Random Ravens Thoughts: New Forum Edition

[wackywabbit]

Didn't see how they looked tonight, but the Bengals are now 0-3 in the division and they still have the Bills and Chiefs on their schedule. The Ravens don't have a single game left against a team with a winning record. Like I've been saying, since like week 2, barring an injury to Lamar, the division title is something I just expect this team to get. Not impossible to lose it, but it would be very surprising to me.

[baltimoreRebel]

19 hours ago, wackywabbit said:

Didn't see how they looked tonight, but the Bengals are now 0-3 in the division and they still have the Bills and Chiefs on their schedule. The Ravens don't have a single game left against a team with a winning record. Like I've been saying, since like week 2, barring an injury to Lamar, the division title is something I just expect this team to get. Not impossible to lose it, but it would be very surprising to me.

Remaining schedule is soft, yes. Although I expect 2-3 of those "how the hell did we lose this game" situations with us along the road.

Its on the staff and players to really close this season out and build the chemistry for a run these playoffs. We're getting healthy at perfectly the right time exiting the bye, excluding a couple key players who will make an impact just before the playoffs hopefully. 

[wackywabbit]

14 minutes ago, baltimoreRebel said:

Remaining schedule is soft, yes. Although I expect 2-3 of those "how the hell did we lose this game" situations with us along the road.

Its on the staff and players to really close this season out and build the chemistry for a run these playoffs. We're getting healthy at perfectly the right time exiting the bye, excluding a couple key players who will make an impact just before the playoffs hopefully. 

Too soon to say that we are getting healthy at the right time. Even AFTER the bye, the playoffs are MONTHS away. And yes, I definitely expect us to drop some games to some of those currently non-winning teams. I'm on record saying that we will have a real bad loss; i.e. not one of those close game ones we've seen so far. Could be to the Red Demon next week.

My point is more that big picture missing the playoffs entirely is unlikely, so in terms of things to stress about, I'm not going to bash the team for experimenting a bit and stretching some muscles with things that may not be most conducive to a win in a particular game.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

3 hours ago, wackywabbit said:

Too soon to say that we are getting healthy at the right time. Even AFTER the bye, the playoffs are MONTHS away. And yes, I definitely expect us to drop some games to some of those currently non-winning teams. I'm on record saying that we will have a real bad loss; i.e. not one of those close game ones we've seen so far. Could be to the Red Demon next week.

My point is more that big picture missing the playoffs entirely is unlikely, so in terms of things to stress about, I'm not going to bash the team for experimenting a bit and stretching some muscles with things that may not be most conducive to a win in a particular game.

cleveland is getting hot and watson is about to come back, they could def compete for the division. we also have no idea what bowser and ojabo are going to contribute and how the offense is gonna look without bateman and perhaps without mark next week too.

I do agree we're gonna have at least one really bad loss. it all comes down to what cleveland does imo

[AngusMcFife]

2 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

cleveland is getting hot and watson is about to come back, they could def compete for the division. we also have no idea what bowser and ojabo are going to contribute and how the offense is gonna look without bateman and perhaps without mark next week too.

I do agree we're gonna have at least one really bad loss. it all comes down to what cleveland does imo

Cleveland is 1-4 in their last 5 games. Scorching! 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

33 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

Cleveland is 1-4 in their last 5 games. Scorching! 

why did i think they won 2 straight games?!

okay never mind just ignore me lmao

[RavensfanRD]

I personally don't see how we can have an even worst loss than the Miami and Giants games. And I hope we don't find out. Ravens have strengthen the defense and the offense hopefully can build on the second half of Bucs game.

[DreamKid]

Yea so this season the Ravens switched it up and barely practiced all camp, gave all players extensive time off- vets even more, and essentially one or two U25 starters played maybe one series during the preseason. 

The result? .......  The team looked poorly coached, we lost 3 games we should've easily won, multiple players displayed regression, and we're still losing players at the highest rate to injury across the league.

