They all of a sudden look very old. T-Sizzle has become T-FFizzle. All that money is holding him down Trevor Pryce has lost it. Kelly Gregg is very slow and yes Ngata is NOT what everyone thinks he is. He can not dominate the way Haynewworth can or the way sam adams did. Time to take off the purple shades and see things the way they are.

They can't fix this until the draft comes. To be frank with the fans, the Ravens need to stock up on as many draft choices as they can get, perhaps 7-10 range, like dallas and New England did and get a ton of players. If they are luckly maybe half of them will be decent. But as far as this year, it's a wash, over, done. They will finish 8-8 or 7-9. Also start looking for another GM, Ozzie is pretty done here.

I really like Flacco , but maaan he seems totally lost at times and his decision making when it come to our recievers is a bit shotty , he constantly has been getting off to a slow start as if he's in a daze , the DB's we all know how the rest of our season is gonna play out with such a weak defensive backfield , now for our recievers , com'on their suppose to be pro's at this but dam they act like they can't get open ,next is the penalties , is it me or are the Ravens playing like their still in preseason ,but bottom line the blame goes to the coaches because they are really doing a suck of a job, there's no fundamentals being taught and you can clearly see that , the tackling is shabby , the covering of recievers is just atrocious , one thing for sure though , this season the Ravens will not make the playoffs , due to the fact that Ozzie and Co . fail to meet expectations by counting on player's that can't play Raven 's football the way we are acoustom too...........

Don't forget the kicking game. As nice a guy as Hauschka is, his miss yesterday took the heart out of the Ravens and essentially sealed the game for the Bengals. And they wouldn't be as desperate as they are if it were not for the miss in the Vikings game. Not to mention the kickoffsa that rarely make it to the end zone.

Don't forget the kicking game. As nice a guy as Hauschka is, his miss yesterday took the heart out of the Ravens and essentially sealed the game for the Bengals. And they wouldn't be as desperate as they are if it were not for the miss in the Vikings game. Not to mention the kickoffsa that rarely make it to the end zone.

Don't forget the kicking game. As nice a guy as Hauschka is, his miss yesterday took the heart out of the Ravens and essentially sealed the game for the Bengals. And they wouldn't be as desperate as they are if it were not for the miss in the Vikings game. Not to mention the kickoffsa that rarely make it to the end zone.

Don't forget the kicking game. As nice a guy as Hauschka is, his miss yesterday took the heart out of the Ravens and essentially sealed the game for the Bengals. And they wouldn't be as desperate as they are if it were not for the miss in the Vikings game. Not to mention the kickoffsa that rarely make it to the end zone.

To fix the slow start offensively, you need to emulate more of what you do later in the game (when you are successful) earlier in the game. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Try implementing the hurry-up offense early in the 1st quarter. Also (considering that the Cincinnati Press quoted several DT's as being able to read the front line making certain moves before the ball snapped which gave them a "heads-up" on where the Ravens were going with the play) is unacceptable. Mix up the snap counts continuosly. Go with 3 step drops, short quick passes, hurry-up offense, etc... What does this do? It keeps them off balance. It keeps them from making substitutions. Another thing I noticed is when Flacco goes to a "no-huddle" he's not snapping it right away. Get up there go with a play and snap it quickly. You do that quickly and early and consistently enough and you'll see a remarkable improvement in the offense early on in the game; which by the way establishes a rhythym or tempo as used so frequently during post game interviews...

From the Defense side. I believe we are over-reacting to generalize that we are completely ineffective. I've been leaving blogs everywhere that there might be a "silver-lining" to yesterdays loss. Welcome Lardius Webb as a starting Corner. He came in when Fabian was injured. Guess what happened? Cincy didn't score another point the entire 2nd half. Yes, Ed Reed's stripping of the ball from 85 helped, but clearly Webb starting as a CB helped tremendously. I understand that Chris Henry was out when he got injured, but up to that point he had only caught 1 pass. So be upset which I completely understand about the exposure our secondary has, but more importantly appreciate the fact that lurking is potentially that shut-down Corner we've wanted since Summer Camp. In case you forgot, his Combine Report reads as such: "Webb ran the fastest 40-yard dash for a cornerback at the 2009 NFL Combine with an official time of a 4.46. Webb also bench pressed 225 pounds 15 times, had a vertical jump of 36.5 inches, and a 20-yard shuttle of 4.1 seconds..." If Harbough is reading this, please start Webb as a Corner on Clevelands' best receiver on Monday night. If he struggles early, take him out for a few plays, coach him up, let him regroup and throw him back in. I am telling you the fact that we are playing Cleveland on MNF, could be just the perfect situation to start him as a CB and watch him roll heads.

