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Russell Street Report Ravens Links Worst Ravens Team of 21st Century?

This isn’t the worst Baltimore Ravens team since the turn of the century, but it’s close. Grantland breaks down the biggest reason for the lost season (that sounds like an awful Christmas movie). A Bleacher Report writer fails at giving a reality check on Joe Flacco. A BSL writer tells us why local radio callers are ridiculous with their trade proposals. What does Ray Lewis’s book say about that night in Atlanta? The Ravens have drafted playmakers very poorly in recent years, but the jury is still out on the most recent picks.

Harsh title, right? Brandon Gdula of numberFire uses math to determine whether this team is the worst Ravens team since the 2000 Super Bowl. The answer is no; it is the second worst team since then. This year’s team is barely worse than the 2013 team, with a nERD score of -2.98. The worst team in Ravens history is the 2007 team, which finished the season with a nERD score of -5.62.

Which is the worst Ravens team of the 21st Century?

Bill Barnwell breaks down the biggest reasons for the Ravens’ poor season, and he barely even mentions the offense. He thinks that Pernell McPhee’s departure is a huge factor, pointing to the Ravens’ pressure rate, which is comparable to last year. The big difference is that the Ravens have needed to bring blitzes 7.1% more often to get there, which is a problem when you have a secondary that sucks this much.

If you’re a Grantland reader (I highly suggest you should be), you know that teams tend to split close games 50/50. Obviously, that hasn’t been the case for the Ravens, and it’s hurt them. Moving forward, you can expect them to have more close games, and you may even expect them to split their games the rest of the way, but as Barnwell says, if they do that, they’d finish 6-10.

I do not endorse this article. While the title may be true, the author, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report, says, “It’s not as though Flacco is surrounded by a bunch of scrubs,” and uses the league-wide drop rate to support his claim. I hate to tell you, Brad, but there is more to being a receiver than just catching the ball once it’s thrown to you. You also have to, you know, actually get open.

Gagnon goes on to say, “it’s quite possible they wouldn’t have won the Super Bowl had he not thrown 11 touchdown passes and zero interceptions during that unforgettable playoff run.” No, it’s an absolute certainty.

This one is for all the local radio callers who think that the NFL is like Madden where you can just trade your players at will. Despite what the media wants you think Tom Brady did, players do not take pay cuts to stay with their team, unless they would be cut otherwise (i.e. Peyton Manning), so you shouldn’t expect Flacco to do that. What you should expect is an extension this offseason, which will keep Flacco around for even longer, as Mike Randall of Baltimore Sports and Life tells us.

We knew that Deadspin would be looking for this once this book came out. Kyle Wagner does the deed, and starts off well by talking about how co-/ghostwriter Daniel Paisner will be in-and-out of Ray speak for the next few months after transcribing Ray’s thoughts. The rest of the article isn’t as light, however. Kyle summarizes Ray’s account of what happened that infamous night in Atlanta.

I pointed out that the main problem has been the defense, but Cliff Brown of CSN Mid-Atlantic focuses on the aspect on which fans have focused their attention more: the playmaker positions. In 2011, the Ravens drafted Torrey Smith in the second round…then let him leave in free agency. Since that pick, the Ravens have struggled to find a reliable receiver in the draft. The list includes oft-injured players like Michael Camapanaro and Lorenzo Taliaferro, as well as projects that didn’t pan out like Bernard Pierce and Tandon Doss.

There is promise for the future, though. Maxx Williams has looked like a solid pick, and the jury is still out on Breshad Perriman.