Do you miss having an elite defense?

[Sirdowski]

SF and the Ravens have been right there 2 years in a row with teams built and heavily invested in the defense. The teams that have won the SB recently or got there either had a good defense, or played a lot of good defense in the playoffs. The Cards coming up with a lot of turnovers or Indy getting Bob Sanders back or just playing above the talent against us.

The Ravens, Steelers in 06 and Tampa were the only teams recently that were suspect on O but strong enough on D to get the job done. So it mostly takes balance, not dominance in one area, but defense is still a big factor in who wins the championship. Our D played lights out in the second alf in NE and 1st half of the SB, and all along the way in the playoffs, or we would not have this championship.

Yep. Just ask the Pats.

[Lime in the Coconut]

I miss not having an elite run defense anymore. It has been frustrating to watch. I hope we can fortify that over the offseason.

[HKusp]

Yes I kept waiting for it but never came. Now we know why but dam is that not impressive? Taking playing like a Raven to a new level. We don't need a great defense just good one. Suggs & Mcphee should be healthy and Upshaw and Arthur Jones will step up in their 2nd year. Ellerbe will have to take over for Ray and hopefully we can get decent picks at LB and safety and maybe find a nose tackle as a FA.

Arthur Jones will be in his 3rd year. This is the first I have heard of Pollard having broken his ribs during the Superbowl. That being said, my point still stands, these guys are second guessing when hitting because of the new rules. It is how a slug like Byron Leftwich can run 20+ yards down the sideline and score a TD. 5 years ago he would have been blown out of his cleats on that sideline run. Not now.

[Beau Petard]

Just some random thoughts/comments--

> I agree, I'd rather have Betty than a "pretty" D.

> IMHO, there's a difference between a "stout" or "elite" defense [and insert ad here for "Please define 'elite'!] and what the Ravens defense did in the 2000-2001 season and post-season. I've watched football on my radio until they invented TV, and then on my 100' HDTV for over 60 years now, and the performance of that defense was nothing short of unbelievable! I told folks back then that if the season had gone another 20 weeks, the Ravens would have continued to win every week regardless of who they played. I don't think we'll get to see such a performance again.

> Consider that the CAP allows teams to make choices - where do I want to spend $$$, and how? There is a school of thought that says that you can have a good overall team, but you spend on one side of the ball or the other, and pragmatically you cannot spend on both. I sorta kinda tend to agree with that. Thus, elevating the Ravens offense to a more fromidable entity was basically done at the expense of the defense. If you agree with this, the question really becomes - which one do you want, cuz ya can't have both.

> I'm recalling discussions and threads from post SB XXXV. There was a definite recognition that the offense needed an upgrade - Dilfer was a game manager, not a team/offense leader or "team on my back" carrier"; the receivers were having issues catching a cold, much less the ball; the offensive line needed a new rusty gate at RT, Edwin's knees were deteriorating, Mitchell was going to jump ship at center, and so forth;

but the defense would carry us to multiple Super Bowls -- EXCEPT that Sharper would get swiped by the new Houston team, and Starks would leave for Ariz, and McCrary and Burnett were walking wounded, and Herring left, and...

we ended up with a "better" offense, and a "not as good" defense, and a 2 and done playoff result.

Consider that Jamal gets hurt, Searcy tears a tricep, Grbac is a pussy, etc. I guess the reason I mention all of this is to say that, where could Ozzie have made changes with the CAP limits to enhance both sides of the ball and get a better result? I honestly don't know

[leachisabeast]

To answer the question about the drop off in run defense, the two main problems is Kemo and Cody, they aren't good players, you need a good NT to help out in run defense, it all starts on him. If you forget about the first cople of weeks of the regular season, the edge run defending was pretty good all year. Most the runs against us were up the middle. That is why we need an upgrade at NT.

The pass rush was actually pretty good towards the end of the year, but we were without a healthy elite pass rusher all year. The pass defense is pretty damn good, but because of the lack of pass rush, the pass defense got exposed a little. It all starts with the run though, and has a domino effect if you cant stop it.