It's one game.

Would they really have been better with Ray Ray and Reed (injured) on the team this year?

Slow the roll...

"ball control". Is this an Smith-ism?

Flacco can make any throw. He isn't limited at all, actually.

Smith's limitations go far beyond downfield passing. That's all you see when you watch him play?ROFL

There was a thread on here regarding his signing. Some thought he was worth it and others thought the contract was ridiculous.

sighs. And that is all because of Flacco? And not because of the stellar defense they have had there since 2000? He was a part of the machine. Now people are going to see how good he is when he is asked to be the heart of the machine. Cant wait for the excuses, BUT THEY LOST SOOOO MUCH. When that excuse is used for any other qb in the league, its the qb sucks. Qbs, are generally as good as the talent around them.
Oh, as a Browns fan, I couldn't stop laughing when they traded Boldin for a 6TH ROUNDER. They might of been okay if he still had Pitta. Pitta will go up and grab anything. But the losses on defense, especially Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard.

Huff was so trash they moved him to corner last year in Oakland, and their first round draft pick doesn't even start. They just aren't very good right now.

Did anyone see Arthur Brown at ALL last night?

Playing at Denver skews everything.

They have the best HFA in the NFL. It's not just psychological it's ****ing biological.

And it's week 1.

He is extremely limited, hes extremely inaccurate, he makes bone headed decisions. Did you not see that pass in the first half where the Ravens were driving, he rolls right and CHUCKS THE BALL BACK ACROSS THE FIELD?

Joe Flacco is not limited? His career high for passing yards, is 3800 yards. hes never broken 4k. his career high tds is 25.......

That's not even more impressive than alex smith actually. He didn't complete 60 percent of his passes last year, had a rating under 90.

hes a solid starter in the league who over inflated his own worth by his playoff performance last year thanks to the help from Pitta, and Boldin.

but, you slurp away champ. The stats don't back your lame attempts.

He threw an average of 33 passes a game last year, threw 531 passes, and still didn't break 4000 yards.

SLURP SLURP SLURP......ROFL

The Ravens offense stalled because they didn't have Pitta or Jones. Jones and Smith both can stretch the field.....allowing Pitta to roam the middle.

That is true. And I wonder how much of a body blow that no challenge by Harbaugh really set them back.

That turned the entire game.

Flacco is not limited by physical ability, he's limited my mental ability which is probably worse.

just one game and he might adapt but whenever he has to move or adjust in the pocket he turns 'gangly' pretty quick and then some ugly things can happen.

Yep.

Rig now, they're outside wrs are one trick pony kind of guys. Letting bold in go might be bigger than they thought

Last year was. The guy threw no pics in the playoffs and it seemed like even wobbly throws to covered WR's landed in the perfect place.

Decide which argument you want to make here.

Ah.

So you're simply going to remain militantly incorrect.

Okay - Have fun with that.

Yeah...but it's not like they knew at the time that Pitta was going to be hurt. Caldwell needs to start relying on their running game more. Rice and Pierce are more than capable.

I would let pierce carry it more and move rice around I. The slot, motion etc

Ray Rice ran the ball 12 times, the ravens ran the ball 21 times, and threw 62 times. You wont win EVER against the Broncos if you try to shoot it out with them. They are too powerful on offense, Peyton is too smart, and too good to do that.

There isn't a single team in the league right now, that can try to win a shoot out with the Broncos. That is my opinion. Their offense is way too explosive. They have the oline, they have the qb, they have 4 receivers, and tight ends.

The Ravens tried to justify Flaccos contract last night, and failed. They never once just hunkered down utilized the run game, and beat down the Broncos.

That's on them. Stupid is, as stupid does.

That stadium has less available oxygen than any in the league.

Tire them out - no huddle- hurry up - whatever. As the game goes on the altitude alone will make Denver a better 2nd half team...

Oh, I never thought that Flacco was any where near elite.

He has always been a product of the people around him.

I have said it multiple times when people want to praise him.

If not for a bone headed decision and cardinal sin number one by Rahim Moore last year, this isn't even a discussion. (that rule is never let anyone behind you). I watched it. In the super bowl, on every crucial third down, Pitta and Boldin, all Flacco did was throw it up, and they went and caught it. I don't need to pick a side. im a browns fan that is happier than hell that they decided to over pay flacco like this at the detriment of the rest of their team.

