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2025 Ravens General Talk


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#1 BaltBird 24

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Posted 19 January 2025 - 10:31 PM

Start the 2025 General Ravens Talk.

#2 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 19 January 2025 - 11:38 PM

Is there any reason to believe this thread will end any different than the previous 12?



#3 Slidemaster

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Posted 19 January 2025 - 11:44 PM

Is there any reason to believe this thread will end any different than the previous 12?


No.

#4 BaltBird 24

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Posted 19 January 2025 - 11:46 PM

All you can ask for is to make the tournament and have a chance. The Ravens consistently do that with one of the better rosters in the league.

I'm beginning to doubt if they can get over that hump without a bit of a cultural shake up in the locker room. They've been this version of sloppy, careless, penalty prone, mistake prone since 2019.
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#5 You Play to Win the Game

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 12:08 AM

Too soon. F this thread.
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#6 Biggsy

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 06:47 AM

I'll be happy if they're good again. I'll enjoy the regular season, and Lamar's greatness there. But I won't get excited in the post season. Once is bad luck. Twice could be a coincidence. Four times is a pattern. Andrews consistently shrinks in the biggest moments. Sure, he's part of the reason we're there. He's really good. But he very clearly can't be depended on when we need him most. I'll be a little less critical of Lamar. He had his stereotypical dumbass turnovers early. But at least he locked in after and played good enough to win the game from that point on. But still, the reason we had to play catch-up was because of his dumbass turnovers. And I have no faith Zay being there changes much. Last year he's the guy who fumbled any chance away at the 1 yard line.

They are what they are, choke artists. And at this point, there isn't an argument to be made against it.



#7 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 07:57 AM

When the initial odds come out for '25, they'll be one of the top 5 favorites. When the season arrives, they'll be top 5 in all the power rankings.

It will be another long season to earn the opportunity to get back to the playoffs.


Is there a HC job for Monken?
If so, who replaces?


Tucker seems like he turned things around the last month.

The defense was #1 in most statistical categories after Week 11, and held Allen to 127 yards in the loss last night...so Orr is back.

#8 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 08:11 AM

Re Choke Artists..

That narrative definitely exists and will continue to until they win games that matter in January and Feb...

I personally find it a bit overblown.

18, loss to LA. Jackson a rookie, didn't start all year.

19, Jackson MVP in his 2nd year, but still his 2nd year. No answer for Henry. Jackson wasn't great, did have 500 yards of offense.

20, Jackson had the pick 6 and was knocked out.

21, Jackson hurt.

22, Jackson hurt.

23, Lose at home in the AFC Championship. They were better than KC, and should have won. This is the game which most bothers me.

24, Lose games to Vegas and Cleveland you have no business losing, so you play the playoff game at Buffalo. I think the Ravens were better than the Bills, but they were near equals. It sucks they didn't play a clean game. 



Whatever your interpretation of these losses is, is fine. We all agree the narrative is they can't finish. It is definitely hanging over the franchise entering the 2025 season.

I'm of the opinion they can run it back with largely the same cast and they could win it all.

Others will conclude they have to make wholesale changes and turn over the roster and thus the culture.


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#9 TwentyThirtyFive

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 08:20 AM

There obviously will be roster turnover but they are consistently in position to win. Trying to change up the culture whatever that would mean is foolish. Hope Monken doesnt go. A new system for Lamar would concern me. We saw this year with Orr that it isnt as easy as just next man up at coordinator. The person running the show matters


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#10 jamesdean

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 09:22 AM

I'm not one to get into the whole "choke artists" narrative.  There are just too many plays during a season or game and it's too much of a collective effort to single out a player or two.  There is plenty of blame to go around with last night's loss.  Am I disappointed?  Absolutely, although not as much as I was after the loss to KC last year.  I do grow weary of knowing we have the better roster and talent level and still lose every year in the post season.  But the best team isn't necessarily the ones who win it all.  There are so many things that have to happen to accomplish that.  Were the 2012 Ravens better than New England?  Hardly.  But they did what they had to do in that moment. I don't buy into the "veteran leadership" concept either.  The Ravens lost their share of playoff games with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed out there.  I wish I had specific answers as to why they fall short every January but it's a culmination of things we could slice and dice until we've exorcised whatever demons we're feeling today.  It isn't going to change anything.  Harbaugh will be back; Orr will be back and so will Mark Andrews.  That much is guaranteed.  So, come July, we start over in hopes of another run to the Super Bowl.  

 

As let down as I feel, I do want to acknowledge how much I enjoyed this season.  After a shaky start, they played great football for the most part and were entertaining as hell.  And I'll miss having no game to turn to on Sundays.  I wish the NFL season was an all-year sport. 

 

Bottom line is 31 teams will fail in 2024-25, just like every year.  I guess they're all choke artists, whether it's during the regular season or playoffs/Super Bowl.  How would you like to be a Lions fan this morning?  That was a brutal loss.  We'll all move on, get back to our lives and look forward to 2025-26, in hopes that will be the year the Ravens finally win it all.  If we're going to be football fans, what else can we do? 


