The Ravens Start To Training Camp Has Been An Absolute Dumpster Fire
What a hot mess. What a fucking disaster before we even started the first day of practice. None of these things are the end of the world, nor are they collectively, but there’s really only two things you want as a fan during training camp. You want to steer clear of injuries, and you want to steer clear of national headlines. Well guess what ESPN.com looked like at high noon on Day 1 of practice:
Beautiful.
Now like I said, these things won’t make or break the 2017 Ravens by any means. Obviously they are far from ideal, but you’d be hard pressed to find any successful football team that hasn’t had to face some mild adversity at some point. Here’s my spin zone on all 4 main headlines the Ravens have made over the past few days:
1. Kenneth Dixon Knee Injury – This is fine. Dixon was already suspended for the first four games of the season anyway, so he wasn’t going to be in full gear until November anyway. Might as well shut him down for the season. Dixon has shown that he can produce in a small sample size in his rookie year, but it wasn’t like he was going to set the world on fire. There’s few positions in the NFL as interchangeable as running back, and Terrence West and Danny Woodhead will do just fine without Dixon in the mix. We’ll see you in 2018 Ken.
2. Joe Flacco Back Injury – This is just a 1 or 2 week thing. They had him get an MRI and it came back clean. Flacco’s camp, the team, and basically everybody in the know seems to be unalarmed by this whole ordeal. It’s the media who’s hungry for headlines, writing things like “Ravens preparing to play without Flacco in week 1″ when that couldn’t be farther from the truth. He’s just catching a quick breather. Everybody’s back hurts once in a while. His is probably just a little worn out from trying to carry a lackluster cast of receivers the majority of his career. Better safe than sorry. You won’t find a more well-rested QB in week 1 than Joe.
3. John Urschel’s Retirement – This truly isn’t a big deal because the guy was never really a standout football player. In his 3 years in the NFL, John never proved himself to be anything more than a guy who could serve as interior line depth in case one of your mainstays gets hurt. He was nothing more, and nothing less. Just because he can do some cosign tangent bullshit doesn’t make him any better at bullying DT’s than the next guy. I’m happy that he’s going on to pursue some of his other passions, and has a baby on the way too. It’s kinda shitty that he waited until the final hour of the offseason to bail, but it is what it is. Peace out nerd.
4. Colin Kaepernick May Become A Raven – I’m trying to find a fuck to give about this whole thing and I just can’t. Everybody seems to want to have a fiery take about this and I just don’t care. The whole kneeling/anthem thing has been beaten into the ground ten times over and I just want it to go away. And that’s kind of the point. As long as Kaepernick is trying to play football, it’s not going to go away. In no way does any of that stuff help the Ravens win football games, and that’s really the bottom line as it relates to the Ravens.
Whether his stances are right or wrong, it doesn’t make them any less of a distraction. If you don’t believe that’s not a significant factor in why he continues to be unemployed, then you’re blind. But on the flip side if you don’t believe his mediocre play over the past couple seasons isn’t a significant factor too, then you’re just as blind. Neither are the sole reason why he’s jobless. So while I actually believe that Kaep could thrive again in the right situation, that right situation will never present itself because of the circus and the baggage that comes with him. So what the hell’s the point. Go sign another QB that won’t require me to write multiple paragraphs about a potential 3rd string QB signing.
Oh, and if you’re a Ravens fan threatening that you’ll refuse to watch the team if they sign him or whatever… do us all a favor and just jump ship now. Life’s too short to let politics ruin your Sundays.
Ok so this wasn’t the start we all wanted to training camp. Just once I wanted to be able to breeze through camp without making headlines. But things can only go up from here right? Preseason opener in 2 weeks… I need a taste.