It became the battle cry for an unexpected run through the playoffs.

It sold t-shirts.

It reminded the league of just who this franchise was and what you would have to face when you matched up against Baltimore.

What’s Our Name? RAVENS!

What’s that mean?

Aggressive, opportunistic defense and a punishing running game. That’s what this franchise has been all about since they drafted players like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Jonathan Ogden and Jamal Lewis. Over the years it’s been a successful formula, division titles, playoff appearances and one glittering championship trophy.

But, things change. Players get older, teams attack your schemes differently, and rules change. If you can’t adapt to where the league is headed you get left behind.

Which brings me to the Ravens version 2009. The expectations were high after a great run in the playoffs the previous year and with the team sitting at 6-6 it’s safe to say that they have underachieved to an extent.

However my biggest question about this year’s team is in it’s philosophy. Why have they seemingly changed from what was so successful a year ago? What is our identity? What’s our name?

Last season this team could run the football. They finished 4th in the league in rushing yards. led the NFL in rushing attempts and used three backs to control the clock. Each player had a different style and each player had a role to fufill. That’s a theme that I’ll keep referring back to. Each player had a role. McGahee was the starter, Rice was the third down back and McClain was the goal line vulture.

This season, Rice is the starter, McGahee is the goal line back and McClain is a fullback. I have no problem with Rice as the starter of course. He’s shown flashes of brilliance this season, running and catching the ball out of the backfield. He should have a fine career. McGahee had a great pre-season and started the season quickly but he has a tendency to glide instead of hitting the hole at times. When he does that he finds the bench quickly. Since the team decided not to retain bulldozer Lorenzo Neal, McClain was given back his blocking duties. Remember this is a player that was an All-Pro last season almost rushed for 1,000 yards and notched 10 touchdowns. He’s been non-existent in the offense. Can anyone answer why?

Joe Flacco was thrust into the role of starting quarterback by default last year. I always like to think about what last season would have been like if Troy Smith would have been the starter instead of the Jersey native. But they kept his reads and throws simple. Many times they went Max Protect and gave him one or two options. He even showed off decent mobility and a penchant for the deep ball. He had his struggles but for the most part he showed that he has a future in this league and that he would finally be the answer at quarterback.

This season he’s continuing his learning processes. The offense has become more pass-oriented and in the first few games he spread the ball around and mixed up his throws. He showed some glimpses of what he can do when he is in his prime. He’s had more responsibility on his shoulders, in my opinion too much, to carry the offense at times. He’s still learning how to read zones and make throws in the middle of the field. When you loosen the chains you have to expects pains. Fans are waiting to see him drive this team down the field for just one comeback win this year. He’s come close and either he or his teammates haven’t delivered.

Fans want to be able to compare him to Ben Roethlisberger who won a Super Bowl in his second year. What people forget is that he wasn’t asked to carry the load in year two of his career. Check his stats. He handed the ball off to Jerome Bettis and let the defense stop teams. Sound familiar.When Pittsburgh tried to make their move to let Big Ben run the offense the following season he threw more picks than touchdowns.

The Receivers on this team have been a question mark for years. Todd Heap was often the top target and Derrick Mason is the most consistent receiver on this team in recent memory. They’ve been in need of upgrades for a while now and in their search for a competent number two pass catcher be it Travis Taylor or Mark Clayton the results have been largely underwhelming.

But it never mattered as much because passing was secondary here. Now with Baltimore becoming a pass first team the need for better receivers is clear. Play makers who have the speed to get behind the defense or have the size and strength to grab balls in traffic. Their biggest play maker in that department is running back, Ray Rice. So with what you have on your roster I can’t see why making this change is the best way to win games now.

And really that’s the point I’m trying to make. There is no one way to win a championship. Go back and look over the winning teams of the past 20 seasons. Some have great quarterbacks, some have dominant defenses and some had hall of fame runners. But whatever the success it was due to the fact that the team did things to show of strengths and hide weaknesses.

I understand what the team is trying to do but they are doing it too early. If you want to be a team that throws the ball forty times you need to build your roster in that fashion. If you want Joe Flacco to be the centerpiece of the offense then start to provide him with weapons to work with, a young stud receiver that he can grow with. Peyton Manning had Marvin Harrison and now Reggie Wayne. Phillip Rivers has huge targets like Gates and Jackson.

You must always stay true to who you are and use every player to their fullest advantage to help the team be successful. And when you look at the Ravens roster the way it’s currently configured they should still be using that 2008 formula. Does that mean they should always do that? No. You use what you have and things do change even season to season.

But as the old saying goes “you can’t put cart before the horse”.

You want to be a passing team, then build one first.