What is your biggest priority for improving the 2013 roster?

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
We found out why Whitner was clowned by Bills fans when we signed him.

Yup. He was the hole the ravens spoke of.

My number 3 concern is drafting and developing two passrushers-3/4 de and 3/4 olb-whether its Fleming or other early draft picks.

And then let Haralson know he is important to us but hes going to have to take a pay cut

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
My number 3 concern is drafting and developing two passrushers-3/4 de and 3/4 olb-whether its Fleming or other early draft picks.

And then let Haralson know he is important to us but hes going to have to take a pay cut

Im glad we still have Haralson, I think he is a big part of the D and we should have him, Brooks, and Smith rotate next year.

We need to keep the secondary intact. People are b***hing about bad defensive play, but when we get some heat on the qb, our cbs are great cover corners

Originally posted by pd24:

Originally posted by SFL49ER:

My number 3 concern is drafting and developing two passrushers-3/4 de and 3/4 olb-whether its Fleming or other early draft picks.

And then let Haralson know he is important to us but hes going to have to take a pay cut

Im glad we still have Haralson, I think he is a big part of the D and we should have him, Brooks, and Smith rotate next year.

I agree. Ive always liked the production he gave us, but as a defensive unit, he became the weak link because of his lack of burst and speed

Bring in a couple more guys to get after the QB, and a WR or two and we will be fine.

To everyone saying that we need a shut down corner; Seattle has the best CB tandem in the league, but what happened against Atlanta when their best pass rusher wasn't on the field (due to injury the game before)? This league is all about rushing the passer, the rules make it impossible to cover a guy now days. If we had better corners we would probably be able to blitz more often but we can't go out and break the bank for another marquee defensive player.

The WR position isn't all that bad either, we had two of our top guys (williams & Manningham) hurt for the last 5 weeks or so. I would like to see what a big, fast, reciever would do for our offense but I have a hard time believing anything would change. I mean both VD & DW can run, and so can Ginn, Williams, & Manningham! Heck even Moss still had some jets, but we don't seem to utilize our WR like other teams do. I only remember seeing a go route against the Patriots this year.

So, D-line and or pass rushing specialist at OLB so our pass rushers can get a break from time to time and we should be right back in this!

Originally posted by NCommand:
I have a wish list of things I want, starting with the coaches pre-game preparations, game-plans on both sides of the ball, in-game adjustments and clock management, slow-starts, penalties, vanilla schemes, etc. That's a lot and it all falls on coaching. I hope they grow and learn from this year. CK will not be a mystery to anyone, like Alex wasn't to start the year.

As to players?

Defense:
FS - we need a S that can track balls, defend passes, make INT's, lead, get sideline-to-sideline and actually help over the top without starting 25 yards deep. He also needs to be a stellar tackler and can bring a blitz and play inside the box.
SS - should be interchangeable in the 3-4 but I'd trade big hits for sure-tackling and range/speed.
CB - I thought Culliver would be "our" big, physical CB who can disrupt routes and out-muscle the bigger WR's of today's game at the LOS but with no help over the top, he's been exposed and he doesn't seem to be very bright. I would love a Revis with a huge chip on his shoulder. Brown plays big in big games. Scheme can help him more (not play off 15 yards on 3rd and 5) as can coaching (learn to play the ball and not the receiver AFTER he catches it - he had a simple pick-6 in the Superbowl). That said, if the NFL is going to allow the CB's to play in the Ronnie Lott era again, why not go the way of Seattle and convert 220 6'4" LBers to CB's so we don't have to play 20 yards off and by being physical, only have to cover for under 4 seconds.
DE's - Ray's been M.I.A. all year long for the most part and with Justin hurt, it really showed our weakness. That said, it also showed that our coaches are too timid to rotate. RJF got pancaked in the Superbowl.
NT - we have not had that wide-bodied, low-center of gravity prototypical NT that can clog the A-gaps, command double-teams AND collapse the step-up-lane in the pocket.
OLB's - we've got three coming back this year from injury and a rotation could go a long way esp. on Aldon's side. Scheme can help exploit mismatches, moving these guys around even more (Brooks played SAM, WILL and RDT in the Superbowl). And if we do find some pass rushers, use them!
ILB's - more depth and spend all offseason learning how to cover receivers/TE's in the RZ, particularly the EZ. Both have been horrendous in this area. That said, they rarely have S help either. Two stud S's could essentially shore up 3 positions...like the NT position.

