Billick has bristled previously when asked
whether Taylor should carry the football more in light of starter Jamal Lewis’ struggles. Heading into Monday night’s game against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, Lewis has rushed for only 326 yards on 113 carries,
a 2.9 average.
“We’re going to do everything we have to
do to run the ball well,” Billick said. “Jamal has run well against the
guys before with that physical style of running, although Chester has
run the ball as well. We’re going to use any combination we have to get
the job done.”
Despite 76 less carries, Taylor has 223
yards and has more than doubled Lewis’ rushing average with 6.0 per
carry.
In a conference call with Pittsburgh
reporters, Billick said: "Jamal has got to get on track and run a little
bit more physical and get back to the style of running that he is used
to. I think he's ready to do that."
Lewis pointed out that he has taken
himself out of games in the past to get Taylor more snaps in the past
and make the offense less predictable.
When asked if Taylor will carry the ball
more, Billick quipped: “Hell, I’ll go in and carry the ball if I thought
it would be make a difference. We have a great deal of faith in our two
backs.”
CELEBRITY CALLER: Former Ravens
defensive end Michael McCrary took the unusual, unprompted step of
calling into a post-game talk radio show Sunday to defend Jamal Lewis
after his 34-yard performance in a 10-6 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Besides criticizing the offensive line,
the retired McCrary said that Lewis probably wasn’t running as
well because the team allegedly broke a promise to grant him a new
contract if he accepted a plea bargain in his federal drug conspiracy
case. McCrary said that Lewis didn’t have the same passion for the game,
which both Lewis and Billick have since denied.
The team claims that McCrary has
apologized for causing any controversy.
“Mike feels bad about what he said,”
Billick said. “Particularly, Mike recognized that Mike hasn’t been
around here a lot, but Mike is a warrior and I appreciate Mike’s
perspective.”
Lewis said he has no problems with
McCrary’s remarks, but said he hasn’t spoken to him.
“Michael McCrary knows me, he knows what
type of player I am,” Lewis said. “He knows I am going to go out there
and fight every play and every practice.”
PUTTING IT BEHIND HIM: Tight end
Todd Heap isn’t inclined to hold grudges, but it would be understandable
if he was still mad at Steelers linebacker Joey Porter. Last season,
Porter shoved a defenseless Heap to the ground even though he clearly
had an injured ankle. Heap missed 10 games. “It’s nothing I’m going to
be thinking about on Monday,” Heap said. “It’s not about me and Joey
Porter. It’s about our 11 guys beating their 11 guys.” Porter said too
much was made out of what the Ravens consider a cheap shot. “It’s
over-hyped,” Porter told Pittsburgh reporters. “I never did anything out
of the ordinary, but you never know what’s going to happen on
Halloween.”
TAKING A SHOT: Hard-nosed
Steelers fullback Dan Kreider has excelled against Baltimore,
particularly when taking on middle linebacker Ray Lewis on the physical
isolation play. With Lewis out with a hamstring pull, his likely
replacement, linebacker Tommy Polley, isn’t impressed with Kreider.
“We’ve faced tougher guys than him in the league, we’ve faced guards and
things like that,” Polley said. “He’s just another guy, really.”
QUICK HIT: Quarterback Kyle Boller,
who's doubtful with a toe injury, imitated Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the scout team offense and took part in team drills
for the first time since hyper-extending his right big toe in the first
game. Barring a setback, it's likely that Boller will be the third
quarterback Monday and a candidate to play next week against the
Cincinnati Bengals. "Kyle this week will go through everything," said
Billick, who made no changes to his injury report. "We're very confident
that he's turned that corner."