REALITY: If the NFL Draft were held today, the Baltimore Ravens would have the 2nd pick.
Here's how the first 10 picks of the 2016 NFL draft would look this morning. pic.twitter.com/BoGkvaCEjq
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) November 17, 2015
PERCEPTION: The first ever Ravens draft pick was #4, but that was based on their last record in Cleveland. In 1996, the Ravens finished 4-12 and drafted 4th the following year. In ’97, they went 6-9-1 and picked 10th. In ’98, they were 6-10 and drafted 10th. They finally got to .500 in ’99, and drafted 5th.
Outside of that, the Ravens have never drafted inside the Top 10. That looks like it will change this year.
The Ravens are bad… as bad as I can remember. In the late 90’s, Baltimore was just happy to have a team in the NFL. Those teams led by Vinny Testaverde and Michael Jackson were not great, but we didn’t care! We had a football team.
Well, now we care and it stinks to lose. Since 2000, Baltimore has been blessed by a team that has won, and won a lot. Two Super Bowl titles and a lot of winning seasons have spoiled us. So expectations for the team are high. Coming into this season, the Ravens were one of the top three teams listed by the media to win the Super Bowl. But to come out and lose seven of their nine games is just bad. Sunday’s loss at home to Jacksonville may be the bottom of the barrel.
Important Stats: Ravens are the first team in NFL history to have their first nine games decided by 8 points or less.
— Kris (@RavenManiac) November 15, 2015
The only silver lining that Ravens fans can hold onto is that every single game they have played, they had a lead in the 4th quarter. They are the first team in NFL history to have their first nine games decided by eight points or less. Literally, the Ravens could be 2-7 or 7-2 with one defensive stop. It’s crazy how close these games have been. But good teams find ways to win, and the Ravens are not a good team.
REALITY: A number of Ravens fans would like John Harbaugh to be on the Hot Seat.
Time for Harbaugh to go. He has lost the team and they are uncoachable. 4 personal foul penalties is inexcusable.
— Michael Schwartzberg (@FirePix1075) November 15, 2015
https://twitter.com/JPonSports/status/666000169633189891
PERCEPTION: Sorry, but I will just not go for it. John Harbaugh is a really good coach who is respected across the league and the media. Since 2008, Baltimore has the 4th best record in the NFL (82-52) with a 61.8% winning percentage. Harbaugh has been through quite a few times over the last eight years where the team could have fallen apart and turned on each other. But each time, Coach Harbaugh has kept the team together. Right now, they are 2-7, and yet you don’t hear a peep about any turmoil in the locker room, because there isn’t any.
Yes, you can question things that he has done or not done, but you can with every coach. When you look at the big picture, Coach Harbaugh needs to stay. Look around the league – changing coaches is not a good thing. The teams that have stability are the teams that are on top of this league. The teams that are constantly changing coaches are the teams on the bottom of this league. The offense is an example of that as they are struggling with the constant turnover of coaches and players.
Is Coach Harbaugh the one who had a number of personal fouls? Or a face-mask? The players are making dumb/stupid plays and that is not on the coaches. Harbaugh can run a player in practice or scream and yell at them for making stupid plays, but ultimately it has to be the player that makes the play and doesn’t make stupid plays.
This off-season might end up similar to two years ago, when the Ravens went 8-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time since Harbaugh took over.
At the “State of the Ravens 2014” Press Conference, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said, “Failure is part of success. We are all very disappointed… I am comfortable with where we are and where we are headed… When you have a short window of failure that comes out of the blue, I think the key is not to make wholesale changes… I think you have to be careful not to look in a vacuum and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think we need to get healthy.”
General Manager Ozzie Newsome said, “John is not afraid to make tough decisions or unpopular decisions, if he thinks it’s in the best interest of the Baltimore Ravens.”
I think those quotes could be repeated at this year’s State of the Ravens press conference. I just do not see how John Harbaugh is “on the hot seat”, even if they don’t win another game this season.
REALITY: The Ravens take on the St. Louis Rams Sunday.
PERCEPTION: The Ravens lead the regular season series with the Rams 3-2, winning their last meeting 37-7 in 2011 in St. Louis.
The Rams are ranked 31st in the league in yards in offense while the Ravens are 20th in the league in yards allowed on defense.
The Ravens are ranked 10th in the league in yards on offense while the Rams are 6th in the league in yards allowed on defense.
The Rams made a trade in the offseason and picked up quarterback Nick Foles. Halfway through the season, the Rams have bench Foles and will start Case Keenum at QB.
But don’t get too excited Ravens fans to face another back-up QB. Keenum beat the Ravens last season as the back-up in Houston.
This could end up being another ugly game, and I think it will be, but once again, I think we’ll see scores in the 20s with a late score in the 4th quarter to win it. I’ve been saying every week the Ravens pull it out late, and it hasn’t happened. So the Rams win 27-24.
