Football Brainiac

CRY ME A RIVER (PT 1)
The Ravens almost pulled the upset Monday night. They looked like a playoff team for about three quarters and then everything fell apart. Senseless penalties like mugging the Patriots wide receivers or picking up the official’s flag and chucking it are the perfect illustration of a team in complete disarray.

I mentioned last week how Brian Billick’s job is in jeopardy and this past week’s game confirms it to me. Not because of the last second time out that gave New England new life, that was understandable. Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan didn’t have the personnel he wanted on the field.

No, Billick’s job is all but gone because he has no control over his players. If you’re in charge of the Baltimore organization, this man has got to go. I have never seen such a lack of discipline on a team. No professionalism. No sportsmanship. This was like witnessing a bunch of 12 year olds in a pick-up game. It was totally immature and completely uncalled for. And it starts with the coach.

The crying didn’t stop after the game, either. In fact, Bart Scott is actually planning on contacting his attorney about demeaning remarks an official said to him! For God’s sake, grow up!

Here are some of the quotes from the Ravens’ locker room Monday night:

“They call defensive pass interference. I don’t understand that. One game it’s called one way, the next game it’s called another way. At the end, you have a phantom call. That’s why it’s hard to play and win a game when you are playing against more than just the best team in the NFL.”
-Derrick Mason

“Everybody is kind of cheering for them to go undefeated and break all the records… It’s kind of the feeling of the 2001 tuck rule. That is the NFL for you, man. When they got a guy like that that is selling a lot of tickets (Brady), you want to keep him selling tickets.”
-Terrell Suggs

“They get a lot of calls… We’ve been watching film on them all week and I mean, they do get a lot of calls. As far as the NFL wanting them to win, you can’t totally not think about it in those terms.”
-Chris McAlister

Baltimore fans: Mark Monday night, December 4, 2007 as the day this team began its final descent. They didn’t go quietly, but it’s official. The Ravens will still be a tough team to beat, but it will be a couple years before they seriously challenge for the AFC North again.

FACING THE MUSIC
In sharp contrast to the Ravens debacle, Carson Palmer and the Bengals were actually good sports after their 24-10 loss to the Steelers last week. It’s the first time I can remember the Bengals not pouting when they lose to Pittsburgh. Instead of making ridiculous comments like, “The better team didn’t win today,” or “We gave them the game, they didn’t win it,” as I’ve heard from this bunch in the past, there was this strange smell in the air over the Bengals locker room. Was that the smell of… humility?

“The defense kept giving us opportunities. I failed to make the adjustments and put more air under the ball in knowing and expecting and thinking (Johnson) would be a little slower in getting out his breaks than normal.”
-Carson Palmer

“The difference came down to some poise moments and critical moments when we had an opportunity in the first half… I thought the Steelers were better than us on third down in the first half.”
-Marvin Lewis

Aside from Chad Johnson’s antics, perhaps this team has finally begun maturing. Taking responsibility for your actions on the field is what makes you a winner. They may not be in the playoffs this year, but if they keep up that kind of attitude, Cincy may actually be a legitimate contender.

CRY ME A RIVER (PT 2)
From crying to humility and now back to crying!
The Browns loss to Arizona was a mistake-filled blunder of a game. I’ll give Cleveland this much: even with all their mistakes and turnovers, they were in it till the end. That’s saying something, I guess.

Speaking of saying something, the Cleveland media has been boo-hoo-ing about this one. The players haven’t said too much, but the local sports writers are ripping apart the non-forceout ruling on the field.

“The Browns have every right to be hot under the horse collar about the call, or nocall. They have every right to want to know why Larrew, or someone else on the crew, did not rule a forceout, which would have been a touchdown. The Browns’ case is simple: Given Winslow’s body position and momentum at the time of the catch, he would have had the opportunity to get both feet in bounds if he had not been shoved by Celestin.”
-Dennis Manoloff

Funny that nobody in Cleveland was saying this last year when they upset the Jets at home. The exact same scenario took place there at the end of that game as well. Thankfully, though, some of the more level-headed Browns fans have accepted this defeat. On Ace Davis’ Cleveland Browns Blog, Davis says,

“Winslow’s fine catch on the last play could’ve been called a force out, but for whatever reason, the officials very, very rarely make that call. Last year against the Jets, the Browns won on just such a critical no-call, as Brodney Pool knocked tight end Chris Baker out of bounds in the end zone to save a 20-13 win.”

Absolutely right Ace! By the way, when is the NFL going to get rid of the forceout rule? This has got to be one of the more asinine rules out there. How can you make a call judging by what a player would have done had conditions been different? Too much speculation.

What do you think about Billick? Should he really go? Has Cincy finally learned to be good sports? Do you like the forceout rule?