Pete;
the great mistake that the Ravens made with Boller should not be repeated with Flacco. This is a very poor football team right now and Flacco at QB is not going to make it any better.

This an old team and the large contracts that have been given has made it difficult to make it any younger.

Let Smith and Boller share the job this season and lets accept that we are not a playoff team and will not be for a few years while we rebuild.

No way you start Flacco with this offense. Boller gives us the best chance because he has experience and can throw the ball down field. I think Harbaugh is just trying to send him a message with starting Smith. He has to know Smith is not an NFL quarterback, but Boller didn't step up and distinguish himself in camp with probably didn't make Harbaugh very happy.

I think you have to put him in the race. He looked as good as anything we have seen. I thought he kept his calm when the pocket started to collapse. He could have made some better decisions,possibly running for a first down on one play and throwing the ball away instead of into a crowd on another,but overall he looked as if he belongs in this league and that he'll only get better.

Unfortunately, even though it is coming up to the final preseason game, you've got nothing to lose by giving Troy Smith one more chance to grab the starting position. Everyone knows what Boller's capable of (or not capable of!), and Flacco will get killed out there behind a suspect o-line. So anything Smith can do to "earn" the starting nod would be greatly appreciated by me. Check out my other comments on my Ravens blog, located at: www.BaltimoreBeatdown.com

C'mon Pete, quit playing. Flacco was straight-up horrid. He's going to be a 2-3 year project at minimum (following on the heels of eternal project Boller) and more than likely another Ravens bust at QB. Of course, it is rather hard to judge a QB when you still only have one NFL calibre WR on the roster ...and he's getting ready to retire. I truly believe Billick will have the last laugh as it slowly dawns on everyone that Ozzie was the guy that should have been canned. No QBs or WRs worth a damn drafted since he's been here and that's an indisputable FACT.

No. Stick to the plan. The early season is going to be ugly. They're not ready yet. The secondary is swiss cheese. The receivers glue themselves to the corners. The O-line is porous. Don't throw Flacco into this situation.

Put Falacco in, keep him in and let him learn. He can't be worst then the other two and he is the future.

Even though Joe Flacco did some good things last night, I still think he is not ready to start the season because again he is our QB of the future and we cannot afford to take the risk of starting him right away. If he does, then he will just lose his confidence and he'll be a bust, just like Boller. So its either Smith or Boller. Right now I'm starting to lose sense of even starting Smith since all of a sudden he has a stomach virus. I think Smith is really nervous, I don't know why but he is. I hate to admitt it, but Boller in my opinion is the only QB that I feel comfortable with at starting on opening day. Why? Because he has been here the longest, he knows what WR's hes throwing to and it's his last year of his contract, so you might as well let him take one more chance. If he screws up, then put Smith in. That's pretty simple, don't you think?

For Joe Flacco, it was a learning experience. He clearly has a lot of things to work on. As for a QB controversy, I think Kyle Boller and Troy Smith need to clone themselves together, maybe we could get a good QB out of it. Boller needs to protect the football a lot better if he wants to play in the NFL. For Troy, he needs to make better decisions and with the OL that he has, needs to use his feet more. Only 1 more pre-season game left to determine who the starting QB will be in week 1. I can see all 3 QBs starting at some point during the season. But with Boller's shoulder woes and Flacco's inexperience, Troy seems to be the logical choice for Opening Day vs. Cincinnati.

Unless Flacco's clearly the guy (and he isn't yet) Smith should get a chance. Once we get the "old guys" back this team will look very different. Ray is the only one of our 6-7 stars playing right now....and that's for one series. Mason is probably our best player thus far.....and maybe the oldest too. All we're learning is that our backups aren't capable of winning in this league.

I agree with most posters here. It is not the time for Flacco - yet. It would be an act of desperation if the Ravens named Flacco the starter to start the season. At this point, Smith needs to start the final preseason game, and should start the season opener. In my opinion, it is his job to lose. Not that he earned it, but he is the best the Ravens have to start the season

Remember the adage about preseason games and training camp make bubble players play for their NFL lives?

Does that apply with the ravens? Three young corners Martin, Prude, and Pittman, and none steps up. Dan Cody got on the field briefly only in the fourth quarter. Marcus Smith can't hold on to a pass or return a kick. Allen Patrick loses 3 yards first time he touches the ball.

