I got in an argument with a Redskins fan on Facebook last night. He was laughing about how the Ravens were getting dismantled just hours into NFL free agency.
“Got a ring. Who cares?” I simply responded.
You’d think of all 32 fan bases, someone who roots for Washington would trade a single Super Bowl for a bad season the following year. It’s pretty easy logic right? Build a winner, blow it up. That’s the nature of the beast in the salary capped NFL.
After all, it would be worse. What if the Ravens were under these tight financial constraints after falling flat in the postseason? But they didn’t, they strolled out of New Orleans as the champions of the world.
The great Bill Simmons once wrote in his Rules of being a true fan column that teams should be given a five-year grace period by their fans after they win a championship.
12. After your team wins a championship, they immediately get a five-year grace period: You can’t complain about anything that happens with your team (trades, draft picks, salary-cap cuts, coaching moves) for five years. There are no exceptions. For instance, the Pats could finish 0-80 over the next five years and I wouldn’t say a peep. That’s just the way it is. You win the Super Bowl, you go on cruise control for five years. Everything else is gravy.
I couldn’t agree more. Of course, this column was written well before Twitter was born and I’m sure the Sports Guy is outraged by the bitching that has gone on in Baltimore over the past 24 hours about the losses of Anquan Boldin, Dannell Ellerbe, Paul Kruger and Bernard Pollard. I’m not to psyched about them either, but if that’s what a championship costs, I’ll take it.
Besides the grace peroid, the Ravens business history alone should be enough assurance to silence the whines coming from Charm City. Ozzie Newsome sets a price tag for every player and when the market offers more, he let’s them walk. That’s why Kruger wasn’t even offered a contract.
There’s no reason to panic in March.
So relax, Baltimore. Our team just won the Super Bowl and has the smartest GM in the NFL. Go put your Super Bowl XLVII hat on your head, respect the process and keep your mouth shut. At least until 2018.
Zach Wilt is the Founding Editor of BaltimoreSportsReport.com and host of the BSR Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @zamwi or send him an email: zach@baltimoresportsreport.com.
I will give you the 5 years but honestly, at #5 I AM going to start complaining if there is NO improvement. That is what happened with Billick. He was actually the worst coach and cost this team soooo many chances at the Big Game… drove me crazy… Funny thing is, I actually like him as a mouth piece on tv but there was not a greater hater in the Baltimore area then how much I was despising Billick. His tenure here really did sacrifice a lot of great talent just so he could stand on the sidelines…
Sure, I’ll give you a couple, 3 years for no fault but you better be ….
It’s called retooling,,,,,,,,,,go get a beer…………………
there are no dynasties anymore in the salary cap era. everyone wants to get paid and its just not possible to keep everyone. Next year the Ravens will be in the same boat with Ngata, Suggs, Webb, Rice, Flacco and Yanda accounting for 70 million towards the cap. it ‘ll be more of an offensive team moving forward and they’ll get younger and cheaper on the defensive side.
Flacco is good fro three years………….go get a beer……………………
Guess this guy doesn’t have the word dynasty in his vocabulary. IDE like to hear what he had to say if he was a Raven fan living in an area surrounded by Squeler idiots. They have that word in their vocabulary for sure.
The cap was first introduced for the 1994 season and was initially $34.6 million.
The cap was doing well until Obama got in office and tore apart out economy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,he has had a negative affect on just about everything,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
So basically every NFL team has to become the Marlins now? The Ravens have been to the playoffs each of the past 5 years; that’s as much of an accomplishment as the Superbowl win. You seem to be arguing nothing matters except being able to tell your friend “We won a ring”, when “we” has completely changed. Bill Simmons hasn’t seen the Patriots go 0-80, he’s seen them dominate for years on end, showing it’s quite possible to become a dynasty. And if the next 4 years don’t matter, why’d we spend so much money keeping Flacco for them? Seems like something is complaint-worthy.
Just win baby,,,,,,,,,they did that ,,,,,,go get a beer………………..