Brian Billick should be fired

Billick's poor play calling
By the time Willis McGahee got his third carry during today's 27-13 loss to the Browns, Cleveland had already scored two touchdowns. Brian Billick refused again to call McGahee's number early and often, instead relying on an injured Steve McNair and a suspect air attack.

Billick has never been good with clock management, and ever since he found Willis McGahee in his offseason stocking, he has lost his ability to call a good game, too. The Ravens need to run the ball and play defense.

Today, McNair had 53 pass attempts. Fifty-three!

Billick couldn't even challenge a play without screwing up. The Ravens kept Jamal out of the end zone but unfortunately Billick kept the red flag in his pocket too long. Touchdown, Jamal.

McNair or Boller?
Some say Kyle Boller should be the full-time starter, and I'm not sure I would disagree. I definitely think he should have played today. McNair looked uncomfortable. But for Billick to put Boller in the lineup at halftime or later would be to admit that he was wrong, something that Billick is not capable of doing.

Yeah, McNair engineered a nice touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter, but you can't wait until the end of the game to make things happen, especially when you're down by three touchdowns. Even if it is the Browns.

Short-term issues
As suspected, the Ravens' secondary today was Swiss cheese. Fortunately, the problems with the secondary will be alleviated with the return of Trevor Pryce, who will strengthen the pass rush and take some pressure off the defensive backs.

Long-term issues
The bad news is, though, that the Ravens' biggest problem almost certainly won't be addressed until the off-season, and even then there is no guarantee. I'm talking about Brian Billick, who has an ego that wouldn't fit inside of an NFL helmet (or "hat" if you're a sucker for this year's trendy network language).

Not everything is Billick's fault -- the defense is aging; injuries, blah blah blah -- but Billick runs the ship, and he is running it into the ground.

Billick takes too many chances when he shouldn't (throwing the ball early and often) and not enough when he should (4th and short in the red zone). As a result, the Baltimore Ravens are 2-2 after what should have been the team's easiest four-game stretch.

All of which brings me to my point...

Fire Brian Billick
It has been a great nine years, but the time has come for Billick to go.

Give defensive coordinator Rex Ryan the job instead of letting another talented assistant walk (Marvin Lewis, Jack Del Rio, Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary).

Might I be overacting? Sure. Am I in denial about Baltimore's aging defense? Probably. Should I sleep on it before calling for Billick's head? Maybe.

But that's the beauty of the blogosphere: Half of you will agree and the other half will disagree, but three weeks from now 90 percent of you will forget.