Back in the off season I posted a story, aptly titled, "Great Offense or Great Defense?" The first sentence was "Pick one because you can't have both." Wow, talk about predicting the future, eh?
The gist of the story was that in the NFL today, you can have one or the other because the salary cap will prevent any team from having both sides of the ball labeled as great. Good might be possible but great seems out of the question. Right about now, most Ravens fans would probably love to have one side of the ball as just "good," and we're not talking about the offensive side either!
(More on "Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?" after the 'Jump')
Amazing how one season changes things here in Baltimore from one end of the spectrum to the other. No one could have predicted this would happen but my May 30, 209 story comes pretty close in theory and by the looks of things, it looks like the overlords have chosen the offense, at least for now. I probably should have added as a warning, "be careful what you wish for," to the ending of the story.
I ended the story with the thought that if we were to have even a good offense in 2009, then a Super Bowl appearance was a definite possibility in early 2010. After three games of this season most of you probably agreed with that thought. Who could ever guess that the team's shortcomings after only six games would be the defense? Last year we sat at 3-3 after six games but it was the offense that was lagging behind the defense, even though there were defensive shortcomings that were resolved by the playmakers, mainly Ed Reed in the latter part of the season.
Will that happen this year, as once we regrouped last year, the defense still carried the team to the playoffs and the AFC Championship Game? If our defense can improved to be only "good," will that be "good enough?" With the offense playing in a way that although they might not be consistent from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, it still can put points on the board against anyone this season.
So, the question in the title is posed to all of you. What is it, half empty or half full, and why?
(NOTE: See the May 30, 2009 story, "Great Offense or Great Defense?" by clicking here)