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#11 Ravens2006

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 10:33 AM

I'm pretty much done with the Lamar chokes hot take thing. He made a couple mistakes, one might have been Bateman too or not, and the other started with a bad snap that just as easily could have sailed 10 yards past him. He played well the vast majority of the game. He made a couple mistakes. They lost as a team. Andrews made two huge errors that I think cost them at least 5 points. Stephens got burned early where they could have gotten BUF off the field and it wound up with 7 a few plays later. Orr adjusted later but some damage was done early. Harbs could have handled some decisions differently, I've blasted him relentlessly before and none of that changes, but last night I didn't have huge beef with anything he did. I won't go too far defending him though. :) Cheffers crew called 5 penalties on BAL and 1 on BUF. One of the 5 was a huge PI that was basically standard 2 way hand checking downfield and then the WR pushing down and running over White, yet somehow it was DPI. I said it when we found out who the crew was... BUF was going to get the benefit of calls over BAL. The stats bore that out before kickoff, and it came to fruition in the game. Buffalo committed ONE penalty all game, huh?

Lamar is fantastic. Allen is fantastic. If Allen loses at KC next week is he a choker now? Mahomes is fantastic.
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#12 You Play to Win the Game

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 10:42 AM

The teams left standing had clean games from their QB’s this weekend. We did not. You can both acknowledge Lamar’s role in the loss last night and his greatness. He will get us right back there next year. But eventually he’ll need to throw together 3-4 complete, mistake free games to win it all.

But it’s okay to tell the truth here… Lamar was phenomenal last night once he got done sucking last night.

#13 NewMarketSean

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 10:47 AM

It's not just Lamar. He's been at the center of many of the playoff losses but this went beyond him last night.

 

At this point it just seems to be who they are. They can't handle the spotlight. Those drops were all unforgivable. The INT was a disaster. I can forgive the Lamar fumble since that is just who he is and he's always going to try to make something out of nothing. And he usually does. It's why we love watching him play so much.

 

But those drops. I just can't even with the drops.


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#14 Biggsy

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 10:59 AM

The teams left standing had clean games from their QB’s this weekend. We did not. You can both acknowledge Lamar’s role in the loss last night and his greatness. He will get us right back there next year. But eventually he’ll need to throw together 3-4 complete, mistake free games to win it all.

But it’s okay to tell the truth here… Lamar was phenomenal last night once he got done sucking last night.



Agree. The INT can be forgotten. It was the beginning of the drive, and Buffalo punted it right back. The fumble was a killer. Driving, right outside the redzone. And back to back plays we get an Andrews drop on a wide open pass. Followed by a bad snap, on what I'm thinking was supposed to be a straight run play, so Lamar was limited on what he could do. I'm sure lineman were downfield, and his recievers were blocking, so it's not like he could throw it away. He had to try something. Just wish he would have protected the ball.

After that, he was damn near perfect. He led an 88 yard drive at the end of the game for a TD. And he made some big boy plays on that drive. It all comes down to Andrews. Back to back drives. He fumbles on the first, then he drops the most important pass of the season on the next.

Chances are, Allen gets into FG range with 3 timeouts and 1:33 left, and we lose anyway. But I'd rather lose to a top MVP candidate making plays at the end and just being better than the defense, then to lose because our player couldn't make the easiest catch of his career when it mattered most. We didn't make Buffalo beat us. We handed it to them.

#15 TwentyThirtyFive

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 11:10 AM

His QBR was like 85 and his QB rating 118. Stats dont tell everything but he wasnt the problem.

#16 Biggsy

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 11:18 AM

As far as 2025 goes. I think Stanley is the only meaningful player that's a FA. Ardarius Washington should get a RFA tender. I'm sure they try and bring Mekari back, but he may get bigger offers elsewhere. Only other guy really is Ricard. I can't imagine he gets anything substantial elsewhere.

So the roster shouldn't have much turnover. They also won't have a lot of money to bring on many meaningful additions. I'm sure EDC will do what he normally does and he'll manipulate contracts to give himself money to spend where he has to.

I think the biggest moves should be in the coaching rooms. The 2nd half more than likely earned Orr another season. And I'm personally not a fan of that. If we have Macdonald, I think we have the 1 seed this year, and were playing at home next week. But, it is what it is. Monken is probably gone. So who they bring in next will have a large impact.

Also should bring in a RB. Love what Henry did, but I'm not sure you can plan on a 32 year old to replicate what he just did again. If he can, great. But you need to have a plan B loaded and ready. A lot of RB talent in this years draft. Outside of that, this team can actually get better with the right moves during the draft and a couple moves in free agency.

#17 NewMarketSean

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 11:23 AM

His QBR was like 85 and his QB rating 118. Stats dont tell everything but he wasnt the problem.

 

The rating doesn't factor the fumble. I'm not even mad at the fumble, I am mad at the INT. But he wasn't the only problem just one of them and probably not even a big problem. He had them right there at the end.


I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?

#18 TwentyThirtyFive

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 11:32 AM

Im pretty sure the QBR factors the fumble. Im actually surprised his QBR was this high but he was efficient. I dont think he get marked down for the drops. The narrative will be what it will be and he has to get that monkey off his back. That said, if you want to see a guy where the moment is just way to big see Darnold. Thats a complete choke job when pressure is on. Lamar hasnt been great but he doesnt worry me either. I know he can get the job done and I still believe he will one day

#19 Slidemaster

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 11:40 AM

I dont blame Lamar entirely for last night, but I don't think this version of the team ever breaks through. Whatever intangible a player needs to step up in the biggest moments, they don't have.

"Play like a Raven" has an entirely new meaning in 2025. Whatever. Go KC.

#20 Biggsy

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 11:55 AM

The rating doesn't factor the fumble. I'm not even mad at the fumble, I am mad at the INT. But he wasn't the only problem just one of them and probably not even a big problem. He had them right there at the end.



The INT ultimately meant nothing. It didn't take points off the board like the fumble. And Buffalo punted it right back, so it didn't lead to any points either.




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