The Fall of The Ravens Empire

[QtR Nevermore]

ZINGGGGG!

Yay. Someone liked my Edward Gibbon joke. I should have known it'd be you.

[GOTA]

The Patriots sure looked like the empire that's fallen. First of all in NFL terms they actually were an empire while the Ravens are at best a kingdom. Secondly, that beating last night was the worst playoff loss of Belichick's career and he's played in more playoff games than any coach ever. Now that's a fall

[QtR Nevermore]

The Patriots sure looked like the empire that's fallen. First of all in NFL terms they actually were an empire while the Ravens are at best a kingdom. Secondly, that beating last night was the worst playoff loss of Belichick's career and he's played in more playoff games than any coach ever. Now that's a fall

I think it will turn out to be more of a stumble, sadly.

[ravensfan7716]

You mean the same guys that went 5 - 11 the year prior to him arriving ? ....................and we should grade him only from 2013 so as to fit your narrative because you don't like him ? Let's ignore he went 11 - 5 and advanced to the Conference Championship as a rookie head coach with a rookie QB in 2008. We'll also ignore his making the postseason in 9 of his 14 seasons while also winning a Super Bowl. While we're at it, let's ignore his 148 - 96 (.609) coaching record which is the 14th highest winning percentage all time and 11 - 8 (.579) post season coaching record. Yeah, you're right, ignoring all that I'm convinced, he sucks. LOL

The 2007 team offensively was atrocious. The defense was still decent that year but horrible QB play, fumbling and interceptions and three different QBS derailed that entire season.

So that is what plagued that year as a team or it would probably have been better if Steve Mcnair career did not fall off a cliff over night.

I think its easy, you should grade Harbaugh on the roster he was responsible for building from the ground up which was 2013- present.
He did not win without a stellar roster from 2013-2018. He started winning again when lamar came in.

You wanted to state all those wins, most of them came from 2008-2012 and then 2018-present. All of those years he either had hall of fame defensive players or an MVP QB.

Lamar is an incredible talent. This team shows it can win with him consistently. It has also shown without him so far they cannot.

If he needs a superior roster to win consistently that tells me he is not a very good coach. Not every coach who has won a superbowl was responsible for developing and building their entire Roster. Ironically John gruden won a superbowl with Tampa after being traded from the Raiders which was the very team he just came from. He inherited a really good roster too similar to Harbaugh.

[s.r.genovese]

I think it will turn out to be more of a stumble, sadly.

Nah. Mac is a nice rookie QB but his ceiling is not very high. As long as he is the QB they will be limited.

[simplesimon]

I'm more interested in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire at the moment.

Nah!! Just like the Romans survived Attila and his hordes. The Ravens will bounce back strong with Lamar and Binjimen Victor leading the team to redzone touchdowns!!!!!!

[balbomb]

This whole article feels like the equivalent of spoiled rich kid whining about how he only got a BMW 4 series coupe instead of the Z4 Roadster.
Seriously, I get this organization is far far from perfect but lets get real here, we are a damn lucky fan base if we are being honest.
Yea we have not been the BEST organization in the NFL the past 5-7 years but we have certainly been in the top 20% when you look at the complete body of work. A trophy would be nice for sure. Since one is given out a year, that cannot be the only measure a sensible organization and/or fan bases uses to judge a teams success.
There are legit points made in this article that are used to support a conclusion that is just not true.

100%. The goal is to give yourself as many chances as possible to win a superbowl. We were playing in an era with 2 of the top 5 qbs of all time in the AFC and a first ballot hall of fame scumbag in our own division. 2000 we were the best team and we won, 2012 we gave ourselves a chance and won. There were also other years where I felt like we had better teams than the 2012 version and just things didn't fall. The small sample size of the playoffs will certainly not insure the best team wins, but you need to give yourself a chance at winning every year. I think despite flaws, the Ravens are one of the 5 organizations that have given the teams the best opportunities to win in the last 25 years. The fact that we don't have a hall of fame qb makes us singularly unique in the league. Bottom line, we are mostly spoiled by having one of the better organizations and owners in sports.

[John Morris]

The 2007 team offensively was atrocious. The defense was still decent that year but horrible QB play, fumbling and interceptions and three different QBS derailed that entire season.

So that is what plagued that year as a team or it would probably have been better if Steve Mcnair career did not fall off a cliff over night.

