Ozzie Confident in Offseason Moves

The Ravens have lost quite a few familiar faces from their 2012 Super Bowl champion roster. Ray Lewis, Matt Birk, Ed Reed, Anquan Boldin, Dannell Ellerbe, Paul Kruger, Cary Williams, and Bernard Pollard were all significant pieces of Baltimore's championship run in 2012 and will not be returning in 2013. While the losses of Lewis and Birk were beyond his control, Ozzie Newsome has come under plenty of fire this offseason from fans and media alike for his decisions to let these players go and work towards building in a new direction. Despite these losses, the Ravens were able to make some key signings to add depth at positions of need and to help replace the players who departed by adding Elvis Dumervil, Michael Huff, Rolando McClain, Chris Canty, and Marcus Spears. It appears Ozzie has finally become fed up with all of this criticism he has been receiving from a largely uneducated fan base as well as the media. In an interview Tuesday with USA Today, Ozzie fired back, "We like our football team this year. I'd like someone to tell us we're not good enough to go to the playoffs right now. Can anyone say that? OK.". I believe Ozzie has every right to defend himself, as one of the premiere General Managers in sports today, the criticism he has faced from people (the majority of whom cannot grasp the concept of a salary cap or the business side of football) has been entirely unwarranted.