On the Eve of the Playoffs

[Beerracuda]

All I can say is that the Ravens have everything in front of them, just there for the taking.

At around 7pm Sunday, if they don't have a playoff berth wrapped up, I don't wanna hear any excuses. No bitching about the refs and such. There's no way with the talent on our team that this game should ever be in the position of being lost due to the refs.

If this team can't make the playoffs with a single win against the Raiders, with everything on the line, then I would start to agree with a few other posters on here that it may be time to start some housecleaning on this team. Obviously, in that situation, something would definitely be wrong on this team, and needs to be addressed. That may include dumping some veterans, as unpopular as that might be.

Just my 3 cents.

[HoustonRaven]

At around 7pm Sunday, if they don't have a playoff berth wrapped up, I don't wanna hear any excuses. No bitching about the refs and such. There's no way with the talent on our team that this game should ever be in the position of being lost due to the refs

Agreed.

I've said it many times, when they commit the kind and number of penalties they have been committing this year, you draw the extra attention of the refs.

As such, you get games like last week's where you win on every side of the ball and still struggle because the gun you keep using to shoot yourself with stays loaded, cocked and ready.

For me, this is a seminal moment for Harbs and the veterans on the team (hello Ray, Ed, Suggs) as well. They are on the cusp of going back to back to back years where the team goes to the tournament with a new head coach. That's saying something.

But if the team wets the bed and fails to make the post season with this much talent and the defense really coming on strong towards the end of the season, then I say force the vets to earn their playing time here forward.

[Mista T]

Obviously, in that situation, something would definitely be wrong on this team, and needs to be addressed. That may include dumping some veterans, as unpopular as that might be.

Alternatively, considering the talent level on this team, that may include dumping a few coaches.:(

[Beerracuda]

Alternatively, considering the talent level on this team, that may include dumping a few coaches.:(

I simply cannot disagree with you Ted. I've had some serious problems with several coaches on this team in the past year or two: Harbaugh, for bad clock management, Cam for having no balls, and especially Mattison for stupidity, calling for a 3 man rush when a blitz is in order, and calling for a blitz when max coverage is needed. Also for not disguising blitzes, in the case of the corner blitz with Foxworth against Shittsburgh.

Edited to add: And someone in there has to be held responsible for lack of motivation in key games. I'm looking straight at you Harbaugh.

[camdenyard]

Edited to add: And someone in there has to be held responsible for lack of motivation in key games. I'm looking straight at you Harbaugh.

Can we now dispense with the myth that Ray Lewis is still a big motivating force within the team?

[baltimore_hokie]

S
I simply cannot disagree with you Ted. I've had some serious problems with several coaches on this team in the past year or two: Harbaugh, for bad clock management, Cam for having no balls, and especially Mattison for stupidity, calling for a 3 man rush when a blitz is in order, and calling for a blitz when max coverage is needed. Also for not disguising blitzes, in the case of the corner blitz with Foxworth against Shittsburgh.

Edited to add: And someone in there has to be held responsible for lack of motivation in key games. I'm looking straight at you Harbaugh.

So, let me get this right:

You are pissed at Cam Cameron for designing an offense that has moved the Ravens to a top-10 scoring unit and been decent to watch for the first time in a decade. Armed with exactly one playmaker, this offense is the best it's been since Testaverde was at the helm.

Okay, then it must make sense to be pissed at Mattison for leading the defense to a third overall ranking in the league. Without Reed and Suggs for a great deal of time, two starting corners out for the year, and a rookie UDFA starting at ILB it is pretty easy to see how bad he sucks. I mean, no defenses have ever struggled against Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre in their first eight weeks as a defensive coordinator.

And then Harbaugh, what a slouch. AFC Championship game in his first season as a head coach, albeit blessed with a rookie QB and the most players on IR in the league. Then, all he has to do is beat a team with a losing record (something his team has done every single time in his career) to get to the playoffs two straight years (something the Ravens have never done?).

Jesus man, I would hate to hear what you would be like if the Ravens were bad. Harbs has his faults, the coordinators have made bad calls, but overall they are pretty damn good. Give credit where it is due.

[StingerNLG]

Hokie, are you ok with this team only being able to beat 2 teams this year with winning records? Are you ok that the Ravens have to play this game Sunday in order to secure the playoffs at 9-7?

As for the coordinators, I would have to say the players have bailed them out to a certain degree. Yes, Mattison HAS gotten better as he has gotten used to the job and started to work his own touch into the system. But you cannot deny too that this secondary got better when certain players were doing their respective jobs on the field.

And without Ray Rice, I'm sorry but this offense would be dynamic against the bad teams, and horrible against the good teams. You cannot tell me that several times this year Cameron hasn't bottled up and gone vanilla, expecting Rice to be the base offense like we've asked RB's to do in this city for years.

As for Harbaugh, the discipline issues speak for themselves. We've debated this over and over and it's not worth doing it here.

I am not entirely happy with this team this year. We have underperformed for the talent on the field, and right now the reason we are in this position of getting to the playoffs is not because we win more, but because the rest of the AFC teams around us simply lose more.

