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Screw the Ravens, I'm more worried about that week 15 game!
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Last edited by Kid~Brady; 07-30-2012 at 01:43 PM..
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pernell mcphee is a more than capable replacement for jarrett johnson, and while upshaw is not a direct replacement for suggs, he's a good ball player and will likely not be a liability.
it is going to come down to whether flacco can get any better and when lewis hits a wall.
I think the ravens will still give the pats trouble.....especially in baltimore
To replace Suggs without downgrading the defense, Upshaw has to be the DROY. Anything less and he is a significant downgrade. Suggs last year was a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate with 14 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 2 INTs, and 70 tackles. Upshaw just not being a liability is a huge downgrade for their defense.
To replace Suggs without downgrading the defense, Upshaw either has to be the DROY. Anything less and he is a huge downgrade. Suggs last year was a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate with 14 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 2 INTs, and 70 tackles. Upshaw just not being a liability is a huge downgrade for their defense.
I'm far from sold on Baltimore for the following reasons:
(1) Defensive losses. Not just the Suggs injury, but the losses of key run stopping defensive starters (Jarrett Johnson, Corey Redding) combined with the advancing age of Lewis and Reed. Every year we expect age and injuries to catch up with a team, but it WILL happen at some point. For the Ravens defense to approach form, they need several young players to step up in full time roles...Pernell McPhee, Terrence Cody, Arthur Jones, Sergio Kindle, Courtney Upshaw and Jimmy Smith all need to step up in bigger roles.
(2) Offensive line age and depth. The Ravens are relying on Matt Birk, Bobbie Williams and whatever's left of Bryant McKinnie to hold together. It's a tall order, and it's well established that Michael Oher at LT is not a strength.
(3) Schedule. Baltimore's schedule includes a gauntlet of Cinci, @Philly, Pats, @KC, Dallas, @Houston, @Pittsburgh in their first 9 games, with games later on against Pitt, the Giants, Denver and San Diego.
I think this is a 9-7 team, which might be enough to make it against a potentially weak wild card field.
Why is everyone so hung up on age as a major factor in the demise of a team? Yes players past their prime won't perform as well statistically than the year before, but the drop off is hardly noticeable. Certainly not enough for a team to go from top-5 to just average in 1 year.
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Why is everyone so hung up on age as a major factor in the demise of a team? Yes players past their prime won't perform as well statistically than the year before, but the drop off is hardly noticeable. Certainly not enough for a team to go from top-5 to just average in 1 year.
So you dont think players 'get old' in the NFL significantly from season to season? You couldnt be more wrong. Ray Lewis,Ed Reed,hell even Ray Rice are all on borrowed time.
Why is everyone so hung up on age as a major factor in the demise of a team? Yes players past their prime won't perform as well statistically than the year before, but the drop off is hardly noticeable. Certainly not enough for a team to go from top-5 to just average in 1 year.
Why? Because players who rely on their physical skills primarily like defensive players tend to start to break down in their mid 30s.
- Ray Lewis is 38. How is age not a concern for him right now? Even though Lewis is a freak, there aren't many defensive players who last past their mid-30s. Lewis is going to hit the age wall either this year or next year. Obviously since he lost weight to adapt to the game, he is concerned abiut this too.
- Ed Reed is 34 and has been incurring a lot of injuries in recent years. How is that not a concern?
- Casey Hampton is 34, is 325lbs, and has been breaking down over the last few years. How is age not a concern about him?
- Brett Keisel is 33 and hasn't played a full season since 2007. How is that not a concern?
To say age is not a concern with those teams is just not dealing with reality.
As for going from top 5 to average, it happens all the time. In 2010, the Packers were the 5th ranked defense. In 2011, they were 32nd. Also, in 2010, the Saints were ranked 4th and they were ranked 24th in 2011. In 2009, the Bengals were the 4th ranked defense, in 2010 they were ranked 15th.
Why? Because players who rely on their physical skills primarily like defensive players tend to start to break down in their mid 30s.
- Ray Lewis is 38. How is age not a concern for him right now? Even though Lewis is a freak, there aren't many defensive players who last past their mid-30s. Lewis is going to hit the age wall either this year or next year. Obviously since he lost weight to adapt to the game, he is concerned abiut this too.
- Ed Reed is 34 and has been incurring a lot of injuries in recent years. How is that not a concern?
- Casey Hampton is 34, is 325lbs, and has been breaking down over the last few years. How is age not a concern about him?
- Brett Keisel is 33 and hasn't played a full season since 2007. How is that not a concern?
To say age is not a concern with those teams is just not dealing with reality.
I can't believe someone is actually asking this question after seeing the Patriots complete defensive makeover from 2008-2010. In 2007, the defense was still good, with a lot of players like Harrison, Bruschi, and Vrabel, losing "just a bit" because of age. Within two years, they were all basically out of the league.
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Re: The Ravens
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