With a 4-5 record with a tough schedule upcoming and no improvement in the offense for the past 2 weeks, even a switch to Kyle Boller won’t change a thing. The logical thing to do is to pack it up for the season and look towards next. I know the players will have none of it, especially on defense, but realistically, there is no way to save this season. We aren’t a playoff team at all. The offense is so bad, it’s more worse than previous seasons despite more player talent. We also are in salary cap trouble after this season so the window has closed to win with the current roster. So how do we fix this? Well, here’s my extravagant solution that won’t but should happen.

1. See what Kyle Boller (and maybe even Troy Smith) can do. I don’t think Boller or Smith will show that they can make this offense any better but it’s worth a shot. McNair is playing like a fan that was pulled out of the stands to make an emergency start. He can’t hold onto the ball and can’t/won’t throw it beyond 10 yards. Boller will show his usual flashes but he won’t look like a franchise QB. Smith might show some stuff from the Ohio State days but I highly doubt he’s the QB of the future.
2. Fire Brian Billick. Sure, he did well last season. But his coaching ability has severely regressed this year. I doubt he is willing to give up his offensive coordinator duties. If he does, I would still fire him. His stubbornness this season has cost the Ravens a lot of winning opportunities. Everything he tries simply fails.

3. Promote Rex Ryan to head coach. Let’s face it. Defense is the heart of this team. It’s time a defensive coordinator head coached this team. The so-called “offensive genius” obviously did not work. If defense is the identity of this team, then it really is time to go to a defensive coordinator as head coach. A run first offense doesn’t hire Mike Martz to be their offensive coordinator so why have we stuck with an offensive head coach for so long when defense has been why we win games?

4. Hire a real offensive coordinator. There are plenty of better offensive playcallers than Brian Billick. Hell, a defensive coordinator could call better offensive plays than Billick. If I were Newsome, I would look to get one from the college ranks instead of looking for a positions coach.

5. Promote a positions coach to defensive coordinator or hire Ron Rivera. Ron Rivera could be a HEAD COACH candidate but right now he’s LB coach for the Chargers. Look at the Bears D last year and look at it this year. Rivera knows his D and would be the perfect successor to Ryan. An interesting perspective may be Rex hiring his brother who currently coaches at Oakland. But any of the positions coaches right now are fully capable of being the D coordinator.

6. Cut dead salaries. Steve McNair, Samari Rolle, Jon Ogden (let him retire), Trevor Pryce (a bit costly), Mike Anderson, Jarret Johnson, and Derrick Mason. None of them are BAD players (except for McNair) but none are worth the roster spot because younger guys are more than ready to take over.

7. Offer the other veterans the option for a trade, release, or the option to stay. This is more for just Ray Lewis but it can apply to other vets. It may be time that the defense is built around someone other than Ray Lewis. I know Ray wants to win but that simply won’t happen in the next few years. I really can’t imagine a defense without him there but it’s time to let him move on. Make the team nucleus be Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed, Bart Scott, Willis McGahee, Todd Heap, and Mark Clayton.
7. Don’t spend in FA. This might sound absurd to a lot of you but we’re not one player away from winning unless that player is Derek Anderson who would cost us draft picks anyway. No quarterback on the market is worth paying good money for. Culpepper could be given a shot but I can’t see him doing any better than what he’s done in Oakland. We don’t need offensive or defensive starters.

8. Draft a top QB prospect. Top QB prospect does not mean use the 1st round pick on one. It means one of the top 5 prospects. Brian Brohm, Matt Ryan, Andre Woodson, Colt Brennan, and Chad Henne would be my top 5 in that order. Brohm and Brennan may be system QBs but they have shown the ability to be true quarterbacks with a complete passing game.
9. Draft a WR, DE, CB. None of these have to be immediate starters. Just 3rd stringers that can contribute and start for the future. Although spending a 1st round pick on one would be smart too.

Have fun ripping this apart or give me your thoughts. There obviously needs to be a complete reverse ship in the direction the franchise is going. The old players just aren’t getting it done anymore. A top 10 pick looks a lot more likely than being in any talk for the playoffs. If Newsome does it correctly, and you know he will, this team will be able to contend in 2-3 years. It’s just a matter of whether the franchise is willing. Look at the Cleveland Browns. Drafted Kellen Winslow, Braylon Edwards, and Joe Thomas over years. Now they’re winning games. It won’t take quite that long to rebuild this team but a rebuild is necessary unless we want to continue having a old, mediocre team for 1-2 more years and then turn into the NFL laughingstock like the Dolphins are right now.

Hello Raven Fan’s let’s doing an honest look at our team. We were a super Bowl Contender in the pre season media. Well how fortunes can change. We have an outstanding defense. The offence is pathetic, predictable, and not productive. There are problems with the line, problems with quarterback and the so called Mercedes in the backfield is a Hyundai. On defense the secondary is scary; the look in the eyes of the ravens DB’s last night reminded me of the Iraqi air force after the first gulf war.  See an American warplane any where and the look of sheer and utter Terror. Time for a change the First draft choicer may be ours