Baltimore questions

[jjakq27]

Just caught word that the Raven's #1 CB tore his ACL in practice this morning and will be out for the year. Hate to see a guy get injured this early in the season. Wonder if this will effect Baltimore's inevitable super bowl victory this year . . .

see here

Probably moves them to top 3 now.

[membengal]

Billy, thanks for moving it back here for now.

Perhaps I should give the NFL forum a more regular look, but it just feels lonely whenever I go over there. Everyone is here.

What is funny is hearing Ravens fans calling local shows now talking up Ladarius Webb and Fabian Washington as a solution. Ya know, two guys coming off ACL tears of their own. So, yeah. Please, please, start them right away. That'll work.

I did hear the FA CB list gone over. They could still bring in Fred Smoot and Shawn Springs. And, apparently, a time machine...

[derekshank]

Whatever happened to Samari Rolle? Will they bring him back?

Nick Harper is still unsigned too. I'm sure they'll get someone... but even before this injury, I feel like the Ravens needed to be concerned.

[COB]

No biggie, I suppose, they are discussing it on the main page at Go Bengals, I guess that's the place to discuss this with Bengals fans.

It's also a good place to unwad your panties I hear.

I laughed out loud at this. Thanks guys, sometimes the give and take in here is worth more than the price of admission.

[membengal]

Yeah, point to Billy for tossing my favorite taunt back in my face.

And an extra point to Billy for moving it back here anyway.

[Kazkal]

My they can sign my Grandma to play cornerback ;O seems like they could use the bodys.

[ArmyBengal]

I'll continue this since it was started here:

It has always been the policy to have content not related to the Bengals in the NFL forum. I get that this news indirectly relates to the Bengals and we have let this stuff go to a degree and then move it after it dies down. I have no issue with continuing that, but whatever issue other members might have with decisions made need to be made through the PM function.

There certainly is no reason to have multiple threads open in the Bengals forum dealing with the Ravens. I merged all Ravens talk into one thread and left it on the Bengals forum. I have no issue with leaving it there until it dies off, but there is a reason the NFL forum exists. If members don't like how things are setup, feel free to send a PM to a mod, but please leave the threats and b*tching out of the threads.

Mem, I for one love to hear about the news coming out of Baltimore and hope that continues. The mods are only trying to keep things together in a neat and orderly fashion for everyone that comes to this site.

[ArmyBengal]

In regard to the recent news about the Ravens secondary, I will simply say, their already sh*tty situation just got worse.

Injuries suck and we can certainly relate, but the talk of them still being the AFCN favorite it just silly...

[HoosierCat]

Jared Gaither carted off with back injury, severity unknown.

/>http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/blog/2010/07/gaither_carted_off_field_with_apparent_back_injury.html

They're falling like flies in Baltimore...

[ArmyBengal]

As not to bring bad karma upon ourselves, I won't gloat one bit and simply say that I hope our players stay healthy...

We've been through those types of injury situations though.

[BengalPimp]

The latest on Kindle: his college coach says he suffers from narcolepsy...

http://profootballta...has-narcolepsy/

How funny would it be if he just fell asleep in the middle of a play?

What really sucks for him is, he got injured before he signed his contract. He doesn't have that money yet. I wonder if this incident will impact that at all?

Sorry can't really find a disease funny,There's been some worry one of my Nieces may have it and it's scary to watch her just pass out at the blink of an eye.

I guess I let my hatred for Baltimore get the best of me...My Bad. Kind of strange though, that none of this came up during the Combine, or the extensive background checks and physicals teams do before the Draft. I'd think something like that would get leaked.

[BengalPimp]

I did hear the FA CB list gone over. They could still bring in Fred Smoot and Shawn Springs. And, apparently, a time machine...

Hell, might as well call up Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson while they're at it......Strike that last one...Woodson works for us now.

[cHaD711Johnson]

So Shank Graham isn't even a lock to make Baltimore?

