'Ray Lewis may be in a nursing home before Flacco is reardy?'
What a crock of dung is that? I mean,USA Today stands for really lowbrow crap, but to put out this insult ... whew, Nate Davis, if you 'compiled' this, its one heck of a 'pile.' I'll give you that !

The Peter King reports are not worth a Clown wipe.

Flacco is not going to start. Boller and Smith are going to battle for the job and I think Smith will win. If Boller plays like crap they will cut him and sign another vet. I think Kyle will play well though w/o Billick in his ear, at least enough to stick around and keep Flacco on the bench all season.

Before the entire team got hurt last year the Ravens were pretty good. They did have a 4-2 start before the wheels fell off. They lost 5 games that should have gone the other way, and the inury factor can not be overlooked.

That is why the Clowns went from a cellar dwellar to a contender in just one season. They got a bunch of guys back from injury, added key free agents and had a decent draft.

Last year the Ravens lost the most talent in free agency according to the comp picks awarded, and still had one of the favored teams going in to the season.
We will be right back on top of the division this season. The Pats and Colts are not in the AFC North.
The Steelers are not that good. We have beat them 3 out of the last 4.
The Browns have some good players now, but they have as many questionable players as they have stars. Who in the secondary do they have that would start anywhere but Cincy?

Maybe Peter King need to remember Joe Montana as a reminder that you can be cool, calm and collected and still have confidence.

we'll see.

Sheil, why would you even post anything from USA Today? My 81 year-old German grandmother knows more about the NFL then that newpaper. I have found that using something from USA today to back up a sports discussion is like turning in a pH.D thesis citing Wikipedia. If it takes THAT long to develop Flacco, then clearly the Ravens have another bust at QB.

----

Eric,

The purpose of this entry is to round up what the national media are saying about the Ravens. USA Today is a national newspaper. It's as simple as that. Thanks for reading.

--Sheil

"Ray Lewis might be in a nursing home before Joe Flacco's ready."

HAHAHA sounds about right

You know JJ you are the typical homer that only can say good things about the home team regardless how the facts say other wise. Cleveland is so far ahead of us in talent it makes your head spin.You are the same guy that say's the ravens have had productive drafts the last 3 years since Phil left. You must be watching games with blinkers on because outside of nagta there hasn't been one raven draft pick that has bben productive so far. landry is good against the run but couldn't cover you in the passing game. why do you think they drafted 2 safties this year. Terry is a bust out second round draft pick, barnes looks like he might be a good situational pass rusher but the jury is still out on him, gaither doesn't even know the playbook so how is he going to play. Yanda there still trying to find a place for him to play. So please tell me who are the players that make contributions on this team since phil went to Cleveland. And by speaking the truth somebody will come back and tell me to move to cleveland because i can't be a true raven fan .

I wont say move back to Cleveland although I will say your are nuts to think the Browns are worlds better than us. Anderson takes a major step back next year and their D is garbage. The North is wide open this year anyone can win it...

Why is everyone automatically so high on Flacco?? Consider the parallels: 1. He and Boller are drafted almost exactly in the same slot of the first round. 2. Everyone raves about Flacco's "big arm", like they raved about Boller's ability to throw it from 65 yards from one knee at the combines. 3. Neither Boller or Flacco came from a big football program (Cal may be in the Pac10 but it's hardly a hotbed) and that lack of experience contributed to the errors in judgment we've seen from Kyle.

In a nutshell, what is it that makes everyone think that Flacco won't be Boller Jr? Instead of saying that Ray Lewis will be in a nursing home before Flacco develops, USA Today could have said that Ray will be in a nursing home before the Ravens develop any quarterback. Well, except for ones like Derek Anderson they let get away. If the brain trust is so good at evaluating talent, how did could they cut a guy who became a Pro Bowl QB??

the browns aint all that much better than the ravens. our defense and there offense match up and if we dont have as many injuries then we will be 100% better next season. flacco might take some time to develope but after that we will have the qb we've always been looking for

Derek Anderson has made one pro bowl but looked terrible when it counted late in the year. Letting him get away is not that bad. Vinny T made a pro bowl and I couldn't stand him starting for us. The person who said that the last three drafts were all busts is just dumb. We have built our interior line with Grubbs and Brown. It is too early to talk badly about Gaither(all rookies struggle with playbooks) Barnes is gonna be the next AD, Troy Smith is gonna be very good if he gets his proper shot, and don't try saying he is too short because he didn't have one ball knocked down at the line and he didn't throw a pic or fumble once and he can move. Oh yeah and he is taller than Drew Brees(a pro bowler) For all of you that think Savage is so great, he has had one good draft last year when he picked thomas and Quinn, and Quinn hasn't played and might be a bust. He didn't have any first day picks this year. So stop being dumb and trying to say that Savage is the genious and Newsome and Decosta know nothing. The power rankings are wrong every year anyway

The QB competition will be really interesting this year, especially if Cameron allows the QBs to (GASP) call audibles at the line instead of following a complex yet stale script.