I couldn't be happier.

Which would support my theory that they should of run more? Keep your defense off the field? And what you are saying is true, and accurate. All the more reason to keep your defense off the field as much as possible.

Correct?

They fired Cam Cameron a couple years ago because he wasn't getting Ray Rice involved.

It was stupid, and cowardly the way they ignored Ray last night. especially without pitta, and then jones went down. CRIMINAL. No screen plays, no passes to the flats.

Ridiculous to ever think that you are going to have an air show against the broncos and win.

Silly.

The whole thing ran it's course with Ray and Ed being done. It was only one game but if they're relying on Flacco to be Peyton Manning or Tom Brady then they're screwed.

He's gonna have to start being a more vocal leader unless they can put together another SB run.

I think that NO, GB, NE, and Atlanta could all win in an up-tempo, high scoring game.

broncos didn't fear Flacco and the Ravens' wide receivers

They pressured the LOS and dared Flacco to beat them. The pressure clogged the running lanes and short passing game.

Raven's average 2.8 yards per rush and made Flacco attempt several stupid passes.


btw I expect defenses to do the same to us until we prove that we can handle it.

Not really.

Running more doesn't keep your defense off the field for any longer in real time. In fact, it probably gets them on their more quickly.

Think about it - say you're trying to milk the clock to get your defense rest. So you run the football. I'd say an average run play takes maybe 4-5 seconds of 'real' time. Once the whistle blows, the play clock starts back up and you're looking at 40 more seconds until you have to snap it again. The time to place the ball is maybe a few seconds as well.

All told, a run play probably only yields maybe 50-55 seconds of breather time if you milk the play clock for all it's worth.

Meanwhile a passing play probably takes 6-8 seconds of real time; drop backs, balls in the air, running with the ball, etc... If it's a completion, it's going to be further downfield on average, so to re-spot the ball takes the official more time. Additionally, to go pick up the ball if it's incomplete takes more time. Spot to spot, snap to snap, a passing play probably takes 60-65 seconds of real time.

If you really want to get your defense a break and you're equally effective at both passing and running, passing the ball will give you a few more seconds of breathing time.

Clock time? Running all the way, but clock time isn't how your defense is getting its rest. The key is to simply work the play clock down as best you can and to make sure you pick up a first down or two. In the end, run vs. pass makes a nominal difference in terms of how much time off the field your defense gets. It only makes a difference in the time of possession stats, which can be very different from how much real time your defense spends on the field.

You think New England could? And the Saints? The saint would never stop peyton manning. Atlanta would have the same problem. Their defense is very suspect. The only one I could agree with is GB.

NE really struggled keeping pace last year.

Additionally, the Saints and Falcons really struggle in those particular scenarios as well. Definitely not designed to compensate for poor defensive play.

Good explanation. Never thought about it that way.

In the end Flacco will be forced to re-negotiate his contract anyway.

Last year the Ravens were a good TEAM. Flacco wasn't carrying them on his back.

Didn't think so then, or not. Flacco is just in the same league as Brady/Manning/Rodgers/Brees. He just had a better supporting cast around him and the team caught fire at the right time, which sometimes happens.

That said, the Ravens could've extended him for less BEFORE last season, but decided to "wait and see" and they waited and got burnt, so no sympathy....

Well, we aren't talking about last year are we?

I understand the faith in Tom Brady, but Aaron Hernandez is running routes trying to protect his booty hole, and Wes is catching passes from Peyton.

Like I said. In my opinion, with the exception of maybe the Packers, I don't see anyone that can go toe to toe with the Broncos.

That doesn't mean teams cant beat them. just that standing back and saying im going to match Peyton Manning throw for throw is beating yourself.

The saints were a 7-9 football team, and in the end, the 49ers offense was better than the Falcons defense. Which again brings me to the point that if you are going to go toe to toe with the Broncos, you have to be smart about it. Denvers defense, will get more stops than the Falcons.

The saints gave up the most passing yards in the history of the league.

How can you even argue this point?

