Billick

In the Brian Billick era, questionable play-calling has cost the Ravens games. Chalk up another one to Billick. The play-calling Monday night cost the Ravens in a season-opening 27-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It has to get better, right? The Ravens said they wanted to pick up where they left off last season, and they did. In their final game of the 2006 season, a playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts, quarterback Steve McNair was horrendous and Billick called a poor offensive game.

BRIAN BILLICK feels strongly about two things concerning his coaching counterpart for tonight's game. One, the fact that they both have a Super Bowl ring hardly puts them in the same category. Two, the very idea that the NFL game has passed Joe Gibbs by is "absurd" and "ludicrous." It's hard to argue either point, especially the latter at this very early stage of Gibbs' return. Yet at this stage, Billick and Gibbs are in similar circumstances. Gibbs, by reputation an offensive genius, runs a Redskins team that struggles to move the ball and is falling short of delirious preseason expectations.

Brian Billick attended the Orioles game Saturday. Hung out on Eutaw Street. Mingled with fans. Experienced the energy of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, even in the middle of a disappointing season."

Besides the news items, including the business about the new offensive coordinator not calling plays, a couple of things jumped out from Brian Billick's season-ending news conference Monday. One was the simple declaration that 2007 will be his ninth as the Ravens' coach. We'll pause here for the wisecracks. Nine years, huh? Watching that offense, it feels like 90. Think about it. Billick now has the third-longest tenure in the AFC, behind Jeff Fisher, heading into his 14th season with the Tennessee Titans franchise, and Mike Shanahan, going into his 13th with the Denver Broncos.

Ravens coach Brian Billick is now walking a fine line between his top two quarterbacks, and a mistake here could cause his entire team to fall. Billick replaced injured starter Steve McNair (strained groin) with backup Kyle Boller with 12:02 remaining in Sunday's game and the Ravens leading the Cardinals by 10 points. With the game on the line, Billick stayed with Boller, who helped lead the Ravens to a 26-23 victory as time expired. After the game, McNair said that being replaced surprised him and that he could have played.

So, if Brian Billick is staying - if owner Steve Bisciotti truly believes that keeping him as coach "gives us the best opportunity to win" - then who's going? How many are going? Which Ravens, specifically, have to go? That has to be the deal. There's no other reason to back Billick this way, after the slide the Ravens have taken since the final month of last season. There are a lot of factors present that could have made Billick's future as coach a non-issue. They've flipped their 3-8 start into a 3-1 finish as the season finale approaches.

On many winning NFL teams, the players have respect for the head coach mixed with a tinge of fear.They believe in the coach, but they also worry about living up to his high standards.Brian Billick is already there with the Ravens.He has the players' attention and respect, but he also has them worried about their jobs.That's what the best NFL coaches want these days, edgy circumstances leading to inspired performances.Sure, Billick still has to win to complete the process; nothing turns players off faster than losing, and given the Ravens' recent history, who knows what's going to happen?

The season of great expectations is starting to slip away. That scenario is no stranger to football fans in Baltimore, not in the Brian Billick era. There was the great slide in 2001, the year of the possible repeat as champions. There was the great fade in 2004, when the Ravens lost four of their last six games. And now there is this season, with the Ravens 4-3 and heading into a grueling final nine games. You can't write off the Ravens at this point. That would be silly, especially in the mediocre world of the NFL. But the Ravens haven't come close to fulfilling expectations of being an elite team.

Ravens fullback Justin Green had only a few moments to spare before heading to the running backs meeting room, aka his second home. It is where the rookie spends most of his free time trying to make up for his lack of experience. "The biggest thing is you have to really be mentally able to grasp all of it," said Green, who figures to make his second start of the season tomorrow against the Cincinnati Bengals. "The physical part is going to take care of itself. The more you know, the easier it is to play at the highest level you can. I spend a lot more time in the film room, especially now. I have to head to these meetings.

M&T BANK Stadium is big, but it may not be big enough tomorrow for the robust egos of both Mike Holmgren and Brian Billick. Entertainingly robust egos, we must point out. Both men have Super Bowl rings. Both have Brigham Young/Bill Walsh/Bay Area/quarterback roots and connections. And both have had to stand tall against heavy criticism about their respective decisions to install young, inexperienced quarterbacks as insta-NFL starters. But whereas Billick unceremoniously showed veteran Trent Dilfer the door after the Super Bowl win, Holmgren merely asks Dilfer to stand on the sideline and give the Seahawks a backup quarterback who knows how to manage a game.