It's Over

The Ravens season, at least the meaningful portion of it, officially ended with today's 21-9 loss to the Bengals at home. We had some reason to hope, and some reason to believe in this team after the heartbreaking loss on Monday night. But it is officially time to look at 2006.

This gives the team an opportunity. It gives the Ravens a chance to determine:

• If Kyle Boller is for real, once he is healthy
• Which running back is worth the money: Jamal Lewis or Chester Taylor?
• Will Brian Billick be the coach next year; for better or for worse, the buck on the 2005 season stops with him, and the lack of offensive production this season makes it a lot harder to blame everything on Matt Cavanaugh.

A load road to hoe until next September. The Ravens as we know them may never look the same again.