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Lombardi's Way - Baltimore's Favorite Scapegoat

But is it justified?
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Baltimore's Favorite Scapegoat

Malcolm “Cam” Cameron didn’t get to where he is in the NFL without knowing something about football. All of the armchair quarterbacks in town collectively can’t match his football IQ. He burns the midnight oil daily studying film, team tendencies, self scouting and brainstorming with his assistants.

He puts in the time and thinking you can do better is on par with skipping a trip to the doctor’s office and opting for a self-diagnosis.

So if Cameron is such a football brainiac what is going on? Clearly something is wrong!

How can anyone justify not getting the ball into the hands of one of the league’s premier playmakers more than 12 times against a (2-6) team?

Now before we answer this, let’s back it up a bit.

During the State of the Ravens address with team owner Steve Bisciotti last winter, it was painfully clear that Cam Cameron was placed on and to this day remains on notice. The team then removed all potential scapegoats by parting ways with Offensive Assistant Al Saunders and QB Coach Jim Zorn. There would only be one voice in the ear of Joe Flacco and those whispers would come from Cameron.

Good or bad Cam would be squarely in the crosshairs. Making a decision on the coordinators future would be cleaner without the peripheral smokescreens.

So, it goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway, it behooves Cameron to get both Ray Rice and Joe Flacco in their respective comfort zones in order to maximize their effectiveness and if that happens it helps Cam Cameron to step out of the crosshairs and save his job.

Said in a different way, the better Rice and Flacco do the more likely Cameron gets to collect a paycheck from Steve Bisciotti in 2012.

Why wouldn’t Cam then give Rice the ball more when the evidence suggests the team is far more successful when he does?

Why wouldn’t he then allow Flacco to do more in the offense like call more audibles, change up the cadence and opt in and out of a no huddle?

If doing these things as most fans suggest would improve his offense and improving the offense is a condition for his continued employment why wouldn’t he automatically do those things?

There’s more than meets the eye here folks.

Maybe the team has no confidence in their zone blocking schemes against a 4-3 defense. All three losses this season were at the hands of such defenses. And maybe REALLY giving Flacco the keys to the offense would make things worse and Cameron is simply willing to take a bullet for all of the struggles.

It’s not as simple as running more no huddle and running Ray Rice more. There’s more to it than that and the bet here is that Cameron is at least trying to mask other problems.

He’s not as inept as the fan base would leave you to believe.

 

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festivus
Posted On: 11/15/11 3:37 pm
jws, you have no credibility and you're rude.

If you can get paid elsewhere for your writing, where you have to identify yourself and (maybe) identify a source, go for it.

I was looking at the blogs for a more intelligent conversation than what I see on message boards but here, in the comments section, I see you wasting space. Not sure what you mean by "looking at Cam's record," but tbh I don't care.

Ok, I'll go back to skipping over comments sections. Or at least, your comments.
Luigi
Posted On: 11/15/11 9:38 am
JWS,

I'm sure those contacts are top secret right? Or are they just your alter egos? What website do you right for? I'd like to see your predictions and forecasts you great and powerful Oz. And this website you are referring to must be a doozy. Why aren't you writing for this one Master?
jws
Posted On: 11/15/11 7:53 am
I KNOW BECAUSE OF MY CONTACTS. I WRITE FOR A WEBSITE lUIGI. HOW MANY HOURS AND SOURCES DO YOU HAVE. IF CALLING LIKE IT IS WITH KNOWLEDGE IS CROTCHETY THAN MANY GREAT MEDIA PEOPLE ARE THERE WITH ME. IF YOU READ MY ARTICLES ALL YEAR YOU WOULD FIND I CALL IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS IN THE DRAFT IN TRAINING CAMP WITH CUTS AND PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES. WHAT PART OF CAM'S RECORD DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? DID YOU EVER IN ANY MEDIA RELEASE READ WHAT PLAYERS THAT PLAYED FOR HIM SAID? EVEN WITH YOU LIMITED ABILITY YOU COULD FIND OUT THOSE FACTS. GIVE ME A BREAK AND STOP DRINKING PURPLE CAM JUICE!!
Luigi
Posted On: 11/14/11 6:44 pm
JWS,

