Here We Are: a Baltimore Ravens Dynasty

[Gronk4M13]

House Rules:

Game: Madden 25, Xbox 360

Sliders- Charter04's

Rules: no cheesing, no user picking or catching, let the game play out on defense and the run game. Only sign 1 free agent above 80 overall in the offseason, only 3 in the 70s, unlimited below that. No signing FA's above 75 OVR in the regular season. No unrealistic trades, try to only accept trades that the CPU proposes. No passing in 4th quarter when leading and under 2 minutes left.

Starts after Superbowl 49

(will mostly be the same as my Raiders dynasty)

[Gronk4M13]

History of the Ravens

For an expansion team, the Ravens have become quite successful in a short time. The team was founded in 1996. Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell, in a settlement with the NFL, took his players to Baltimore and began a new team. The Cleveland Browns would still be a franchise, which took the field in 1999. Since 2000, the Ravens have made the playoffs nine times, with two Superbowl victories (2000 and 2013.) "two AFC Championship titles (2000 and 2012), four AFC North division titles (2003, 2006, 2011 and 2012), and are currently the only team in the NFL to hold a perfect record in multiple Super Bowl appearances. The Ravens organization has been led by general manager Ozzie Newsome since 2002, and has had three head coaches: Ted Marchibroda, Brian Billick, and John Harbaugh. With a record-breaking defensive unit in their 2000 season, the team established a reputation for relying on strong defensive play, led by players like middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who, until his retirement, was considered the "face of the franchise." The team is owned by Steve Bisciotti and valued at $1.157 billion, making the Ravens the 19th-most valuable sports franchise in the world." (Wikipedia.)

2013 was not a good year for the defending Superbowl Champions. After the Superbowl win, Ray Lewis and Matt Birk retired. LB Paul Kruger signed with the rival Browns, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe signed with the Miami Dolphins, cornerback Cary Williams signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and safety Ed Reed signed with the Houston Texans. Additionally, safety Bernard Pollard was released due to salary cap reasons and later signed with the Tennessee Titans. Wide receiver Anquan Boldin was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a sixth-round draft pick. The team lost several starters, and other valuable back-ups.

Unfortunately during training camp the Ravens lost another key player, tight-end Dennis Pitta for the entire season (who was primed for an even greater 2013 season). During a routine drill, he suffered a dislocated/fractured hip after colliding with another teammate (James Ihedigbo) at the back of the end-zone. Quarterback Joe Flacco, as a result, lost his favorite target for most of the season.

"The season started out badly for the Ravens, as they were defeated by the Broncos in their season opener, thus becoming the second Super Bowl Champion to lose the NFL kickoff game. This meant that they held the first loss of the season, breaking a record for the most points allowed by the defense and ending a 75 game streak of holding a .500 or better win-loss ratio. They would rebound in Week 2 with a 14–6 victory over their division rival, the Cleveland Browns. The following week the Ravens took on the unbeaten Houston Texans at home, this time they would face a familiar face in safety Ed Reed, who played for them for 12 seasons. After a strong showing by the defense, (which only allowed 9 points) the Ravens clobbered the Texans 30–9. In Week 4, the Ravens struggled against the Buffalo Bills as Joe Flacco threw a career high 5 interceptions. The Ravens fell to the Bills 23–20. At 2–2, the Ravens hit the road to Miami to take on the Dolphins. Although they faced a 13–6 deficit at halftime, the offense rallied to score 17 consecutive points giving the Ravens a 23–13 lead in the 4th quarter. However, Miami answered right back with 10 points of their own, tying the game at 23 with 8:03 left. Justin Tucker then kicked a 44 yard field goal with 1:42 left to give the Ravens a 26–23 lead. After the Dolphins comeback attempt stalled, Caleb Sturgis missed a field goal late, giving the Ravens the win. The Ravens then returned home to take on the Green Bay Packers. The offense struggled early, as the Ravens were shut out in the first half. Trailing 16-3 in the 4th quarter Joe Flacco found Jacoby Jones in the end zone for an 11 yard touchdown pass to reduce the deficit to 16-10. After another Packers field goal, the Ravens faced a 19-10 deficit with 4:17 remaining.Joe Flacco was able to find Dallas Clark in the end zone for an 18 yard touchdown pass, making it 19-17. However, the Packers were able to seal the victory by picking up first downs and running out the clock. The following week, the Ravens would fall to their rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-19 on a last second field goal by Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham. The following week, the Ravens would lose 18-24 to the Cleveland Browns for the first time under John Harbaugh. Facing the probable end to their season at that point, the Ravens would snap their three game skid with a win against their first place division rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals 20-17 in overtime. The following week, the Ravens were scheduled to face the Chicago Bears. The game was delayed for two hours due to a heavy storm. The Ravens would, however, fall to the Bears 20-23 in overtime. They would rebound the next week in a home game against the New York Jets. On Thanksgiving, the Ravens would defeat the Steelers 22-20 at home, avenging their Week 7 loss to them, and improving 2-0 on Thanksgiving games. On Week 14 The Ravens would beat the Minnesota Vikings 26-29 . On Week 15 The Ravens would beat the Detroit Lions at Ford Field 18-16 off of Justin Tucker's 6 field goals, including a 61 yarder that proved to be the game clinching score followed by a Matt Stafford interception. On Week 16 The Ravens would lose at home to the New England Patriots 41-7 making it the second worst home loss in Ravens history. On Week 17 The Ravens faced The Cincinnati Bengals. The defense forced 4 interceptions on Andy Dalton but it wasnt enough for the offense to take advantage of. Baltimore tied the game 17-17 in the second half, but surrendered 17 unanswered points to the Bengals, thus ending their season at 8-8. Missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007." Wikipedia

