Lombardi's Way

WHAT’S THE FREQUENCY?

by Tony Lombardi

September 4, 2006
4:00 am

Reading Time: 14 minutes

MEOW

Tony,

I’m ticked, so let’s rumble n’ grumble…..

Billick convinced himself last year that his Offensive line was fine. Any right-minded person could see that while they can at times (home games) "protect" they CAN’T dictate. I don’t wanna hear anything about the sets we line-up in, or ball control blahblahblah—we don’t score points. Who cares if Fassel introduces new "sets." A new set for the Ravens is like a caveman finding a rock in the stone age. (No freakin biggie!)

Billick and Fassel are one of the most cowardly tandems in the league. Anytime "we just wanna take what they’re giving us" becomes your offense – you have no offense. And what exactly ARE we taking? A lot of 45 yd. field goals? Do you actually think every time you get the ball the only way to score is "a drive?" How about a quick strike? How about after the other team turns it over, we make em pay? Everybody else does but not us. Teams will STILL crowd the line like crazy because if all you do is throw 1 yd. passes and hope your WR breaks one, then nobody will respect your deep game AT ALL. And the Ravens never even plant the seed of a deep game.

When T.O. got to Philly 2 years ago his coming out party was against the Ravens and what did McNabb do? [He] threw a bomb on the first play. Let’s go through the things that are completely ludicrous:

1) "We don’t want to give away too much of our game plan in preseason." How about we GET a game plan PERIOD? We’re so timid it’s sickening. No rhythm on offense, and we offer no challenge.

2) Billick saying they’ve "got things to work and things we can fix." Since these are the same things 7 years running, obviously HE can’t fix them. If you throw in the "predictable" element you’ve got the perfect formula for being exactly the kind of team they are. Did you bring Steve McNair here to continue dinking and dunking? Who cares WHAT the defense gives you—they’re throwing pass interference flags around the league like crazy—do you think we maybe could get a call or two if we threw deep? And if McNair morphs into Boller, then who’s to blame? The Ravens offense tiptoes into every game. How much longer do we gotta keep looking at that lame-ass PAINED EXPRESSION that seems to say, "gee we practice this so much but still get it wrong."

THEN CHANGE THE WAY YOU PRACTICE IT, OR CHANGE IT TO SOMETHING THAT WORKS.

We have good receivers, good runners, tight ends—but we play like idiots. And what’s the point of taking all those time-outs if all you’re gonna do is run a dive into the line. Billick likes Fassel because he’s just as unimaginative as he is. I don’t even wanna get into clock management. I’d love to be proven absolutely, 100% completely wrong. I love me some Ravens. But, 7 years of no offensive identity says it doesn’t matter who your runners, receivers or quarterback are. Again and again the scardy cat offense seems to "let’s try this, no, let’s try this."

And hey, here’s another flash: CROWDS GET LOUD IN DOMES. How could you get Steve McNair and actually look worse? Betcha they use 3 timeouts in the 1st QUARTER against Tampa Bay.

Alonzo, Baltimore, MD

Alonzo,

The Ravens have never been a consistently attacking offense in the Billick era. The offense is asked to manage field position and time of possession while not turning the ball over. The formula worked in 2000. It hasn’t worked since and now this “don’t make a mistake” mentality is so ingrained in the offense’s psyche that they appear to be afraid of their own shadows on the road.

As a kid, my Dad used to say that if you can’t avoid a fight and you sense one is about to break out, draw first blood, strike first and then never let up.

That is the exact mentality that winning teams take on the road and if the Ravens are going to end their road woes, they better embrace this mentality otherwise the Ravens could be staring at a .500 record.

They have the personnel to do it, even the offensive line. But the offensive coaching staff is going to have to be willing to do something that they been reluctant to do due to a deeply rooted fear of failure – attack! And as you allude to in your note, it’s time to take off the gloves. It’s time to take shots down field and draw some PI penalties.

I hope you are proven 100% wrong as well.

Let’s wait and see.

Are you ready for some real football?

1998 Vikings v. Ravens

TL,

I have been complaining about the Ravens line for the last 6 years, others have been complaining about the quarterbacks, and still others about Brian Billick not being an offensive guru. So, which is it, the players or the coach, or me for that matter? Well here are a few lists, and the 1998 Minnesota Vikings offense to compare it to.

