By shelz.
I’ve written and rewritten this piece over and over again. Every time I take to my keyboard another Raven flies the coup and I have to rethink and revamp. The knee jerk response heard round the city of Baltimore is that of terror and apprehension. Ravens Nation would have liked to bask in the purple glow of the Lombardi all off season, but it wasn’t to be. The team of destiny is fractured and pieces have been farmed out all over the league. The Lombardi is almost as past tense as my Ravens jerseys. Every single one is throwback.
Every. One.
When news of Boldin’s trade hit, I figured toss Q and save the defense, but the offense was winning all of the games. The defense was possibly the worst of the Ravens 17 years. It didn’t make sense to get rid of a productive player to save a squad held together by crazy glue and duct tape. The Ravens front office was obviously thinking the same thing because Q’s release saved no one.
Boldin, Kruger, Ellerbe, Williams, Pollard and Reed. Oh, don’t forget 52 and Birk retired. Oh, also don’t forget that the purge might not be over. Mckinnie and Leach might be on the ledge.
Sigh.
Rumors floated that some of the moves were more personal than business, but if you know the powers that be in Owings Mills, you know nothing is personal. Newsome and DeCosta have always been fearless in their decision making. After winning their first superbowl, they dumped the QB, but extended contracts of almost everyone else in an attempt to repeat. It was a horrifying disappointment and some of the older players were fielded way past their primes. This year, they are doing the exact opposite.
The logic is clear. Flacco, regardless of what you think of his talent or contract, is THE guy. He is there to stay and a faster, fresher defense will be created to complement his and Caldwell’s emergent offense. In that sense, the wheels that are turning for the Ravens are moving in the right direction even if they do scatter some hometown favorites to the wind.
Don’t feel bad for them. I’m absolutely sure Ellerbe and Kruger don’t feel bad for you as they roll around in the piles of money they just acquired. Boldin is going to be fine with lil Harbaugh and Reed is obviously going to be fanned and fed grapes by topless concubines while he’s flown to games in Houston’s private jet every Sunday. Classy, indeed. The NFL is a business and the cap makes for some interesting shuffling every March. It’s not over and the Ravens would much rather search the remnants than throw huge dollars at the superstars. It’s just not their style and that normally doesn’t equal post season play anyway. If you had been paying attention for the past 17 years, you would know that.
March is not a time for meaningful wins or losses unless you are a college basketball player and last I checked the Ravens were still world champs. Calm your damn nerves Baltimore. Just sit back and watch Ozzie cook. This show hasn’t even begun. And I predict (and yall know how good I am with predicting) that this is going to turn out a lot better than anyone thinks.
Ravens!
