The mighty Baltimore Ravens are 5-10 and facing the most critical juncture in the franchise’s history. These are the same Ravens that have been a mainstay of the AFC playoff picture since 2008. These are the same Ravens that won two Super Bowls in 12 years and have been to four AFC Championship games, in their 20 years in Baltimore. This is a turning point for the Ravens and the arrow can go up or continue its descent.
In many ways this is unchartered territory for the Ravens. The Ravens last miserable season was 2007 as the Brian Billick era ended. Since John Harbaugh took over his worst season was an 8-8 2013 campaign. He may have a plan for the rebounding of his win Ravens, but it will not be made from past experience.
Because the Ravens have not been in this situation before with Harbaugh at the helm, it raises a darkly framed question. Is this the beginning of the end or a wake up call that gets us back on track?
The good news is general manager, Ozzie Newsome and assistant general manager, Eric DeCosta have been here before. This is not the first rebuild the Ravens have had and it won’t be the last. Frustratingly, unless you have the Patriots secret formula your NFL team will have bad years here and there. That is just business in professional football. As long as the front office stays level-headed there is no reason to panic about the future.
There is reason for slight concern though. The Ravens model has always been drafting well and under the radar signings. The Ravens have had more draft misses in the past several years and its starting to catch up. So the Ravens absolutely need to draft well this Spring.
The good news is that the Ravens have a lot of things going for them. The team was decimated by injuries. They lost a lot of close games which means they were competitive. What the Ravens must take away from this season is that they need quality depth on their roster. But some of the big puzzle pieces are already in place.
Joe Flacco will be ready for the start of the season, and that is huge. Check franchise quarterback off the list of concerns for the Ravens. His favorite target (Steve Smith Sr.) is coming back for another season. The Ravens have a great coach in John Harbaugh who has handled this disastrous season well. Leadership won’t be an issue. Daryl Smith and Marshall Yanda are also veteran leaders who the team can rely upon.
The Ravens also have young talent on offense and defense. On offense you have developing tight ends like Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams and Nick Boyle. You have a duo of exciting youthful running backs in Lorenzo Taliaferro and Buck Allen. On defense you have Brandon Williams and C.J. Mosely who are just getting started. The Ravens are still developing guys like Timmy Jernigan, Carl Davis and Brent Urban to develop.
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The Ravens are literally just a few pieces away from being a really good football team once again. That is the good news. The season from Hell is almost over and there is hope for the immediate future (that’s the good news). Despite plenty of reason for optimism the Ravens are at a turning point. They can either rise above the turmoil or get stuck in it. The future of the Baltimore Ravens is up to the Baltimore Ravens to be written.