Defining Moments of the 2013 season:

(via Bleacher Report)

Ray Rice's injury: "Ray Rice had the most disappointing season of his career. His numbers haven’t been so bad since his rookie year, and that was partially due to limited usage in his debut season.

He couldn’t run the ball and he didn’t look as explosive, shifty or elusive as he has in previous years. Part of the problem was the abysmal run blocking in front of him, but injuries were also a factor.

Rice suffered a hip flexor strain in Week 2, but missed only one game as a result. Even though he didn’t miss more time, he was still dealing with the nagging injury throughout the year." As a result, the Ravens' typically good ground game was plain awful.

"Running the ball and converting red-zone trips into touchdowns were two of the offense’s greatest shortcomings. Both were highlighted against the Green Bay Packers in Week 6.

With a 1st-and-Goal on the 4-yard line, the Ravens lined up in a Jumbo formation and tried to punch it into the end zone on four straight plays. Power running has been a Baltimore strength in the past, but they didn’t get close to crossing the plane on this sequence.

Both Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce had a crack at it, but porous run blocking prevented any kind of success.

It wasn’t a particularly memorable sequence, but it was the difference in what ended up being a two-point loss. This moment was a microcosm of the Ravens' season: Failing to run and failing to score touchdowns."

"Joe Flacco is one of the most durable quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s never missed a start, but that streak looked like it was in jeopardy late in the game against the Detroit Lions.

He took a helmet to the side of his knee, and limped off the field. Thankfully, he didn’t miss a snap—which shows just how tough Flacco is—but the injury clearly had an effect on his play.

Flacco was adamant that his knee had nothing to do with his poor play in the last two games of the year, but that’s hard to believe.

At the very least, he wasn’t as mobile—both in the pocket and scrambling—as he had been all year, and his footwork was a little worse than usual.

It wasn’t so debilitating that it was a major factor in the last two losses of the year (the Ravens didn’t deserve to win either game), but it played a role."

[Gronk4M13]

Around the Web Thoughts on the Ravens' 2013 season:

Paul Lukoskie: suppose that an 8-8 record is not nearly as bad as it could have been. Prior to the bye week (when they rested with a 3-3 record) I was not sure if the Ravens would win more than 5 or 6 games. They could not get over the hump on the road and they just failed to finish close games as evidenced by:
• 2-6 road record
• 4 of 8 losses by 3 points or less

There are many contributing factors to the road and the inability to win close games, but ultimately it comes down to coaching. Too often the Ravens looked lethargic, unprepared and disinterested. For whatever reason, John Harbaugh seemed to have an extremely difficult time this season getting the Ravens to go 100% every play for the entire game. The lack of depth and experience at key positions compounded the coaching deficiency.

John Harbaugh, Grade: C. A “C” grade is pretty average, like Harbaugh’s season. Give him credit though – the Ravens did lose a lot of starters on both sides of the ball and this team was extremely inexperienced and young at many positions. Furthermore, the loss of Dennis Pitta, Jacoby Jones and Kelechi Osemele cannot be understated on the offensive side of the ball.

Offensive Grade: F+. Overall, the offense was really bad for the entire season. They showed some signs of brilliance here and there (game winning drive against the Vikings, for example), but they couldn’t run the ball, they couldn’t protect Joe Flacco, he threw far too many interceptions and the receivers left far too many plays on the field.

