Are the Baltimore Ravens looking to ditch the moniker as some of the bad boys of the National Football League? It appears so as the team enters this weekend?s draft.
“For me, character is critical,” said Eric DeCosta, 35, the team?s head of college scouting. “It?s probably one of the most important characteristics that I look at.”
DeCosta, in his fourth year in the position, has worked with his staff to build a database of players who will contribute to the franchise in its second decade.
Sitting next to Ravens? general manager Ozzie Newsome, DeCosta said: “Every year, it?s a bigger issue. In most cases, guys that we actually take offthe board end up screwing up. Somewhere down the line, I?ll come into Ozzie?s office on a Monday and say, ?They really don?t change do they????
At a recent news conference, a local radio talk show host brought up a list of past indiscretions and criminal records of current players on the Ravens? roster.
Newsome, 50, a Hall of Fame tight end, answered the question: “I am a firm believer that people can make a mistake and recover from it and become a very good citizen. We?ve seen that, and we?ve stood by players who have done that. I think what Eric is saying is that character (issue) is when a person continuously makes mistakes or they continually do something wrong. Those are the players that when they look at me, I say, ?No, they are not changing and can?t be turned around.???
When it came time for DeCosta to reply about the team?s image problem and how it relates to drafting character, he declined.
It was an uncomfortable moment for sure, but one that brought to light how guarded the team is of its image now. Last year, running back Jamal Lewis served jail time for assisting in a drug deal, while linebacker Ray Lewis pled guilty to obstruction of justice in a murder trial several years ago.
Newsome said he believes in second chances.
“I?ll dare to ask any of you when you were between the age of 18 and 22 (about mistakes), and I dare myself to ask what I did,” Newsome said. “But, I don?t think you judge a person on one mistake. I don?t.”
THE NFL DRAFT
When: April 29-30
TV: ESPN/NFL Network
Ravens? first pick: No. 13
