Here come the felons, er, Ravens

For the second time in three weeks, the Steelers on Sunday will be facing a team coming off a bye week. Like their Sunday night game in Denver on Oct 19, this game, too, will be in prime time, on Monday night vs. the Baltimore Ravens. This time, however, the Steelers play at home, for what that’s worth (Heinz Field doesn’t seem to be one of the more daunting places for a road team to play).

Like the Broncos before them, who were coming off an embarrassing beatdown to the San Diego Chargers, the Ravens emerge from their bye week coming off a bad loss, to the Buffalo Bills. Immediately after that loss, the Ravens started sniping, woofing, complaining and finger-pointing – specifically, linebacker Ray “Scissorshands” Lewis complaining about the Ravens’ insufferably smarmy, egotistical head coach, Brian Billick, as well as the offensive play-calling and the lack of production on offense.

Lewis’s remarks prompted this observation by columnist Mike Rutsey:

“Ray Lewis is just about the last player in the NFL to be ripping anybody, considering the baggage he drags along, one that includes dead people.

“But there he was last week on his radio show throwing his coach, Brian Billick, under the bus for the plays he called in the final minutes of Baltimore's 19-14 loss to the Bills in Buffalo. With the Ravens facing second-and-one at the Bills' 49 with less than two minutes to play, Billick had Kyle Boller throw on each of the next three plays -- and all were incompletions. There were enough folks critical of Billick's choice. Lewis, though, shouldn't have been one of them.”

Others were also critical of Billick, according to the Baltimore Sun:

“Lewis' comments were inevitable … Even before Billick had a tough talk with his team immediately after the loss at Buffalo, there were quite a few Ravens second-guessing him.”

Hmmm ... players criticizing their coach? Finger-pointing and dissension?

Sounds like Cincinnati.

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Links ‘n at ...

• Over at SI/CNN’s FanNation blog, Andrew Perloff says,

“Everyone seems to think a New England-Indy AFC Championship Game is a forgone conclusion,” but, he advises, “Don’t overlook the Steelers.”

• If you plan to drive down the road transporting human heads in plastic bags, it’s probably a good idea to carry documentation. “And, perhaps, consider specifying that you don't want your head in a plastic bag in the back of a truck.”
• We knew this already, but Alex Rodriguez is a narcissistic weasel and his agent, Scott Boras, is a boorish cretin.