I think its easy, you should grade Harbaugh on the roster he was responsible for building from the ground up which was 2013- present.
He did not win without a stellar roster from 2013-2018. He started winning again when lamar came in.

You wanted to state all those wins, most of them came from 2008-2012 and then 2018-present. All of those years he either had hall of fame defensive players or an MVP QB.

Lamar is an incredible talent. This team shows it can win with him consistently. It has also shown without him so far they cannot.

If he needs a superior roster to win consistently that tells me he is not a very good coach. Not every coach who has won a superbowl was responsible for developing and building their entire Roster. Ironically John gruden won a superbowl with Tampa after being traded from the Raiders which was the very team he just came from. He inherited a really good roster too similar to Harbaugh.

Newsflash...............ALL great coaches need "superior rosters" to be great coaches. Your hate for Harbaugh opens up your argument that he gets penalized and zero credit when he has talented rosters and it's all on him when the rosters are less talented. It's a self fulfilling prophecy to fit your narrative. He's won many games with a less than "superior roster". Hell, I'd argue winning 8 games with this year's roster was a big accomplishment. We get it, you hate Harbaugh but cherry picking facts to fit your narrative is obvious and comical. Belichick didn't win without a "superior roster", Vince Lombardi didn't win without a "superior roster", Andy Reid coached for decades before he won his first Super Bowl with a "superior roster". I always get a kick reading the multitude of Raven fans that always blame everything on coaching, it's as if players don't matter. Unless of course they're great leaders and then they matter because they're the reason for the success. It's an echo chamber that fits your position. Everything positive is player related in spite of Harbaugh and everything negative is Harbaugh related despite player lack of execution. It's a never ending cycle that defends your position.

[BcRaven]

Yay. Someone liked my Edward Gibbon joke. I should have known it'd be you.

QtR, I liked it to, but loba responded with his "ZINGGGGG! " post and I couldn't top that ... Bc

[Captain Silver]

Newsflash...............ALL great coaches need "superior rosters" to be great coaches. Your hate for Harbaugh opens up your argument that he gets penalized and zero credit when he has talented rosters and it's all on him when the rosters are less talented. It's a self fulfilling prophecy to fit your narrative. He's won many games with a less than "superior roster". Hell, I'd argue winning 8 games with this year's roster was a big accomplishment. We get it, you hate Harbaugh but cherry picking facts to fit your narrative is obvious and comical. Belichick didn't win without a "superior roster", Vince Lombardi didn't win without a "superior roster", Andy Reid coached for decades before he won his first Super Bowl with a "superior roster". I always get a kick reading the multitude of Raven fans that always blame everything on coaching, it's as if players don't matter. Unless of course they're great leaders and then they matter because they're the reason for the success. It's an echo chamber that fits your position. Everything positive is player related in spite of Harbaugh and everything negative is Harbaugh related despite player lack of execution. It's a never ending cycle that defends your position.

Facts man, facts.

[ThankyouArt!]

Newsflash...............ALL great coaches need "superior rosters" to be great coaches. Your hate for Harbaugh opens up your argument that he gets penalized and zero credit when he has talented rosters and it's all on him when the rosters are less talented. It's a self fulfilling prophecy to fit your narrative. He's won many games with a less than "superior roster". Hell, I'd argue winning 8 games with this year's roster was a big accomplishment. We get it, you hate Harbaugh but cherry picking facts to fit your narrative is obvious and comical. Belichick didn't win without a "superior roster", Vince Lombardi didn't win without a "superior roster", Andy Reid coached for decades before he won his first Super Bowl with a "superior roster". I always get a kick reading the multitude of Raven fans that always blame everything on coaching, it's as if players don't matter. Unless of course they're great leaders and then they matter because they're the reason for the success. It's an echo chamber that fits your position. Everything positive is player related in spite of Harbaugh and everything negative is Harbaugh related despite player lack of execution. It's a never ending cycle that defends your position.

Couldn't agree more.........The difference between a losing season and a 10 win season with a playoff appearance was two plays and 8 yards. The two 2 pt. conversion plays. Harbaugh is blamed for those in completions. Was it his fault for calling the plays or the lack of execution? In my opinion it was execution. You may not like the play call but they didn't fail simply because Harbaugh went for it. If they execute those two plays and win Harbaugh would have had a fantastic year considering the aforementioned issues. Maybe talk of "Coach of the year". Just two plays and 8 yards......