[News] Best, Worst Parts Of The Job For John Harbaugh, Ozzie Newsome

[BR News]

The Ravens head coach and general manager shared with fans the pros and cons of their positions.

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[salamander]

With so many behavior issues cropping up across the league, the tough love and forewarned stance about little to no tolerance for certain screw ups may be the only way to get through to some of these players, especially the rookies. It doesn't take much for players to throw away everything they have spent their lives working for over some knucklehead decision that could derail a future career in an instant. There will always be some players who will never heed the warnings and listen to the wisdom imparted to them. However, tough love guidance and knowing the consequences ahead may be the most important key to insure that (hopefully) the vast majority will not blow their awesome opportunity to make it in the NFL.

Edited May 24, 2015 by salamander

[ravgo52]

Thank You for the Best Organization in football!

[RRRRRavens]

With so many behavior issues cropping up across the league, the tough love and forewarned stance about little to no tolerance for certain screw ups may be the only way to get through to some of these players, especially the rookies. It doesn't take much for players to throw away everything they have spent their lives working for over some knucklehead decision that could derail a future career in an instant. There will always be some players who will never heed the warnings and or listen to the wisdom imparted to them. However, tough love guidance and knowing the consequences ahead may be the most important key to insure that(hopefully) the vast majority will not blow their awesome opportunity to make it in the NFL.

I agree.  And most of those knucklehead decisions have been connected with alcohol.  I feel like they almost need a daily reminder of how bad your ability to think and behave rationally becomes when you've had too much to drink.

[salamander]

I agree.  And most of those knucklehead decisions have been connected with alcohol.  I feel like they almost need a daily reminder of how bad your ability to think and behave rationally becomes when you've had too much to drink.

Exactly. Even a popular veteran player like Ray Rice, with a great personal reputation, lost everything in a night of heavy drinking.  After years of doing so much good in the community and being a positive role model, Ray saw his career destroyed by his outrageous, out of character conduct that was fueled by alcohol. Half of a fifth of hard liquor is surely enough to disengage the brain's ability to act rationally.  If Ray's career can be shattered in 1 moment, these young players need to understand real quick that fame and fortune will not insulate them from potentially career ending consequences.  

[stixfix69]

It's hard on a lot of these players, who came up with nothing to all of a sudden have the fame and fortune, something they have never had or experienced....There isn't a play book on how to behave, everywhere they go they get V.I.P treatment, and it eventually gets to their heads, and they end up acting like idiots...So i get why a lot of them get jammed up, look at RL52 and what happened to him, he was lucky enough to get the chance to change his ways....

[Puntit]

Doesn't really teach a player anything if you cut him and he's quickly signed by another team. Bernard Pierce probably improved his chance of starting by screwing up. And teams like Dallas are becoming today's punchline for the number of arrestees they have recently signed. Really doesn't help the NFL if there isn't a global rule in place. I guess this is mostly a PR move for the Ravens to cut these guys, so we don't get labeled as thugs, but I hope we don't box ourselves into a corner with this policy when an actual star screws up and we have to cut him or be a hypocrite.

[salamander]

Good point Stix. In college, some of the conduct issues can be swept under the rug or kept out of the national limelight by coaches and others who scramble to cover up, spin or misdirect blame to protect the player. It's easy for a young player to feel invincible, untouchable and intoxicated with the adulation and hero worship of being an elite athlete. Although some college incidents come to light and bring red flags which may hurt their draft status, the sense of entitlement to do as they please without prior significant deterrents or consequences can be their undoing in the real world of the NFL. The national media microscope scrutinizing every incident in the NFL is leap years apart from the college reality for those who drag the same old habitual attitudes and bad behaviors with them, clueless and deaf to the warnings from the teams. I agree Stix, Ray Lewis is 1 of the few who actually took a bad situation and was able to salvage his career....Ray Lewis seized his opportunity to become a changed man and helped steer our young players down the right path from the get go. Every team needs some serious role model leadership like that in the locker room. Lewis  was the best we could have ever imagined or hoped for in that regard.

Edited May 24, 2015 by salamander

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

Oz and Harbs make a pretty darn good team and then you throw in Bisciotti as owner it's pretty awesome. The Ravens are just a great team and you can see why with these guys doing their parts. Thats not even mentioning the other people who work with Habs and Oz on their staff. 1st class all the way...

