Well we went and pissed off deCosta

[Rygar64]

When your list of best wide receivers ever drafted consists of Torrey Smith and—I'm not even sure who qualifies as second. Hollywood Brown?—the critics have a point.

Still, I am willing to give them a chance to show me what they have in Brown, Duvernay and Proche. I can muster some optimism. There are those who argue that Boykin is a good receiver and they just haven't given him a chance. I'm less optimistic there is merit to this claim, but I'm willing to wait and see.

There are those who are less optimistic than me, and who will take any opportunity to criticize. They will cite the years of shitty receiver drafts. I can see how that gets under EDC's skin.

There is nothing he can do now about Devard Darling, Travis Taylor, Breshad Perriman, etc. Bitching about it now is kind of pointless. And if he feels like they have some talent in the three I mentioned, then let them prove it. If in January he's proven wrong, then we can lay into him.

That said, there is an argument I have been hearing that is starting to get under my skin. That argument is that EDC is full of crap when he says he likes the guys he has, and we know this because he tried to give Smith-Schuster $12MM to come here, so the argument goes (it was $9.5MM with incentives, but okay).

Going after JJSS doesn't say a whole lot about the faith we should have in the current WR room. Nor did signing Watkins. Why? Because they let three receivers go: Snead, Moore and Bryant. Making offers to free agents tells us what they think of those three, not what they think of Brown, Duverney, Proche and Boykin. They want better options across the board and will let the chips fall where they may...but only after making good bets.

It's no different than the situation at OLB. If they sign Houston, does that mean they think Ferguson and Bowser suck...or does it mean they think they need to replace Judon, Ngakoue and Ward, starting with Houston and a draft pick in all likelihood.

Same on the o-line. They let Skura and Fluker go. Signing Zeitler says more about how they feel about them than how they feel about Phillips, Bredesen, Powers and Mekari.

The point is that the WR position is no different than any other position where they look to build the best group possible.

What makes the WR room different is that it has been lacking elite talent for years, outside of a few veteran signings, and people are weary of it. I get it. But EDC is rightfully annoyed for inheriting sins of the father. I guess the honeymoon is over.

So true. It is truly the longest running sitcom in Ravens history. I have wished for many years that they could finally get it right and draft and develop a legit #1 that puts up 4 or more years of consistency and shatters every receiving record we have(won't be hard, lol). Just so folks could finally see it and experience it and for the love of everything holy, stop complaining about it.

EDC has made mostly great moves and draft picks. A few mistakes as well. But there never was a honeymoon phase on WR. He inherited the albatross and will wear it around his neck until something drastic happens to change it.

[Rygar64]

Force the Ravens to pass in the playoffs and the #1 offense is watching from home the next week because they do not have the passing game or players at wide receiver to make a difference.

I mostly agree...but I think the inability of the offense to adapt and overcome has more to do with the OLine and scheme and playcalling than it has to do with talent at the WR position. Although I guess the argument could be made that if you simply can't improve the pass blocking and scheme, having a Julio or Deandre type that you can just throw the ball in their general direction could be the answer.

[PGCountyRaven85]

That would be tough to take. I think Toney is a good prospect but he's completely wrong for the Ravens. He's a taller version of Hollywood Brown. Could they play together effectively? I just don't see it. I'd love Toney on the Vikings or the Saints or WFT and would honestly be a little worried if he ended up on the Browns. Not the Ravens unless he was replacing Hollywood.

Dude is a playmaker...he's like the same size as Bateman...much higher upside.

[QtR Nevermore]

Force the Ravens to pass in the playoffs and the #1 offense is watching from home the next week because they do not have the passing game or players at wide receiver to make a difference.

The #1 regular season offense has been watching the playoffs from home the next week 3 games out of 4. Based on offensive output it should have been 4 out of 4. The only reasons the Ravens beat Tennessee were a stellar defensive performance and one great Lamar run.

People who say, "Fix the O Line and the playoff woes will be over" are speculating just as much as those who say that better receiver play is the answer. We're all guessing at this stage.

I tend to be on the 'we need WRs' side of it. I think the offensive system itself is limited and that any team can stop the Ravens if they really dedicate themselves to doing so. I base that on the quality of defenses that have shut the Ravens down in the playoffs. None of them were particularly good.
I'm not saying change the whole system. Just add a better passing game.

The counter-argument would be to ask why the Ravens offense has been so successful in the regular season? I have to admit I don't know he answer to that. My guess would be that the Ravens offense is such an outlier that teams don't want to take themselves out of their rhythm to focus on just one game to that extent. Maybe that will continue next year but I think it's going to change in 21.