So Derek Wolfe can get f*cked with this BS that comes off as little more than grave dancing and a smug celebration of our injuries. 

 

[M.10.E]

Dawg take a chill pill my man. 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

1 hour ago, DreamKid said:

Yea so this season the Ravens switched it up and barely practiced all camp, gave all players extensive time off- vets even more, and essentially one or two U25 starters played maybe one series during the preseason. 

The result? .......  The team looked poorly coached, we lost 3 games we should've easily won, multiple players displayed regression, and we're still losing players at the highest rate to injury across the league.

So Derek Wolfe can get f*cked with this BS that comes off as little more than grave dancing and a smug celebration of our injuries. Never forget this slob was proudly doing the 'white guy with dreads' look deep into the 2010s, like the meth head looking Ohio trash he is. 

 

For all the shots you're taking at him, the fact that Tony Jefferson also backed that up and the fact that he's literally saying it's on the strength coach (Steve Saunders) AND the fact that it's well known we've ran hard camps forever - he's right.

We can have our own feelings about his tenure in Baltimore, but the fact remains the way we handle injuries and the way we approach camp and stuff is clearly not working.

[DreamKid]

20 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

, but the fact remains the way we handle injuries and the way we approach camp and stuff is clearly not working.

As I said, we did change things this offseason. All that happened was we looked worse early on and still had the same injury issues. The team even allowed Ronnie Stanley to just sit out games when healthy while other high level players dealing with actual injury issues they fought through them to contribute. We went soft as jelly and gained nothing positive from it. Even hired a new head athletic trainer, Adrian Dixon. 

Tony didn't say our camps led to injuries either, he said we had tough camps that led to more early wins. Half of our major injuries last year were non contact, like Peters exploding his ACL when doing a W drill. Baltimore is a destination club and none of the notable players that have rolled through here seem to have an issue- besides Wolfe and Bernard Pollard of course. If you think guys like Marcus Peters and Calais Campbell would just go along with camp habits they felt were self destructive then you're out of your mind. 

That smug attitude he has like "hehe I told you this would happen" is irritating, self serving, and an insult to our injured players. It's also him trying to flame back after getting roasted by the fan base for carrying that 300 pound bear on his back and posting it on social media while he was 'rehabbing'. 

[AngusMcFife]

2 hours ago, DreamKid said:

As I said, we did change things this offseason. All that happened was we looked worse early on and still had the same injury issues.

We didn't have a cascade of season ending injuries in training camp, I don't think it's fair to same the injury issues are the same year-to-year. This year is clearly better than last year. 

I'm anti-Steve Saunders ever since he cost the Ravens a game in the 2020 season by spreading COVID walking around without a mask against the rules. How many trainers in the league could directly cause their team to lose a game and still remain on staff? 

Then after last year, when we were completely decimated by major structural injuries, they completely changed their approach. So isn't that an admission that their previous program was contributing to the injuries? If it wasn't, why change, then? How can we trust his competence when he flip flops his approach year-to-year? 

[DreamKid]

11 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

How many trainers in the league could directly cause their team to lose a game and still remain on staff? 

You could apply this same principle to our offensive coaching staff as well. 

12 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

Then after last year, when we were completely decimated by major structural injuries, they completely changed their approach. So isn't that an admission that their previous program was contributing to the injuries? If it wasn't, why change, then? How can we trust his competence when he flip flops his approach year-to-year? 

Saunders doesn't have the power to change anything. Harbaugh is the guy who imposed all the top down changes. So that's a Harbaugh criticism. Saunders has been here for 7 years and for those who remember he first got notoriety because the talking heads in Ravens media felt he lowered the injury rate and improved team performance. Not too long ago we were one of the healthiest teams in the league and he was widely praised for our team health and extending the careers of older vets. His name gets so much attention now because of the masking issue which has turned him into a controversial/hated figure, but he was celebrated in hardcore circles for a long long stretch before that.

