Ok so 2016 ended on a whimper and we Ravens fans have mostly gotten our whine and cheese platters emptied by now; mostly. Expectations were high, probably way too high, for a team coming off a 5-11 season with major injuries across the board. We lost starters and team leaders at every level in 2015. As you know, the only part of the team that wasn't dealt a devastating blow was the kicking unit. Heck, at one point, even the ball boys were afraid to go on the field for fear of blowing out an Achilles. I used to worry when the kids who ran out to get the kicking tee at the start of each home game would stumble a little bit. But after that apocalyptic disastrous season, why on Earth would we fans realistically EXPECT to go to and win a Super Bowl? Why? Because we are fans, and fan is a derivative of the word fanatic. We are fanatical and ridiculous in our expectations, and our wants outreached what we should have seen. Instead of focusing on what our eyes could see, we saw what we wanted to have happen. Ozzie brought in some good Free Agent players named Wallace, Weddle and Watson, and we had a really good Draft. We had a good Draft because we drafted as a team who was sitting in the 6th position. We hit home runs with our 1st pick at number 6, Ronnie Stanley, and though the 2nd and 3rd round picks are still on the developing stage (disappointingly) they seem to have a high ceiling. Then came the magical 4th round and players named Dixon and Young and the 5th round and a guy named Matt Judon all showed that draft position doesn't matter, if you have the ability and the heart, you can make a difference and contribute in the NFL. So though, again, we were coming off a 5-11 season, and so many players/ stars were coming off injury, we somehow expected to go back to another Super Bowl. Oh well, we finished 8-8 and had another OC fired in the middle of the season and our QB threw for 4000 yards for the first time but did so by throwing the ball far too many times.
But 8-8 means you are in the middle and ended up putting the team smack dab in the middle of the 2017 Draft, #16. In the first round there will be 32 picks made and sitting at 16 is the spot where magic can happen. This is spot where Ozzie can elect to move up and not have to give up too much, or move back deeper and garner more players to help in key areas of need. Replacing Steve Smith Sr is a must do, finding another Running Back and some more Cornerbacks are also key. But we also could/should address the O Line again with a bigger, stronger Center and maybe another Right Tackle. But the key thing is we sit at the pivot, the Ravens have a chance to do some big things in this Draft that will set the team up for a few years to come. Last year at #6, we didn't have a chance to get the player most of us wanted in Jalen Ramsey and some of us wanted in Ezekiel Elliott because the teams that drafted those guys WANTED those guys, so Ozzie stood pat and ended up with a really good player who will probably have a great career and had a very good rookie campaign. But at 16? The Mock Drafts will start to flood our eyes and ears now and "experts" will pick players for us as if they are reading not only Ozzie's mind, but the 14 teams that will draft ahead of us (keep in mind, as of now, Cleveland has 2 picks, #1 & #12). This is when fans will stop being friends and start banging tables figuratively and literally for the player that THEY think Ozzie should draft at #16 when they argue with other fans. The calls for trading the pick will come from all sectors. Calls for Ozzie to be fired will hail down if the "sure guy" in your mind is not the one who comes to Baltimore. A clear half the fans will end up loving the pick and another half will hate it, whomever it ends up being. Regardless of how it shakes out, the Ravens will either parlay not only that pick but the other picks into a successful Draft and a successful season in 2017, or they won't. No matter how it all shakes out, we fans will either be ecstatic about next season, or we won't. How do "I" think things will go? I think it's 50/50. Welcome to the pivot.
