The Baltimore Ravens have a lot of work to do this offseason.Building a professional football team is a business of tough decisions. With a salary cap and a 53 man roster there will always be conflict. Is it even possible to have a complete team?
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Look at the 15-1 Carolina Panthers. They are one of the best teams in football yet their receiving corps are rather pedestrian. Cam Newton makes up for it. The point is that on every playoff team there is at least one part of their roster that is far from ideal. The difference between teams like the Panthers and Ravens is that the Panthers can make up for their shortcomings.
Have you noticed how teams these days usually have either great offense or great defense? It’s hard to have both when you have to pay a top-tier quarterback, great offensive lineman and a special wide receiver. It’s hard to help the defense if you’re paying a dominant pass rusher and a shut down corner.
The rookie wage scale helps NFL franchise incredibly. NFL Draft picks have the same value but there is less risk to each prospect. Before the rookie wage scale, bad teams had to worry about the huge cost of the top picks. It still is not cheap but it is much more under control.
Teams like the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots stockpiled young and affordable talent through the draft. Filling needs in the draft is great because each pick gets a four or five-year contract. This gives you time before everyone has to get paid the mega-millions if you will.
The Ravens have always been a team that relies upon the draft rather than the costly pleasure of free agency. The problem is that the Ravens have had more misses in the past few years than they are accustomed to.
A good team is quite possible to build. A great team is manageable. A perfect team is impossible. You will always have a position you can’t afford to spend much on. That is just how football works.
The Ravens have major needs in the secondary, receiving core and offensive line. If the Ravens can solve two of these problems (while getting affordable depth too) it will be a successful offseason. The 2016 Ravens won’t be perfect but they will have a chance to be good.