It should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone with a pulse that the Ravens are in desparate need of an offensive overhaul. Therefore, when people start putting one and one together, they sometimes get two, three… or Martz.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Lions’ Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz may be on the move in 2008.

Martz has a long-standing reputation as an offensive ‘genius’ (sound familiar to anyone else?), leading the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory as an OC and a Super Bowl appearance as a HC. Previously, he served as the QB coach of the Los Angeles Rams (1992-94), WR coach of the St. Louis Rams (1995-96) and QB coach of the Washington Redskins (1997-98) before becoming the Rams’ OC in 1999, when he led the Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.

During the seven-year tenure with the St. Louis Rams, Martz was involved with two of the franchise’s three Super Bowl appearances.

However, if you ask anyone in the Motor City about Martz, they’ll tell you that he failed to deliver the same high-octane offense that his reputation would lead you to expect. Again, sound familiar?

From the Detroit Free Press (plus bonus Edwin Mulitalo nugget):

Martz arrived here with a well-earned reputation as an offensive whiz. The problem is that when you bring in Martz, you get more than just his brain. You get a coordinator who still thinks of himself as one of the best head coaches in the league. You get a coach who expects to build his own offense, which is not necessarily the offense the head coach wants.

You get a man who bats his eyes at his own playbook. Martz would need a million X’s and O’s to show how he feels about his X’s and O’s.

And because Martz sees himself as chairman of the NFL chapter of Mensa, he expects to have more input into personnel than most offensive coordinators. That’s a problem, because Martz’s talent evaluation needs some work.

Martz on Tatum Bell, before this season: “Tatum right now is a different level. He’s better than I thought he’d be, to be honest with you … He’s the whole package. … He’s got so much juice to him.”

Bell has not played since early October.

Martz on the talent on this year’s offense: “We don’t feel short anywhere.”

Martz on new offensive linemen George Foster and Edwin Mulitalo: “I think that George and Edwin are substantially better than maybe what we had at this point last year.”

Foster was a total bust and Mulitalo, who missed Sunday’s game with a concussion, has been mediocre.

So I’m here as a voice of reason: as nice as it would be to bring in Martz to reform our offensive system, as nice as it would be to see Martz using 4 WR sets like they were going out of style, as nice as it would be to see Martz using two TEs as receivers, not blockers, I just don’t see it happening.

Mike Martz and Brian Billick have egos bigger than the world’s largest artichoke. Do you really think that Newsome and Biscotti would let something like that happen?

Last night, I commented that when I saw Billick blowing kisses to Patriots Safety Rodney Harrison, I spit whiskey out of my nose. Sure, it was funny, but goddamn did it burn.

Anyway, under the auspice of being some sort of investigative journalist (like Kyle Boller, I’m playing above my natural level here), I did some digging around about the magical instance when pure love filled the air, swirling around as carefree as the snowflakes. The frozen moment in time when Brian “I only have kisses for you” Billick made Rodney “anytime, Coach” Harrison’s heart flutter like Tedy Bruschi’s during the stroke.

(Too soon?)

Thanks to the Baltimore Sun and the ProJo Pats blog, with generous help from our very own Land of Patriots, here are the events that transpired:

The secret love affair between Ravens coach Brian Billick and New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison is now an open romance after Billick blew kisses at Harrison during last night’s game.

Harrison told ESPN that he was criticizing quarterback Kyle Boller in front of Billick after safety James Sanders intercepted a Boller pass at the Patriots’ goal line in the fourth quarter. That’s when Billick started showing a national audience his PDA (public display of affection).

“It was kind of strange,” Harrison said. “But he’s a tremendous coach and does a great job. We were just having some fun.”

Of course, this love would not last but more than a fleeting moment, like two star-crossed lovers passing in the night:

“I’m yelling and screaming and having fun, he’s yelling and screaming,” Harrison said. “I don’t know. I have a wife. I’m not that type of guy.”

What? You don’t want me?! Can someone pump Sunny Day Real Estate into my headset?

Bob Sanders, watch your cornhole.

It’s that time of year again — when everyone takes a backseat to the Packers, Cowboys, Colts (?!) and Steelers. Campbell’s Chunky Soup is trotting out the 2007 season for Click For Cans, and the Ravens need your help. The Ravens are 30th in clicks… only ahead of the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. Are we really going to accept 30th place? HELL NO!

It costs you, the reader, absolutely nothing to participate. Just click on the image below to be magically whisked away to the Campbell’s Chunky Click For Cans page. You don’t hate the homeless… do you?

I know what you’re thinking — “Oh, another Will Demps story about how he likes to get down.” I’m sorry to disappoint…

I was scouring the web looking for Ravens news and stumbled across an Examiner story that lavishes attention on the female Ravens fan base. I was shocked to know that it sits at 46% — one of the largest in the NFL.

The Examiner has some nifty data, courtesy of ESPN/Chilton, Scarborough Sports Marketing:

Female fans nationwide

Which team boasts the most female fans nationwide? (including fans who live in one city but root for another team)

1. Pittsburgh: 34
2. Green Bay: 29.4
3. Buffalo: 22.8
4. Kansas City: 22.4
5. Jacksonville: 21.7
6. Baltimore, New England and Denver (tie): 21.5
7. Tampa Bay and Washington (tie): 20.9

What women watch

1. NFL: 22.1 percent
2. MLB: 13.6 percent
3. NBA: 12.6 percent
4. Ice Skating: 6.5 percent

Women rocking the NFL

• 40 percent of fans at games are female.
• 375,000 women attend games on the weekend.