2. Don't go counting out incumbent Billy Cundiff in the two-man Ravens kicking battle. Baltimore signed ex-Bengal Shayne Graham in June, but it's a legit competition and Graham is going to have to earn the job. He won't win it on reputation alone. Speaking of which, I saw Graham shank one field goal attempt Friday that almost picked off Newsome at the water dispenser. It was a bit too reminiscent of the two critical field goals that Graham missed in the Bengals' home-field, first-round playoff loss to the Jets.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/don_banks/07/30/ravens.postcard/index.html?eref=sihp#ixzz0vHN1XARW

[Arizona]

And now the Ravens fan point of view:

1. Either history predicts the future or it doesn't. By that I mean if you want to hold onto the Bengals division record last year, and their overall success against Baltimore as proof of future success, then let me offer that historically the Bengals don't make any noise in the post season even if they make it and they are rarely successful two years in a row. If you want to say the latter doesn't mean anything for this year, then don't bring up the former success either. I'm not addressing anyone specifically, just making a general point.

2. There is no way to sugarcoat the problems in the secondary. When I heard about Foxworth I facepalmed myself and muttered obscenities for a good ten minutes. One factor to take into account, though, is that we are no longer running Rex Ryan's defense. Under Rex, you need cover corners that can hold up while blitzes come from every imaginable direction. Mattison, the current coordinator, plays much more vanilla, relying on the front four to bring pressure. This should "protect" the corners a little, but it's still a mess back there. I'm hoping for a bend but don't break defense as opposed to the previous bend and break you defenses we had.

3. Fortunately this team is still solid against the run, and I believe Cody will make that situation even better. I don't expect the Bengals to run for 100 yards twice next year. The Kindle situation sucks but hopefully he will be okay long term. The reason these issues aren't getting blown out is because the Ravens don't have the Bengals reputation. That should be obvious. I'm sure others have said it, but the Bengals are the new Raiders. There are a lot of guys on your roster who are on their second, or third, or fourth chances. People are looking for your team to have issues. It might not be fair, but that is the expectation.

4. Most importantly, the Ravens success will be based on how well the offense does. Like everyone not living in Cincinnati, Cleveland or Pittsburgh, I expect the Ravens to have a top 5 offense this year. If this holds true the Ravens will win the division and have post season success. If the offense doesn't come through, the defense is no longer capable of carrying the team, and this will not be a successful season.

5. Bengals suck.

[jjakq27]

[derekshank]

Either history predicts the future or it doesn't. If you want to hold onto the Bengals overall success against Baltimore as proof of future success, then let me offer that the Bengals are rarely successful two years in a row.

It would be a fair point if anyone were making that claim. The Bengals have traditionally been built to beat the Ravens (at least Bengals offense vs. Ravens defense). That's different than saying that the Bengals will win because they did so in '05.

Many people believe that the Bengals offense is once again built to take advantage of the Ravens weaknesses. It's certainly more true this year than it was last year when the Bengals swept Baltimore. The Ravens should be a very good team... but their biggest obstacle will be the Bengals. I doubt you disagree.

There is no way to sugarcoat the problems in the secondary... One factor to take into account, though, is that we are no longer running Rex Ryan's defense.  Mattison plays much more vanilla, relying on the front four to bring pressure.  This should "protect" the corners a little.

I appreciate your candor. While I'm sure the defensive game-plans will attempt to compensate for the weakness... there is simply no way to replace the impact of a safety of Ed Reed's caliber. Ask the Steelers what life without Polumalu was like. I believe the length of time he is out will determine your playoff hopes... and that's a lot of eggs in one brittle basket.

Fortunately this team is still solid against the run, and I believe Cody will make that situation even better.  I don't expect the Bengals to run for 100 yards twice next year.

We'll see I guess. As you pointed out... Benson ran for 237 yards in two games against Baltimore when he was the Bengals only viable weapon. This year they shouldn't be able to but 8 in the box to stop Benson (you said yourself that the front-7 will have to help the secondary... not vice versa).

Baltimore is always a tough team to run on... but the Bengals shouldn't be nearly as one-dimensional as last year, and the Ravens should also be far more vulnerable against the pass. Sure, it's just on paper... but that appears to be a recipe for another sweep.

