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Want to bash the Ravens? Get your facts straight!
I have to tell you, I’m really getting tired of hearing “so called” Ravens fans bashing the team. I’m not talking about the fans who frequent this site because I can’t remember any of the contributors here doing that, but the multitudes of others I’ve seen spread around the web are really starting to irritate me.
The main thing I have a problem with is the total lack of football knowledge these people have. Well here’s a few FACTS that they might want to take into consideration before they expose themselves for the novice idiots they are;
First off, the Ravens are not as bad as their 2007 record would indicate. There wasn’t a team in the entire NFL that suffered more injuries to key starters then did the purple and black. Just how good do you think the Giants, Colts, or Patriots would have been last season if they lost their starting quarterback, left tackle, their two best tight ends, two of their best receivers, both of their starting cornerbacks, and one of their best defensive linemen. I’d say .500 at best.
So all of you doubters need to take things into consideration . Look at all of the intangibles before you cast your opinions. Otherwise you come off as being totally uninformed.
Secondly, I’m really getting tired of hearing in the national press, and on local boards of what a mistake drafting Joe Flacco was. The national reporters couldn’t coach a Pop Warner team, but they pretend to have the ability to forecast the future. And many of the locals are only a notch beneath them.
John Harbaugh and Cam Cameron will handle Flacco just fine thank you. This isn’t the Brian Billick Show any longer, if you hadn’t noticed. I’ve read comments from whomever it is that does the power rankings for USA Today, that “stalwart” of sports reporting, that quotes the following; ” Ray Lewis might be in a nursing home before Joe Flacco’s ready.” By the way, he rates the Ravens at number 27 out of 32 teams coming into this season. I just have to wonder why this genius doesn’t put his name on his opinions. After all, he seems to have it all figured out. What makes him think that Flacco will take years to develop? Does he assume the Division II theory that he didn’t face top notch talent, much the same as Tony Romo, Steve McNair, and Terry Bradshaw to name just a few. That doesn’t wash.
There are numerous others in the national media that are already comparing Flacco to Kyle Boller, if for no other reason then his abundant arm strength. Now there you have some deep thinkers. These people get paid good money for this? They should count their blessings because I doubt they would be able to feed themselves if they had to choose another line of work.
I also keep hearing people talk about our offense as if Billick were still the head coach. They don’t seem to understand that the Ravens have a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterbacks coach, a new offensive line coach, a new special teams coach, a new linebackers coach, a new receivers coach, and a new secondary coach. Add to that quite a few good new players as well. How can anyone expect things to be the same as they were under Billick? How much thought does it take to see that with all of the new coaches, who have their own personal philosophy’s, that this team is going to have quite a few new tricks up their sleeve?
The Baltimore Sun is full of these local fans who don’t seem to have the slightest idea about what goes on in the NFL. While I’m sometimes jealous of the sheer number of people who comment there, I don’t think I could put up with all of the lunacy they spout. I believe this site has a fantastic group of extremely well informed fans, and the comments are always right on the mark.
Who knows, maybe the Sun’s staff is jealous of that. If not they should be.
And by the way, how do you like John Harbaugh having the team practice in the rain Friday? I believe Billick would have moved them into the indoor facility. Not Harbaugh , his way of looking at it was, “If your going to play in the Mid Atlantic then you need to practice in the Mid Atlantic. This is the weather we’ll face this season, so we need to get used to it”. I love his way of thinking.
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on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 8:55 pm and is filed under Raven player evaluation, Team evaluation, Ravens Roost Writer Articles / Opinions, Mike Brown.
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9 Responses to “Want to bash the Ravens? Get your facts straight!”
May 9th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
FINALLY, someone who knows what there talking about. I couldnt agree more with what you had to say. People talk bad about the ravens because of there 2007 record. IT WAS A INJURIE PLAGE YEAR. We all seen what the ravens can do when everone is health right. 13-3 people, do yall remeber that. Im also tired of pepole bashing Joe Flacco saying he.s the next k.Boller. He is not the next boller, he is the 1st flacco, give him a chance before you start ripin him. Mike, im glad you steped up and spoke the thurth. Maybe people will open their eyes and relize that the ravens are still a 12 to 13 win team and has the same chance at making the super bowl as any other team. Keep Speaking the truth MB.
May 10th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Well said Mr Brown. I am sick and tired of the so-called “experts” and their “tabloid” sports journalism. I just can not believe some of these people can actually spend their paychecks. What they should do is put on a ski mask and back up to an ATM machine because they are stealing anyway.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I love to see them practice outside it goes to show you this is going to be a completely different team than any we have ever seen under Billick. I am Truely excited to see what this offense is going to look like!
