Neuheisel Is Raven's Offensive Coordinator in Name Only

Even though Rick Neuheisel has a shiny new title -- he's been promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator -- it doesn't mean he'll assume play-calling duties, as is customarily the case with such a promotion. "[It's] a little bit misleading... This is Brian's offense... I might have been a corporal before and now I'm a lieutenant."

Some might see this as head coach Brian Billick's ginormous ego getting in the way of common sense. I don't dispute Billick is, um, very self assured, but you can't fault the guy for wanting to take over.

For starters, since Billick arrived in 1999, the Ravens' offense has been a joke. Baltimore's last two offensive coordinators -- Matt Cavanaugh and Jim Fassel -- have done nothing to change that perception. So what did Billick do? He fired Cavanaugh following the 2004 season. And last year during the bye week, he canned his best friend, Fassel, and took over the play-calling. The team ended the season 13-3, which was reason enough for Billick to continue in that role in 2007.

Still, there's no guarantee much will change offensively: Billick's had his hand in play-calling, well, forever. Just because he'll be doing it full time doesn't foretell some offensive explosion. In the meantime, Neuheisel understands his role, and his primary responsibility will be to generate ideas for the offense and serve as Billick's "sounding board." It'll be interesting to see what happens if Baltimore's offense stumbles out of the gate in 2007. I'm guessing nothing.