Joe's Best Receiver

[The Raven]

Imo it should be Derrick mason without question.

He didn't disappear like boldin

He was the most sure handed

He was the most reliably target

He is second behind Smitty in heart and fire

He produced far more consistent than anyone else

Without mason, flacco would have been a disaster his first 3 years

You convinced me.

 

[Nurps]

I cant remember what game it was, but Mase got absolutely BLASTED and sandwiched by two defenders and just kept going.....very hurt.....to the endzone I believe. It was insane.

 

[K-Dog]

I cant remember what game it was, but Mase got absolutely BLASTED and sandwiched by two defenders and just kept going.....very hurt.....to the endzone I believe. It was insane.

I believe Dallas.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

I cant remember what game it was, but Mase got absolutely BLASTED and sandwiched by two defenders and just kept going.....very hurt.....to the endzone I believe. It was insane.

I believe Dallas.

it was Detroit. Dallas was the game where he began playing with a separated shoulder and was out there workin fools over in the end zone with one arm

 

[K-Dog]

it was Detroit. Dallas was the game where he began playing with a separated shoulder and was out there workin fools over in the end zone with one arm

Ah.
My bad.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Ah.
My bad.

I actually just looked it up. He dislocated his shoulder against Houston week 10, that rings a bell. he sat out the rest of that game and I was worried he was done for the year, like full panic cuz I am a HUGE mason fan, he never missed a game after, But 6 weeks later in Dallas he dislocated it again, but stayed on the field and scored a TD. That man was a goddamn warrior. That 2008 season is what makes me default to mason without a question every time.

But then his 07 season was incredible also, when our team was garbage he had a 100 catch season

 

[cobrajet]

it was Detroit. Dallas was the game where he began playing with a separated shoulder and was out there workin fools over in the end zone with one arm

I remember that game. It was insane!

 

[Sledge Hammer]

Any WR that is at his best would be Boldin by a landslide. Mason and SS played their moments. BUT didn't have the juice to take over games when it counted. In the playoffs the Ravens couldn't match playmakers with the steelers and patriots to get over the hump. Bold boldly took over games and produced even when geared towards stopping him. Mason helped Flacco and was a good reliable player but not spectacular. He lost much of his burst and was only effective on a couple of routes which many teams took away.

Would be cool to have Mason in his prime!! McNair would have fizzled out as a starter without Titans finding Mason. Any WR in his prime I would go with Boldin again. Even with below average QBs he could take over games. He slightly edges SS and Mason in their prime. And you could make a very strong case for SS. And to be honest it would be really cool to have any of Boldin SS and even Mason in their prime.

Anybody pick up on a recurring theme here?? Always getting WR's that already played out their prime. Maclin is a yr from 30 with many whispers he didn't look as explosive last year even b4 the injury. Ravens need to learn to identify a young talent that has potential to be great on a better team and trade for him. It is like there is no confidence to identify a WR like Welker,Hogan,Lloyd with great potential but with a bad team and make a mover for him. I like Marqise Lee. Caroo, Janis and Tre McBride have a lot of potential. Especially Janis/Caroo

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Any WR that is at his best would be Boldin by a landslide. Mason and SS played their moments. BUT didn't have the juice to take over games when it counted. In the playoffs the Ravens couldn't match playmakers with the steelers and patriots to get over the hump. Bold boldly took over games and produced even when geared towards stopping him. Mason helped Flacco and was a good reliable player but not spectacular. He lost much of his burst and was only effective on a couple of routes which many teams took away.

Would be cool to have Mason in his prime!! McNair would have fizzled out as a starter without Titans finding Mason. Any WR in his prime I would go with Boldin again. Even with below average QBs he could take over games. He slightly edges SS and Mason in their prime. And you could make a very strong case for SS. And to be honest it would be really cool to have any of Boldin SS and even Mason in their prime.

Anybody pick up on a recurring theme here?? Always getting WR's that already played out their prime. Maclin is a yr from 30 with many whispers he didn't look as explosive last year even b4 the injury. Ravens need to learn to identify a young talent that has potential to be great on a better team and trade for him. It is like there is no confidence to identify a WR like Welker,Hogan,Lloyd with great potential but with a bad team and make a mover for him. I like Marqise Lee. Caroo, Janis and Tre McBride have a lot of potential. Especially Janis/Caroo

Boldin dropped a game winning TD in the playoffs vs Pittsburgh in 2011.

