So what are the 'tough' decisions the Ravens have this offseason?

[bmore_ken]

These ten guys plus adding Flacco at say 15M, comes to roughly 81 million.

If the cap is 120M, that leaves 39M to pay 40 other players on the roster, no way Ravens contend with that kind of cap spending.

Cut McClain and Leach. Personally I don't think either of them is worth their cap number next year. That's a start. and to be honest, if I'm Ozzie and can't get Boldin to restructure, cya it's been nice having you. I love Anquan but I don't think he's worth more than Ray Rice at this point. I'm not sure if any of that will happen, but those would be good moves in my opinion to relieve some cap space and not kill the team

[baltiMOREO&R]

Cut McClain and Leach. Personally I don't think either of them is worth their cap number next year. That's a start. and to be honest, if I'm Ozzie and can't get Boldin to restructure, cya it's been nice having you. I love Anquan but I don't think he's worth more than Ray Rice at this point. I'm not sure if any of that will happen, but those would be good moves in my opinion to relieve some cap space and not kill the team

yep, Koch and Cody served their papers also

[OriginalColtsFan]

Cut McClain and Leach. Personally I don't think either of them is worth their cap number next year. That's a start. and to be honest, if I'm Ozzie and can't get Boldin to restructure, cya it's been nice having you. I love Anquan but I don't think he's worth more than Ray Rice at this point. I'm not sure if any of that will happen, but those would be good moves in my opinion to relieve some cap space and not kill the team

I know it's not popular, but I agree 100%. And I'd toss out the possibility of saying c'ya to Ngata as well. And possibly even Suggs. This team needs to get its priorities straight. If they do, they could be a genuine dynasty. If not, then they'll remain a team that wins it all every decade or so.

[Rael]

I know it's not popular, but I agree 100%. And I'd toss out the possibility of saying c'ya to Ngata as well. And possibly even Suggs. This team needs to get its priorities straight. If they do, they could be a genuine dynasty. If not, then they'll remain a team that wins it all every decade or so.

They won't be a dynasty if they have nobody to rush the passer and nobody to stop the run. There is a reason the defense got better when Suggs came back even though he wasn't near 100%. While I agree that McClain is too expensive, a linebacking core headed by just Ellerbe and Bines would be a disaster, IMHO. Besides, dynasties just don't happen anymore. The Pats are the closest thing to it and they haven't won the big one in quite some time now.

[jessup270]

Cut McClain and Leach. Personally I don't think either of them is worth their cap number next year. That's a start. and to be honest, if I'm Ozzie and can't get Boldin to restructure, cya it's been nice having you. I love Anquan but I don't think he's worth more than Ray Rice at this point. I'm not sure if any of that will happen, but those would be good moves in my opinion to relieve some cap space and not kill the team

I agree and would add Ngata to the list.

Ngata a good guy, who just can't penetrate the pocket on a regular basis. I am not talking about sack just pressure.

People say his job is to clog up the middle, Cody is suppose to do that.

Ravens can't have TWO guys clogging up the middle, they need a pass rush.

[baltiMOREO&R]

People say his job is to clog up the middle, Cody is suppose to do that.

The only clogging the middle Cody does is when he is lying on his backside 5 yards back.

[OriginalColtsFan]

They won't be a dynasty if they have nobody to rush the passer and nobody to stop the run. There is a reason the defense got better when Suggs came back even though he wasn't near 100%. While I agree that McClain is too expensive, a linebacking core headed by just Ellerbe and Bines would be a disaster, IMHO. Besides, dynasties just don't happen anymore. The Pats are the closest thing to it and they haven't won the big one in quite some time now.

If the Ravens can't find suitable replacements for Suggs and Ngata at a reduced cost then there's something terribly wrong. Even when he won DPOY Suggs totally disappeared in the playoffs. Completely. He was a non-factor. And a very expensive non-factor at that. The way I see it, it's not a matter that the Ravens CAN'T find a cheaper and better replacement, it's that they don't want to. Oh well. Same with Ngata. I doubt he's ever going to be worth what he's getting paid. His best days are behind him. The guy's talking about retiring and how he doesn't want to be injured later on in life because of football. That's understandable, but not for what he's getting paid.

[OriginalColtsFan]

Nobody mentioned Matt Birk? What should the Ravens do with him?

[Rael]

Nobody mentioned Matt Birk? What should the Ravens do with him?

