These 2019 Ravens thus far (10-2, and counting)...

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74_75_78_79_
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These 2019 Ravens thus far (10-2, and counting)...

Post by 74_75_78_79_ »

I know it's premature. The regular season still has to finish out. And then, of course, they got to win-out from there. Just the same, I can't help but to already be impressed-enough with this squad to dare say that this could very well be the very best Ravens team yet. Of course there is 2000 and that historically heralded defense, but as an overall team they're looking more superior. Their explosive offense, especially QB-play, is far better than their '00 installment! But the D...yes, not up-to-par statistically but still making things happen in a big way - and vs the likes of Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, and San Fran last week who was 10-1 before they beat them. Quite the body-of-work thus far! First time ever that they're 10-2; and never produced an 8-game winning streak either!

I know we saw this movie before, back in 2006 with that 13-3 finish (didn't see that loss to Indy coming at all); and kind of seen it again five years later with that 12-4 mark, giving the Pats all they could handle at Foxboro in the AFCCG. But even those two installments didn't wreak so much of the dominant best-record-in-the-league Lombardi finish that '19 is so looking to be! And it would actually be their first ever top-seed finish considering that even 2006 wasn't the case being that the Chargers actually achieved that.

Thoughts?
JameisLoseston
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Re: These 2019 Ravens thus far (10-2, and counting)...

Post by JameisLoseston »

Honestly, this feels like a somewhat above average (9-7?) Ravens team being dragged to greatness by Lamar Jackson. You look around the league and you can easily find better teams, including particularly two of the 10 greatest defenses of the 16 game era in NE and SF. Well, the Ravens beat both of them, how? The skill weapons are barely average, the line is good, the defense is good especially against the pass but nowhere near elite for 2019. You could say "well the offense is way better than NE and SF", but player by player, it's nothing like, say, last year's Rams. Give them Joe Flacco back and I'm hard pressed to say this team has the tools to make a run. It's Lamar Jackson, no one has figured out how to defend his style of play yet. If you stop him in the air he'll rush for 100 yards, if you stop him on the ground he'll throw 5 TDs. This year has given us not one but two of the most dominant defenses of all time, but unless they can figure out what to do about this, it's all going to be blown up by Lamar Jackson.

The fact that this guy was the 5th QB drafted and the Ravens' 2nd first round pick is a farce that I and almost everyone else knew was a farce on draft day. Never seen a draft pick scream "steal" immediately like that one. I just don't know anymore if NFL front offices bother to watch college football, because anyone who did would know that this was always on the table as the best-case scenario for Lamar. It was as glaringly awful as the one-spot-up trade for... Mitch Trubisky the previous year (seriously Bears, Mitch Trubisky was the ONLY QB you put any value on?! They are who we thought they were!), but while that was an egregious failure by one franchise, this was an egregious failure by everyone in the room. Even the Ravens blew it, their first pick was Hayden Hurst who is now their 3rd string TE. It is just so difficult for so many professionals to be so wrong all at once, when they hold what is very much a contrarian opinion about this guy, who always had this upside. I have high hopes for Baker Mayfield, but by all measures Lamar was never anything below the #2 QB prospect and probably #1 overall. The Browns would be winning rn instead if they had done it. I think GMs just prefer perceived "safe" picks at QB that really aren't at all (the aforementioned Trubisky over the far more talented Mahomes and Watson, not hindsight bias I knew this on draft day too), and they just listen to Mel Kiper to tell them who those prototypical pocket passers who actually aren't that good are. Who the hell is Mel Kiper, anyway?! Most draft slippages make some sense and most steals are at least partially unpredictable, but this one never had any redeeming qualities. The NFL deserves this fate.
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74_75_78_79_
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Re: These 2019 Ravens thus far (10-2, and counting)...