The reason these issues aren't getting blown out is because the Ravens don't have the Bengals reputation.  That should be obvious.  I'm sure others have said it, but the Bengals are the new Raiders.  There are a lot of guys on your roster who are on their second, or third, or fourth chances.  People are looking for your team to have issues.  It might not be fair, but that is the expectation.

Call the Bengals the new Raiders if it makes you happy... but winning cures all. Dallas was a circus in the 90's... no one cared. Results are the only thing that matter in the NFL. Case in point:

2008:  4-11-1 - People said that the Bengals have a toxic locker room.

2009: AFCN division title - People said that the Bengals have one of the deepest rosters in the NFL.

2010: Yet to be determined... but I'll bet that Mike Brown doesn't get compared to Al Davis very often.

Like everyone not living in Cincinnati, Cleveland or Pittsburgh, I expect the Ravens to have a top 5 offense this year.  If this holds true the Ravens will win the division and have post season success.  If the offense doesn't come through, the defense is no longer capable of carrying the team, and this will not be a successful season.

I highly doubt that everyone outside of the AFCN believes the Ravens will have a top 5 offense. In fact... I'd bet that no one but Ravens fans believe that.

Everyone respects Ray Rice... but what I hear most from impartial observers is that Boldin is not a true #1 and doesn't add the deep threat that the Ravens needed. They were 13th in the NFL last year. Top 5 would be quite a jump. I just can't see the Ravens leapfrogging the following offenses:

Saints

Colts

Cowboys

Vikings (depending on Favre)

Packers

Texans

Chargers

That's top 8 if the Ravens find a way to jump the Titans, Steelers, Eagles, and Giants without a sleeper team like the Dolphins leapfrogging them. Top 5 is a bit much. How about top 10?

Bengals suck.

You suck.

[redsbengalsbucks]

And now the Ravens fan point of view:

1. Either history predicts the future or it doesn't. By that I mean if you want to hold onto the Bengals division record last year, and their overall success against Baltimore as proof of future success, then let me offer that historically the Bengals don't make any noise in the post season even if they make it and they are rarely successful two years in a row. If you want to say the latter doesn't mean anything for this year, then don't bring up the former success either. I'm not addressing anyone specifically, just making a general point.

2. There is no way to sugarcoat the problems in the secondary. When I heard about Foxworth I facepalmed myself and muttered obscenities for a good ten minutes. One factor to take into account, though, is that we are no longer running Rex Ryan's defense. Under Rex, you need cover corners that can hold up while blitzes come from every imaginable direction. Mattison, the current coordinator, plays much more vanilla, relying on the front four to bring pressure. This should "protect" the corners a little, but it's still a mess back there. I'm hoping for a bend but don't break defense as opposed to the previous bend and break you defenses we had.

3. Fortunately this team is still solid against the run, and I believe Cody will make that situation even better. I don't expect the Bengals to run for 100 yards twice next year. The Kindle situation sucks but hopefully he will be okay long term. The reason these issues aren't getting blown out is because the Ravens don't have the Bengals reputation. That should be obvious. I'm sure others have said it, but the Bengals are the new Raiders. There are a lot of guys on your roster who are on their second, or third, or fourth chances. People are looking for your team to have issues. It might not be fair, but that is the expectation.

4. Most importantly, the Ravens success will be based on how well the offense does. Like everyone not living in Cincinnati, Cleveland or Pittsburgh, I expect the Ravens to have a top 5 offense this year. If this holds true the Ravens will win the division and have post season success. If the offense doesn't come through, the defense is no longer capable of carrying the team, and this will not be a successful season.

5. Bengals suck.

1. Your problem with this argument is that the Ravens are also known as an up and down team. They tend to have a very good year followed by a let down year.

2. Bend but dont break defenses will take the heart of the team and stomp it into little pieces. Bengals fans have alot of experience with this type of defense.

3. No one, including Bengals fans, expected them to rush for over 100 yards against the Ravens last season, either.

4. I think you are right to a point, but your D is looking pretty suspect. A great O can only take you so far.

5. Browns suck, Stealers suck, the Ravens just cant seem to win against the Bengals.

WHO-DEY!!!

