There's hope Baltimore but let's see the Ravens for what they currently are ~ the sixth best team in the AFC. No more, no less. We can be hopeful but hope won't improve anything. Realizing what you are and defining ways to improve is exactly what the Ravens need to do at this time. And that includes everyone. You and me as the collective 12th man and every person employed by Steve Bisciotti.

Maybe Chris McAlister is hurting.  Maybe he was cheating to compensate for his physical weaknesses.  Or maybe he's overrated.  While considering this possibility, I thought back to an article that I wrote last September 30 after C-Mac's shenanigans down in Tiajuana.  Since this is Rearview Mirror, I thought you might enjoy looking deep within that mirror while I further digest yesterday's game:

C-Ya C-Mac, By Tony Lombardi

September 30, 2003

Last night I struggled to stay awake while jumping back and forth between the Packers v. Bears (Snoozer #1) and the movie, “The Life of David Gale” (Snoozer #2). Falling in and out of sleep on the couch (except for the scenes involving Rhona Mitra, pictured), I finally made my way upstairs to bed realizing that I needed to wake up and pen today’s article. What was once a comfortably sleepy stage altered to a wired phase upon this realization. It was then 12:30 AM and I figured that since TV helped me to fall asleep moments ago, I would try it again.

Not long after hitting the power button on my remote, I stumbled upon “Ravens Wired” with Brett Harris on WBFF. A wired Ravens’ fan, Ravens Wired, a match made in heaven, right? Last night, they had Frank Sanders wired for sound during practice and during the Ravens v. Chiefs. I found it interesting that in the video clips shown, the Ravens couldn’t even complete a 10-yard out without the defense on the field during practice. I guess Sanders just couldn’t get open. Later in live scrimmaging, Lamont Brightful had Sanders blanketed. Lamont Brightful!

Anyway, watching Ravens Wired and it’s focus on Sanders last night did help me to accomplish one thing. I fell asleep by about 12:40 AM. The powers of the Ravens’ offense at work. Now, back to the topic I really wanted to discuss today ~ Chris McAlister.

I must admit that I was disappointed on Sunday during the player introductions. First, I would have enjoyed the opportunity to welcome Priest Holmes back to Baltimore. There is no doubt in my mind, that Priest would have received a hero’s welcome at M&T. He’s a class act who was a fan favorite here in the Land of Pleasant Living and he has blossomed into one of the league’s premier players. It would have been nice to say hello and thank you and show Priest the class this town can bestow upon a deserving athlete.

Secondly, I want the defense introduced when I go to a Ravens game. I look forward to the fan reaction to Ray Lewis’ dance. He’s the straw that stirs the drink of the 12th man. Is there any doubt or question why the defense wasn’t introduced? Of course not. The Ravens were simply protecting Chris McAlister from the cascade of boos that were surely headed his way.

Personally, I don’t boo my home team. Perhaps it’s my heritage. In my family I’ve always been told, “You never go against the family.” I would not have booed McAlister. However, I’m sure that there are many that disagree and say he is deserving of the fans’ wrath. How would it have looked if the opposing team’s star gets the second loudest ovation while the home team’s franchise player, earning 6 mil per, gets an earful from nearly 70,000 tuned up fans?

Actually, I thought Billick might send McAlister out there anyway just to teach him a lesson. Perhaps Billick just thinks that the lesson would eventually be lost anyway so why take the chance of having the partisan crowd actually pump up the Chiefs through the accolades showered upon their star player?

Could these two players, Priest Holmes and Chris McAlister be any more different? In Priest Holmes you have a talented player who constantly works on improving his game and refining his craft. Talented yes. Overachiever? Absolutely. From the shadows of Ricky Williams in Texas, to going un-drafted in 1997 to the NFL’s most outstanding offensive player. And along the way, Priest has been an outstanding contributor to his community.

Chris McAlister is a gifted player who’s skills have not developed. If anything, they’ve digressed. As a rookie in 1999, McAlister had 21 passes defended and 5 interceptions. Last year he had 18 passes defended and 0 interceptions. In the last 3 years in 6 games against Pittsburgh, McAlister has one pass defended and 0 interceptions while being worked over by Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress. Talented yes. Underachiever? Absolutely. And along the way, McAlister has exhibited signs of being a time bomb ready to self-implode. McAlister’s most recent contribution to the community? A DUI charge.

I’m tired of hearing that McAlister has All-Pro ability and that he is one of the top cover corners in the league. A top cover corner blankets the other team’s stud receiver and eliminates him from the game. One pass defended in 6 games against the Steelers while Ward and Burress have career games is not a top cover corner.

All-Pro? McAlister hasn’t even made the Pro Bowl since he’s been in the NFL. The list of AFC Pro Bowl corners since McAlister has been in the league includes Sam Madison, Samari Rolle, Charles Woodson, James Hasty, Deltha O’Neal, Ryan McNeil, Ty Law, Aaron Glenn and Patrick Surtain. In the NFC, the list includes: Champ Bailey, Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent, Ronde Barber, Aeneas Williams, Donnie Abraham, Deion Sanders and Todd Lyght.

