McClain Is Solid, But Needs Work

With the Baltimore Ravens signing Rolando McClain they may have found our answer to shore up the MLB position after the retirement of Ray Lewis. Coming out of Alabama, Rolando McClain was considered one of the most talented players of the 2010 draft. With McClain's performance in the NFL being unspectacular up to this point in his young career, many pundits have quickly come to the conclusion that he is a "bust".

While Rolando has indeed fallen a bit short of expectations up to this point in his young career his potential is simply undeniable. McClain is still a very young 23 years old and can develop if he's put in a position to succeed. The problem with McClain is not that he's lazy or dumb, but rather that hes not been put in a position to succeed. While he was in college he played under one of the most tightly-knit programs in NCAA history under Nick Saban's Crimson Tide; he was immersed in a championship culture with people around him cheering him on to succeed. What happened? He succeeded. After enjoying such success, however, he was placed in quite arguable the least structured organization in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders; a team that has been starved of a championship for quite a long time with a couching carousel that moves faster than Usain Bolt. Lo and behold he struggled to succeed under this type of culture.

Now I'm not saying that McClain's problems can simply be fixed with a change of scenery, however by signing the challenged linebacker the Baltimore Ravens are putting this young man in a situation where he can be successful again. From the top down the Baltimore Ravens are one of the best-run franchises in the NFL with an outstanding front office and a wonderful coaching staff. While this move is not promised to succeed, this is exactly the type of low-risk, high-reward types of signings that could pan out to be a brilliant decision down the road. Or it could be nothing. But I guess us Baltimore faithful will just have to wait and see how this move pans out. But I'll be the first to say, this is a brilliant signing.