It is so funny you wrote "So I say this -- playing behind a suspect offensive line with Marvin Lewis game planning against him: Do Ravens fans really want that for Flacco?" The only thing Marvin Lewis did here was be fortunate enough that "Teflon Ozzie" got him 6 first rounders on that defense. Which is the reason that the defense was so dominating. On the other hand Brian Billick had chicken poop to work with trying to make chicken salad with bad offensive lines, horrible recievers and even worse QB's. So starting Flacco against the Bengals is probably not a bad idea because all of the Bengals money is on the offensive side of the ball, and Marvin is an average coach at best.

After sitting through many seasons watching an offensive albatross, I do not want to see Boller or Smith as starting QB. We OBVIOUSLY are in for a long, perhaps historic, losing season. I would prefer to see Flacco struggle and learn than see another Billick-like offensive disaster. The defense will not even keep us respectable. THE FUTURE IS NOW!

Bill, you make a very strong point, I think it would help Joe out a lot if he sits for most if not the entire season. Hopefully by next season, the Ravens will be in position to provide this guy with great weapons.

Rookie quarterbacks should only be put into games where the team is either way ahead or way behind. To say they should not play at all is like saying if you don't drive your car it won't wear out. But they should never be put in a situation where they feel compelled to perform like the starter.
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Ron,
I agree and I hope it didn't sound that I was saying Flacco should not play at all. I was addressing his situation as a possible starter.
-- Bill O.

Know matter who starts at QB,if we cannot block, or if we can, our wideouts, as last year, cannot get sparation.

Bill,

You make some valid points but Matt Ryan is playing behind perhaps a worse offensive line in Atlanta and just as bad a group of receivers, maybe worse. I don't hear anyone saying that the Falcons are making the wrong move in making him starter. Granted he may be more polished already then Flacco but probably no less likely to take a beating.
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Jeff,
I'm not sure that's a good thing in Atlanta. They're alternatives may not be as good as the Ravens' either but that's arguable.
-- Bill O.

Bill,

I feel compelled to post again regarding your reference to Elway and his first game. Well he turned out to be a pretty good QB didn't he? The Boller situation is unfair as he was part of a terrible system and maybe just not that good a QB. People have their opinions as to whether you should start a rookie or let them sit and learn. I don't think it matters either way. Perhaps the guys that are thrown into the fire and failed wouldn't have been any good no matter what the situation is because they just aren't that good. I think it has a lot more to do with the talent level of the QB and whether he has that "it" they are always talking about more so then whether he sits or plays right away.

o.k. n what did elway end up doing? u dont get better by riding the bench behind some second rate quarter back(kyle boller) and a running back who sometimes try's to throw the ball(troy smith) if harbaugh dont give him a chance then he should follow billick right on out of baltimore boller has had what? 5or 6 seasons to prove himself give flacco one.

Bill, do you realize what you're suggesting? You honestly think that by starting Flacco too soon there can be permanent damage to his development.

Do you think Boller would be a better QB today if he had sat a year?

If you can, please respond.
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J,
I'm hesitant to say that there would be permanent damage but yes, I think you can hurt a young QB's development by playing him too soon. For starters, you can destroy his confidence. For another, by playing under duress, it's possible he may may develop bad habits that will be hard to correct. And finally, by putting someone in that situation who is ill prepared to handle it, the guy could get hurt.
-- Bill O.

I really don't buy into the philosophy that quarterbacks have to sit for a year or two in order to get acclimated to the increased speed of the NFL game. How is Joe Flacco going to reach that point by standing on the sidelines? To me, you're just wasting 16 valuable games when he could be getting experience. Kyle Boeller's lack of success and infuriating tendency to turn the ball over are not a result of him being rushed- he just doesn't have the talent and never will. This is not a play-off caliber team and at best, will win 5 or 6 games. So, why not skip the formality and start the rookie. If he's our quarterback of the future, then it's time to put up and shut up.

All the objections and reasons for not starting a rookie QB notwithstanding, there is no substitute for experience, which can only come by.....playing. See Ben Roethlisburger, for example, just to name one!
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Jerry,
Ben is the best argument for starting a rookie, or least he has become the rationale for doing so. I think he paved the way for the first-round QB class of '06 all starting at some point. But I think he's the exception to what you can normally expect.
-- Bill O.

"Closer to home, we have the example of Boller"

This makes no sense. Boller was never going to be a good QB in the pros. It wouldn't have mattered if he waited 5 years to start or not, he still would not be NFL-caliber. Flacco has been the only QB to show any promise so far in the offseason. If you want to throw away the year and start a QB that should not be on an NFL roster then that's your perogative but I see a bit of Big Ben in the kid. After he gets out of the pocket, he doesn't put his head down and run like the other 2. He sees the field well. Pittsburgh benefited with Big Ben in there as a rookie so why can't the Ravens do the same?
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JEB,
Thanks for writing. As I said to another reader, Ben has become the best argument for starting a rookie. I feel that he paved the way for Young, Cutler and Leinart the next year. I am in the minority but I think Boller can be a better QB than many fans think. For instance, I think he would be the best QB in the NFC North at the moment, but that's another story. Back to Ben. The '05 Steelers and the '08 Ravens are different cases and let's remember that Ben would not have played that early if not for the injury to Maddox.
-- Bill O.