I expect divisional opponents at least to follow the playoff defensive blueprint against the Ravens. There's now twice as much evidence as before that it can hold the Ravens to around 13 points per game.

[Terpsfan82]

The #1 regular season offense has been watching the playoffs from home the next week 3 games out of 4. Based on offensive output it should have been 4 out of 4. The only reasons the Ravens beat Tennessee were a stellar defensive performance and one great Lamar run.

People who say, "Fix the O Line and the playoff woes will be over" are speculating just as much as those who say that better receiver play is the answer. We're all guessing at this stage.

I tend to be on the 'we need WRs' side of it. I think the offensive system itself is limited and that any team can stop the Ravens if they really dedicate themselves to doing so. I base that on the quality of defenses that have shut the Ravens down in the playoffs. None of them were particularly good.
I'm not saying change the whole system. Just add a better passing game.

The counter-argument would be to ask why the Ravens offense has been so successful in the regular season? I have to admit I don't know he answer to that. My guess would be that the Ravens offense is such an outlier that teams don't want to take themselves out of their rhythm to focus on just one game to that extent. Maybe that will continue next year but I think it's going to change in 21.

I expect divisional opponents at least to follow the playoff defensive blueprint against the Ravens. There's now twice as much evidence as before that it can hold the Ravens to around 13 points per game.

But, (sigh) see my sig.

[Terpsfan82]

DeCosta's petulant reply to a consensus of opinions about the WR development was disturbing to me. As a 'bridesmaid' to Ozzie for two decades, you'd think he would be more humble. It's that cocky attitude that has the Ravens in this predicament... When a teams claim of fame over the past twenty five seasons has been veteran WR's Mason, Boldin and Smith Sr. with a few decent contributions from others over the years it says a lot. Sure we have had a Defensive Reputation, that's understandable. But in an NFL age where passing rules are clearly favoring the wideouts and the game is wide open, the Ravens have failed at epic levels. It's only year 3 of the DeCosta rule, but is he going to me known for the Earl Thomas, Yannick Ngakogue moves? or the Marcus Peters and the complete retooling of the 2019 Defense in Mid Season (His best work in my opinion) Bynes, Fort, Ellis, Peko, Ward. The last two drafts are too recent to see the true value. But 2020 was clearly a better haul. Favorite player from that draft is Justin Madubuike.

See my sig.

[xiao_ke]

But, (sigh) see my sig.

It's not even about radically changing the offense either. It's getting the passing game improved enough that when opposing defenses sell out to stop the rushing attack the passing game can actually respond.

The running game is going to be the offense's strong suit for a long time, but the problem is the Ravens have veered into Navy territory, where the only thing the offense can do is run the ball.

[TIGERBLOOD]

Eric and the staff have made organizational and philosophical decisions that have led to the best offense in the NFL since Lamar has been the QB.

If they thought WR was “Thee” problem or even a “major” problem they would have used more resources to address it.

Even from the outset he said that “it’s not all about having a #1 WR”

Naturally he has faith in the WRs, the passing game has been above average precisely because of the offense approach.

And the young WRs haven’t even really had the opportunity to make a volume driven impact because again it’s a low volume passing offense by *choice*. They have chosen a path that led to being the best offense since since he and Lamar took the helm.

They’re not judging the WRs through the same criterion as media/fans.

With that being said there is still a need for improvement and if a WR is the BPA at any point in the draft they’re absolutely going to take one.

I hear what you're saying, but the issue becomes a catch-22. Your young guys will never improve if they don't get the volume of targets. You are then in a situation where when you absolutely have to pass you are left relying on mostly inexperienced receivers to make plays. This is why I mentioned earlier that in this offense you absolutely better have a stud #1 receiver that can take over games when you need them. Is Hollywood that guy?

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[Terpsfan82]

It's not even about radically changing the offense either. It's getting the passing game improved enough that when opposing defenses sell out to stop the rushing attack the passing game can actually respond.

The running game is going to be the offense's strong suit for a long time, but the problem is the Ravens have veered into Navy territory, where the only thing the offense can do is run the ball.

I just think they have gotten complacent. You hear it all the time in Corporate America - the biggest enemy of great, is good.

[WrongBaldy]

Damn so the hype for deon Cain is over????

[Ortizer]

Or more time to run the wrong route.

Look at it as time to course correct

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[ursula]

Bitchy Decosta is best Decosta.