Thoughts on 2015

**JCro** · 12-21-2014, 11:16 PM

Addressing the offseason needs.

There is still a chance that the Ravens make the playoffs, but I am going to be blunt. I do not think we will make it far if we do if the offense cannot handle pressure like today.

Today, was possibly the worst game I've ever seen the Ravens play. I am sure adjustments were made, but we as fans could not tell because Houston was wreaking havoc on joe all day. Yes, joe made some terrible plays, and seemed to expect pressure, but it's not all on him.

I am just so frustrated with this team, every year it seems we control our fate and we fail. We know the problems on defense, and yet they seem to have done their job. They held Houston to field goals, despite being on the field all game. Melvin looks to have potential which is optimistic because there is not much of that in the secondary.

The reason this loss hurts so much for me is because Houston not only took away the run, which is our strength, but punched us in the mouth all game long. The offensive line is supposed to be a strength, and flashbacks of 2013 and the Kyle boller era come to mind.

The receivers dropping the catchable balls that joe was able to get out. Receivers slipping on routes. I know it's not Torrey's fault but it is so frustrating none the less. Is it me or does he seem to slip more than others?

Houston takes top level pass rush prospects in the draft every year, and were even without clowney. We saw how good their defense, and namely watt can be. Props to them, they had a gameplan and we could not stop it simple as that.

For next season here are some thoughts:

QB: Flacco, Wenning/FA
Even after today I assure you that joe will still be with the team. He's a great QB, when given the chance to throw. Taylor is gone. Wenning is the backup, and we can only pray he has gotten better since preseason. If not we will sign a cheap FA

RB: Forsett, Tali, Pierce, Rookie.

Forsett: has earned a 2-3 yr deal, nothing crazy but up until these past two weeks no one would have argued this.
Tali has shown he can be a viable number two power back.

Pierce has 1 year left, he's cheap and there is no reason to cut him. Yet.

Unless Gurley or Gordon fall to us, we will most likely take a mid round guy.

Fb: Juice has improved all around now that he is finally seeing the field.

OL: Monroe,KO,Zuttah,Yanda,Wagner,Jensen, hurst, Gino, urschel

Monroe: is above average and usually gets the job done.
KO: is going to great.
Zuttah: is a huge improvement.
Yanda: is yanda.
Wagner: has been a great surprise.
Jensen: depends on if his sleep apnea is better, but good depth
Hurst: has potential but has a long way to go
Gino: is pure depth
Urschel: has been solid when given the chance, and been called the center of the future

TE: Daniels,Gilmore,rookie

Daniels:will probably be resigned to a cheap 1 or 2 year deal. He has been pretty reliable.
Gilmore: has some flashes as a receiver and is a quality blocker.

Pitta is a ? I assume he is done and we will eat his contract.

I expect a TE to be drafted early. I am iffy on Funchness, he can have the drops, and I do not know if I can take another TE who drops balls.

WR: Smith Sr.Brown,Aiken,Camp,Rookie,Rookie,Jacoby

Torrey: is gone, he does not seem to care anymore . He shows flashes of brilliance, then disappears or makes a bonehead drop.He's a little above average for a deep threat but that's all he is. Depends on how much he thinks he's worth.
Sr.: Will not get cut, I think he will retire anyway. I am tired of the dropped balls. I thought he was supposed to have reliable hands?

Aiken, and brown: Both have made most of their opportunities.

Camp: has shown what he can do if it were not for that damn hamstring.

Jacoby: contract pretty much makes him guaranteed. How about this Ravens, instead of overpaying a one trick pony to return kicks, draft a guy with some receiving AND return ability.

Butler was impressive but will suffer another mysterious injury or end up on the PS
Not expecting much from the PS guys

We have to draft a receiver early. I want justin hardy bad. He has some speed with wiggle and catches everything. He has great body adjustment, makes the contested catches, and fights for the ball. He is a natural hands catcher who snags the ball out of the air. I want him round 2. I want to double dip at receiver in the fourth or fifth.

