Posts tagged KyleBoller at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

In his weekly "Snap Judgments" column, SI.com's Don Banks has an interesting nugget on the Ravens and their ever-elusive search to find a competent starting quarterback:

If the indications coming out of Baltimore are correct and former Heisman winner Troy Smith does win the Ravens starting quarterback job this preseason, new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is likely to be in line for much of the credit.

Not sure what "indications" Banks has picked up on, but this is the second time in a week that Cameron, fresh off a 1-15 run as the Dolphins head coach, has garnered praise from the media. In a story about rookie Joe Flacco, the Baltimore Sun's Jamison Hensley wrote of Cameron's willingness to fit the offense around a quarterback's strengths. Novel idea, that.

Apparently, the same holds for Smith, according to Banks' source:

"Cam's very good at figuring out a player's strength, figuring out what he does well, and then tailoring the offense around those skills,'' the Ravens source said. "He's got Troy moving around and doing a lot of the same things he had success doing at Ohio State.''

So after years of not having a legit starting quarterback, the Ravens suddenly have two, neither of whom are named Kyle Boller. And to think, all it took to turn Baltimore into a QB factory was to get rid of Brian Billick. Shocking.

I understand that there are statues with more mobility than Byron Lefwich, and Daisuke Matsuzaka has a more compact windup, but looking over some of the names of quarterbacks currently populating NFL rosters, you have to wonder how he has yet to find work. (Actually, I know the answer, but just for the sake of discussion...)

But here we are, almost to July, and Leftwich is still unemployed. As I mentioned earlier this month, a lot of teams around the league are concerned about Leftwich's injury history; sure, David Carr or Joey Harrington or Kyle Boller might all be less skilled players, but they can take a hit. A bunch of them, in fact.

Good news, though: Leftwich has an ally in Brian Billick:

Billick, now a game analyst for Fox, liked Leftwich enough in college that the Ravens tried to work a deal with the Minnesota Vikings to trade up in the draft. But in an infamous draft day snafu, the Vikings took too much time - some say the Jaguars intentionally stalled them - and lost the pick, allowing Jacksonville to take Leftwich...

"He can throw it," Billick said of Leftwich. "There's never been a question about his ability. He's got one of those unique arms. He proved to be fairly accurate..."

So, in a sense, we have Mike Tice to thank for ruining Leftwich's career. Somehow that makes perfect sense.

via PFT

There are very few cases of NFL quarterbacks having much success as rookies. Ben Roethlisberger is the obvious exception, and Vince Young played surprisingly well after replacing the irreplaceable Kerry Collins. More often, though, these players struggle with the speed of the games, the voluminous playbooks and the defensive schemes devised to confuse them.

Kyle Boller is the perfect example, which explains why, after five less-than-spectacular seasons, the Ravens have drafted the next franchise quarterback, Joe Flacco. But unlike Boller, who, in retrospect, never had a chance with Brian Billick serving as his career counselor, Flacco will be mentored by Cam Cameron.

Cameron was rightfully canned after a forgettable 2007 season in Miami; although he may not be head-coaching material, he's a proven offensive coordinator, and has a solid track record in developing quarterbacks.

As Flacco continues his crash course in Baltimore's offense, the chance that he finds his way onto the field this season increases.

I don't know if Jared Gaither suddenly becomes an answer to a Trivial Pursuit: the Baltimore Ravens Edition question, but he'll get first crack at the left tackle job vacated by Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden when he announced his retirement earlier this week.

Gaither, a fifth-round supplemental pick last July, entered the NFL amid all sorts of questions, both good and bad. On the upside, he's 6-9, 320 pounds and has plenty of quickness for a big guy. But he also failed out of Maryland, and only managed 15 reps of 225 during his Pro Day workout (Brady Quinn, by comparison, does 15 as part of his pre-warmup routine).

Gaither started two games last season, and the Ravens front office is intrigued by his potential. Of course, it's not clear if Gaither is truly dedicated to football, which is kinda worth knowing before giving him the job of protecting the quarterback's blind side.

Baltimore featured one of the youngest offensive lines in the league last season, and the inexperience showed. That said, this unit could evolve into a very competent group, which should make Joe Flacco very happy. In the meantime, Kyle Boller will have to pay the price for progress, in the form of a crapload of sacks. Thanks, dude.

SI.com's Bucky Brooks wonders why neither Daunte Culpepper nor Byron Leftwich are currently on an NFL roster. The easy answer: they stink, but that leads to the inevitable follow-up: Oh, yeah? Well, how do you explain Kyle Boller, David Carr - anybody on the Bears -- all having jobs? So, back to Brooks' original question. What gives?

Basically, it sounds like it comes down to bad luck and poor timing. Injuries have NFL personnel types wary, and not altogether sure if either will get another chance at the NFL.

"[Culpepper] was one of the best quarterbacks in the league at one point, but he can't get a job in this league?" said an AFC scout. "Sure, he's been injured, but his arm strength and ability to play the game hasn't changed." ...

"It's a quick game and [Leftwich's] mechanics are all screwed up," the scout said. "His long windup limits his ability to function in a quick, rhythm offense and his lack of mobility make him a sitting duck in the pocket. It would be hard for him to fit into most offenses."

Culpepper's fate is more a function of his knee than any peculiarities in his wind-up, but that doesn't guarantee he's more likely to catch on with a QB-needy team anytime soon.

When the Ravens drafted Joe Flacco in the first round of the NFL Draft, it was with the understanding that he would be the team's franchise quarterback. The only question was how long until he would be thrust into that role.