[stixfix69]

What impressed me the most about this organization was how they handled the RR situation, they always said from day one they would accept whatever the punishment the league handed down, and at the same time they didn't bail on RR as a person...To this day they are still very supportive of RR as a person, and still only wish the best for him and his family.....Most orgs don't want to waste the time or energy being supportive of a ex player.....

[sami]

seems to me the hardest part of Harbaughs job would be having some of these young players work as hard as they can, be there with them everyday, seeing them busting their butts doing everything their coaches tell them, getting to know them personally then having to tell them they are not good enough to play for the Ravens. That has to be heartbreaking.

[salamander]

seems to me the hardest part of Harbaughs job would be having some of these young players work as hard as they can, be there with them everyday, seeing them busting their butts doing everything their coaches tell them, getting to know them personally then having to tell them they are not good enough to play for the Ravens. That has to be heartbreaking.

So true Sami. Such a shame for a coach to have cut players he has grown so fond of..... players who have all the personal qualities a coach could look for, admire and wish he could clone to the whole team. Players who would do anything and everything the coach's ask of them only to have to cut them loose. You are right Sami, I think that would be the toughest part of the job. Contrast those players to a few of the behaviorally challenged but physically gifted freaks of nature who have been treated like royalty and feel overly enamored with their own greatness that they make little to no effort to change their problematic behavior. So yeah, as a coach or GM, it would be so hard to look in the eyes of the talented player with enough gratitude to work his butt off for the opportunity to make the team and have to cut him.....then have to pray that the talented but possibly uncoachable clueless player or immature doofus he kept instead will get it together rather than end up a total waste of the time and money the team invested in him  

Edited May 24, 2015 by salamander

[FloridalovesRavens]

When it comes right down to it the players themselves are responsible for their lot in life. I am quite sure the Ravens did not want to get rid of some of these troubled guys but had no other alternative and I don't believe they have boxed themselves in a corner with their no nonsense policy. Some guys will listen to advice and warnings while others roll the dice. This is not a easy job and while it can be very rewarding it can be heart breaking as well. You can only hope that each individual player does his best to avoid the chopping block.

[Halshayeji]

Doesn't really teach a player anything if you cut him and he's quickly signed by another team. Bernard Pierce probably improved his chance of starting by screwing up. And teams like Dallas are becoming today's punchline for the number of arrestees they have recently signed. Really doesn't help the NFL if there isn't a global rule in place. I guess this is mostly a PR move for the Ravens to cut these guys, so we don't get labeled as thugs, but I hope we don't box ourselves into a corner with this policy when an actual star screws up and we have to cut him or be a hypocrite.

 

So true. The Cowbows have made a habit of bringing in (troublesome guys) for cheaper prices because no one else is willing to take the risk. They got Mclain for dirt cheap. They got Hardy for nothing because no one else would touch him. Have you heard about his arrest. Its disgusting to say the least! They Drafted Gregory late in the second, and added a solid Lineman after the draft for free instead of him joining the second draft and lose another pick. They got Dez late in the first round because of off field issues. I mean seriously, Ray Rice made a stupid nut-headed mistake and everyone around him pays for it. On the other hand, "Americas Team" gets rewarded for picking up trash and claiming that they are helping them. If it goes wrong, people will just blame the player but never the Cowboys. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if the Cowboys pick up Rice and he posts Pro Bowl numbers behind that line.

 

It's amazing how fast things change in the NFL. 2 years ago, the Ravens had a RB (Ray Rice) in the prime of his career. We also had a solid backup in Pierce who we traded up in the 3rd to get. It bothers me that we invested a 2nd, 3rd, and a late round pick for these guys to count against our salary cap while someone else gets benefits from it. Other teams have players that have done worse but the media wouldn't dare to bring up those issues unless its beneficial to the team.

[RavenManiac#7]

I spent the better part of 30 years coaching both baseball and basketball. Baseball, from Little League up through the High School level, and Basketball from Middle School, again through the High School level. I was very blessed to have been quite successful pretty much throughout the entire time frame, winning more than my share of championships. By far, to me, the thing I found most difficult about coaching was having to make cuts to form my teams. The Lord has given me a heart for children, and having to cut so many of them was something I found to be very painful. It seemed like it was most difficult at the Middle School level. I think that was because of the level of maturity the children had reached, or was it really not reached, at that point of their lives. But, it's kind of tough when you have 56 boys come out to try to make a team that carried, at most, 14 to 15 players. To be honest, it was probably the biggest motivating factor for me to accept the High School position when it was offered to me. By that age, the guys had developed a little more self control and, more importantly, a more realistic idea of what their talent level really was. Nowhere near as many cuts were required at the High School level. At least the Middle School players did have the opportunity to play Church League basketball if they didn't make the school team. But, even knowing that, it was still Very tough to kind of break a kid's heart. I found it extremely distasteful. So much so, that I got to the point where I didn't want to do it any more.

[RavenManiac#7]

It's hard on a lot of these players, who came up with nothing to all of a sudden have the fame and fortune, something they have never had or experienced....There isn't a play book on how to behave, everywhere they go they get V.I.P treatment, and it eventually gets to their heads, and they end up acting like idiots...So i get why a lot of them get jammed up, look at RL52 and what happened to him, he was lucky enough to get the chance to change his ways....

You are absolutely right about why and how so many of these young players come into the NFL with such arrogant attitudes because of all the adoration they received in college. They found themselves being treated like heroes, catered to in every way, and quite often having their "incidents" covered up so many times without having consequences severe enough for their offenses. Then, they start making money, big money like most of them have never seen, and their attitudes that had resulted from all that special treatment make them feel entitled and that they don't have to obey the rules because they believe they are untouchable and that those rules don't apply to them. I know the NFL Does have counseling sessions for them to try to influence them but, unfortunately, too many of them don't take the attempt to help them to heart. You mention Ray, and his situation. Well, time has shown us that the Lord made Ray Lewis a very gifted man. He gifts us all but in Ray's case, he was able to figure things out. To me, it wasn't surprising. Ray is a born leader, and it didn't take him long, just one incident, for him to figure out that he was associating with the wrong crowd and that he had to make a change. And because of who Ray is, we saw a man who was genuinely sorry and quickly decided to cooperate with the investigation in an effort to get the truth out. Hum, it's pretty telling to compare the way he acted to the way Brady stubbornly refused to cooperate in the investigation of His team's situation. It's quite easy, in my opinion, to see who the better man is. Ray Lewis is truly special.

[RavenManiac#7]

Exactly. Even a popular veteran player like Ray Rice, with a great personal reputation, lost everything in a night of heavy drinking.  After years of doing so much good in the community and being a positive role model, Ray saw his career destroyed by his outrageous, out of character conduct that was fueled by alcohol. Half of a fifth of hard liquor is surely enough to disengage the brain's ability to act rationally.  If Ray's career can be shattered in 1 moment, these young players need to understand real quick that fame and fortune will not insulate them from potentially career ending consequences.  

You're definitely right, but then you have a guy like Jerry Jones who gets in the way of getting that message across. I believe for things to change, there has to be a league wide policy that All teams must follow so that these players see that it's not going to be a random, selective process. I can't see Any justification for the difference in the way Ray Rice has been treated compared to the way repeat offenders like Hardy, and even Peterson, have. Where's the justice in that? And what do the players learn?

[salamander]

Perhaps Jerry Jones just wants to cast another remake of "The Longest Yard"?

[bozo]

if tom brady gets off this suspension, roger goodell's problems will just began. everyone wants tom brady punished. he's been cheating for years with little things that give him the edge. he's worst than pete rose was.

[January J]

So true. The Cowbows have made a habit of bringing in (troublesome guys) for cheaper prices because no one else is willing to take the risk. They got Mclain for dirt cheap. They got Hardy for nothing because no one else would touch him. Have you heard about his arrest. Its disgusting to say the least! They Drafted Gregory late in the second, and added a solid Lineman after the draft for free instead of him joining the second draft and lose another pick. They got Dez late in the first round because of off field issues. I mean seriously, Ray Rice made a stupid nut-headed mistake and everyone around him pays for it. On the other hand, "Americas Team" gets rewarded for picking up trash and claiming that they are helping them. If it goes wrong, people will just blame the player but never the Cowboys. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if the Cowboys pick up Rice and he posts Pro Bowl numbers behind that line.

It's amazing how fast things change in the NFL. 2 years ago, the Ravens had a RB (Ray Rice) in the prime of his career. We also had a solid backup in Pierce who we traded up in the 3rd to get. It bothers me that we invested a 2nd, 3rd, and a late round pick for these guys to count against our salary cap while someone else gets benefits from it. Other teams have players that have done worse but the media wouldn't dare to bring up those issues unless its beneficial to the team.

I can definitely see the cowboys picking up Ray rice. Infact- I would almost bet on it. Whether he has a productive year is another thing- but def a possibility with their o-line.