Boldin took over games for a 4 game stretch. Otherwise he was as sporadic as they come. He was good for a wow play once every few weeks and aside from that it was sporadic and inconsistent production. Mason never disappeared, made himself far more available and dropped less balls than boldin.

People forget boldin had his fair share of drops here. Game winner vs pit that somehow is overshadowed by the housh drop. A late third down red zone conversion that bounced right off his palms against Denver in the playoffs as well.

I mean really, where was boldin when we REALLY needed him throughout his entire career here, aside from the playoff stretch, and that game vs Arizona? He was nowhere to be found. I love boldin and what he did for us, but Ravens fans have brought me to the point of souring on him because I constantly have to speak realism about his time here. He was far from the golden god that so many fans claim he was, it's total nostalgia from a hot 4 game run.

I'll be as bold as to say, that between flacco and boldin, flacco was the more consistent contributor during boldins 3 year tenure.

 

[Truth]

Boldin dropped a game winning TD in the playoffs vs Pittsburgh in 2011.

Boldin took over games for a 4 game stretch. Otherwise he was as sporadic as they come. He was good for a wow play once every few weeks and aside from that it was sporadic and inconsistent production. Mason never disappeared, made himself far more available and dropped less balls than boldin.

People forget boldin had his fair share of drops here. Game winner vs pit that somehow is overshadowed by the housh drop. A late third down red zone conversion that bounced right off his palms against Denver in the playoffs as well.

I mean really, where was boldin when we REALLY needed him throughout his entire career here, aside from the playoff stretch, and that game vs Arizona? He was nowhere to be found. I love boldin and what he did for us, but Ravens fans have brought me to the point of souring on him because I constantly have to speak realism about his time here. He was far from the golden god that so many fans claim he was, it's total nostalgia from a hot 4 game run.

I'll be as bold as to say, that between flacco and boldin, flacco was the more consistent contributor during boldins 3 year tenure.

Truth be told, I find the question posted by the OP to be incredibly difficult to answer, especially since I have vivid memories of each players' memorable plays. I recall Mason in Dallas waving his only able arm towards Flacco after catching Anthony Henry with a double move and hauling in a TD in left corner of the end zone. I recall Boldin catching a TD in the opposite corner against Indianapolis with Darius Butler's arm under the ball. I recall Smith Sr. somehow staying on his feet on the 4th and 5 against Cincinnati after failed attempts by Dre Kirkpatrick and Emmanuel Lamur and getting loose for the long score. So I personally don't have a clear option as I can see there being a 1B, and even a 1C.

