over compensating with caps is a sign of sub conscious denial btw
Let's be honest : Unlike many here, I don't hate you. I didn't "roast" you on the final day of the forum(and yes, I was cocky, arrogant, and immature when writing that). Even with your insult thrown towards me, I'm not upset with you. I'm a hard guy to piss off. I don't have you on ignore because frankly I like seeing other's people's opinions, even if I disagree with them. This is a place of discussion. Other opinions welcome.
So let me give you my opinion.
We all know what you're doing. Since around 2013 you've been pushing your "blow up the team and rebuild" agenda. We get. You hate Harbaugh's coachspeak. So do I. But that doesn't mean you need to attack his character. Doesn't mean you have to equate him as to being a cult follower. We also get that you hate Flacco because he's maddeningly inconsistent. Do you think we don't have a problem with that? We'd take Tom Brady over the dude every day of the week, especially Sunday. But guess what? We resigned him. Get over it. You an agenda to push, we get it. Whether it's your anti-government agenda, or your "Harbaugh is a serial injurer" agenda(which has been disproven several times by
@RavensMania by the way. Way to stick to it though. Or the "Flacco has too many kids" jokes. He's Mormon... Even if it's stereotypical, they tend to have a lot of children. He can afford it, so why should anyone care? Way to attack his belief system. And good lord, how condescending can you be?
Everyone here knows that I've been very critical of our offseason this past year. for one reason, and one reason only. We didn't fix the oline. I am very vocal about my concerns. But let's be real here. The past few years haven't been a so called "retooling". A retooling would be not changing an offensive scheme, just getting new players. Not readjusting our free agency strategy and doing the same thing we used to always do(we've acquired Weddle, who btw does not look old like you proclaim, and Jefferson for expensive contracts the past two offseasons. Something we've never done in the past). The past two drafts we changed our philosophy with regards to the players we drafted. The front seven has been reinjected with talent with speed, and not slow, strong players. The two linebackers we drafted this offseason both have pro bowl potential. Williams, if he can ever become a good run defender, has all pro potential. Sure, they may not meet your ridiculously high standards such as "every player must be a star for this team to be dominant", but this is the real world. Not Madden. Only thing that kept it from being a public rebuild was that we kept Flacco and Harbaugh. That's it. We've changed schemes/coaches, added a lot of new talent. That's a rebuild.
For the most part(London aside, I don't think anyone not named Jimmy or Marlon showed up), we've actually been generating good interior pressure from Pierce, Urban, and even Williams who I've been chastising this offseason. One bad loss and the forum goes into a frenzy. Some are calling for the heads of the coaching staff(because we would fire the coaching staff on a short week vs. our biggest rival. That's illogical from all standpoints). Most members here are angry. But you? You seem happy that we lost. You're straight up relishing in the fact that we lost so you can go and yell out, "Fire everyone. Fuck Urban, he's like Baltimore sports, just alright. Give up and rebuild".
Honestly, I don't know why you want to rebuild. It's already been happening. Our defense has been massively in the rebuilding process for the past two years. Let's be honest with ourselves. Even with the humiliating loss on Sunday, where literally nobody showed up on either side of the ball sans three players, this defense is better than last year's, it's better than 2015, it's better than 2014 by virtue of acutally having a secondary, it's better than 2013, and yes it's better than our super bowl defense in 2012. Why? Because we blew up the thing and acquired guys who are adept for the new NFL. CJ Mosley is a lot better than you give him credit for. He's a top ten ILB in the league, and given that most teams start at least two of those type of players, that's elite. Brandon Williams, who you said would be out of the NFL by now, is one of the best run stuffing defensive tackles in the league. He may not be an elite pass rusher, but if you can't stop the run, by virtue you cannot stop the pass. I know you'd rather have kept McPhee than Smith, but did you see our secondary when he went down? #1 Corners don't grow on trees, and McPhee has similar injury issues. Humphrey has looked good, much to your dissapointment I imagine. Bowser and Williams have flashed. Michael Pierce has turned out to be a UDFA steal. I don't know what you mean, both the offense and the defense look a lot different fundamentally than just a couple of years ago. We've injected a lot of young talent.
Yet, you want us to give up and blow it up? That's how teams like Cleveland get into a cycle of never-ending rebuilding. Trading away young talent before they possibly have a chance to properly develop ruined them and those player's careers. I think you understand that too. But you just want to push your agenda. Even with the injuries, at least on the defensive side of the ball we have depth just about everywhere except for the inside linebacker position. Young depth. I'm sorry, but I don't want to blow up a young defense, or give up.
Why? Let's start off with the obvious. This is the youngest team we've had in years, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Outside of Suggs, Weddle, and Webb(who will likely go back to being the third safety when Hill returns this season, and Young returns next season), this defense is a young unit. Where most of the players are either in their primes, and will be their for a couple more seasons at worst(Jimmy), or are young players acquired sometime in the last 2-3 years. We've retooled the defense, and that's a good thing, because as these players get older and grow together, they'll become an even better unit over the next 2-3 years. And you want to get rid of that? That makes no logical sense whatsoever. Especially since we also get a very good young CB in Tavon Young coming back from injury next season(let's see. He was hurt in June, meaning he'll likely be in walking shape by December, and will likely be in camp shape come June, and be good again in August).