First, I’m not surprised at all that Pittsburgh and Green Bay boast the highest number of female fans. They also happen to have two of the largest fan bases in the NFL, spread out all over the damn place. But Buffalo, Kansas City and Jacksonville? Who woulda thunk it?

From the Examiner story:

They play great defense. They wear purple. And for an added bonus, they’ve got cute players.

So is it any surprise that the Ravens boast one of the largest — and most vocal — sections of female fans of any team in the NFL? Guys, if you are surprised, don’t tell the ladies. The 12th man of the Ravens just might be a sophisticated lady who can talk trash with the best of them.

“You do not want me to sit in on a game with those boys,” said Gwen Johnson, a 49-year-old lawyer from Baltimore who would trade a “cute” benchwarmer any day for one who can smack the daylights out of Peyton Manning. “I know what a crossing pattern looks like, and I know what a skinny post is. We do not wear pink halter tops with ‘52’ on them.”

For the record, Gwen Johnson is my kind of gal.  I also want to see someone smack the daylights out of Peyton “Sprint PCS/Mastercard/DirecTV/Walking Billboard” Manning.

I’m in the process of educating my soon-to-be wife about football. She can pick up on a cover-2 defense, understands the role of the fullback and can appreciate why I scream at the TV when Billick doesn’t run the ball on first down late in a game with the lead. By the end of the season, that 46% will soon be a fraction of a percentage larger… she’s coming with me to the Steelers/Ravens game on December 30th.

Although not football related, I wanted to let everyone know that posting here on Ravens Touchdown may be spotty the next few days. I’m flying out to NYC for business (and pleasure).

The business end of the deal will be a lot of fun — I’m hiring the Sports Cartel’s first ‘official’ manager, Justin Allen. Justin writes on the Sports Cartel at Pinstripes Daily, so I urge you to check it out if you’re a Yankees fan. Personally, I’m not, but he does a great job getting me interested in the best team money can buy.

The pleasure end won’t be too shabby, either. Serendipitously, my favorite band is playing a show at the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night, which means that this hayseed from St. Louis will be lucky enough to see Les Savy Fav for the third time. The previous two occasions were in St. Louis… and I can’t wait to see what the ‘Fav do with home field advantage.

I’m leaving in a few hours, but with all of the other administrative stuff going on (and packing! ah, the packing!), I wanted to put out a post today to let everyone know why the game isn’t getting the usual Ravens Touchdown treatment.

(I can assure you that it’s not because I think it will be a cake walk.)

One quick Ravens-related tidbit I’ll pass along - I’ve read all over the freakin’ internet that McNair is going to start on Sunday. Personally, I’m all for letting him heal another week. Let’s make sure his groin is healed before rushing him back into action… after all, Boller did a better-than-adequate job filling in for Steviepoo last week. If McNair starts, I would at least hope that Billick could put him on a short leash. Once the balls start sailing over Demetrius Williams and his freakishly large vertical leap because that groin is bothering him, I hope it’s Boller-time*.

I’ll be back with a complete game recap on Monday morning, if not a gameday post on Sunday. They’ve got to have WiFi in NYC, right?

* file this under things I never thought I’d say… ever.

ESPN and Scouts, Inc. have a really neat feature about each team’s “go-to” play. For the Ravens, not surprisingly, it’s a blitz from Bart Scott:

On this play, Baltimore exploits an offense’s concerns about perimeter pressure with Bart Scott’s (57) explosiveness. At the snap, NT Kelly Gregg (97) knifes into the A gap between the center and left guard, drawing a double-team, while DT Haloti Ngata (92) engages the LT. DE Terrell Suggs (55) bolts around the left corner, forcing the FB to step outside. Jackpot: The middle is open. Scott has less than two seconds to decide if a delayed blitz up the gut is the right move. Chances are, it is.

I bet Rex Ryan saw this online and had a good laugh — there’s no way mere mortals could understand his schemes and blitz packages.

It just dawned on me –  I forgot to mention that I’m on vacation from RavensTD.com for a few days while I take care of some administrative stuff on the Sports Cartel end of things.  We’re getting really busy… and that’s a great thing.

I’ll resume writing on Monday — I just thought I’d let everyone know why there aren’t 3 new posts each day this week!

I’ll be honest — I’m gonna mail this one in.  I’m slammed at work, I don’t have much time to post… but when I saw this, I felt obligated to let all four of you who read this blog see the Madden Rankings for our beloved Baltimore Ravens.

Ed Reed is still a 99, C-Mac is a 98… Ogden is a 97…

When Madden 08 comes out (IN LESS THAN A WEEK!), I’m taking a sick day to play a whole Ravens season on the Wii.

Just sayin’.

Finally… the poll I’ve been waiting for: best hit of 2006.

Bart Scott’s hit on Big Ben was absolutely NUTS.

If you have a fast connection, I welcome you to peep this:

4) Roethlisberger hits the dirt.

The setup: This was a game where it must have been tough to be Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He absorbed nine sacks - tied for best-ever for the Ravens - and the Steelers couldn’t get on the scoreboard all day. The worst sack, though, came from Bart Scott, as the first half was winding down.

The payoff: At 3:31 in the second quarter, Roethlisberger had already taken two sacks, but as he took a second-down snap from the shotgun, nothing could have prepared him for the Ravens linebacker. The defense came in an all-out rush, and Scott was the one that broke free, crunching the signal-caller to the turf and knocking him out of the game for the remainder of the series - much to the delight of the pro-Baltimore crowd.

You can vote at BaltimoreRavens.com — and I’ll be severely disappointed if this hit doesn’t win.