You've probably met an old time Baltimore Colts and now Ravens fan who absolutely hates the Washington Redskins.  Here's why....  

The old Colts were as good as you have heard.  Johnny Unitas and the rest were a beloved part of the community and there was no love lost with our neighbors to the South.  We were good, winning Super Bowl V, and routinely beating up on the Redskins going 11 and 1 against them from 1960 to 1978.  They were rivals but not really hated.  The trouble started in '72 when Bob Irsay bought the team.

After a couple of good years the team started to go downhill and the pissing contest started between the city and the owner.  The fans were being told that we were a second class city that could not support an NFL team and look at how the Redskin fans supported their team.  That is when the Redskin hate really started and it would grow from there.  The fans felt that the owner was purposefully putting an inferior team on the field to lower attendance so he had an excuse to move the team.  Starting in '78 we went 5-11, 5-11, 7-9, 2-14, 0-8-1, 7-9.  The Redskins kept being thrown in our faces by their fans (which had been down for so long) and our owner.  The Redskins teams kept getting better and we kept hating them more.  To add more insult to injury, the last time the teams met on the field in '81 they pounded us 38 to 14.

The pissing contest with the owner was now in full swing and the fans anger at the owner was being channeled into hatred for the Skins who were the model team and city.  The Redskins won the Super Bowl in '83 and were in the Super Bowl in '84.  We had to listen to how great they were and couple of months later the Mayflower vans roll out of town with our team.

Now it gets really bad.  Feeling like a second rate city that has lost their team and already hating the Redskins...  The NFL decides to really rub it in.  These were the days before cable and NFL Sunday Ticket.  There was very little choice in games that were on TV.  The NFL made the Redskins our home team!  The Skins were rammed down our throats.  The only TV game you got was the Skins and the newspaper covered them as our team.  Just imagine if today they took away the Ravens and declared that the Steelers are now our home team.  It sucked.

So there it is.  That is how the hate grew and yes I am one of those Redskin haters. 

After watching Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco since he has arrived here I am seeing a quarterback where the game is really slowing down for him and he is on the verge of becoming very dangerous to opposing defenses. Before you call me a loon, bear with me a minute and see if you are noticing the same things I am.

In the beginning we had a skinny kid QB that panicked under pressure and took the sack.

Then we saw the second and third year QB that still panicked under pressure but managed to look for Ray Rice, sometimes throw it away and still take too many sacks.

Recently I see something quite different in Joe. He has learned how to move in and out of the pocket, not just panic and run. He is using his physical strength now to avoid tackles with stiff arms and movement. I see him instantly process the locations of the rushers and his protection (even if his blocker has fallen to the ground). He then moves in the proper direction to allow his protection to recover and extend the play. Most importantly, he is looking downfield to make a play, even  if they are not open. His receivers and protection are not on the same page with him yet. When they look at the film, (hopefully they are doing this now during the Bye) I think you will see two things happen.

Offensive linemen will not quit and will look for someone else to hit knowing that their QB is trying to extend the play. Receivers will get much better at breaking free after they run the initial route. I see a QB realizing how to make plays. When the team gets on the same page with him we are going to see some big plays after the initial play breaks down. OK, now you can call me crazy, but that's the progress I am seeing from Joe this year.

The season is over, we lost, Bisciotti has spoken and we still have Cam.  You can lose hope, give up on the team and be miserable or look at the positives going forward.  I just mixed up a big pitcher of purple kool aid and had a few drinks to see how things look.

Coaching:

Let's start with Cam.  The kool aid is starting to take effect.

Harbaugh said he would rather have Cam "under fire" than somebody new. (He means the fire that is actually under Cam's seat.)  Ozzie and Steve both said they were on board with the plan going forward and had spent many hours discussing the topic.  Harbs said he has some ideas and a plan. 

Translation - Mr. B said to Harbs "exactly why have you not fired his ass already?"  Harbs said "let me explain"  Harbs was able to keep Cam only after Steve and Ozzie agreed on how they were going to fix Cam.  Cam will know he is on a short leash so we will see the KC game version of the offense, (was that a crossing route?) 

In light of the CBA this move makes sense.  It is likely that OTA's and the off season will be disrupted.  Not a good time to try and install a new offense so by keeping Cam we will be ahead of all the teams that changed cooordinators.

