Anyway you slice it, you put the blame on this disaster solely at the feet of one man, Coach Brian Billick. First and foremost, why is Rhys Lloyd inactive? Perhaps Billick simply can't see the value of someone who can consistently boot kickoffs into the end zone. The decision immediately came back to bite us on the opening kick off when a weakly booted Matt Stover kick off got returned 41 yards by Josh Cribbs. Forget field position. I have long argued that the stress of kicking off combined with field goal responsibility could prove too much for Stover to handle over a long season. Coincidently, Stover missed 2 field goals today.
Anyway, I knew Billick was calling one of his typical games when he decided to abandon the run early. After the early interception, I felt we were going to be in for a long day. Boy, did I call that. Despite playing against a weak run defense, Billick panicked and relied heavily on the pass. The Ravens managed only 13 points despite having the ball in Cleveland territory on every single drive. Absolutely no excuse! Enough said about that.
More importantly, I am concerned about the lack of preparation and the sheer volumes of penalties this team commits. Billick believed in light practices and liberal days off. In turn, he lets veterans players police the penalties. The results are the same. Costly penalties, particularly the weekly ones committed by Chris McAllister, are the Achilles heel of this team.
Billick better get it together and quick. Something tells me he'll still grant Tuesday as a day off. The players don't need the rest. They need to work on execution. As for rest, the players can take a nap on the flight to San Francisco next week.
Posts
16 comments:
Alright, I missed last week's Raven's report due to vacation but I'm about to post this week's report. It will be an earful. Please feel free to comment on my rant whether you agree or disagree. I know most of us are Raven fans but I respect the opinion of the non-Raven fans as well.
A few points:
1) There are a few things that I just don't like about this team. Yes Figurs fumbled a kick-return and stover missed 2 field goals. Hell, Figurs ran a TD back last week so I'll give him the fumble without much scrutiny even though I don't like it. Stover is Stover and he's a good kicker and he's entitled to have a bad game. What really drives me crazy are things like jumping offsides on 4th down giving the Browns a first down which eventually turned to a TD. This is just a dumb mistake and not overlooked.
2) Ogden. RETIRE ALREADY! I like the guy but he obviously doesn't have the drive to play anymore. He's just a giant cap room hit on the sideline. How long does it take to recover from a sprained toe? OVER A YEAR? Jesus... Boulware played with basically no shoulder and McCrary played on bum knees but this guy has a sprained toe for over a year? Adam Terry is doing just fine. RETIRE and save us cap room.
3) McNair. Yes, good drive in the 4th Q when we were down by 3 TDs but it was too little too late. WHY the hell was he even playing? He's not 100% and it was obvious. The announcers said it about 10 times. I've never been a strong Boller supporter but what has this guy done? He's led the Ravens to wins 3-4 of his last games and he should be 4-4 but the refs hate B-more. Who's call is this? Billick's call? let him get 100% and then play but this limping around and barely moving in the pocket isn't needed and it hurts the team.
4) Billick - FIRE HIM! Yes I said it again. I was one of the strongest Billick supporters around but I've had enough. First of all, he's the coach and should have the final call on McNair playing. Secondly, the play calling ONCE again was suspect when we needed it the most. Yes, it was better this week except for the red zone. First and 10 on the 11 yard line. Run at least once right? Nope.. 3 passes again. Why sign McGahee OR Anderson? Would you want to stay in this offense if you were them when it was time to re-sign? According to the paper, neither did Jamal Lewis. Lastly, this team has no heart and isn't ready to play. It started last year in the playoffs against the Colts. Billick AND McNair laid an egg last year. 2 weeks to prepare for that and we looked terrible. This team isn't ready. False Stars, Delay of Games, Wasting time... it's terrible.
You're an idiot. How many years have you been involved in professional football?
skaybaltimore here:
It all boils down to a post I read on the Sunspot board by tacker:
"Billick's effect on all aspects of this team, from morale to personnel selection to playcalling, simply cannot be overcome by other forces. Until he's replaced, there's no future, simple as that."
http://www.baltimoresun2.com/talk/showthread.php?t=117831
GO RAVENS!!!
Billick apologists love the comeback of "how many years have you played football" and "how many Super Bowl's have you won"? Some think XXXV made Billick immortal. I say it makes him 1 of 7 active that have accomplished the same feat. And unlike Billick, some have done it multiple times.
Back to Billick. Why so long to throw the red flag on the Jamal non-touchdown? Absolutely no excuse.
The challenge call comes from upstairs, they took too long making the call.
I am no carpenter, but I can spot shoddy workmanship. I am not a math major, but I can tell you with certainty that 2+2 doesn't equal 5. I don't need a job in professional football to see Billick doesn't have a successful formula.
Hey math major, care to guess at Brian's career record? You're right, you're no math major
Anonymous said...
Hey math major, care to guess at Brian's career record? You're right, you're no math major
skaybaltimore back again...
Hey genius...care to state how many POST SEASON W's Billick has racked up SINCE the 2001 season? Riiiiiiight. I thought so. So STFU with your one-dimensional crap, since it has NOTHING to do with the real picture. This is the NO BS zone. How did you get in?
;)
(That's not coming on too strong or anything, is it, Bud?)
:D
Welcome to a what have you done for me lately league. Billick's record means nothing. Like skay said, no playoff wins since 2001. That speaks volumes.
You're right, the decision to review comes from upstairs... soo...
Why can the home viewers see it 3-4 times on replay but the guy who is paid to do this cannot see it once and say "challenge it?"
Like I said before, I liked Brian Billick and I've supported him even when he was with the Vikes. I just feel there needs to be some changes. There is just an overall stench around this team. I won't give up my season tickets or anything or show up with a brown bag on my head at the games but I would like to see this team start playing like the rest of the good teams in this league.
The Ravens have won a playoff game since 2001 dickweed, great fan you are. 2002 against the Dolphins, DOH!
What is Billicks's playoff record? How many times has he had a better quarterback in those games?
The 2002 playoff win occured in the 2001 season. It's just like the Ravens won the Superbowl for the 2000 season in Jan. 2001.
Have all the QB's under Billick been that bad or have they regressed?
"Anonymous said...
The Ravens have won a playoff game since 2001 dickweed, great fan you are. 2002 against the Dolphins, DOH!"
LOL. As Manny pointed out, that was part of the 2001 season. How stupid do you look now, dickweed?
(Actually, I believe the expression is dickwad, not dickweed. But frankly, your post is so stupid, why quibble over semantics?)
(skaybaltimore)
The Browns came in with the 31st ranked run defense. Brian Billick wasn't going to buy into that notion. The stats may show that the Browns will break under the run, but Brian isn't a believer. Instead, he defied conventional wisdom and again the results were disastrous.
Post a Comment