Why the Baltimore Ravens Continue to Prove Naysayers Wrong

Just 13 seasons ago, in the year of 1996, the Baltimore Ravens were formed. Originally the Cleveland Browns, the team decided it was in its best interest to move to Baltimore.

It was time for a new, fresh beginning, and bring the winning culture of football back to Baltimore like it was in the old days.

The Ravens have followed with that culture, winning the team's first Super Bowl in just it's fourth year of a new image. This early Super Bowl victory sent a message to the rest of the NFL—that the Ravens build the team around the defense, and follow the motto of "defense wins championships."

In this span of time, the Ravens have had issues with the salary cap, forcing them to let players leave to enter free agency. 

They have also dealt with losing coaches over the years, which does include Marvin Lewis and other members within the front office.

Due to the trend of losing key members, Baltimore has faced disappointing seasons, where they failed to make the playoffs by a game, or drop to the bottom of the AFC North.

Since the 2000 Super Bowl victory over the New York Giants, the Ravens have failed to reach the Super Bowl.

The team has made it to the playoffs most of the time, however, has not been able to take the one extra step.

A common theme has been the defense showing up, but the offense hasn't been able to contribute enough points on the board.

In last year's draft, the Ravens selected Joe Flacco in the first round, hoping he could be the true franchise quarterback that Baltimore has waited for.

Last year, the team dismissed head coach Brian Billick, who has the Super Bowl ring, but could not contribute much success after that.

Instead, they brought in John Harbaugh, formerly the special teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.

During their stint in the NFL, the Ravens have struggled to get respect as a pure dominant team.

You have the Steelers fans, who experienced a loss to the Ravens and give them respect.

You have the normal NFL fan who says the Ravens are good because of the top defense.

But when a turn of events happens, everybody is quick to judge.

Just a few seasons ago, the Ravens lost Adalius Thomas, a linebacker who had his breakout season with the team.

The Ravens know when to spend their money, and let Thomas walk to free agency.

People questioned that this was the beginning of the end to the franchise. The defense was beginning to fail, Ray Lewis was getting old.

Well, once again, the team put those thoughts to rest after the top performance in 2008.

With a new rookie quarterback, and a rookie head coach, the Ravens were thought to be rebuilding and toward the bottom of the league by some.

However, they became one of the bigger "surprises," finishing with an 11-5 and making it to the postseason.

Many spectators felt that this would be a short stint for the Ravens within the playoffs.

However, with the defense playing at top form, along with Joe Flacco making the clutch plays, the Ravens won two playoff games, both on the road.

After failing to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in a hard-fought game, silence came within the Ravens locker room.

The following day, Rex Ryan moved on to become the head coach of the New York Jets.

The offseason came quick for the Ravens. They were active, but open to change at the same time. 

Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard, two contributors in the playoffs, moved on with Ryan to the Jets.

Even with these departures, the team had one of the more underrated offseasons.

They signed Pro-Bowl center Matt Birk, play-making tight end L.J. Smith, and Domonique Foxworth to improve the corners.

As the team nears training camp, however, the Ravens are still used to the same treatment the team normally gets.

With Ryan, Scott, and Leonhard leaving, the team is pronounced as not a top ten contender, not even a playoff team by some!

These normally come from fans who don't know much about the team, and are spectators who are just basing an opinion based on the losses.

The loss to Scott would be missed. However, it isn't the end of the world as another player will step their game up in his role to fill the void.

Many people also believe the sky is falling because the team lost Ryan as the defensive coordinator. The team lost Marvin Lewis after their dominant Super Bowl run, didn't they? The defense turned out just fine.

The Ravens, frankly, are used to this. Ray Lewis still leads the defense, and they let these predictions into their minds only to motivate them.

With the 10-year anniversary of their title run, the Ravens look to unleash their dominance once again as a contender for this year's Lombardi Trophy.

Matt Miselis is a writer for bleacherreport.com and sportschatplace.com He is also a contributer to footbasket.blogspot.com