Harbs said he asked players and coaches for input and was amazed at what he got.  They all knew Cam was on the hot seat so they told the truth and Harbs listened and has a plan to fix it. 

The "bottom line"  We were really close this year and it won't take much to get us over the top.  They took a hard look at this and decided it was better for the team to try and fix Cam and the offense rather than bringing in somebody new.

Mattison is gone.  This move alone may be enough to make the difference.  This is a great move with Chuck Pagano.  The players seem to love him, he's an agressive/firey guy and Ray and Ed Reed want to play for him.  He saw first hand what the three man rush did to his secondary.  This guy is much more like Rex, a players coach that the D will want to play for.   

They must have done something right because we have lost some assistant coaches to other teams and they made Matsko a sacrificial lamb to protect Cam.  Some fresh coaching blood will help bring some new ideas.

Harbs said he wanted to change the culture and fix things like stupid penalties.  It took time but we are now a smarter, more disciplined team. 

The Ravens are not going to raise ticket prices.

Players:

We get Foxworth back.

Ramon Harewood was the beast of a raw tackle that we red shirted on IR.  He could be a diffence maker on the O line.

Speaking of the O line.  Gaither can make a comeback.  (OK, so i needed a few extra kool aid shooters for that one)

Sergio Kindle stopped drinking and driving and falling on his head.  You never know what he could be.

James Hardy.  Big, fast 2nd round pick (Buffalo) wide out, coming off an ACL.  Ozzie says he has potnential.

Kruger showed improvement.

Cody should be a beast.

Cundiff and Koch are the best kicking tandem in the league.

The draft is coming.

Free agency is coming sometime.

Flacco has been a bit of a slow learner, but a steady learner.  He is willing to do whatever it takes to improve his game.  With Cam fixed and a more aggressive D that should put him over 4,000 yards with 28 TD's, 9 INT's and a QB rating approaching 100.

Overall it's not so bad.  We have an organization that is well positioned to get through the turbulent CBA unrest and give us more than a fair shot at a great 2011.  So drink up and enjoy the ride.

And... you get to be a JETS JETS JETS fan on Sunday.  Can't wait to hear what Rex has to say if they win.  That will be an outragious Super Bowl press conference.

I keep hearing all the "experts" including players and former players pontificate on what is or isn't a legal hit.  Apparently they have never read the rules when they say things like "it wasn't helmet to helmet, he used his shoulder"  The truth is you can't hit a defensless player in the head at all, even if your shoulder hits the upper chest area first and slides up to the head.  It's also illegal for any player any time to hit with the helmet.  Years ago "spearing" was a fairly common penalty.  Can't remember when they basically stopped calling that penalty.  Anyway, here is the pertinent section of the 2010 NFL rulebook so you can read and decide for yourself what an illegal hit is:

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(f) If a player uses any part of his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/”hairline” parts) or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily. Although such violent or unnecessary use of the helmet and facemask is impermissible against any opponent, game officials will give special attention in administering this rule to protecting those players who are in virtually defenseless postures, including but not limited to:

(1) Forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head, neck, or face with the helmet or facemask, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him; or

(2) Lowering the head and violently or unnecessarily making forcible contact with the “hairline” or forehead part of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body; or

(3) “Launching” (springing forward and upward) into a defenseless player, or otherwise striking him in a way that causes the defensive player’s helmet or facemask to forcibly strike the defenseless player’s head, neck, or face—even if the initial contact of the defender’s helmet or facemask is lower than the defenseless player’s neck. (Examples: a defender buries his facemask into a defenseless player’s high chest area, but the defender’s trajectory as he leaps into the defenseless player causes the defender’s helmet to strike the defenseless player violently in the head or face; or a defender, using a face-on posture or with his head slightly lowered, hits a defenseless player in an area below the defenseless player’s neck, then the defender’s head moves upward, resulting in strong contact by the defender’s mask or helmet with the defenseless player’s head, neck, or face [an example is the so-called “dip and rip” technique]).

Note: The provisions of section (f) do not prohibit incidental contact by the mask or noncrown parts of the helmet in the course of a conventional tackle on an opponent.

(g) if the initial force of the contact by a defender’s helmet (including facemask), forearm, or shoulder is to the head or neck area of a defenseless player.

