Ravens vs Steelers, Regular Season Finale

Anything short of a Lombardi would have to be considered a failure right now for you guys.

 

The Titans have a good rush game, gotta stop the run if we play them, easier said than done considering this team's rush D is not up to the Ravens bar of excellence this season. I would prefer the Texans but that would mean that Tom Brady is still alive in the bracket which is something I really, REALLY do not want to see happen. In the end, if it is the Titans then I believe that our team will have it's hands full with one of the most hot teams currently in the playoffs.

 

It's true, but it's a shame it has to be that way because the Super Bowl isn't guaranteed to anyone. Anything can happen in a one and done playoff. It would be a shame to not make the Super Bowl and then discount one of the best seasons the NFL has ever seen.

 

The Vikings went 15-1 and lost to the Falcons in the NFCCG. They were the highest scoring team ever at the time.

 

The Vikings would have destroyed the Broncos in the Super Bowl as well.... That game was one of the biggest choke jobs the Vikings ever produced and that franchise has had a TON of choke jobs over the years.

 

We don't even have to go back that far to find a great season marred by not winning it all. 18-1

 

pffft, the Patriots should have lost on Monday night that season to our Ravens (phantom 4th down timeout.....) but anyhow

 

I disagree.

For the Ravens fan, this season has been one that exceeded all expectations; and winning a Lombardi would be icing on the cake, but not winning it certainly wouldn't label this season a failure.

Going into this season, all the pundits were conceding the division to either the Browns or the Steelers. And why wouldn't they? The Browns had all this talent and played well last year. The Steelers had Big Ben and a great defense.

Cincinatti? Who knew anything more than they would be in 3rd or last place in the division.

Baltimore was in a rebuilding mode, predicted to finish 3rd or last. Jackson was a question mark. How much improvement could we expect? The defense lost a pro bowl Middle LB, a quality edge rusher in Zadarius Smith ans Eric Weddle.

Who knew the defensive rebuilding would take place in week 5 and Jackson would improve to the extent he has? No one expected what has happened this season. And while it will be disappointing if the Ravens don't make it to the Super Bowl, It certainly won't label the season a failure.

 

Yeah, I can't say I'd call the season a failure without a superbowl win, but I'll definitely be disappointed.

Realistically, even as good the Ravens have been, we still lost to the Chiefs, beat the 9ers by 3 points at home, and even Buffalo contained the offense to a degree. The last two mentioned games had bad weather, but who expects great Baltimore weather in January? And all this time off for the starting offense makes me nervous also.

As said above, anything can happen in a one and done playoff schedule, but I'm damn sure hoping for a superbowl win.

 

You forgot the other loss.


Still haven't figured out how that happened.

 

People will say that based on how the season unfolded, but it was not a mystery at the time. At the time, the Ravens were fielding a bottom 5 defense, and that's probably being kind. They might have been bottom 3. We were swapping guys like Canaday and Averett as starting corners early in the season because the only CB that was good was Humphrey. Jefferson was out starting SS, and he's known to constantly blow coverages and allow huge gains. Brandon Williams was out, but even with him, it's not like they were the 2000 team stopping the run or generating pressure with the front 4. Finally the LBs couldn't handle their positions.

It's the reason why something like 9 new players were playing on the defense in the rematch. The fact that the defense climber from bottom 5 for the first 5 games to top 5 (under a vastly more difficult schedule) shows how much they improved in that area.

 

Good game yesterday. Good luck in the playoffs.
Regarding resting starters IMO if it’s up to me I’m playing everyone yesterday for at least 3 quarters. We’ve seen many times a team comes out rusty after a 2 week layoff let alone 3 weeks off. We’ll see. Thoughts?

 

Okay, this is honestly not meant to be rude or troll, but I was just naming the playoff teams the Ravens have played, as a way of showing that any of these teams can beat them because some of them either have, or played them close enough for it to have gone either way. It eas in regard to the season being a failure without a superbowl win. There are simply some good teams left to contend with.

That said, like Kid explained, the loss to Cleveland made perfect sense. As the Ravens have showed teams, if you can't stop the run, you're going to struggle to beat us. In week 4, it was the Ravens who couldn't stop the run. That's a loss I'm glad happened because I honestly believe it triggered DeCosta to make the changes on defense that he made

 

Losing to Cleveland was the embarrassment the organization needed to make changes. If they squeaked out a victory, then we probably don't go about cutting Williams, transferring Peanut, and signing a host of other guys (including Peters) who made the defense and team significantly better.

 

Late to the party here, but as far as resting starters, I would say that would be valid if we were a precision passing game but I think a heavy power running team does not get rusty the same way a high flying pass heavy team does. The Ravens do not have to worry about the "timing" quite the same way a timing passing attack does. I think getting everyone healthy and feeling rested is actually better for this team. Having the extra week to get the legs fresh and building up the power again is key.

I would rather have the O line fully rested and ready to play a playoff weary team and just absolutely blow them off the line play after play. The wildcard round teams would have played at minimum 6 weeks without a break while travelling to boot. I like our big uglies having a few weeks in their own houses and beds and will not worry about rust. I am pretty sure Marshal Yanda will pick right back up where he left off without skipping a beat.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the rebuilding took place after week 5. The defense the Browns faced in October was quite a bit different than the one they faced in December.

 

Ingram may not be able to play until the AFCCG or SB. That's the only real problem facing you guys now.