GO RAVENS!!
May 10th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Well said Mike B. Never listen to ESPN and the like… bunch of overpaid morons. Let us not forget the strength of schedule down the injury-plagued stretch. Chargers, Pats, and Colts all in a row will take a toll on any team.
Do we really want a hoard of commenters coming here? The reason I read MVN blogs is because they aren’t as popular, which makes the readers more likely to be dedicated fans. I’d rather not have the ignorant masses shooting off stupid comments and starting arguments.
May 10th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Well, I love this article. And I am a HUGE Ravens fan living in PA, but Baltimore raised.
I remember the start of the season a couple years ago, when the Ravens were 4-0. The game just ended, Steve McNair had just completed his 4th game, and the entire post show on radio was about how pathetic the Ravens played. Even then, I was wondering - What in the world to Baltimore fans want? (I know, to get to another Super Bowl). Blame Billick for not holding on to Trent Dilfer after we won last time. (By the way, how many times in NFL history has a team released the quarterback that just won the Super Bowl? Even in Baseball, the Orioles said they didn’t need Davey Johnson and let him go after his second time in the playoffs in two years. The next day, he was voted AL Manager of the Year.) Baltimore sports has been controversial for some time with some poor “staffing” decisions. That’s not what’s up with the Ravens NOW. Remember game one last year… Cincinatti.. the Ravens are 1st & goal… and don’t make a single attempt to RUN the ball - in 6 consecutive plays. We lost to Buffalo virtually the same way. Last drive of the game, 2nd and 1, 3rd, 4th, and turn the ball over on downs - without trying to run the ball. The Cleveland end of the game was a farce (field goal anyone?), and who can forget the Patriots game that was in the bag. COACHING and STAFFING has been the Ravens problem for a long time. With the new coaching staff we now have, and the players on board to prove last year was a fluke, (and Troy Smith as our starting Quarterback), the Ravens will be back to form as they were two seasons ago…
You read it here first. 12-4. Let the non-believers postings begin!
May 10th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Oh, and by the way, the Orioles have’t been back to the playoffs since Davey Johnson was released. And while some would say Dilfer wasn’t the answer, I say he is better than a TON of people give him credit. Elvis vs. Trent. No contest. I heard Troy Smith on WBAL the other day, and what a classy guy. I love how he played the end of last year, and I KNOW he is the answer for 2008.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:40 am
My wife actually gets pissed watching ESPN - when they recently did their “AFC North roundup” thing… and it covered how great the Parker, Menden-whatshisname combo will be, the new and improved Brownsatins, and the usuall Chad Johnson drama… after the segment my wife turns to me and said something along the lines of “aside from questioneing us picking Flacco - did they mention us at all?” - me “nope… not in the least…”
I’m actually loo0king forward to this year. Historically we have always done better when we are expected to stink - with the all (aside from Rex) new coaching staff, Cam - whom I have complete faith in (living in So Cal I have seen his work close up) making a new O playbook.
I think we’ll do well this year.
That being said, considering the SoS for our division this year I don’t see anyone in our division making it to 10 wins. I have not done a game by game breakdown yet but it is gonna be a tough, tough yerar for all in the AFCN.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:02 am
MB,
Great post. I do have one theme of naging questions from it though. If our record last season was attributable to injuries, was the decision to get rid of Billick the right one? Was he the scapegoat of our obviously injury ridden season? Was scrapping our whole program under Billick the right one if we were in fact several key injuries from our 13-3 season from ‘06? No team goes 13-3 despite their coach, they go there with their coach. To be fair, this stands true with the poor ‘07 record as well. But if the problem was injuries in ‘07…
Trust me, I too am drinking the purple koolaid on Harbaugh and Flacco. I think the future is bright and I have been happy with the decisions of late. But if injuries were the root cause of last season’s problems, did we just set ourselves back a few years by scrapping the whole plan and starting anew? As you note, we have an almost entirely new coaching staff. It takes time to get everyone adjusted to the new systems. I think the change was needed and will pay off in the long run, but after reading your post all these questions jumped out in my mind. Help me believe ‘08 will be better under the new system than under the one our team knew by heart.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Jimmy,
When a team has injuries then the back up players have to step up. You could argue that the players available last season didn’t performed as hoped, and you would be right. But one thing I’m seeing with John Harbaugh is to take a look at every player in every position he’s suited for. Linemen as fullbacks and tight ends, safeties at receiver, and so on.
Brian Billick didn’t take that approach. He felt it was necessary to keep players locked into one role, figuring that it would make them better players. What it did was make the players less versatile, thus less valuable. Harbaugh is going to get every thing he can from every player on the roster. Down the road it will pay dividends.
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