Mike Preston at the Baltimore Sun is every Ravens fan's favorite punching bag. Lord knows I've railed on him before, maybe not here on Blogimore Ravens (though probably I have) but definitely in private. That said, I like the guy. Not always what he says. But I like how he does his job.
Some of what Preston wrote today, though, was ridiculous.
Garrett spent most of the day interviewing with top Ravens officials about their vacant head coaching position and walked away from their offer, one of the most coveted jobs in professional sports.
What makes the job so coveted? Because the owner wants to win? With the exception of a small handful of owners, exactly which owners don't want to win? Bisciotti is a rookie owner who for all we know could turn out to be a meddling disaster like Angelos. It's too soon to tell.
The team has been mostly competitive since its existence, largely because of Ray Lewis and his defense. Ozzie drafted that talent, but what about on the offensive side of the ball? Ozzie also drafted those guys. He ostensibly thought it was a good idea to sacrifice a first-round draft pick and trade up for Boller.
The job is a good job, maybe even a great one, but to say it's "one of the most coveted jobs in all of professional sports" is wrong. Few are drooling over the opportunity to come to Baltimore and take over a franchise with an aging defense and a stagnant offense, the latter of which the new head coach will be expected to turn around completely. If he doesn't, he will be considered a failure. The most challenging job in all of professional sports, maybe; one of the most coveted, probably not.
The Ravens have older players on defense, no long-term solution at quarterback and a grumpy set of veterans with big egos. Their best player, linebacker Terrell Suggs, is unsigned.
God help us if Sizzle is our best player. Dude all but disappeared as soon as Trevor Pryce broke his hand or wrist or whatever it was. He's a great player, but the Ravens should let Suggs walk.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Picking on Preston
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4 comments:
Dewey,
I actually made a point to post a comment on his "column" on the Sun's web page. It was the laziest "phone-it-in" piece of journalism I have seen in a long time, and from a guy who, whether or not you agree with him, always seems pretty informed. He didn't offer any real ideas or facts, just half-assed conjectures. And the part about sizzle being the best player was really what did it for me. Does he even HAVE an editor?
I was really surprised about Sizzle, too. I figured Preston would bash the guy after his disappearing act this year.
Suggs needs a scheme: he's a natural pass rusher, but not the top-end kind like Merriman.
I think Baltimore says they know but doesn't actually know how much room for error this process brings. WE ARE STARTING FROM TOTAL SCRATCH. Next year, whoever coaches this team is going to have to hire ALL of their own assistants, set up new schemes for defense and offense (since I hardly think Rex Ryan will stick around if he's not hired as head coach) and earn the player's respect. It's a lot to ask of someone, especially a first-timer. Also, Bisciotti expects this team to be good NOW. Do you really think that will happen if everything is all new under a new head coach and coordinators?
Maybe the job isn't so great after all, folks.
It was Billick who wanted Ozzie to trade up for Boller. That said, Ozzie did go along with it, but Ozzie was a Leftwich guy, remember? And I wopuldn't let T-Sizzle walk. He's not our best player, but he is a monster. You dont drop a guy after one subpar year (especially when you can tag him as a franchise player
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