WR’s – Chris Carter, Randy Moss, Jake Reed

Versus the Ravens WR’s since Billicks arrival…

Justin Armour, Billy Davis, Devard Darling, Kenyon Hambrick, Albert Horsey, Javin Hunter, Randy Hymes, Quadry Ismail, Kevin Johnson, Patrick Johnson, Ron Johnson, Clarence Moore, Marcus Nash, Jeff Ogden, Marcus Robinson, James Roe, Frank Sanders, Travis Taylor, and the all star lists ends with Derek Mason, Brandon Stokely, Mark Clayton, and Jermaine Lewis.

Can’t you just see the passes dropped?

QB’s – Brad Johnson, Randall Cunningham, Jay Feidler

Stoney Case, Scott Mitchell, Tony Banks, Jeff Blake, Anthony Wright, Kyle Boller, Kordell Stewart, Trent Dilfer, and now finally Steve McNair

OL- Todd Steussie, Jeff Christy, Matt Birk, Korey Stringer,Randall McDaniel

Bennie Anderson, Ethan Brooks, Ben Cavil, Damion Cook, Mike Flynn, Quentin Neujahr, Tony Pashos, Jason Thomas, Kipp Vickers, Sammy Williams, Erik Williams (for 2 games), Jeff Blackshear, Steve Everette, Spencer Folau, Tony Jones – 1 year, Adam Terry, Orlando Brown, and Jon Ogden.

RB- Robert Smith, Moe Williams, Chuck Evans, Leroy Hoard, and Harold Morrow (last 4 all Ravens as well)

Jamal Lewis, Priest Holmes, Musa Smith, Sam Gash, and then it goes down hill, to Jason Brookins, Obefemi Ayanbadejo, Errict Rhett, Alan Ricard, Tony Vinson, Jamel White, and Terry Allen

Priest Holmes left the Ravens to average 1530 yards per season, and 20+ TD’s with Kansas City, while only averaging 700 yards, and 3 TD’s with the Ravens.

Randall Cunningham had a 106 QB rating in 1998 with 34 TD’s, Randy Moss had 1313 yards and 17 TD’s, and Chris Carter had 1012 yards, and 12 TD’s. Add that to a 1,000 yard rusher in Robert Thomas, who also had 6 TD’s along with Leroy Hoard’s 9, and it is fairly obvious, that the 1998 Vikings far exceed any combination Billick has had here in Baltimore.

So, in conclusion, it may not be the chicken, it may not be the egg, it just might be the Ozzie. Because, it is true that a poor carpenter blames his tools, but a coach can blame his GM.

Mark Considine

Mark,

Your point is well researched, well taken and difficult to argue with. However, I wonder how the Vikings might compare to the Ravens during the same period on the defensive side of the football. My guess is the comparisons might be reversed and by the way, I’ll take that Lombardi Trophy any day. Do the Vikings have one?

However, I think what this email brings into focus is the Ravens inability to create balance on their team. They have invested heavily on defense and nowhere near as much on offense both in dollars and in draft picks. I think you will see them trying to achieve balance on the roster and balance during the game. To recognize its value one only has to look at the success of the Patriots or the inability of that 1998 Vikings team to get it done despite the plethora of offensive talent. One team had balance, the other did not.

The Ravens 2000 squad was the exception to the rule and unfortunately the team has tried to emulate that rather obsolete model for far too long.

Don’t tip the scales,

I TOLD YOU SO…

TL,

There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm over the impending deal to be made with Steve McNair. Maybe it was just me, and maybe I’m way in the minority here but I have never been impressed with McNair. The year he won the CO-MVP he had an outstanding team around him, with good blocking, great defense and he was mobile. Frankly, I think his arm motion for throwing is slightly unusual, I believe he has always had a weak throwing arm and I believe with him behind our current offensive line spells disaster.

Oh, and did you hear the reporter from the Nashville paper? He said it is not a big secret that McNair has a reputation for not preparing well for games, he doesn’t like to do film work, he relied mostly on his athletic ability in his younger years and caused a lot of team turmoil by refusing to practice during the week last year and showing up on Sunday’s to play.

