That's John! He's our President...

Ok, so most of you are probably wondering “WTF is going on in Baltimore?” Win the SuperBowls and then commence fire sale? Doesn’t make sense, huh? Well to understand, you first need to read this piece by Mike Silver on a near mutiny after the Ravens got crushed by the Texans back in October.

For those of you that don’t like to read, here’s a brief recap: Coach Harbaugh wanted to practice in full-pads after the Houston game, but the team balked. Things got a bit ugly, but the coach handled it well and didn’t let his ego get in the way. He let the team practice without pads. Then when the team came out flat in the next practice, Ed Reed steps up and gets coach’s back.

Yada yada yada...Ray Lewis announces his retirement and the Ravens win the fucking Super Bowl!!!

Here in Baltimore, our hangovers were barely wearing off as free agency approached. Now I’ve been banging the “IN OZ WE TRUST” drum for as long as I’ve been a fan, but things got weird, and fast (in vivo reactions in italics):

Anquan Boldin traded to the 49ers for a 6th round pick:
Alright I get it, we were going to cut him for cap space, so at least we got something in return. Q was a playoff MVP, but one of the reasons he made all those clutch catches in traffic is the fact that he can’t get open anymore. Dude is Matt Weiters slow. The coaching staff loves Tandon Doss. I love Deonte Thompson on the practice squad. Maybe local-kid-done-good Tavon Austin drops to us in the 1st. We’ll be okay.

Then the hits kept coming:

Kruger to the Browns for $41mil: 
No problem. We all knew somebody was gonna overpay for this guy. The Browns are a bad team with tons of cap space and that’s what bad teams with cap space do - they over pay for free agent winners like Kruger. Plus, we’ve got Courtney Upshaw in the wings. Kruger’s a 2 down player that is weak against the run. We’ll be fine, and Ray Rice will enjoy running to the right against the Browns next year.

Dannellerbe to the Dolphins for a bunch of coin: 
Wait what? I thought we cut Boldin so we could sign him? Fuck, well the fins totally overpaid for him, so what can you do? Ozzie has a plan and he sticks to it - you gotta respect that. He doesn’t overpay for players, especially ones who play marginal positions like ILB.

Chris Canty signs with Ravens: 
Alright, cool. Nice, smart, savvy signing by the best front office in the business. Nice to have a Hoo in the house.

Ravens tender offers to Art Jones, Dennis Pitta, and Ed Dickson. 
Cool.

Bernard Pollard cut: WHAT THE POPE-LOVING FUCK?!?!?!?

At this point, I think back to the Mike Silver article, and it all begins to make sense. John Harbaugh has serious capital, and he’s not wasting any time to cash it in. There will never be a mutiny in his Baltimore again. Bernard Pollard is a good player that “Plays Like A Raven” but he’s a bit of a hothead and a loudmouth that annoyed the shit out of Harbaugh. Boldin was never afraid of speaking his mind either. We all know what kind of presence Ray Lewis was. And Ed Reed? The guy who stood up for the coach after the near-mutiny? Well I assume he’s gone, too. Bernard Pollard was his perfect compliment, and if they cut Bone Crusher for a mere million bucks in cap space, I can’t see them bringing the ball hawk back for much more than that. The Ravens are going young on defense, and leaning heavy on their newly-rich franchise QB, Air Flacco. They’re trying to get with this New NFL that is all about the O-Face and not so much the D-Fence.

Of all the losses, Ed Reed will be the toughest. He was the heart and soul of these team, and I daresay this town. Here is a great piece on how he was the true leader of that locker room, a larger presence than even #52 [WARNING: Longread, you illiterate jerks].

So what does this all mean for fantasy football? Well, the Ravens are retooling on defense. They’re going younger, faster, and inevitably, dumber. Next season, I’m starting anybody that’s playing the Ravens D until they prove that they won’t be giving up 25+ points every week. Remember, we weren't that great on defense BEFORE we lost all these guys. As for the offense, well the pressure’s on, and I think that guys like Rice, Pitta, Torrey Smith, and even Flacco should be great weekly options.

IN OZ WE TRUST? It’s still early. We’re only 2 days into the off-season theatrics. As I've been saying on Twitter, Championship teams aren't born in March; Dan Snyder teams are. We still have to see who we sign between now and August, and obviously the NFL Draft looms large. The Ravens have something like 12 picks, and they’re clearly looking for that cheap labor force. This really smarts of an ego-trip by Coach Harbaugh, making these Ravens something like the Patriots of Belichick, eliminating the strong locker room voices in favor of a group of subservient peons who don’t question his author-it-ay. Only time will tell if it’s the right call. What is certain is that Baltimore will never give up on this team.

See you guys in August, when the O's are in first place, and the Ravens are preparing for a repeat!