Next Up: vs Bye Week

[rossihunter2]

Here's the problem, we don't have any money. And worse yet, we're not one player away. If expect some cuts abd some PS snatching, it conditional 7th trades, but you're not going to see anything substantial

also the kinds of guys who're available at RB are not the calibre of playmakers to "fix" the issues we have running the ball - there's no marcus peters/ngakoue level dude at RB or OT available...

not unless the ravens are super high on andre dillard... but he'd probably come over-priced in terms of draft capital required to prise him away from the eagles

 

[jboy19]

I'm not necessarily optimistic about the rest of the season due to the injuries on offense and the poor state of the defense, but I feel like 5-2 is about where most of us predicted the team would be entering the bye week at the beginning of the season.

 

[rossihunter2]

I think the season so far has shown that the Ravens, injuries considered, are a mediocre tier roster bring carried by an elite QB. They'll probably be up and down all year and will go as far as Lamar's superhero abilities will allow. At least he has the receivers now, if nothing else.

it's frustrating that that's where we are but hard to ask for more given who and how many are down

just the sheer calibre of guys that have gone at key spots is staggering:

All-pro LT
All-pro CB
Top 3 RBs
Top LB
Starting TE
Starting DL

and 6 of those guys are all on non-rookie contracts too so costing so much against the cap when all tallied up

we're missing at least 3 legitimate stars - not many... if any teams can even look this good

it's gonna feel like such a wasted season when it's all said and done when you look at how well this team is playing despite all of that - the "what ifs" this offseason are gonna be so frustrating

 

[rossihunter2]

I'd also remind people, like I do every week, to not overreact to only the last thing you saw. 7 days ago we were 5-1, an NFL powerhouse that just beat a very hyped (and still very good) team, and we were arguably kings of the AFC. One less to Cincinnati doesn't mean we're now all of the sudden hot garbage who are guaranteed to be one and done in the playoffs. It was a loss and a bad loss. It happens. Now you feel what Chargers fans felt last week.

Honestly, if the Ravens beat the Bengals by double digits in Cincinnati later in the season, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. That's football.

Every team I've seen, especially in this division and this conference, has MAJOR issues. Bills, Chargers, Browns, Titans, Chiefs, etc. Doesn't matter who it is. They've got problems. So do we.

im less concerned about the loss and more concerned about the state of the OL if Mekari's done because what we saw from the running game and pass protection standpoint is unsustainable if we want a functioning offence - not saying we need to fix both given we're not going to find a fix for both at this point but we need to able to do one and if Mekari's down then i dont trust Tyre to be able to hold up vs the pass rush at RT consistently enough

 

[JAAM]

Got this from Reddit:

“In 2012, week 7, we got demolished by a Texans team 43-13 going into our bye. We were 5-2. And guess where we ended up that year?”

In EDZ we truzz

 

[OURavensFan]

I'm not necessarily optimistic about the rest of the season due to the injuries on offense and the poor state of the defense, but I feel like 5-2 is about where most of us predicted the team would be entering the bye week at the beginning of the season.

Just swap the W/Ls in the Chargers/Chiefs with Bengals/Raiders

 

[rmcjacket23]

im less concerned about the loss and more concerned about the state of the OL if Mekari's done because what we saw from the running game and pass protection standpoint is unsustainable if we want a functioning offence - not saying we need to fix both given we're not going to find a fix for both at this point but we need to able to do one and if Mekari's down then i dont trust Tyre to be able to hold up vs the pass rush at RT consistently enough

Sure, but the saving grace is a) they now have two weeks to figure that out and b) eventually, they'll get bodies back that should be able to help there.

I'm concerned about the defense playing poorly and tackling poorly because there's really nobody on IR who is coming back and, frankly, they've been the healthier unit by far.

With the offense, who's already been performing well, its basically "just got to get healthier". The defense is simply just going to need to play better. And while I can't discount any team against any other team in the league on any given Sunday, the next three games for the Ravens are extremely winnable, even without playing great.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

I'm not necessarily optimistic about the rest of the season due to the injuries on offense and the poor state of the defense, but I feel like 5-2 is about where most of us predicted the team would be entering the bye week at the beginning of the season.

We definitely didn’t expect the 2 losses to be the raiders and bengals though

 

[Dom McRaven]

I'd also remind people, like I do every week, to not overreact to only the last thing you saw. 7 days ago we were 5-1, an NFL powerhouse that just beat a very hyped (and still very good) team, and we were arguably kings of the AFC. One less to Cincinnati doesn't mean we're now all of the sudden hot garbage who are guaranteed to be one and done in the playoffs. It was a loss and a bad loss. It happens. Now you feel what Chargers fans felt last week.

Honestly, if the Ravens beat the Bengals by double digits in Cincinnati later in the season, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. That's football.