Hopefully the entire offensive coaching staff is gutted and the Ravens start from scratch. They need fresh eyes and they need someone who can design an innovative and unpredictable game plan. I just don’t believe that Jim Caldwell is the answer for the offense.

A common theme that readers may have noticed in this piece is how bad the offensive line was. Joe Flacco was sacked 48 times, the most in his career and the 2nd most in the NFL. The Ravens also finished 30th in total rushing yards with 1,328 yards and dead last in yards per carry with 3.1. To put that into perspective, both LeSean McCoy and Matt Forte had more rushing yards individually than the entire Ravens’ offense.
Individually, Marshall Yanda and Eugene Monroe were the two best linemen and that really isn’t saying much. Michael Oher is a penalty machine and as the season progressed he seemed to become less and less interested in putting forth 100%. He is a free agent and I don’t expect he’ll be back. The most common whipping boy this season was Gino Gradkowski and rightfully so. He was overmatched in a lot of games, but I will say that there is a glimmer of hope with him. Gradkowski did get better as the season went on. He wasn’t great, but he did improve. Hopefully this season of trial by fire will have given him the experience needed to be an adequate starter next year. Finally, AQ Shipley…ugh…boy was he bad all year long. I can’t believe the Ravens traded a draft pick for him. Shipley should never be a starter at center or guard. Penalties aside, he is slow, can’t pull and was constantly pushed back into Flacco. Overall, the offensive line’s performance in 2013 is a flat out F performance.



Statistically, the defense had a very good season. They finished 12th in total points against with 352 and 12th in total yards against with 5,368. They also finished in the top-5 of the league in rushing touchdowns given up (5). The big area of concern for the defensive unit was their inability to create turnovers. They were 23rd in recovered fumbles and 16th in interceptions. Another area of concern was the lack of consistent quarterback pressure.

Terrell Suggs is in an interesting situation. He is in the final year of his current deal and he now has finished 11 seasons in the NFL even though he is only 31 years old. He is expensive and the Ravens could save quite a bit of 2014 cap room by cutting him. I’m not sure if he is slowing down or what, but after producing 9 sacks in the first 8 games he all but disappeared for the second half of the season and only had 1 sack in the final 8 games of the season (it came against Tom Brady who basically fell down).


The secondary had issues all of their own. The most obvious and blatant issues from my perspective was their inability to communicate. They gave up big plays deep down the field because they weren’t on the same page. Corey Graham is a free agent and even though he led the team with 4 interceptions, he constantly got beat on rub-routes and pick-routes.

Jimmy Smith was the best defender in the secondary all season. He bailed out the defense several times in the red zone this season and his coverage on Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall, two of the league’s biggest and best receivers, was incredible. The Ravens would be wise to try and get a new deal with Jimmy done now before he gets to free agency and commands top dollar from some other team.

Matt Elam started out as a rather “meh” spot in the defensive secondary early on in the season, but as the year went on and Elam got more comfortable with the speed of the game, we all saw how good he could really be. The fact that he played out of position the entire year is just a further testament to how good Elam can become once he is able to move over to strong safety. I don’t expect the Ravens to resign James Ihedigbo, which is kind of a shame because he did turn in a good season at strong safety, but the Ravens really need someone who can play centerfield and provide good over-the-top coverage because Matt Elam isn’t that type of a player. Overall, I thought the secondary got better as the season went on, but communication issues drop the final grade to a B-.

As bad as the Ravens were this season, there is definitely talent. The salary cap could play a major part in what the Ravens decide to do this off-season, but as far as I am concerned until the front office and coaching staff invest in Joe Flacco and the offense, they will continue to struggle. The only way to effectively sustain playoff appearances with a bottom-barrel offense is by having a top-3 defense. Hopefully they will come to that conclusion this off-season and make the necessary changes to improve the offense.


Matt Vensel | The Baltimore Sun:For half a decade, the Ravens spoiled their faithful fans. With Joe Flacco under center and John Harbaugh wearing the head coach’s headset, the Ravens went to the playoffs five years in a row, the only team to accomplish that feat over that span. They played in three AFC championship games, winning one of them along with the Super Bowl in New Orleans last winter. Flacco and Harbaugh brought necessary clutch quarterback play and stability to an organization that has mined and refined talent with the best of them.

Their remarkable run was bound to come to an end, though. Most good things do eventually.

ure, this will be another offseason of change in Baltimore. A bunch of starters and contributors -- the list includes Arthur Jones, James Ihedigbo, Daryl Smith, Eugene Monroe, Michael Oher, Jacoby Jones and Dennis Pitta -- are set to become free agents. The Ravens could be forced to make tough decisions on high-priced stars such as Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and Ray Rice. There could be changes on the coaching staff -- yes, embattled run game coordinator Juan Castillo could be gone.

