Brian Billick - "The probem with Mike Preston is that he pretends he knows football"

[outlander512]

We are in an era where it is popular to criticize media so message boards tend to funnel into that direction. Message boards encourage "easy think" where people are either for or against and discourage nuance of thought. It takes too long to explain nuance and it takes writing skills to create an cogent argument around nuance lol.

There isn't an individual who is watching this season that doesn't see Ray and Ed's decline. Naturally that leads to a conversation around alternatives. That is all Preston said. The false argument about "benching" them is what I refer to as "easy think". Preston never said they should be benched.

I was watching the Xmas Eve Browns game again this morning and anyone who has it on DVR go to around 4 minutes left in the game and watch the Browns on 3rd and 4th down. On 3rd and 5, Ed Reed blitzes (which he still does well - nuance), forces Wallace to throw a quick pass to Hills in which he "dirts" incomplete. Notice that Hillis is wide open for a big gain if Wallace has the composure to set and deliver the pass. Notice that it is Ray's coverage that allows him to be open. On 4th down, the Browns run a similar play but to the other side. Ayanbadajo is on the covereage this time and Wallace gets the ball to Hillis but Ayanbadjo is all over him and takes him out of bounds for no gain. Ravens ball and they go onto win.

The Ravens got lucky in this instance that they were going up against Wallace. That won't be the case after this week if the Ravens advance. If Wallace gets the ball to Hillis on the 3rd down with Ray trailing who knows maybe we are traveling to Pittsburgh this week all banged up and the Steelers are fresh coming off a bye. Its little things like that that go mostly unnoticed but create such a different possible scenario. God forbid if someone takes the time to point that out.

To suggest that this is the wrong time to have this discussion seems equally innane to me. When do we have it? After the Brady completes that same pass that Wallace couldn't and the Ravens lose 21-20? At that point "easy talk" is firing Cam again and missing the point.

I think its more about how he wrote it and some things he said. He was saying how they should be taken off the field in situations but then saying they are still two of the better players at their position. Its a little silly to suggest your best safety on the team should come off the field on any plays unless he is sucking wind or injured. Are they gonna sit Ed down on first down beacause they might run it? Are we gonna put in injured lbs just because Ray Lewis isnt as good as Ray Lewis used to be? Just the concept of the piece was, for lack of a better term, not good.

[Beau Petard]

Galen--
I hear you, and I think you make some very valid points. The issue I have with Preston's overall body of work is that he is all too often quite pedestrian in what he brings to the table, and many of us are starved for something more. If he wants to stir the pot and get paid for it, good for him. IMHO, however, he uses a facade of "knowledgeable and experienced ex-football player" as his raison d'etre in criticizing as he does. Frankly, I do NOT want a homer type giving me perspective, but it has been painfully obvious for way too many seasons that Preston has some type of agenda. It's also obvious from reading his stuff that he has been way too unprofessional in his offerings, as a columnist notwithstanding.

[Captain Silver]

Galen--
I hear you, and I think you make some very valid points. The issue I have with Preston's overall body of work is that he is all too often quite pedestrian in what he brings to the table, and many of us are starved for something more. If he wants to stir the pot and get paid for it, good for him. IMHO, however, he uses a facade of "knowledgeable and experienced ex-football player" as his raison d'etre in criticizing as he does. Frankly, I do NOT want a homer type giving me perspective, but it has been painfully obvious for way too many seasons that Preston has some type of agenda. It's also obvious from reading his stuff that he has been way too unprofessional in his offerings, as a columnist notwithstanding.

Nicely put Beau.

Plus a dick is a dick.

[Beau Petard]

Cap'n--
Thanks. I'll say this, wayyyy back when I started reading/following/then posting on SunSpot, I felt there were a lot of posters who generally offered a boatload more insight than Preston has offered. Coming over to 24x7 has, IMHO, elevated the level of maturity and quality of football chat and analyses (tough to argue that Preston could carry FilmStudy's jock, as the saying goes).

Now this is not to say that Preston has been completely without contribution. It seems he CAN offer some good stuff, but his motor seems to run more on urine than anything else, and to someone who longs for the prose of a John Steadman, or the character of a Charlie Eckman, or the absolute class and insight of a Chuck Thompson,....welp, I tell ya, I'm a'starvin'!

[Galen Sevinne]

Galen--
I hear you, and I think you make some very valid points. The issue I have with Preston's overall body of work is that he is all too often quite pedestrian in what he brings to the table, and many of us are starved for something more. If he wants to stir the pot and get paid for it, good for him. IMHO, however, he uses a facade of "knowledgeable and experienced ex-football player" as his raison d'etre in criticizing as he does. Frankly, I do NOT want a homer type giving me perspective, but it has been painfully obvious for way too many seasons that Preston has some type of agenda. It's also obvious from reading his stuff that he has been way too unprofessional in his offerings, as a columnist notwithstanding.

Who else in Baltimore media brings "something more"? I haven't read any other writer that I can get half way through an article and either start skimming or turn the page. Turn me on to these other writers that aren't "pedestrian". Seriously, I agree that Baltimore is starved for media, list these guys for me.

