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Brian Billick Remains Insulated |
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Written by Sock Dolager
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Wednesday, 24 October 2007 |
Regardless of the outcome of the season, Brian Billick will stand exonerated in the wake of all the injuries his team has endured in 2007. There have been too many injuries to too many high profile players to reasonably call Billick to task. In spite of the fact that Billick’s team has often looked unprepared and less than sharp on Sunday afternoons (and even more so on Sunday and Monday evenings), such lackluster performances will also be subject to dismissal in light of the devastation which has filled the infirmary at One Winning Drive.
Even if the team fails after the bye (and who says everyone will remain healthy after the bye) the injuries that have occurred prior to it will absorb their share of the blame for the demoralizing and unsettling season start from which the team (and the head coach) could not recover.
One has to remember that this team went 13 and 3 last season with essentially the same players minus Adalius Thomas on defense and Tony Pashos on offense and a few others whose absence is largely inconsequential.
Just a short number of months ago, Billick was a shining star for having the guts to dispense with his best friend as offensive coordinator and having even more guts to put his career on the line by assuming the offensive coordinator's duties.
The Ravens fell flat on their face at the end of the 2006 season and lost to the Colts in the playoffs. But looking back at 2006, one can become convinced that the Ravens were defeated by a truly better team in the Colts whose defense improved orders of magnitude over what it had not enjoyed earlier in the season.
Numerous theories have been proffered as to why 2007 has been so disappointing and fingers have been pointed at Steve McNair, who brought the best record to Baltimore the Ravens ever had and at Brian Billick who, in spite of all of his foibles, has one of the most winning records in the NFL.
Is there any justification to these criticisms of McNair and Billick? To an extent, certainly, but as pointed as that criticism may be, it doesn’t justify replacing either of them and would surely even be overlooked if the injuries had not happened and the team was performing as successfully as it did last season. It’s very peculiar how critics can dismiss how a quarterback missed two or three open receivers or how a coach botched a few calls when the team wins as consistently as it did last year.
In addition to the injuries that the Ravens have suffered this season, opposing teams have had some experience now in studying both the Ravens offense and defense and how to counter them. They are more familiar now with what Billick's and McNair's tendencies are and what to expect and what to look out for, and they are more keen to what Ryan's mystical defenses will deliver and how they may be at least partially neutralized with a no-huddle offense and an opposing quarterback that gets rid of the ball in a nanosecond after the snap.
So the season will play out and we’ll see how well the Ravens can counter-adjust to the injury bug and the bugs that opposing teams now throw at them on both offense and defense. Remember, there are more games to be played than have been played this season, and a lot more defining of what’s the problem and what’s not to be preached by the pundits and talking heads before it all ends in January.
Nevertheless, right now I would bet on Billick being here in 2008, and either McNair or Boller being here but not both. As always it will be interesting to watch the wheels turn in Raven Land and to hear Steve Bisciotti’s end of season “State of the Ravens” address.
And yes, it’s too early to be thinking about acquiring a new quarterback in free-agency or the draft just yet. After all, just think about Troy Smith and all he must be learning this season.
I hope!
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 November 2007 )
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