Dline: B will, Jernigan, guy, urban, KLM, Tyson

Bwill: is flat out owning centers this year, he has been great.
Jernigan: is shutting a lot of posters up with his play. He makes ngata expendable in my opinion.
Guy: has been a great rotational player
KLM: I am hoping he will finally be able to get a chance to show what he can do.
Urban:same as KLM, tons of potential hoping he can stay on the field
Tyson: has been solid as a rotational player. He will be in the mold of art jones and McPhee to possibly price himself out of our range

Ngata:he has no leverage whatsoever, if he does not want an extension or restructure then see ya. You can see the passion is gone and just goes through the motion. Why else would you need to take adderall for focus? I will not be disappointed if he comes back because he can still be effective.
Canty:gone
Cody: gone finally

LB/OLB: Mosley, Suggs,Doom, Upshaw, A.Brown,McPhee, Orr,Mclellan

Mosley: great future ahead of this guy
Suggs,Doom: great 1,2 punch off the edge
Upshaw: great against the run and setting the edge. Doesn't get much love for lack of pass rush but he is a big part of the defense
A.Brown: he will finally get on the field and stay there. He will take over for D.Smith who has slowed down quite a bit. I think the team felt he needed time to grow. We'll see
McPhee: the Ravens have to find a way to keep him, he will not get as much as art jones but it may be more than we can afford. I still think he stays
Orr,Mclellan: strictly ST.
D.Smith: will probably be back due to contract

CB: J.Smith,Webb,Melvin,Jackson, 1 of current FA signings, Rookie, FA

J.Smith: ahh why did he have to go down, he was having a breakout season!
Webb: looks to be getting back to where he was, something needs to be done about his contract or bye bye
Melvin: great potential, held his own two weeks in a row
Jackson: made of glass but is on rookie contract, potential is there
FA's: I think if Cason is up to speed and plays well he will be the one to get signed
Rookie: need one early, period
FA: if none of the stopgaps make it I expect a cut vet or a decent pickup. This secondary is atrocious

S: Hill, Miles, Elam,Brooks

Hill: has the skills just needs to put it together, having better corners will help
Miles: has been a pleasant surprise
Elam: how does he go from someone with potential in his rookie season to someone who's never played before? Rookie contract, first round pick
Brooks: he has the physical tools, once he gets the playbook down and can react instead of thinking he could be a good one

K: tucker duh. Have to resign him
P: Koch been solid but today was bad bro. Not worth the money deuces

Overall this team has a lot of talent. It is games like today that make us fans forget that. The offense this year is usually consistent. The offense needs a number receiver, and youth at TE. The front seven has been great this season, with a lot of production coming from first and second year players. The secondary is the number one priority, and Ozzie will address it through the draft or FA or a cut vet. The Ravens have three holes on a otherwise very talented team. If the Ravens can address the most glaring issues this can be a dangerous and balanced team.

Your thoughts?

**Rave_NY** · 12-21-2014, 11:25 PM

Am I the only one that thinks Torrey takes a really cheap deal and stays here? He clearly cares more about his family then chasing money, I could see him not wanting to uproot everyone and stick around. and If we resign jacoby jones, there's no reason we wouldn't sign torrey if the price is right.

**wickedsolo** · 12-21-2014, 11:28 PM

Don't care if they keep Torrey or not, they need a fucking receiver that catches more than 50% of the passes thrown his way - consistently - and who can go up and get it in contested situations.

**JCro** · 12-21-2014, 11:29 PM

I think the common consensus is that Torrey is an above average deep threat. He can do some other things than just run a go route but it's limited. Torrey is going to want more money than many here including myself think he is worth. Personally, I am tired of the drops, and bonehead plays. He can turn it on and be unstoppable, but that is few and far between the bad plays. If he will take a decent contract then sure welcome back, but for what he is, a number 2 with inconsistent hands and routes he's not worth the money.

**JCro** · 12-21-2014, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

Don't care if they keep Torrey or not, they need a fucking receiver that catches more than 50% of the passes thrown his way - consistently - and who can go up and get it in contested situations.

This. This is what the team lacks the most. A number one receiver gets separation, has natural hands, and makes contested catches. Torrey does not do any of that. He's a good player but isn't the answer for the Ravens. I'm the Houston game today, a true number one reciever would have been able to get open, catch the high balls that joe had to throw off his back foot, and put th game on his back no matter the defensive scheme.

**Spider Webb** · 12-22-2014, 12:02 AM

We NEED someone like Demariyus Thomas/Jimmy Graham/Megatron etc. Flacco played terribly, but not a single receiver was able to help him out. I don't understand why Marlon doesn't play every snap. Just look to last week. Rodgers was atrocious against the Bills, but that touchdown bomb drop that Jordy had.....that was KILLER. Even to the all mighty powerful Aaron Rodgers.

