Sports Ravens

Five things we learned from the 'State of the Ravens' address

Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun

Until the playoffs became an obvious impossibility, we heard John Harbaugh talk as if his 2015 team was a hair away from resuming its usual place as a contender.

What we didn’t hear until Thursday was how owner Steve Bisciotti viewed the Ravens’ descent from speculative Super Bowl pick to 5-11 also ran.

If fans expected a testy Bisciotti who’d hold Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome’s feet to the fire, they were likely disappointed with the sunny owner who took the stage in Owings Mills on Thursday.

“I don’t really think a lot has to be done,” Bisciotti said in what felt like a summary statement of the entire 50-minute presentation.

I was surprised he didn’t express more visceral disappointment in the season. But anyone who expected Bisciotti to unleash fire and brimstone or vow sweeping changes has not been paying attention for the past 12 years.

His Ravens have thrived on a culture of stability. He has made just one substantial change to the football operation in his tenure as owner — the decision to fire Brian Billick after the 2007 season.

Not only will Harbaugh, Newsome and Newsome’s assistant, Eric DeCosta, be back. But as of now, so will offensive coordinator Marc Trestman and defensive coordinator Dean Pees, along with most of Harbaugh’s staff aside from linebackers coach Ted Monachino, who’s leaving to become defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts.

Which all suggests Bisciotti, Newsome and Harbaugh are convinced injuries and bad luck in close games were the chief reasons the Ravens fell from 10-6 to 5-11. They believe that with a strong draft, a few moves in free agency and tweaks to the offensive and defensive schemes, the team will be back in the playoffs in 2016.

For the first time in a long time, Bisciotti’s commitment to stability feels like a significant risk, because this year’s team wasn’t great even when it was largely healthy.

But I also admire the Ravens’ commitment to their essential Ravenness. As Bisciotti said, good organizations don’t blow up their foundations at the first sign of trouble.

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Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun

Few Ravens enjoyed the last weeks of the season more than Kelechi Osemele, who got to audition at the premium spot on the offensive line as his free agency loomed.

Newsome praised Osemele’s performance on Thursday, but acknowledged the reality that his market value probably increased with his demonstration of versatility.

That’s great for the player, but potentially bad for the Ravens, who will face a tricky salary cap situation as they look to restructure Joe Flacco’s massive contract.

Osemele might be the latest in a long line of homegrown Ravens who become too expensive to keep. We’ve learned to shrug off those departures, but as we saw with the loss of Pernell McPhee last offseason, they do sometimes sting.

As Newsome noted, the Ravens do still have Eugene Monroe under contract, and he is still a capable starter when healthy. Even if injuries have made his deal a bad bargain the last two seasons, he might be the acceptable reality the Ravens are forced to live with.

If Monroe is the answer in 2016, expect the Ravens to pick a tackle in the first few rounds of the draft.

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Heads are not expected to roll after one of the most disappointing seasons in Ravens history. Find out what else we learned from the "State of the Ravens" address at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016.