[Stripes]

1. Either history predicts the future or it doesn't. By that I mean if you want to hold onto the Bengals division record last year, and their overall success against Baltimore as proof of future success, then let me offer that historically the Bengals don't make any noise in the post season even if they make it and they are rarely successful two years in a row. If you want to say the latter doesn't mean anything for this year, then don't bring up the former success either. I'm not addressing anyone specifically, just making a general point.

Agreed. I don't care how often the Bengals have beaten the Ravens under Marvin Lewis. I don't care how infrequently the Bengals have managed back-to-back winning seasons. I don't care if the AFC North almost never has a repeat champion. I don't care about any of that irrelevant crap. This will be the 2010 season, and everything before it means nothing.

2. There is no way to sugarcoat the problems in the secondary. When I heard about Foxworth I facepalmed myself and muttered obscenities for a good ten minutes. One factor to take into account, though, is that we are no longer running Rex Ryan's defense. Under Rex, you need cover corners that can hold up while blitzes come from every imaginable direction. Mattison, the current coordinator, plays much more vanilla, relying on the front four to bring pressure. This should "protect" the corners a little, but it's still a mess back there. I'm hoping for a bend but don't break defense as opposed to the previous bend and break you defenses we had.

Agreed again. The Ravens secondary is a glaring weakness, but it was last season too. It will cause problems occasionally, but your defense is still well built to stop most teams.

3. Fortunately this team is still solid against the run, and I believe Cody will make that situation even better. I don't expect the Bengals to run for 100 yards twice next year. The Kindle situation sucks but hopefully he will be okay long term. The reason these issues aren't getting blown out is because the Ravens don't have the Bengals reputation. That should be obvious. I'm sure others have said it, but the Bengals are the new Raiders. There are a lot of guys on your roster who are on their second, or third, or fourth chances. People are looking for your team to have issues. It might not be fair, but that is the expectation.

I'll allow the rest of the lazy thinkers watching football to worry about that garbage. It's all ESPN regurgitated stupidity as far as I'm concerned. It's a mentality that has virtually no impact on my expectations for this season.

4. Most importantly, the Ravens success will be based on how well the offense does. Like everyone not living in Cincinnati, Cleveland or Pittsburgh, I expect the Ravens to have a top 5 offense this year. If this holds true the Ravens will win the division and have post season success. If the offense doesn't come through, the defense is no longer capable of carrying the team, and this will not be a successful season.

Expectations for the Ravens offense are high, but I'm not sure they're quite that high. If Boldin works out and Flacco progresses at his current pace, your offense should be the most productive in the division. That doesn't mean top five though.

5. Bengals suck.

Save it for week two.

[cincyhokie]

3. Fortunately this team is still solid against the run, and I believe Cody will make that situation even better. I don't expect the Bengals to run for 100 yards twice next year. The Kindle situation sucks but hopefully he will be okay long term. The reason these issues aren't getting blown out is because the Ravens don't have the Bengals reputation. That should be obvious. I'm sure others have said it, but the Bengals are the new Raiders. There are a lot of guys on your roster who are on their second, or third, or fourth chances. People are looking for your team to have issues. It might not be fair, but that is the expectation.

First off, I think the Ravens have a solid team. In reference to the defense and the recent injuries. Will the loss of Kindle and Foxworth hurt ultimately? On the surface, maybe. Maybe not. However, we fans have a tendency to think in "vaccuum". Looking at the Ravens current depth in their defense, especially their secondary should be a cause for concern. It's not even the end of training camp and the Ravens margin for error is significantly dimished without Reed, Foxworth, and Kindle. What happens if during the season one of their DB's goes down for a significant portion of time? What happened last year to the core of the Raven's D when Reed and Ngata were absent?

On that note, what happens to the Ravens' hopes if Boldin doesn't have his first completely healthy year in....well years?

The Ravens on paper seemingly lack something the Bengals have right now...depth.

[Arizona]

Other than the secondary the Ravens have tremendous depth.

Boldin and Stallworth were additions to the WRs, not replacements. Last year's #2, Clayton, is now the #4 receiver. That's depth.