Is Mattison the defensive Brian Billick? It was sick to see him rush 3 on the first TD by the Bengals. Really to me he doesn't have a clue how to use his players inspite of having a weak back 4. Clayton couldn't get seperation from a wet paper bag.

I'm sorry but; it is about going from Rex to mattison. This is basically the same group of guys. Mattison wants to play 4-3 and these guys work better with 3-4. So is it a pi$$##g contest - who knows. What is evident Mattison is clueless and he is not a motivator. These guys need a motivator not grand PA.

Plus you have weak corners that could be better with some REAL coaching and kick your butt teaching, not patty cake. These aren't children their men make them play like men. Also get rid of harbaugh he is not an NFL coach. How bad do we need to look before anyone gets that!!

Since the season over anyway give Ed Reed a rest he's hurt - he's earned it...

Is everyone overreacting? When we lose everyone says we are hopeless, even though we have lost by no more than 10 points. And in the last game yes the D was beat up but they shut down the Bengals offense completely after 7:45 into the 2nd quarter. Yes the offense had a bad game but they looked good once they woke up (too little too late). And the offense has put up at least 30 points in 5 of 8 games. Really Ravens fans...you are going to complain about that? After all those years?

On the flip side when we win suddenly we are the most complete and dominate team in football.

How about a little moderation Sun writers? Perhaps when the Ravens prepare properly (coaches and players included) and find something that resembles consistency we are a very good football team , but if we come out asleep then we aren't very good.

Anyone that thought that we were going to be an elite team at this stage was probably drinking purple kool aid too much and anyone that thinks we are hopeless needs to watch some Browns highlights. We are 4-4 with a decent chance of getting to 10-6. Pretty much where we should be.
I think it is hardly the case where the Ravens need to hit the restart button on the season.

I said after the first pre-season game that Ed Reed was a one arm bandit, abeit a gamer non the less." Dawn" Landry needs to be sat down before he hurts himself again, playing "scard" can do that. So we have half a safety instead of two. Is T. Pryce still on the team? what about the much hyped up Kelly Gregg? How many sacks does the DE's have? 3 or 4 at best. Last year T.Suggs was underpaid, this year he's trying to balance things out I guess. The Offensive Coodinator is a stubborn Jackass who is hell bent on making Joe Flacco into Peyton Manning, THIS YEAR. He has last year"s leading rusher carrying the ball 2 to 3 times per game
and still McClain is averaging 6.5 yds per carry!!! Every lost this season the Ravens have rushed the ball under 20 times and the opposition, over 30 times .
Common Sense is at an alltime low. We need a veteran Linebacker ASAP, the young guys just ain't ready for primetime and everybody's running at where Bart Scott used to be. Expect more 100 yd rushers from the opposition.

Let's face reality. The Ravens simply are not in the same class as the Bengals and Steelers. Much of the Ravens' once-vaunted defense is old, tired and worn out, and they just can't keep pace with the younger, stronger, and faster players that the Bengals and Steelers have acquired and developed, year in and year out. I love Flacco, but at this point in his career, he's no match for a very underrated Carson Palmer, who has the Ravens' number at 8 and 3 lifetime. But even Palmer would have a tough time throwing to one of the worst pass-catching trios in the NFL - Mason, Heap, and Clayton. Despite all the media hype and great expectations, the Ravens are going nowhere this year.

On offense, they could use Lorenzo Neal's lead blocking, if he's available, to resurrect the "three-headed monster" that was so effective last year that will take pressure off of the offensive line and Flacco. On defense, they need a coordinator who understands that the NFL is now a "pass-happy" league requiring more pressure on passers than ever before to take pressure off of secondaries who literally cannot even touch a receiver! They also need greater discipline to eliminate those costly penalties that are occuring every game.........