[Beau Petard]

Galen--
Timing is everything, I should have read your post before I wrote what I just did above.

My apologies for suggesting that there are or are not other local writers who would be better than Preston. I'll offer Kevin Van Valkenberg (sp?) as one who seems to have a pretty good handle on the team, beauty marks, warts and all. Some of the other Sun writers are decent, but I confess that none of the others draws me to search them out since I've moved South. If some of them are posters here, I will readily check them out. Posters like FilmStudy, B-Ravor, shaslers and a few others (Cap'n Ag, for example) have piqued my interest, but I have less time to surf anymore, so I tend to spend less time suffering the "fools" of the news.

What I really have always asked for is a competent, objective, non-agenda writer to give me solid reporting on the team and to offer intelligent critiqueing of their faults and not-over-the-top assessment of their strengths. KVV seems to do that with his "5 (or whatever) Things We Know about the Ravens".

[iggyman555]

listened to cover 2 show with webb (ewbb) and him and leach said they dont read the newspaper but pagano brought in this article to a meeting and basically the whole team disowned preston. they were really mad taht he made it sound like it was a fact and not his opinion that ray and ed should come out in certain situations and they were really pissed that he wrote this piece during the playoffs instead of after.
doubt preston will be getting any inside information from the ravens anytime soon, not a good idea to burn your bridges especially when the ravens are so popular. might be his ticket out of town

[duffybr]

Any Sun writer that has been worth a damn has moved on to a better or national job. Preston has been there for a long time and is the living embodiment of the Peter Principle

[Galen Sevinne]

listened to cover 2 show with webb (ewbb) and him and leach said they dont read the newspaper but pagano brought in this article to a meeting and basically the whole team disowned preston. they were really mad taht he made it sound like it was a fact and not his opinion that ray and ed should come out in certain situations and they were really pissed that he wrote this piece during the playoffs instead of after.
doubt preston will be getting any inside information from the ravens anytime soon, not a good idea to burn your bridges especially when the ravens are so popular. might be his ticket out of town

I wish I had heard the interview. Couple thoughts.

1. The idea that Pagano brought the article in to the team says something. What does it say? It seems to say that there is something important about it as well as something important about Preston. Why important? If the article wasn't important, he wouldn't have brought it in during a playoff run. Why is Preston important? Because if I wrote it, he wouldn't have brought it in. What makes it important and Preston important is up to individual interpretation but the fact that Pagano is using this at this time speaks to its importance.

2. This is what Billick did in 2000. Now I am critical of Billicks whole body of work but I masturbate daily to his 2000 resume. Pagano found something to congeal his defense. He is saying, "Team...this guy has put it out that our leaders...the guys who define us as a decade+ of great defense...are a liability to our success". What a rallying cry. There are dozen of NFL players who owe their reputations to Ray. Guys come to the Ravens to play along side of Ray and Ed. This is Billick's pregame video in Tennessee when they were getting ready to play the Titans in 2000. Its what led to Billicks greatest moment as a coach; his lions den speech. Everyone knows Ray and Ed have lost a step. No one would say it in a public forum which has now reached national attention. Its now been said and Ray, Ed and the rest of the team know, regardless of what one thinks of Preston, that everyone is now watching for them to slip up. I will be curious if it is a storyline leading up to the game on Sunday in national coverage.

3. This whole "timing problem" is about the most idiotic thing about the whole story. The deduction from the "timing issue" is that the premise is true, just said at the wrong time. As much as these guys talk about the rarity of these playoff moments and how they don't come around very often, well then you better damn well be at your best when you are in the heat of the moment. Who cares about what they say in March when the Ravens were one and done. Hindsight is 20/20 and I for one have long checked out by March to give a shit as to why the Ravens blew another opportunity that was ripe for them. Don't go out on a limb in March to tell me that Ray and Ed are finished.

4. I think Preston is feeling the heat from his article. On 105.7 this morning he gave himself a "shovel of wisdom" for writing the article. This is a first for Preston for sure. Don't cave Mike..double down. You know you are right and so does everyone else. Pagano using it speaks to that loud and clearly.

[dscola31]

listened to cover 2 show with webb (ewbb) and him and leach said they dont read the newspaper but pagano brought in this article to a meeting and basically the whole team disowned preston. they were really mad taht he made it sound like it was a fact and not his opinion that ray and ed should come out in certain situations and they were really pissed that he wrote this piece during the playoffs instead of after.
doubt preston will be getting any inside information from the ravens anytime soon, not a good idea to burn your bridges especially when the ravens are so popular. might be his ticket out of town

This is my problem with Preston. He doesn't write his column as if he's giving his opinion. Far too often, he states it like it's fact.

I stopped reading Preston when he was the local reporter for the Sporting News. Everything he wrote had the same juvenile bite as his columns. Yet, the premise of his job was to give a quick synopsis of the team. Very Unprofessional.

[Ravenboy2003]

It's no secret that Billick and Preston were at each other's throats for the last couple years of Billick's tenure. Preston had a couple players going to him and giving him negative information and instead of writing a nice variety of articles, Preston would rehash the same garbage week in and week out.

One could argue that Preston's writing has gotten better since Billick has been out of the picture.