That being said, with regards to the points above, I don't think we can separate Boldin's playoff performance when we're weighing where he was when we needed him given that it was the stretch when we needed him the absolute most. It would be paradoxical with respect to the question itself. If every player on the roster had a stretch where they came in for three seasons and were largely responsible in one of them for SuperBowl run, they'd be viewed as a significant success and rightfully so. He disappeared in the stat sheet in a few regular season games, and he did have his fair share of drops, fair points. Arguably the worst was the aforementioned one against Pittsburgh, which was a potential-GW. It possibly his worst game with us, and it was an ugly receiving performance all around with both Mason and Boldin combining for 1 catch and -2 yards (To Mason's credit, he drew two penalties, though he did also had an OPI himself). That being said, Boldin's come through in the clutch before. One of the best examples would be the memorable GW 92-yard drive against Pittsburgh, when he had three different first downs, one on a 2nd and 10, one on a 4th and 1, and the last being on a 3rd and 8. I could be mistaken, but I believe that we only played Arizona once during his tenure, and in the game above, Boldin finished with 7 catches for 145 yards, 117 of them coming in the historic second half comeback, with 3 DPIs alone drawn in that half as well, so that one bodes entirely in his favor. The above mentioned drop label against Denver is dicey at best since he ran a slat and was forced to lean into the throw and attempt to grasp it with one hand, which he was almost successful at (Link for reference), more of an overthrow than a clean drop. It happened at the beginning of the 4th quarter and he also followed it up with 3 catches for 47 yards, two being on a 3rd and 7 and a 3rd and 8, so it feels unfair to point out the single play and gloss over the remainder. He was rock solid for us through almost every playoff game, not just the 2012 run. He had that woeful and costly 1 catch, -2 yard performance against Pittsburgh, and it definitely shouldn't be discounted, especially because of the drop. The rest of it included 7 playoff games with 37 catches for 618 yards and 6 TDs, 10 for 174 and 1 TD from that coming in our 2 playoff games in 2011, so I disagree with the notion that he was as sporadic as they come. If we're willing to at least partly forgive Joe Flacco for his regular season inconsistencies due to his superior-by-comparison performances in the postseason, then we should do the same for Boldin. Personally, I'm with you in disagreeing with the any attempts to portray Boldin as a "golden god." He wasn't without his faults so that would be an exaggeration. I just wouldn't employ fighting fire with fire on the opposite side of the spectrum as it only fuels the other side. That's just my opinion.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Truth be told, I find the question posted by the OP to be incredibly difficult to answer, especially since I have vivid memories of each players' memorable plays. I recall Mason in Dallas waving his only able arm towards Flacco after catching Anthony Henry with a double move and hauling in a TD in left corner of the end zone. I recall Boldin catching a TD in the opposite corner against Indianapolis with Darius Butler's arm under the ball. I recall Smith Sr. somehow staying on his feet on the 4th and 5 against Cincinnati after failed attempts by Dre Kirkpatrick and Emmanuel Lamur and getting loose for the long score. So I personally don't have a clear option as I can see there being a 1B, and even a 1C.

That being said, with regards to the points above, I don't think we can separate Boldin's playoff performance when we're weighing where he was when we needed him given that it was the stretch when we needed him the absolute most. It would be paradoxical with respect to the question itself. If every player on the roster had a stretch where they came in for three seasons and were largely responsible in one of them for SuperBowl run, they'd be viewed as a significant success and rightfully so. He disappeared in the stat sheet in a few regular season games, and he did have his fair share of drops, fair points. Arguably the worst was the aforementioned one against Pittsburgh, which was a potential-GW. It possibly his worst game with us, and it was an ugly receiving performance all around with both Mason and Boldin combining for 1 catch and -2 yards (To Mason's credit, he drew two penalties, though he did also had an OPI himself). That being said, Boldin's come through in the clutch before. One of the best examples would be the memorable GW 92-yard drive against Pittsburgh, when he had three different first downs, one on a 2nd and 10, one on a 4th and 1, and the last being on a 3rd and 8. I could be mistaken, but I believe that we only played Arizona once during his tenure, and in the game above, Boldin finished with 7 catches for 145 yards, 117 of them coming in the historic second half comeback, with 3 DPIs alone drawn in that half as well, so that one bodes entirely in his favor. The above mentioned drop label against Denver is dicey at best since he ran a slat and was forced to lean into the throw and attempt to grasp it with one hand, which he was almost successful at (Link for reference), more of an overthrow than a clean drop. It happened at the beginning of the 4th quarter and he also followed it up with 3 catches for 47 yards, two being on a 3rd and 7 and a 3rd and 8, so it feels unfair to point out the single play and gloss over the remainder. He was rock solid for us through almost every playoff game, not just the 2012 run. He had that woeful and costly 1 catch, -2 yard performance against Pittsburgh, and it definitely shouldn't be discounted, especially because of the drop. The rest of it included 7 playoff games with 37 catches for 618 yards and 6 TDs, 10 for 174 and 1 TD from that coming in our 2 playoff games in 2011, so I disagree with the notion that he was as sporadic as they come. If we're willing to at least partly forgive Joe Flacco for his regular season inconsistencies due to his superior-by-comparison performances in the postseason, then we should do the same for Boldin. Personally, I'm with you in disagreeing with the any attempts to portray Boldin as a "golden god." He wasn't without his faults so that would be an exaggeration. I just wouldn't employ fighting fire with fire on the opposite side of the spectrum as it only fuels the other side. That's just my opinion.