We've got a very solid backup qb, arguably one of the best backups in the league. That's depth. Unfortunately Troy Smith went to Ohio State, root of all evil and suffering in the world. Go Blue!

Ray Rice, McGahee, and McClain. That's depth.

The Oline goes six deep with starter quality (including backup Chris Chester). That's depth.

The two TEs drafted this year in addition to Heap create a nice group. That's depth.

The D-line is crazy deep. I shouldn't even need to argue that point.

LB corps, as always has great depth. They aren't names that non fans will know, but suffice it to say that every time a linebacker leaves Baltimore for greener pastures their replacement is always waiting in the wings. See Jarret Johnson, and Bart Scott et al.

Corners - Yuck!

Safeties - having to replace Reed obviously skews how you view this, but there are three very solid starters on the roster that have been on the team for a few years. None of them will replace Reeds playmaking, but they are not liabilites.

Finally, let me clarify that when I refer to offensive or defensive rankings I'm only referring to points. I don't expect the Ravens to put up yardage like some other offenses in the league, but I expect them to score points with very high efficiency.

[cincyhokie]

Other than the secondary the Ravens have tremendous depth.

Boldin and Stallworth were additions to the WRs, not replacements. Last year's #2, Clayton, is now the #4 receiver. That's depth.

We've got a very solid backup qb, arguably one of the best backups in the league. That's depth. Unfortunately Troy Smith went to Ohio State, root of all evil and suffering in the world. Go Blue!

Ray Rice, McGahee, and McClain. That's depth.

The Oline goes six deep with starter quality (including backup Chris Chester). That's depth.

The two TEs drafted this year in addition to Heap create a nice group. That's depth.

The D-line is crazy deep. I shouldn't even need to argue that point.

LB corps, as always has great depth. They aren't names that non fans will know, but suffice it to say that every time a linebacker leaves Baltimore for greener pastures their replacement is always waiting in the wings. See Jarret Johnson, and Bart Scott et al.

Corners - Yuck!

Safeties - having to replace Reed obviously skews how you view this, but there are three very solid starters on the roster that have been on the team for a few years. None of them will replace Reeds playmaking, but they are not liabilites.

Finally, let me clarify that when I refer to offensive or defensive rankings I'm only referring to points. I don't expect the Ravens to put up yardage like some other offenses in the league, but I expect them to score points with very high efficiency.

The Bengals match up well with the Ravens. With a banged up secondary and the Bengals adding big WR's, it's even more so.

The only thing I don't agree with is Boldin. If he goes down, which he has the last 3-4 years, you have basically the same WR corps as last year. Stallworth is a complementary player at best. Look at his last few seasons. Also, I think Boldin is a great great player but I don't think he's the number one receiver that many think he is. The last few years it's been the Larry Fitzgerald show in Arizona. Now he doesn't have the benefit of getting freed up from the lack of 2 man coverage on him. We'll see how it plays out.

In all honesty, I think that the players that are going to have the biggest impact on both the Bengals and the Ravens offense will be Gresham, Pitta and/or Dickerson. Heap is fading and the Bengals haven't had a solid pass catching TE in 20 years. No joke.

[jjakq27]

Just watched the Bengals year in review on ESPN. We matched up quite nicely last year.

And someone tell big Ray that he's right. It was the same old Bengals last year. 2-0 in 2009 and 7-3 since 2005 vs. the Blackbirds.

[jjakq27]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-window-0808-20100806-30,0,1987763.story

The Ravens have the NFL's fifth-oldest roster, which has undeniably increased the team's sense of urgency to capture a championship. As teams entered training camp, the average age of the Ravens was 26.68. An equally important number is two, which is the total of Ravens players who have won a Super Bowl (Lewis and Trevor Pryce)

[HairOnFire]

Other than the secondary the Ravens have tremendous depth.

Perhaps you should make the above your sig.

Just think of the time you'll save.

[Arizona]

I love that my hatred of the Bengals and all their fans is starting to bubble up after an offseason of dormancy. I can't wait until my team kicks your teams butt up and down the field.