As the Baltimore Ravens continue to give high-impact players their marching orders, blood is boiling over in the Raven's Nation. In the past week, the Super Bowl champs have parted ways with wide receiver Anquan Boldin, linebackers Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe and safety Bernard Pollard. The bloodletting will like continue over the next couple of weeks.
This loss of these key players will only be compounded by the retirement of center Matt Birk and linebacker Ray Lewis. As much faith as we all have in GM Ozzie Newsome, any expectation of the Ravens making a serious run at a subsequent Super Bowl is rapidly diminishing. At this point, it's beginning to look like the 2013 will be a rebuilding year.
With all of the excitement that the Ravens generated during their 2012 playoff run, the fans were salivating at the thought of another Super Bowl run in 2013. But at this point, it's certainly not looking good.
Many of us thought it was a bad omen when the Ravens cut QB Trent Dilfer after he led the team to it's initial Super Bowl victory in 2001. But, at least we were given a little hope with the signing of Pro-bowl QB Elvis Grbac. Of course, Grbac became a laughing stock (somewhat undeserved, in my opinion) and the Ravens had to wait a dozen years for another Super Bowl opportunity. But this latest round of pink slips is a little different as the signing of any "star" free agents seems highly unlikely.
We're likely to see the spotlight shift over to Ed Reed in the near future. The future Hall-of-Famer will likely command a high salary and I would be shocked if the Raven's oblige. I've heard that he's expressed interest in playing for either New England or San Francisco. I expect Reed to get two tickets to the Bay City where he will be reunited with Boldin.
Probably the most surprising Ravens news to me was the releasing of both of their free-agent linebackers (Kruger and Ellerbe). They've already lost Ray Lewis. So, basically the Ravens are now going to have to totally reload at the linebacker position. I expect opposing teams to have big rushing numbers against the Ravens defense next year.
A lot of fans are blaming Joe Flacco for all of this, which is a little unfair. Look, Flacco was going to get big money and, in my opinion, he deserves it. No doubt, he will be more scrutinized than ever in the upcoming seasons, but that's ok. If he can somehow get this year's team to the playoffs, people will be comparing him to Joe Montana. But as for Joe's impact on this year's salary cap, he actually had very little effect on it. According the way his money is structured, he only accounted for $6.8 million in the team's $123 million cap. The Ravens are currently $7.3 million under their salary cap. This should be enough money to resign both tight-ends, Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson. And that is, at least, a little good news for now.
With the defense being further decimated with passing day, the Raven's offense is going to have to step up big time. They will likely have to generate 25 points or more to stay in games this season. Can they do? That's the 120 million dollar question. I think we can count on Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones (assuming he's still here) to make big plays. Perhaps WR David Reed, who has been primarily used as a punt returner, will be expected to make a bigger impact as that third receiver. And here's a wild card for you. The Oakland Raiders recently released wide-receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. I don't expect the Ravens to pick him up, but I do think it would be cool to see two former Maryland Terrapins running down adjacent sidelines for the Ravens.
It's always tough to say goodbye to impact players like Boldin and (possibly) Reed. These guys have made their mark in Baltimore. Although Boldin had a shorter tenure, fans absolutely appreciated his hard-nosed play and unique ability to make something out of nothing. In a nut shell, the guy played like a Raven! And Ed Reed, what can you say about him? The guy has created his own legacy in Baltimore with his ball-hawking ability and jaw-dropping hits. It will be sad to see him go, but he will forever be a Raven in the hearts and minds of Baltimore fans.
In the end, I think we've all got to take a deep breath and trust Ozzie and the guys to work things out, The Ravens have one of the best front offices in the NFL. So although we are indeed feeling some pain and displeasure right now, I think we need to confide in them to do the right thing. Remember that the NFL is a business and it's in these guys' best interest to "manufacture" a quality product.
No matter what the upcoming season brings, I'm on board for the ride. Admittedly, at some point, I'll probably be screaming, "If Boldin was here, he would have made that catch!" But it's all par for the course. Football is, among other things, a game of emotions. So, put a little extra ice in the cooler this season just in case the beer isn't quite as cold as we'd like it to be......
kw
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