On offense, they could use Lorenzo Neal's lead blocking, if he's available, to resurrect the "three-headed monster" that was so effective last year that will take pressure off of the offensive line and Flacco. On defense, they need a coordinator who understands that the NFL is now a "pass-happy" league requiring more pressure on passers than ever before to take pressure off of secondaries who literally cannot even touch a receiver! They also need greater discipline to eliminate those costly penalties that are occuring every game.........

On offense, they could use Lorenzo Neal's lead blocking, if he's available, to resurrect the "three-headed monster" that was so effective last year that will take pressure off of the offensive line and Flacco. On defense, they need a coordinator who understands that the NFL is now a "pass-happy" league requiring more pressure on passers than ever before to take pressure off of secondaries who literally cannot even touch a receiver! They also need greater discipline to eliminate those costly penalties that are occuring every game.........

I really wish Harbaugh would change his ways and stop using the tired old cliche's to explain everything. The vanilla attitude is starting to show up on the field too. He needs to light a fire somewhere. I'd sat the DC and OC to start.

I think the first thing the Ravens need to fix ASAP is to get pressure on the quarterback. When you only rush 3 guys on Carson Palmer when they are in the Red Zone, you have to expect that they are going to score everytime. Second, we need a cornerback!!! 6 pass interference calls this season leads the league. Obviously our corners aren't good enough to cover without cheating so it says we need to get new personnel in there. Third, Greg Mattison needs to call more blitzes. When you have a QB that is always on the run, he is not going to be as accurate. Yet, whenever you give him enough time to balance his checkbook, they are going to throw on you all day and since our CB's suck, they are going to throw the deep ball all day long. The reason we beat Denver is because they can't throw the long ball so we didn't have to rely on our cornerbacks. Four, I realize that you have to inactivate guys, but when you have Frank Walker and Paul Kruger inactive game after game, that is two guys that could help on defense. I realize both guys are in the doghouse, but seriously, you could use the fresh bodies on D more than the extra WR or TE.

More rushes = more time of possession = less time for the defense on the field.

Averages for Ravens's 4 wins:

No. of rushes = 34
No. pass plays = 33
Time of possession = 33:21
Points scored = 33
Points given up = 15

Averages for Ravens's 4 losses:

No. of rushes = 17
No. pass plays = 38
Time of possession = 24:00
Points scored = 18
Points given up = 23

Granted, there are all sorts of other factors in play (home field advantage, quality of opponent), but there certainly seems to be a link between these five variables and whether we win or lose.

When you publish evaluations made by someone who cliams to be a REPORTER, my ONLY thought isthe idiot staff is in action. If Murray is so knowledgable and football smart then why does he hid behind the "fish wrap" and not take actions which would make him accountable for his stupid bribble. Make a ton of money with NO EDUCATION and ZERO EXPERIENCE playing or coaching football. Play the foll but do not take the position of being held responsible.

I'm afraid the time has come for Balto. fans to accept that the Ravens are just not a playoff caliber team this season. They couldn't get it done on either side of the ball in what everyone knew was a must win game. The offense has looked pretty impressive some weeks and pretty awful on others, but the defense has really taken a turn for the worse.
They can't stop any of the good NFL Qb/receiver combos, they can no longer shut down the run, and they get no pressure. The Steelers will take both games and I shudder to think how Peyton Manning will carve them up. Pretty hard to see them doing any better than 9-7 at the very best.

In a few years both the coach and the general manger will be gone.
The owner, in order to cut his losses with a losing team, will sell the Ravens to the highest bidder. This includes name, logo, and colors. I can imagine the Richmond Ravens. I could be wrong, but I think it's been done before.

anyone seen chris mac? he may have been a straight thug, but he was a thumper that would put a hurt on ya.

2 things haubaugh guessed wrong, 1. we didnt need stover, and 2. we did not need chris mac.. hell.. i'll take rodney harrison over frank walker / chris carr mess anyday!!