going on memory here, i didnt have hard evidence or anything lol, i just dont recall boldin doing much in the playoffs before the SB run, if im wrong im wrong though, nbd. and like i said, i consider the boldin tenure a booming success, i appreciate what hes done for us, but when so much of the fanbases idea of getting back to the sb is "cut flacco, re-sign boldin!"(an exaggeration, but you get the point lol) then its gotta be put in context, boldin never cracked 1000 with us, he basically averaged just shy of 900 a year(numbers check?) and what, 4 tds a year? and he never even sniffed 80 catches. i admit that the system was awful, he isnt a coryell guy, so it could have been much better, but the fact is that he just didnt show up consistently. he may have been solid in his first 2 playoff performances with us, but he wasnt changing games, taking over games, etc. he was just kinda there making the occasional catch, as far as i can recall. that SB run really put some rose tinted glasses on everyones face

 

[JoeyFlex5]

and something that i think applies to this thread...

can anyone explain to me, why in the hell, did we run a coryell offense with derrick mason, mark clayton, anquan boldin, and tj houshmandzadeh, and then change to a west coast with the likes of torrey smith, jacoby jones, breshad perriman, and mike wallace... the hell is wrong with this picture?? god dammit i wouldve loved to have seen kubiak on this team in 2010, and i wouldnt honestly mind seeing cams playbook for this wr corps.

 

[K-Dog]

and something that i think applies to this thread...

can anyone explain to me, why in the hell, did we run a coryell offense with derrick mason, mark clayton, anquan boldin, and tj houshmandzadeh, and then change to a west coast with the likes of torrey smith, jacoby jones, breshad perriman, and mike wallace... the hell is wrong with this picture?? god dammit i wouldve loved to have seen kubiak on this team in 2010, and i wouldnt honestly mind seeing cams playbook for this wr corps.

Ya work with what ya got. Coaches and players. Doesn't always work to your benefit, but it simply is what it is.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Ya work with what ya got. Coaches and players. Doesn't always work to your benefit, but it simply is what it is.

My point is we clearly aren't working with what we got lol. We have never been a team who is able to mold the playbook to fit the players, we have tried forcing square pegs into round holes with every single OC we have had except kubiak

 

[K-Dog]

My point is we clearly aren't working with what we got lol. We have never been a team who is able to mold the playbook to fit the players, we have tried forcing square pegs into round holes with every single OC we have had except kubiak

But we were working with what we had for OC.

 

[arnie_uk]

But we were working with what we had for OC.

We picked said ocs

 

[Sledge Hammer]

going on memory here, i didnt have hard evidence or anything lol, i just dont recall boldin doing much in the playoffs before the SB run, if im wrong im wrong though, nbd. and like i said, i consider the boldin tenure a booming success, i appreciate what hes done for us, but when so much of the fanbases idea of getting back to the sb is "cut flacco, re-sign boldin!"(an exaggeration, but you get the point lol) then its gotta be put in context, boldin never cracked 1000 with us, he basically averaged just shy of 900 a year(numbers check?) and what, 4 tds a year? and he never even sniffed 80 catches. i admit that the system was awful, he isnt a coryell guy, so it could have been much better, but the fact is that he just didnt show up consistently. he may have been solid in his first 2 playoff performances with us, but he wasnt changing games, taking over games, etc. he was just kinda there making the occasional catch, as far as i can recall. that SB run really put some rose tinted glasses on everyones face

All good dude. Personal preferences and admiration for styles and play personalities always factors into players we favor and like better. I like Marqise Lee better than Beckham. I would prefer him a raven before Beckham call me crazy. I do think he has crazy potential to be great. Especially on the right team. I think Boldin was strapped by our offensive coordinator as was Flacco for much of Boldins run here. I do agree many fans blindly worship Boldin cuz of his playoff run. I like Boldin for far more than that.