The Ravens slapped the franchise tag on McAlister this year. As many of you know a team can designate one franchise player and in doing so, they must pay that player the average of the top five salaries at that player’s position or 120% of the player’s previous salary, whichever is greater. This year, the franchise tag on McAlister cost the Ravens $5.9 million. Think he’s among the best five from the active players in the list above? Is he better than any of them?

If you think that McAlister will eventually develop into the player everyone thinks he’s capable of being, are you willing to commit so many dollars and so much of the cap availability to this volatile player? He has had a number of off the field problems and depending upon what happens with his DUI case, he could be one more violation away from a suspension. Then what? Once you give a player a huge signing bonus, you amortize that bonus over the life of the contract. McAlister will more than likely command an eight figure signing bonus. If it were your money and you were contemplating a player that is an underachiever, a player that talks more than he walks, a player on the brink of suspension, a player that regularly commits untimely personal fouls ~ would you pay that player Pro Bowl money when that player wouldn’t know a pineapple if he tripped over it?

You might think that at some point McAlister would wake up. But don’t count on it. If a leader like Ray Lewis can’t get through to McAlister and if a very player friendly head coach like Brian Billick can’t get through, who can? And if you can’t get through, would you invest those dollars? Well, you might if you have no other choices. But the Ravens do have choices.

Next season, Gary Baxter can easily make the transition back to corner. One might argue that Baxter is a better player right now at corner than McAlister. Surely a secondary without McAlister is a bit weaker. But if the Ravens move Baxter to corner and fill in his void at safety with either Demps, highly regarded rookie Gerome Sapp or a free agent less expensive than McAlister, they could get better value without losing productivity in the secondary. Free agent safeties are much less expensive than corners, particularly with the trend towards moving hard hitting yet aging veteran corners to safety to prolong careers. Those players could also offer solid value.

The Ravens could re-deploy the cap space saved on a McAlister to bolster the defensive line. Imagine a stud defensive lineman on this team in the mold of Simeon Rice who can get after the passer and play the run. Complimented by Boulware and a more experience Terrell Suggs, wouldn‘t that kind of pressure make any secondary look better?

Talented underachievers are a dime a dozen. McAlister is one of them. Let’s sit back and hope that the almighty dollar motivates McAlister to repair his damaged market value. Let’s hope that he’s successful and the Ravens reap the rewards this year. And when this year is said and done, it’s C-ya C-Mac.

And Then In A Q&A Lombardi's Way on July 3, 2004 we wrote:

Will Chris McAlister sign a long-term deal? Will he hold out and if so for how long?

The question remains, will he sign a long-term deal prior to the season? It’s been well documented that McAlister and his agent Mitch Frankel both believe that the Pro Bowl corner is worthy of Champ Bailey-like money. Brian Billick claims that McAlister is the league’s best corner. Based on Billick’s comments, conventional logic would have you conclude that the Ravens should pay McAlister like Bailey. 

Perhaps we would be wise to read between the lines. Billick is too bright to make such public statements about a player while contract discussions are ongoing without some ulterior motive in mind. He wouldn’t intentionally increase the leverage of the party sitting on the other end of the negotiating table, would he? Perhaps the Ravens do believe that McAlister is the best corner in the league -- for the Ravens! On sports talk radio this past week, Mike Nolan talked a bit about McAlister. He referred to #21 as a “complete corner.” He added that as a pure cover corner, Champ Bailey is better. But when you consider all facets of the game and the Ravens defensive schemes and tendencies, they prefer McAlister. 

Would McAlister be as effective in Denver? No. Would McAlister be as effective as Champ Bailey in Denver? Probably not. Denver wanted a pure cover corner and they traded for perhaps the NFL’s best and paid him accordingly. That could be the Ravens argument. Perhaps the Ravens will stress to McAlister that they need each other. The Ravens defense is better with McAlister and McAlister is better with the Ravens defense. They will point towards other defensive backs that have moved on, still trying to recapture their success while in Baltimore-- players like Duane Starks, Corey Harris and Kim Herring. 

Let’s face it, McAlister does not blanket number 1 receivers. He doesn’t. He was credited with shutting down Terrell Owens. Please. McAlister benefited from safety help in a bracketing scheme that limited Owens. Rod Smith? C’mon, who was throwing the ball to Smith -- Danny Kanell? The fresh off the scrap heap Danny Kanell? What about Chris Chambers? Did C-Mac shut him down? Statistically perhaps but if Brian Griese wasn’t the Dolphins QB that day, Chambers would have had a field day. He was open all day long.  

Ok, now back to the future...er, today, December 6, 2004 ~ I'm not saying McAlister isn't hurt or that he isn't a good player.  I'm just suggesting that he is overrated.  Perhaps so too is the defense.  It's up to them to prove otherwise.  Yet serious questions about their clutch play linger.  When they've been called to make a game saving stand (games against KC, Jets & Bengals), they haven't.  

The Ravens have leaned on their defense throughout the Billick era.  Perhaps the weight has become unbearable.  Perhaps the profile needs to change in the off season.  Anyone know a good plastic surgeon?