The team is simply not properly prepared to play elite teams. The penalties are primarily the result of a lack of discipline - and in a few cases (Washington and Walker) a lack of talent. Look, nobody wants to hear that their baby is ugly, but, DANG, we have an entire corps of receivers who can't get open against most quality teams. We have a secondary who cannot cover or tackle with the exception of Lardarius Webb. Ed Reed is walking wounded, Chris Carr has taken Yamon Figurs spot as the team on-field head case and our secondary simply follows receivers around until they catch the ball and then tries to tackle them (I can do that and I'm 47 years old). This is a systemic problem, not just one coach, not just one player, but, a systemic problem that runs through the entire team.

Uh, how 'bout a kicker? That seems like it should be a priority. They stood behind the kid when he missed the game winner but now he shanks one inside of 40 yards which would have pulled the team within 7 with plenty of time. You gotta pull the plug on him, or at least bring in a vet that can make a 40 yard field goal. The question should be this - if the Ravens are down 2 to the Steelers and need to make a field goal do you feel confident he will make it. The answer is no.

The team's weaknesses that have been exposed won't be fixed this year. All of the potential trouble spots were well known coming out of training camp, especially at wide receiver and the fact that the team decided to go with a Rookie Kicker.

The poor play of the secondary has been somewhat of a surprise. Washington played better last year, and we trusted Ozzie Newsome knew what he was doing when he paid Dominique Foxworth 25 million for four years.

Dwan Landry has also been a big disappointment and has not returned to his pre injury form either in coverage or in run support.

The Ravens will somwehow have to fix the secondary and wide receiver situations during the offseason. I don't know if they can.

One thing for sure is that John Harbaugh needs to stop making statements that he knows not to be true such as "We like our wide receivers. We think they are as good as any group in the League".

That was coming out of training camp and I don't know of anyone in or out of football or in the press who took him seriously.

Time to rebuild..Start with the GM..and the coaching staff...get rid of players who don't produce !

I totally disagree with you songod7. If the refs constantly call two different games, one for the ravens and another for our opponants, then we will continue to look bad. it's not that our recievers can't get open, it's the fact that the defenders can play on top of and through our recievers. on the other hand our db's have to play almost a yard away from the wr's so that they won't get a flag thrown on them. Flacco can't find windows to throw into so he looks lost but if the calls were fair, our recievers would look wide open too. Start looking at other football games and look at the plays that other teams are allowed to make and compare them to the ravens games (not the same league). If you don't believe me just look at the clayton interception where his shoulder pads were yanked yet no call or the Mason play in the endzone where his arm was pulled and it should of a least been illeagal contact but not if you where purple and black.

Stick a fork in them, I think the birds are done.

Ozzie and Harbs should be ashamed of themselves, I'm watching a 35 year old corner that just came in off the street on Friday, covering Hines Ward like a blanket and Ben can't find anyone to throw the ball too. Oh, his name? Ty Law!!!!!!!! What the hell? What have you been doing in the palace in Ownes Mills? Nothing!!! Because if you were doing your job and trying to make this team better, you would have signed HIM or Lawyer Mallor or anyone else, even C-Mac that could help us. Clearly a 35 year old CB that missed all of camp and just joined his team on Friday is way better than anything we currently have in our defensive backfield.. Dam Shame!!!!

Ozzie and Harbs should be ashamed of themselves, I'm watching a 35 year old corner that just came in off the street on Friday, covering Hines Ward like a blanket and Ben can't find anyone to throw the ball too. Oh, his name? Ty Law!!!!!!!! What the hell? What have you been doing in the palace in Owings Mills? Nothing!!! Because if you were doing your job and trying to make this team better, you would have signed HIM or Lawyer Mallor or anyone else, even C-Mac that could help us. Clearly a 35 year old CB that missed all of camp and just joined his team on Friday is way better than anything we currently have in our defensive backfield.. Dam Shame!!!!

Thanks,Rodney,except that Cam and the O don't seem to be ready to take the lead in winning the close games.You helped validate the impression I've been blogging most of the season to Ravensnation- the Ravens offense needs to step up and win the games this year!

Let's fix the loss of team pride and hurt that some of the vets must be feeling by now and start over with some newer bodies in the starting rotation.The Ravens coaches have to bite the bullet on difficult decisions and refresh the team with some younger players that have potential to play in this league.Steve,the owner,should stay out of it and let Ozzie oversee a transition here.

