i would love to see trembley fired

I can't wait for Part 3, when you reprint the acknowledgements at the end of the book.

Pete
So what new Yankee accomplishment are we in store for tonight here in the Maryland Bronx? Arod or Tex hit for the cycle? They score 35 runs? Break a record for fan attendance? Also are we really having Cesar Izturus t-shirt night? Those things are going to end up being used as a rag to clean up Yankee fan memorabilia, in some landfill or a temporary sweat rag.

Cesar Izturus t-shirt night…. From the brilliant minds that created the Melvin Mora Koji Uehaha and Jamie Walker T-shirt night.

Hi Pete,

Don't tease us, but how many times does Brian use the terms "physicality" and "it is what it is" in his book?

What did you think about the the Jim Thome trade from the White Sox to the Dodgers?

That's a diplomatic take on the Boller situation, so kudos. I seem to remember that draft showing the strains of the front office and Brian Billick. The thought was that the Ravens were hoping to get Byron Leftwich, but that whole Minnesota-late-to-the-podium issue came into play. We get Terrell Suggs instead of Leftwich, so not much to complain about. But there were different philosophies in that draft, which I thought were split down the Ozzie/Billick line.

That's the story I want to read, 2003 NFL draft day inside the Ravens' war room.

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Pete's reply: Actually, he does give an account of the Leftwich situation in the war room, but I think that already had been written in John Feinstein's book.

billick is a class act. i wish the super bowl winning coach all the best.

We put too much on Billick for not developing a quarterback. He is not the GM, Ozzie is. Ozzie's responsibility is to give him the best players he can win with. Not only did not Ozzie give him a good quarterback, but also failed and continues to fail to give us good wide receivers. Imagine the domination of a Ravens franchise if we had half the offense the Colts and the Pats have enjoyed for years. Ray Lewis' defenses should have had at least 3 superbowls.

Along with physicality, how many times does Billick say, "when you have an Ed Reed" or "someone like a Jonathan Ogden"... Its you do have Ed Reed on defense. He wears number 20 and covers 1/3 of the Earth.

That got so bad that fans talk that way now in Baltimore. Not that guy, someone like him. The O's need "a Derek Jeter" to lead them or a big bat "like an Albert Pujols". Why can't we sign "a Randy Johnson" in his prime? or trade for "an Adrian Gonzales". They are people, not charateristics.

ugh... bugged the heck out of me...

Sherrill blew a save last night!

I love Billick, but I was under the impression that owners own, players play, coaches coach, and writers write. I guess ex-coaches can write as well.

One big difference between Boller and Flacco's first season is that Billick didn't put a premium on protecting Boller. Boller was getting sacked, knocked down and beat up every game, which certainly harmed his development. Harbaugh, on the other hand, made the protection of Flacco a priority, and, as a result he had time to gain confidence and experience in the pocket. At least in the respect, I think Billick shares some blame for Boller's slow development. Injuries also played a role.

Tim,

Jonathon Ogden said on WBAL recently that one of the problems in protecting Boller was that his drops were inconsistent and and sometimes it was hard too figure out where he was or where he was going.

But, Gil, that too is a coaching problem -- who was the quarterback coach then? Neuheisel? I'm not claiming that Boller would have been a front line quarterback with better protection, just that he would have had better chance. Personally, I was amazed that he got back up after some of those hits, and amazed the Billick let it happen.

Does Billick also explain why the Ravens failed to develop a corps of receivers who could actually catch a forward pass. Does Billick take responsibility for the vanilla offensive game plans his Ravens' teams had. Does Billick explain how the addition of one player (Flacco) could change overnight the offense.

Billick is quite a self-promoting salesman. Buy his book to find out how to bs like a pro.

George,

You can't teach talent. You either have it or you don't. What receivers? Did Ozzie give him any receivers? McNair too changed the offense overnight, but I don't see you giving Billick kudos for that. And it was a smart move for Billick to notice that the wheels were coming off, firing his offensive coordinator and running a good and efficient offense. Bill Bellicheck would not be the genius he is without Tom Brady. Tony Dungy does not win a superbowl if it weren't for Payton Manning.

A-Rod gives anti-steroid talk to Baltimore students

Its good to see the hometown star give back to the community. :)

Tim,

There is no question that Kyle Boller took some of then ugliest hits I ever saw. I still question the effort from the offensive line on the savage hit he took against Minnesota in the exhibition season last year that put him on the I.R. I am not a Boller basher per se. I think he was and is a very nice young man.