Note: Defenseless players in (f) and (g) shall include (i) a player in the act of or just after throwing a pass; (ii) a receiver catching or attempting to catch a pass; (iii) a runner already in the grasp of a tackler and whose forward progress has been stopped; (iv) a kickoff or punt returner attempting to field a kick in the air; and (v) a player on the ground at the end of a play.

h) If a receiver has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself, a defensive player is prohibited from launching (springing forward and upward) into him in a way that causes the defensive player’s helmet, facemask, shoulder, or forearm to forcibly strike the receiver’s head or neck area—even if the initial contact of the defender’s helmet, facemask, shoulder, or forearm is lower than the receiver’s neck.

Note: Launching is defined as springing forward and upward by a player who leaves his feet to make contact on the receiver.

Don't panic when the offense looks bad in these games. Apparently it's all part of the master plan. Interesting quote from Cam Cameron when asked about how much improvement he wants to see in the third preseason game.

Cam said "....I try – in the preseason at times – to put us in difficult situations. I’ve made the mistake in the past of scheming routes to where the ball came out against, really, the right coverage the whole time, and I know Joe’s [Flacco] going to do that. I want to see the quarterback get completions when we get bad looks, when the defense really has the advantage. I’m really trying to put on some ankle weights a little bit at times in the preseason to find out some things that we might not find in the normal part of the season."

Adds an interesting dynamic to watching the Giants game Saturday night. When the offense looks out of sync is it? The defense making plays. The offense screwing up. or Cam calling the wrong play to put us in "difficult situations". Gives watching preseason games a little more intrigue.

I wonder if Mattison does something like that to see how his guys react to "difficult situations". Someone should ask him.

D's line before the Denver game: "Coach has a good game plan and it's up to us to execute."

Translation:  We don't agree with the "base defense" scheme but we are pros so we will play hard.  The reality is we can't put our heart into it because "vanilla" is just not who we are and what we do but we are trying to give coach a chance.

D's line after the Dever game: "All the credit goes to coach Mattison and his game plan."

Translation:  "Thanks for seeing it our way coach"

What happened:  During the bye, Ray & Co. quietly went to coach and said "This is not working.  This is just not who we are and what we do.  We need to play mix it up, pressure D.  Let us do what we do and we won't let you down.  We've got your back."  Coach agreed, players got behind the plan and played with their hair on fire.

D's line after the Bengals game: "Credit the Bengals, They had a good game plan"

Translation:  "We had a bad game plan.  Coach you let us down"

What happened:  Mattison thought he could go back to pushing the buttons his way and it would work.  Wrong!  He turned up the heat in the second half but it was too late.  How many of you thought as soon as you saw us rushing three "it's over, we're giving up the touchdown"  Down deep the players feel that way also.  They will play hard but these veterans can't get 100% behind a plan they know is not their best chance for success.

What now?

Worst case: Mattison rolls over the Browns with his "base defense" and convinces himself there was never anything wrong with his scheme and the players just need to make plays. 

Best case:  Mattison "gets it" we play Ravens D, and we have a punchers chance the rest of the season.

Bottom Line:  If this isn't fixed and we start playing Ravens D it could start a rift between players and coach that will snowball downhill faster than the Steelers will score on Mattisons "base defense."

He said on NFL Total Access that the 3 year 24 million numbers that have been floated out there "are nowhere near what is really on the table".  He didn't say if it was higher or lower but I doubt it is higher.  He also said that Ray will still sign here because "he has nowhere else to go".  Could Ozzie be offering a market deal fitting for a 34 year old MLB who has lost a step?  Don't know, but Sheffter seems to think so.  This might be why Ray is pissed and why the deal is still on the table.

Coach Harbaughs alter ego "The mad scientist" is in his lab hard at work creating the 2nd coming of our mild mannered Joe.  Harbaugh said during mini camps last year that he "coulnd't wait" to get Joe Flacco into his offseason weight training program.  Will they be ordering larger uniforms and pads for our QB's sophomore campaign?  He was officially listed at 230.  What do you think...240, 250+ ???   Will the extra muscle make him faster?  Even stronger arm?  I say he adds at least 20 pounds and starts to shed rushers a'la Big Ben.