Animated Image by Jacob Warrenfeltz

Share Is Zero Tolerance The New Ravens Way?

Share Is Zero Tolerance The New Ravens Way?

Russell Street Report Street Talk Is Zero Tolerance The New Ravens Way?

Crickets. That’s the sound you hear coming from the Under Armour Performance Center, the Ravens practice facility, in Owings Mills.

No banks of cameras lining a press conference. No dozens of reporters trying to push their way to a quote to further unravel the Ravens mystique, rattle an owner, bully a coach or catch an unwitting player off guard. No media covering the Ravens are on the phones with police departments, prosecutors or legal experts. Nothing on TMZ.

There were off-season issues involving Terrence Cody, Bernard Pierce and Victor Hampton, the latter two charged with different alcohol violations. Cody earning extensive coverage that involved heinous animal cruelty charges. (Illegal alligator possession is certainly one of the more unique charges we’ve seen in the NFL.)

Those guys are gone. Within 24 hours all three had been cut from the team.

Despite team president Dick Cass’s statement, “We look at a number of factors and make a decision based on those factors. It’s not a zero-tolerance policy at all. We’re still going to be willing to take second chances on people if they deserve it. I think it’s a mischaracterization to say it’s a zero-tolerance policy.”

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck… draw your own conclusions.

Cody never lived up to expectations. Hampton was signed to a reserve/future contract with the team in January and never saw a snap with the squad. The Ravens believed in him enough to offer him a chance, but allegedly doing 100 mph in a 55 zone with open containers in his vehicle cost him that opportunity. Pierce had a major drop-off in 2014, but the Ravens typically understand player fluctuation.

The NFL has been busy monitoring player legal issues and there has also been the annual coaches behaving badly refrain.

Charges against NFL players this off-season include: animal abuse, drugs, guns/weapons, domestic violence, alcohol, battery, theft and DUI.

In all, 13 teams had players arrested during the off season affecting 22 players. Of the 22 players affected only six players were cut, three of them Ravens.

Last off-season had 27 players arrested. None was immediately cut by his team. Only Ray Rice was ultimately cut by his team as it related to his arrest. Some were placed on the Commissioner’s exemption list and continued to collect paychecks.

Big names of the 2014 off-season included Greg Hardy whose one-year contract, using the Panthers franchise tag, expired at the end of the season. (He signed with the Dallas Cowboys.) Adrian Peterson still plays with the Minnesota Vikings despite the hoopla surrounding his tenure there.

The number of off-season arrests dropped from 2014. Those numbers dropped from 2013.

Slowly the NFL culture is demanding accountability from its players. The arrests of retired players mirrors the fact that this is a relatively new concept. These are not little boys playing a man’s game, but grown men who have to function in society and by its rules.

The Baltimore Ravens are leading the way to player behavior reform. Last summer they became the face of domestic violence while turning a blind eye to personal accountability. They learned that no matter how much one person means to a team, they are still only one person on a team.

It is surely a different kind of summer this year. No fear of reading the news; entertainment, sports, national or local to see breaking news as it affected the Ravens. No heated debate between the redemptive power of forgiveness and second chances vs. the some-acts-are-indefensible camps. No lines wrapped around M&T Bank Stadium to exchange jerseys or challenge those that do.

Criminally charged players create division in a fan base. Instead of battling within the fraternity/sorority of Ravens fans, focus can once again be directed on the greater enemies the: Steelers and Patriots. The turmoil within the community of Ravens fans is gone.

Like that other bird, the mythical phoenix, the Ravens have risen from the ashes. The strongest leadership in the NFL has gotten stronger and is indirectly challenging the other 31 teams to do the same.

Coach John Harbaugh said, “It’s a privilege to play in the National Football League. It’s a privilege to be a part of the Ravens. There’s a standard to uphold there, and we expect them to [do that]. We’ve always expected them to do that. But I would think that it will be a little bit shorter leeway, maybe than it’s been in the past.”

Whether it’s a zero tolerance policy or “shorter leeway,” it’s been a mostly quiet off-season.

Perhaps The Fixx inspired the fix.

Fans can be proud of this team from ownership to the players. The Baltimore Ravens are carving a new path in player expectations that goes far beyond the playing field.

Soon Ravens Nation begins it’s quest for the Lombardi trophy, hot wings, beer and Sunday afternoons.

In the meantime, lemonade and the sound of crickets are just what the summer needs.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/JOiZP8FS5Ww[/youtube]