I don’t see that playing well here in Baltimore. With McNair or without McNair, this team is heading for a huge cap purge in 2007 any way you slice it. In 2007, we say goodbye to a lot of all time Raven favorites including R. Lewis, J Lewis, Mulitalo, Flynn, McAlister, Rolle, Ricard, Vincent and very possibly T Pryce, K Gregg and any number of other fill ins including M. Anderson, D Edwards, Aubrayo Franklin,Musa Smith and Clarence Moore who may not make this year’s team or Darling either.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope McNair has two good seasons left and the OL clicks with the continuity but I have to say, IM VERY PESSIMISTIC.

Tony, I cut and pasted this email I sent from June. The point I made then seems to be materializing – bad Offensive Line and a weak throwing arm. I remain optimistic because if Jamal can have a big year, it will loosen up the passing some. I hope what I witnessed against Minnesota was just a good rushing defensive team. I know it was JO’s first action, but I have never seen him look so out of place. Tony Pashos is worthless. I keep hearing how he is a mawler, how tough he is etc., etc. All I saw was him taking three steps backward, getting faked by the defensive end and then whiffing on his pass block, MORE THAN ONCE.

You want to know the worst thing though? The players that back up Pashos and JO. Rob Droege and Mike Kracalik? Are you kidding me? Have they given any thoughts to training Adam Terry to play right end? How hard can that be? I say, the Ravens better be watching the cut wires very closely for another Offensive Tackle or we are SOL big time.

Mark, Hunt Valley MD

Mark,

I think it’s too early to draw any conclusions. Let’s see what happens on September 10 yet I admit, there are reasons to be concerned with the offensive line. One of the things that I’ve pointed out in the past and you touch on here is not just the lack of first rate talent on the offensive line, there’s also a frightening lack of depth. Droege and Kracalik are camp fodder – bodies to absorb reps. But if J.O. gets hurt and Pashos continues to falter, the Ravens might have to go to a three tight end base formation.

Hey, maybe they can lure 10 into the box and heave the ball up to one of the WR’s in single coverage?

The Ravens have a lot going for them but if they fail to block effectively, this year will look a lot like last year and as a result, my optimism (that inspired predictions of 10-6 to 11-5) is now guarded. I believe the first game in Tampa will tell us a bunch.

Got corn?

It’s a buccaneer,

SALTY DOG A DEAD DOG?

TL,

Please make sure you publicly ban this OC joint:

http://www.buxyssaltydog.com.

John Krizen

John,

Ever since I was 4 years old, I’ve been going to Ocean City and that makes it a home away from home for me. Therefore, I feel a bit territorial about the town and I too was initially a bit taken back by the Salty Dog. But then I thought about it…the place I’m told is owned by someone from Pittsburgh and OC has become a destination resort for folks throughout the Mid-Atlantic.

So the way I look at it, there are Ravens bars like The Blue Ox on 127^th with their way cool neon ice bar that will get my business but as long as the Salty Dog is owned by a Pittsburgh native, it’s no big deal to me. It might hurt worse if the bar was owned by a Maryland native who is just a sell out.

Sounds like a bar in Canton I know of…

Rave on,

HERE’S HOW I SEE IT

Tony,

A few observations and opinions after watching the Redskins game:

1–Whoever is saying Mike Smith is on the "bubble" isn’t watching his on field performance. I believe our defense is better now when he plays than when Ray plays. He hustles just like Ray, but he doesn’t miss as many tackles as Ray. Also, he is now making more "big plays" than Ray.

2–The competition for who should be our number 3 wide receiver is a no brainer. Demetrius Williams may be the most explosive receiver our franchise has ever had. His YAC, even though not against Washington first string players, was spectacular. Mark Clayton supposedly has this same type of ability for YAC, but so far he hasn’t shown it like Williams did last night.

3–If a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, we desperately need to find a replacement for Tony Pashos. He cannot play at a satisfactory NFL level, especially on pass blocking, and the sooner Ozzie accepts this fact and corrects it, the better our playoff chances become. Hopefully this will happen before he gets McNair killed on one of his missed blocks.

