| You’ve got to like the increasingly
intriguing story line developing in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., area — the
NFL’s version of "West Wing" if you will. In one corner, you have the
well-heeled Washington Redskins, led by filthy rich owner Daniel Snyder, stalking up on
top-of-the-line coaching talent with reckless abandon, making it clear he’ll spend
whatever it takes to make his team an NFL force.
In the other corner, you have the steadily reeling Baltimore Ravens, just one year
removed from an NFL title, crumbling bit by bit, victimized by a $20 million-plus
salary-cap overage.
Will we be witnessing a major reversal of fortune in 2002, with the Redskins rising
into contention behind the highest-paid coaching staff ever assembled by a wide margin,
while the once-proud Ravens fall back in the pack, forced into operating on the cheap?
Perhaps.
Adding to the intrigue involving these two teams separated by a mere 40 miles is the
Redskins’ hiring of Marvin Lewis as their new defensive coordinator — one day
after Lewis told the Ravens he would remain as the only defensive coordinator in the
team’s six-year existence after getting sand-bagged by the powers-that-be in Tampa
Bay.
When Snyder offered to pay Lewis a salary that would enable him to make more than twice
the estimated average salary for assistants, Lewis didn’t hesitate to leave the
Ravens high and dry.
Ironically, the Ravens’ new defensive coordinator is Mike Nolan, who had been
serving as the Ravens’ WR coach. Lewis will be Snyder’s fourth defensive
coordinator in four seasons. The first of those coordinators was Nolan, followed by Ray
Rhodes and Kurt Schottenheimer.
While there’s no denying Lewis is one helluva defensive coach, there’s reason
to believe the Ravens might not suffer too badly from a coaching standpoint under Nolan,
who did a pretty decent job coordinating the Jets’ 3-4 defense. With the Ravens
possibly losing longtime starters Rob Burnett, Michael McCrary, Jamie Sharper and maybe
even Sam Adams from their front seven, they could be best-suited for a 3-4 scheme next
season.
And it could be a pretty imposing 3-4, as long as LBs Ray Lewis and Peter Boulware, who
came on like gangbusters down the stretch, are the featured attractions.
But there’s another hot new angle in the Redskins/Ravens story line that is about
to unwind — the QB factor.
Now that Snyder has paid a king’s ransom from his upper-echelon coaching
conglomerate of Spurrier & Lewis, will he continue to try to be George Steinbrenner
Jr. and make a big pitch for a big-name quarterback such as Drew Bledsoe or Mark Brunell?
And now that the Ravens are in such dire financial straits, will head coach Brian
Billick stick with Elvis Grbac under center following a shaky debut season that sent up a
lot of red flags? The Ravens still have time to get out from under the lucrative contract
Grbac signed before last season. Will Billick cut the cord with Elvis and commit to young
Chris Redman? Or will his considerable ego get the best of him, as he tries to justify his
acquisition of Grbac with another year of seasoning in a system that has been hardly
scintillating during Billick’s time in Baltimore?
That’s another interesting angle — the personalities of Snyder and Billick,
two of the league’s ranking egomaniacs. When they do dumb things, you can’t help
but feel a little good inside because they are so easy to dislike.
Snyder in particular has already done enough dumb things as the Redskins owner to last
a lifetime.
Is he finally on the right track? And are Billick and the Ravens really headed into
salary cap hell?
I can hardly wait for the next episode. |
