We learned two things from the State of The Ravens presser: 1) The club really believes in continuity; and 2) Ticket prices will not go up.
It would have been interesting to see how fans responded to increased ticket prices after the debacle that was the 2015 season. Fortunately that’s a bridge the team won’t have to cross.
As for the topic of continuity, clearly owner Steve Bisciotti recognizes, appreciates and has experienced the value of organizational continuity as an entrepreneur who matured into a billionaire as the leader of Aerotek, now the Allegis Group. So it’s difficult to challenge his convictions or dismiss them as complacency.
“One thing that I’m proud of [is that] we all view continuity as a strength”, Bisciotti shared during the presser. “Continuity doesn’t stem from laziness. It comes from confidence, and I believe in these guys. I have a lot of faith that we’ll get it straightened out.”
Time will tell if organizational continuity rewards Bisciotti similarly in the NFL.
Publicly it appears that the Ravens are willing to rest on their laurels. They will decorate the auditorium during the pre-draft press conference in a couple of months with portraits of all the team’s best first round picks – picks that represent Ozzie Newsome’s greatest achievements.
Publicly they will champion the team’s second half improvements in the secondary and then trumpet them as if they represent a body of work that will project into the future.
Publicly they will talk about all of the injuries and how losing Terrell Suggs impacted Elvis Dumervil and Za’Darius Smith.
Publicly they will spin everything as if they’ve got it under control and with health and a few missing pieces they will once again be a postseason participant.
Hopefully behind closed doors the message is more succinct, more direct, more cutting to the chase. Hopefully behind closed doors they aren’t as delusional as that presser might suggest. Hopefully behind closed doors there’s more accountability.
And let’s make no mistake about it, the Ravens have problems that go well beyond injuries.
Let’s start with the defense.
Stats aside, opposing offensive coordinators no longer fear the Ravens. The Ravens no longer have the identity of a physical defense that can exert its will upon opponents. Sure the team is quick to point out that the Ravens defense finished 8th in total yards, yet they’ll quickly sweep under the carpet that they finished 24th in points allowed.
During the years prior to Dean Pees becoming the Ravens defensive coordinator in 2012, on average the Ravens ranked 3rd in points allowed and 5th in yards allowed. Since Pees assumed the defensive reins from Chuck Pagano they’ve averaged a pedestrian 14th in the league in points and 11th in yardage.
Making matters worse the Ravens were the third most penalized team in the league with 1,153 yards (671 yards on the defense) up from 949 yards in 2014 (13th) and they ranked 30th in turnover differential at (-14).
In fact during the Pees era (4 seasons) the Ravens are (-8) in turnover differential (average NFL rank @ 19). The four seasons prior under John Harbaugh with Chuck Pagano (’11) and Greg Mattison (’08-’10) as defensive coordinators, the Ravens were +32 (average NFL rank @ 7).
The Ravens issues don’t end with Pees.
Steve Bisciotti has always frowned upon the concept of “windows of opportunity” opening and closing for NFL teams as a result of salary cap pressures. He believes that if managed properly, playoff possibilities should always remain open. In theory that’s possible. For the Ravens as of late, the jury is out.
Since they won Super Bowl 47 the Ravens have a regular season record of 23-25 and they split their two playoff games in 2014. If not for the Chiefs upsetting the Chargers during 2014’s week 17, 2015 would mark the third consecutive season that the Ravens failed to punch the postseason dance card.
You have to wonder where Bisciotti’s window will sit in 2016. They’ve written too many bad contracts for players who haven’t performed to the level of those contracts. Messrs. Rice, Pitta, Suggs, Ngata and Monroe come immediately to mind.
And then there’s the issue of playmakers, or the lack thereof.
The Ravens haven’t drafted any playmakers in recent years and because they continually mismanage the salary cap they are forever bumping up against cap limits, which handcuff their ability to make impactful free agent acquisitions. Capologist Pat Moriarty will be staring down the barrel of a salary cap that is already $830,000 in the red – one that accounts for only 47 players and doesn’t include unrestricted free agents such as Justin Tucker, Kelechi Osemele and Courtney Upshaw. The current franchise tag for Tucker sits at $4.126M.
In order for any of this to change the Ravens absolutely have to restructure Joe Flacco’s deal. The launching point of the Ravens offseason has to start with Joe.
Well, maybe not.
When asked about restructuring Flacco’s deal Ozzie said, “If we are strategic enough, we can possibly put together a football team and not necessarily have to re-do Joe’s contract.”
That was just agent speak, right Ozzie?
By the way, how many more of these pressers will we hear that the Ravens need receivers, corners, safeties and pass rushers? Nine of the past top 12 picks (1 thru 4) from each of the last 3 drafts have been defenders. Not one was a corner. Not one was labeled as an edge rusher. Two were whiffs on safeties (Elam, Brooks) and one was a wide receiver that has yet to play a down in the NFL.
Clearly we can give the Ravens a pass on Breshad Perriman but what about all those defenders? Why haven’t those lofty picks translated into improved play on defense? Are the scouts and coaches not on the same page? If Pees isn’t the problem then maybe his assistants need to be reconsidered.
But not in 2016.
They have faith in their guys.
They prefer continuity.
They better hope it works because if it doesn’t next year’s presser will be a lot more interesting.
