The Baltimore Ravens lost two of their most popular veteran leaders this past offseason in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. The two former Miami Hurricanes had been the heart and soul of a championship defense. Without them, the Ravens are left to go around getting into fights on party buses and hanging out with strippers.
At least, that’s what Lewis seems to think. During the Monday Night Football pregame show on ESPN, Lewis was asked about the incident that took place in Washington, D.C. over the weekend where Jacoby Jones was allegedly hit with a bottle by a stripper.
“We talk about the transition of losing so many guys, a guy like myself and Ed Reed and other guys that are based off leadership, I’ve said it earlier: ‘Where would the leadership come from?'” Lewis said, via the Baltimore Sun. “Because the leadership being strong in the locker room and winning games, listen talent sometimes can win you games. But when you talk about what’s going on off the field, that’s the most important place where leadership steps up.”
Of course it’s all about Ray. Why wouldn’t it be? Lewis has been waiting weeks for an opportunity to break out the leadership void card. Had he still been with the organization, Sweet Pea would have never cranked Jones in the head. Maybe the Ravens wouldn’t have even gone out to celebrate Bryant McKinnie’s birthday — who knows?
“When you think about the Baltimore Ravens and the transition that they went through, they’re missing leadership right now. When you have an incident like that, the first thing a leader is going to do is find some way to dissolve everything that’s going on and actually dissolve it before it comes to that type of head or even gets to that point. When you talk about the Baltimore Ravens they’re going to have to refocus and find some quick leaders in that locker room very quickly.”
It sounds like the police were able to dissolve the situation without any arrests being made. Was it dumb of the players to put themselves in that situation? Of course, but let’s not get carried away. Lewis was an emotional leader who could make guys want to run through a wall for him while confusing the hell out of others like Joe Flacco. He wasn’t a babysitter. Most NFL teams don’t have one of those.