Here's a bold prediction...Boller wins the starting job and has a respectable year for a Ravens QB (30TD, 15INT).

Best thing for the Ravens and Flacco is if Flacco never sees the field this year.

Corey thats right continue to be a homer. You might be right when you said interior line but you don't win with interior lines you win with 2 stud tackles and we don't have any. So please wake up . Barnes won't hold ad 's jock strap . I admire being so dedicated to something that you can actually make yourself believe something that is so far from the truth that it isn't funny.

The Browns scored 60 points against the Ravens last year, I didn't go back to see if all the points were scored against our defense but I remember that we really couldn't stop them. If they improve their defense this year they will probably win the division.

It's getting so comical that I can get half way through a post and know it's bob L.before I even look to see who posted it.I don't care where you move Bob,just move away from here because I'm tired of reading your whiny tyrannical rants.Who knows how this turns out,might be great,might stink to high heaven,but let's at least give the boys a chance to compete first.Boller has had 5 years and we still see the same routine and mistakes.How much worse can it get than 5-11?Let them fight it out and may the best man win,and I'll bet my hat that Cleveland does not win the AFC North this year.

Anyone remember that AD was not very effective in the Pat's system? Barns is a stud. He will thrive in the Ravens defensive system.

"Flacco didn't face top-tier college competition at Delaware"

Neither did Roethlisberger as a MAC alum. Neither did '08 first-rounders McKelvin (Sun Belt), Clady (WAC), Rodgers-Cromartie (Div I-AA) or Johnson (CUSA).

Number of '08 draftees from Northern Iowa: 2, Montana: 2, Appalachian St: 2; Alabama: 0, Stanford: 0, Syracuse: 0

I think the Browns fans and Ravens doubters need to take a look back at the the 2007 season. Sure the Ravens went 5-11 which is a terrible record but that record is a reflection of circumstance not a lack of talent. When the Ravens fielded their best we beat the best team in the league regardless of the final score. The Ravens simply outplayed New England and manhandled them. My point is that if the Ravens were able to play like that every game last year 5-11 would be 11-5 or better. The offense and injury's held them back pretty much all of the starters are back this year and Rex Ryan is back with the same D and he has a soild supporting cast for the secondary. The Ravens also have a new energetic coach and one of the best O coordinators in the league who has proven he can develop quarterbacks. If you honestly believe that the Ravens will be a cellar dweller team when healthy you are living in make believe land. The Ravens are going to be hungry this year they were embarrassed last year I call that motivation.

Derek Anderson's pro bowl season was more a result of their new left tackle Joe Thomas having a pro bowl year. Take Joe Thomas off that line and he becomes a mediocre quarterback again.

Why do these Brown fans keep hanging around our boards? Get a life! The Ravens are a much improved team this year just concidering injurys not to mention that the experience there 2nd team players aquired last year. They will be very strong this year. McGahee will have a strong eager back up this year that will run right through you. Flacco won't start unless he's superman. The defense is very strong and the offense should be much improved. Ravens 12-4 if they stay healthy.

Bob, I'm not sure if you are really a Browns fan or simply don't follow football. To say the that Ngata has been the Ravens only contributor since Savage left and to suggest Savage has had great draft success in Cleveland is just dead wrong. Since Savage left, the Ravens have drafted two of their top three recievers in Clayton and Williams, (incidently, the Ravens missed on every WR they drafted when Savage was with the team) drafted arguably one of the top 3 blocking TE's in the league (Sypniewski), completely rebuilt the interior O-Line, drafting likely Pro Bowlers in Brown and Grubbs and a solid starter in Yanda, drafted a potential starting left tackle in the suplemental draft, drafted a starting safety (Landry), drafted a starting punter who was among the league leaders last year and improved their special teams and pass rush depth with Barnes. Meanwhile, Savage has basically drafted three contributing players, Joe Thomas, B. Edwards, K. Wimbley...Quinn hasn't played at all. All three of those guys were drafted in the top 15. Aside from this year, Ngata is the only pick the Ravens have had in the top 15, yet they still have found contrinutors across the board. Savage on the other hand has missed on virtually every pick he's had outside the 1st round. If you look at their roster, it's filled with guys coming via free agency, almost no one from the later rounds in the draft, which is where top GM's earn their money. You should at least attempt to get the facts straight before posting a message.

