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5 Questions: Brian Billick on second-half adjustments

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Updated Nov 12, 2009 5:56 PM ET
     
 
John Czarnecki chats with ex-NFL head coach and NFL on FOX analyst Brian Billick about his former team, the Baltimore Ravens, and Sunday's other storylines. 1. Your former team, the Ravens, have the look and potential of a playoff team, especially now with a solid offense. But what's wrong with theme they 4-4? With regards to the Ravens, first let me say they are very good team. Sometimes when a team loses, you lose sight of the fact that maybe they lost to some good teams. And as it's turning out, Cincinnati is pretty good. I think their lack of a big-play receiver, which was a concern coming into the season, is beginning to show up. Plus their lack of a shutdown cornerback is also hurting them. The lack of top-flight cornerbacks is forcing them to do some things differently on defense in terms of zones to protect their DBs. I mean those great eight-man fronts that were so popular when Rex Ryan was the defensive coordinator — it's a lot easier to blitz when you have those corners to back you up. They are not able to do as much with their front seven, and I think that's where their basic problem lies right now. Can they fix that? Well, I think you kind of are who you are at this point. I think they are going to have to adapt like they did in the Denver game. It was easier in that game because Denver is not a real vertical team. They were able to come out of their passive zones a little bit and sit on certain receivers while bringing pressure. Against more vertical teams, I think the Ravens will be very hesitant to come out of coverage. There is the fear of giving up the big play instead of bringing pressure like they've been used to, so they can't blitz as much. They are good on defense, but they are going to have to find different ways to bring pressure other than just blitzing. 2. You're calling the Eagles-Chargers game this weekend on FOX. Both Philly and San Diego are supposedly Super Bowl favorites every year on paper, but drive their fans nuts with inconsistency — this year, each seemingly due to a lack of a sustained running game. Is this an overhyped issue? Sometimes there can be too much made of a team's lack of a running game. You have three teams in particular — the Colts, Eagles and Chargers — who are doing pretty well without a running game. I think where it will rear its ugly head is when these teams have to get in to the playoffs and play a team that is equally as good, but also has a running game. I think when the Eagles play a team like the New Orleans Saints — and we've already seen what that looks like — you pay the price. When you see a team like the Colts or Chargers play a team like Pittsburgh, which obviously looks like it is re-establishing its running game, you might see that price being paid.
I thought once Donovan McNabb got hurt, Eagles coach Andy Reid did condense his protection packages quite a bit. They used a few more seven- and eight-man protection schemes. I think the Eagles are more physical, but even though they signed a fullback like Leonard Weaver I just don't think Andy likes using a fullback. It's such a red flag in short yardage. In San Diego, I think we may be seeing LaDainian Tomlinson starting that downward slide. The fact of the matter is he just may not be LaDainian Tomlinson anymore. Maybe he can resurrect it, maybe he can't. And when they go to Darren Sproles, that's a totally different style of a running attack. It's more of a scatback. They used to be so physical when LT was at the top of his game, and they could play off of that. They don't have a physical running style right now — like we see with Minnesota or New Orleans. It's more based off of their throwing formations. And it's not one that really scares defenses. A couple years ago, they knew they could run it down your throat. 3. The Giants are free-falling ... What's gone wrong there? Is there anything they can do to camouflage their serious secondary issues? It's a little like what I was saying regarding the Ravens. The things that concerned you about the Giants coming into the season again were: Where are their big-play receivers, and how is their back seven going to hold up? Now, we're seeing that those questions were legitimate. I don't know how good this receiving corps really is and I don't know how good their back end is. Like I was saying about Tomlinson, I don't think things are really right with Brandon Jacobs, either. Also, there may be no answers to fixing that secondary. There is no one who is going to ride in on his white horse to resurrect it. It just isn't going to happen. You just have to do those things that will protect that secondary. What were the Giants known for when they won their Super Bowl — getting pressure with a four-man rush. Well, today very few teams can get to the quarterback with just a four-man pass rush. Minnesota can do it and Dallas is showing signs of being able to do it, too. New York, with former defense coordinator Steve Spagnuolo running the show the past two years, found ways of doing that. But that back end is pretty suspect now, so I'm not sure the Giants can do the same things. 4. The Packers are surrendering sacks the same way that the Texans did back when David Carr was scarred in Houston. Can Green Bay realistically fix everything that is going wrong? Are they in danger of screwing up Rodgers permanently? I don't think it's just the offensive line when it comes down to these 37 sacks. It's a combination. Yes, the offensive line has had some injuries, but there have also been some mental errors while they've tried to adapt their protection schemes. I love Aaron Rodgers. I do. But I also believe he's been caught holding the ball a little bit. He could help his line by getting rid of the ball a little bit quicker. He's trying to make something happen and they've been good about making big plays. You love a guy's bravado that way, but there are a lot of factors going on. So, I'm not sure how you fix it — because if you could, you would have done it by now. As much as they obviously don't want to, they may be forced to actually condense their formations with tight ends and backs and help more on the edges. Now, what that may do is limit Rodgers. I just said you don't want Rodgers holding the ball, but the more players you keep in to block and the fewer you send out, guess what happens? The quarterback tends to hold the ball longer. It's a little bit of a misconception. The more people you keep to block, often all that means is that you don't get beat quick with the rush. The amount of time the quarterback has to throw the ball really doesn't change. He's still going to have to get rid of the ball, but now he's going to have fewer people to throw it to. The conundrum is that you may not want to do that, but I do believe they have to help those tackles a little bit more on the edge because there really is no future in not helping them. I just spoke with Matt Hasselbeck, who was coming off a rib injury, and he said he'd rather have options, people to throw to, and he would protect himself. "I will get the ball out of my hand," he said, "if everyone is going out." I don't think Mike McCarthy wants to go down that path of keeping everyone in to block. So Rodgers has to get rid of that ball quicker. I don't see the comparison between Carr and Rodgers. I think Aaron Rodgers is along enough in his career and playing well, too. With Carr, he was beat up and also not playing well. That's a double whammy. Rodgers has played well. So I think his confidence is fine. But with Carr, he was getting beat up and saying to himself, "I don't think anybody thinks I'm any good." Rodgers isn't thinking like that at all. 5. Speaking of young quarterbacks, how should the Jets proceed in the second half of the season with Mark Sanchez, while balancing the need to win now with nurturing his development? It will continue to expand for Sanchez. The Jets got a little too full of themselves early. And the Buffalo game was an example of them allowing Sanchez to throw too many times. They let him go amok when all they had to do was hand the ball off and win a close game. But they also know if that they are ever going to beat the Colts or the Steelers or any team in the playoffs, they are going to need more out of him. So, yes, you have to let him develop. If it doesn't show up this year, that's fine because they are developing him for the future. So, they should be asking him to do more in the second half of the season. From what I have seen on tape, I like Sanchez. He has a much better arm and he's also more accurate than I thought. He's making some stupid rookie mistakes right now, but I do believe he will get past that. I have seen him make some throws that intrigue me. I would feel good if I'm Rex Ryan. Now, as much as I like Sanchez, I think Pete Carroll was exactly right. He should have stayed at USC. He would have been better at this time next year, but I will say he has overcome his overall lack of experience pretty well.
Tagged: Brett Favre, LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, Colts, Matt Hasselbeck, Steelers, Chargers, Texans, Vikings, Donovan McNabb, Saints, Leonard Weaver, Giants, Mark Sanchez, Jets, Eagles, Seahawks, Aaron Rodgers, David Carr, Brandon Jacobs, Packers

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