Ray Lewis’ pregame speech (see below) before the Ravens v. Chargers game was certainly entertaining for most fans and probably inspiring to many in the Ravens locker room.
For me it was a reminder of the team’s lack of leadership.
That’s not to say that the Ravens don’t have leaders. John Harbaugh is a great leader as is Steve Bisciotti. But the Ravens don’t have THAT guy who can make you dig a little deeper, feel a sense of duty to the man beside you, gain your commitment to study film a little longer or will you to victory.
The Ravens had that guy for 17 seasons. They even had a junior-sized version of that in the form of Ed Reed for 11 seasons.
The preparedness that the Ravens’ answer to Batman and Robin brought to the meeting rooms, the practice field and on Sundays during the Fall, we took for granted. We expected it because as fans of the team we always got it.
And we knew nothing else.
But we don’t get it anymore.
While Ray and to a lesser extent Ed were the standards, they clearly weren’t the norm. In the video Ray implores the team to rally around Joe Flacco, their leader. But I’m not even sure that Joe buys into that. That’s just not how he’s wired.
Ray was the benchmark of leadership but he was one of a kind. There will never be another No. 52 on the field or in the locker room. There may never be another No. 20. But the Ravens do need to find a leader in that locker room. Someone who looks you in the eye and says, “I got you. Side by side. We’ve got each other!”
And they believe it.
They live it.
They execute it.
Add leadership to the lengthy Ozzie-do list during the coming offseason.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/Av6_gozEBXc[/youtube]
