why ravens are overrated
 

they play in the weakest division in football. some could make a case for the steelers or perhaps the bengals late season surge, but still the browns?

although jamal lewis is good, how many of his yards were against a top 5 rushing defence, and he's the best running back i n the league?

you can credit marcus robinson for making anthony wright look alot better than he actually is. his "deep throws" are usually just lobs while he prays for a jump ball or a PI call

i hope no one makes a case for ray lewis being the best "middle linebacker ever". probably the best in the NFL right now, but cmon, he doesn't even compare to Dick Butkus

they offered elvis grbac a 9 mil contract.

they have no wide recievers, I think the NFC South might be almost as weak as the NFC north. Minus the panthers they really have no one.

Re: why ravens are overrated
 

Did the fact that the Redskins and Giants sucked make the NFC East that bad? Of that the Falcons and Buccaneers sucked make the NFC South look bad? Or that the Raiders and Chargers sucked make the AFC West look bad?

How many other running backs have got more yards in a season then he does?

Anthony Wright isn't that good, so what? Our starter got hurt, and he went 5-3 and nearly won a playoff game. What did YOUR QB do this year?

He's the only one you could compare to Ray Lewis, and Ray Lewis can do more.

Yeah, and he would have been fine if that wasn't the year Jamal got hurt and we couldn't run the ball. Besides, he was a good QB for the Cheifs, so why shouldn't we have gone after him?

I know Steelers fans who could make batter arguments then you, so you KNOW how bad these were.

Well, does it really matter how the Raven's are? Because last time i checked, only the Patriots and the Panthers are still playing.

So they obviously aren't doing everything right, or they'd be in the big show.

[edit]

I watched Jamal Lewis run almost weekly when i'd watch ravens games, I feel privilidged to be able to watch this dude run, so dont knock him, he's friggin amazing... none better in the league right now, he's got a lot to prove next year though

Re: why ravens are overrated
 

Over rated? I don't recall anyone picking the Ravens to win their division before the season started. If anything they were grossly under rated. They performed above all expectations. For such a young team, to win their division, and are only expected to improve, you better watch out next year.

hey guess what genius. any teams from the NFC west win the super bowl recently? nope. and did the eagles make it to the superbowl? nope. thats how weak those divisions you mentioned are.

Well let's see. Eric Dickerson did. Barry Sanders had slightly less, but with a 6.1 yard per carry. OJ Simpson had 2003 in a 14 game season.

Wow "NEARLY" won a playoff game against a team that got eliminated in the second round. i guess you could make make a case that hes 5 and 3, but look at the team his wins have came against. cincy..cleveland..pitts..seattle...san fran

"He's the only one you can compare to Ray Lewis, and Ray Lewis can do more."
Well, gee I could say Mike Singeltary, Lawrence Taylor, Ray Nitsche(sp?) Jack Schmidt. And Ray Lewis can do more than Dick Butkus...?

And why do you think Ravens have been restructured so badly? because they've overpaid so badly

overpaid Elvis Grbac so badly* oops

I'm confused. Are the Ravens playing tomorrow? Sorry don't get the point of this thread on the eve of the Superbowl that only the Patriots and Panthers will participate in.

Yeah, it's like bringing up the Lions season out of the blue.

Hell of a point there, buddy.

So, two. out of how many running backs in NFL history? Out of how many in the league now?

He's a backup QB. What is your point? He should have beaten Miami and Tennessee, but stupid things happened so they didnt.

Singletary - not as good
LT - different position
Nitzche - Butkis Lite
Schmidt - never heard of 'em

Actually, they won a championship, tore the team apart, and made the playoffs within two years. If anything, it's smart management.

Mods, I feel the need to refute his comments, but I really wouldn't mind if you had to delete this thread.

This user must be very bored, he posts a message a few months ago, and on the eve of the Super Bowl, just starts talking about random crap.

Interesting.

whats even more interesting is that its not thought provking or even all that interesting


he thinks the afc south sucks



great for him


how about telling me something interesting



or even close to relivate

Sigh.

People who say the Ravens are 'overrated' have absolutely no concept of how football games are won. Look, stupid, they have the best defense in the league. Ed Reed is phenominal. Their corners are A+. Baltimore has the best front office in football, some of these guys, like Will Demps, were non-drafted invitees.

Defense wins games. Especially playoff games. Anyone who says differently just needs to look at the two teams playing in the Super Bowl. 'Overrated'? Hardly.

I said it before and I'll say it again, why why why are we even talking about the Ravens?

These random comments would be like someone suddenly making a thread about the Rams and how they should have made it to the big show... they didnt, so who cares.

sorry, but no. the two best D's in the league square off in about 5 hours.

the Ravens D is very good, but not the best in the league.