The changes Harbaugh made were the equivalent of asking the football gods for mercy. "Hey if we practice a lot less, will you spare us?".... Which didn't work out. Of course we aren't repeating last year's injury levels, because it would be virtually impossible to do so. That 21' squad was one of the most ravaged teams in NFL history. We're still one of the most injured teams in the league though.

Hard truth is 99% of injuries come down to sheer luck. Marcus Williams was extremely durable before coming here and didn't play at all during preseason. Geno Stone played more in the preseason than maybe anyone else and is healthy while Marcus isn't. It sucks, but for the most part it's out of our or anyone's control. 

How much we practice, how much contact there is, what types of drills we do- that's all controlled by Harbaugh. Anything Saunders does is directed by Harbaugh and the head athletic trainer. Camp weight lifting and conditioning are projects he oversees, and he's also involved in player rehab. I'd say our rehabbed players like Justice Hill, Lamar Jackson, Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, etc- look more than fine. 

So no, I don't think dumb Steve Saunders is some secret evil that's now magically behind all of our bad injury luck. I think he's a controversial figure who Derek Wolfe has a measure of personal beef with and recognizes as an easy figure to throw under the bus.

Wolfe has issues with both the Ravens organization and our fanbase. He embarrassed himself with the bear carrying stunt which opened him up to mockery from the fans and later lost a chunk of money in his injury settlement with the club. IDK It makes sense to me that on a Broncos podcast he might try to throw some shade or try to change the narrative surrounding his time and exit with the club.

Again, the Ravens are a destination club and have had countless HOF/notable players in and out of their facility during Steve Saunders tenure. Steve Smith, Terrell Suggs, Marshal Yanda, Calais Campbell, Marcus Peters, Eric Weddle, etc. The idea that players of that caliber would just keep quiet and not speak out against someone they viewed as such a destructive malignancy(literally responsible for endless injuries) and instead still sing the praises of our organization- is just insane. Steve may be a TRT imbued ******, but personally responsible for our injuries in a way that only Derek Wolfe who has issues with organization can see...... I don't think so.

Also if you actually listen to what Wolfe is saying he says he thinks it has a lot to do with our strength coach but really only talks about we how practice actual football and places the blame on Harbaugh- even mockingly saying "but that's just the Ravens way". The context of the conversation is them talking about how the Broncos(Nathaniel Hackett) didn't work their players hard enough, and he brings the Ravens up in contrast to that. His stance being the Broncos didn't work their players hard enough in the offseason/camp like the Ravens traditionally do, and how that's fine to do with young players like the Broncos have but the Ravens did it with their older Vets which is wrong.

That's the full context and highlights how valueless and self centered his commentary is. He's not even saying what the Ravens are doing/did is wrong(contrary to how everyone is reacting) he's saying it's what the Broncos should be doing for their young roster and saying the Ravens only errored by involving older vets. Which again just highlights how worthless his take is. First off, the Broncos roster is younger than the Raven by 14 days. Second, everyone knows the Ravens' older vets and established players have near endless power over their camp and practice contributions- even beyond the rest days and time off Harbaugh enforces for them. That's why there's always so many NIRs on our injury reports. He's just talking out of his a** for clout on some dumb Broncos podcast, the main issue though is him taking such a smug tone when talking about our injured players- which I'm more than sick of atp. Too many pundits have grown comfortable taking on this mocking or lecturing tone when referencing our injuries and it's disrespectful to the actual humans behind the injuries. 

[DreamKid]

1 minute ago, DreamKid said:

TRT imbued ******,

For the mods, I didn't know dou + che was blocked. Wasn't anything more nasty than that. So don't feel obligated to edit my post, again. Unless mocking Steve Saunders' looks/styling is policed similarly to how mocking Derek Wolfe's is. 

[diamondbull424]

13 minutes ago, DreamKid said:

You could apply this same principle to our offensive coaching staff as well. 