We also have positions on the offense that have been addressed with young talent. Even though Stanley has been struggling recently(with a guy like him given his high football IQ, this is likely a sophomore slump, I fully expect him to pull a CJ Mosley and bounce back, if not immediately sometime in the future), we added him. I know you hate Perriman, but we aren't going to cut him due to a rookie contract, and there is a possibility he blooms late. Unlike Elam, he's actually flashed potential on numerous occasions. We heavily invested young talent in the TE position and likely will do so again next year. Same with running back. Sorry, although West doesn't look like a star(which we all know you think we need a star at every position so don't bring that up), he along with Buck, and Collins look more than capable as a committee. This team is young, with a lot of players who have, at worst flashed their talents, and you want to rebuild. That is the most illogical statement you've ever made, and you likely know that it doesn't add up. Yet, you want to keep pushing your agenda that we need to blow up and restart everything. When in reality, we're not too far away from being good again.
Let's get into the fact that this team is really one good offensive line away from being a contender again. Even if Flacco has been regressing, we've seen quarterbacks come back and have great seasons after years of regression before because of either a change of scenery or additions along the team(usually along the offensive line. Look at Tony Romo, he looked great again after seasons of struggling because the Cowboys beefed up that line). Sorry, given his contract and the fact that he's done what most quarterbacks in the league haven't done(win a super bowl, has been invited to a few pro bowls). He's staying. I do think it's likely that we start looking for the quarterback of the future this upcoming draft, but he's sitill going to be the starter for at least the next two seasons, and he's still had his good games during the bad years so it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that he returns to pre-super bowl joe, which is honestly what we need. Also, next year's free agency class and draft class is ripe with talent along every position on the offense. This wide recieving corps, even with Perriman's inconsistencies, is likely the best Flacco's ever had(let's be real. Maclin is a clear #1, Wallace is a #2. And even with his maddening drops, Perriman last year at least commands some respect even if you have none for him with his ability to make big plays). If we fix that offensive line, at worst the running game will become a massive strength of the team(even if we don't upgrade the RB position, which I think is going to be a priority) and we can wear teams down. Flacco has proven in the past that when the running game is on point, he can at worst be a game manager who doesn't lose you the game, or at best win it for you. So, you want to take a team that is literally one good unit away from being a contender again, and give up to rebuild. That strategy isn't just illogical, it's asinine.
The worst thing that probably could happen this offseason is that Harbaugh might be fired if we miss the playoffs, and we institute a new coaching staff during the offseason(a move most would be okay with if we missed the playoffs). Ozzie, even though you think he's crap(even though his two year plan is actually genius if Flacco can stay healthy), is likely going to stay aboard even if I think he's ignored a critical position of the team himself. Yes, we are going to be short on cap space for the time being, but knowing ozzie, backloaded extensions will be made, paycuts will be accepted by certain players, and Ozzie, especially given that he's adjusted his strategy, will likely target a big name somewhere on the offense and pay them handsomely. Hypothetically, if we resign Jensen, and sign say Andrew Norwell, we would trot out a line of Stanley-Norwell-Jensen-Yanda-Draft pick. Which would be a strong unit. Adding another draft pick into the mix like a Quinten Nelson and moving a Yanda to the center position, and that becomes an elite offensive line immediately, just by adding two players. The run blocking, especially given Roman's scheme seems to work despite poor performances from some of our guards, would be vastly improved, and by transition so would the passing game. That alone turns this offense from a below average unit, to an above average unit regardless of who is at running back, and we are likely to improve upon the running back situation this offseason as well.
So yes. Even after your uncalled for comment about me being in denial. I'm not in denial. I was being immature and making fun of the people who are crying doom and gloom even though we have a winning record at the moment and the future is unpredictable. I'm sorry about that, but it also seems illogical. Call me doctor Spock and make fun of me all you want. These viewpoints seem reactionary, and illogical.
Although I've been very vocal about Ozzie's shortcomings this offseason, big picture wise we actually look to be in a decent place at worst, and a super bowl team sometime within the next few seasons at best. I think overall, this past offseason was good, but left a lot to be desired. It's obvious that we've been rebuilding the team already, and have adjusted several of our old strategies. The fact that Ozzie has gotten with the times has likely saved his job.
So yes, you can continue to push the agenda: I just wanted to make sure we stand on the same ground. Just because I don't agree with your opinion doesn't mean I'm in denial. You're not in denial, but you are using this forum as a platform to push one out of several agendas you have. We merely disagree. But for logical reasons, I cannot support your agenda. There are too many fallacies in your argument for me to do so. We've been rebuilding already, the team has improved from last year. It will continue to improve given the sheer amount of young talent. We are more likely than not to fix the offensive line next offseason, and add a few more pieces and have the final result be one of the most complete and balanced teams in the league. I don't see the need for a rebuild.
But that's the beauty of this message board. I know you won't agree with me. In fact, I expect a snarky remark from you. I still don't hate you, I still won't put you on ignore. So say whatever you want about me. Free country, lenient message board. I just don't agree with you, I know you don't agree with me and there are likely several others on here who agree/disagree with both of us. It is what it is. But to say I'm in denial was uncalled for.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