And i keep reading on the ravens site and the sun how difficult it will be to get down to 53 players. Are you kidding me? I think you should cut it down to 49 players, and scour the waiver wire for serviceable fill ins.

PUP list:
Jared Gaither
Demetrius Williams

CUT:
ALL cornerbacks EXCEPT Mccallister, Rolle, Washington, Walker, and Ivy.
ALL receivers except Mason, Figurs, Clayton (why i don't know), Msmith (Ditto)
Daniel Wilcox (sorry, but i'd rather have Bergen and Ejones)
ALL OL except Grubbs, Brown, Yanda, Terry, Cousins, and keep slaughter OR Kracilik not both (Kracilik has found a home on the practice squad...he should be safe from other NFL teams there)

Oh and the hard one...cut Boller or TSmith, and bring in Cleo Lemon or someone else that is available to backup who ever 'wins' the starting QB battle.

That should get us down to 49-50 players, and we should sign 1 tackle, 1 WR, and 1QB

I say start Smith at QB and if he stumbles repeatedly, then bring in Boller.

Do not use Flacco other than a back up, rarely do rookie QBs do well, unless maybe he turns out to be another Ben Rothlesberger

If this is a true rebuilding year I would rather the kid learn on the field. What is he going to learn from watching Boller and Smith from the sidelines? It's not enough to learn what not to do.

Boller is not a bust, Ozzie is. Boller has never had a good pass blocking line to play behind, nor a quality receiving corps. No QB succeeds behind a porous line (see Brady, Tom, Super Bowl.) Even hero McNair couldn't get our offense near the top 10, and folded in the playoffs against the Irsatz Colts.

Boller completed 61% of his passes last season, and has five or six games of 100+ QB rating in his last 16. No QB will do better on this team. Last season, we had no pass defense, so we couldn't stop opponents from scoring (remember Cleo Lemon torching us - we had a lead in that game, as we did in a few others that the defense lost.)

The Ravens will be lucky to win 8 games no matter who is behind center. It is time we realize that this team is old in some crucial places especially on defense. Start Flacco now and let him get the growing pains behind him when this team returns to play off caliber. Starting Boller as a rookie did not ruin him. He was never a good quarterback and never will be. The rookie quarterback that get so called "ruined" by starting them too soon, is overrated.

It really is apparent that Ozzie needs to go... or bring someone in that can evaluate offensive talent . We don't have one all pro caliber weapon on offense except maybe Mcgahee . We seem to be the most injured team in the league so we might also want to re-evaluate our trainers or the heart and integrity of some of our players as well . How did we fall so far from grace ? I will still root for them because I love the Ravens however it isn't an unconditional love and some people in the organization really need to look at themselves in the mirror long and heard and figure out if they are part of the problem or part of the solution .

Flacco has seen fairly vanilla defenses at this point. Fortunately, he is not showing signs of chuck and duck like David Carr but he has not seen blitzing packages like the Steelers use.

The prblem with starting Flacco is that you don't know if he'll turn into a David Carr or a John Elway after taking a beating for a couple of years.

The smarter path still seems to be to let the O-line build in front of him first while he carries a clipboard for a season or two.

Harbaugh believed he was setting the tone practing in jerseys. It's a rebuilding year.The "silent rebellion" of players not practicing cause they're hurt is going to have a major effect. Reed and Heap are the only ones hurt. The"attitudes" think they can turn the swich on. Set the tone.You dont practice, you dont play. How does Mcgahee knows he's gonna be ready on Sept 7th. what a joke!!

I agree with the person that says Ozzie needs to be canned . What a joke!!! Remember right player at the right price!!!

Tandem QBs--Play Boller when the Ravens are tied or behind, and play Troy Smith when the Ravens are ahead.

Boller gives the Ravens the best chance of scoring, and Troy Smith gives the Ravens the best chance of avoiding turnovers and running out the clock.

Flacco sits until his second year.

NO, NO, NO!!!! Do not rush the kid. There is no reason to. It really does not matter who starts between Smith or Boller this season. Flacco may see some playing time later in the season when we know for sure the season is a learning/rebuilding one, but DO NOT rush him. See: Kyle Boller, 2003-2007.

I say start Joe Flacco again in the last Preseason game against Atlanta. If he shows more improvement then start him in our regular season opener.

