This front office and coaching staff just doesn't value offense.

**dscola31** · 12-30-2013, 05:40 AM

It's been shown that for the whole time the Ravens have been in Baltimore, that the team places a premium on defense while looking at the offense as an afterthought.

We go all out for blue chip defenders but will claim right player right price when it comes to offense. We just will not field an offensive team that can win games. The only offensive skill players we've taken a chance on in the first round.were Jamal Lewis, Boller, Flacco. We took Travis Taylor and Mark Clayton because they were the "safe pick." We pay Flacco as a franchise Qb but refuse to surround him wih players and a system to take advantage of his abilities. Our coaches still employ a system of long developing routes with an O-line that couldn't block my nephews pee-wee football team. We refuse to scheme our players open and rely on them to beat press coverage on their own when it has been shown that it isn't their strong suit.

Classic example is Andy Dalton. he is not the most talented QB in the league but is surrounded by talent. The Falcons have surrounded Matt Ryan with talent at receiver yet, we're still drafting projects in the 6th and 7th rounds and hoping they brak out because they're cheap.

Scheme wise, the Patriots lose Wes Welker but still have a player with 100 catches on the season. Peyton Manning throws 3 yard passes all game that the receivers break for tds. We will throw a slant to Torrey Smith and then refuse to do it again the rest of the game. We get rid of Boldin, (which I was OK with) but never even attempted to find a repalcement. Our plan, just use Pitta and we'll be fine. Problem is, when Pitta went down to injury, we were down to players that they didn't replace. Pitta went down early enough in training camp for us to attempt to find a player. Our plan, Clark and Stokley are cheap so lets get them.

I don't want to hear that right player right price BS this off-season. If Ozzie doesn't see that the offense should be a priority this year, I doubt he ever will. How many offensive skill players have we drafted in the first 3 rounds of the draft since Flacco's been our QB?

P.S. as I'm typing this, I just know we'll be drafting a linebacker with our 1st and 2nd picks because they'll be the top players on our board. Smdh!

Tldr
We need offensive help bad.

**wickedsolo** · 12-30-2013, 07:20 AM

Using the Bengals as an example is a bit disingenuous IMO.

They've consistently had one of the best defensive units for the past few years.

2013:
Margus Hunt
Sean Williams

both were top 60 picks.

2012:
Dre Kirkpatrick
Devon Still

both were top 60 picks

If you go back to their 2011 draft, the only guys who have panned out for them was Andy Dalton and AJ Green.

I agree that they've done a good job at bringing in weapons for Dalton (Eiffert, Gio Bernard, etc). I just think their offensive success is a testament to Jay Gruden. I mean, Marvin Jones was a 5th rounder and he has 10 TD receptions this year to go along with 51 receptions and 712 yards.

**Corey** · 12-30-2013, 09:35 AM

I think there is a certain measure of truth to this. As I said before the Ravens have never taken an entire offseason, like they did last year, and dedicated it to building the offense.

I think part of the discrepancy comes from the fact that for whatever reason or front office is just better at assessing defensive talent. They find talented defensive players in every round of the draft and even after. It seems like if we don't get a guy in the 1st 3 rounds on offense he just doesn't pan out. I could count on one hand the exceptions to that.

It is not for lack of trying the Ravens distribution of draft picks between had been pretty even before last season, might have even favored the O.

**Bigfish** · 12-30-2013, 10:45 AM

The philosophy has always been defense first to the dismay of many. The argument of using Ryan and Dalton doesn't carry the weight of success. Cincy is in a good a place now by having a balanced team this year, both sides of the ball are effective. I don't expect things to significantly change with the Ravens.

It'll be interesting to see what young players step up in the next year. I had high hopes for several players who did not impact the team last year. The lone bright spot was Marlon Brown. I think at some point the Pats were starting 6 rookies on defense yet were able to hold together enough to be a top seed. Why can't we get rookies to be effective on the field?

Last year it was a necessity to upgrade the defense with the turnover of personnel. I will be surprised if this year the offense doesn't get more attention, especially the o-line which was so bad they couldn't run or protect Flacco when passing and Oher could depart to free agency. If the line improves that unit will be better at passing and rushing.

