Position value matters. I like our first round much more than the Ravens first Picks, even they picked good value.
The Ravens are probably the best run organization in the NFL. I wouldn’t question what they do. They had, no doubt, a top 5 draft (they always do). I believe it was #1.
Maybe they could’ve drafted a WR with one of their many 4th round picks. But they clearly don’t value the position much with Lamar as their QB. He draws so much attention with his threat to run, he has one-on-one across the board at the position (if they double it’s Andrew’s). I think having top end WRs is a waste with Lamar as their QB because he is not a good thrower of the football.
Hamilton, Linderbaum, and Ojabo picks are home runs and some of the biggest values in the draft. Saying they should’ve done something different Is like doubting Brady on playing quarterback.
The Ravens are NOT even the best run team in their own division…
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I don’t think it’s possible to find a list that will have the ravens not included in the top 3 of teams with the most successful drafts. That will go back a decade+
Ozzie Newsome was regarded as one of the best GMs in the nfl before he retired in 2019. Jury is still out on Eric DeCosta.
John Harbaugh
-Completely adjusted his offensive scheme to fit a player. 9/10 coaches would never consider doing this. And had won a Super Bowl with Joe Flacco. Wouldn’t exactly call him a stud.
-3rd longest tenured HC in the league (he does trail Mike Tomlin by 1 year). Last season, his 14th, was his first losing season of his career (8-9).
-Has had 6 assistants (Jackson, Pagano, Pettine, Ryan, Culley, Fangio) get NFL head coaching jobs in 14 years (this speaks to the league wide respect of the organization also). Mike Tomlin has had 1 (Arians).
I think it’s really hard for any team to rival the Ravens success over the last 10-15 years. The Patriots obviously come to mind, but I attribute a lot of that to having the greatest QB of all time. Time will tell if that is the case though. The Steelers (that’s who I’m assuming you think is better) have historically been an elite franchise. But for me, the Ravens have surpassed them. Will be interesting to see what happens with them now that their HOF QB has retired.
Even if we don’t agree it’s the Ravens>Steelers, I don’t think you can argue they are one of the best run franchises in the league.
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We could probably rule out Cincy and Cleveland. (Although, Cincy’s drafting has been on par with the league’s better teams since Marv Lewis was there.)
I like pointing this out because people tend to forget…
…for THAT postseason, Joe Flacco was a stud. It was one of the greatest postseason runs by a QB in NFL history.
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It actually isn’t that difficult… especially once the fluke Super Bowl run falls off after this season.
I say “fluke”… because Denver had an all-time defensive blown coverage that enable 3 wins for the Ravens after the miracle bomb to Jacoby Jones.
take away 2012… and the last 9 years don’t look so good… as 17 teams have more playoff wins in the past 9 years. Two teams in their own division have more wins and games played in the last 9 years.
Why are the last 9 years so important to my view of the Ravens?
In 2011… the NFL changed the rookie wage scale.
Cam Newton… the #1 overall pick… signed a 4-yr deal for $22 million.
In 2012… after an unexpected Super Bowl run…
the Ravens gave Joe Flacco a 6-yr deal for $120,000,000.
In 2018… the Ravens drafted a TE at pick #25 that would start his career at age 25 in the 1st round…
ahead of their new franchise QB. They got lucky that no other team drafted Lamar before the 32nd pick.
This all brings me to my next point…
How can the Ravens be considered a top 3 drafting organization when the QB position has held them back for 25+ years???
You even made a point to criticize Lamar and Flacco… and if a team can’t solve the QB posiition… they aren’t a top 5 NFL organization.
In 2019… Big Ben was 0-2 as the starter.
Rudolph went 5-3 and Duck went 3-3 as a UDFA.
Hollywood Brown had over 1000 yards… and @Mr.Peabody already showed that should have been several hundred yards higher if he caught the very catchable bombs he dropped in 2021.
Perhaps the Ravens should value the WR more… especially if they want to win playoff games.
Speaking of playoff games… Lamar also seems to throw well to WRs in the playoffs.
Looks like WR was more impactful than the TE in the playoffs…
With all of the changes to the rules that benefit the offense… and the passing game in particular… I can’t find a rational argument that a team is making intelligent decisions to place less value on the WR position. IF they had better WRs… they might not be so far down the list on PPG in the playoffs in the past decade.
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You are for sure right. Got him PAID too
All good points. The only thing I’ll argue against is despite having suspect QBs during that span, they have done really well. Also, it’s not easy to draft a franchise QB when you are constantly picking in the second half of the draft.
But the ravens are one of the best drafting teams in the NFL. That’s supported by data everywhere you try and look. That’s not really my opinion.
But good points for sure! Maybe I should take them down a notch overall.
I’m also gonna add that Lamar Jackson just sucks at reading a defense. And is highly inaccurate. I honestly don’t think giving him elite WRs changes him much. Maybe if you give him Tyreek Hill types then yes.
I just can’t stand watching him drop back and throw from the pocket. It’s disgusting how many throws he misses to wide open receivers every game. I would love to know his completion percentage outside the numbers and 10 yards downfield. I don’t really care to look into myself lol, but I bet they are well below average. Possibly approaching the worst among qualifiers over x amount of attempts.
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It wasn’t a “blown coverage” it was a guy who misjudged the ball because he couldn’t believe Flacco could sling the rock that far in those conditions. Jacoby Jones has talked about it and said he was shocked as well. Flacco launched it from his own 25 down to the opposite 20. It reminded me of a Stafford pass that people aren’t used to seeing so they don’t know to keep running…the ball isn’t going to magically fall out of the sky. And that drive just tied the game. They still had to go win it in overtime.
I’m not sure I would consider it “luck.” The Ravens weren’t sitting there with the 32nd pick. They traded up from #52 to grab Lamar. I agree with you on the stupidity of drafting a TE in the 1st round. And what makes it look worse is the fact that they snagged Mark Andrews in the 3rd round that year.
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I think Lamar can actually throw a pretty ball with nice touch, but he does have an issue throwing outside the numbers. I agree that Hollywood probably isn’t a true number 1 and should be more a number 2, but I also saw some pretty inconsistent accuracy from Lamar as well. There’s a reason why that offense dipped from 2019 to 2021. Once teams started adjusting from the 12/13 personnel they were throwing out there and made Baltimore went with more traditional looks that offense wasn’t nearly as scary. Like you said some of that has to do with there WR core, but it’s also Lamar showing some of his “current” limitations as a passer.
We should have taken Andrews instead of Walker, the Ravens got the Doak Walker winner cheap. We got Roberts in the 4th in 2017 and he sucked and they knew it.
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Wasn’t Roberts being “mentored” by Ebron? No wonder that dude had brick hands.
We still could have taken Kittle over Roberts…
so agree it was a fail by Quinn.
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IOWA totally used Kittle poorly and it caused him to fall. Roberts had 533 receiving yards in 2016, KIttle had 314 and 110 came in one game. Today, teams give credit for RAS scores, Kittle had a 9.49 score, Roberts had a stunning 4.32 and that’s only because his pro day improved on his really shitty combine. They fell in love with a guy and ignored reality.
I wonder if Roberts was the 2nd most film Quinn had ever watched of a single prospect?
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so five or ten minutes?
Youtube highlights. Real hardcore scouting lol.
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Was he watching him like Gym Shortz watched Jahvid Best?
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