Kyle Boller has had his chance to prove he deserves the starting job over the past few years and has done nothing to inspire confidence that he can man the position. He's not horrible and he's a better option than some NFL teams have (Bears and 49ers) but give Smith a chance in preseason and let's find out what the kid can do.

Do you think that Harbaugh will contemplate platooning at QB. Smith/Boller in and out depending on the play and the situation. Each has differing skills and switching them up even in the same series could throw off a defense. I agree that the season looks grim (7 wins if lucky?), so why not try something different/outside-the-box?

Makes sense to me. I'll bet Harbaugh doesn't know who starts against Cincy until Sep 7th.

If we had a decent O-line, Boller might be the choice, but he doesn't move well enough, doesn't protect the ball, and doesn't make good decisions fast enough to work behind what most expect to be a very weak O-line. For better or worse, I think Troy Smith's the QB this year - and it may be for better.

This revolving QB situation is making me dizzy. Like preston said, they are both pretty much the same. Bad.

Smith is okay and i'm a firm believer in confidence, but the man needs to also put up or shut up.

so much for an honest qb competition. there is no question boller has been the better qb throughout camp and preseason.

QB's are a toss up. I'm still peed off at Ray Lewis' behavior. Is he a leader and a future Hall of Fame player, or is he a pouting prima donna, with a big ego, who by virtue of his behavior is demonstrating that he is not the true leader of this team. I think it is easy to conclude it is the latter.

I think it is incorrect to say Smith didn't throw much against the Vikings because of our running game. It had more to do with our defense getting run over. How long did Minnesota have the ball for in that first half? Wasn't it like 23 minutes or something crazy like that?

Harbaugh has come to the conclusion that throughout the season we are probably going to see both QB's. Look i admit that boller has had his chances and really hasn't produced , but with that said i believe there are many reasons why that is, so for the sack of this article i will skip it. If harbaugh starts the season with smith,he will automatically lose boller for the remainder of the year. Boller isn't going to be around here next year and if he doesn't start the season then he won't have anything to play for. If he starts boller on the other hand and he doesn't perform well then he can always go back to smith without any pressure on him All i am saying is if you start smith you better be prepared to go the distance with him because there is no turning back.

Thankyou. Why force the team to chose a quarterback? That can't be in the best interest of the team. Wouldn't it be great to see the Ravens learn from past mistakes. Rather than forcing one QB down the city's throat, put the guy in there who truly gives us the best chance to win.
We need to see more of Troy. Wouldn't it be good to see Troy supported and in response do so well that there is a future QB controversy with Flacco? It's refreshing to see each QB get a fair oppotunity to help the team win.

I'd also like to add that Boller has been in the league since 2003 and can't clearly beat out a 5th (almost 6th) round pick. There's a far greater chance that Smith will get better in the year and that there will be more of the same from Boller.

And click on the link below for another reason why Smith should be starting. QBs who are threats to run open up cut back lanes for RBs. So, with Smith in at QB, expect McGahee and Rice to find more room.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3059070

Mike, Great post. You made a great point without bashing either quarterback. You also made it clear that you aren't excited about either quarterback as a number one without belittling either of their abilities.

One guys played 5 years the other guys played 4 games .....if they're almost even you definetly wan't to go with the guy who's only played 4 games and hope he evolves into a better quarterback ...all you need is functional /efficient not consistently mistake prone like Boller.... you dont need spectacular.....and the mobility is a must with this rag tag offensive line'.

Why did we not enter the Farve bidding sweepstakes. If successful, we could have cut Boller, put Smith on a short lease and make sure Flacco follows Farve's every move. Aren't we all really tired of the QB fiasco....Vinny was the only real QB we ever had, and he was inherited from the old browns. I've already sold my tickets...can't take another season of offensive impotence.

This may be Troy's last chance to prove that he will be our QB. He needs to step up and take this job by the balls.

It won't make any difference who QB's because the line won't keep the Rams out of the backfield and Smith will be looking up at the lights in the dome. I'm a Raven's fan but the facts are the facts. It will only make it more clear that until the Offensive line is capable of blocking for the QB it won't make any difference.

Glad I sold my PSLs two years ago. I won't be watching much Ravens football until they get a GM who will provide his QB with an OL and some WRs. Bisciotti shoud take some of that money they peed away on the likes of McGahee and hire someone of Phil Savage's abilities. Ozzie is a joke.

Oh. Here's a thought. Smith or Boller in two weeks. "Congratulations young man, you are our strating quarterback. You have just won the opportunity to lead our team onto the field without a viable left tackle, right tackle or starting running back. By the way, there are no TE either. Good Luck!" Ouch.

We need a change. I'm getting sick of seeing the same stuff from Boller. Troy has one year under his belt already. So try him and if he doesn't work out then put in Boller.

amen boller sucks haha
they need to put smith in to see what he can do!