**JCro** · 12-22-2014, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by Spider Webb

We NEED someone like Demariyus Thomas/Jimmy Graham/Megatron etc. Flacco played terribly, but not a single receiver was able to help him out. I don't understand why Marlon doesn't play every snap. Just look to last week. Rodgers was atrocious against the Bills, but that touchdown bomb drop that Jordy had.....that was KILLER. Even to the all mighty powerful Aaron Rodgers.

Like the multiple touchdown drops Torrey has had this season alone. I agree. We need to take a chance and draft a guy to build with joe. That guy needs to have consistent hands, make the tough catches, and be a threat on every play. Torrey does not do that, sr does not any more. Why they do not give marlon more chances I'll never know but at least he catches everything that comes his way more times than not

**ravenjoe** · 12-22-2014, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

Don't care if they keep Torrey or not, they need a fucking receiver that catches more than 50% of the passes thrown his way - consistently - and who can go up and get it in contested situations.

Ditto here; it's probably just my opinion, but Torrey plays SOFT ... sorry, I love the guy, but his play is certainly not physical.

**CopRaven** · 12-22-2014, 03:31 AM

Webb has really played well these past three weeks. Before that I thought they should cut him, but now I think they should keep him one more year.

**PerpetuallyBored74** · 12-22-2014, 04:04 AM

I think we keep Canty as insurance for KLM & Urban not being ready for camp, because I think we lose McPhee, Cody and Ngata. I think Torrey gets overpaid like Wallace did by a clueless front office that sees that he has 10 TDs (mostly in garbage time situations) unless he's willing to take less to stay here. I expect them to cut Jacoby for cap savings + he'll be the wrong side of 29. I think Butler is next year's Aiken, much like Aiken has been this year's M. Brown (but with less of an impact than Brown last year). I still hope we draft 2 WRs and that one is a legit #1, not a 2 masquerading as one. Of course, I was hoping that was going to happen with this year's draft after we got Kubiak. I expect us to keep Pitta because cutting him kills our cap even more. If he can't play, he goes on IR. Both Brooks and Jackson suffered brutal knee injuries towards the end of this season. Neither will be recovered in time for next year's camp. We'll need to draft a safety and CB again as Elam will remain awful, then cross our fingers that Hill stays off the chronic (or at least has gotten smarter about getting caught). I like Miles as a ST guy who isn't a complete liability at safety, unlike Stewart who is nearly as awful as Elam. Also like Levine's versatility as a S/emergency CB, good depth. Which leaves Trawick as the odd man out among those 3. If we draft a pass rusher, than either McClellan or Orr is gone, as I don't see Ozzie wanting to lose another John Simon trying to stash him on the practice squad. I see an open competition between Koch and a rookie, whoever wins stays. Smith Sr. and Daniels will both return for what will be their final NFL seasons.

**GOTA** · 12-22-2014, 06:57 AM

Originally Posted by Rave_NY

Am I the only one that thinks Torrey takes a really cheap deal and stays here? He clearly cares more about his family then chasing money, I could see him not wanting to uproot everyone and stick around. and If we resign jacoby jones, there's no reason we wouldn't sign torrey if the price is right.

Torrey certainly hasn't looked like a player on a contract year. He has caught double digit TD passes which may get him some interest on the market but every other number is down. It is possible that he signs a 1 year prove it type deal like so many others are doing in the NFL

**Bhcforlife** · 12-22-2014, 07:41 AM

The only way I want Torrey back is if a) the contract is reasonable and b) they draft or otherwise acquire someone who is or is capable of becoming the top end receiver the team desperately needs and has needed for years.

I think Webb has played well enough lately and there are so many other concerns in the secondary that he can stay if they can work something out.

Secondary wise, they have to find an answer at SS. Hill seems to be ok and I think will be better with a full offseason and such. I think if you bring back Webb and Jimmy returns to health, that's a good 1-2 as long as they can stay healthy, which as we saw this year isn't something you can for sure count on. No faith in Asa, ok player when healthy but he's never healthy, not a guy you can rely on. Melvin looks ok, probably fine as a #3/#4 CB.

Honestly, I think the team when healthy is pretty good, especially defensively. They would already have a playoff spot and probably division locked up if Jimmy hadn't gotten hurt - they probably don't lose to the Bengals and Chargers if he's healthy and that Steeler game is much closer - but that is just how it goes. Just have to hope that guys don't get hurt in 2015 at the rate they did this year. I don't think wholesale changes are necessary, but they do have a few glaring needs that have to be addressed.