If Flacco is the future then why on earth would you risk starting him when;
A. He isn't ready, and doesn't give you the best chance to win. (Boller is the better passer and Smith is more athletic than either of the two)
B. You have a terrible offensive line that will probably get him killed or injured permanently.
C. This team would not be super bowl bound this year even if it had Tom Brady at quarterback.
The offense is abysmal (outside of possibly having a good running game if all backs are healthy). The defense is old and all the starting cornerbacks and safeties are hurt. The corners that do start McCallister/Roll) aren't half the players they used to be.
Who would I start then? I'm torn between starting Smith or Boller. I believe Boller is better but with the line the Ravens have, Smith may be the better option at this point. I'd let Joe sit out the year and learn. It the Ravens are awful at the end of the year, let him play the last few games and make him the starter next year.

Hmmm...all week long we'd seen blogs and articles about how Kyle was carrying himself a little different after Troy was named starter for the 3rd preseason game - and then we hear that he hadn't practiced all week with an injury he received during the game last week? Something smells funny about this whole QB situation.

I still see another QB being brought in when other teams have to cut down their rosters. Chris Simms anyone? Brian Griese?

Rexx,

Finally a fan with some sense. Billick took all the heat for Ozzie's poor offensive drafts. We keep hearing about how Billick was a quarterback killer, but who did he have to work with, aside from one year wonder Elvis? WRs? Ozzie drafted Taylor and an undersized Clayton. Yet some how these fans place ALL the blame solely on Billick. Time will show who really failed this offensive system.

Preface: I am a Delaware Alum.

I thought that Flacco looked much improved. Quicker decisions (but not quite quick enough yet). Better grasp of the offense (but some rookie decision lapses already cited). Underthrowing his recievers a little (they're "a wee bit" faster in the NFL than NCAA).

Having seen every down he played at Delaware and over half of the ones he played on the road, I can say that this is not yet the Joe Flacco that I have seen, but I have seen glimpses...

Be patient Ravens fans, and look at how much progress was made from the New England game. (Even Roethlisberger went through this, but they could "hide him" because of a superior line and running game). Let Smith have his time, because running for your life behind a line which is a work in progress is no reward. By the time the line is improved to the C level, Joe will be ready too.

Pete: Before any QB is going to be any good at all, we have to find some wideouts, besides Mason, who can get some separation from the defenders. It is a very SAD sitiation,again this year.w

Lewesjim stated it the best. All very true. Coaches, LISTEN to what he said !!!

What did we do to now be 18 Quarterbacks later and still not have one that can hit guys that are wide open? Spare me the guy who can throw 60 yards from his knees or thread a needle from 40 yards away- Just give me one guy that can throw the ball 8 yards in the flat without fumbling or throwing it at somebody's shoes!! None of these guys can do it. Flacco missed a bunch of guys who were wide open - some of whom he didn't even see!! You will not find a playoff team in this league with a QB who misses wide open guys. We dlo it every year which is why we are often watching the playoffs on TV.

So Flacco looked nice in the 2nd half against guys who are either rookies or are trying to catch on with the Rams. Let's give him a little praise and end it at that. Let's not blow his head up.
We have seen what Boller can do and it isn't much. He is a glorified back-up. All these Ravens fans who scream about Boller's potential seem to forget that he was a 1-hit wonder at Cal. (I say trade Boller for another back-up QB & a pick!)
We have not had enough time to evaluate Troy Smith. Sure he isn't prototypical NFL QB size, but neither was Doug Flutie nor is Drew Brees. Troy Smith can say that he has been more of a winner than Boller. He also seems to have the confidence of several of his teammates, unlike Flacco & Boller. Let him get the starting nod, allow Flacco to develop and then later compete for the starting job(next year)

No way Flacco should be ruined this early in his career with this collection of stiffs on offense. Here's the solution for the future:

- Fire Ozzie
- The new GM can then finally build the o-line and the WR corps.
- Cut all WRs
- Cut all lineman except Brown; Grubbs; and Yanda

We're never going to improve unless you address the core of the problem, which is, and always has been, Ozzie.

whoever thinks kyle is the answer needs to get their head examined. he has showed for years that all he knows how to do is go 3 and out and trip over himself

i dont think any of you idiots relize, that we were mising half of our starting defense the whole game, corners out, ed reed, kelley greg, ngata, ray played bout 1 or 2 series, and on offnse, we missed some of our linemen, heap, willis, and once lorenzo neal gets in there he will help block tremendesly, im getting tired of people tellin us that were gonna be a 6 or 7 win team, thats all BS to me i think we can make the playoffs easily if we have healthy people

No I think starting Flacco should be out of the question this year unless it is the last game of the season when the Jaguars are resting most of their starters for the playoffs. He didn't look too bad but we should learn from what happened with Boller and let Flacco sit his rookie year.

