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Blackbird Singing - BLACKBIRD SINGING: Emmitt gets tango tied on ESPN set

Sacks, rugs and rock and roll around the NFL
Posted On: 9/25/07
Written By:  
Tony Lombardi
BLACKBIRD SINGING: Emmitt gets tango tied on ESPN set BLACKBIRD SINGING: Emmitt gets tango tied on ESPN set
THERE’S TOO MANY MEN…TOO MANY PEOPLE MAKING TOO MANY PROBLEMS ~ And not much of a pass rush to go around.  Without pressure on the quarterback, the Ravens cover skills in the secondary have been exposed.  Rex Ryan will certainly burn the midnight oil to get it figured out.  Besides Antwan Barnes and Terrell Suggs, the only players applying any heat to the Cardinals’ QB’s on Sunday were unfortunately members of the secondary.  Trevor Pryce is sorely missed and the idea of rotating Dwan Edwards and Barnes to fill in for Pryce looked good on paper.  The trouble is Dwan Edwards is still coming out of his three point stance  from Sunday.
 
IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME COMIN’ BUT I KNOW, A CHANGE IS GONNA COME…YES IT IS ~ The Ravens players and management publicly seem to have kept their collective composure after the back-to-back fourth quarter meltdowns against the Jets and Cardinals.  And that is key to managing the season.  Some look at the season as a marathon.  I see the season more as a series of sprints.  So far the Ravens have won two and lost one.  They’ve all been close and the team could just as easily be 3-0 or 0-3 instead of the current mark of 2-1.  Just ahead wait the Browns, 49ers, Rams and Bills – all very winnable sprints.  It isn’t inconceivable that the Ravens could be 6-1 before their bye week of October 28.  But to get there, clearly corrections need to be made when defending the no-huddle offense and when the Ravens offense has the ball in the red zone.  They’ll need to be better at both given three of the next four games are on the road.
 
I COULD SEE IT WAS A ROUGH CUT TUESDAY ~ By now you are probably sick to death of hearing, reading and naturally watching stories about the New England Patriots cheating ways and lyin’ eyes.  Video cameras aren’t allowed on the sidelines to record defensive signals flashed by an opponent.  Ok we get it.  But what is to stop “fans” from videotaping the same coaches?  What if Bill Belichick has his ex-girlfriend’s sister’s former son-in-law propped up at the Razor in a primo seat filming opposing coaches?  It could happen you know.  Trust me, I know these things.  Think not?
 
Then let me call your attention to this video taken by a fan in an end zone seat when the Chiefs hosted the Vikings this weekend.  Go ahead take a look for a laugh or two.
 
Now, you see where I’m going with this?
 
Nice Siragusa imitation by the Chiefs’ mascot KC Wolf.  Maybe the Ravens should try Edgar, Allen and Poe on the defensive front while Trevor Pryce heals to generate a better pass rush.
 
YOUR TIME IS GONNA COME ~ Whenever a new back up quarterback is signed by a team and said new back up makes the same amount of money as the current starter, it won’t be long before said back-up is the former said back-up and the current starter is the former starter.  Such is the situation in Atlanta.  But Joey Harrington doesn’t seem threatened according to reports.  Who would for stinking at what you do and bringing in $176,470.59 pre-tax every Sunday?  For Joey it will soon be exit stage Leftwich.
 
IF IT KEEPS ON RAININ’ LEVI’S GONNA BREAK ~ And if the Saints offensive line doesn’t start protecting Drew Brees, he’s going to break too.  There goes another Super Bowl prediction for me.  I had the Ravens beating the Saints in Arizona.  Thing is, if not for a couple of breaks, the Ravens could be 0-3 as well. Whip out the clichés.  It’s better to be lucky than good; it’s better to win ugly than lose pretty; it’s better to look good than to feel good.  And that’s a good thing by the way because the way things are going for the Ravens, I’m not feeling too good.
 
ROLL IT…ROLL IT…ROLL IT ON A RIVER ~ LT isn’t happy and Philip Rivers is trying to play peacemaker and quarterback but the bottom line in San Diego is that they hardly resemble the team that went 14-2 in ‘o6.  Naturally the scapegoats are Norv Turner and A.J. Smith.  I bet the SoCal crowd never thought they’d miss Marty Ball.  Look the NFL is a game of adjustments and with two new coordinators the early season hiccups for the Chargers were pretty predictable.  We’ll see if they can get it right but Turner’s track record certainly doesn’t leave fans in San Diego with a warm and fuzzy feeling for the time being.  Wonder if they kept Rex Ryan’s number?
 
WORKING ALL DAY IN MY DADDY’S GARAGE, DRIVING ALL NIGHT CHASING SOME MIRAGE ~ According to USA Today, “[Bruce] Springsteen's first E Street studio outing in five years was produced and mixed by Brendan O'Brien, who also produced the last Springsteen/E Street disc, 2002's The Rising. Manager Jon Landau promises high-energy rock that's ‘light on its feet’ and ‘immensely entertaining.’ The Eagles, whose Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is the USA's top-selling album ever (29 million copies), are shipping a twin disc of 20 songs. Guitarist Joe Walsh told Billboard the material explores ‘really new, different directions.’" Interesting concept regarding those new directions.  Wonder if our favorite team can manage that after halftime?
 
TELL ME WHAT’D I SAY…TELL ME WHAT’D I SAY NOW ~ He is the all-time leading NFL rusher and he was a champion.  Unlike several of his teammates he kept his nose clean and steered clear of trouble…until they gave him a microphone.  Emmitt Smith is good for one thing on the studio set of ESPN – a laugh.  I’m sure he has the knowledge but somewhere between his brain and his lips there’s a clogged filter than needs to be replaced.
 
Recently on ESPN’s No Huddle feature segment Smith described the Chargers as the team most likely to fall from 0-2 to 0-3.  Trouble is the Chargers were 1-1 when Smith served up his expert analysis.
 
Smith is hardly a candidate to unseat the replacement for Marlin Perkins on The Wild Kingdom.  When asked whether Randy Moss could become a leader as a Patriot, Smith offered this metaphor: "You cannot change the stripes of a leopard."
 
Emmitt might be able to do the cha-cha with the stars but his tap dance on the TV set needs work.
 
LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS ~ Oh my, it looks like the QB carousel is about to visit my kind of town.  Rex Grossman whose name fittingly describes his play, is about to get elbowed by Brian Griese – unless of course Griese trips over his dog and down a flight of steps like he did before a scheduled game with the Ravens a few years back.  Griese has happily fallen under the radar screen for a while now but Grossman’s ineptitude has him front and center these days in Chicago.  The announced change could come as soon as today sometime after Rex finishes plucking the petals from a gifted rose…He Lovie me, he Lovie me not.
 
THAT’S WHY I HATE MYSELF FOR LOVIN’ YOU ~ For us life-long Baltimoreans the Orioles have been a way of life.  Yet for a decade the love affair has been no less than a stressful and painful relationship thanks to the team’s owner Peter Angelos.  Here’s what ESPN’s Page 2 had to say about Angelos: “He's the George Steinbrenner of 20 years ago, with all the meddling power plays and none of the hands-off check-signing. He's nixed trades for top prospects, run through managers like Alyssa Milano blazes through paesan pitchers and overseen 10 straight losing seasons for one of baseball's proudest franchises.”
 
Hey I kind of like Alyssa Milano.  Think it might impress her that I once threw a one-hitter in a nine inning little league All Star game when I was ten?

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Posted On: 9/25/07
Written By:  
Tony Lombardi

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