Baltimore fans no longer wacco for Flacco

The Ravens met their division rivals Sunday afternoon and lost in another sloppy game to the Cincinnati Bengals 15-10.

With such a high-powered offense, there was not a lot to brag about in this game. Was the Bengals defense that good? That does not account for QB Joe Flacco not looking comfortable or fluid this game or last weeks against the Jets.

Many fans out there the past few days have been crying to “bench Flacco” and to “bring in Bulger.” Many Baltimoreans are not happy with losing and the fact that Flacco threw four interceptions against the Bengals and another against the Jets—five picks just two games in makes Baltimore very unhappy.

These errors were costly in yards, turnovers and production as Flacco, very uncharacteristically, completed only 48.1 percent of his passes for 402 yards in the past two games (he was 13/34 for 85 yards on Sunday).  He only threw for one TD, but had five interceptions and a fumble.

“Hey, four interceptions is too much,” Coach John Harbaugh, who plans on keeping Flacco as his starter, said Monday. “It’s not just the QB…Joe will be the first to tell you he wants to play better. So, I’m not going to stand up  here and single one guy out.”

True statement the offensive line couldn’t pass protect and Baltimore’s promising offense just could not seem to get open against Leon Hall, Pacman Jones and Johnathon Joseph, or when they did would fail to catch the ball.

However, there were many times that Flacco

Ravens press conference today; offseason updates

Today at 2 p.m. there is going to be a press conference with Raven’s Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome,  John Harbaugh and Dick Cass to talk about what to look ahead for and what to expect for Baltimore.

Baltimore has already started making moves to prepare for the future of the team with the hiring of two new coaches. About two weeks ago, they hired a new linebacker coach, Dean Pees, to replace Vic Fangio.  Pees used to be the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.

A quick update on who Pees is from previous blog: Pees was the head coach of Kent College from 1998-2003, where he then moved up to be the LB coach at NE in 2004 and 2005; he has been their defensive coordinator until the end of this season. Under his coaching, the Patriots this 2009 season were ranked 11th in the NFL after only allowing 320.2 yards per game. Some of the names recognizable under Pees at the Patriots are Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson and Willie McGinest. Pees also ironically was Baltimore’s John Harbaugh’s coach when Harbaugh was a Hurricane, where he played defensive back at Miami U.

Last week, the Ravens also took to their staff a new quarterback coach—a name certainly most sports fans have heard of. Former Washington Redskins head coach, Jim Zorn, filled another vacant coaching spot for Baltimore. Was this a good move?

According to baltimoreravens.com blog writer, Mike Duffy, ‘Zorn brings an impressive resume of a professional playing career that spanned from 1976-87, an 11-year stint as a quarterbacks coach and two years as head coach of the Washington Redskins.’

“Jim played successfully in the NFL for a long time,” said head coach John Harbaugh. “He knows what quarterbacks go through in this league. He has been a quarterbacks coach and a head coach, and he is familiar with our offense. That’s a great résumé. I’ve gotten to know Jim for the last couple of years, and I have been impressed with him as a person. He’s a good, decent man, and he will be an excellent addition to the Ravens. This is an exciting addition to our staff.”

Keep in mind that while Zorn might not have been great head coach material, he had much better stats as a Qb coach and could be just what Joe Flacco needs to get him to be a QB to go toe to toe against veteran QB’s such as Big Ben in Steeler country.

Other news, according to John Eisenberg, a reporter for BaltimoreRavens.com, are which players are up for grabs and who is returning?

Are Ed Reed and Derrick Mason retiring? Unlikely, at least I hope. We could use Mason and Reed’s steady and reliable performance on the field.

Eisenburg, in his report: “But I expect the Ravens to navigate these uncertain waters with relative aplomb. They’re pretty good at the offseason. Teams understandably get a lot of attention for how they fare on the field, but there is a parallel NFL universe that unfolds beyond the public’s view, behind closed doors, where teams scout, draft, manage their finances and generally put one foot in front of the other as a business. It’s a critically important realm that obviously impacts how things play out on the field, and a few teams are known for excelling in it, for operating soundly and methodically from year to year.

“The Ravens rank high on the list of teams that fare well behind the scenes. They’re known for being shrewd drafters, for managing their finances appropriately, for generally making sound decisions. They’re deliberate and methodical as opposed to rash, an approach that tends to pay dividends later, on the field.”

Everyone knows we need wide receivers. Will that affect Baltimore’s current free agent wide receivers Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Kelley Washington?

Possible pick could be San Diego’s Malcom Floyd would be an option to pick up at wide receiver this offseason. He is a restricted free agent, so the Ravens would have to give up a draft pick or two, b ut that could be worth it with Floyd’s deep throat ability to make plays happen. Baltimore, you might remember that 45-yard reception in week two when Baltimore traveled to San Diego, where they won 31-26 with an incredible play to end the game with a W by LB Ray Lewis.

Carolina Panthers Julius Peppers is also rumored to want to move somewhere else, and somewhere else could possibly be Baltimore, New England or Atlanta.

Then again, at draft pick #25, should the Ravens wait and hope to pick up a strong Rookie–they got lucky with Flacco and Ray Rice.

Tune in at 2p.m. today for more answers to questions about the Ravens in the offseason. Keep in mind, Baltimore–trust the ones behind the scenes; their moves in the offseason has gotten Baltimore to the postseason for the past few seasons.