wackywabbit

Name a couple starting players of value who signed a non-rookie/tender deal for 5M per or less.

At no point going into a season has it been more probable than not (i.e. >50%) that any single team would win the SB. The Pats are not and have never been like the Warriors from the last couple years in the NBA where they were odds on favorites. There is much more variance in this sport and they could be knocked out any given playoff game.

Haven't seen/heard anything that makes me think that for Hill. Him privately (and allegedly unknowing being recorded) denying/downplaying the incident years later isn't surprising. Really it doesn't even sound like he's denying he abused her in 2014 at all. He's more like trying to argue he didn't "hit" her in a technicality way or something. Pretty gross attitude and does in no way make him look innocent or sympathetic.

Sounds like a great leader. Should go swell.

I think that's fair, and the explosiveness measurements were definitely something that seemed greater than what he showed on the field. BUT, if you are going to be the guy who places more emphasis on the field, then you should LOVE Marquise Brown. We literally didn't see anything from him in shorts. The tape is/was just so good that we had to take him. He's honestly the best WR I've seen on the field in college in years. I think you have to go back to Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans 5+ years ago for a WR at his level during college*. *Obviously not factoring in pro career development/regression

Great write-up on the Ravens. I'd echo what was mentioned about there being "upside" in the young inside and outside LBs: Onwuasor, Kenny Young, Tim Williams, and Tyus Bowser. They may not have done much on the field, but they are all very high level athletes who have flashed effectiveness on the field. It may not be logical, but we've just seen it so many times on this team where a linebacker gets on the field the last year or two of their rookie deal, blows up, and gets a huge contract in free agency. May not be reasonable, but I basically expect at LEAST two of those guys to become 3-4th round comp picks in a few years. Every other strength/weakness, you nailed. The interior O-line is definitely the least promising spot on the team, and that's assuming Yanda, at 35, doesn't take a step back. There is no upside there beyond the scheme covering that area up as a liability. The wide receivers are going to have growing pains, even disregarding the QB situation, but getting that speed in Marquise Brown and Boykin on the field is going to make this offense a real headache for opponents. The biggest factor in whether this team gets into the playoffs is the step Lamar takes in year 2. I think he's underrated by NFL observers as a group and there is definitely attainable improvement to be had with disciplined work on the fundamentals like holding the ball, setting his feet, and consistency in his throwing motion.

Disagree with this one. There wasn't really a single offseason that significantly brought the Ravens down. First of all, after 1 .500 season the 2014 team was really good, winning in the playoffs on the road in Pittsburgh and going blow for blow with arguably the strongest Patriots team of dynasty2.0. Beyond that the Ravens are technically a bit over .500 post-SB. The reason for the decline from perennial postseason game winner to very slightly above-average team is more fundamental than any particular offseason. The 2008-2012 run was fueled by 2 first ballot Hall of Famers at the end of their run and some near HoF'ers (Suggs, Yanda, Ngata) who were in their prime, and Ray Rice who had a brief run of greatness. Obviously as they left/declined, the team fell off. The Ravens have actually turned in plenty of fine to good offseasons since then, but they haven't replaced the blue chips. After that second group, I don't even think the Ravens drafted anyone who was a top 30 player in the entire NFL. So that has more to do with why they declined. Even with a 10 win season, is there going to be a single Raven on that top 100 players list? They're actually doing pretty well given that lack of star talent TLDR: The Ravens didn't have a terrible offseason that ruined the team, they just have gone a long awhile since have that amazing offseason that brought blue chip game changers.

Going off no data, I don't think this is true at all. Nothing bothers me more watching a game than a team doing stupid things with clock management. But, I always remember it being some other coach in some other game. If Harbaugh was bad at this, I would hate him by now. My feeling based on watching the team for a decade+ with Harbs is that we are way way better than the average team at this.

Oh... one that comes up all the time with the Ravens is how awesome the Ray Lewis-Ed Reed duo was on the 2000 SB winning Ravens defense. Ed Reed was drafted in 2002.

Desperation?

Are you sure? I mean, historically no. But 2019 Green Bay gave Za'Darious Smith a $66M deal, Preston Smith $52M, and Adrian Amos $36M. I think there is about a 15% chance we look back on this offseason 3-4 years from now and say ANY of those 3 moves were smart.

Gerald McCoy calling the Bucs out on giving his number to Suh feels justified to me. That's a stupid slight that I don't think a smarter team would do.

Not positive he's the highest paid slot corner then. New money is $30M for 4 years ($7.5M AAV) with a max value of $36M ($9M AAV). The Ravens just Tavon Young a 3 year $28.6M extension ($8.6M AAV). So, I guess it depends on if he hits whatever escalators he has, which I assume are pro-bowl/all-pro accolade related, so I wouldn't 100% count on them.

You missed the "joke". That dude is less of a fan of Lamar than you are. He was so salty when Lamar started and was winning games that he completely disappeared from the forum, until coming back mid-way through the playoff game against the Chargers to gloat. My homer prediction is that the Ravens defense will be as good or better than last year's. A lot of takes that they lost soo much talent,and while there will be an adjustment to losing three veterans who knew how to match wits with opposing QBs, the defense should be a lot faster with the young LBs. More importantly, what made the defense great was the secondary. I think a lot of people are waving off the swap of Eric Weddle for Earl Thomas as if it was a wash. At this stage of their careers, Weddle's speed had to be covered up, but Earl Thomas is still flying around and can cover as much ground as any safety. The only cause for pause is Thomas' ability to stay healthy, but if he can, the Ravens added an elite player to what was arguably the best secondary in the league already. Yet, no one is talking about that group.

Flacco and Ryan