Finicky Fans Flock from Stadium as Ravens Drop Third Straight Game
| 6
|
The Baltimore Ravens continued their downward spiral this past weekend, losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 21-7 despite an outstanding defensive performance. The Ravens, who have proven that they are not a good offensive football team right now, slipped to 4-5 with the loss. The City of Baltimore should be embarrassed after another demoralizing loss at the hands of a division foe, but not for the reasons one might think.
As horrible as the offense is, it’s the Raven fan base that should bury their heads in the sand and not come out until next week. About 40,000 fans walked out on the team at the beginning of the 4th quarter. This was not a planned protest like the Free the Birds rally, but it happened. The Ravens organization does not deserve that kind of treatment. They are a far cry from the disaster that is the Orioles franchise. Baltimore sports fans, and some beat writers/columnists/radio personalities, need to wake up and remember that.
The defensive performance put on by the Ravens was the best this year. Despite all of their other problems, the Bengals are no stranger to the end zone. The offense committed six turnovers, most of which resulted in a drive starting on the Ravens side of the field. The Bengals had absolutely no answer for a stingy Ravens defense which was without two All-Pro corners and a free safety who was not playing at 100%. Let’s also not forget that the Ravens had to play half of the game with a guy who they signed to the practice squad at 3:30 on Friday. My point is that the fans gave up on a defense that was playing hard for the entire game.
What does that do for the psyche of a team already on the brink of total collapse? Most of the fans are calling for Billick’s head and a star player has criticized the play calling in the media. With the defense playing as well as they are and the offense being so inept, does anyone not think that some death-stares are going back and forth between Ray Lewis’ group and Steve McNair’s group as they pass each other on the field? Why stir the pot?
With a city of fans who pride themselves on “knowing football,” what’s the point in walking out on a team that has brought so much joy to this city during a terrible baseball era? There is already a national stigma about the Ravens, and Baltimore in general, being bandwagon jumpers and fair-weather fans. The people at M&T Bank Stadium who left yesterday proved them right, and it was disgraceful.
Time is running out for another ring in the near future; we are nearing a big salary cap purge. It looks like Kyle Boller isn’t going to work out here. With the Ravens already drafting a quarterback last year, it looks like the Ravens will have to test the free agent QB market. What good QB would want to come here and play under these circumstances? Why would you want to come play for a city that abandons its team when things are going wrong (both the fans and some media outlets are guilty of this)? This is the NFL, people! There are going to be seasons like this, it happens to every team at some point or another.
The fans pay good money to go to these games. They certainly have every right to boo such an awful offensive performance. But the defense played with heart and did not break, even in the face of one of the most talented offenses in the NFL. The fans were wrong for walking out, and if more and more people continue to jump the bandwagon, expect free agents to say “no thanks” to Baltimore. Actions like this can do more harm than good in the eyes of players around the league because they think of themselves as a fraternity. If this type of conduct continues, expect more seasons like this one because good players, team players like the Patriots gather every season, will simply not want to play here.
