level of performance still UNK; J Smith still a ?
weaker at S: lost both starters; added one (Huff); other spot wide open; again, youth is there, proven performance is not
stronger on D line
O -- weaker at WR with loss of Boldin. As at LB, we have young prospects, but still unproven
weaker at OL: lost Birk, Williams, McKinnie (?); added no one. Depth horrible: no backup C at all (and no proven starter), Harewood & Yah mediocre at best. No backup at T. In fact, do we have any T besides Oher?
I'm sure we'll be OK, but this draft(and FA period after it) is very important
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
somedumbguy
With the job Ozzie has done on the defense, the hole I see is who replaces Boldin as the possession WR. Joe needs one more option that is not a TE, I am hopeful that the defense will be better. I think it depends on chemistry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
houstonravensfan
AT THIS MOMENT:
D -- weaker at LB: we lost Ray, Ellerbe, Kruger; added McLain. Yes, we have some young LBs, but largely unproven
weaker at CB: lost C WIlliams; Webb will be back, but exactly when and at what level of performance still UNK; J Smith still a ?
weaker at S: lost both starters; added one (Huff); other spot wide open; again, youth is there, proven performance is not
stronger on D line
O -- weaker at WR with loss of Boldin. As at LB, we have young prospects, but still unproven
weaker at OL: lost Birk, Williams, McKinnie (?); added no one. Depth horrible: no backup C at all (and no proven starter), Harewood & Yah mediocre at best. No backup at T. In fact, do we have any T besides Oher?
I'm sure we'll be OK, but this draft(and FA period after it) is very important
lol......
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
Very insightful. That really adds a lot to the discussion.
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
Tell you in early August......too early to say.
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
Here's a video many of you probably already saw on NFL Network that discusses this exact forum topic (sorry if it has already been posted).
http://www.baltimoreravens.com/video...4-6617e2af2e41
Makes me feel a little better, I must say. Still, in the interest of being realistic, it's very hard to lose that many players and expect new talent, even if it were equal or better, to gel the way a Super Bowl championship team did.
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
FadeToBlack
Here's a video many of you probably already saw on NFL Network that discusses this exact forum topic (sorry if it has already been posted).
http://www.baltimoreravens.com/video...4-6617e2af2e41
Makes me feel a little better, I must say. Still, in the interest of being realistic, it's very hard to lose that many players and expect new talent, even if it were equal or better, to gel the way a Super Bowl championship team did.
Yes, the gelled during the postseason. But I think all of these assesments of how better/worse the team is compared to a Super Bowl-winning team are misguided. Last year's team got hot at the right time and was legitimately one of the top 4 teams in the AFC. In terms of winning the SB, it's not like they were some dominant team that everyone had in the big game.
Let's keep things in perspective. They were one play away from losing in the divisional round of the playoffs. For that matter, they were also one play away in the San Diego game from potentially losing the division.
There is every reason to think they can be a better team next year because quite frankly, they just weren't all that great during the season despite the SB champion tag.
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
Based on his experience after SB35 I think Ozzie's strategy for putting the team together is exactly right. This is the only way this team can stay relevant and young, unlike the black/yellow team. This team assembly thing is like hitting a moving target; chemistry, experience, injuries- they are all certainly going to impact this team in the next 5 months. And you know there will be another key guy out with injury for the 1st game.
That being said I feel really good about the team going in to the draft (but really miss having Boldin- that's a mistake), and their history tells me we'll be feeling even better after the draft.
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
Even the coaching staff has improved. Juan Castillo will be helping with the linemen and Jim Caldwell will be calling plays the entire season.
The defense damn sure got better on paper.
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
We might even be better. And we got the draft to look forward to yet. That upgraded d line will go a long way to making the entire defence look better.
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
D on paper appears stronger overall - more pass rush will make coverage easier in the secondary.
O line needs shoreing up - also needs to be faster and have more stamina to run no huddle.
Re: How much worse are Ravens in 2013?
It's easy to say that the Ravens will be worse than last year only because if the team doesn't win the Super Bowl it will be worse than last year.
That being said, I think the Ravens haven't had a lot of turn over on O so they should be about the same, with the exception of Anquan Boldin. The D has gotten younger and upgraded at the positions of need, but it takes time playing as a unit before the D will gel as a unit.
I think by the end of the season the team will be doing good, but it's going to be ugly in the beginning of the season.