Sun columnist discusses the Ravens' loss to the Browns
Nick, North East: I guess we can look forward to a nice Boller-bashing article from you, huh? Nothing to write about for two weeks now you must be ready to let it rip. Hope you at least recognize his good play the last two weeks since your articles have been missing when he was playing good, and that you recognize how horrible the offensive line played and how many passes the receivers dropped.
Mike Preston: Ah, Nick, Nick, stop your whining. I know how you feel. Now imagine how Brian Billick has felt the last three seasons. You got your pom poms out after the last two games, and started telling everybody that "I told you, I told you, Kyle was the real deal. He just needed some time." And now, you're all depressed because it blew up in your face again and again and again. To be a Boller fan, you have to be a masochist. You like to be tormented and teased because he takes you to the edge, and then BOOM, pulls you back. Ain't that right, Nick? I bet your sitting on the couch with him right now.
Stop making excuses for Boller. Everything has to be perfect for Boller to succeed. No rain, no fog, great pass protection, no dropped passes. Even in the two games he performed well, Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason had to bail him out with catches on passes thrown too high and too hard. He's inaccurate. Let's repeat that: Boller is INACCURATE. The quarterback from Cleveland was under a lot of pressure Sunday. He was getting smacked around. His receivers dropped passes. Guess what? He got it together, stepped up his game and made plays. The Browns won because a rookie was better than Boller, who completed his third season. That fourth quarter pass to Mason down the right sideline, the one that should have been a game-winning touchdown, was an absolute embarrassment. Boller never gave Mason a chance to make a play because it was thrown 10 to 15 yards out of bounds. Hell, he overthrew Jamal Lewis on a five yard pass over the middle on his first pass attempt in the game.
I know Nick, keep waiting, right? Guess what, again? I'll wait for an inheritance, I'll wait for the right woman, I'll wait for the right car but I'm not going to wait for Boller any longer. Get a clue Nick. Billick doesn't want to wait any longer either, which is why he hasn't endorsed Boller as the starter next season. While we have been waiting for Boller, Ray Lewis has gone into isolation, Peter Boulware and Jonathan Ogden have declined, Jamal Lewis doesn't want to play in Baltimore and Chris McAlister has moved from outer space into the next galaxy. The window of opportunity for winning a Super Bowl has closed while we waited for Boller to develop.
And then you have the audacity to suggest I have not written a game column in the past two weeks because Boller has played well. Ah, humbug. The two previous games were on deadline, night games. I had to do the report card Nick (notice Boller got an A+ and B+). There wasn't time to write a column and a report card. So next time, before you challenge my integrity, get the facts right.
One more thing Nick: Have a healthy and happy new year.
Chris, Glen Burnie: I knew it was too good to be true. There was no chance that Kyle Boller could have three good games in a row and the Ravens win three in a row. Does Kyle's performance against the Browns hurt his future more than the past two games helped it?
Mike Preston: If he had played three good games in a row, there would have been a parade downtown. There would have been Boller sightings all over Maryland. His psychologists would be opening more offices in Baltimore because he would be hotter than Dr. Phil. If he had played well against the Browns, more people like Nick would have been coming out of the closet holding rallies in other AFC North cities.
The Ravens know they can't win consistently with Boller against good teams. They know they have to find a starting quarterback somewhere. Boller has yet to prove he can play well over an extended period of time. It's like being a shooter in basketball. If you shoot 30 times a game, sooner or later you're going to hit a couple, or go on a hot streak. But that doesn't mean you're ready for the NBA. The Ravens will try to find a legitimate starting quarterback during the offseason. If the Ravens had a good starting quarterback this season, they would have won nine games instead of six. Boller is just Boller, nothing more, nothing less.
Steve, Greensboro, N.C.: Presto, now that we know 'Compu Coach' is coming back, can you give us your opinion of the peripherals (assistants) and who should stay or go?
