Raven Fan here

by jazz20 on Dec 14, 2011 3:42 PM PST

Hello San Diego Chargers fans.I am here to provide answers to any question about the Baltimore Ravens before they face your team on Sunday. I have questions of my own about your teams( see below).

1) what rookie has really shined for the chargers?

2) How good has former Ravens left tackle Jared Gaither been for The Chargers?

3) The Chargers offense hasn't been consistently good but what do you think is the cause for this?

4) Do you feel like Norv Turner is the reason why the chargers haven't been consistently successful this year?

This FanPost was written by a member of the Bolts From The Blue community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bolts From The Blue editors or SB Nation.

Tweet Comment 15 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

hey there

1. Vincent Brown, a 3rd round pick has been the best rookie so far. Hes a good route runner and really attacks the ball, hes a keeper.

2. Gaither has been playing very well. I am almost shocked he got released. He will at least be a backup next year and could be a starter if Mcneil is still hurt.

3. O-line. There have been a LOT of injuries on the o-line. One week the RG was a bar tender the week before. also Rivers hasn’t played like his normal self early on.

4. I put it more on the injuries than Norv personally.

by cameronm on Dec 14, 2011 5:23 PM PST reply actions

My impression was that Gaither was an above average LT when he was with the Ravens. This mainly comes from how Oher had some difficulty supplanting him in the first couple of years. It seemed like if it weren’t for Gaither’s injuries, he might have held down the LT job and kept Oher at RT. While I understand the Ravens letting go an injury prone player, I was surprised that he was not able to crack the lineup in KC and that they released him. How well he has done for the Chargers over the last two games has increased my confusion over how someone like Gaither could have been available.

Is there more to the Gaither story than just a talented but injury prone player? I’ve heard some rumblings of him not working as hard as he should. What was the perception of him in Baltimore?

by Stephen (shaynes41) on Dec 15, 2011 12:46 PM PST up reply actions

Is there more to the Gaither story than just a talented but injury prone player? I’ve heard some rumblings of him not working as hard as he should. What was the perception of him in Baltimore?

He came down with a back injury that never really healed correctly and probably never will. Add on top of that, there were some concerns about his work ethic and lack of dedication to the Ravens. Ask most Ravens fans, and they will tell you that there was some sketchy stuff going on between Gaither, his agent (Rat Rosenhaus) and our front office.

The worst part about it is that Gaither had a legitimate chance to be a top 5 LT in this league. He has everything you would want in a LT, amazing size, incredible athleticism (originally recruited to Maryland for basketball) and the best part was that he was young. The 2008 season, man was he good. No one was getting by that man that year, he played with a dislocated shoulder injury for about 8 straight games. He was freaking dominant.

All of a sudden, his game fell apart. He got hurt, than we drafted Oher and contract concerns came up when we moved Oher to LT. For some reason he came into OTA’s in 2009 weighing in at 300 pounds instead of the 340 the coaches like him at.

If he gets his shit together, you guys could very well have a premier LT for a long time. But us Ravens fans don’t see that happening, just too many concerns.

Flacco has to trust his receivers to make catches, but shouldn’t throw towards coverage. He needs to attack deep more often, but shouldn’t hold onto the ball so long. He needs to show more awareness in the pocket and move to extend plays, but nothing good comes of him leaving the pocket. He should run with the ball if nobody’s open, but he definitely can’t run with the ball.

Flacco should have the awareness of Roethlisberger, the elusiveness of Vick, the control of the offense of Manning, the leadership of Brady, the accuracy of Brees, and the arm strength of … Flacco? - Ampallang

by Mr MaLoR on Dec 15, 2011 12:53 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs

Hopefully McNeil comes back

and we don’t need to rely on him. But right now he’s definitely playing like he wants a second chance in the league.

by SDreal on Dec 17, 2011 9:09 AM PST up reply actions

Can I reasonably hope for the Ravens team that traveled to Seattle and Jacksonville

to show up on Sunday night? I’ve heard those losses had a lot to do with our old friend Cam Cameron not using Ray Rice and instead attempting to force the pass with Flacco. I can’t really remember Cam doing that a ton here (Marty made sure of that) but one instance where I can relate was that awful 2006 loss to NE. In the second half, I believe Tomlinson only touched the ball nine times and Rivers (essentially a rookie that year) was called upon to throw a bunch and we lost 24-21. Hoping Gaither sticks it his old team and Rivers and Co. find enough offense to win, and don’t screw around in the redzone!

by johndillinger on Dec 14, 2011 6:15 PM PST reply actions

I’ve heard those losses had a lot to do with our old friend Cam Cameron not using Ray Rice and instead attempting to force the pass with Flacco.

That wasn’t the whole problem, but definitely factored into it. I think he’s realized that though now. I believe Rice has got 20+ touches the last few games and our offense has been clicking more recently, so hopefully he sticks with that, but you never know with Cam.

On Ed Reed:
"I’ve told him to his face many times, ‘You’re the greatest safety ever to play the game,’"
"We all learn from each other, but we all learn most from him."
- Troy Polamalu

by AV23 on Dec 15, 2011 8:36 AM PST up reply actions

Can I reasonably hope for the Ravens team that traveled to Seattle and Jacksonville
to show up on Sunday night?

I highly doubt that will happen and i feel like the ravens will be highly motivated since this game will help them get the number one seed in the playoffs( atleast help improve the odds of obtaining it)

I’ve heard those losses had a lot to do with our old friend Cam Cameron not using Ray Rice and instead attempting to force the pass with Flacco.

using ray rice more would had help the ravens but wideouts/tight ends were dropping passes which really didnt help much. I think Cam thought the ravens offense could be very effective with the pass and they can but right now the running game has to be use alot more

by jazz20 on Dec 14, 2011 8:56 PM PST reply actions

Well, you asked.....

As to your questions, heres my 2 cents worth (if it’s even worth that much).
1. As cameronm said, it has to be Vincent Brown. He has the smarts and moves of a much
more experienced player and seems to get better every game.
2. Gaither proved to be a gold mine for the Bolts. He may not be the best, most talented
player on line, but he is big and filled a hole that desperately needed filling. Thank you
Ravens!
3. While it is easy to point a finger at our O-line (and they need a finger pointed at them),
every other aspect of the offense is to blame also. From inconsistent and somewhat
timid coaching to just plain lousy throwing, the Bolts were awful the first 3/4 of the
season. We’ll see Sunday if they are back in form.
4. This last one is tricky. You certainly can’t blame the coach for missed tackles or
badly thrown balls, but the fickle finger of fate has to fall somewhere, and that
somewhere is the head coach and GM. I like Norv (A.J. Smith…..not so much), but the
only thing that will save their jobs will be to run the table until the end of the season,
and while hope springs eternal, I think the odds are against that.

Good luck Sunday Ravens fans…..(not really, but I thought I’d be polite and say that) :)

by El Guapo on Dec 15, 2011 12:41 PM PST reply actions