So, any OL doubters turning into believers now?

[Terpsfan82]

the FO and harbaugh mostly need to stop bullshittin, Mckinney back at LT and put Oher back at RT slide KO to LG. fuck all this dog house shit we need to put flacco in a better position, this shit right here aint cutting it, fuckin harbaugh is a stubborn mule!

This. As long as we're winning, no one cares about the doghouse. But when the losses start piling up there needs to be an intervention.

[wickedsolo]

Ahh...the doghouse.

[iggyman555]

birk is a joke, QBs hate pressure up the middle

[Bhcforlife]

They aren't going to put McKinnie in at this point. That ship has sailed. If they were going to do it, it'd be done by now. That should have been done weeks ago, to start the season to be honest, they have to live with it now. It will be three hours of pure comedy watching Oher try to block Von Miller and Jason Pierre Paul, and Birk try to block Geno Atkins.

The thing that concerns me the most is that there are no reinforcements, as has been mentioned. McKinnie, Birk, and Williams are almost certainly not going to be here next year. Harewood probably won't be either. Nobody knows if Gradkowski is going to be good or not. They have literally nobody else in the wings and that is troubling.

I'm hoping next year, the line is ???-Osemele-Gradkowski-Yanda-Oher, think that is an improvement, but the ??? just happens to be at the most critical position on the offensive line. WickedSolo, I know you are a draft guy, now that the collegiate season is done, what kind of LTs are going to be out there in the draft this year that the Ravens could have a reasonable shot at and could come in and play right away?

[AirFlacco]

Me thinks Ozzie will live and die with Oher at left tackle, mostly die,, and he'll give him a big pay day to boot. That was the intent ever since he turned in the card. You know, the Blind Side Guy. ILMAO.

Back to Gino the Giant, he wouldn't have done any better vs that pressure last night.

[CptJesus]

Am I the only person who feels like the o-line played absolutely fine last night? No QB should have the expectation of 5+ seconds in the pocket. Flacco's pocket awareness was terrible, but the o-line sure as hell gave him plenty of time.

[Haloti92]

Am I the only person who feels like the o-line played absolutely fine last night? No QB should have the expectation of 5+ seconds in the pocket. Flacco's pocket awareness was terrible, but the o-line sure as hell gave him plenty of time.

I wouldn't say it played very well, but it was nowhere near the abomination people seem to claim. People have a very distorted view of how other teams/games in the NFL look and it leads them to think stuff they are watching in our games is "unique" in some way.

There are many teams, and several good teams, that have undeniably and by far worse OL performances than us week in and week out (watch Romo or Rodgers running for their lives 4 out of 5 plays every game). Teams that have 3rd stringers at multiple positions, or are signing guys off the street who play the same week.

Our O-line is average at worst. And it played like an average O-line would play against the Steelers. It also has it a bit harder than other O-lines in that our OC and QB team up to create a situation where the other team knows our plays and knows we won't be getting rid of the ball quickly for the most part.

[wickedsolo]

I'm hoping next year, the line is ???-Osemele-Gradkowski-Yanda-Oher, think that is an improvement, but the ??? just happens to be at the most critical position on the offensive line. WickedSolo, I know you are a draft guy, now that the collegiate season is done, what kind of LTs are going to be out there in the draft this year that the Ravens could have a reasonable shot at and could come in and play right away?

Luke Joeckel seems to be the consensus #1 LT prospect right now (Texas A&M). He's good, but I think the lack of OT's in this draft will push his stock up higher than what it would "normally" be (whatever normal is...).

There are a lot of good guard prospects in this draft, so if they're not liking the LG spot, this would be a good draft to pull from.

Some potential LT prospects...

Jake Matthews, Texas A&M (6'5" 310lbs) - Started at RT for the Aggies. Very athletic. Daddy is a HOF'er.
Barrett Jones, Alabama (6'5" 315lbs) - Starting C for the Crimson Tide. Has played every position on the OL. Solid player. Safe pick. Better center prospect than Peter Konz, IMO.
Taylor Lewan, Michigan (6'8" 300lbs) - in that Sebastian Vollmer/Ryan Kalil build. Could go pretty high. Nice athleticism for his size.
Dallas Thomas, Tennessee (6'5" 310lbs) - Started at LT for the Vols. Moved down to LG and has done well.
Jordan Pugh, Syracuse (6'6" 305lbs) - Nice footwork as a pass blocker. Not overly strong though. Could be a nice mid round pick.
Eric Fisher, Central Michigan (6'8" 307lbs) - Athletic, raw, and has a lot of upside. May go in the mid 1st round based on upside.
David Yankey, Stanford (6'5" 303lbs) - I think this guy is pretty underrated. He's a solid LT. More athletic than many give him credit for.
Oday Aboushi, Virginia (6'6" 310lbs) - UVA has been so-so, but Aboushi has always performed well. If he played for a better school he'd probably be a top 20 pick.