Ideally, Flacco would have an opportunity to "learn by watching," but sometimes circumstances (and large sums of money) dictate otherwise. For now, Kyle Boller and 2007 fifth-rounder Troy Smith are battling for the starting gig. Both are considered temporary replacements while Flacco learns the offense, adjusts to life in the NFL, so on and so forth.

NFL Network's Adam Schefter writes that Smith, a former Heisman Trophy winner, might be more than a Flacco stand-in. In fact, he could be ... Derek Anderson? Some context:

[In Flacco,] Baltimore firmly believed it had drafted its quarterback of the future. And maybe it has. But this spring, Baltimore's backup quarterback, Smith ...has done his best Derek Anderson impression, surprising coaches while vying for the starting job.

There are those in Baltimore who now believe Smith has a legitimate chance to beat out Kyle Boller and Flacco to win the starting job.

You know, I'm not completely surprised. Boller's a competent backup, but I think he's shown he's not much more than that. Plus, Smith always got high marks for his leadership skills, but his draft stock allegedly plummeted because he's only 6-0.

It would be pleasantly surprising if Smith had an Anderson-esque season, but I'm guessing the Ravens would just settle for some consistency at this point.

Hat tip: Shutdown Corner

Unlike the offensive coordinators under Brian Billick, Cam Cameron, the guy new head coach John Harbaugh has charged with revamping (creating?) the Ravens offense, will have the run of the place. So in contrast to Rick Neuheisel, who held the OC title but had little to do on game days outside of keeping Kyle Boller's spirits up, Cameron will not only install his offense, he'll be calling plays on Sundays.

Novel idea, that.

The hope, unchanged from the time the Browns relocated to Baltimore, is that the offense can serve some purpose other than offering the defense a quick breather. Cameron has a track record of fielding high-powered offenses, which is something Matt Cavanagh or Neuheisel could never claim.

The issue, of course, is if Cameron can have the same success in Baltimore that he had in San Diego. The biggest difference between the Ravens ahd Chargers is personnel. There are only one LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates (although Willis McGahee and a healthy Todd Heap ain't bad), and Drew Brees had his best season in San Diego under Cameron. Maybe the most underrated group was the offensive line, who allowed the skill players do do what they do.

The biggest name at Ravens passing camp yesterday was Joe Flacco and he wasn't even there. While Kyle Boller and Troy Smith were actually taking snaps, everyone was wondering about where Flacco would slot in when he's actually allowed to practice with the team. Unless he grasps everything immediately, though, Flacco will be sitting and watching one of the other guys to start the season.

We all know about Boller so it's more interesting to focus on Smith. He got a few starts when the season was lost last season but his NFL ability is still something of a mystery. Based on reports from two Baltimore Sun writers who were at the practice, though, it's hard to draw any conclusions about how Smith did. Jamison Hensley had a positive take.


Sounds good, right? Hensley also reports that Boller was getting passes knocked down. His colleague Mike Preston came away with a very different impression, though. He agreed Smith was better yesterday but only because Boller was atrocious.

If Kyle Boller and Troy Smith are feeling a little annoyed right now, you can hardly blame them. Boller and Smith are first and second on the Ravens' quarterback depth chart, but at today's organized team activities in Baltimore, everyone wanted to talk about a quarterback who wasn't even there.

That quarterback is rookie first-round draft pick Joe Flacco, who is precluded from participating by a silly NFL rule that keeps rookies out of off-season practices until their colleges are done with the semester -- even though in Flacco's case, he's not even a student at Delaware anymore. Don Markus of the Baltimore Sun reports that reporters asked coach John Harbaugh today not about Boller or Smith, but about what Flacco is missing while the NFL keeps him away.

Harbaugh said, "Well the biggest thing is all the offensive stuff he can catch up on. The reps, it's hard to get those back. We're going to get as many reps as we can for him.'' ...

Harbaugh was a bit cautious when somebody brought up the rotation.

"That's going to be up to [Ravens offensive coordinator] Cam [Cameron]. I don't think the rotation changes at all,'' Harbaugh said. "He's going to get plenty of reps. I think all three of those guys are going to be competing for a spot. They deserve an opportunity.''

Flacco might get plenty of reps, but I'd be shocked if he's anything other than the third-string quarterback in Week 1. This is shaping up as a Boller vs. Smith competition, and Boller will likely be the one who wins it -- while everyone keeps wondering how long before he gets benched for Flacco.

Hashmarks' James Walker offers a personal observation that could mean the difference between a five-win and 13-win season: "Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco outperformed both Kyle Boller and Troy Smith during last week's three-day veteran minicamp."

More likely, this means absolutely nothing since, you know, it's May and NFL teams won't be allowed to practice in pads for another two months or so.

Lucky for Boller and Smith -- and not so lucky for Ravens fans -- Flacco has to finish his schooling before pursuing his life's work. Normally, the inane rule limiting newly drafted players to one minicamp while school is still in session wouldn't have much effect on Flacco's rookie season. But Baltimore has a new coaching staff, which means everybody's learning a new offense. Advantage: Boller, Smith.

In the end, though, does it much matter? Isn't the plan for Flacco to learn by sitting this season, and then have him compete for the starting job in 2009? Obviously, the timetable could be adjusted upwards after head coach John Harbaugh gets a long look at Brian Billick's pet project, Kyle Boller -- the ironical example of what can happen when you rush an unprepared quarterback into the starting lineup.

Whatever the team's plan for Flacco, there doesn't seem to be convincing evidence that missing parts of minicamp has any significant effect on rookie performance. Plus, if Boller plays like everybody expects he will, and Smith struggles, Flacco will probably get a look, ready or not.