Offense:
QB - time to step up Tolzien. The problem is, he's polar opposite of CK. We'll need a CK 2.0 should he go down.
WR - it's safe to say the micro-receiver experiment should be over (Williams, Jenkins, Manningham, etc.). For a big physical, power running team, two of them got blown up on one running play by one guy trying to run block. And if we want to run an anti-WCO, we need some big physical WR's who can out-muscle DB's, take the top off and run-block very well; you know, like the plethora of these WR's we faced ALL year long and who just torched us in the Superbowl.
TE - I wanted Fleener. Still do. If we had a Fleener and VD on 4th and goal from the 5, nothing is an easier pass for a QB than a quick one in the middle of the field/EZ...Flacco did it twice to us (one with Pitta, the other with Boldin). It's a "slightly" higher percentage than a roll-out and pass-on-the-run to Crabtree with multiple defenders and no room to maneuver. Walker is still a jack-of-all-trades so bring him back as well.
RB - we still need a Gore 2.0...but WITH breakaway speed. We're all talking about the final 4 plays but those 4 plays don't happen if Gore had home run speed. Hunter is an absolute beast (enormous loss). James did a admiral job filling in but he does fumble and isn't as explosive/quick/fast/decisive as Hunter was pre-injury. Hunter can also run very well between the tackles. We also use Gore as a FB and ask him to block esp. out of the Q offensive formations. We need a bigger body here.
FB - Miller is a silent MVP but we rarely use him in the passing game (scheme). But if he does go down, who's up next?
OL - Next C up? Let's see some real competition this offseason and a couple more diamonds in the rough. We need more depth at T for sure and another stud G should a Iupati/Boone go down.

With all that said, we just got to the NFC Chapionship for the second year in a row, and now the Super Bowl!

What we are doing is working... 6-10, 13-3, 11-4-1

Originally posted by SFL49ER:

We need to keep the secondary intact. People are b***hing about bad defensive play, but when we get some heat on the qb, our cbs are great cover corners

And with Trenton Robinson in the mix at safety, we will see if he can overtake SS position from Whitner. I dont see Robinson in any way having the range of Goldson. Watch out this offseason for McBath. Dude has got some size to him and he may push Whitner also

Originally posted by NCommand:
I have a wish list of things I want, starting with the coaches pre-game preparations, game-plans on both sides of the ball, in-game adjustments and clock management, slow-starts, penalties, vanilla schemes, etc. That's a lot and it all falls on coaching. I hope they grow and learn from this year. CK will not be a mystery to anyone, like Alex wasn't to start the year.

As to players?

Defense:
FS - we need a S that can track balls, defend passes, make INT's, lead, get sideline-to-sideline and actually help over the top without starting 25 yards deep. He also needs to be a stellar tackler and can bring a blitz and play inside the box.
SS - should be interchangeable in the 3-4 but I'd trade big hits for sure-tackling and range/speed.
CB - I thought Culliver would be "our" big, physical CB who can disrupt routes and out-muscle the bigger WR's of today's game at the LOS but with no help over the top, he's been exposed and he doesn't seem to be very bright. I would love a Revis with a huge chip on his shoulder. Brown plays big in big games. Scheme can help him more (not play off 15 yards on 3rd and 5) as can coaching (learn to play the ball and not the receiver AFTER he catches it - he had a simple pick-6 in the Superbowl). That said, if the NFL is going to allow the CB's to play in the Ronnie Lott era again, why not go the way of Seattle and convert 220 6'4" LBers to CB's so we don't have to play 20 yards off and by being physical, only have to cover for under 4 seconds.
DE's - Ray's been M.I.A. all year long for the most part and with Justin hurt, it really showed our weakness. That said, it also showed that our coaches are too timid to rotate. RJF got pancaked in the Superbowl.
NT - we have not had that wide-bodied, low-center of gravity prototypical NT that can clog the A-gaps, command double-teams AND collapse the step-up-lane in the pocket.
OLB's - we've got three coming back this year from injury and a rotation could go a long way esp. on Aldon's side. Scheme can help exploit mismatches, moving these guys around even more (Brooks played SAM, WILL and RDT in the Superbowl). And if we do find some pass rushers, use them!
ILB's - more depth and spend all offseason learning how to cover receivers/TE's in the RZ, particularly the EZ. Both have been horrendous in this area. That said, they rarely have S help either. Two stud S's could essentially shore up 3 positions...like the NT position.