There are many reasons why he never developed into the franchise quarterback here in Baltimore. Personally I think the Ravens panicked after not getting Leftwhich and drafted him way too high.

He was only a 50% passer in College and his mechanics were so poor that even in his senior year his coach used to strap his left arm to his body in practice. His delivery was inconsistent like a pitcher unable to repeat the same motion. Those issues affected his accuracy which varied from throw to throw.

He was not a completed product and the Ravens and Billick erred starting him from the first day. Things may have been different if he had been allowed to carry a clipboard and wear a sun visor for his first few years, but we will never know. From a maturity standpoint, the difference between Boller as a rookie and Joe Flacco is stark.

I wish Kyle Boller all the luck in the world with the Rams. He never had a chance here the way he was handled from the start.

I would love to see Mike Preston fired

How can a QB develop pocket presence when he almost never had a pocket? The Ravens had terrible pass protection during Boller's tenure - the focus was run blocking (Harbaugh and Cameron recognized this, which was why they kept in an extra blocker to protect Flaccco.) Despite this, Boller improved a bit every season. All he needs is decent protection; unfortunately, St. Louis also doesn't have a very good line.)

Nobody denies that picking a franchise QB is a 50-50 proposition. That's a cop-out. The problem with Billick is that he wasted a half decade of the BEST defense ever while clinging to a QB who had demonstrated out of the gate that he would never be an NFL star. Anyone who watched Boller on a weekly basis and knew anything about football knew that we were wasting our time waiting for Boller to develop the "IT" that he will never have. That's why we tired of Billick. Because his head was so damned hard that he would never admit his mistake and change course.

To all of you Kyle Boller apologists that blame lack of protection, targets, nice guy, blah blah blah - he never was, and never will be - an NFL starting quarterback. That was made apparent when the Ravens took Flacco (nice pick, Ozzie) who showed improvemnent, not from year to year, like when we waited for Kyle, but GAME to GAME. 'Nuff said.

Only one QB under Billick's watch did better after being a Raven than he was as a Raven, and even that is stretching it.

The one QB was Chris Redman, and that was for five games many years later.

In the cases of the also-rans, they did better as a Raven than before they were a Raven. Only older veterans like McNair, Cunningham, Blake and Grbac have an argument for being better before. McNair and Cunningham had a full career before coming to Baltimore. Blake was a one-trick pony, and Grbac did better than most are smart enough to recognize as he had absolutely no running game.

I won't defend Boller beyond he was far classier than the bozos who cheered his injury and tougher that those who booed him between gulps of Budweiser or some other dishwater that markets itself as beer. The plain facts on Baltimore QBs is Billick did as well with as little as he could ... and no one did better.

Flacco being better than Boller is not an argument about Billick. I'm sure bloggers will disagree. Heck, I just gone done reading people bashing Markakis for winning the Clemente Award. Sheesh.

The orioles have a problem that is much bigger than a willingness to pay for talent. with 13 losing seasons in a row, lets just say they don't stand much of a chance at attracting the type of competitive top end players that they really need. Baseball is a team sport, it takes more than one or 2 players with extreme abilities to win consistently. I know the front office likes the "we grow our own" approach, and the minor league program has some up and coming heros...but veteran players with real talent are a must..and I don't know anyone who plays competitive sports that doesn't want a chance at a championship. The Orioles are on a slippery slope. They can entice veteran talent, they can't put wins on the board, they soon will be unable to entice fans to the games, which impacts the bottom line, affecting every aspect of their organization including the farm teams they are trying to grow...

Eventually they can remove the ticket booths and just put in a guest book...I think we have passed the point of no return. Sure try new management, start in the front office and work toward the ownership..

Waspman is correct and I will take it a step further: name a wideout that performed better after leaving Billick. Stokely rarely played due to injury, but when he did play for us, he was productive. Quadry Ismail's best years were in Baltimore. Travis Taylor, a first round draft pick failed in Minnesota and Oakland and I am not sure if he is on a roster. Patrick Johnson was a bust here and a bust everywhere else he went as was Randy Hynes. The point is that Billick had little talent at the offensive skill positions yet he won a Super Bowl. Yet somehow he is vilified. It defies logic, but I guess if a coach wants to be liked in this town he has to eschew "big words" and put on t-shirts that his owner orders him to wear. Oh yeah, he also has to dress up in a blue collar work shirt so we can identify with him.