Matt Moore behind a great offensive line....

I said that if you improved the team around Moore that short of maybe a magical season, the best you can hope for is a team that makes the playoffs and can't make it to the SB and you argued by citing an example of a team with another QB who hasn't shown himself to be elite, but has a very good team around him and makes the playoffs but can't make the SB?

 

If you want to classify Baltimore as some team that makes the postseason but can't do anything in January then there's no point in really discussing this any further with you. They can beat any team in the AFC and have proven that over the past two or three seasons. They can't make the Super Bowl? Come on. They've beat Pittsburgh twice already this season. They trounced New England in January just two seasons ago. They demolished Kansas City last season and us in 2008. You know, two teams you're trying to put them in the same category as. Baltimore is not some one and done playoff team. They destroy those teams and recent history proves that. They've got as good a shot at the Super Bowl this year as any other AFC team. And that's with Joe Flacco under center who is not any better than Matt Moore. What would be easier than trying to marginalize a franchise that is clearly in the top tier in the AFC would be to just admit that Chad Henne sucks. It wasn't the system, it wasn't the pressure, it was Chad Henne. Matt Moore is better. Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one. Miami's offense has been better later in the season because they had a better player under center.

 

How soon we forget. We got to and won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback because we had a team of no-names who came out in shape and punched people in the mouth in coordinated unison.

 

It does not matter who is the QB, the line still needs to be improved.

But Moore also hurt the line holding the ball to long this year, I do not like his pocket awareness or his mental clock on when to get rid of the ball, but that being said he has been way better than Henne.

 

The line definitely needs to be improved, but the notion that it should be improved by placing 3 of our first round picks within a four year span is just to costly to other parts of the team. I have no qualms about paying a quality (not columbo) FA, or using a mid-low round pick, but we need to be adding premium talent to other positions.

 

Spot on Tex I tune into your posts simply because you are clear headed, Qb is a toss up, the Oline is bad, that doesn't mean ignore either position, or go to far to address either unit.

 

I never called them one and done. I said that they have not proven they can win a SB with Flacco. Most likely if they do ever get it done it will be b/c Flacco steps up and performs when things around him go wrong. By going wrong I mean, the DC guesses right or the defender beats his guy or an OL misses a block or the receiver falls, stuff like that. That happens a lot in the playoffs b/c you're going up against better opposition. Most of the time the difference is that your elite QB compensates for your team's errors. Since that (stuff going wrong) happens a lot in the playoffs, you're not a perennial SB contender until you have a QB that carries you in those moments. It will happen every once in a while that a team will have a magical season, but obviously that's rare.

 

The OL is 5 separate positions though. WR for example is two generally. RB is one starter. Just by the fact your OL comprises 45% of your offensive starters, it is going to require more resources to get it totally right. So, we are set at LT and C. We are good enough at one guard spot, whichever one Incognito ends up at. When the other guard spot and the RT spot are weaker links in the starting lineup than QB, RB, WR, or TE, why should we lessen the priority of upgrading the weaknesses, just because we took a C last year and a LT in 2008?
So, we should add on depth at WR or RB in round one, rather than a starter at RT or say, LG?
Free safety and ROLB could justify using a 1st rounder on them if the value is there when we pick. I doubt any logical fan could complain about Courtney Upshaw to bookend with Wake. The best safety in the draft is Mark Barron by far. He is more of a strong safety though. Is he worth considering in the 6-10 range of round 1? Could be play Free Safety? He is considered a ball hawk with good hands.
IMO, whomever we take in round 1 needs to be a day 1 starter.