Offense:
QB - time to step up Tolzien. The problem is, he's polar opposite of CK. We'll need a CK 2.0 should he go down.
WR - it's safe to say the micro-receiver experiment should be over (Williams, Jenkins, Manningham, etc.). For a big physical, power running team, two of them got blown up on one running play by one guy trying to run block. And if we want to run an anti-WCO, we need some big physical WR's who can out-muscle DB's, take the top off and run-block very well; you know, like the plethora of these WR's we faced ALL year long and who just torched us in the Superbowl.
TE - I wanted Fleener. Still do. If we had a Fleener and VD on 4th and goal from the 5, nothing is an easier pass for a QB than a quick one in the middle of the field/EZ...Flacco did it twice to us (one with Pitta, the other with Boldin). It's a "slightly" higher percentage than a roll-out and pass-on-the-run to Crabtree with multiple defenders and no room to maneuver. Walker is still a jack-of-all-trades so bring him back as well.
RB - we still need a Gore 2.0...but WITH breakaway speed. We're all talking about the final 4 plays but those 4 plays don't happen if Gore had home run speed. Hunter is an absolute beast (enormous loss). James did a admiral job filling in but he does fumble and isn't as explosive/quick/fast/decisive as Hunter was pre-injury. Hunter can also run very well between the tackles. We also use Gore as a FB and ask him to block esp. out of the Q offensive formations. We need a bigger body here.
FB - Miller is a silent MVP but we rarely use him in the passing game (scheme). But if he does go down, who's up next?
OL - Next C up? Let's see some real competition this offseason and a couple more diamonds in the rough. We need more depth at T for sure and another stud G should a Iupati/Boone go down.

Nice write up!

Looks like you're looking for a pretty big revamp of the secondary. Can't say I blame you, they were pretty awful. I would hold on to Goldson if possible. We could do a lot worse than him at FS, possibly convert to SS if Whitner is deemed too big a liability in coverage by the coaching staff. I like Brown too. He looked like our best corner for much of the year. Culliver confuses me. I was really high on him , but his performance in the SB will linger with me for a while.

We definitely need another capable body at DE and OLB. Our starters simply ran out of gas at the end of the year. A big, powerful NT who can plug the gaps and collapse the pocket would be great, but not entirely necessary. Sopoaga has done a fine job, but if he's not re-signed we should look at grabbing a potential high-impact NT in rounds 1 or 2 of the draft.

Assuming Alex is gone, we need a backup QB. I'm not comfortable with Tolzien being handed the backup gig without legit competition. I'd also like to get a CK-lite so we don't have to radically change the offense in the event of an injury.....Josh Johnson?...lol

WR unit is a big question mark outside of Crabtree. Moss is probably gone. Manningham and Williams are good players but coming off serious injuries. Who knows if Jenkins amounts to anything. No doubt Fleener would have been a far more useful player this year over Jenkins. We need a big, tall receiving threat to help us out in the RZ.

good depth at all positions there were more than one reason we lost that game. the 1st play of the game was really bad we were on our way to 7 points. kaep missed moss wide open for a touchdown or the redzone. kaep misread a read option and gave up the ball when he have kept it for a definate touchdown. bad choice to relax on a play when the whistle hasnt been blown yet talking about special teams relaxing on the jacoby ford td runback. justin smith aldon smith still dinged up. keep ur heads up guys we'll be there again this season no doubt

There are a lot of knee-jerk, replace-everybody reactions in this thread. This team is built to contend for years.

Ultimately, the only major area of concern was the pass rush after Justin's injury. We can easily remedy the problem by drafting quality DL depth and a pocket-pushing monster at nose. I saw Aldon beat a guy off the edge a million times down the stretch, only to see the QB step up into a clean pocket.

