Would we have made it to the playoffs with Boldin

**houstonravensfan** · 01-12-2014, 11:48 PM

"What if" is pointless.

However, did you watch the game today?

We were robbed. 6th rounder for Boldin?

We lost more than stats. He "played like a Raven." NO ONE on the O brings the toughness and attitude that WAS what represented the Raven's toughness.

He's gone. Won't be back. But looking FORWARD, we need to replace his toughness and Raven's attitude.

**AirFlacco** · 01-13-2014, 12:08 AM

Ravens were lucky to get a 6th for him and the only reason they got that was because John HARBs called his brother Jim
and asked for it. The best they had was a 7th from Minn, I think, after they lost Harvin. JOhn said the numbers just don't work out for us and Jim said I'll go tell Trent right away and they jumped at the 6th but it was only because they were brothers. Thank the Lord for the little things.

**TheRockDoctor** · 01-13-2014, 12:28 AM

Originally Posted by Mista T

Easily the worst front office move in the 18 seasons of Ravens football. Ravens would have not just made the playoffs had Anquan remained on the team, but likely would have had a 1st round bye and possibly been hosting a playoff game today.

No. Boldin certainly would have helped, but he was not taking us from out of the playoffs to a 1st round bye by himself. There were way too many other issues on this team.

**Ravenalytics** · 01-13-2014, 01:20 AM

Receivers look a lot better with a strong run game, outstanding O-line, and QB who is a threat to run.

**AirFlacco** · 01-13-2014, 02:13 AM

Originally Posted by TheRockDoctor

No. Boldin certainly would have helped, but he was not taking us from out of the playoffs to a 1st round bye by himself. There were way too many other issues on this team.

A lot of guys forget that D last year gave up almost 500 yards in the SB after blowing the huge lead after half time. Had
we kept that D and Boldin Ravens would have won about 2 or 3 games. We gave up 75 pts the last two games after
improving the D with Boldin's money and HARBs still had the team in the PO hunt the last week of the season, at
least mathematically til we lost in Cinci and SD won. We wouldn't have been close with last year's D. Ravens still
came within 6 points of going to the playoffs this year.

**BIGBALL** · 01-13-2014, 08:43 AM

Lets not forget one other thing... how much bitching did we do about Boldin underperforming, and the coaching staff not using him correctly during the regular season over the last few years?? Now all of a sudden he would have saved the season? No, I think the Ravens offensive line issues and play calling ineptitude doomed the team this year. But I would say with Boldin maybe we win 1 more game, and at least sneak into the play-offs. We'll never know.
I would have to admit though, I was not happy when they couldn't find a way to keep Boldin.

**RavenScallywag** · 01-13-2014, 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by mrfactoid

I think we may have converted more than 5 3rd and 7's. No doubt it was a mistake, he was the epitomy of a Raven, tough, hard nosed, and clutch. I think Harbs pulled the trigger on that one and if we tank again next season that may be the move that moves him along. He was the toughness and attitude on offense that was never replaced.

I love how everyone continues to think Harbs usurps power for personnel decisions from Ozzie.

Ozzie wasn't going to extend Boldin. 1 year rental or a 6th round pick. They wanted the pick over the 1 year rental.

End of story.

**JAB1985** · 01-13-2014, 09:42 AM

he had 8 good games and 8 games where he pretty much disappeared. sounds like 8-8 to me especially if we dont have some of those defensive players. spears and huff you can say were a waste, but that cap room gave us more than just them. canty, doom, and smith arent on this team, theyre probably not 8-8 with or without him.

Pitta plays all year, we likely get another win or two. KO doesnt get hurt that probably helps the run game and Ol a lot more. Those 2 hurt more collectively than whether boldin was here or not here, imo.

same team, with boldin, he probably helps more than he hurts, but we wouldnt have the same team if he were here. catch 22.

**bmorecareful** · 01-13-2014, 10:50 AM

I am absolutely HOWLING... HOWLING with laughter that anybody could find themselves STILL on the wrong side of this debate, especially if they're on the wrong side for the wrong reasons. If you needed anymore proof that a person can believe absolutely ANYTHING as long as they want to enough, despite all evidence to the contrary, this thread is it.

If you think letting go of Boldin was a good move, I believe you're wrong, but you might be wrong for the right reasons. Maybe you think it was a sound move fiscally, part of a smart youth movement, and it backfired because of injuries to other key players and whatnot. Maybe you think it was a good move because it freed up cap space to bring in guys like Dumervil and D. Smith. IMO those arguments don't hold a ton of water, and they've been comprehensively dismantled in the past, but they're at least not outright LAUGHABLE arguments, so I won't rehash them again.

