It’s hard to evaluate a head coach’s performance, especially when someone like Coach Harbaugh hands the offensive and defensive sides of the ball so completely to his coordinators. With Brian Billick, you knew he always had a hand in the offense and could be held responsible when it fell short of expectations. John Harbaugh is not that guy, and he shouldn’t be. To me, he focuses on what a coach should focus on- the attitudes of his players, game management, certain personnel decisions, and a general oversight of his coaches. However, these categories are much more than fluff, and most of his work goes on outside the game itself. He must be held responsible if his coaches fail to establish a single identity on either side of the ball or mismanage the players at their disposal. As far as in-game management, I will not parse through every fruitful or wasteful challenge, every bad timeout or 4th down decision. Yes, Coach Harbaugh had some puzzling decisions at critical moments in games, but I didn’t notice any more than any other coach on game day. He could use to manage the last 2 minutes of each half a bit better, but if I had a dime for every game with a poorly executed 2 minute drill I would be a very rich man.
However, he also was the one who decided to let Matt Stover and Chris McAlister walk, though even Stover wouldn’t have made the 48 yarder that Hauschka missed against Minnesota, but he would have been more reliable within 40 yards than either Hauschka or Cundiff. McAlister’s absence was pronounced as the secondary was at first poor then poor and injury-depleted, though it is doubtful that he would have made a positive impact on the team. For a coach who tries so hard to motivate his players with rah-rah type speeches, he has had a few stand-offs with his players. But we have no idea what really goes on in the locker room, so I have trouble giving him a bad grade on that basis.
And now for the coordinators…
Cam Cameron- Sometimes I thought I was watching Mike Martz and other times Matt Cavanaugh run the offense. This was a team that came out swinging and throwing the ball all over the field, and seemed to want to get back to that whenever possible. Even after the free-wheeling passing began to lose its effectiveness Cameron still kept trying to fit the square peg in the round hole. At times he entirely neglected the three-headed monster that had gotten the Ravens to the AFC Championship game in 2008. Look, I understand that he wanted to make this offense more dynamic, and I applaud that. But Cam should have understood that it wasn’t going to happen overnight. A team that whose strength is running the football should try to work in a stronger passing game, but it shouldn’t turn its back on its roots. Joe Flacco and his receiving corps are far from capable of maintaining that sort of offensive output, and it felt as though the play-calling was trying to force the issue where it just didn’t work. When he rediscovered running the football it never seemed to be for long, and we waited throughout the entire season to figure out whether this was a running team, a passing team, or a bit of both. It wasn’t that the offense was terrible, but that it lacked continuity throughout the season. I still believe that Cameron is one of the better coordinators in the NFL, but he has to decide what he wants the offense to be- he has 6 more months to do it.
Greg Mattison- How much blame/credit can we give this first-year coordinator for the success/struggles of the Ravens defense? If you watched each game it felt as though this defense had taken a tremendous step back from previous seasons, but on further review it wasn’t all that much worse statistically. Naturally having three new starting cornerbacks in Foxworth, Carr and Webb dragged down the performance of the secondary considerably, and Dawan Landry didn’t hit his stride until late in the season. Oh yea, and the best safety in the NFL was injured for most of the year. These factors clearly hampered Mattison’s ability to sell out and leave receivers one-on-one. However, I also noticed a general toning down of the defense; an unwillingness to ever send the house or overload one side. He didn’t seem to blitz less often, but they were targeted at a specific player rather than a side of the formation. There is no doubt that Rex Ryan led better defenses and was probably a better coordinator, but he also had better players to work with than Mattison, who lacked a strong complement to Ray Lewis as Antwan Barnes/ Tavares Gooden/etc. failed to become effective starters. Generally Mattison did a fine job, though we won’t know how good a coordinator he really is until he isn’t hampered by a substandard secondary.
Billick was fired because he lost the locker room (due largely to his boss (Biscotti) emasculating him in a season ending press conference), his poor in game management, his poor clock management, lack of discipline, and his failure to impart his knowledge on his supposed area of expertise.
Hmmm…Harbaugh has a "dog house" so already, in two seasons his message is being lost on part of his team. I also believe that the veterans are readdy for a mutiny. His game management? Poor at best. Clock management? What clock management? Lack of discipline? The Ravens finished second in the NFL in penalties. Harbaugh is a "special teams guru" and his last job was as a secondary coach, yet the guy let his best special team player go and his secondary was atrocious.
The only thing saving him is that despite these shortcomings, Harbaugh has made the playoffs both seasons, but Bart Scott said Rex Ryan led the team in 2008.
I get it, they've made the playoffs twice under Harbaugh, that's great, and he now wants to bring back the 9-7 squad to repeat again as a just barely above .500 team that finished 1-6 versus playoff teams this year.
The Emperor has no clothes, Baltimore fans…see through the smokescreen!!!
I agree with much of what STG has to say except for the part about Ryan and Scott "leading the 08 team".
To simply gloss over the atrocious in game management is way too generous.
Guys, as a Ravens fan and a season ticket holder, I hope I'm dead wrong about Harbaugh, but I don't think I am. I find him irritating, annoying, and condescending. It's funny, some of us wanted the "anti-Billick", but I see him as more annoying than Billick ever was. Billick was entertaining and he took the heat for the team when they didn't perform up to par. His rah-rah speeches and mighty men varsity jackets would go over well if this were Pop Warner, but I can't see Ray Lewis, Terrel Suggs, Derrick Mason, sporting their varsity jackets down at the Fells Point hot spots.
Sorry, he just annoys me to my core…
Harbs got his team to the playoffs his first two seasons and got to the AFC Championship in one of those seasons. I don't care if his rah rah attitude gets on you nerves, the NFL is about results. So far he has done OK, he needs to get the team to the SB in the next two seasons or people will start to lose patience with him.
Welcome Pole!!! Hope to see more of you here.
As you will soon find out, Pole and I generally take opposite ends of things.
No question, the guy (Harbs) has produced two playoff seasons, I don't contest that. But as Harbaugh brings in more and more of his guys (Haushcka, Foxworthless, LJ Smith, David Carr, Paul Krueger) his record has already slipped. He was 1-6 versus playoff teams this year and was 3-5 versus playoff teams in 2008. The fact that he cannot beat Pittsburgh with their starting QB playing is a bad sign. They also cannot and have not gotten over the Indy football team hump, either as they are 0-3 under Harbaugh's watch.
STG
You keep saying Harbaugh bringing in these guys.
Do you think he has that much pull with Ozzie? Those moves were as much Ozzie than anyone. He's the shot caller.
Let me ask this question…Who brought in Boller? Ozzie, right? Yet why is Billick so often blamed for the Boller fiasco?
STG is fiercely loyal to Billick and feels he was treated unfairly. His reality circles around that perception even though his logic doesn't always hold water.
The Boller pick always makes me laugh when it's pinned on Billick.
For one, Ozzie Newsome would NEVER trade a future 1st round pick to acquire any player that he wasn't 100% on board with. The notion that Billick somehow forced Ozzie to take Boller is a joke and it is perpetuated by those who couldn't stand Billick for personal reasons.
Ozzie Newsome gave Boller constant votes of confidence.
If Billick is to be blamed for the Boller pick then does he get credit for the Jamal Lewis or Ed Reed pick?
Of course not. Ozzie Newsome has as much power and autonomy as any other GM in the league. No coach is gonna dictate to him who to draft or who to sign. Sure, every coach on the staff with give their input but the final call belongs to Ozzie. Always has.
Yeah I don't get the Boller argument. It's a way for people that dislike Billick to discredit him.
I moved into the area at the end of the Billick era so I don't hold loyalties to him. Harbs has done a decent job but he has brought in some people that I question their abilities to perform. The players STG discusses above have not played well. I think people tend to give Ryan too much credit for the overall team play, he's the flavor of the month because of how the Jets played in the playoffs. I haven't been impressed with Mattision and his schemes but the D did come on towards the end of the year. Unlike my friend, STG, I'm in a sit and wait mode to see where the team goes next season, time will tell.
Pole
It's not that there's a loyalty to Billick but more that what we see on and off the field with this team is pretty much the same as it was when he was the coach.
I agree about Ryan. He will crash and burn HARD in NY once the losses pile up. It's all great when you are winning and acting like a buffoon. But when you lose? The NY media will tear him up. There's a reason the Ravens didn't hire him.
The defense improved quite a bit down the stretch and while I was pretty unhappy with Mattison I have to say that he did pretty well considering Suggs was hurt and fat. He lost both Washington and Webb and had to compensate for Walker in the secondary.
Whether STG or I like it, Harbaugh is gonna get an extension and will be the coach for the forseeable future. I just hope he sees his flaws and makes the necessary adjustments.
Mark
I'm not a Harbs fan, just hope for the best since he's the coach of my new team. If he can't get the Ravens to the SB in the next few years, I say adios. He's too corporate for my tastes but that is probably what Bischotti was looking for. I would have rather they hired an old school guy like Singletary, someone that will get in a players face when deserved. Harbs is clean cut and politically correct for my tastes. I just don't compare the way he's being treated to the way Billick was treated.
Pole…As a fan of the Ravens I hope to eat my words, but I just don't think I will. I think he would make an excellent college coach or perhaps even a good coach on a rebuilding, young team like Detroit or Oakland. The veterans are not going to put up with his schtick and when the losing starts, look out. I mean the guy went to the playoffs this year and other fans (besides me) are alreaddy questioning his ability to lead this team.
Fans are sometimes fickle. I haven't been in the area long enough to understand the Baltimore mentality, 1 team in 32 wins at the end of the season, I just don't see that because your 1 of the 31 that didn't win it all means the season is a failure. It depends how you got there. I will say that beating NE in Mass was a big deal, but I didn't like the way the season ended in Indy. I do agree that Bmore needs to get over the Indy, Pitt hurdle or they will forever be in their shadow.
Oh believe me, I have the 1 of 32 team argument non stop with people. I, for one, don't think last year was a failure by any stretch.
I just look at the organization as a whole and the future in which it is going. I'm just not sure John Harbaugh is a guy that will lead them to the Super Bowl.
However, I don't think the book has been written on him. The NFL is about wins and losses as you stated earlier and Harbaugh has more wins than losses and has made the playoffs in both seasons.
Can't argue facts.
I hear ya about Harbs. The next few seasons will be pivotal.
Pole –
Mark and I are not related…But, I am in 100% agreement with his view. While I want Harbs to succeed, I just hope he doesn't end up taking us down a 2-3 year path of mediocrity. Billick got grief because of his up and down record his last few years (after Biscotti castrated him), but I feel like the organizational goal now is about getting to the playoffs and then "hoping". Hope aint gonna beat Pittsburgh when they're right, nor will it beat Indy as long as Peyton is slinging it.
BTW Pole – I too wanted Singletary, but if he'd of dropped his drawers in Baltimore, Mr. Corporate Biscotti would have poop-canned him in a second.
I like Singletary's approach, his tough love, and his in your face leadership. I think his resume would have went a long way with both the veterans and the younger guys. Harbs is a cheerleader and a YES man to Biscotti.
Singletary?
No thanks.
Who would you have like to see them hire? The Genius Jason Garrett?!?!
Have to agree with "SpecialTeamsGuru" with his assessment of Harbaugh… The guy is a condescending, thinks he's coaching Cape St. Clair Rec Leaguer 10/11 year olds, coach.
His players are slowly jumping ship and not wanting to play for him. Have you ever seen a player stand next to him on the sideline and talk strategy or such? No, he stands to himself with a stupid "What happened" look on his face.
And that stupid doghouse! One thing about Billick is if he didn't like you he still played you because you would help the team. Not Harbaugh, he has this doghouse where the players don't play even though they could help the team. At various times, Kruger, Demetrius Williams, Stover (Why do you think he was cut), Heap, McGahee, Burgess, McAlister (Why do you think he Harbaugh wouldn't bring him back near the end of the year as he brought back Corey Ivey instead. Come on, your choice is Ivey or McAlister, who would you bring in?)
Additional comments about that joke of a coach Harbaugh…
Harbaugh keeps bringing in his friends, old coaches, fathers friends to coach the team. Mattison is outclassed as a Defensive Coordinator but since he is daddys friend its ok. Why do you think the coaches are even jumping ship? They don't like Harbaugh.
And don't get me started on Harbaughs brother running on the field during a game to argue with the refs!
Harbaugh is making this organization into a team of sissies and clowns. Remember when Harbaugh asked the league not to schedule an away game with the Steelers on national tv? WTF?
And don't give me the "he's made the playoffs two years running garbage". Remember, Joe Altobelli won the World Series with Weavers team…
How about Harbs adding Pees who was his position coach in college!!! Group Think is dangerous guys, you can't surround yourself with YES men.
Good points, Ravens 2488
Good points Ravens 2488…
How about Harbs hiring Pees, his position coach from college?!? Group Think is dangerous fellas and Harbs is surrounding himself with YES Men.
Also, does Harbaugh hire any coaches not eligible for AARP?!?
SpecialTeamsGuru, You see the lack of people commenting on this thread so it makes you wonder where they stand. Do they agree with us because they are not responding? Or do they not have any pros for Harbaugh?
Guys like Pole need to understand that you have to take off the purple shades and realize what this clown of a coach Harbaugh is. They say "well he was in the playoffs twice". #1 He backed into it this year, #F he still has Billicks players and #7 what players has he gotten that have helped this team? Carr? Foxworthy? L. J. Smith? O'Neil Cousins? All soft players! The hard hitters left, Scott, Leonhard, etc..
Harbaugh is a soft coach and doesn't belong as the Ravens coach.
Here's the thing Ravens2488 and STG, I think that fans are black and white about this issue. That it's either support Harbaugh through and through or think he's a bad fit here in Baltimore.
I'll tell you where I agree with you guys. I loved Brian Billick and hated the way he left Baltimore. He's a Super Bowl Champion that was kicked to the curb, you guys are spot on about that. I think that Harbs' run to the AFC Championship was more Billick's former team proving they could get there without Billick than Harbs' improvements and that his 9-7 was probably closer to what he's capable of with this team.
I do think that whoever is the head coach in our city should get the support of the fans if he hasn't done something worthy of being fired. Rooting against a guy because you don't like how he coaches is something I'm not capable of as a fan.
It's also unfair to judge a guy because of a decision the owner made.
With all that said, I think that it's still too early to see if Harbaugh will sink or float in the NFL. Maybe his rah-rah attitude (as STG said) will never last with professionals, or maybe it's what they need to get him back to the basics. It's tough to tell what kind of coach he is until the real egos leave Baltimore. And honestly, like it or not, that's Ray Lewis and company.
For Chrissakes fellas, Coach Harbaugh has won playoff games in his first two seasons with a rookie qb — something that had NEVER happened before in the history of the league!!! Remember, Coach Billick is still looking for his first Playoff Win after his second year in the Program. I'll be even fatter if I bet all the naysayers a lunch that Coach Harbaugh wins another Playoff game before his run here ends. What he's accomplished "with Billick's players" (oh wait, Team of the Decade member Ogden never suited up for Harbaugh, nor did Jemal. Reed's been playing hurt and Ray has noticeably aged. Billick's QB got hurt and missed all of 2008.) is indisputable. As for whoever pointed to players and coaches leaving, come on, your better that that! Turnover is the one constant in the NFL. Bart Scott is now the be all and end all of inside stories? Puh-leeeze! And to think I thought he was a linebacker…Who knew he was Psychologist, Coach, General Manager, Concierge, Reporter, and whatever else all rolled in to one? Lets stick to the facts, and the facts show Coach Harbaugh is off to one of the most successful starts to an NFL Coaching Career ever, given what he's had to work with!
Right on Bruz. I'm not sold on Harbaugh totally but at least he has been compettive for consecutive years. If Billick still had the team this would have been the year for them to win 5-6 games. Good year, bad year, good year, bad year. 2004 9-7, 2005 6-10, 2006 13-3, 2007 5-11. Where's the continuity?
Pole and Bruz,
It’s more of a gut feeling I have. Haven’t you ever had moments in your life where everything seems to be going right, but your just not sure how? I can’t argue that Harbs teams have gone to the playoffs twice, I am just not so sure how much he has had to do with it. Billick came in at a time when the Ravens had never won, and he gave them direction and attitude. Not sure what Harbs brings to the table, can you tell me why you do like him? What qualities has he instilled on the team? Has he made them more hard nosed? More disciplined? Better prepared? I just don’t see his imprint on this team.
STG…As Coach Billick used to say, "You are what your record says you are"…And Coach Harbaugh's record is just fine. Is he perfect? Far from it. Will he ever win a Super Bowl? Odds are against it. You are entitled to feel the way you feel, to trust your gut. I give you credit for being a naysayer before it may become popular to do so. But lets just leave it at that. Don't bring in the "It was Buddy Ryan's team in 2008" non-sense…Not unless you are going to dig up quotes from Kim Herring saying "Marvin Lewis" was the reason the Ravens won in 2000. As cooler heads prevail, I think its kinda ironic the gut feeling you have re: Harbs is the same one I have about our QB with the catchy nickname / last name.
Touché.
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