I have to say I like the idea. If he fails they play boller if they do well they play smith. Not a bad idea at all. I dont think there is any other solution until Flacco and the line are ready.

Mike,

Assuming that the tackle situation can be improved in big way for next season.. how do you think Flacco stands to fair next season?

It's like picking between tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber.

I'm not sure I even care anymore.

I disagree with Bob a bit. I believe our poor line has always been largely the blame for Boller's performance. Consequently I think Smith's mobility is necessary to survive behind it and makes him the logical choice. If Boller starts he will eventually get injured anyway and Smith will play. We have some young talent on the O line and I hope they eventually turn into something good but I have never been impressed with our pass blocking. I tend to like Kyle but once he gets hurt a bit his performance suffers. I thought he looked good until he got hammered Saturday. He was done after that. Smith may panic but he is quick on his feet and can make plays on the run. We are again going to live or die on the run game and our defense. The QB is just there to keep opposing defenses honest and hand the ball off.

Kyle Boller has been erratic over his career yes, but he's never had a good O-line either . I honestly think he would be a decent QB with a good line.

why is'nt boller playing could a trade be in the works

let's bring daunte culpepper in for a two year deal, he should be relatively cheap since he's still unemployed with two weeks till the start of the season, dump boller and have smith and flacco learn from a qb that when he is healthy can put up great numbers and put wins on the board.

Boller, on many occasions, has simply looked scared when he's in the lineup. I know that our offensive line needs work. Still, a quarterback should excude confidence. I'd be scared behind our line but I don't get paid to be a quarterback.

Let's see what Smith can do.

TROY WILL DO WELL IF GIVEN A CHANCE...BUT WE STILL NEED TO SURE UP THE OLINE HE WILL NEED SOME HELP

WE ARE STILL SEARCHING AFTER THE GREAT OZ AND IHE GREATESTEST QUATERBACK JUDGE OF TALENT B.B. SENT DEREK ANDERSON PACKING TO THE PRO BOWL SO WHY KEEP READING WHAT THEY THINK AND WHO THEY DECIDE WHO WILL RUN THIS TEAM?

It doesn't matter who the QB is this year, but it won't be Flacco as they won't risk their highly prized, highly paid QB of the future behind such a porous line. The Ravens are a draft/free agency or two away from giving Flacco the protection and weapons he needs to be successful, so this season will look like some of the recent past, with good defense keeping them in most games, while the offense struggles to score! Looks like 5-11 at best this year........

Does Harbaugh keep stats in practice? Is he going to leave the decision up to the off. cord., or take a straw poll of the vets to decide who starts? Maybe some combination of the above will help him decide on the starter.

SURE, GIVE TROY ANOTHER START. IF HE FLOPS, I WOULD PUT FLACCO IN THE SHOTGUN AND LET HIM USE HIS CANNON ARM. IN THE SHOTGUN HE WILL HAVE MORE TIME TO READ THE DEFENSES AND HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO GET RID OF THE BALL. LET HIM USE THE NO HUDDLE OFTEN, ESPECIALL ON 3RD DOWN.
FORGET BOLLER, HE IS NOT A WINNER. HE PROBABLY WILL HAVE A DECENT CAREER AS A BACKUP IN THE NFL. I HAVE MY DOUBTS ABOUT TROY... LET HIM START SATURDAY... WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT HE CAN DO... IF HE PLAYS NO BETTER THAN LAST GAME, WE ARE IN TROUBLE--
HAVING 2 BACKUP QB's ON THE ROSTER AND FLACCO WITH LITTLE EXPERIENCE!
EX-BIRDMAN

come on people look a little deeper in Harbaugh mind , Kyle boller will be your starting QB, he doesnt want risk Kyle going down with a pre season injury, with a temporary off.line that blocking. Since Kyle is not a scrambler , and Troy is ,he figures Troy has better chance of avoiding injury, and give's the staff a chance to really look at him to see if he's a keeper .So when season starts he has Kyle healthy & ready to go . only makes sense ...

It looks to me like Smith has a little trouble seeing down-field and his qb rating as of now is 47% which is just about where he was at the end of last pre-season when he was also at the bottom................next question, please

I agree with Jesse 100%. I don't think they have picked a starter yet. They want to see how troy does. You must have a good arm to be an NFL QB. Troy has not proved that yet. Maybe he does maybe he doesn't. We will find out sat.

Who Cares!!! Tell me the agents for Kyle and Troy aren't scouting the other 31 teams to see where their client will fit next year, if not the middle of this year. These 2 are just a bridge, and with these reports it just tells me the bridge is getting shorter every day. My concern, as touched on above, is: When Joe Flacco is ready, will the O line and receivers be ready for Joe Flacco. Honestly, I could care less about who plays "Joe" with the 1st team until then.