But if you believe that letting go of Boldin was a good move because he wasn't actually all that good of a player anyway, and he wouldn't have helped that much if at all this year, you have NO credibility left with me on this board. You are evidently deathly allergic to reality. Boldin was the 49ers' MVP this past season and every single piece of evidence--statistics, eyeball test, whatever--absolutely supports that notion. How in the world would he not have helped us this year? And don't give me the "well Marlon Brown wouldn't have made the team" nonsense because Marlon Brown was already #3 on the depth chart after the first day of cut downs, so he would have been the #4 after Boldin/Smith/Jones.

For those saying "you can't play the what if game with Boldin..."; here is the problem. We SAW what Boldin did in last year's playoff run IN THIS OFFENSE. Then we saw Boldin go to San Francisco and do ALL THE SAME THINGS: making contested catches even with ZERO separation; moving the chains on 3rd down; scoring red zone TDs; and just flat out DOMINATING the game at times. There is no WHAT IF with Anquan Boldin because there is an unbroken chain of evidence between what he did last year, what he did this year, and what we DID NOT HAVE WITHOUT HIM.

**wickedsolo** · 01-13-2014, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by bmorecareful

I am absolutely HOWLING... HOWLING with laughter that anybody could find themselves STILL on the wrong side of this debate, especially if they're on the wrong side for the wrong reasons. If you needed anymore proof that a person can believe absolutely ANYTHING as long as they want to enough, despite all evidence to the contrary, this thread is it.

If you think letting go of Boldin was a good move, I believe you're wrong, but you might be wrong for the right reasons. Maybe you think it was a sound move fiscally, part of a smart youth movement, and it backfired because of injuries to other key players and whatnot. Maybe you think it was a good move because it freed up cap space to bring in guys like Dumervil and D. Smith. IMO those arguments don't hold a ton of water, and they've been comprehensively dismantled in the past, but they're at least not outright LAUGHABLE arguments, so I won't rehash them again.

But if you believe that letting go of Boldin was a good move because he wasn't actually all that good of a player anyway, and he wouldn't have helped that much if at all this year, you have NO credibility left with me on this board. You are evidently deathly allergic to reality. Boldin was the 49ers' MVP this past season and every single piece of evidence--statistics, eyeball test, whatever--absolutely supports that notion. How in the world would he not have helped us this year? And don't give me the "well Marlon Brown wouldn't have made the team" nonsense because Marlon Brown was already #3 on the depth chart after the first day of cut downs, so he would have been the #4 after Boldin/Smith/Jones.

For those saying "you can't play the what if game with Boldin..."; here is the problem. We SAW what Boldin did in last year's playoff run IN THIS OFFENSE. Then we saw Boldin go to San Francisco and do ALL THE SAME THINGS: making contested catches even with ZERO separation; moving the chains on 3rd down; scoring red zone TDs; and just flat out DOMINATING the game at times. There is no WHAT IF with Anquan Boldin because there is an unbroken chain of evidence between what he did last year, what he did this year, and what we DID NOT HAVE WITHOUT HIM.

:word

**alienrace** · 01-13-2014, 11:05 AM

Honestly, I don't think we'd even have been 8-8 if we kept Boldin.

Boldin doesn't play offensive line, running back, or safety, the three areas where the Ravens had significant weakness. Sure, if you put Boldin in the lineup, the offense *would* have been a bit better, and maybe we convert a few more 3rd downs, but with no time to throw, and facing an enormous amount of 3rd and longs, I don't think his impact would have been that substantial.

Retaining Boldin would also have meant no Elvis Dumerville, no Darryl Smith, no Chris Canty. And no, those arguments have *not* been dismantled. If you think our defense would have been as good without those players, I'm sorry. Did Dumerville and Canty play to expectations? No, they did not, but Smith exceeded them, and overall the defense *was* better than last year.

Our defense would have been worse, and our offense would have been *marginally* better with Boldin still on the roster. As good as he *still* is, he is pretty useless in an offense where the QB has to constantly dodge oncoming pass rushers as soon as the ball is snapped. Hell, having Calvin Johnson wouldn't have made much difference. I don't know the official "time to throw" stats for Joe this year, but it had to be in the 1.5 second range, probably half of what Tom Brady or Peyton Manning had this year.