Losing Boldin screwed Flacco pretty bad.

They were a complete football team. Every time they lost someone like Ray to injury, someone like Ellerbe stood tall. Ledarius Webb went down, Jimmy Smith, Cary Williams stepped up. Suggs was down, Paul Kruger stepped up.

they just lost too much.

Bingo. And then getting older and slower at tight end, and wide receiver didn't help.

Several high powered offenses beat the piss out of Denver last year.

Big mistake by their front office imho.

That's why we had to get Welker. Dude is a difference maker.

I am not talking about last year. I am talking about right now, this Denver team with Julius Thomas, Wes Welker, Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas.

If you are trying this year to play throw for throw, you aren't going to win. Especially when Champ and Von get back.

im not talking about last years team.

Wes, and Julius make this a completely different monster.

apparently my communication skills are just reeruned.

I am simply trying to state that this DENVER offense today right now, is ridiculous. To beat them, you are going to have to keep Peyton and Co, off the field.

No, you are perfectly clear.
I'm agreeing with you.

Julius Thomas has been a Bronco since 2011 - he just couldn't get on the field.

Now I'm not saying that he hasn't turned a corner; he looked pretty good last night. That said, I'd be a little wary to call the guy the next Gates just yet.

Dude was a hoops player, he had to develop. Looks like he has. But you're right, it's only one game.

Hmmm. I dunno. It seems to be a theme in the league though.

Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, Julius Thomas, Jordan Cameron.

I don't think you can say that anything you saw last night would tell you that hes a flash in the pan. Huff sure wont.

He shook the shit out of huff.

Huff sucks. And I'm not putting Thomas in the HOF just yet.

Welker no doubt makes the team better. But their defense is still a fraud. Good offenses are going to be able to shoot it out with Denver. And their lack of a running game will catch up to them. It always catches up to Manning.

May I ask what makes their defense a fraud?

When Miller comes back, they'll have the best pass-rushing LB in the league and Woodyard is an excellent coverage linebacker.

DRC is a great cover corner and Harris is probably the best NCB in the league. Moore, despite his idiocy in the playoffs, is still a good safety and is young enough that he will continue to improve.

They have a hole or two for sure, but so does everyone else. In a shootout situation, the Broncos are equipped as well or better than any other team in the NFL on defense. The defense is built to play from ahead.

The Broncos are a very good team, provided Manning stays healthy. If he gets hurt and they have to rely on a crap running game, then the defenses problems on the interior will get exposed. With a healthy Manning, however, that defense is pretty outstanding for them.

Their statistical ranking from last year was largely a product of playing a boatload of bad offenses. And there's about 3 players on the entire D that I would take over a KC player.

Nailed it.

They've got 2 ILBs that can play man.

I'm a jealous Janice.

The Donks did a great job with Tebow using that.

Pitta as well. Dixon can't catch shit.

So it appears. Good point.

Defenses can't be viewed in a vacuum, though.

Maybe their defense wouldn't work well for our offensive personnel, but it works perfectly for theirs.

It's built to stop teams from passing when they get behind. The only question was whether or not DRC could hold fast against top-tier #2 WRs. Well that's about what Smith qualifies as and DRC absolutely owned Smith last night.

That defense, while not 'traditionally' dominant, is absolutely perfect for their team. It's most certainly not a fraud.

Exactly.

If you have an inconsistent QB, go get a burner or two, maybe a jump ball guy, and get to chucking downfield.

Tebow throwing short made no sense - the guy was as likely to miss a 10 yard pass as he was to miss a 30 yarder. So increase the reward so that it's commensurate with the risk and suddenly your offense actually makes sense.

The Ravens have the running game to keep secondaries honest, as did the Broncos when Tebow/McGahee were making noise. When the Giants are at their best, they have guys like Jacobs/Bradshaw forcing the safeties to respect the run.

Inconsistent QBs need to fire downfield. It's the opposite of how things are historically done and I think the common wisdom here is just wrong.

Totally. The last thing a puncher wants to do is get involved in a boxing match.


Conversely, Jamaal and Bowe can take a ten yard pass to the house about as easily as a forty yarder. So with Smith you have an offense where the reward is the same but you greatly reduce the risk.