biggest obstacles to a Ravens SB win this year

[sailorsam]

What do we think are the Ravens' biggest obstacles to winning the SB this year? my thoughts;
1) the Patriots. last year they were a dropped pass away from going, and now they have Randy Moss.
2) the Colts. hard to repeat, but their fire and ice leadership (Manning and Dungy) is the best, and they have the team just about intact.
3) injury, esp at QB.
4) the Offensive regresses (perhaps the young line) and goes back to 10 points/game.
5) some other team takes a step up (Bengals?) and bites us in the playoffs.

[73doubledown73]

if old man mcnair can stay healthy and adjust to the game plan that the bengals, bills, and colts used on him then we'll be right there w/ the colts, bolts and pats:thumbup: .

[Mista T]

Obstacles, in order:

- 1st place schedule, back-to-back-to-back = potential elongated losing streak slowing momentum heading into playoffs

- Losing the team's best defensive player

- OL losses and replacements with green players

- Age may be slowing down our core star players

- Inability to stretch the field with long passes -- continued offensive mediocrity

- not playoff seasoned: 0-3 playoff game streak

[TheOrioleWay]

Mark Curnutte of the Cinci Enquirer had a short write up of the state of the Bungs division rivals today and I agree with him. We'll live or die by our OL.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070722/SPT02/707220368/

[jonboy79]

Same as it is for every team every year... Injuries...

[Sephy]

Schedule
Strength of the AFC
McNair's health/ arm strength
McGahee being a true upgrade to Jamal
Injuries as always

There you go.

[Miz89]

Obstacles, in order:

- 1st place schedule, back-to-back-to-back = potential elongated losing streak slowing momentum heading into playoffs

- Losing the team's best defensive player

- OL losses and replacements with green players

- Age may be slowing down our core star players

- Inability to stretch the field with long passes -- continued offensive mediocrity

- not playoff seasoned: 0-3 playoff game streak



AD wasn't our best defensive player.

[bmorebirds_24]

the only thing in our way this year is health our O-line is younger and better mcnair is smart and knows the game and well AD he should send ray lewis a check because he helped him become who he is every linebacker that comes here learns from the best and go elsewhere and their numbers drop i see 14 and 2 season and the only thing in our way is making sure we stay healthy

[otherside_of_tracks]

sorry mista t but ad was good but he's already replaced. the team moved on and so should you. and i don't think you should just take what a few playcallers say and watch a game to see that it's hard to pick our best player on the D.

The down fall to the season this year will be nothing.


- our o-line maybe young but if you look all we lost was our RT, cuz Edwin wasn't playing most of the year. we still have J.O Flynn, and vincent coming back and if they ( not JO) get replaced on the line then taht means taht they're better.

- steve is the man and if you forget about our play off game last year you'll agree.

-McGahee is the shit and will change everything up... how did teams stop us last year put 8 men in the box on first and 2nd... how do you stop then this year... you can't... by week 10 ppl will no longer say that out D is the reason were good but it's our D and O

- and we have todd heap who is the best player in the NFL today why do you think he had a contract and AD didn't.

[bmore finest]

Injurys #1 and weeks 12- 16. SD,NE,INDY,MIA,SEA and end with pitts. Make or break weeks.

[bmore finest]

Mark Curnutte of the Cinci Enquirer had a short write up of the state of the Bungs division rivals today and I agree with him. We'll live or die by our OL.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070722/SPT02/707220368/

Yes but i think IF we zone block well, look out Arizona

[Mista T]

and i don't think you should just take what a few playcallers say and watch a game to see that it's hard to pick our best player on the D.

:187734: How do you know I listen to or watch? And what difference would it make if I did listen to announcers. For your info, I attend most Ravens games in person, and I don't get a play-by-play.

Of course it's hard to pick the best defensive player -- we have so many. And regardless as to whether AD was the best or just one of the best, our FO's inability to retain him is a huge loss, and I don't think that Jarrett Johnson, Mike Smith, etc can come close to backfilling for Thomas.



- steve is the man and if you forget about our play off game last year you'll agree.

Yeah, let's all just forget about one of the worst performances in Ravens history. Like it never happened -- and will never repeat itself. :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: Even McNair acknowledges that his poor play cost the team the season.

[bmorebirds_24]

i go to all the home games myself and i can pick who our best defensive player is its Ray Lewis he is a motivatior he knows the game and makes everybody around him better(AD)...our oline is better this year terry is better then pashos brown better then muliatalo and grubbs not proven but anybody is better then vincent i dont care how much he worked out he just aint go it mcnair had 2 bad games last year and it just so happen that one game was a playoff game but he won us games i think we are set to make a serious run and as much as people talk about we gotta play the colts patriots and chargers do you people relize they got to play us we are no push over

[jonboy79]

:187734: our FO's inability to retain him is a huge loss, .


Who said they even tried? I wouldn't say that is inability. I would say, from what I saw and read that they made a conscious decision NOT to re-sign him. They felt it was in the best interest of the team as a whole to let HIM go, to leave some room for other players to be retained.

[RavenFanatic2k6]

McNair's health, as far as I'm concerned, is numero uno on the list. If he gets hurt for any extended period of time, we are done. After that, I would say our schedule, and just health in general.

[Heap86]

1. Injuries, One of the reasons we had such a good team last year was that our core players stayed healthy, one bad injury can turn a great team to a bad team.