Every team I've seen, especially in this division and this conference, has MAJOR issues. Bills, Chargers, Browns, Titans, Chiefs, etc. Doesn't matter who it is. They've got problems. So do we.

What would you say is/are the Bengals major issue(s)?

 

[Dom McRaven]

As we hope that our beloved birds use this BYE week to do some soul searching and bounce back against MIN, I did come across an IG post that I found interesting and would like for all of you to share. This is regarding across the league. I'll start with my worst take. WFT's defense was going to be top-10.

 

[rossihunter2]

What would you say is/are the Bengals major issue(s)?

i think they struggle vs a dynamic base pass rush - pass pro is the weak point of their OL and Burrow was exceptional avoiding pressure and extending the play on Sunday but against a better pass rush i think he sees the dirt more often

it seems like OL is probably the weakest part of 80% of NFL teams at the moment and how they mitigate and manage that deficiency makes a massive difference

 

[rossihunter2]

As we hope that our beloved birds use this BYE week to do some soul searching and bounce back against MIN, I did come across an IG post that I found interesting and would like for all of you to share. This is regarding across the league. I'll start with my worst take. WFT's defense was going to be top-10.

View attachment 2947

im assuming from just this year - because my all-time worst take is probably something to do with Josh Rosen lol

worst around the NFL 2021 take: probably thinking before the week 1 wakeup call that the jets and dolphins might actually be good this year

 

[Dom McRaven]

im assuming from just this year - because my all-time worst take is probably something to do with Josh Rosen lol

worst around the NFL 2021 take: probably thinking before the week 1 wakeup call that the jets and dolphins might actually be good this year

Oh yeah, specifically this season. I had zero expectations for the Jets and I knew the Dolphins were gonna regress. I didn't think the regression was going to be this bad.

 

[rossihunter2]

Oh yeah, specifically this season. I had zero expectations for the Jets and I knew the Dolphins were gonna regress. I didn't think the regression was going to be this bad.

i thought the dolphins would be on the rise - QB in year 2, stocking up on weapons and talent at OL, a coach who the players had proven they would play hard for and who had hidden some of their flaws in previous years with scheme and good coaching... i just felt like that was a recipe for a potential wildcard team in a tough conference and a team i didnt want to have to face this year

but instead they've imploded

 

[rmcjacket23]

What would you say is/are the Bengals major issue(s)?

Offensive line is below average. I think they're still fairly weak at pass rush and can be run on.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

As we hope that our beloved birds use this BYE week to do some soul searching and bounce back against MIN, I did come across an IG post that I found interesting and would like for all of you to share. This is regarding across the league. I'll start with my worst take. WFT's defense was going to be top-10.

View attachment 2947

This being one of the great ravens defenses.

tbf though I said that before peters went down and with the expectation that queen was gonna have a huge year.

 

[OURavensFan]

Got this from Reddit:

“In 2012, week 7, we got demolished by a Texans team 43-13 going into our bye. We were 5-2. And guess where we ended up that year?”

In EDZ we truzz

We also had Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, prime Jimmy Smith, Anquan Bolden, Ray Rice, Dennis Pitta and playoff Joe Flacco and a good O line. I guess Ray was hurt

 

[OURavensFan]

What would you say is/are the Bengals major issue(s)?

Zac Taylor and overconfidence

 

[UPennChem]

For those who have specifically rewatched games focusing exclusively on the OL, who is failing to move their guy consistently in the run game? If this team is to improve next year, who needs to be upgraded?

AV - > Stanley
LG?
C?
RG?
RT - > Mekari??

 

[rmcjacket23]

For those who have specifically rewatched games focusing exclusively on the OL, who is failing to move their guy consistently in the run game? If this team is to improve next year, who needs to be upgraded?

AV - > Stanley
LG?
C?
RG?
RT - > Mekari??

A lot of unknowns at this point for me, but...
1. AV likely won't be back (unless he takes a paycut) UNLESS we get info in like March that Stanley isn't going to recover and his career is over. That seems unlikely.
2. Bozeman isn't under contract for 2022 currently, so they'll need to make a decision about whether to retain him or to seek an upgrade elsewhere.
3. We do have JuWuan James, who was a pretty good RT, on the roster for 2022, as he recovers from injury this year.

So I think in an ideal world, many of your Oline "upgrades" are on the roster already. I think if they decide to keep Bozeman, they'll be happy with a line of Stanley/Powers or Phillips/Bozeman/Zeitler/James. They'll be able to bring Mekari back as a swing tackle as an RFA most likely, and I think they like the depth on the interior.

The unknowns, for me, are a) Stanley's health and b) whether they think they can do better than Bozeman.

I do not expect them to bring in like 2-3 new starters. I think it'll be maybe an upgrade starter somewhere and then some depth additions.