I think it's going to be a couple of tough years because of CAP hell. Joe isn't going anywhere, but Ngata, Suggs and Rice are using 37m in CAP space next year. This is a big number that isn't matched by performance. I like RR, but I doubt we will ever see another back get a similar contract in the future. His contract is going a problem for the next couple of years, Ngata is untouchable until 2015. Suggs has been one of my favorites but unless he negotiates a deal that lowers his CAP number his future with the team is questionable.

**bt12483** · 12-30-2013, 10:51 AM

The league has been so far skewed to offense that it reduces the incentive to have a defensive mindset...which is exactly what the league wants. Points. They want to foster a fantasy football in real life environment. Not to say you should ignore defense, but to ignore offense in this timeframe of the current NFL is basically rebell against the system. It is a QB/WR league now. Sadly.

**srobert96** · 12-30-2013, 11:12 AM

I don't agree with the Falcons example. You don't mortgage your future to get a weapon for your QB. That being said the Ravens have to be willing to use high level picks on Offense. There have been picks over the years for defensive guys like Simon, Upshaw and others that while solid picks they could have been used on offensive guys. When Upshaw was drafted a lot of folks were calling for Alshon Jeffery. Upshaw was a very solid safe pick without much upside.

This year the Ravens should be able to grab one of Ebron, Evans or Lee at 16. I hope they grab one of those guys.

**BmoreBrawla** · 12-30-2013, 11:21 AM

Ozzie is a gunslinger and takes gambles. Usually at the expense of the offense, correct. Its worked for him so I cant be too critical.

**Tucker: M&T Sec 527** · 12-30-2013, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by dscola31

It's been shown that for the whole time the Ravens have been in Baltimore, that the team places a premium on defense while looking at the offense as an afterthought.

We go all out for blue chip defenders but will claim right player right price when it comes to offense. We just will not field an offensive team that can win games. we're still drafting projects in the 6th and 7th rounds and hoping they brak out because they're cheap.

I don't want to hear that right player right price BS this off-season. If Ozzie doesn't see that the offense should be a priority this year, I doubt he ever will. How many offensive skill players have we drafted in the first 3 rounds of the draft since Flacco's been our QB?

That's part of it right there
Flacco just finished his 6th year, it took maybe 3 years to recognize he was a "franchise QB," a ring and 2 more to pay him like one. I submit the possibility of stocking an offense around skill players (e.g Rice, Flacco) is still a relatively new concept in Ravens' football, and one that our recent run of success (AFCG appearances in 3 of Flacco's 1st five seasons) has provided relatively high early round draft positions. Top shelf FAs who are likely immediate offensive impacts are expensive (perhaps more so than similarly desireable defensive FAs?) Dumervil, the only flashy defensive signing from the outside in recent memory was thanks to availability from a Denver SNAFU. Maybe the later round, "on the cheap" drafting, a side effect in part of good team finishes, might be better suited to finding defensive players still high on the draft board?

**GaTechRavens** · 12-30-2013, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by bt12483

The league has been so far skewed to offense that it reduces the incentive to have a defensive mindset...which is exactly what the league wants. Points. They want to foster a fantasy football in real life environment. Not to say you should ignore defense, but to ignore offense in this timeframe of the current NFL is basically rebell against the system. It is a QB/WR league now. Sadly.

Not true. The fact that more points are being scored doesn't make it less important to have a good defense. With the exception of Denver, there is a nearly perfect correlation between scoring defense and a team's overall record this year. Defense is still quite critical to a team's success, and the results prove it.

**pslholder96** · 12-30-2013, 03:08 PM

I think the Front office recognize the value of an offense spearheaded by a potential franchise QB 5 years ago when they did some wheeling and dealing in the 2008 draft to nab Flacco. Since then the track records speaks for itself. They traded for Boldin and went tight end heavy in the 2010 draft.
I think the problem is that they've been slow to adjust but at the same time you still need a defense that can slow down a lot of these high powered offenses. I still believe that defense wins championships but an opportunistic and efficient offense can get you there as well.