The short answer is that Flacco demonstrated last night that he's "light years" ahead of both Smith and Boller. But, with so much invested in him, they will probably wait until they can protect him and provide him with weapons before risking injury to him. Given the state of their offensive line, Smith's mobility is more suited to escaping the rush than a pocket passer such as Flacco. Anybody watching last night had to be encouraged with what they saw......

I really like the progress that Joe is making. Game 1 he was awful. Game 2 he almost was the hero. Game 3 he released the ball quicker, made better reads and seemed to remain calm through the whole process. 2 weeks ago, I would have said its too soon. But if he keeps going, who knows? I'd start Boller, even with all his problems. But in my mind Flacco moved ahead of Smith on the depth chart. I just don't get this whole Smith thing. He didn't beat out Drew Olson last year and he hasn't beat out anybody this year. But the Ravens will probably start him.

Peter I would still sit Flacco the team has a shaky line and no wide outs of any significance you might as well go 3-13 with Boller and Smith and build the offense around Joe.

Flacco looks like he has all the attributes of a good, starting NFL QB: poise, awareness, smarts, and the arm to deliver the ball on a rope. This elevates him above SMITH and BOLLER.

If anything, FLACCO entered the picture for taking reps from center sometime in 2008. Making him the starter from day one, however, might risk getting him killed or derailing his confidence.

I'm less concerned about the Ravens QB and more concerned about LT, TE, and WR. Derrick Mason is outstanding, but Mark Clayton hasn't turned any corners on the improvement front, and no candidate has emerged to challenge him for the #2 receiving spot. The #3 spot looks vacant.

If Todd Heap can play a full season, I imagine that would boost any of the Raven QB's rating 8 pts by itself.

Lastly, is Chad Slaughter the LT, or will someone more capable emerge? Will Gaither ride in to the rescue?

Ozzie couldnt smell a good offensive player if it gift wrapped and sat on the his desk at the castle. He couldnt get Matt Ryan so he got the "oh no we need a qb" syndrome he has. We have seen it once. Oh no Byron is gone ?????? Trade to get Kyle. That worked out awsome. Maybe we can keep signing in for 1 year deals for the rest of his career unless he gets a multi year deal from some other NFL team. Hahahaha yea right. I think Delaware needs a qb coach. Why in your right mind would you draft a qb that has faced no competition and think he could come to the high powered offensive of the ravens that cant move the ball with Tom Brady and think he is the man. This will be a 5 year project to develop a qb and by that time they will be looking for a veteren to have a winning season. We draft Todd Heap who had a couple good years then signed that contract and has spent everyday since then on the sideline counting his money. Im not sure he has played since. Mark Clayton, Travis Taylor, Marcus Smith, Davard Darling... there all the next big time ravens reciever. Yea ok...When...Never. The best reciever we had has been Mason and how did we get him...free agent. Hint Hint. Stop paying all these old defensive players that do nothing but jump out of the tunnel and do alittle dance make alittle love and throw a flag tonight and start signing some veteren free agents. You got 3 LB free agents coming up this year and im sure will give them the bank. Why do we need to free money up, well only be the worst team in the league this year and trade out of the number 1 pick to get 35 draft picks to make our team better... or better yet draft a wr from AACC and hope in 8 years he will be the wr we are looking for! Go Ravens

Wow, I've heard some pretty inane posts here. Some of you sound like you just started watching the team on Saturday. Flacco should not, and will not, start the season. Smith is probably the best choice and a big reason why is his mobility behind our O-Line. I think the interior, Grubbs, Brown and Yanda, will do a pretty good job, but our 2 tackles scare the hell out of me. Terry is mediocre at best and Gaither, while full of potential, is still young, still learning, and at the moment, still injured.

Also, lets take it easy on Ozzie, especially considering his record of cranking out pro bowlers each and every year.

Let's face it, this will be a rough year, but I think what our young players learn throughout it will only make us stronger for '09.