Bill,

As I recall, Elway won his first game against the Steelers.
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Craig,
The Broncos did win that game but Steve DeBerg threw the winning TD in the fouth quarter.
-- Bill O.

Bill, you have valid points, no doubt. But I believe that Joe was picked over those other guys in the draft because of his maturity. I believe they expect him to start at some point this season, hoping he will rise to the occasion much like Trent Edwards with Buffalo.

It's a risky proposition to be sure, but at this point the front office has no confidence in Boller or Smith.
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Aman,
I agree that Flacco could and maybe should be the starter at some point later this season. One problem is that he won't be getting many reps in practice if he's not starting but circumstances may dictate what happens.
-- Bill O.

We should be playing the game to win. 70,000 fans at the stadium each week are entitled to that. Boller provides the best shot at winning, and therefore should be our #1 QB on Sept 7th. I want at least a long shot at playoffs.

If Boller has not healed: go ahead, start Flacco, and begin the learning process for a game or two while Boller heals.

I see nothing in it for the fans by starting Smith. He has demonstrated the least passing ability of the three QBs; why expend valuable game-time experience on grooming a backup (who will be in the final year of his contract next season)?

By the by, here is hoping that the Ordine BLOG gets tossed into the byte bucket. That is more positive then the garbage that spews from his typing(?)!
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John,
It's actually O, by the Way.
-- Bill O.

I say start Flacco. He's the only one out of the bunch to show any promise. I agree with a previous commentor who said Smith is a RB who can sometimes throw the ball. That's not what we need. I've played football as a QB and the only way to learn the speed of the game is to play at that particular level (whether it's rec, high school, college or the pros). I learned much of nothing from the bench. I've even heard Peyton Manning say that the only way to learn is to play. Take your knoocks and move on. I'd much rather watch Flacco grow than watch Smith and Boller fumble along.

Hope they don't use Flacco until the O-line shows what it has. Scrambling Troy Smith makes the most sense to start the season. Then bring in Kyle if Troy falters. Bring in Joe if the line plays good and watch it fly. Don't want any injuries to the ribs like Bert Jones suffered with.

I understand your reservations, Bill but sometimes you just have to say, "look, we're going nowhere this year so let the rookie play." When Ben came in, he was surrounded with a much better team than any of our quarterbacks are going to have at their disposal. Some rookies will play well and benefit from the experience while others never seem to turn the corner. Kyle Boeller will never be any better than he already is and unfortunately, that's not good enough. With him, you just close your eyes, hope that he doesn't turn the ball over and we win by a few points. That's not going to get you to the next level and ultimately the Super Bowl. The biggest concern would be Flacco getting injured but there's always that risk in the NFL. I don't want to see anyone lose a potential job because of illness or injury but the current situation could be blessing in disguise and hopefully Flacco will start this Thursday.

Bill, I suspect that no matter who the starting QB might be, we will see a heavy dose of running the ball in addition to the short passes to Mason and hopefully a healthy Heap. Add to that the defense making a score on a turnover plus a lot of Matt Stover field goal attempts.
Plus a lot of prayers that neither inopportune penalties or "the officials" take negate any oportunities. I know many fans did not like the old Raven formula, but it just might be our best hope this year. Bill, your thoughts, please!
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Chuck,
I see that happening but not because it's the game plan ... although increased running would be part of the game plan. I think as these games progress and the Ravens slip behind, we're going to see a lot of that RB from Rutgers. Do I think that will be good enough for even a .500 record ... actually, no.
-- Bill O.

I wouldn't worry too much about Flacco losing his confidence if he starts this year and has a rough time. When he first started for Delaware in his junior year (after transferring from Pitt), he had to learn a new system and was plagued by a team of walking wounded. As the year went on, he had less and less healthy talent around him and UD walked away with a 5-6 record that year. Having a hard, losing season, though, didn't effect his confidence. He came back the next year, learned from his mistakes (with more talent around him as well) and took the team to the National Championship game. Joe is a calm, cool, smart guy. Having to work his way through a tough, even possibly losing season this year will not effect his confidence and overall development, in my opinion.

I know I'm probably going to get bashed for this, but I agree with you 100%, Bill.

Boller's development was crushed by a faulty offensive scheme, porous line blocking, and poor receivers who couldn't catch the ball when he was standing up long enough to get it to them. What are the bad habits we've seen Boller fall into? He doesn't set his feet, his throwing motion is off-kilter, and he has a tendency to fixate on a receiver from the snap - all of which are traceable to having a porous o-line that couldn't protect him, forcing him to rush throws and pick a target ASAP because he wouldn't have time to read the coverage after the snap.

Big Ben came in as a rookie to a very strong team with a solid running game and a good o-line...will Flacco have that? Big Ben came in and wasn't asked to win games, but to manage the game and minimize mistakes. He played well and grew into the role as the season went on, but they won because the rest of the team was solid, especially the interior lines on both sides of the ball. We're not there right now, and I think throwing Flacco in there with nothing but his arm and his guts will lead to more happy feet in the pocket and a career's worth of bad habits.
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Don,
You said it better than I did.
-- Bill O.