What is wrong with Brian Billick?

I picked the Baltimore Ravens to start the season 11-0. After week 1 my profound prediction is down the drain. Don’t blame me, blame Billick. Why did Billick fire one of his best friends, former Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, because he wasn’t getting the job done offensively if Billick can’t do any better?

Here’s my honest opinion of Brian Billick…

Billick has… had (past tense) a reputation of being an offensive genius. From 1992-1998 he was the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. He is the only offensive coordinator who can boast scoring league record 556 points in a season. He actually won the Baltimore Ravens head coaching job because he was thought to be an offensive mastermind. But the truth is that offense would have scored those points regardless of who the coach was. In case you forgot about the Purple People Eaters, they consisted of Randall Cunningham, Chris “all he does is catch touchdowns� Carter, Randy “I play when I wanna� Moss, and Robert “I agree with Tiki’s decision� Smith. Except for Robert Smith you had a future Hall of Famer at every skill position. Fast forward to Baltimore…

Billick’s problem is that he always tries to out-scheme himself instead of simply realizing what he has. In the back of his mind Billick feels he still has to prove to everyone that he was responsible for that insane 1998 offensive explosion not Moss, Carter, Smith, and Cunningham. So Billick tends to go pass happy at the worst possible times… for example:

In 2003, running back Jamal Lewis had a record-setting season for the Baltimore Ravens. Lewis finished with the second highest total rushing yards in NFL history with 2,066 rushing yards including 500 yards against the Cleveland Browns in two games.

Side note: Remember when Jamal Lewis said he was going to break the single game rushing record against the Browns? Then did it? He rushed for 295 yards in one game! He would have had 350 if it wasn’t for a holding call that brought back a 60 touchdown run. If I played for the Browns, I would have tried to break his leg once he reached 200. It’s weird now seeing him in a Browns jersey. I honestly don’t know if I could cheer for him if I was a Cleveland Browns fan. Think about… not only did he run all over your team in 2003, but he was also apart of Art Modell’s team that won the Super Bowl. If there was anyone to hate in the world of Cleveland football other than Modell it would be Jamal Lewis. But now you have to root for him? It just seems odd. I still feel dirty having cheered for Deon Sanders when he played for the Redskins in 2001.

Ok back to the story… The Ravens finished 10-6 in 2003 and hosted the Tennessee Titans in an AFC Wild Card game. For some odd reason Billick decided not to use Jamal Lewis in that playoff game. Lewis only rushed the ball 14 times and gained a measly 35 yards. Let me repeat myself, your running back just had the second highest rushing season in NFL history, you have one of the best defenses of all time, and your only going to run the 14 times in a playoff game? The game was close the entire contest, so there was no need for Billick to go pass crazy to catch up. Billick wanted to show everyone that he was the offense genius of 1998, so he had Anthony Wright throw the ball 37 times versus running the ball with his 2,000 yard running back. Fast forward to this season…

In the Monday Night football game last week the Ravens had first and goal within the 5 yard line with about a minute left to play. The team was down by seven points and desperately needed a touchdown against their division rival Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens traded for star running back Willis McGahee in the off season and gave him a big contract for moments like this. But what did Billick do? Have his back up quarterback throw the ball three straight times ending the game with an interception. Stupid!

On Sunday with three minutes left in their game with the Jets, the Baltimore Ravens were up seven points and had possession. Baltimore again had their back-up quarterback in the game and their new million dollar running back behind the line, what did Billick order? Two passes that were incomplete and a run… 25 seconds off the clock… punt. The Jets were able to march down the field and into the red zone. If it wasn’t for Ray Lewis’ interception the Jets could have taken the game into overtime. Again, why is Billick calling passing plays? Because he wants to prove to everyone that he is an offensive genius and that his boy Boller can walk on water… BRIAN BILLICK, GET YOUR MIND RITE!