I'm in full agreement with AL's comments well up the string...Boller isn't the second coming of Johnny Unitas, but he's serviceable.

The reasons for Boller's problems are the same reasons to keep Flacco on the bench...those tubs of lard up front that masquerade on Sundays as an offensive line.

Flacco won't learn anything if he spends the season in the hospital.

Smith has more pocket sense than Boller and is more agile, but I don't think ANYBODY is any tougher than Boller. Take a look at some of the hits he's taken and you wonder why he doesn't opt for a stuntman career instead.

Yes, he forces some passes...all QB's do, but nobody has had to work behind a worse pass-blocking line than him, along with the worst receiver set around and I think that has dramatically added to his interception totals...and Johnny U had the career mark for fumbles when he retired. Everyone seems to have forgotten that.

Let Boller start...he's bound to get clobbered soon, then send in Smith. This team is going no where...the O-Line needs time to be cohesive; the D-line needs a young pass-rushing stud and at least 2 CB's.

By the time all that happens, Flacco should be ready too.

The way I see it, there wasn't any drop off between Flacco's performance and what we've previously seen from Boller and Smith. Since Flacco's the future, if he's playing just as good as the other two or even slightly better, why not make him the starter now. What have we got to lose? I don't think throwing Boller to the wolves made him the QB he is now. He just doesn't have it, and I think Joe does.

As a football talent evaluator, Schmuck makes a very good DOOR STOP!

Before Billick arrived the Ravens had a pretty good offense with Marchibroda. Billick came and messed that up with his overrated offensive genius mind. Everything is Ozzie's fault let the expert fans say. I believe Ozzie drafted Johnathan Ogden, Todd Heap, Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware. Acquired Derrick Mason and Willis McGhee so how can a man that brought in that talent through the draft and FA not know his job. But to those it was Phil Savage and not Ozzie. But now Cleveland has a good O but the defense will suck again. Yes we need better talent and that will come through the draft. But you can only draft the best talent available to you at that time. Never have the Ravens had a poor draft under Ozzie Newsome. Those in the NFL know how truly great at his job Ozzie is. Now if the fans would realize that.

Do not start Flacco. He looked okay. Some 4th quarter mop up and let Boller and/or Smith get killed out behind that line. Have a good running game, get lucky, go 8-8 (or 7-9) and Flacco plays out the string for experience. Tackles get better and next year, let's start making another multi-year run

Listen-- Any fan who wants to blame Ozzie for the state of Ravens and also want to start Flacco should have his or her head examined.
1st Ozzie has brought in pro-bowl talent year in and year out ( enough said )!!
2nd Joe needs to learn the offense before being named the starter. He will Not make this team any better this year. He needs time to learn the in's and out's of the QB position. Division 2 is alot different than division 1. It takes time for div 1 staters to catch on ( everyone relax and be patient ) Joe will be fine !!
3rd The offensive line and the secondary look dreadful so far. I hope it is a product of the coaches evaluating talent, rather than the players we will see on the field in the season opener
4th but far from last, I hope this has not been the blueprint of the offensive plays to be called during the season. Cam will need to be more imaginative to get to 8 wins this year.

THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME GOOD LOGIC IN THAT-THROW BOLLER OUT THERE TO GET KILLED BEHIND THAT POOR O LINE. REALLY, IT DOES NOT MATTER WHICH QB STARTS THE SEASON. THE RAVENS WILL HAVE A TOUGH TIME WINNING 8 GAMES.
TRADING BOLLER MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA. MAKE TROY THE STARTER. IF HE DOES POORLY IN THE FIRST HALF, LET FLACCO PLAY THE SECOND HALF. THIS WAY FLACCO GETS SOME EXPERIENCE, WITHOUT ALL THE PRESSURE THAT A STARTER HAS.
GET RID OF OZZIE. THAT MORON PASSED ON THE FRETT FAVRE DEAL, LET DEREK ANDERSON & JAMAL GET AWAY. TRADE OZZIE FOR SAVAGE IN CLEVELAND,
EX-BIRDMAN

Do we not forget that this is just the preseason and majority of these teams do not play with their first string, espeically after the half. Flacco did not look good in the first half last game, and the o line is always suspect. While Ozzie doesnt make it any better, I truly think that any quarterback will struggle with tackles coming from both sides, ouch.