4–Haloti Ngata is still getting off the snap much too slowly. This puts him at a big disadvantage on running plays. It makes it relatively easy for offensive linemen to successfully block him. Also, he is not getting any significant pressure on opposing QB’s on passing plays. Hopefully all of these problems will rapidly improve, but, if not, we are better off right now with a more experienced player at that position. At this point, Ngata is a non-factor on the D Line, and we can’t afford to continue like that indefinitely.

5–I like what I see of Drew Olson more than Brian St. Pierre. With St. Pierre’s 3 years of experience, you should expect to see better results. Last night it looked like a toss up between the 2 of them. With Olson being just a rookie, to me that is not encouraging for St. Pierre.

6–God bless Kyle Boller. He keeps hanging in there, and tries to make plays. I realize he has not been playing against the other teams’ first string players, but, to me, he looks a lot better than he has in the past. Maybe there’s still hope he can become the player the Ravens’ drafted him to be.

Steve from Lutherville

Steve,

I’ll address your note point by point:

By now you know that our mutual respect for Smith has been rewarded – he’s on the final 53 man roster.
I’m not sure there is a clear No. 3 given the varying skills that Williams, Darling and Moore provide. I have been a fan of Williams’ from the day he arrived. If you check my Rookie Camp Notes, you will see that I’ve admired his ability to adjust to poorly thrown balls since he donned the purple jersey. He would be my choice for the No. 3 WR but the competition for snaps should play to the Ravens advantage. It’s a good problem.
I find it hard to believe that a second round pick in his second season can’t be better than Pashos and if he’s not, then he’s a bust. Of course I’m speaking of Adam Terry. If they could somehow put Pashos heart in Terry’s body, then we might have something. Either Pashos better become more mobile or the Ravens are going to have to chip his man with a tight end which takes away a receiving option. Unless of course someone feeds Terry some grouchy pills and he can take his intensity level up a few notches.
I agree. He’s a catcher and doesn’t get off the ball fast enough to shed blocks. That is surprising given the quickness he’s shown in practice. Ngata might be thinking a bit too much. He just needs to play.
Neither has shown me much in practice. Both were released but by the time you read this one might be re-signed to the practice squad.
This might be easier said than done, but maybe the Ravens and Kyle Boller can look at 2006 as his rookie season. Let’s face it, when Boller came out of Cal, he was nowhere near the polished NFL ready product that Carson Palmer was. Even today, his polish wouldn’t equal that of Palmer as a rookie. Yet Palmer experienced the apprenticeship not afforded to Boller during their rookie seasons. Maybe this year is the overdue apprenticeship that Boller needs and maybe that eventually enables him to be the QB that many in the Ravens organization expect him to be.

Ok, I’m done….next,

RAVENS ARE JUST OK

Hey Tony,

Wanted to write this down before I read the real truth in your column.

The trouble with preseason is that people look at singular events to gauge how they ought to feel about the Ravens. After McNair’s drive in the first game, you wanted to feel that we’re playoff bound. After the botched field goal attempt against the Eagles and the debacle in Minnesota you could be convinced we suck. This morning after we get some penalty help and the first team scores a TD, some are willing to say all is well again.

Here’s what I think.

I think we are still last year’s team from a coaching and performance standpoint; better from a potential standpoint of course (I think when BB is gone we’ll be an excellent team after a few years). The OL is just not good. Maybe they will be later in the season, if they put the new guys in and they have a few games, but not now. The big problem associated with this, of course, is that you know the clock is ticking before McNair gets hurt. When that happens, all hope dwindles.

We’re first rate in the secondary as long as our starters stay in, but if we get some injuries, teams will throw on us.

The biggest problem (in my view) is that we just aren’t prepared for games — no different than last year. I’ll be proved a liar if we fire out of the gate and win in TB, but until then (and I know I sound like a broken record) I can’t get the Detroit game out of my mind, the on the road losing streak, the Philly field goal fiasco, or Rick’s column from last week. Nothing’s changed from the coaching standpoint.

You know the team and the fundamentals far better than I; all I can really do is just rely on my general sense of the team. This just doesn’t "feel" like a strong team, does it? We’re not bad, particularly on defense, we’re just not real good. I haven’t seen anything to think we’ll be better than the 8-8 I thought in March.

