Word on the Street: A Baltimore Sports Short Podcast

For some NFL fans, today is like Christmas morning. When the clock strikes 4 today, big free agent signings will be officially announced. Unfortunately Ravens fans will feel like stepchildren and forced to pretend to be excited about Ozzie Newsome signing a 35-year old tight end in the form of Ben Watson.

ProFootballTalk has been had if a source informed them that the Ravens have genuine interest in Pacman Jones. Either that or Mike Florio is making things up like he did in the old days when he favorite hobby was click-baiting.

It's time for Joe Flacco to play to his level of pay.

Joe Flacco is now the highest paid quarterback in the NFL based on the yearly average of his contract. It is a reflection of how quickly quarterback salaries are rising. Paul Pabst from The Dan Patrick Show has an interesting idea for paying quarterbacks going forward.

The Ravens need to be bold this offseason if they hope to capture the AFC North title in 2016. At the moment the Ravens lack the playmakers that divisional rivals Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers have and if they are to compete, the Ravens have to attack the draft and free agency fearlessly.

Ozzie Newsome fielded some questions from the Baltimore media at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combines including questions about Lardarius Webb, Eugene Monroe, Terrell Suggs and Steve Smith, Sr.

The Ravens Ring of Honor should consist of only 3 players and Art Modell. Those players are Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. One has been enshrined in Canton and gold jackets have probably already been ordered for the other two.

The group discusses the futures of Nick Boyle, Dennis Pitta and Matt Elam plus they touch on the Ravens primary offseason objective.

How do the Ravens currently compare to the AFC North divisional front-runners? What do the Ravens lack most heading into the 2016 offseason?

What is going on with Joe Flacco's contract? Should the Ravens blow up their roster? How smart are Ravens fans? This and more in segment 1 of The Rain-X Russell Street Report.

John Eisenberg, a well known columnist and author here in the Baltimore area, opined recently about the public back-lash directed towards Breshad Perriman. Eisenberg writes: “It was a disappointing rookie season, and I read and heard plenty of tough opinions emanating from the public, mainly that Perriman was a bust or a wimp.”

Time will tell if the move of Lardarius Webb to safety will work, assuming he isn’t a cap casualty. Webb has the range and ball skills to play center field but is he big enough to deliver and absorb the blows that go with the position? More importantly is he worth the money?

The NFL substance abuse policy is a joke and although no one asked me, that’s by design.

We keep hearing how Dennis Pitta wants to try and play again despite the inherent risks of such a comeback. Give the Ravens credit for publicly respecting the desires of a fan and organizational favorite, but soon, push will come to shove and the Ravens will part ways with Joe Flacco’s BFF.

Nick Boyle has 11 career games played on his NFL resume. Those will be followed by 14 consecutive games suspended. What a knucklehead!

There are things that Baltimoreans embrace like steamed crabs, juicy red tomatoes, Natty Boh and smash mouth football. And here in the Land of Pleasant Living you can still get all of the above, except the smash mouth football. And that needs to change!

It has been said that intangibles can make the difference between whether or not an athlete can successfully grow from an amateur into a true professional in the wide world of sports. And that will be important to the Ravens when they analyze hundreds of draft eligible prospects. But how do you identify desirable intangibles? Where do you look?

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine spent 7 seasons in Baltimore as an assistant to Brian Billick and later, John Harbaugh. Could he return to the Ravens sideline?

The Ravens have plenty of offseason needs to address, among them are speed rusher, wide receiver and guard. Here are a few prospects that could help and each is right here in Baltimore.

Joe Flacco's agent Joe Linta is heavily invested in his client and that could ultimately choke the Ravens offseason plans if a new deal isn't reach quickly.

No matter the sport, speed kills. And speed was on display during Super Bowl 50. You’ve heard it said many times that the NFL is a copy cat league and as such, speed rushers across the continent should pay homage to Von Miller. Miller’s explosiveness off the edge altered the most important games during the 2015 season.

Despite the league competition committee’s annual effort to push the NFL further and further towards arena football, defense still matters. Defense still wins championships.

This 2015 season was a true test of the Ravens coaching staff in keeping the team together and playing hard especially with the lack of a true leader in the locker room and they passed that test with flying colors.

The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10, courtesy of a dominant defensive performance and a ferocious pass rush. Yet most of the talk the morning after Super Bowl 50 is centered upon the loser’s locker room thanks to Cam Newton’s 2-minute child-like pouting presser.

The Broncos success in 2015 is rooted in good defense and establishing the run, something the Ravens could learn and borrow from.