One of the most beautiful things about the salary cap is that it promotes change. Each year every team has the same resources in which to build their team. The good teams are the ones that can remain competitive over time while managing the cap.Although the Ravens will be fielding some new players this season the core of the team will remain the same.
Losing players is all part of how the NFL is built these days. The teams that overspend and work too hard in free agency are never the ones making the deep playoff runs. It's the Teams that have built strong cores that may just need some minor tweaking in the off season.
Yes, it hurts to see some of our beloved Ravens in other teams colors but we will have to get used to it and trust that Ozzie Newsome and company will keep the players we need to keep to stay on top. There is no question it is not looking good right now. I think that the Ravens really needed Evan Mathis to sign here. They will need to find someone to play left guard this season. The answer is not currently on the roster I'm sorry to say. Jah Reid may be a great tackle some day or guard for that matter but I don't think it will be this season for Baltimore.
One thing is for sure though. It will still be Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin leading the offense again with almost everyone else returning as well. The defense will have a few new faces sprinkled in but I trust that the team will find more than capable replacements.
It's always fun to watch players develop into stars here in Baltimore. Just recently we have seen Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata gain national attention for their outstanding play. It is because these guys, at one point or another, got their chance to play for a lost starter and became great.
Corry Redding, Jarret Johnson, Ben Grubbs, Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura were true Ravens. They played their hearts out for this team and they will always be Ravens to me. Not one of them is going to make or beak this team though. The Ravens will be the same team come the start of the season... Although a bit different.