It all starts with getting a new GM...Newsome just can't get it done..all the money he gave some of those players was a waste !.Newsome can't fine talent....Maybe the Ravens can "trade Newsome" to the Browns...there used to loosing !

The first guy who posted on here is an idoit, ngata is hurt so how can you possibly say that he isnt what everyone thinks he is? first of all, ngata is if anything an underrated player, with little known about him outside NFL insiders and the baltimore community. Second, he, when healthy is a force to be reconed with

The first guy who posted on here is an idoit, ngata is hurt so how can you possibly say that he isnt what everyone thinks he is? first of all, ngata is if anything an underrated player, with little known about him outside NFL insiders and the baltimore community. Second, he, when healthy is a force to be reconed with

We definitely have some work to do, but are we over-reacting a bit on the defense? Yeah, they have trouble covering- gotta address that, but the Bengals beat us twice scoring just 17 points a game. I'm sorry but in the NFL if you hold the opposition to 17 - you are supposed to win.

MOST OF YOU HERE ARE WAY OVER REACTING! Yes we are disappointed in the season given the promise from last year but this is the NFL - two or three breaks and we would be 5-3 or 6-2.

That being said, I agree there is work to do here and it is mostly on defense.

As far as getting rid of Ozzie - you got to be crazy - he is the main reason we have had the players we have had. Come on - pleaasse.

The Ravens have a great owner, one of the best GMs in the business, a top notch quarterback and I believe Harbaugh will be a great coach with rings when it is all said and done.

First, we are changing personality as a team - from a defensively dominant team to hopefully a more balanced one. The defense has the most holes. But not that many - one more good corner, some fresh legs on the line and we are back to being competitive. Yet, I will question one management issue and that is Mattsson. I am not sure he has what it takes. So one staff position to shift may be there.

On offense - maybe another playmaker at receiver - but not much more than that. Right now we have an offense that can win games.

The other thing - guys have to have more focus and discipline. The penalties are killing us! They cost us at least 2 games! And don't forget the refs this year - they have made some terrible calls against us.... likely cost us at least one game.

As for the Kicker - I think letting go of Stover was a mistake. Again, the lack of kicking cost us one and maybe two games.

I also agree we have lost a balanced attack on offense - we have a monster of a backfield and a strong O-Line - get them into a flow and Joe's arm is more powerful.

This is truly a game of inches... in summary... the defense has a few holes to fill... and maybe we need a proven defensive coordinator. The offense is pretty solid... but on both sides of the ball we have to be more disciplined!

Maybe with a few breaks going our way we could end up 6-2 the rest of the way and sneak in. There is still hope Baltimore but even if we don't make it - we have the nucleus of a great team.

Ever optimistic - NEVER MORE

I completely agree with all those who say it's about MATTISON. This is the same group of guys that was dominant a year ago. THE SAME GUYS. They didn't all get old all at once. They are a blitzing, hitting, break on the ball group. They are not a zone, cover, sit back and read type of defense. He rushed 3 or 4 on the Bengals 1st touchdown. Are you F(*&^oING KIDDING ME?!!!..That's just dumb. You don't sit back and play coverage against good quarterbacks in this league. You could have Deon Sanders and Darrell Green and it wouldn't matter. Suggs was never a guy to play Defensive End on EVERY PLAY. That's not who he was. Until they play pressure D, the season, and maybe an era in this town is over.

this is NOT a bad team and it is not the end of the world at all. the sun seems to be write the most controversial story just to get feedback.

for immediate fixes within the team the ravens have options...

1. get mattison to stop placing linebackers in limbo zones and get after the quarterback.
the zone schemes have LONG been figured out years ago by teams, and having active linebackers in the middle not able to contribute, a soft rush up the middle and only the backs to defend against the pass leaves no one downfield to make plays. the linebackers are essentially only useful at the line of scrimmage. they stand in limbo waiting for the play to happen in front of them and aren't given the opportunity to be in an attack position.

2. sign a killer foot to put the ball in the endzone during kickoffs. haushka is unfortunately, an clone of our beloved matt stover, except that he is much less reliable and has a decade less game experience. haushka's supposed booming leg has never been apparent to me and consistently exposes special teams and gives the other teams great field position.

