For God's sakes, Jersey Joe Flacco is the only guy left standing who can take the snap from center without running to the Johnny on the Spot (not talking Unitas, here) or having his shoulder popped back into place.

Perhaps more than winning the job, the job has won him. But, I believe Joe will do just fine.

I'm all for seeing Flacco get on the field and succeed, but I haven't seen anything from any quarterback that makes me think this is a playoff team. If Flacco doesn't take you to that next level, why take the chance of running him out there? I'm glad he's playing, I'm just not sure its the best move.

Is anyone else impressed how well the O Line protected our QB's and opened holes for the running backs tonight? I thought this was supposed to be the worst O Line in the league. Maybe the critics were wrong.

peter i guess casey bramlet did ok for the circumstances that was given to him. quite tough when he only had a few hours to study the play book. i would put kyle boller out to pasture.play that rice fellow instead of McGahee.at running back from my view rice sure put forth a lot of effort at the running back possition.

Smucker,

I think you are right on with this one. Flacco is making large strides with each game. So why not throw him into the fire and give him on the job training. He can probably handle it. He is a different personality than Boller who could not handle being a rookie starter. Flacco is not afraid and has better makeup than Boller. Let him bring it!

flacco for president

wow. we are screwed. but hey, just like belushi says in 'Animal House', "did we give up when the germans bombed pearl harbor?"...gonna be a looong year. folks.

Pete I agree it has to be Flacco but I am sorry that it turned out this way.

On another subject does anyone at the Sunpaper control what is being shown on some of the comments that appear on your web site? Some of the comments that are there tonight are laced with words and thoughts that should never appear on anything that is part of the Sunpapers. Does anybody on Calvert street realize that children follow our teams and they are reading these comments? Someone there better wakeup.

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Pete's reply: What did I miss? I read every comment and try to clean up any truly inappropriate stuff. Sorry if something unseemly got through.

Peter- Are you happy about this? I actually feel when he is on the field now, that we can maybe score and move the ball. I have not had that feeling in a long time if ever. I got a good feeling. I am usually a pessimist.

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Pete's reply: I don't know if it's the best thing, but I certainly find it intriguing.

Pete, either you or one of the other writers at the Sun need to write an article about whether starting a rookie QB too soon will "ruin" him. That is, the utter shock of starting too soon will forever hurt a QB.

This is a popular notion, but I think it's pretty wrong.

If Flacco is named starter, many fans will be thinking that we're "ruining" him. It would be nice to get somebody else's opinion other than a fan. Maybe interview a QB coach or GM. Ron Wolf?

"Some are born great, some acheive greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

Well, Joe, the ball's in your hands.

I think you're a better man than Boller. In fact, I think you're going to look more like Big Ben did in Pittsburgh.

Let's hope I'm right, for the sake of my NFL DirectTicket subscription for next year, if nothing else.

Couldn't agree more! Also, interesting that a QB with less that 24 hours with the team could step in and display more poise than Kyle Boller ever has!

I agree, and the Ravens coaches have been spared from making a decision as the football Gods made it for them.

WHY IS THIS TEAM RELUCTANT TO BRING IN A VETERAN LIKE CULPEPPER?

Take hope, 7 of the last 20 SUPERBOWL WINNERS had an offense that ranked 16th or worse!!!
It is the defense we need to be more concerned about. Flacco looks like our best QB & should do well, but it still is the defense which must carry this team. The Ravens can only defeat Pittsburg & Cleveland with a great deense. Hopefully the over 30
gang has one more good season in them.
Go FLACCO!!!
EXBIRDMAN

"WHY IS THIS TEAM RELUCTANT TO BRING IN A VETERAN LIKE CULPEPPER?" -- 1:34 a.m.

Because Culpepper has happier feet than Boller.

And those are some damn jittery footsteps.

It's also a stopgap solution, and stopgaps just don't work. Ask the O's. They'll tell ya.

Everybody laughed when I said draft Flacco. The guy just keeps getting better. He has the tools, the mechanics, his head is on straight, he is mature, and unflappable. Watch his eyes and his body language, Cool and confident. A gun for an arm too. if the Ravens can get a game breaking receiver or two the offense could wreak havoc in the NFL.

Why mess Flacco up? Let him learn by watching from the bench and getting an occassional quarter in a blow-out win or loss. No need to kill his confidence yet.
Note to Ozzie NEwsome please send Casey Bramlett packing. His NFL Europe Championship ring with standing. There had to be some other QB on the market, T.C Ostrander(Stanford), Paul Smith(Tulsa) or even Bret Meyer(Iowa State). Ostrander would get my vote. Stanford QBs seem to have a knack for winning in the pros. Their college teams may not be all that great, but check them out in the pros. John Elway anyone or Trent Edwards! Ravens we must do better!

Pete, Connolly called you a weenie ?? I always thought that you were a full-fledged hot dog.

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Pete's reply: I can't believe Connolly would ever call me anything but "Sir."

Because Culpepper was a product of Moss, he stinks.

flacco starter, bramlet backup. i really don't like the idea of starting a rookie, but what are you gonna do? boller is a done deal, whether anyone wants to admit it or not. while i like troy smith, he just doesn't get the job done.

everyone made a big deal about matt ryan and he did absolutely nothing. flacco outplayed him in every aspect. flacco will do fine. he is no kyle boller, he has poise.

Anonymous I'm going to go out there on a limb and say that Culpepper has been sitting on the couch and packing some pounds on to his frame.

He's not in game shape.

At all.

The Ravens need to trade Terrell Suggs for Anquan Boldin and let Flacco play the whole season. The Ravens never had a chance this season, so they might as well let Flacco figure things out and develop his game with his future receivers. And John Harbaugh is an idiot. Why is he always smiling?

Flacco is the only guy you can trot out there right now.

I still would like to see Troy Smith be the starter for a while when he gets healthy and shakes the rust off. The NFL is worlds away from Delaware, and I don't want to see such a promising future quarterback get shellshocked his first season. Plus, I lliked what I saw from Smith at the end of last year and want to see more.

I watched the replay of the game this morning on NFL Network. I think Flacco showed a lot poise and confidence. I think he should start now so that his growth and confidence continue. He has a totally different makeup than Boller, as someone else has already stated. I thought the o-line looked much improved. But very disappointed that the D allowed the Falcons to go down and score just before half time, like they did last week vs. Rams. Hope this is not a continuing trend.

"And John Harbaugh is an idiot. Why is he always smiling?" - 9:52 AM

Yes, I miss that arrogant sour-puss of Billick - not!

John is a likable guy, and comes from a football family. He's inherited a bunch of aging over-paid cry-baby football "stars" who don't even practice during camp and just want their check.

He's also inherited a front-office who didn't feel it was necessary to address the gaping holes at OL, DB, and QB positions during the offseason.

All in all, I think he's doing a pretty good job preparing a core group of young talent for a rocky season.

So let's cut him some slack, k?

Burgess--In the past I would never have thought to trade Suggs, but with the recent developments I think you might be right. He is a huge chip and I think Boldin would be awesome, only problem, is the money. Cards are right under the cap with boldin playing for about 3 mil (maybe less), while suggs is in the 8 range. The only problem for the Ravens in a trade of suggs is he is a youngster on an old D. We are going to have to address this in the future draft as well as the receiver position.(Why is it that we have terrible luck with DBs and WRs in the draft. Maybe it's too soon to say with WRs because the old regime's Carvel Sunday offense, but....). It would be signaling a change for us, a transition from relying on D to O.

Flacco played average for a rookie in these last few games, but he does not consistently drive the team down the field like Troy Smith does. When Troy feels better he is the best quarterback on this team. And how does 6 foot 6 Joe Flacco have a pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage last night? He also makes to many Boller mistakes, like that first possesion pass to mark Clayton that Clayton saved him on from a pic six

why dont the ravens consider culpepper ? for the same reason every other team has passed on him.

Hallo, Peter Schmuck! Love your column, but there's way too much gas-pumping going on! I'm from Europe and I know about football - many kinds of football - and I know that Joe Flacco is THE MAN!. He's 6' 6"; great arm and great accuracy. And, most importantly, he is smart!!! And if John H. is chicken about his getting hurt, find the players who can protect the guy for God's sake! Keep on schmuckin', Pete!!!

You are right on to go with Flacco. With Boller obviously unable to play & Smith not having as much REAL game experience as Flacco, its a no brainer. If Flacco doesn't start over Smith, the team must be admitting a mistake in drafting Flacco with Smith on the rooster.

Flacco in 08!

Now that's just dumb to trade Terrell Suggs for Anquan Boliding. Now you are creating one hole to fill another, that will get us no where.

I say put him out there only if he is healthiest qb. Work him like the Steelers used Big Ben in his first season. Make him manage the game and supply the passing attack when needed -- and RUN the ball. Let him learn, by the end of the season or next year...it will look promising.

Posted by: Bill Mohler | August 29, 2008 2:55 PM - Smith not having as much REAL game experience as Flacco

Um, Troy Smith played in 4 REAL games last year. Joe has played in 4 PRESEASON games.

But that aside, two weeks ago I would have given the starting job to Troy. Under the circumstances, Joe probably should start the season and I think he will do fine.

OK, so this is a re-tooling year. The Ravens have nothing to learn from starting Kyle Boller, little to learn from starting Troy Smith, and lots to learn about Joe Flacco. Boller had to have signed thinking McNair was coming back, and certainly the Ravens would have liked Flacco to learn from McNair. He has nothing to learn from watching Boller and Smith play, except what not to do.

Flacco should start because he commands the offense. Troy has flashes, but at other times looks completely lost and commits too many turnovers. With him missing two weeks of practice I don't think he can start. Also, Boller is history.