Frank you got to admit D Quell Jackson is a good LB even if he could not start here.

I love the fact that the Clown fans are starting to talk smack. I know Phil is a good GM, and they are now a team to look out for instead of just pencil in a sweep.

They had to watch the Ravens win a SB, and beat them every year. I understand the bitterness, and I look forward to a good rivalry from them, but Bob and many of the fans are delusional if they think they have a better roster than us just because they won 10 games one time. How about the last 3 years? 10? First time they are incontention and they are the best team in football? OK, I will play along until Ray knocks some sense into Jamal and makes him pull a Corey Dillon.

Last year , the Ravens offensive line was decimated by injuries to every position from LT to RT . The Ravens had make do with patchwork line . The result of this was injuries to McNair and even Boller .
If Browns Derek Anderson ever lose his precious Joe Thomas , Eric Steinbach , Hank Fraley , Ryan Tucker , Kevin Shaffer to injuries , especially all at once like Ravens had last year . Derek Anderson would be running for his life and get beaten up like David Carr . Lets see how Derek plays then .

By the way ,Bob , if Browns have 'headspinning ' talent , how come they lost to Steelers twice last year ? Yes , i looked it up , its a fact , not very funny either .

I think one thing we need to remember too is that a big reason Boller(and Redman for that matter) failed is due to Brian Billick. I think that Brian Billick and John Harbaugh are completely different and will handle the QB situations much differently. Also, I would think Cameron is a definite improvement from the likes of Cavanaugh, Fassel, and Billick - the coaching staff makes a tremendous difference in how a QB performs and you can see what a terrible job the previous coaches have done by the success, or lack there of, of Boller. One more point - for those Browns fans - we have seen some good times with Jamal, and we have seen some bad times - enjoy the roller coaster because he won't have another season like last year.

Yea, the nursing home comment is ridiculous!! Obviously, we are a joke, but come the start of the season, they will not be laughing. The Ravens will be above .500 and I think Troy Smith is going to step it up this year. we can only see!

The ravens are in better shape than the browns, steelers, and bengals simply because our defense is solid. All 3 have questions on their line, so offensive weapons do you no good without time to throw. I think the ravens should go after a WR like Chris Henry who the bungals released. Remember JO hasn't retired yet. =)

BTW, get off the Derek Anderson bandwagon. I mean please, the guy is good, but get off of Newsome. The guy didn't exactly stand-out while he was here. He was the 4th QB on our staff at the time. there are always stories of guys who get cut by one team and make it elsewhere.

I really like Don Banks' assessment. A break-even season is a realistic prediction. There is better depth this season, especially in the secondary, which was the Achilles heal last season. If the team is fortunate enough to avoid repetition of the injury curse, wild card contention is possible, or even a shot at taking perhaps the NFL's weakest Division.

I don't know what Peter King is babbling about. Flacco is likely to carry the clipboard the entire season, so what "pressure"?

And the USA Today quip about Ray Lewis in the nursing home may not be far off the mark. The jump from 1-AA to the NFL is huge. If Boller plays decently under Cameron's offense this season, Cavanaugh could have the luxury of seasoning Flacco over two seasons.

JJ, you're right. I did forget about D. Jackson. He's solid. That still only gives the clowns 4 solid starters in 3 years worth of drafts.

JJ, we have beaten the Steelers 4 of the last 5, not just 3 of the last 4. We were the last team to beat the Steelers before their 8 game win streak to win the SB in 2005.

Mongo you make me laugh. Boller 30 td's and 15 int's? Are you friggin' insane? I will personally come to your house and wash your car if Kyle Boller ever throws for 30 tds in a season. Boller has fewer td's than int's in his career. He has never had a single 4th quarter comeback for a victory in his entire career (Brady has had approx 30 in similar time frame) Give up the Boller BS already!!