251 replies to this topic

[SportsGuy]

I thought that beef was squashed. Plus, they won a SB following that "mutiny".

That should all be water under the bridge, IMO.

BUT, with Ray gone, do you have that buffer anymore?

And if you don't have that buffer, do you start to worry about the lockerroom becoming an issue with so many vets now gone? If so, you don't want that attitude rubbing off on the younger players.

[NewMarketSean]

As I said on Twitter...let me know when the Ravens lose someone irreplaceable....that hasn't happened yet.

Who on the team is irreplaceable? Flacco?

Rice was almost a non-factor in the playoffs and Pierce is coming on strong.

We won a SB without Webb for most of the season...

I think guys like Pollard and Boldin aren't irreplaceable but hard to replace.

[SportsGuy]

Michael Smith‏@michaelsmith

I know this: Some teams like to spend money in March. The Ravens' front office makes its money in April.

[ChaosLex]

Any chance we're interested in DHB?

[SportsGuy]

Any chance we're interested in DHB?

Not with us keeping Jones. Jones and Smith are what you hope DHB becomes.

The Ravens need an underneath guy.

[Mackus]

Not with us keeping Jones. Jones and Smith are what you hope DHB becomes.

The Ravens need an underneath guy.

Amendola or trading up for Austin would be nice fits. Would prefer to have Austin, obviously, but might be better to go with Amendola and save the 1st rounder for a LB or S.

[SportsGuy]

Aaron Wilson‏@RavensInsider

Ed Reed is definitely not out of the picture for the Ravens. Nothing imminent and Reed is looking around. Fluid situation

[JHTerp01]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
Potential replacement for Jake Long. RT @BryantMckinnie: Just got on my connecting flight in Chicago, wheels up! Destination: Miami

Mckinnie lives there so is this Schefter not putting that together? Or is our LT fallback option off the market?

[SportsGuy]

Mckinnie lives there so is this Schefter not putting that together? Or is our LT fallback option off the market?

I think it means McKinnie is going to Miami for a visit. He could just be going home but I assume AS knows something.

[SportsGuy]

Derrick Mason‏@deemason85
There could b a surprise team looking for Ed reeds services at safety.

[bnickle]

I thought that beef was squashed. Plus, they won a SB following that "mutiny".

That should all be water under the bridge, IMO.

Squashed wouldn't be the word I would use. It was smoothed over.

HArbaugh is a strict dude. He's not going to take kindly to guys questioning him publically, nor should he for that matter. Now, I do think there is an issue having so many vets on the verge of mutiny but to question the coach publically in front of everybody is bad. Props to Harbaugh for defusing the situation in the moment and eventually getting the team back on track. Even if it did take awhile.

That near mutiny was a big deal that almost cost this team the season. If they don't pull together and win that Giants game. Wow, some shit would have really hit the fan.


I don't look at this as a rebuilding, its a retooling. I thought this was likely after the '12 season anyway and said as much throughout the year. If anything, winning the SB may have been making the Ravens FO decide to somewhat try and hang on for 1 more year. They weren;t going to kill themselves for '14 and beyond but they were willing to try and bring Boldin back. They almost certainly wouldn't have cut Pollard. They probably would have been more active with Reed.


There is one guy, Ellerbe, who they were actively trying to bring back heading into FA. He was the guy they were trying to get a deal done with. Even then, they had a set price that they refused to go above. They didn't think it was imperative that he return.

[Luke Jackson]

I was thinking about the direction of the team earlier today and was tweeting some thoughts about it. First of all, we won the freakin' Super Bowl. Be happy! Be joyous! Joe Flacco's deal got done, which was priorities one through 500. The rest are fixins'.

But I was thinking aloud today about the direction of the defense. Webb, Ngata and Suggs are all on hefty contracts. They're staying. They have some guys on the cheap that have been around the league for awhile like Chris Canty, James Ihedigbo and Corey Graham. They'll be on the roster. And they have a lot of young guys who are waiting for an opportunity for more playing time, like Jimmy Smith, Chykie Brown, Courtney Upshaw, Pernell McPhee and Art Jones. And they have large openings at MLB and safety. I think the Ravens are committed to giving their young guys the opportunities they probably deserve to showcase what they can do.

I think the Ravens are committed to getting younger and faster on defense, which has probably been a long time coming and it makes sense to do it now with a lot of expiring contracts and another Super Bowl in the bank. I think the Ravens could be big players in April's draft to stock up on talented defenders and give them opportunities. This could be a super young defense next year, and I bet Harbaugh will love coaching these kids up. I really do. Harbaugh has always been a generalist in the sense that he can provide value to every position on the field as a coach and I think he'll have a chance to really show that off in this coming season. He's always had to deal with larger than life personalities like Ray Lewis and work around that, and he's done it well. But I think the Super Bowl, Ray's retirement and a cap crunch all acted like the perfect storm in order to do this. I think Harbs is going to love coaching this defense up next year with Dean Pees, while Caldwell and Joe handle the offense.

[Miller192]

This is just a weird offseason.

[SportsGuy]

This is just a weird offseason.

Any thought where you think they go next?

[SportsGuy]

Going back to Q...if you were going to cut Pollard anyway and save the million, was it really a big deal to bring him Q back over the 2 million?

I'm not saying we shouldn't have made the move...but I think if the Ravens knew what would happen, they may have kept Boldin.

[NewMarketSean]

i think they felt Boldin wasnt worth his contract for 2013 regardless of where they saved money elsewhere. otherwise, i would agree with you.

[ChaosLex]

Disappointed that we didn't sign Amendola. Not sure what to make of our WR corps now. Don't have much faith in Doss, Streeter, etc.

Meh.

[Luke Jackson]

Going back to Q...if you were going to cut Pollard anyway and save the million, was it really a big deal to bring him Q back over the 2 million?

I'm not saying we shouldn't have made the move...but I think if the Ravens knew what would happen, they may have kept Boldin.

I bet they just didn't think Boldin in 2013 was worth a $6 million salary. And as I said in my previous post, I think the Pollard cut was a part of a larger plan. Remember that the cap hits for their core guys go way up in '14 and '15 and Pollard may have been cut as a preemptive measure to counteract those rising cap hits.

Either way, it's a youth movement in Baltimore.

[SportsGuy]

Disappointed that we didn't sign Amendola. Not sure what to make of our WR corps now. Don't have much faith in Doss, Streeter, etc.

Meh.

I wonder if we go after Jennings? Outside of last year, he has been pretty healthy and has been very productive.

[SportsGuy]

I bet they just didn't think Boldin in 2013 was worth a $6 million salary. And as I said in my previous post, I think the Pollard cut was a part of a larger plan. Remember that the cap hits for their core guys go way up in '14 and '15 and Pollard may have been cut as a preemptive measure to counteract those rising cap hits.

Either way, it's a youth movement in Baltimore.

Yea, I can see them thinking that.

But, it's 2 million...not much money. They probably felt they were in good position to keep Ellerbe and wanted the extra money. That 2 million seems minimal now that so many guys are gone.

I don't regret them doing it..I just wonder if things have played out exactly how they thought and if not, would they have kept Boldin, in hindsight?

Probably not but still would be a question I would like to see asked.