3. go back to starting off the game using your lead back... who should be mcclain.
every opponent the ravens faced were fresh in the 2nd half because they had nothing but a lineman trying to block the all game. without the heavy physical contact there is no wear down of the opponent's defense. -memorize that.
ray rice 30 carries or mcclain 30 carries. guess which one they want less of?
this is football. smashmouth got the ravens to where they were last season. completely abandoning that puts ALL of the onus on the defense, which is VERY thin and dealing with injuries and inconsistencies mostly because they are out on the field so long.
rice is my hero, a homerun hitter- but he needs to be supplemented in there throughout the game and given 50 -50 carries with mcclain in the 4th.

4. keep the philosophy intact.
being down to the bengals didn't mean resorting to more radical passing. it was 17-0 in the 3rd quarter. RUN the football. play methodical football. a team like the bengals have talent but not the overall discipline to maintain a structured defense over the course of a deep game. it will eventually be their undoing this season at some point... watch and see.
they played off hype and executed bette for a bit, but lost their energy and momentum. they were completely vulnerable.

5. run screens repeatedly.
i watched the patriots runs 3 screens in 5 plays one time and i was in love.
if they are stopping our offense, then make them run and work and start playing on their backfoot. make them guess. make them commit. and over commit. its a simple game plan. running different pass routes don't get it done.

6. shift the snap count.
seriously. this is part of flacco's youth, but they need a veteran on that roster or a quarterback's coach who is going to intentionally draw the other team off. elway, favre and many others protected themselves and got that extra 2-3 seconds by making the other team have to wait it out or threw them off.

7. convince cam cameron that this is NOT san diego.
those prolific offensive teams with brees and rivers have NO rings. the small back approach is cute but only worked with the rams. every other superbowl winner in the last 10 years featured a bigger back as the primary carrier. his offensive approach damages the defense. the approach is damaging to the team as a whole.

@statman

I think you have a "correlation does not equal causation" problem with those stats. When a team is leading they run the ball more to kill the clock, when they are losing they are forced to throw. The statistics showing a winning record when running vs. losing when throwing is a result of that. (In other words it has more to do with the defense than the offense, like falling behind against Cincy) This also causes a disparity in Time of Possession stats. But you have to remember that is the official game clock, not actual time on the field or bench. Unless the offense is running a no huddle, running or throwing has little to no impact on the amount of time the defense is actually resting on the sideline. A four and out running and a four and out passing takes the same amount of time, the only difference is if the official game clock is advancing when the team runs the ball. This does 'shorten the game,' meaning both teams have less overall possessions in a run dominated game, but the time is equally distributed to the two teams.

KS gets my vote for "Special Consultant to the Ravens." You said everything I was thinking man.

Wow, there's a lot of folks who want to pin this whole thing on Greg Mattison- and he may bear much of the blame, but understand these are NOT the same players as last year. Missing are Samari Rolle, Jim Leonhard, and Bart Scott. That's a serious load of talent there. Add to that the fact that Fabian Washington and Frank Walker aren't playing nearly as well as they did in 2008 (and that wasn't all that great) and Trevor Pryce, Kelly Gregg and Ray Lewis are not spring chickens- it does catch up to you eventually- the NFL is a game of inches after all. There is probably a reason Ray didn't get much interest in the offseason- he's still good, but not what he was.
I do think they need to blitz more, but as I recall they had trouble getting after the QB last year as well. Mattison may have to go, but a lot of this isn't his fault. The "D" wasn't great last year either- Ryan was just better at hiding the weaknesses.

Flacco seems ordinary at best. Might be looking for a QB in a couple years. Might be looking for a new coach then too. hes completely lost.

I think a lot has to do with Mattison. I don't know why so many people are in denial. There isn't much difference in the personnel from last year. The X factor is Mattison, sorry. As someone mentioned earlier, to send a 3 man rush on that first TD pass is just obscene. Palmer had all day to make that throw and it's well known that the secondary can't cover that long. His blitz calling is boring and predictable. He doesn't use Suggs, as well as other players, to there strengths. You people are calling out the players saying they're old, tired and slowing down. B.S. these problems have been happening since the very 1st game of the season. There are a couple players perhaps not what they used to be or just not what they should be, but the coach has people he can try to plug in at these spots. Rex Ryan would have made something happen I can guarantee that.