The Ravens 3-man rotation at OLB of Suggs, Kruger, and Upshaw reminded me of what we had when Haralson was healthy. We definitely need some quality depth there too.

Otherwise, we're golden. All the hate for the secondary is irrational. With the exception of the Jacoby Jones TD (where Culliver admittedly blew it), almost all of the Ravens big plays were the result of Flacco having all day to throw or ridiculous, unstoppable plays by Anquan Boldin.

Nice write-up, NC.

I just wanna reiterate people's thoughts on our secondary. I think that both of our starting safeties getting voted to the Pro Bowl is just ludicris and a perfect example of players benefiting from scheme and an all-around excellent defense. Chancellor and Thomas are MUCH better than our safeties. Sure, when our pass rush is working, our corners and safeties are gonna look good. Sure, when we're up a TD, our safeties are gonna be able to lay the smack down occassionally and get on ESPN. But, man...the way they blew plays and REFUSED TO LEARN FROM THEM again and again going all the way back to the New England game and right up to the SuperBowl is just...inexcusable and I don't wanna turn into, well, the Ravens, a team once-known for its vaunted defense, but now having to outscore opponents to win cuz their D can't get it done and/or needs their special teams to bail them out...

Shanghai'D

Find a way to get Revis.

Originally posted by SofaKing:
Nice write up!

Looks like you're looking for a pretty big revamp of the secondary. Can't say I blame you, they were pretty awful. I would hold on to Goldson if possible. We could do a lot worse than him at FS, possibly convert to SS if Whitner is deemed too big a liability in coverage by the coaching staff. I like Brown too. He looked like our best corner for much of the year. Culliver confuses me. I was really high on him , but his performance in the SB will linger with me for a while.

Thank you. I'm not so sure...I'm as disturbed by the schemes and coaching as I am the individual play sometimes. Like a previous poster noted, we had tons of speed this year@ WR but we just don't use it (fly-sweeps, reverses, quick screens, post patterns, stop-and-go's, crossing routes, pick-plays, etc.). So again, scheme/coaching.

That said, the biggest reason why Seattle gave up only 15 points a game is b/c their secondary is allowed to go full Ronnie Lott on any receiver and any receiver well beyond 5 yards. We just saw that with the Ravens. They somehow created a "culture" where this is now accepted. People forget that when Seattle went to the East Coast (bias) to play the Redskins in the playoffs, the refs ironically started calling those plays on Seattle DB's and as a result, the Redskins were crushing them until RG III got hurt and then it was game over.

I'd let Whitner walk. Love the guy but we need a taller, quicker, younger player that has serious range and ball-hawking skills esp. in the RZ. He needs to be able to diagnose a play quickly, be physical within 5 yards and disrupt timing. Even in the Superbowl, Pitta just extended his left arm on him and he was 7 yards off him for an easy, uncontested TD. That said, is Goldson ever in the vacinity? Ever? It's always Willis/Bowman/Whitner getting beat for easy TD's in the EZ. And I mean EASY! As to Goldson, he seemed to get worse in coverage as the year progressed. He had several critical missed tackles in the Superbowl, was late, yet again on the "helium" passes by Flacco, etc.

He brings good intangibles. SS may be his better position...in the box, blitzing, smashing fools, intimidating and playing center field some. And why doesn't he play the bigger TE's such as Pitta? Another scheme/coaching concern of mine. But, he needs to be paid reasonably and we NEED a real FS to make our defense work with or w/o him. I like Brown, wish he would be allowed to be more physical and play up at the LOS (see Ray Rice play) and wish he had S help. As to Rogers, he half-assed it all year long and then didn't turn it up in the playoffs. He's done IMHO. He got his $. Culliver to FS is an interesting perspective. Robinson?

Either way, we need a true FS, need to resign Goldson to SS (play to his strengths better), a better starting LCB and play out the slot CB position in camp. Letting Whitner/Rogers go, signing Goldson/Revis and finding a rangy FS would go a long way to getting off the field on 3rd down AND improve the pass rush two-fold.

Originally posted by Olejohnnyboy:
On the XM-Sirus NFL Network, they said our safety Donte W. has got to go! They say he's too much of a liability in pass coverage.

the one issue in our secondary is that we're in reality starting 2 strong safeties.