From ESPN Page 2

Chipshot's got a point. While Cavanaugh wasn't exactly lightning in a bottle, the only O they've ever had in Baltimore under Billick is by the run. They've never had good receivers (and never got anything out of the ones they spent on), they've never had above average QBs there, they've never had anything incredible on O other than Odgen for a time and Jamal Lewis.

That said, I really liked Billick, despite the ego, and wouldn't bother saying this if I weren't so perplexed at his offense's complete lack of explosion without a bigtime running game. I mean, I'd really hate to credit Denny Green for that O in Minn.

Plus, I do remember Billick personally working with Boller in private workouts, so it's hard in my mind to credit/blame Newsome one way or the other, while I really like Billick I'd lay the blame on him if Boller busts. They say that Fassel and Billick are at each other's heads, over Boller, and I doubt Neuheisel is helping, either. I wanted to see Boller do well, and he finished allright down the stretch last year I guess.

 

It's Thelt's turn. Sorry, Thelt.

 

I think a lot of people are there already. Personaly.... I think the writing is on the wall, but I am willing to give him another little bit since this is the first year he's had a decent WR and last year his TE was hurt.

By a little bit I am thinking that by week 5 or 6 assuming he is playing by week 3, he should be showing big improvements.

 

I think he's done in Baltimore. They've got him throwing with a lot more arc, and a lot less velocity, in the few minutes I saw him. That was never his strength. Arm strength, deep ball, velocity were his strengths. Take that away and he's just a QB without the developed skills reading defenses, throwing short. That's Weinke.

 

I already noted that they were below average in the running game (and the passing game) before he arrived, but that they have been at least average and usually above that in the run game every season he's been there (despite injuries to Lewis). Billick apparently decided (rightly) that a ball control offense is better paired with his dominating defense than an offense that tries to force the ball through the air. It's fine to say that Billick hasn't done enough, but saying he "might be the worst offensive coach in the history of the NFL" shows a startling degree of ignorance.

Newsome was there too, and he's the one who makes personnel decisions, not Billick. I think Newsome has been awesome, but it irritates me when someone like Whitlock praises Newsome to high heavens about all the things he did get right, but blames the failures on someone else. There are plenty of pre-draft articles where Newsome praised Boller (and Leftwich).


But as previously noted, everyone should have seen the Boller bust coming. His accuracy at Cal was piss poor, he didn't show the ability to read defenses, and he flew up draft charts on the basis of his workouts.

 

This thread isn't about answering YOUR questions, dumbfuck.

 

Agreed (Holmes was obviously good there, Taylor now). And agreed that maybe he likes that style of ball. If so, great. I like it. But the passing offense has always underachieved - not sorta underachieved, or hit some rough spots, always.

And I've never believed that the two are mutually exclusive. I do believe that Billick has the talent to coach a well-above-average passing attack, and I don't believe he's the type of coach to neglect one side (few are).

It's not like Billick hasn't spent on the passing game, either (though his OL acquisitions all are more run-based).

Glad I didn't, and never caught that.

I don't know their relationship. But I'd culled from the Boller workouts that Billick was enamored with him. Granted, they'd both have to like him tons to make him a first, and trade up for him.

It's not like he went up because of 40 times or anything. The grandstanding bullshit of him v/s Leftwich and the "throwing from the knees" stuff was stupid.

It's probably true that Tedford coached away most of his weaknesses. I got enamored with the velocity myself, and the one year I watched him intently, he was accurate.

Still think he's got the talent, but still agree that he's not learned to read a D. When I think of the supposed "feeding the play by hand to Randall Cunningham" stories from Billick, I figured even if Boller was a dunce, Billick would get him to respectability. And whether that was becoming true late in 04 or not (or if it was Fassel's work that got him anywhere near looking efficient), he certainly wasn't there this past week and might never be.

 

No, Brooks just conveniently dropped the ball near the goal line