Dear Ozzie,
Hire Rich Gannon.
I don’t care what his title is or what role he would have in the organization, but somebody needs to call out the issues within the team, and from what I heard on Sunday’s broadcast, Gannon is your guy.
You may be wondering what Gannon did that has me so impressed, and it’s very simple: He once again called out the Ravens for their mistakes, while saying exactly what Ravens fans needed to hear – some accountability.
He started early on in game, giving us a softball with some logic for the Ravens’ struggles.
“Look at the Ravens right now offensively Kevin, particularly the passing game, and I don’t know that they’re precise enough. And I’m not surprised with all of the injuries and the new players they have in the lineup, and right now this is a team that is banged up, not just offensively but defensively. 10 players were held out of practice Wednesday including five starters and it’s tough when you don’t practice. Tough for the play caller as well.”
The injury issue is one that you can use as a catch-all for this season. No matter what game you look at, you can always point to a few big names that have missed time, and ultimately that could’ve changed an outcome or two. Whether it be Steve Smith Sr. against Cleveland, Lardarius Webb against the 49ers, or Terrell Suggs against Cincy, there’s always one guy that has Ravens fans grumbling “if only he would’ve been healthy..”
From that point on, Gannon went for the jugular.
First he called out the defensive play calling.
“Oh, wow…” (on a wide open Bruce Miller). Just look at the middle of the field! There’s nobody in the middle of the field! I mean they have 11 men up around the line of scrimmage! I have no idea what the Ravens were thinking here. He could have had either player for a touchdown.”
Then called out the linebackers and their failure to play in coverage.
“I’m not surprised to see what the 49ers are doing offensively Kevin. Cleveland had a lot of success last week getting their tight end Gary Barnidge and running back Duke Johnson matched up on C.J. Mosley in the middle of the field. So you have Vernon Davis and Carlos Hyde going to work on these linebackers in the middle of the field.”
Then back to Pees and his play calling.
“This is amazing, they have nine men up around the line of scrimmage, and where’s the safety? He’s nowhere to be found in the middle of the field… there is no safety! This is aggressive football by the Ravens and they’ve been burned twice now…. Clearly confusion from the Ravens on defense.”
And to make sure he wasn’t picking on the defense, he turned his attention to Joe’s woes.
“Look at him throwing off his back foot. This is an awful, awful decision by Joe Flacco, a guy that should know better. Late throws down the middle are never a good thing. WOW.”
And as the game’s embarrassing final drive was coming to a close, he absolutely destroyed the inability of this offense to run a 2-minute drill.
“You gotta clock it. See I think this is a mistake Kevin. They’re gonna waste fifteen seconds, clock the ball! Look how much time they’re wasting in this situation, you can’t put it back on the clock… These guys aren’t even running! Geez… go back and show these guys jogging to the football, I mean it’s amazing! You’ve got your left tackle Eugene Monroe and Osemele just jogging down to the football. You have to understand the situation in the game.”
Ultimately, our Ravens would walk away losers once again with another 1-score loss.
Once again, Gannon came through with some sound logic.
“This has been the story this year for these Ravens. So close and yet so far away. They haven’t been able to finish, whether it’s been offensively or defensively.”
And his thoughts on how to turn it around were even more profound!
“I think it’s a message associated with everyone in the Ravens organization. Stop playing scared! Let it loose! Somebody’s gotta make a play in a critical situation and that hasn’t happened a lot for the Ravens, and is a big reason why they are 1-4.”
Ultimately Rich Gannon gave us exactly what we need to hear: the truth. None of the “we’re not panicking” gimmick, or “we’re all to blame” bologna. He called out those who needed to be called out, he pointed to every hole in the game, and questioned plenty of players and play callers.
This is what we fans crave Ozzie! We don’t appreciate the sugar coating we get from press conferences.
We want to hear some accountability, just like Gannon provides!
At the end of the day, this should be a no-brainer. Bring him in. Call him ‘Motivational Coach’ or ‘Life Coach’ or something, but this team needs a swift kick in the butt and Gannon is the guy to get it done.
If not, then at least make the team listen to the broadcast while looking at themselves in the mirror.
Sincerely,
A Restless Ravens Fan
PS- Kevin Harlan was there too. He brought nothing to the table. Don’t take them as a package deal.
