It wasn't the best of weeks for Ravens defensive thirtysomethings.
First, inside linebacker Daryl Smith was released Thursday morning. Then, a few hours later, the Ravens parted ways with defensive end Chris Canty. Then outside linebacker Terrell Suggs was arrested and briefly jailed in Arizona early Friday morning for driving with a suspended license.
All three players are 33 years old.
The crisis in the Ravens' department of veterans affairs sends a loud-and-clear message that the team wants and needs to get younger and faster and also find new leadership on that side of the ball.
Understand, the departures of Smith and Canty were based mostly on economics. Smith has been an excellent Raven for three years, a top tackler and first-rate citizen. He will go down in team annals as the guy who replaced Ray Lewis. Canty provided leadership and, when healthy, was effective in 2015. But the Ravens wanted to free up salary-cap space before free agency opens next week, so away they went. "Old guys go first" is a common refrain in today's NFL.
As for Suggs, you can be sure team officials held their breath Friday morning after the news of his arrest first broke with few details. If it was serious business, they might need to add a new and unforeseen item to their to-do list, much to their dismay.
While waiting for the details of the story, I spotted the inevitable online shouting about whether Suggs should be cut and how that would impact the Ravens' salary-cap situation. (Answer: Not favorably. Not favorably at all.)
In the end, while Suggs' habit of ignoring speeding tickets is hardly exemplary and led to his arrest and detainment, he still figures to be around to reclaim his starting spot in 2016 after spending most of last season on injured reserve with a torn Achilles.
But let's face it, when you're checking out a mug shot to see what kind of physical shape a guy is in, it's probably time to at least start contemplating Plan B.
The Ravens are already doing that, of course. My voice is one of many that has recommended that, if possible, they should use their first-round draft pick to add a game-changing pass rusher. The Ravens have conceded it would be beneficial. They're hoping Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, 32, will still be able to put pressure on quarterbacks in 2016, but the need for a succession plan is obvious.
With the departures of Smith and Canty, several other defensive matters have also become obvious.
Although the Ravens wound up with solid defensive statistics in 2015, they struggled mightily until Dean Pees, the unit coordinator, went with a younger, faster personnel grouping on third downs. The increased agility made a difference.
Actually, "younger and faster" seems like a pretty succinct summation of how the Ravens should hope to evolve overall on defense, not just on third downs. The NFL game emphasizes agility and matchups over brute strength more and more these days. The Ravens are famously tough, but you can't hit what you can't catch.
And as the new generation crystallizes, someone needs to grab the figurative megaphone and lead the group.
Ray Lewis held that megaphone for years, of course, and while no one can ever really replace him in that regard, Suggs and Haloti Ngata had leadership cred as links to Lewis' era, and veterans such as Smith and Canty also could show others the way.
Who handles the job now? Daryl Smith could end up back in Baltimore on a cheaper deal, but he's quiet. So is C.J. Mosley, an emerging star who would be an obvious choice except that he seemingly prefers to let his play do the talking. Suggs can still lead, but he's no longer a long-range solution. Lardarius Webb leads the defensive backs, but he's not one to stand in a pregame huddle and shout. Jimmy Smith has an outgoing personality and the right skill level, but so far has avoided that kind of attention.
One of them, or someone else, needs to step up. With the Ravens entering the dawn of a new era on defense, they need leaders. And speed. And youth. Did I leave anything out?