And you know this for a fact about Cameron how? Look I'm not a fan but I see your posts here from time to time and you come off like a crotchety know it all. But I'm sure the Ravens would be better off with you at the controls of the Ravens offense?
jws
Posted On: 11/14/11 6:31 pm
I love all these fan "experts" that think they know or think they can justify what is happening after a loss. Here's the facts..............Cam is a "CONTROl FREAK", he takes no advice from anybody. He and Joe have never been or will ever be on the same page. He allow Harbaugh to get rid of a quarterback coach that this average quarterback needs badly. Flacco is a slow thinker, reacter to every on the field situations and lacks confidence to change plays or react to on the field situations. He needs lots of quality players and coaches around him to be successful. No matter how smart or how hard Cam works he has NEVER been a successful winning coach anywhere period! Chargers,Miami never won the important games. He does not relate to players! Time to move on with a better player coach and a quarterback coach to help this kid take the next step!!!
festivus
Posted On: 11/14/11 4:14 pm
Fair enough, Tony. I wouldn't presume to second guess an NFL offensive coordinator on any given play, or even on any one game's offensive scheme. I get it. He knows so much more about football than I do that it would be presumptuous of me to think I knew enough to criticize.

But I know results. And I know talent when I see it. Flacco has a proven ability to play effectively as an NFL quarterback and Rice, the WRs, and the TEs have all demonstrated an ability to catch and to run with the ball.

And we've had better offenses with less talent. We've had better offenses with Kyle Boller under center, or an aging Steve McNair with no WRs or running game to speak of.

So despite my ignorance I insist I know enough to say there's something wrong with what we're doing on offense and there's something wrong with the way the pieces are being put together by the coaching staff.
charlie
Posted On: 11/14/11 3:45 pm
out coached again! there are probably 3 qb's in this league that can win consistently throwing the ball 50 times a game and flacco isn't one of them. the ravens show their second tier coaching ability in every game and it starts with the HC. the special teams are terrible and have been all year, the offense is always a work in progress, and the defense, although much better than last year, has plenty of holes. where the heck is jimmy smith???? where is kindle???? where has the pass rush been the last 2 games????
Josh
Posted On: 11/14/11 3:35 pm
Coaches are paid to call the plays they feel will be most effective. They are not out on the field helping to execute those plays. Cam sure looked smart last week in that final drive over Pitt, didn't he? "The bottom line is" we are playing down to our competition this season, particularly on the road. Furthermore, neither Cam nor Joe was responsible for those unacceptable dropped passes in Seattle.
opbilly
Posted On: 11/14/11 2:35 pm
You may be right. it may be cam taking a bullet for the bigger problem, Hargaugh. Ive been waiting 3 1/2 years to show me that he has what it takes to be a head coach that can take a team thats not playing its best and right the ship, but i just havent seen it. we are good when the team just goes out and plays, but when we need a decision to be made in a tough situation he folds! on sides kick! taking penalty yardage and giving the other team an extra down when they are already back 5 yards! challenging and losing a timeout. please!!! This guy needs to be held responsible!!!
Matt
Posted On: 11/14/11 1:45 pm
Tony, there's such a thing as over-thinking a situation. I've experienced it plenty already in my own life doing things that I'm an expert on. Sometimes, you have to step back and remember the basics. To me, it appears that that is the only possible explanation for Cam's actions, if he indeed is such a football "brainiac". If there really IS a bigger problem behind the scenes, the correct answer is to train it/fix it, not to mask it.
Mike
Posted On: 11/14/11 1:24 pm
They clearly gave up on the run yesterday! Unacceptable in my opinion. Last three games 50 plus pass attempts. Last time I checked in cold weather you better have your running game ready! We also need to stop playing to the competition. Go out there and dominate!



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