Post by 74_75_78_79_ »

Good points made, Jameis, but IMO if Flacco were under center here in 2019, I think they finish a modest 10 or 11 wins and then (like 2012) run-the-table. But because they do have Lamar...Ravens will finish with that dominant best-record and then run-it. I believe it was stated during the Bills game today, that this Ravens' run game is on par with topping the YPG record currently held by the '77 Bears. So it's not just Lamar but the run game as well. And John Harbaugh, still a pretty underrated HC though having won himself a Ring, is no stranger to overachieving in big games as well as being no stranger to competing rather well against Belichick albeit home or at Foxboro.
conace21
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Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:08 am

Re: These 2019 Ravens thus far (10-2, and counting)...

Post by conace21 »

JameisLoseston wrote:Honestly, this feels like a somewhat above average (9-7?) Ravens team being dragged to greatness by Lamar Jackson. You look around the league and you can easily find better teams, including particularly two of the 10 greatest defenses of the 16 game era in NE and SF. Well, the Ravens beat both of them, how? The skill weapons are barely average, the line is good, the defense is good especially against the pass but nowhere near elite for 2019. You could say "well the offense is way better than NE and SF", but player by player, it's nothing like, say, last year's Rams. Give them Joe Flacco back and I'm hard pressed to say this team has the tools to make a run. It's Lamar Jackson, no one has figured out how to defend his style of play yet. If you stop him in the air he'll rush for 100 yards, if you stop him on the ground he'll throw 5 TDs. This year has given us not one but two of the most dominant defenses of all time, but unless they can figure out what to do about this, it's all going to be blown up by Lamar Jackson.

The fact that this guy was the 5th QB drafted and the Ravens' 2nd first round pick is a farce that I and almost everyone else knew was a farce on draft day. Never seen a draft pick scream "steal" immediately like that one. I just don't know anymore if NFL front offices bother to watch college football, because anyone who did would know that this was always on the table as the best-case scenario for Lamar. It was as glaringly awful as the one-spot-up trade for... Mitch Trubisky the previous year (seriously Bears, Mitch Trubisky was the ONLY QB you put any value on?! They are who we thought they were!), but while that was an egregious failure by one franchise, this was an egregious failure by everyone in the room. Even the Ravens blew it, their first pick was Hayden Hurst who is now their 3rd string TE. It is just so difficult for so many professionals to be so wrong all at once, when they hold what is very much a contrarian opinion about this guy, who always had this upside. I have high hopes for Baker Mayfield, but by all measures Lamar was never anything below the #2 QB prospect and probably #1 overall. The Browns would be winning rn instead if they had done it. I think GMs just prefer perceived "safe" picks at QB that really aren't at all (the aforementioned Trubisky over the far more talented Mahomes and Watson, not hindsight bias I knew this on draft day too), and they just listen to Mel Kiper to tell them who those prototypical pocket passers who actually aren't that good are. Who the hell is Mel Kiper, anyway?! Most draft slippages make some sense and most steals are at least partially unpredictable, but this one never had any redeeming qualities. The NFL deserves this fate.
I'd hold off on anointing the 49ers and Patriots two of the Top 10 defenses in the last 40 years, especially after San Francisco gave up 465 yards and 46 points to New Orleans. Yes, it was to Drew Brees, but Brees had "only" 12 TD passes in the 6+ games he had played in before today.

I think Buffalo did as good a pretty good job containing Jackson. 145 yards passing, 40 yards rushing, 257 yards of team offense The Bills were extremely disciplined; a lot of times Jackson was scrambling and only seeing red. The Ravens scored 24 points, off three TD passes, but two of them came on short drives (25 and 51 yards.)
Not to say Jackson didn't have spectacular moments. Those two short drives did end with amazing touchdown passes that probably no other player could throw (maybe Mahomes.) He also had a couple brilliant jukes early on.
sluggermatt15
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Re: These 2019 Ravens thus far (10-2, and counting)...

Post by sluggermatt15 »

The Patriots defensive numbers look great this year because their schedule is abominably weak. When they play good teams like KC, Baltimore, and Houston, they get lit up. I'd hardly call that a Top Ten defense.... they aren't even close to a Top 10 defense this century.
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