This week’s meltdown in Seattle seems to have pushed several fans over the edge. And on that note I present to you perhaps a long overdue edition of Letters to TL…
What in the world is going on with Sergio Kindle? The Ravens pass rush has been subpar for a few games and I would think his speed off the edge would help. Jeff in Bel Air
Jeff, from what I’ve been told the collateral damage from the skull fracture that Kindle suffered back in 2010 when he fell down that flight of steps in Austin, TX is a loss of hearing in his left ear. That creates problems for Kindle as it relates to pre-snap defensive adjustments. It may be that Kindle never amounts to anything more than a situational pass rusher and special teams and even that might be an optimistic outlook.
For the life of me I can’t understand how the Ravens abandon the running game so quickly. Why is this team so pass happy and when will they realize how important it is to just say, “Run Ray Run”? ~ Jim in Elkton, MD
Jim, I think your frustrations speak for many fans and I’m right there with you. From what I can tell the Ravens just don’t have confidence in the running game because they quickly abandon it if it struggles early. The Ravens just don’t have the talent offensively to emulate a Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers aerial assault so they need to keep teams honest with the run. If they don’t iron out those issues now, they will be even more pronounced when the colder weather sets in.
Do you think that the Ravens are limiting Ray Rice’s carries to minimize his stats and lower his contract demands in the offseason? Mike in Towson.
Mike, I don’t think that even weighs on the minds of John Harbaugh or Cam Cameron and I’m pretty sure that Ozzie Newsome would not endorse such a conspiracy. They should be all about winning and utilizing all of their resources to achieve a championship.
When Steve Bisciotti joined us earlier this month on the Ravens Rap, he said that the Ravens have been told that Rice is a $10 M/year back. Many are concerned about the longevity of backs in the NFL and some even point to the monster contracts of the Titans’ Chris Johnson and the Panthers’ DeAngelo Williams as warning signals that the Ravens shouldn’t take that big plunge on a running back.
I can tell you that Bisciotti sees Rice as a long-term Raven and he seems prepared to pay the man. A couple of things lend favorably to a long-term deal with Rice. First the notion that the life expectancy of an NFL back is less than 3 years is highly exaggerated. Keep in mind that is an average of all running backs which includes the many who are in the league a year or less and don’t measure up.
Secondly, Rice is a small compact runner and he doesn’t really absorb many crushing blows the way a bigger back might. Defenders have to break down in order to tackle Rice and in the process they slow down lessening the impact of the blow. Bigger defenders who can get their hands on Rice simply pull him down. Either way, he doesn’t absorb the big punishment and that too makes it more likely for him to play out a new contract to its end.
What do the Ravens see in David Reed? The guy has played a year and a half and he’s still looking for his first catch AND he is a turnover machine in special teams. Bob in Glen Arm
Ravens players, coaches and scouts have all spoken highly of Reed’s production on the scout team during practice and as a result, he dresses on Sunday. But some guys aren’t quite as productive when you introduce the threat of contact. David Reed for me seems like one of those guys and that limits what he can do offensively. I highly doubt they will trust him to reach for a pass across the middle and without top end speed you can’t build a career running 9 routes and reverses.
Reed is an effective gunner on punts but I don’t think it’s enough to keep him around much longer (see Marcus Smith) unless he can prove that his wretched performance in Seattle was an aberration. The question is, will the Ravens even give him a chance to prove it wasn’t?
You see many quarterbacks, even the best ones wearing wrist bands with a list of plays. Why do they do this and why don’t the Ravens do it? Lisa in Timonium
Lisa, the wrist band helps speed up the play call. NFL head coaches or offensive coordinators will call a numbered play in to the quarterback via their headset that corresponds to the carefully mapped out wrist band worn by the QB. It shortens the time to get a play to the quarterback and then to the other 10 players in the huddle and allows the team to get to the line of scrimmage sooner affording them the luxury of added time to make pre-snap reads and/or adjustments. I’m not sure why the Ravens don’t do that – probably just a preference but if it works for Tom Brady it should work for Joe Flacco.
Do you think that Joe Flacco is a franchise quarterback and what do you think it will take to re-sign him after the 2012 season? Jen in Eldersburg
Jen, I think the term “franchise quarterback” has a loosely defined meaning. Some use it as a synonym for elite and if that’s your intent, then no, Joe Flacco is not elite and I don’t ever see a day when he will be elite which for the record and in my opinion, means a top 5 QB in the league.
Elite quarterbacks don’t become elite overnight. They work at perfecting their craft through film study and refining the finer points of quarterbacking. Aaron Rodgers over the weekend informed the ESPN broadcast team during production meetings that to be an elite QB you have to want to be great. And wanting isn’t just saying it. It means putting in the work to become elite.
How quick is their release? Do they possess good ball handling skills? Are they leaders and do they move their team to and from the huddle with precision and purpose? How do they process post snap adjustments by the defense? Do they throw to spots before the receiver arrives? Do they use cadence to create advantages for the offense?
I don’t see Flacco doing many of these things and for me that means he isn’t driven to become great. Placing blame on his coaching is fair but I also think Flacco needs to take some of those things upon himself and from where I sit, I don’t see much difference in Joe from his rookie season as it relates to these aforementioned nuances of becoming an elite QB.
As for re-signing him, I do think the Ravens will do that and they’ll pay him commensurately. Back to Steve Bisciotti for a moment, we asked him what it might take to sign Flacco — $40-45 million guaranteed. Bisciotti’s reply, “It won’t take that much.”
Stay tuned and keep an eye on what happens with Matt Ryan’s contract situation. That could be an effective gauge for what it will take to extend Flacco.