[Beerracuda]

Jesus man, I would hate to hear what you would be like if the Ravens were bad. Harbs has his faults, the coordinators have made bad calls, but overall they are pretty damn good. Give credit where it is due.

Oh I give credit where credit is due, trust me. Most of the things that piss me off about the people mentioned have to do with individual plays, not the entire body of work.

Admittedly, it's easier to point out the flaws in a person than it is to make generalized compliments, because the mistakes stick in people's minds. At least mine, anyway.

Some of these mistakes are basic Football 101, so in my mind, that's what sticks out. And many of them are applicable to individual team matchups.

Example: When playing Pittsburgh, it's important to put constant pressure on Roethlisburger. That brings out his weakness. There are times when Mattison did that, and was successful in a bad pass. However, there were other times when he should have been blitzing and didn't. The one example off the top of my head was mid 4th quarter, 3rd and long, with the Squealers backed up on their own side. We only rushed 3, which gave Roethlisburger A LOT of time in the pocket, and eventually someone came open and resulted in a 1st down. Another example: We've been pretty good in coverage in the red zone, which is why sending Foxworth on a corner blitz at that point didn't make sense. Again, this is not advanced football strategy, it's pretty basic.

On the other side of the ball, Pittsburgh was putting pressure on Flacco all game. Only ONCE did I see us throw a screen to Rice, which is something we've feasted upon all season. The surest way to alleviate defensive pressure at the line is to throw a simple screen to your best RB or WR. Half the defense is attempting to get at the QB, the other half is tracking your WRs. That leaves 1 person in position to keep an eye on any screens or runs. We failed to capitalize on those opportunities, and again, I submit this is Football 101. Beat the blitz with screens, and they'll be forced to sit back to defend, which, of course, would give Flacco other opportunities downfield.

The poor clock management speaks for itself. EVERY game, we call 2 time outs because for some reason we're not set, either on offense or defense. That's not excusable.

All of these are certainly fixable. But if these coaches are unwilling to alter their general philosophy, then maybe we should look elsewhere. It's just too frustrating to watch when the answers are pretty basic.

And by the way, I take offense to your thinking that I'm that impatient with the coaches/players on this team. I've sat through the best and worst with this team since it's inception as a team. Indeed, I sat and watched Ted Marchibroda waste talent on both the Baltimore Colts, as well as Ravens. To imply that I would rather make a knee-jerk reaction in regards to coaching is an insult. I do believe that coaches and players can learn from mistakes, and should be given the time to do so. However, when their decisions violate common sense, I feel that they should be called out on it.

[NC Raven]

Agree with baltimore_hokie: the offense is run well, and the defense is run well. The numbers don't lie.

Yes, a number of times it hasn't added up to a win.

Let's review: Hauschka; a few feet to the left vs Min. Flacco, overthrows an open Clayton vs Cincy that would've iced it. Clayton, drops a 4th down pass vs NE. Mason, drops a wide open Td vs Pitt. Flacco dumps an INT to a LB down 2 late in the red zone vs IND.

How many games boiled down to one key play? That's 5 right there. 8 games were won; 5 more should have been but-for one moment of failed execution outside the control of coaches. There's still one left to play.

The coaches can't kick it, they can't catch it, they can't throw it and they can't make decisions for people.

As for clock management, again, you have to do the best you can with what you have to work with. For now it appears the standing orders for Flacco are, if you don't like what you see, don't risk a turnover, just call time. Unless anyone has a magic chip to implant in Flacco's head that makes him 10x better at reading defenses, this is going to continue until he's had as much experience as Manning and Brady. I guess if we saved those precious timeouts and threw picks instead, then either Flacco sucks or Cam's a moron or Harbaugh's a dumbass. Am I right?

[NC Raven]

I will add though, and will concede, that the number of lining-up penalties has been shocking. The illegal formations and shifts and what-not shouldn't be happening.

However, I don't think those things, in themselves, have led to the undoing of the Ravens all that often, but I could easily be overlooking a key one somewhere along the line.

[Galen Sevinne]

S

So, let me get this right:

You are pissed at Cam Cameron for designing an offense that has moved the Ravens to a top-10 scoring unit and been decent to watch for the first time in a decade. Armed with exactly one playmaker, this offense is the best it's been since Testaverde was at the helm.

Okay, then it must make sense to be pissed at Mattison for leading the defense to a third overall ranking in the league. Without Reed and Suggs for a great deal of time, two starting corners out for the year, and a rookie UDFA starting at ILB it is pretty easy to see how bad he sucks. I mean, no defenses have ever struggled against Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre in their first eight weeks as a defensive coordinator.

And then Harbaugh, what a slouch. AFC Championship game in his first season as a head coach, albeit blessed with a rookie QB and the most players on IR in the league. Then, all he has to do is beat a team with a losing record (something his team has done every single time in his career) to get to the playoffs two straight years (something the Ravens have never done?).

Jesus man, I would hate to hear what you would be like if the Ravens were bad. Harbs has his faults, the coordinators have made bad calls, but overall they are pretty damn good. Give credit where it is due.

