The Baltimore Ravens need to wake up, but I have a feeling that the fans could use a pep talk as well. This pep talk is for anyone who cares about the purple and black: players, coaches, fans, everyone.
At FanSided, we consider ourselves professional fans and at Ebony Bird we love our Baltimore Ravens. I don’t know what we’ve seen over the past two weeks, but it isn’t Baltimore Ravens football. Baltimore Ravens football is tough and physical. Ravens football does not include getting pushed around by the Chicago Bears with a rookie quarterback completing only eight passes. Ravens football doesn’t include going up to Minnesota and letting the Vikings dictate the action.
The injuries affect this team. There is no denying that things would be different if even half of the injured players remained healthy. There is no denying that the Ravens have positions on their team that aren’t getting the job done. You can only work with what you have, and everyone gets that. The problem is the energy of this team is down. When things have gone wrong, the Ravens have collapsed. The Ravens Flock needs a player to stand up and flip the switch. Give M&T Bank Stadium even a fraction of a reason and the fans will rock the building. I have to believe that.
This is a prime time game. The national spotlight is on Baltimore. It’s time for the fans to get loud, for the game to get good and for the purple and black to come together. To John Harbaugh and company, wouldn’t it be nice to have something real to say after the game? Wouldn’t it be nice to have something to say other than an excuse? 4-4 is the mission. It’s not what the Flock envisioned at the beginning of the year, however it is the goal in the moment.
Go out there and get it:
Ravens football means too much to me, for whatever this horrible product on the field is to continue. Ravens football is Ed Reed snagging interceptions and running it back into the end zone. It’s Ray Lewis’s passion and Jonathan Ogden’s consistency. The legends of the Ravens built an amazing legacy. “Play like a Raven” means something because of the Ravens that constructed that legacy with everything they had on the football field.
Next: Can the Ravens still hope to reach the playoffs?
If the Ravens are going to figure this out, they better figure it out right at this moment. This season isn’t a lost cause yet. If the team continues to falter it will become one soon, but this season isn’t a lost cause, not yet. Players must go out there and give everything you have. If you’re a coach, be on top of it. Don’t let up on the task at hand. If you’re a fan, believe and root hard. Let’s do this.