Nah. Tedy Bruschi is no Ray Lewis. Mike Minter is no Ed Reed, or no Will Demps for that matter. I suppose you could make the case that Ty Law is better than Chris McCalister, but you could also give the nod to McCalister. The Ravens front four is WAY more talented then the New England front four, and maybe just as good as the Carolina one.

I'm far from a Raven's fan, really don't like them as a matter of fact, but they deserve the accolades they receive.

yes.

you can make the case that individuals on the Ravens are better than those playing the same position on the Patriots or Panthers. however, football being the ultimate team game, its about how those individuals perform as a unit. the Patriots 14 game winning streak is testament to that. hell, its not like they have a wildly prolific offense a la the Chiefs this year or the Rams from a couple seasons back. they win with superb defense.

and just for comparison: the Ravens and the Patriots both played Tennesee in the playoffs. the Ravens allowed 20 points to the Titans, while the Pats gave up only 14.

still think Baltimore has the best D in the NFL?

oh and before I forget:

"i hope no one makes a case for ray lewis being the best "middle linebacker ever". probably the best in the NFL right now, but cmon, he doesn't even compare to Dick Butkus"


"He's the only one you could compare to Ray Lewis, and Ray Lewis can do more."


Ray Lewis is a very good LB, but wouldnt even have been a starter on the Steeler teams of the mid to late 70s, certainly not in the middle anyway (Jack Lambert, 9 Pro Bowls), nor at the left OLB spot (Jack Ham, 8 Pro Bowls). maybe, just maybe he could have beaten out Andy Russell (7 Pro Bowls) for the other OLB postion, but probably not. when Russell retired after the 1976 season, ONLY THEN would Ray have gotten a starting spot, as I sdoubt Loren Toews would have started in front of him.

Now who's overrating their team's D :rolleyes:

4 Super Bowls in 6 years. no overrating here.

If you think that a LB like Ray Lewis couldn't start on it, you are.

over the likes of Jack Lambert, Jack Ham or Andy Russell? not a chance. He's good, but he's not that good. Ray is a product of a scheme that is designed for him to make most of the plays.

they just plain suck... their QB is terrible.. and their offense is just as bad.

I could say the same thing about the Lions, and be just as uninformed as you are.

Thats funny. I thought they won their division. Oh yeah, the whole division sucks. They just sucked a little less I guess. They might really suck next year and win the Superbowl. Then the entire NFL would have to suck I guess.:lol:

Actually, teams from the NFC West have been in 3 of the last 6 Super Bowls and did win one of them. As much as I hate the Eagles, you have to give them credit for 3 straight NFC championship games. Also, the year before they started that streak, the Giants were in the Super Bowl. I realize that they got embarassed, but by who? That's right it was by the Ravens with a defense that nearly everyone acknowledges was one of the best of all time. Then they gutted that defense and were back to the playoffs 2 years later with basically only the centerpiece Ray Lewis remaining from that defense. I consider that to be impressive.

Also, they may have allowed more points against the Titans than the Pats did, but the Titans' offense was almost perfectly suited to stopping the Ravens and keeping their own offense on the field. More time of possession = more points. The Patriots won because they have a fantastic coach, were better suited to beating the Titans (they have almost no running game, which the Titans excel against, but are weak against the pass), and have a better overall team spirit and attitude than anyone in the league. It's all about matchups. I agree that right around the Super Bowl is not the time to talk about this, but the Ravens were a surprise this year, and if they can get any kind of passing game going, they will be a major contender next season.

the ravens will be fighting for a playoff spot again next year. they have a good chance to win their division. lewis is not overrated. i'd rate him as one of the top 5 in the league (needs to get a few more TDs to be top 2). if boller develops into a quality starter who manages the game well, they'll be a playoff team for the next couple of years for sure.

lewis is the best LB in the game today, and one of the best 5 of all-time (butkus, singletary, taylor, lambert, lewis). saying it's part of the scheme? come on...he goes out and makes 15-20 tackles a game. that's not the scheme. that's having a nose for the football.

i'm not even a ravens fan!!

The other thing that refutes the Scheme argument is that the Ravens originally used the 4-3 set up until Marvin Lewis left, then they switched because of a lack of quality D-linemen. Lewis acheived his greatness in the 4-3, and is showing it off in the 3-4.

Re: Re: why ravens are overrated
 

djtestudo, you made so many very very good points. Please do not invalidate them by making a stupid point simply for the sake of arguing. It is his fault for saying two of the teams were decent, he was wrong. They werent. Sometimes common sense should take precedence over stats (even though the stats would probably agree)...The AFC North is terrible...


terrible



edit: btw, being from miami, i disagree, and think we should have won. Well we can agree to disagree...but u do have a quality team...wish we got a shot at the playoffs (although of course we would have choked)

With core of players they have any the Salary Cap numbers they have watch out for them in free agency, they can become a very good team.

Especially since all they NEED is a wide receiver, and to resign/franchise Chris McAlister. They have no other things that are critical to their success next year to worry about in FA.