Voice of reason here folks. Outside of the Colts, Pats, Steelers and maybe another team or two, it has become really difficult for teams to be consistent playoff teams year after year. Dang, the Ravens have only repeated once in their history and even then it took what I would argue was the best team defense in modern NFL history.

To rid this team of any of the three major coaches at this junction is too reactionary. Mattison needed about half a season to find his stamp for this historically great defense. The Ravens defense is now ranked third with a patchwork secondary. Cam, I believe, got a bit ahead of the learning curve with Flacco during the 2nd third of the season but has since reeled his expectations in and Flacco has been more effective with only one real WR threat. Think about that for a second. Harbaugh has at times looked confused when it comes to managing the clock but this team was so ripe for a locker room incident or two that we would have certainly saw in the past. He found a way to hold things together through some of the more frustrating losses I can remember.

You want to fire a sophomore coach that very likely will make the playoffs for two years in a row and will have a minimum 2 wins under his belt already? Please step back from the ledge.

[WxKevin]

I don't necessary believe the Refs have cost the Ravens a game. But it is still bullshit that the stuff that gets called on us doesn't always get called on the other team. How many times did Pitt O-Line hold our guys and didn't get called?

Just because you have made a lot of penalties doesn't mean you should get the ticky tack calls against you all the time. I know it happens but it shouldn't.

[Mwjergs]

One thing that you can always seem to count on under Harbaugh coached teams is they beat teams with losing records. I don't expect a letdown considering what's at stake.

Harbaugh is still a young coach in this league and frankly much like his quarterback he's experiencing the growing pains he should have gone through in year one. But the Ravens only played in 2 games in 08' where the score was less than 7 points. This year they've shown poorly in those close games (2-5). There's plenty of blame to go around. From putting too much on Flacco's shoulders too soon to the defense adjusting to a new coach. But execution is key. Harbaugh and his staff have made plenty of mistakes and so have the players. People either learn from them or you remove them. The coaches have earned more time.

If they beat Oakland tomorrow, which they will. They will have gone back to back with playoff appearances for the first time since 2000-2001. Hard to argue those results.

[RAVENOUS52]

And then Harbaugh, what a slouch. AFC Championship game in his first season as a head coach, albeit blessed with a rookie QB and the most players on IR in the league. Then, all he has to do is beat a team with a losing record (something his team has done every single time in his career) to get to the playoffs two straight years (something the Ravens have never done?).

How long have you been following the Ravens?

I'm pretty sure we won a Super Bowl and then went to the playoffs the following year...:grbac:

[sdeclue]

It would be pretty shocking to me if the Ravens lost today, and even more shocking if coaches were dumped. I'm not saying I agree with it, just that it's the way it is.

http://www.examiner.com/x-1089-Baltimore-Sports-Examiner~y2010m1d3-Ravens-vs-Raiders-preview

[Lee Van Cleef]

Your conclusions are wrong for the points you made.


As for the coordinators, I would have to say the players have bailed them out to a certain degree. Yes, Mattison HAS gotten better as he has gotten used to the job and started to work his own touch into the system. But you cannot deny too that this secondary got better when certain players were doing their respective jobs on the field.

So when the secondary improved by doing their job, the defense improved. Doesn't that suggest that the scheme wasn't at fault, it was the players not playing up to standard? If so, how is that Mattison's fault? He saw who he had and put them in a position to succeed, and they've finally taken him up on that. As I was saying earlier in the season, if players did their damn jobs it would work. They've adjusted and it's showing.


And without Ray Rice, I'm sorry but this offense would be dynamic against the bad teams, and horrible against the good teams. You cannot tell me that several times this year Cameron hasn't bottled up and gone vanilla, expecting Rice to be the base offense like we've asked RB's to do in this city for years.

He's having to use Rice because he is the most dynamic player, if we had other dynamic talents they'd be more involved too. As it is Cam is trying to maximise what he has and get a damn good player the ball as much as he can. And further to this, if we had more talent at WR you think Rice would have as many catches as he does this season?

I think Mattison took a lot of shit earlier in the season and now people should take a look and see what he's delivered. With a mediore secondary and weak group of passrushers he's delievered a top 3 defense. Get him a dynamic passrusher and you might see some improvement, but for what he's putting out there I think he's been doing a damn good job.

I actually agree with you somewhat on Cam, he's conservative in big games. But he was that way last season. He was that way in San Diego (maybe that wasn't just Martyball at work, huh?). But as Hokie has said, he has delivered offensive production we've not seen since before Billick, with limited talent. What more can you ask?

[StingerNLG]

Your conclusions are wrong for the points you made.

You haven't a clue what my conclusions even were Lee.

[baltimore_hokie]

How long have you been following the Ravens?

I'm pretty sure we won a Super Bowl and then went to the playoffs the following year...:grbac:

I had already spent too much time writing that and couldn't recall whether we made it or not the next year with Grbac, hence the question mark in my quote? (This time I am using the question mark to demonstrate my confusion that you didn't pick that up in my last statement).

[3RDRowRaven]

I'm not even thinking playoffs for this team, they have got to prove me TODAY that the players can play as a team and not for themselves, show me some freaking discipline and not have 11 penalties for over 100 yards.

Show me that Ravens and your in the playoffs.

:kewl: