Ravens Hire Caldwell as QB Coach

On Monday the Ravens officially announced former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell as the teams new quarterbacks coach.

Caldwell was the Colts head coach for the past three seasons, and even made an appearance in Super Bowl XLIV, but he was fired after this years 2-14 debacle. Prior to being the head coach in Indianapolis, he was the Colts quarterbacks coach from 2002-2008.

The Ravens went without a QB coach this past season, instead opting for offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to lend additional attention to the position. This move frees Cameron up to focus on other areas of the offense, and Joe Flacco should only benefit from the presence of Peyton Manning's former tutor.

"I am really excited to work with Coach Harbaugh, Cam and the rest of the coaching staff," Caldwell said in a statement released by the team. "It's a great fit for me, and I'm happy they saw it that way. I can't wait to get started with the Ravens, an organization that from top to bottom is one of the NFL's best. I'm looking forward to coming to Baltimore."

This looks like a great fit for both parties. The Ravens needed to add an experienced quarterbacks coach, and Caldwell returns to a coaching position that he excels at.

Pees Named D-Coordinator, Cameron to be Retained

At todays' press conference, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh announced that Dean Pees will be taking over as defensive coordinator now that Chuck Pagano has been named the head coach in Indianapolis.

Pees has been the Ravens linebackers coach for the past two seasons, and spent four years as the New England Patriots defensive coordinator from 2006 to 2009. Pees and Harbaugh have a long history, as Pees was Harbaugh's defensive coordinator when John played defensive back at Miami (Ohio) University.

Harbaugh also announced that offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will be retained. Many speculated Cameron's time in Baltimore could be up, given the criticism he has faced and the fact that his contract is up. Apparently, that never crossed Harbaugh's mind.

"It was a forgone conclusion to me," Harbaugh said of Cameron being retained. "If you look at the way our offense played this year and that job our players did on offense and our coaches did, I was excited about it."

Furthermore, it remains to be seen if Pagano will attempt to pry any position coaches from Baltimore for his staff, but Harbaugh said he was looking forward to having all of his assistant coaches back next year.

These both look like great moves to us, It wouldn't make sense to bring in an entirely new defensive coordinator to handle an already top-notch unit. It would have been great to keep Pagano, but going with Pees is a sound replacement.

And with Cameron, continuity at the offensive coordinator position is one of the greatest gifts a quarterback can have, and Joe Flacco will now enter his 5th season with the same offensive coordinator he has had his entire career. There was much more balance on offense this year, and believe it or not Cameron is well-respected around the league as a coordinator.

Former Ravens fullback Le'Ron McClain chimed in on twitter when asked his thoughts on Cameron being retained, saying "Great move they looked more explosive this year to me".

The Ravens have a great coaching staff, and with these moves the offensive and defensive units remain in good hands.

Ravens Lose AFC Championship in Heartbreaking Fashion

The 2011 Baltimore Ravens season came down to a 32-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds left in the 4th quarter of the AFC Championship Game. The Ravens trailed the New England Patriots 23-20, and the field goal would tie the game and almost certainly force overtime.

Billy Cundiff, a pro-bowl kicker only a season ago, trotted out and proceeded to shank the kick wide left.

And thus, the 2011 season ended in Foxborough, with a 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots, who will now play the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Realistically, is the missed kick the reason the Ravens lost? No, but it's a large contributing factor. And it will surely go down in Baltimore sports infamy.

In our AFC Championship preview earlier this week, we predicted the Patriots would score 24 points, (halfway between their average ppg and the Ravens defense average ppg allowed) they scored 23. It takes a very good defensive performance to hold the Patriots offense to only 23 points, and that's exactly what the Ravens gave. Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb each notched interceptions, and two more were called back by penalty. They sacked Tom Brady only once, but held him without a touchdown pass for the first time in 36 games. Brady later said "Well, I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us." It was as good a defensive showing as anyone can have against Brady and the Patriots offense.

As for the Ravens offense, Joe Flacco turned in one of his best performances, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns. Anquan Boldin had over 100 yards receiving on 6 catches. But the team had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns too often. Finally, after getting the ball back with under two minutes on the clock, Flacco led the Ravens down the field, and after a near touchdown to Lee Evans, the team had to settle for a field goal try for the third time in the game. It was an ultra-high pressure kick, and Cundiff couldn't deliver. "It's a kick I've kicked probably a thousand times in my career, I went out there and didn't convert. That's the way things go." Cundiff said.

And so, the most talented Ravens team in recent memory, the team that overtook Pittsburgh to win the AFC North, that finally earned a playoff bye and a home playoff game, is left to ask what could have been.

Joe Flacco: Elite QB or Serviceable Option?

No player on the Ravens roster generates more high and low reviews than quarterback Joe Flacco. One minute he's opening the season with 3 touchdown passes and a QB rating of 117.6 against the arch rival Steelers, and he is finally becoming a top NFL quarterback. The next, he's throwing 2 interceptions with a paltry 46.9 completion percentage and a QB rating of 51.2 against Seattle. Now he's just an average quarterback who needs a strong supporting cast and a great defense to win at this level. But who is the real Joe Flacco? Which quarterback is he? The guy with ice in his veins who can drive down the field for the game-winning touchdown pass in Pittsburgh? Or is he the inconsistent, overthrowing, holding the ball too long QB that he sometimes becomes?

Some critics describe Flacco as simply a serviceable quarterback, a game-manager at times. Someone who wouldn't have nearly the amount of success he has attained if he were on a team without the type of defense that the Ravens have. I'm not buying that. Kyle Boller had the Ravens defense on his side too.

Some, like John Clayton of ESPN describe him as elite. Any fan of Flacco's surely loves to hear that, but I'm not agreeing with Clayton either. An elite quarterback can make a bad team great. Just look at what happened in Indianapolis this year for evidence of that. If Flacco were quarterbacking a team such as this years Colts, I don't think he'd be taking them deep into the postseason.

So where does Joe Flacco fall? He is undoubtedly the best QB to put on a Ravens uniform. Not saying much, I know, but he is a very good NFL quarterback. The type of quarterback no team could afford to give up because very good NFL quarterbacks are very hard to find. He's not Tom Brady, or Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees. But he's certainly not Kyle Boller, or Trent Dilfer, or Elvis Grbac. The Ravens recent success has somewhat spoiled the fanbase. They have won at least one playoff game each of the last three years, and this year made the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year. Additionally, this year also included the AFC North division crown, and a first-round playoff bye. Flacco has 44 regular-season victories. More than any other quarterback in NFL History. That's not a record attainable by a "serviceable" quarterback.

But the one thing the Flacco-led Ravens have yet to accomplish is winning a championship. This could be the year to do it. Flacco's 2011 regular season doesn't look all that great on paper. He had the lowest completion percentage of his career at 57.6%. He had the lowest average yards per throw of his career at 6.7 yards. He had the lowest QB rating (80.9) and yardage total (3,610) since his rookie year of 2008. But those are just stats, and that's just how it looks on paper. This year Flacco was inconsistent, yes. But he made the right plays at the right times. He knows how to win. And a quarterback who knows how to win is a dangerous sight for opponents in the postseason. Maybe, this is the year he takes that giant next step. The step to a Super Bowl, and perhaps, the step to elite quarterback status.