Ed Norris: Are The Ravens Sending A Message?
Bernard Pollard was the Ravens leading tackler and his toughness is second to no one in the NFL. He turned the tide of the AFC Championship game by separating Stevan Ridley from the football and consciousness, leading to a Ravens touchdown after the fumble recovery, ballooning the Baltimore lead to 15 points with 10 minutes to play. He played with numerous broken ribs in the Super Bowl and was in so much pain that his shoulder pads needed to be removed by others because he couldn't do it himself.
Hmmmm so let me get this straight ... He is the best tackler on the defense and perhaps the team's most feared player. The Ravens are saving a paltry million bucks on the salary cap and he is not yet 30 years old.
Reading between the lines it would seem to me he is being released more because of his outspoken nature than his ability or cost. He is after all the co-mutineer ( Ed Reed the other) who challenged John Harbaugh in a team meeting because he and Reed felt the team was being unfairly punished after a loss when the coach informed the team they were having a highly irregular padded practice because of their performance .
In short it seems the Ravens have decided to take an outspoken voice out of the locker room. It is most certainly their prerogative to decide who stays and who goes but as someone who has run major organizations I think it unwise to lose talent just because you may not like them personally. The organization is always bigger than any single employee, even if that employee is the organization's leader. I hope I'm wrong but this looks like a case of personality conflict rather than lack of talent or cap room. Losing Bernard Pollard certainly does not make the Baltimore Ravens a better football team.
