After the impressive run that the Ravens went on to win the super bowl albeit some people I've met said due to a ton of favoring from NFL officials, the Ravens now have lost Ellerbe their top priority linebacker to the Dolphins, and Kruger another solid linebacker to the Browns.........I'm all for players getting their money, especially when the market dries up real quick once you have a bad season.......However, Flacco should have tried as hard as possible to put all the money on the back end of his contract or take a little less than highest paid QB money if he wanted to keep the train that is the Ravens running........this will hamper the ravens dramatically and personally feel Flacco deserved the money but it hit the Ravens at the wrong time and really hurt the team..........thoughts?
O, and I forgot to mention Boldin, still a very solid but old WR, that snuck out to the team they beat in the super bowl the 49ers......all due to the money that Flacco got in his deal............
Edits (or better comments that show insight in my opinion): #
Now I see they've released Pollard. Was that Flacco contract worth gutting the team?
I am very interested to see just how well Flacco plays without Boldin as his security blanket and just how good that contract looks in a few years. Boldin was catching everything thrown his way late in the season and in the playoffs. Boldin made Flacco look like a legit QB.
Admittedly, I hate the Ravens but I have always had a lot of respect for Boldin.
I'm not a Ravens fan but that huge contract Flacco Seagulls signed has disaster written all over it. I agree, the stars aligned perfectly for Flacco in the 2012 playoffs. People forget up until the postseason his season was seriously erratic. He only had 6 games where his QB rating was over 100. By signing a contract that big anything short of Aaron Rodgers numbers from 2011 will be considered a bust. My guess is he throws at least 15 INTs next season.
OSUStu I seemed to have gravitated towards your comments lol...
as a browns fan, nothing makes me happier then when the steelers, ravens, or bengals have problems.
to answer the question though, Flacco did what was best for him, which was get paid. Not too many players out there that want to do what is best for the team, even though it's a "team" sport
Upvote for your first sentence.
Misery loves company.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
+1
I don't think putting money on the back end of the deal is a great idea in the NFL. Cash it in now. The team can cut you whenever they want and you lose that money. If the front office thinks they can spend that money, they sure as hell should have a plan in place to make sure that money is available for the other pieces that you're going to need as well. You can't blame Flacco for his contract...blame the Raven's front office if you're going to blame anyone.
And Boldin didn't leave to go to the 49'ers. The Ravens traded him for a 6th round draft pick (I believe that was it). That may have been a cap issue, but it wasn't like he chose to leave and that's my point.
And on Skip Bayless, he's a turd who says things with absolutely no basis behind it just to create an argument and hear himself talk. I don't think you can call a QB who has a career 9 playoff wins in 5 years, with 6 of them being road wins, a fluke. His first couple years were a little rough in the playoffs and the Ravens basically won on defense those years, but he has a a 6-2 record the last 3 seasons in the playoffs while throwing 18 TD's to only 2 INT's. While I can't stand the Ravens, the dude deserves his props for being a very good, if not great, NFL QB.
The ravens wouldn't have offered him that deal if they didn't feel comfortable with their situation regarding the cap and potential free agents. Ozzie newsome has proven to be one hell of a talent evaluator and GM. And does a great job building through the draft. The ellerbe move to miami was surprising, but can't blame a guy for taking what he can get. If another team feels your worth is much more than what your current team is giving you, then you take it. And boldin was a cap casualty in that he refused to restructure his contract to be more cap friendly. If he wanted to stay, he would have made it work. The ravens are perenially a playoff team because they make solid roster decisions, and draft extremely well.
I'm a browns fan, and it burns my ass that newsome has done such a great job building that franchise. That being said, I'm digging what the front office has done so far in free agency. Kruger was a definite boost and fills a glaring hole in tbhe defense. With the switch to the 3-4, the need for olbs was crucial. Groves is also a nice, inexpensive add at the olb position as well...due to his familiarity with hortons system. And I'm not sure what to think about bryant yet. Guessing they are tapping him for a move to DE in the 3-4? Either way, it seems they have spent responsibly and haven't gone after the big name, past their prime guys like james harrison. That would be the kind of move the browns of old would have made. Cautiously optimistic that the front office might actually have a solid plan in place to build a winner. Just have to wait and see how it finishes out.
One more thing...heard chatter that they are inquiring about ryan mallett from NE. Hope they can make that work...he has serious potential to become a solid starter for a nice chunk of years. Like the aggressive moves and responsible spending.
I agree, the signing of these guys is different from when Mangini brought in all his ex-Jets to help out. Those guys were on the wrong side of their primes while these guys so far are about to enter it or are in it now. Really happy with all three signings so far.
Perhaps I am wrong, but wasn't their SB win a retirement gift for the great humanitarian Lewis?
It's fascinating to me to see the deals the Dolphins are making... The Dolphins... The Baltimore deal, grabbing Mike Wallace from the Steelers... Apparently they're trying to step it up a notch, huh?
I think miami is going to regret throwing so much money at mike wallace. He's a one trick pony. Which is why pittsburgh didn't want to give him the kind of money he wanted. He's fast...and can run a go route like no ones business. That's about it...they let him go because antonio brown is also fast. And can run a full compliment of routes. And run them well. Never been a big fan of wallace...he just doesn't impress me as a wide receiver.