And no, the Ravens aren’t infallible. Last season, they made a bunch of changes, including trading away Anquan Boldin, and many of them did not paid off for them.

But with Flacco, Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome and his staff, the Ravens still have the framework needed to quickly build another championship contender and put themselves in position to spoil their fans again. It may take another year or two, but you can be sure the Ravens will get back there.

[Gronk4M13]

How the Ravens' Brass Reacted to the season:

owner Steve Bisciotti: "Bisciotti did not put any players or coaches on notice. Flanked by team president Dick Cass, general manager Ozzie Newsome, and coach John Harbaugh, Bisciotti remained confident the Ravens were still built for long-term success, after their first non-playoff season in six years, less than a year after winning the Super Bowl." “Failure is part of success. We’re all very disappointed here, obviously as our fans are, even more so. I’m comfortable with where we are, I’m comfortable where we’re headed.”

Interpretations of the State of the Ravens' Address

Gino Gradkowski isn’t the answer at center, at least not yet and the Ravens need a solid veteran there until the team can develop Gino or Ryan Jensen or some as-of-yet undrafted player. The athletic safety is code for, “we need more turnovers” and maybe that’s a message to Dean Pees (why is Steve Spagnuolo here again?) to amp up his unit’s aggressiveness.
As for the TE/WR, many interpreted Ozzie’s words to mean that the Ravens want a Wes Welker, Tavon Austin type of receiver. I’m not sure a player with a small pass catching radius is a good fit for Joe Flacco who isn’t the most accurate thrower to receivers on the run. Look for a big target who can break tackles.


It’s pretty clear that Ozzie wants the Ravens to get back to being an attacking defense. The inability to get off the field in key situations and the bend-but-don’t-break mentality is the same one that got Dean Pees a pink slip in New England. Bring back organized chaos and do it with better coaching. And then there’s that guy named Spagnuolo who’s been hanging around…

Right player, right price and at the current cap number of $12.4 million, Terrell Suggs you are not that guy. Fit the formula or thanks for the memories,

The coaching staff needs to amp up their game and they’ve got the 2014 season to get it done. Bisciotti will do what he does best and that is to get his people outside of their comfort zone to see things from a different perspective with the hope that it will open their minds and provide new ideas on how to best utilize the available resources/talent.

I hope that Jim Caldwell is hired as a head coach somewhere so I don’t have to fire him and so that we can clean up this mess that is the Baltimore Ravens offense.

[Gronk4M13]

Lions hire Jim Caldwell as head coach

By Jon Benne  @LordBenne on Jan 14 2014, 12:19p



The Detroit Lions have officially hired Jim Caldwell as their new head coach, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It's Caldwell's second head coaching gig of his career.

Following that season, Caldwell went back to being a quarterbacks coach, joining the Baltimore Ravens in 2012. He got promoted to offensive coordinator when Cam Cameron got fired midseason. Caldwell was credited with reviving the Ravens' offense down the stretch, helping Baltimore win the Super Bowl that year.

The Lions fired Jim Schwartz after five seasons in Detroit. He took the fall for the team's underachievement, losing six of its last seven games to blow a potential divisional title. The Lions had only one winning season under Schwartz, but there is enough talent on both sides of the ball to right the ship

Possible offensive coordinator candidates for the Ravens

Jim Caldwell has been hired as the next head coach of the Detroit Lions, meaning the Ravens will need a new offensive coordinator next season. Here's a quick look at some possible candidates.

-- Jeff Zrebiec

Surprisingly available after the Browns fired him after just one season, Rob Chudzinski has a lot of experience directing offenses and being around quality offensive personnel. It started when he was on the offensive staff at the University of Miami for nearly a decade.


Age: 47
Current position: Wide receivers coach of the Ravens
Head-coaching experience: None
NFL offensive coordinator experience:San Francisco 49ers (2007)
Skinny: Jim Hostler is the only member of Harbaugh's staff with NFL offensive coordinator experience, though his one-season stint with the 49ers didn't go well. He also has been an offensive assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets. Hostler is very close to several of the Ravens' top offensive players, including quarterback Joe Flacco and wide receiver Torrey Smith, and he has had input in the play calling since Caldwell took over.

[Gronk4M13]

Ravens Hire _________ as New Offensive Coordinator

[NewscasterNews4]

Let's see if you can duplicate the sucess of the Ravens in my CFM who have won three straight Super Bowls (four if you include real life).

And following.

[Gronk4M13]

I'm going to wait to start this until after the conference championship games.