I think everyone assumes he is retiring.

[OriginalColtsFan]

I think everyone assumes he is retiring.

He's still got a year or two left on his contract. He hasn't come out, like Ray did, and say he's retiring. So nothing is definite about that, is it?

[Rael]

He's still got a year or two left on his contract. He hasn't come out, like Ray did, and say he's retiring. So nothing is definite about that, is it?

No, and I assume he is cut if he isn't retiring but my money is on retirement.

[OriginalColtsFan]

No, and I assume he is cut if he isn't retiring but my money is on retirement.

Well...he was one of the players I was definitely wrong about at the start of the season. I was certain he'd never make it through the entire season, and that if he did somehow manage, he'd be a liability against Wilfork and N.E. like he was in 2011. I was wrong. WILFORK was the non-factor, and Birk did fine. So that sort of threw everything up in the air. We'll just have to see how it all works out.

[durango46]

cutting Suggs.....wow..

I can't tell you enough how much I disagree with that.

I'd say goodbye to Ray Rice and Michael Oher first

[OriginalColtsFan]

cutting Suggs.....wow..

I can't tell you enough how much I disagree with that.

I'd say goodbye to Ray Rice and Michael Oher first

Don't tease me, biatch. I wouldn't particularly lose that much sleep over Rice or Oher.



But Suggs...dude...$13M against the cap. He's just not worth it. And he might require another surgery for the torn bicep. Sorry my friend...I'm just not in his corner. Not for that price, anyway. If he'd be willing to take a significant pay cut, then maybe. (Something I would not even consider for Ed Reed. Reed is totally done in my book.) But the Ravens, while not having to necessarily go through a total rebuilding stage, DO have to go through a total re-thinking about how they win ball games. It used to be all about the D. Now the team has to be built around Joe, without totally tanking on the D. I believe there are better and cheaper options than Suggs, especially once the F/As hit the market.

[baltiMOREO&R]

From what i heard, cutting Suggs or Ngata wouldn't save much if anything on the CAP because of their signing bonus... have to keep them.

[bmore_ken]

From what i heard, cutting Suggs or Ngata wouldn't save much if anything on the CAP because of their signing bonus... have to keep them.

It would save on their base salaries, but we'd still be carrying dead bonus money. So even if Suggs was cut today, he'd still count $6.6M against the cap. He'd just be making plays for another team with our money

[OriginalColtsFan]

It would save on their base salaries, but we'd still be carrying dead bonus money. So even if Suggs was cut today, he'd still count $6.6M against the cap. He'd just be making plays for another team with our money

$6.5M is half of the $13M he's counting against the cap now. That's not chump change by any means.

[Rael]

OCF, it seems that you want Joe to get ALL the money. Suggs and Ngata have value. Whether their value is equal to their contract is certainly a debatable point but to assume you can just find someone as good or almost as good much more cheaply is a pretty bold assumption. If that were true, wouldn't Cody be the equal of Ngata by now? Do you expect Joe to rush the passer? The defense got a lot better when Suggs returned. I personally do not think this was an accident.

[bmore_ken]

$6.5M is half of the $13M he's counting against the cap now. That's not chump change by any means.

So you want to pay Suggs $6M to play for someone else? I'm glad you don't have Ozzie's job

[OriginalColtsFan]

OCF, it seems that you want Joe to get ALL the money. Suggs and Ngata have value. Whether their value is equal to their contract is certainly a debatable point but to assume you can just find someone as good or almost as good much more cheaply is a pretty bold assumption. If that were true, wouldn't Cody be the equal of Ngata by now? Do you expect Joe to rush the passer? The defense got a lot better when Suggs returned. I personally do not think this was an accident.

Not at all. I want the Ravens to be smart about the money. All the top teams pay their QB the most. That's just the way it is in the 21st century NFL. The Ravens have never had a franchise QB before, so their payroll is out of line with what it needs to be. I simply want it to fall in line with what it needs to be is all.

As far as "the defense got better after Suggs returned" argument...look at the teams he was playing against. Once he was up against the top teams, he didn't do much at all. He didn't do squat in the playoffs last year, and neither did Ngata. There are good players out there that cost less. The Ravens just have to commit to more practical acquisitions at more reasonable prices. The Steelers had the number one D and finished 8-8. The notion that D's win championships is no longer valid. The Ravens need a solid D, that's it. They need to build the team around Joe.