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There will be no quarterback controversy for the Ravens

By Mike Brown | May 2nd, 2008

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I know each of you have their own opinion as to who should be the starting quarterback this season. But believe me, there’s no reason to worry. This new coaching staff is going to pick the player they feel will lead the team to the most wins, plain and simple. It isn’t up to us, nor should it be. There are probably 30 things that these coaches will be looking at that we wouldn’t even consider. That’s why we aren’t NFL coaches and they are.

But it still leaves one to wonder how it will all play out. What is the team looking for exactly? What are their plans for an offensive strategy? Who is going to fit the role they deem necessary? Let’s push it around a little.

A recent poll by the Baltimore Sun had most people choosing Kyle Boller to be the starter this season. He won out over Troy Smith by a factor of 35% to 32%. That sounds like the race between Hillary and Obama. I’m willing to bet that the consensus in the Ravens coaching ranks isn’t far off of that conclusion. It’s going to take time, and the best player will win out in the end. At least that’s the way it ends up in Disney movies.

Let’s take a look at the contest. You have Boller, who has 5 years experience, and to this point hasn’t proved that he can be an elite QB in the NFL. Then you have Troy Smith, who is only coming into his second year, and hasn’t proven that he can be an elite QB. Lastly you have 1st round pick Joe Flacco, who hasn’t proven anything at the NFL level. Sounds like a lot of question marks to me. It’s not like the decision is cut and dried.

When asked about the arrival of Flacco the two current Raven quarterbacks had differing opinions. Boller said that Flacco was in the same spot he was 5 years ago, and he wished him the best. Smith had trouble with Flacco’s first name, calling him John. He did apologize and added that he thought he would be a good player with what he has seen. But think about what Smith must be feeling. He’s a Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State, and now he’s going to compete against a guy who played Division II football for Delaware. Add to that Ozzie Newsome saying that Flacco was the future of the team. How does Smith take that? It sounds like a slap in the face.

Coming into this season I would think that both Boller and Smith have the edge on Joe Flacco, if for no other reason then the NFL experience the two of them have. But that doesn’t mean that Flacco can’t come in and prove to be the better choice to start this season. I would rather see him sit for a season and take it all in, but then again some players can make the adjustment from day 1. That will be borne out as the competition takes things to a higher level come July.

To my way of thinking this is all good. The Ravens have struggled at the quarterback position for so long and an honest competition has been needed for far too long. None of the current candidates has an edge in the coaches minds. They will have to prove their worth, and I feel the best man will win in the end.

Here are the intangibles;

Can Cam Cameron get what seems to have been missing in Kyle Boller’s game out of him? Can he correct the flaws in Boller’s game and make him a quality quarterback?

Will Troy Smith take his game to the next level? Can he duplicate the success he had at Ohio State if he’s made the starter? Can he dispel the notion that a QB under, or at 6 ft. can’t take a team to the Super Bowl?

Can Joe Flacco grasp an NFL offense in his first season? Will he be overwhelmed by the entire process? Or can he show that he has the right stuff?

Ironing out the quarterback situation in this years training camp is going to be something to watch. The way I see it any one of them could become the starter. And for the first time in a long time for the Ravens, the candidates seem worthy of the contest.

It’s all good.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 8:13 pm and is filed under Raven player evaluation, Ravens Roost Writer Articles / Opinions, Mike Brown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “There will be no quarterback controversy for the Ravens”

Matt Giberson says:

May 3rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm

It has to be Flacco. What if Boller or Smith start and play really well? Lead them deep into the playoffs? Its unlikely but what if? Then you have a Rivers/Brees situation all over again. Sign Culpepper if you don’t wanna throw Flacco in. You can’t start Smith. NO WAY! If he plays well, uh-oh!?
Los says:

May 3rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm

The Browns have this problem…. And its a good one to have.

well suppose Smith does well as a starter like Derek Andersonr….there’s nothing wrong with that. He could become good trade bait. Also to throw Flacco in the fire too soon may not be smart….let him adjust to the speed of the NFL for atleast half the season.
Mike Brown says:

May 3rd, 2008 at 10:32 pm

This is a good thing indeed. For the first time in forever the Ravens have 3, I’ll call them highly competitive, quarterbacks that will compete in an unbiased competition. There is a new offense to learn, and the one that learns the offense the best may not win. The stakes are higher.

Playing quarterback well in the NFL may be the hardest thing to do in sports. There are so many things that go into a quarterback being successful that they are often not even thought about. Thank God the Ravens now have a truly professional offensive coordinator, and a new head coach with an eye on success and making sure this is a team that will play smash mouth football.

As I said, it’s all good!
Matt Giberson says:

May 4th, 2008 at 11:45 am

i disagree. The Chargers still made the wrong choice when Brees left for Rivers. It’s the most important position on the field. Where they made the mistake was not giving Troy Smith the opportunity to prove it. Now he may end up somewhere else playing better than Flacco. That’s the worse case scenerio.
Mike Brown says:

May 4th, 2008 at 9:13 pm

Matt,
I understand what your saying, but Troy Smith will get every chance to prove that he’s the best quarterback of the bunch. Brian Billick held out for Kyle Boller for years, if for no other reason then to prove he was right in asking Ozzie Newsome to move up in the first round to draft him. This year will see no favoritism. If Smith can show that he’s better then the others he will win the job. He’s at the point where he can determine his future, and it will be up to him to make his case.

As for Bree’s and Rivers it seems like each team got a solid starting quarterback, and I think both of them are happy with their situation. The Ravens should be so lucky to end up with the same situation.

Keep posting bro’, your comments are always dead on.
E-ROC says:

May 5th, 2008 at 4:27 pm

Go Troy Smith! I think he’ll emerge as the starter at the start of the season. I think he will play well as the starter and the Ravens will end up with a good problem like the Browns have and the Chargers had.

If this happens, I don’t think the Ravens would trade Troy Smith because he’s a proven commodity; A proven QB in the NFL.
Khaine says:

May 6th, 2008 at 9:29 am

Count me up on the go Troy wagon. Although I’d be happy if any one of our QBs work out to do well for us.

Any news from camps? Out here on the Left Coast I don’t get nearly enough coverage. (mostly just what I get here and 24×7)
Mike Brown says:

May 6th, 2008 at 8:28 pm

Khaine,
There will be a mandatory mini camp starting this weekend. While it won’t decide who is going to be the starting quarterback, it will let us know who’s leading the race. But that lead may change several times before the start of the season.
Khaine says:

May 7th, 2008 at 9:21 am

Koo - keep up the posts and stories… I’m almost always starving for purpler out here… and offseason makes it worse.

At least I have a good local baseball team to help fill the gap. Not sure why but some folks look at me funny when I’ve got a Ravens Jersey on with an Angels cap… Perhaps it is just the odd color combination of purple and red. :p
Mike Zoran says:

May 8th, 2008 at 2:21 pm

Both Troy Smith and Kyle Boller have to get a clean slate hear. How much of Kyles problems were him and how much of them were just the offensive system he was playing in. This has got to be Kyle’s last chance in Baltimore. He is the senior guy, there is a new head coach, a new coord., and a new offensive system. He has to know it is now or never.