Truth be told, I find the question posted by the OP to be incredibly difficult to answer, especially since I have vivid memories of each players' memorable plays. I recall Mason in Dallas waving his only able arm towards Flacco after catching Anthony Henry with a double move and hauling in a TD in left corner of the end zone. I recall Boldin catching a TD in the opposite corner against Indianapolis with Darius Butler's arm under the ball. I recall Smith Sr. somehow staying on his feet on the 4th and 5 against Cincinnati after failed attempts by Dre Kirkpatrick and Emmanuel Lamur and getting loose for the long score. So I personally don't have a clear option as I can see there being a 1B, and even a 1C.

That being said, with regards to the points above, I don't think we can separate Boldin's playoff performance when we're weighing where he was when we needed him given that it was the stretch when we needed him the absolute most. It would be paradoxical with respect to the question itself. If every player on the roster had a stretch where they came in for three seasons and were largely responsible in one of them for SuperBowl run, they'd be viewed as a significant success and rightfully so. He disappeared in the stat sheet in a few regular season games, and he did have his fair share of drops, fair points. Arguably the worst was the aforementioned one against Pittsburgh, which was a potential-GW. It possibly his worst game with us, and it was an ugly receiving performance all around with both Mason and Boldin combining for 1 catch and -2 yards (To Mason's credit, he drew two penalties, though he did also had an OPI himself). That being said, Boldin's come through in the clutch before. One of the best examples would be the memorable GW 92-yard drive against Pittsburgh, when he had three different first downs, one on a 2nd and 10, one on a 4th and 1, and the last being on a 3rd and 8. I could be mistaken, but I believe that we only played Arizona once during his tenure, and in the game above, Boldin finished with 7 catches for 145 yards, 117 of them coming in the historic second half comeback, with 3 DPIs alone drawn in that half as well, so that one bodes entirely in his favor. The above mentioned drop label against Denver is dicey at best since he ran a slat and was forced to lean into the throw and attempt to grasp it with one hand, which he was almost successful at (Link for reference), more of an overthrow than a clean drop. It happened at the beginning of the 4th quarter and he also followed it up with 3 catches for 47 yards, two being on a 3rd and 7 and a 3rd and 8, so it feels unfair to point out the single play and gloss over the remainder. He was rock solid for us through almost every playoff game, not just the 2012 run. He had that woeful and costly 1 catch, -2 yard performance against Pittsburgh, and it definitely shouldn't be discounted, especially because of the drop. The rest of it included 7 playoff games with 37 catches for 618 yards and 6 TDs, 10 for 174 and 1 TD from that coming in our 2 playoff games in 2011, so I disagree with the notion that he was as sporadic as they come. If we're willing to at least partly forgive Joe Flacco for his regular season inconsistencies due to his superior-by-comparison performances in the postseason, then we should do the same for Boldin. Personally, I'm with you in disagreeing with the any attempts to portray Boldin as a "golden god." He wasn't without his faults so that would be an exaggeration. I just wouldn't employ fighting fire with fire on the opposite side of the spectrum as it only fuels the other side. That's just my opinion.

You sure speak volumes dude. You are like the resident football doc. Could we call you RD as short for that?? How bout RudeDog as a spinoff to the RD?? lol

 

[Tank]

Say what you like, but no one Joe has played with performed as well as Boldin did during the 2012 playoff run. No one.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Say what you like, but no one Joe has played with performed as well as Boldin did during the 2012 playoff run. No one.

The best stretch of wr play joe has ever seen from one guy has to be Steve smith before his Achilles in 2015. He was on pace for 90+ catches, 1400+ yards, and 6-7 tds and it was consistent over a 2 month span.

 

[Sooky]

The best stretch of wr play joe has ever seen from one guy has to be Steve smith before his Achilles in 2015. He was on pace for 90+ catches, 1400+ yards, and 6-7 tds and it was consistent over a 2 month span.

To think Steve Smith was 38 last season and had 800 yards with two missed games and coming off of an achilles injury is still pretty good as well. I really do think memories of Boldin have been inflated a lot. Even during the Super Bowl run he had some good catches but his stats weren't too abnormal. If the team actually had a #1 wide receiver I think people would realize how inconsistent Boldin was for the team. I would rather have Derrick Mason and Steve Smith over him. Boldin was on the team at the right time with the right complementary pieces to succeed.