Welcome to the dark days of the Baltimore Ravens

Nov 15, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) reacts after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars 22-20 at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Before you can experience what comes with triumph, you must learn to endure what you face in the trial.

32 teams in the NFL, all have had their share of dark days. Some perhaps have experienced it longer than others.

Per example, the Cleveland Browns haven’t won a major football championship since 1964, haven’t won their conference title since 1969, haven’t won their division since 1989, haven’t won a playoff game since 1994, haven’t made a playoff appearance since 2002, and haven’t had a winning season above .500 since 2007. In fact, since the last time the Cleveland Browns even had a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl, they have had a total of 19 losing seasons between 1989 – 2014.

But they have some of the most loyal fans in pro football.

Let’s take the beloved and very hated New England Patriots for another example. In their 55 year history, they’ve actually had 33 seasons of with no playoff appearance and 16 of those 33 losing seasons they only won 5 or less games and had a 7-year streak of no playoff appearances. Sure, they’ve had recent success over the past decade amidst being the center of “-gate” scandals, but even they have endured dark days.

NOTE: Your friends who are Patriots fans wouldn’t know that because it’s likely they’ve only been fans since 2001.

What does all of this mean for the Ravens? For Ravens fans?

For the Ravens, it means it’s time to take a hard look at the operations. This isn’t a team intact with Hall of Fame caliber players who have a tenacity and undying passion for effort and winning. This isn’t a coaching staff that comes from a tree of historically proven success who aren’t afraid to take calculated risk (that doesn’t result in a scandal ending in the suffix, “-gate”) to ensure a victory.

Perhaps it’s time that our front office becomes more aggressive in the offseason by pursuing highly coveted free agents instead of bargain shopping cap casualties and guys dying for a second or third chance simply because they come at a cheap price.

Perhaps it means drafting college players who fit an immediate team need instead of “best player available”. Because as it’s been proven, the “best player available” may not always be the “best person for the job”. Perhaps it means a simple change in the management and coaching philosophy. One or more of these directions will prove to be the way out of these dark days encountered.

For fans, it means that it’s time to rally behind the team, the organization, and face these dark days together. It means to accept where the Ravens are, and look forward to where the Ravens have to go. In twenty seasons, the Ravens have been in the playoffs for half of those seasons (10).