[The Fanatic]

I wouldn't say it played very well, but it was nowhere near the abomination people seem to claim. People have a very distorted view of how other teams/games in the NFL look and it leads them to think stuff they are watching in our games is "unique" in some way.

There are many teams, and several good teams, that have undeniably and by far worse OL performances than us week in and week out (watch Romo or Rodgers running for their lives 4 out of 5 plays every game). Teams that have 3rd stringers at multiple positions, or are signing guys off the street who play the same week.

Our O-line is average at worst. And it played like an average O-line would play against the Steelers. It also has it a bit harder than other O-lines in that our OC and QB team up to create a situation where the other team knows our plays and knows we won't be getting rid of the ball quickly for the most part.

Couldn't have said it any better.

Not great, but definitely acceptable.
Probably looked better then most lines do against the Steelers but we choose to run an offense that asks them to do more then they are capable of and not playing to their strengths.

That being said, they definitely have looked like crap some games, and some guys definitely have more trouble with various matchups they are asked to take on, but we choose to hope for the best in alot of these situations rather then plan accordingly to counter those deficiencies in those situations.

[Dirt1]

They aren't going to put McKinnie in at this point. That ship has sailed. If they were going to do it, it'd be done by now. That should have been done weeks ago, to start the season to be honest, they have to live with it now. It will be three hours of pure comedy watching Oher try to block Von Miller and Jason Pierre Paul, and Birk try to block Geno Atkins.

The thing that concerns me the most is that there are no reinforcements, as has been mentioned. McKinnie, Birk, and Williams are almost certainly not going to be here next year. Harewood probably won't be either. Nobody knows if Gradkowski is going to be good or not. They have literally nobody else in the wings and that is troubling.

I'm hoping next year, the line is ???-Osemele-Gradkowski-Yanda-Oher, think that is an improvement, but the ??? just happens to be at the most critical position on the offensive line. WickedSolo, I know you are a draft guy, now that the collegiate season is done, what kind of LTs are going to be out there in the draft this year that the Ravens could have a reasonable shot at and could come in and play right away?

All three players the Ravens have played at LG this year have been horrible. It boggles the mind how Harbaugh could think that any of those three players are better OL than McKinnie. You are correct though in saying that ship has sailed. The Ravens definately have to get a LT either through the draft or in FA. I am also not sold on Gradkowski being the Center of the future for the Ravens. They need to sign a veteran to hold down the fort for 1-2 years until they can develop a Center. If the Ravens have to pay Flacco $15 million to franchise tag him, that won't leave a lot of money to fill all of the holes they have.

[iggyman555]

Luke Joeckel seems to be the consensus #1 LT prospect right now (Texas A&M). He's good, but I think the lack of OT's in this draft will push his stock up higher than what it would "normally" be (whatever normal is...).

There are a lot of good guard prospects in this draft, so if they're not liking the LG spot, this would be a good draft to pull from.

Some potential LT prospects...

Jake Matthews, Texas A&M (6'5" 310lbs) - Started at RT for the Aggies. Very athletic. Daddy is a HOF'er.
Barrett Jones, Alabama (6'5" 315lbs) - Starting C for the Crimson Tide. Has played every position on the OL. Solid player. Safe pick. Better center prospect than Peter Konz, IMO.
Taylor Lewan, Michigan (6'8" 300lbs) - in that Sebastian Vollmer/Ryan Kalil build. Could go pretty high. Nice athleticism for his size.
Dallas Thomas, Tennessee (6'5" 310lbs) - Started at LT for the Vols. Moved down to LG and has done well.
Jordan Pugh, Syracuse (6'6" 305lbs) - Nice footwork as a pass blocker. Not overly strong though. Could be a nice mid round pick.
Eric Fisher, Central Michigan (6'8" 307lbs) - Athletic, raw, and has a lot of upside. May go in the mid 1st round based on upside.
David Yankey, Stanford (6'5" 303lbs) - I think this guy is pretty underrated. He's a solid LT. More athletic than many give him credit for.
Oday Aboushi, Virginia (6'6" 310lbs) - UVA has been so-so, but Aboushi has always performed well. If he played for a better school he'd probably be a top 20 pick.

are there any offensive coordinators in the draft?

[AirFlacco]

Here are the power rankings for NFL o-lines for 2012. Ravens gave up 33 sacks
last year and have 26 this year with 4 games left.

Note the power rankings column for run and pass blocking.




http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol