ExtremeRavens Posted Friday at 11:30 AM Posted Friday at 11:30 AM Zay Flowers was at the center of two costly fumbles this past Sunday. The visiting Rams capitalized on both turnovers, effectively sealing the Ravens’ latest defeat. When the home locker room opened, Baltimore’s top receiver, much like he has all season, had already slipped away. His locker stall was empty and his teammates were left behind to answer for his mistakes. The silence from one of the faces of the offense perhaps echoed louder than any quote could. In the Ravens’ latest unraveling, a 17-3 loss to the Rams, Flowers wasn’t just part of the critical sequence that swung the game; he was also absent from the accountability that followed. He’s hardly the only one. But Flowers represents the growing disconnect between the Ravens’ most visible players and the kind of leadership moments that define great teams. Let’s be clear: speaking to reporters isn’t about stroking media egos or entitlement. Rather, it revolves around accountability. It’s about facing the fans who buy jerseys, pour their money into tickets and spend Sundays chanting your name and team. Around the league, other stars in uncomfortable situations, from A.J. Brown’s frustration with the offense in Philadelphia to Detroit’s Brian Branch after his involvement in Sunday night’s brawl in Kansas City, regularly stand at their lockers and explain themselves through the good and the bad. It’s part of being a professional. It’s part of being an accountable leader. In fact, it’s a contractual requirement via the NFL Players Association for players to be made regularly available to the media throughout the season. Even players who’ve faltered in that department have displayed growth. Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs refused to speak with New England reporters back in training camp, drawing heavy criticism. But before the start of the regular season, the former Terps star recognized his error, braved the podium and apologized. “I was referred to as a pain in the a–. … But I want to be very clear up here, I’m an adult. I apologize,” Diggs said in early September. “Obviously, we have a media-to-player relationship [that I want to make] as professional as I can be. I want to make myself available each and every week. I don’t want to make this abrasive. I don’t want to get up here and not answer questions or make anybody feel uncomfortable. It’s going to be a long season, so we’re going to spend a lot of time together.” Diggs’ course of action served as a reminder that accountability isn’t about perfection, but about showing face and speaking up, especially when things get uncomfortable. Flowers isn’t alone in ducking that responsibility in Baltimore. He’s just the most recent example in a season in which it’s become a frequent occurrence. Nearly seven weeks ago, after the Ravens blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead to Buffalo, veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey also dodged the media in Orchard Park, New York. A few days later, though, under a more comfortable setting at his locker in Owings Mills, he offered one of the more honest assessments of the young season. “We’re just not mature enough as a team yet,” Humphrey said then. He added that defensive coordinator Zach Orr had vowed there would be no “repeat offenders.” Mighty phrases on the surface, but the same mistakes have lingered over the worst start in franchise history. Has anything changed from accountability and maturity standpoints? Wide receiver Zay Flowers, shown speaking to the media in June, hasn't answered media questions after a Ravens game so far this season. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Like Flowers, linebacker Roquan Smith is one of the most recognizable players on the team. He’s also one of the highest-paid players behind only quarterback Lamar Jackson and safety Kyle Hamilton, and is considered by many the defense’s top leader. Before Smith was sidelined with a hamstring injury, though, he never spoke after a loss. In fact, the only time he’s spoken after a game this season was after the team’s lone Sept. 14 win over Cleveland. In Flowers’ case, he’s talked publicly just twice all season, with neither instance occurring after a game. Then there’s Jackson. This team revolves around the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, but his detached posture on the sideline was eye-opening. When Jackson exited the loss to Kansas City with a hamstring injury, he spent the fourth quarter glued to the bench, disengaged from sideline discussions and huddles. Leadership often is about presence. When the team’s biggest, most important veteran voices disappear, intentionally or not, it reverberates. Their disappearances also leave rookies and even undrafted players standing alone in a sparse room in front of cameras and microphones, trying to explain how a proud franchise has reached this bottom point. That exact scene played out after the blowout loss to Houston. Rookie linebacker Teddye Buchanan, to his credit, has spoken after every game this season. But after his postgame session with reporters concluded Oct. 5, he turned to a team official and asked with emotional frustration written across his face, “Why are they saying it’s my fault?” Coach John Harbaugh was asked directly earlier this week about the team’s player leadership. His answer came across as measured with a dose of optimism. “We’re going to get great, great veteran leadership,” Harbaugh said Monday. “I believe that. And we’re going to have to. Nothing is going to be more important than that.” Inside the locker room, some players have downplayed the idea that someone needs to step up in a traditional way. One player who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about the situation told The Baltimore Sun: “If you have somebody [cursing you out], you’ll be super cautious about the next play.” Another player who also spoke on the condition of anonymity said: “You could say, ‘Oh, there’s no leadership.’ There’s nothing different that’s happening this year than last year besides maybe it’s repetitive execution, but it’s the truth. You go back to last year, there wasn’t guys like rah-rah standing up. [Smith] got the team going every game. But there’s really nothing different [in terms of leadership] that happened last year that isn’t happening this year.” And yet that’s what makes this disappointing season so jarring. This franchise was built on alphas from Tony Siragusa, Rob Burnett and Sam Adams in 2000 to Ray Lewis, Anquan Boldin and Ed Reed in 2012. Those Super Bowl-winning teams didn’t just have stars, but also real enforcers and leaders who kept everyone around them accountable. Humphrey’s words after the Week 1 collapse have aged poorly. What was framed as a temporary maturity issue has festered into something much more serious and concerning. There might be reasons for optimism coming out of the bye. The Ravens’ roster is littered with talent, and coaches and players carry an important sense of hope tied to Jackson’s imminent return. Belief alone won’t fix a repetitive leadership void. Baltimore Sun reporter Sam Cohn contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. View the full article Quote
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