When the 2015 National Football League season began, the Baltimore Ravens were once again expected to be a playoff contender. Since 2000, the Ravens have made 11 trips to the postseason with 2000 and 2012 each ending with Baltimore winning the Super Bowl Championship. And after last season ended for the Ravens with a tough loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, they were confident about their chances in 2015. But the 2015 NFL season has never been able to kick start for the Ravens.
Terrell Suggs
During training camp, the Ravens lost their starting strong safety Matt Elam for the season to a biceps injury. In Week 1, the Ravens lost to the to the Denver Broncos 19-13. And late in that contest, the Ravens lost their emotional leader in outside linebacker Terrell Suggs for the season with an Achilles injury. Like Suggs, Week 8 saw veteran wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., go down to an Achillies injury while quarterback Joe Flacco was lost for the year this past Sunday after suffering a torn ACL versus the St. Louis Rams. In the same contest, the Ravens also lost running back Justin Forsett for the year to a broken arm. And once you factor in the notion that the Ravens first-round pick this past spring, wide receiver Breshad Perriman never played this season as a knee injury kept him sidelined, Baltimore will look like a totally different team coming down the stretch of the regular season. In all the Ravens have placed 18 players on injured reserve this year, and with six weeks left to go in the regular season, there’s a possibility that the number could increase due to the overall physicality that is exuded in the National Football League on a weekly basis.
Even with this past Sunday’s victory over the Rams, the Ravens currently find themselves with a record of 3-7 as they are on pace for their first losing season under head coach John Harbaugh. Harbaugh will find himself in an unfamiliar spot when the Ravens take on the Cleveland Browns this Monday night as Flacco has been the only starting quarterback that he has used. But now with Flacco on the injured reserve, the Ravens will look to veteran quarterback Matt Schaub to be their signal caller for the remainder of the regular season.
John Harbaugh
Aside from the injuries, what has hurt the Ravens the most this year has been their inability to close out games. In five of the Ravens seven losses this season, they’ve held a fourth quarter lead, but they have been unable to seal the deal. For years the Ravens were a team that was personified by veteran leadership from the likes of Suggs, middle linebacker Ray Lewis, free safety Ed Reed, and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata who all reveled in making the big plays with the game on the line. But with Suggs on injured reserve, Ngata now a member of the Detroit Lions, along with Lewis and Reed being retired, that leadership council that was once a backbone of the Ravens is now non-existent. And for the Ravens brain trust of Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome, the 2016 National Football League season has already begun as you can rest assured that they will use these final six weeks to evaluate the entire 53-man roster which is something that they typically don’t begin doing until late January.
For Harbaugh, he doesn’t know the definition of the word quit and he will not allow his players to give up either in spite of the Ravens current record 3-7. Regardless of the injuries, the Ravens will look to be a competitive team coming down the stretch of the regular season in spite of the fact that they are staring their first losing season since 2007 in the face. And as the Ravens are in the process of licking their wounds, you can expect Harbaugh and Newsome to set their eyes on seeing if they’ll be able to discover new leadership that will be emerging in their locker room.
John Harbaugh
Heading into 2016, the Ravens must get younger while also building depth. Throughout Newsome’s time as the Ravens general manager, he has been a tremendous talent evaluator which has seen him draft current Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, Lewis, Reed, Suggs, Ngata, and Flacco who have all contributed to Baltimore’s winning legacy since 2000 as they are only a few of the solid National Football League players that have worn the purple and black on his watch. The Ravens are hoping that Suggs and Flacco will be able to return to form next season while they must attempt to coax Smith Sr., into returning for a 16th National Football League season after he announced that he would retire in 2015. But the remainder of this season will be an opportunity for those that are currently on the Ravens roster to show Harbaugh and Newsome that they have what it takes to suit up for the team in 2016.
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