ALL THROUGH THE DAY, I ME MINE, I ME MINE, I ME MINE ~ It’s interesting that suddenly Ray Lewis can’t get enough of the microphone.  From my perspective, his body language and his conviction in his comments (or “no comments”) just isn’t there.  I remember the old Ray.  When he said something you felt his passion.  You knew that what he was saying came from deep within his heart.  He could convince you to walk through fire with him because if you were with him, really with him and together as one, the fire had no chance.

I didn’t see that at all over the past two days.

So what’s this sudden and selective media accessibility all about?  This is purely speculative on my part but I think it is the working of his agent David Dunn.  Lewis hired Dunn to get him a new deal with up front cash.  There’s no chance of that happening with the Ravens.  That contract is done (pun intended), finished, end of story – at least with the Ravens.  The only way to get a new deal is to remove him from Baltimore.

To further his cause, Ray throws Brian Billick under the proverbial bus, he throws any Ravens defensive tackle past and present not named Adams or Siragusa under the bus as well as the front office for unloading what he describes as his Scottie Pippen (see The Grapevine...).  Of course Ray equates himself to Michael Jordan.

So, piss off enough people and you get your way?  Is that the plan?

Factor in the forthcoming new Ed Reed deal and the plot will thicken.  Factor in that he and Steve McNair are tight and the plot thickens even further.  Could Ray’s unrest undermine McNair’s alleged interest in the Ravens?  If McNair does arrive in Baltimore and Ray stays, could the locker room cliques resurface and be even more pronounced?

OUT OF MY WAY, OUT OF MY DAY…OUT OF YOUR MIND AND INTO MINE ~ Football is the consummate team game.  One player’s success or failures are often affected by those around him.  Would Joe Montana have been as successful without Jerry Rice?  Would Emmitt Smith be the all time leading rusher without the Cowboys’ stellar offensive line?  Would Marvin Harrison have the numbers he does if he played in Baltimore?  Would Ray Lewis have been as dominant in 2000 without Adams and Siragusa?

The answer to all of these questions is obviously no.

But football particularly in the NFL is a game of adjustments.  When Adams and Siragusa were gone by 2002, Ray Lewis adjusted.  By 2003 he was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year again.

Now he’s whining about not having Adams and Siragusa around anymore?  He now has to “bubble around people” and that’s a problem because that’s not his game?  What linebacker wouldn’t want to roam the field unabated to the ball carrier?  Wouldn't that be every linebackers' game, every linebackers' dream?

Now Kelly Gregg and Maake Kemoeatu didn’t do their jobs to Ray’s satisfaction? (Carolina has 27 million reasons saying that Maake did.)  Maybe Ray isn’t doing his job either.  Maybe he should think about taking on blockers instead of “bubbling” if he’s so “dominant.”

If the Ravens don’t get this under control and if they don’t win in 2006, it is going to get a whole lot uglier on One Winning Drive before it gets better and judging from the forlorn look of Brian Billick yesterday, he knows it.

THERE IS SAFETY IN NUMBERS AND NUMBERS MY FRIEND ~ Yesterday I spoke with Eric DeCosta about the Draft Pick Trade Value Chart credited to the Cowboys former head coach Jimmy Johnson.  I asked him if teams actually use that chart when trading picks and pointed out that the 49ers/Broncos trade was a direct lift from that chart. 

Eric explained that when teams make draft pick trades prior to the day of the draft that the chart is a decent barometer.  However, when the draft is under way and teams see coveted players dropping, emotion and desire tends to force the value of draft picks higher as the possibility of acquiring a wanted player becomes more of a reality.

Something else to keep in mind with that chart.  It assumes that all drafts are the same.  They clearly are not.  By most accounts, this year's draft is stronger than last year's particularly in rounds 3 and 4.  It make the sting from the pick lost in the Adam Terry trade that much sharper.

TRY TO SEE IT MY WAY…ONLY TIME WILL TELL IF I AM RIGHT OR I AM WRONG ~ There’s a light rumor developing some momentum that the Ravens might toss the name of Brett Favre out there as an alternative to Kerry Collins or Steve McNair.  If true, might that just be a bargaining chip or a desperate attempt to gain negotiating leverage?  Whatever the case may be two of the “contestants” are on the same page when it comes to the Titans’ handling of Steve McNair.  "All of the things he has done for that team," Favre said, according to the Associated Press. "He really has been the face of that team for the last 10 or 11 years, the one bright spot really. To be treated that way I think is really unfair. He doesn’t deserve it . . . It is not right."

The one bright spot? 

Good thing the Packers don’t have the Titans on their schedule this season. assuming of course Favre comes down from his prima donna perch and decides if he’s playing in 2006 or not.

NOBODY CAN DENY THAT THERE’S SOMETHING THERE ~ And finally according to “Plugged, the unofficial Paul McCartney homepage” The Beatles' recording engineer, Geoff Emerick, has just released his new book called Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. The memoir chronicles his work with the Beatles at Abbey Road studio in London where the young Geoff Emerick began working with the Beatles as an assistant engineer at the age of 15. By the age of 19, he was recording the Revolver album as a full engineer. Mr. Emerick shares his first hand stories about the Beatles recording sessions and his own role in creating the band's unique sound. He also discussed the development of his many innovative recording techniques that are still being used by recording artists today. Reviewers of the book note that he is clearly a Paul McCartney fan. Sir Paul was best man at his wedding. In his book, Mr. Emerick also writes about his work on Sir Paul's Band on the Run album.

Sir Paul also fired Geoff Emerick from MPL not too long ago as a result of a recreational habit that might conjure up memories of Darryl Strawberry.  Emerick is said to be thankful for the firing because it was the start of turning his life around. 

Here’s to turning things around.

Ray, are you listening?