It has become cliché to malign the teams that win March and fail to accomplish much during the actual football season. Conversely, it is a badge of honor that the Ravens habitually show restraint during the early free agency period.
Even as we fans gnash our teeth as coveted prizes sign elsewhere and, lamentably, our own cherished and budding players move on to greener (dollar) pastures, the Ravens remain patient. But we repeat the mantra in Oz We Trust, and await the reports on players being cut. We get particularly excited in June when the rookie minicamps are over, and we have a sense of how well our draft filled the roster holes.
And then we mine for value while laughing at the fool’s gold on which other teams wasted their money.
Our formula is tried and true. But it is not bulletproof. There will always be the one or two opportunities that got away.
Sometimes we acknowledge them, like with the trade of Anquan Boldin. But more often we stay focused on the course ahead. While this is a healthy approach, I can’t get past the one hindsight-being-20/20 moment that has plagued my mind for some time now…
November 30, 2014 was a brisk but otherwise sunny, beautiful day in Baltimore. And for 58 minutes it was an amazing day for Baltimore football fans hosting a worthy contender from San Diego. But then the Chargers scored a last minute touchdown to put them ahead for the first time all game.
No worries – 38 seconds, a timeout, and Joe Cool could surely get the job done.
From there it was a wrenching end. Jacoby bobbled the kick return and left us with a lot of field to cover. He followed that with the longest and most time consuming four-yard reception I have ever witnessed. Then Joe worked the middle of the field to Kamar Aiken and the Ravens used their last timeout, still in their own territory. With 0:09 left Joe connected with Kamar again on a 24-yard out route that seemed perfect.
It was perfect…except for a shoestring tackle that left Kamar inbounds and allowed the clock to expire. Game over.
The villain that recorded that final tackle was Brandon Flowers. Flowers is a slightly undersized, and not-so-fast CB. He is also pushing 30. But he was a surprise June cut by the Kansas Chiefs last year, and turned in Pro Football Focus’ 15th ranked CB performance on a one-year, $3 million deal for the Chargers.
Oh the torture. Looking back on the shoulda, coulda, wouldas is dangerous.
But what if the Ravens, who were listed as a dark horse for Flowers’ talents, had landed him?
Maybe we beat the Chargers and change the fortunes of our division race and in turn the landmark of the postseason matchups. Maybe we figure out how to get the one last stop on D that we need to win in the playoffs. Maybe we reach the Promised Land.
Yeah it’s a lot to attribute to one player. But it’s not so outrageous, given how good we were and how close we came.
So let’s reel it back in. In June, Flowers was miffed with the Chiefs and staying in the same division would enable him some revenge, which the Ravens couldn’t offer. Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb were both healthy, so a starting opportunity was no guarantee in Baltimore either. It’s not clear that there was anything we could do to get Flowers in Black and Purple.
But what if?
This is not to indict the Ravens’ formula whatsoever. But maybe this year – within the architecture of that formula – the Ravens conjure just that little bit of extra urgency to go all-in for a piece that can help get the team over the hump. Maybe without breaking the bank or the system, there is a way to unearth just one more difference-making gem.