Bill from Northeast

Bill,

First just to let you know, I’m not going to do a traditional recap of the Ravens v. Redskins. To borrow from your not so favorite coach, “It is what it is.” And what that game was outside of the first drive was a mop up act intended not to show much or to get anyone hurt. What I’ll do instead is to recap training camp and the preseason games in their totality to see what we’ve learned and how it shapes up heading into Tampa.

As to your points, it’s hard to find fault in your logic and your concerns are legitimate. A thin secondary is not uncommon in the NFL. If the Ravens can pressure the quarterback without blitzing incessantly, I think they can overcome an injury or two in the secondary.

As for the O-Line, they just don’t match up well against stout defensive lines like Tampa’s and if they can’t establish the running game early, it could be a long day for the Ravens.

The key to the Ravens season in my opinion is to keep the offensive line out of third and long situations so that means productivity on first and second down. And if they can execute the screen the way they did against the Eagles, that might help too…

Here’s to second and 5,

THE HEIR APPARENT?

TL,

Wow!

Your story on Mike Smith; was outstanding! I was really moved by the story; it’s a great story. Whenever I hear Mike Smith’s name called and Musa Smith’s name called I am going to stand up applaud. It’s another Rudy type story!

Thanks it made me smile.

Kevin B. Armentrout

Kevin,

Thanks very much…I’m glad you enjoyed the piece entitled “Looking Beyond 52.”

Mike’s story is a great one and if you are a life long or long-time Baltimorean, you know that his story is one that we in the Land of Pleasant Living are all too happy to embrace. We see ourselves as underdogs and Mike, Musa and Rudy are all that. It will be fun to watch both Smiths this season.

Forget keeping up with the Joneses…how about the Smiths,

D-WILL PROVIDES A THRILL

Hey Tony,

After watching the game Thursday I came away with two things: One the Skins are terrible so let’s not get too excited quite yet. The second is, do we have to put up with these Rave TV broadcasters for every game this season?

Listening to the radio broadcast is great and would be a simple solution, however it never seems to sync up to the TV visual, forcing us to listen to probably the worst broadcast team in sports history. I remember the second quarter being particularly poor and wondering how these guys get paid for this. Last time I checked number 87 Williams was not in his forth year, acquiring Ashley Lelie is not going to benefit Baltimore (I assume they meant Atlanta here), and the best was the tangent they went on about leaving Todd Heap in the game in the second quarter of the final preseason game, when it was clearly Quinn Sypniewski who made the catch (an idiotic ramble that lasted through the entire next play).

I figured I should vent to someone who has a platform, take it to the streets brother. As they say in the Big Lebowski "This aggression will not stand."

Sincerely,

Scott Hollander

Scott,

No worries…Dick Stockton (who I agree is awful) will not be doing Ravens’ games, at least on a regular basis. The Ravens hire a preseason TV announcing crew who usually are part of the big networks. Stockton, Moose and Goose often work together for Fox during the season. Hopefully the Ravens will move in a different direction next year.

The Ravens as you probably know are normally shown by CBS. As a rule of thumb, the better the Ravens play this season, the better the broadcasting crew and perhaps more importantly, the better the officiating crew.

As for the game, tough to judge the preseason but the Redskins certainly look like they will struggle offensively in 2006, at least early on. Brunell looks like he’s done and Portis’ injury could be an issue all year.

Now if they can win in Tampa, THAT would be something to get excited about.

What’s the frequency Kenneth…er Scotty,

Tony Lombardi

Tony is the founder of EutawStreetReport.com and RussellStreetReport.com. His work has been featured on various websites and he hosts The Front Office and Word on The Street podcasts. Among his favorite things in life are his wife, kids, grandbaby Elise, family, friends, My Single Friend on Facebook, The Spirit of Christmas, The Beatles, Breaking Bad, Shawshank Redemption, Gladiator, The Godfather, Guinness, bourbon, meatballs and Key West, not necessarily in that order. Brussel sprouts, bacon and milk chocolate are highly overrated. Follow Tony on Twitter @RSRLombardi. I'm nicer in person than I am on X!