Saunders doesn't have the power to change anything. Harbaugh is the guy who imposed all the top down changes. So that's a Harbaugh criticism. Saunders has been here for 7 years and for those who remember he first got notoriety because the talking heads in Ravens media felt he lowered the injury rate and improved team performance. Not too long ago we were one of the healthiest teams in the league and he was widely praised for our team health and extending the careers of older vets. His name gets so much attention now because of the masking issue which has turned him into a controversial/hated figure, but he was celebrated in hardcore circles for a long long stretch before that.

The changes Harbaugh made were the equivalent of asking the football gods for mercy. "Hey if we practice a lot less, will you spare us?".... Which didn't work out. Of course we aren't repeating last year's injury levels, because it would be virtually impossible to do so. That 21' squad was one of the most ravaged teams in NFL history. We're still one of the most injured teams in the league though.

Hard truth is 99% of injuries come down to sheer luck. Marcus Williams was extremely durable before coming here and didn't play at all during preseason. Geno Stone played more in the preseason than maybe anyone else and is healthy while Marcus isn't. It sucks, but for the most part it's out of our or anyone's control. 

How much we practice, how much contact there is, what types of drills we do- that's all controlled by Harbaugh. Anything Saunders does is directed by Harbaugh and the head athletic trainer. Camp weight lifting and conditioning are projects he oversees, and he's also involved in player rehab. I'd say our rehabbed players like Justice Hill, Lamar Jackson, Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, etc- look more than fine. 

So no, I don't think dumb Steve Saunders is some secret evil that's now magically behind all of our bad injury luck. I think he's a controversial figure who Derek Wolfe has a measure of personal beef with and recognizes as an easy figure to throw under the bus.

Wolfe has issues with both the Ravens organization and our fanbase. He embarrassed himself with the bear carrying stunt which opened him up to mockery from the fans and later lost a chunk of money in his injury settlement with the club. IDK It makes sense to me that on a Broncos podcast he might try to throw some shade or try to change the narrative surrounding his time and exit with the club.

Again, the Ravens are a destination club and have had countless HOF/notable players in and out of their facility during Steve Saunders tenure. Steve Smith, Terrell Suggs, Marshal Yanda, Calais Campbell, Marcus Peters, Eric Weddle, etc. The idea that players of that caliber would just keep quiet and not speak out against someone they viewed as such a destructive malignancy(literally responsible for endless injuries) and instead still sing the praises of our organization- is just insane. Steve may be a TRT imbued ******, but personally responsible for our injuries in a way that only Derek Wolfe who has issues with organization can see...... I don't think so.

Also if you actually listen to what Wolfe is saying he says he thinks it has a lot to do with our strength coach but really only talks about we how practice actual football and places the blame on Harbaugh- even mockingly saying "but that's just the Ravens way". The context of the conversation is them talking about how the Broncos(Nathaniel Hackett) didn't work their players hard enough, and he brings the Ravens up in contrast to that. His stance being the Broncos didn't work their players hard enough in the offseason/camp like the Ravens traditionally do, and how that's fine to do with young players like the Broncos have but the Ravens did it with their older Vets which is wrong.

That's the full context and highlights how valueless and self centered his commentary is. He's not even saying what the Ravens are doing/did is wrong(contrary to how everyone is reacting) he's saying it's what the Broncos should be doing for their young roster and saying the Ravens only errored by involving older vets. Which again just highlights how worthless his take is. First off, the Broncos roster is younger than the Raven by 14 days. Second, everyone knows the Ravens' older vets and established players have near endless power over their camp and practice contributions- even beyond the rest days and time off Harbaugh enforces for them. That's why there's always so many NIRs on our injury reports. He's just talking out of his a** for clout on some dumb Broncos podcast, the main issue though is him taking such a smug tone when talking about our injured players- which I'm more than sick of atp. Too many pundits have grown comfortable taking on this mocking or lecturing tone when referencing our injuries and it's disrespectful to the actual humans behind the injuries. 

Had no idea about the bear. Interesting.