NFL On FOX Analyst Brian Billick Discusses The Ravens And AFC North
NFL on FOX analyst and former Baltimore Ravens Head Coach Brian Billick joined the Norris and Davis Show on Baltimore's 105-7 THE FAN Thursday morning to discuss the season's kickoff, saying he will take part in the NFL Network's pregame show for the Ravens week one game against the Denver Broncos.
As a former coach, Billick gives his thoughts on the upcoming Ravens preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, saying that there will be actual game planning for the first time of the season. He also says the game means much more because it is going to most closely resemble a regular season game. Billick transitions to talk about the roster changes the Ravens made over the off season, saying he thinks the team did the right thing by turning over the roster as much as they did. He is impressed about the different signings the team made, saying it definitely helps to soften the losses of players like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed,
Billick believes the leadership of the team now rests solely upon the shoulders of Joe Flacco. Flacco is going to be the one people look to when the team does well and when the team does poorly. Billick then brings up some tough changes the Ravens made this year, comparing this to replacing Trent Dilfer with Elvis Grbac. Billick knows that some players need to be traded or released based on the cap number and the potential the player has based on age.
When asked about the favorite in the AFC North, Billick says there is no reason to not be impressed with the Bengals so far. He believes they will make the playoffs again, but is not sure if the Bengals will win the division, citing the Ravens as a potential sleeper pick to win the division. He believes the Ravens are going to be right there with the Bengals atop the division, saying the team is no worse off than any other team in the league. When making his Super Bowl picks for this year, even though he thinks it is ridiculous to make choices this early in the season, Billick has Denver going against either San Fransisco or Seattle.
Billick then tells how much it meant to him that Jonathan Ogden mentioned him in the speech Ogden made at the Hall of Fame. Billick was happy to hear so much cheering for Ogden when he mentioned Art Modell, especially since the cheering overpowered the boos some people were giving.