2. Running Game and Overall Offense. McNair has a full year under his belt, and should have no playbook setbacks. McNair's arm is a concern, but this team does not exactly had a legit deep threat reciever, and unless Yamon Figurs is intended to fill that role, the deep game could still be a problem. Barring injury McNair should have a better year than last year. Is Willis McGahee an upgrade? I Believe so. He gives our Offense the ability to be less predictable with the run game. I think McGahee lost interest in playing in Buffalo, and his play last year proved it. A change of scenery and a new motivation to play will bring out what Willis was intented to look like. I think the O-line will only improve by getting younger, but the Right Side of line is in a state of limbo right now. Hopefully Ben Grubbs and Chris Chester will impress enough to unseat Keydrick Vincent and Mike Flynn, and Adam Terry will be albe to grasp the Right Tackle postion. The Offensive Question Marks are the biggest Factor to a Ravens Superbowl Run.

3. Will The Loss of AD be a huge hit to our Defense? I would say No, and history can back me up on this one. Just about every Defensive Player we have lost to Free Agency in the Billick Era has been replaced quickly. We freaked out when guys like Hartwell, Weaver, Baxter and Demps left, but it did'nt take us to long to forget about those guys. But, AD is the kind that player that is a dime a dozen, a jack of all trades type player, it may be a little more difficult to plug in a guy and get equal production. In my opinion we have the Defensive coaching and Personnel to keep this Defensive Beast killing Offenses. AD's void could be filled in my a commitee of Players, JJ, Suggs, and Possibly Cody, Barnes, or Haley. I have a feeling Rex Ryan already knows who to put out there.

4. Special Teams. This has been a huge part of this team winning games for quite awhile. Our FO invested a High pick in this years draft for a player who looks to be a solid kick/punt returner. But what becomes of B.J. Sams? is he no longer in the Ravens future or was the pick of Figurs intended to be a boost to our recieving corps. This looks to be another question mark, most teams don't use high draft picks on players expected to compete for a roster spot, so you have to assume that either B.J. Sams is on his way out or Figurs was picked for a boost to the Offense. I'm still not sure what to make of the Figurs pick hopefully we will get our answer soon.

5. Coaching. What changes will Rick Nueheisel bring to the Offense? Several times last year I was left scratching my head with alot of Offensive playcalling from our Head Coach, Most of it from the Divisional Playoff game(if you want to call it a game). We will need to see a more consistant level of successful playcalling from Billick and Nueheisel if this team wants to be a Superbowl Contender. Some of the playcalling last year was just plain stupid, along with some clock management issues. This is another big area of concern for this team.

6. Schedule. This is a concern, but not a big one. If this team can get it together there so should be no problem beating top NFL teams. One Advantage is that the majority of the Elite teams we play this year we play at home. First place schedules are always brutal, but the great teams still win.

Overall I think we have a decent shot to hoist the Lombardi early next year, but call me a positive thinker.

[sailorsam]

1) re: Schedule; how long since the Ravens have beaten the Colts or the Pats? 'if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.'
2) I think everyone agrees that AD will be missed, but as has been mentioned, losing Hartwell and Sharper and others never killed the D.
3) McNair had a bad playoff game, but give the Colts some credit; their D was very underrated, and they had Frank Sanders back for the playoffs.
I think everyone agrees the playoffs are almost a lock; everything will come down to January against the Pats or the Colts (or both!). here's hoping for some home field action then.
personally, I'm very concerned about the Bengals. They always play us tough and seem to win at leat one of our games each year.

[Fcowher]

The biggest obstacles are Mcnair staying healthy and maintaining his arm strength throughout the season. Secondly as hard as their schedule is the Ravens are going to have to be dominant at home. The fans will have to really bring the funk and the NOISE at the home games this year. Would love to see 8-0 @ home this year but the 12th man will have to be a true factor.

[evade6317]

McGahee and the O-line are the biggest question marks for the Ravens success. If McGahee can't be the dual threat the team needs, and the O-line breaks down, the Ravens won't win a playoff game.

[festivus]

Lack of depth at OT and at QB, in that order.

[Bez513]

Lack of depth at OT and at QB, in that order.

Don't know about that. I think for once we have a decent group of OL that can plug in if needed. As for QB I think Boller is one of the better backups out there. He's been a starter and has matured in this system. I think he filled in nicely last year and did a good enough job.

I think we have a tough schedule especially those late games with the Patriots, Colts and Steelers. Injuries to McGahee scare me...but injuries in general are never good.

[Art-Florida]

Lack of depth at OT and at QB, in that order.

A case can be made for more depth at tackle, certainly. One more good one next yeat should ice it.

But quarterback? Let's go down the list...

Steve McNair - The old warrior is wearing down but he wants a superbowl win bad. That ought to motivate him enough this season. Next season is a mystery though. The health and the arm say it all.

Kyle Boller - Hug him or revile him, but he's a young guy. No point in discussing the pros and cons, it's been done to death.

Drew Olson - Has not shown that well in camps and Europe. This next training camp should determine his fate.

Troy Smith - All the weapons. Great potential despite a terrible finale in college. Will be in the midst of any 'QB of the Future' struggles.

Cullen Finnerty - Also has all the weapons. His college career was off the charts, but are dismissed by many folks because of the Division II stigma. Underestimating this kid is a big mistake. He'll battle it out with Boller and Smith down the road for numero Uno.

[festivus]

Guys the question was Super Bowl *this year*. We have a crop of very young OL and QB prospects, and a competent backup qb. But if McNair, or Ogden or even Terry went down in week four with a torn tricep, I don't see the SB this year. I stand by my :2c:.

[Fanman]

Unless Billick learns how call a game like a man...and not like a scared little b-tch like vs Indy in the playoffs this team has NO shot at the SB. Good teams put teams away. The offense still struggled in the redzone last year after Fassel was canned.

I think the weapons are now there w/ McGahee. I still have no confidence in Billick calling the plays.

FM