The Baltimore Ravens have issues on offense.
It starts with quarterback Joe Flacco, who has failed to pass for more than 250 yards in a game all season.
That's emblematic of a roster -- sitting at 3-3 -- that lacks pass-catching weapons or the bulk up front to blister teams reliably on the ground.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti hasn't lost trust in his core hires, though, coming out strong this week in support of coach John Harbaugh, general manager Ozzie Newsome and Baltimore's starting quarterback.
"It is a feeling of dealing with people that you have a level of confidence in their competence," Bisciotti said, per Sarah Ellison of the team's official website. "Right now, if I benched Joe Flacco, a bunch of people would be happy. If I fired Ozzie Newsome, a bunch of people would be happy. If I fired John Harbaugh, a bunch of people would be happy.
"I think a lot of this comes down to, I hate to tell you that all our planning comes down a lot to the bounce of the ball."
One of the league's more patient owners, Bisciotti refuses to panic over a team that hasn't made the playoffs or posted a winning record since 2014.
"I have to evaluate people on their ability to do their job over a long period of time and that doesn't satisfy short-term thinkers," Bisciotti said. "That frustrates me to no end, but I understand it. I'm not telling you or anybody else how to be a fan; I'm just not going to let you influence how I'm going to be an owner."
Bisciotti went on to preach consistency over snap decision-making, especially in his defense of Harbaugh:
"If we make the playoffs this year, John Harbaugh will have made the playoffs in seven of 10 years," Bisciotti said. "When I fired Brian Billick, if John walked up there and said, 'I will be in the playoffs seven of the next 10 years,' you would have said, 'Halleluiah, God bless you.' But now, because they all came at the same time, then you can say, 'He hasn't been to the playoffs in three of the last four years. So, if he doesn't get to the playoffs in four of the last five years, then the immediate reaction is, 'Off with his head.' And yet, that would still be 60-percent playoff success, which statistically, it shouldn't even be 40 percent."
Said Bisciotti: "If I went back and took the criticisms from every expert all the way through 2012, it would sound exactly like this year]. They were all the same, and somehow we won a [Super Bowl. 'Ray Lewis is done. Ed Reed won't tackle.' On and on and on. ... I empower and I evaluate them over a long period of time."
If uppity Ravens fans find themselves in a panic, the same can't be said for the team's owner. Baltimore has been one of the AFC's most consistent clubs this century and a handful of down seasons aren't enough for Bisciotti to slam the panic button.