It was a sad day at our house: my wife has at least two Wallace jerseys :)
2 Wallace jerseys? Home and away?
Yep. Since I married in to the Steelers, my choice in jerseys was obvious: Cameron Heyward :)
Yeah, if you're a steelers fan it makes sense to be less than ok with the idea. And not saying wallace didn't do good things in your offense. Just question the idea of tannehill having the arm to hit wallace in stride behind defenses. And I also think brown doesn't get enough credit for what he brings to the table. You should be ok in pittsburgh without wallace. My comment is more an indictment of miami being able to effectively use wallace than it is of wallace himself.
Oh, I agree with your assessment re: the 'Phins, though I'm probably a little less critical of Wallace (not that I'm dismissing your critique out of hand). I do think we'll be okay - Wallace leaving was a possibility last season, so this wasn't entirely a surprise.
While Wallace's targets and catches remained near the levels of his two past seasons, his yards per reception dropped of precipitously in 2012. I don't think he was as much a one trick pony as he has been made out to be.
Teams made a concerted effort to take away the go route from him in 2012 and he still had a respectable 64 receptions.
As a Steelers fan, I am not happy to see him go...but I would also agree he is not worth the money the Dolphins will pay him.
I am very interested to see just how well Flacco plays without Boldin as his security blanket and just how good that contract looks in a few years. Boldin was catching everything thrown his way late in the season and in the playoffs. Boldin made Flacco look like a legit QB.
Admittedly, I hate the Ravens but I have always had a lot of respect for Boldin.
that's crazy because i have the exact same thoughts...GET OUT OF MY HEAD!
Now I see they've released Pollard. Was that Flacco contract worth gutting the team?
I have a question about what it takes in a forum thread to receive helmet stickers?????
What is the question?
Flacco happened to have all the right things fall for him at the right time. Ozzie has a track record, but the Raven's D already had a tough time stopping the run all year - now they loose an edge LB, arguably their best remaining overall LB, could lose Ed Reed to FA or retirement, are missing or cutting a lot of players.
It may seem like it's more Flacco's fault than it actually is, but perhaps Ozzie knows when the jig is up & is about to rebuild through the draft or other FAs.
"Leave...Your...Mark..."
I'm still not sold on Flacco. He had the 19th best completion percentage during the regular 2012 season, he had the 12th best QB rating, tied for 15th in TD's thrown, 14th in yards, and was 16th in yards per game. Those stats (from the 2012 regular season, easily found) are not stats that beget the highest paid NFL QB. He gets more than Drew Brees? That seems silly. It seemed to me that he just got really hot during the playoffs, as well as capitalized on awful coverage (see the Broncos game). I will gladly watch him more in the 2013 season and see if he proves himself, but it just seems that he is not all that elite.
I don't understand the importance of that word being thrust upon QB's. Elite. There's something so very Baylessian about it. It doesn't matter how the rest of the league views anyone-this Flacco contract illustrates more than ever what value to your given team is all about. He is what the Ravens think they can go forward with because the underlying idea in the NFL is that a QB who can make a ton of plays is what you need above all else. Most teams put the QB above several other needs combined (better to have a QB than a good secondary and linebacking corps) and in a way, they are right. Today's NFL is about the forward pass so the ability to throw it is paramount to success. The ability to rush the guy who throws it is about the only other thing that approaches the level of importance the position of QB does.
With that said, why do people have to force every QB into groups? "The Elite, the second tier, the third tier, the up and comers". Joe Flacco has as many playoff wins as Peyton Manning and as many Super Bowl wins as Manning and Brees. Joe Flacco and Colin Kaepernick each bested an 'elite' QB en route to the Super Bowl and that's all that matter. I couldn't care less what anyone thinks about a guy for 16 games as long as he leads his team to more wins than losses because when its money time, what tier you are forced into as a QB doesn't mean a lick of difference. If you can get hot in the post season, you'll be getting some new paper. Welcome to the NFL.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
As a big Brownies fan, I could not be happier with Flacco's contract. So, I thought I would say thanks for Kruger! With that being said, I know I wouldn't put him in the top 5 qbs in the league and by taking that contract I think it is safe to say that the chance of a repeat is slim to none.
pat cozzens
Flacco has done in 5 straight years what most fans wish their QB would do in that amount of time. I say he deserves the contract he got. Got hot during playoffs? thats what your going for as long as you make it to the playoffs. Its like Flacco has a different mindset when he gets to that point of the season. He helps keep the Ravens legit so might as well fork up the cash to keep him since you know there would have been another team happy to give him the money he was looking for and then what would the ravens have done?
I'm not a Ravens fan but that huge contract Flacco Seagulls signed has disaster written all over it. I agree, the stars aligned perfectly for Flacco in the 2012 playoffs. People forget up until the postseason his season was seriously erratic. He only had 6 games where his QB rating was over 100. By signing a contract that big anything short of Aaron Rodgers numbers from 2011 will be considered a bust. My guess is he throws at least 15 INTs next season.
"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever