I think that as a quarterback with a ton of potential (as he has all the measurables a QB needs, which I realize isn't everything...) who has come from a I-AA school, there is no way Flacco should start at any point this season. My feeling is that the learning curve is steep for any quarterback, and to expect him to make the jump from the I-AA game to the NFL is unreasonable. The biggest factor any quarterback cites when noting the difference between the college game and the NFL is speed and natural ability of the defenses. And that's coming, generally, from QB's that faced far better competition than Flacco did at Delaware. To start him this year at all (maybe give him some limited garbage time action) in my opinion would be absolutely throwing him to the wolves. Let him mature and grow into the professional game. Honestly, it's not as if the Ravens exactly are poised for a monster run this season depending on their quarterback play. It seems like they're in a rebuilding phase so they must protect the future their working for by protecting their quarterback of tomorrow today.
Didn't McNair come out of 1-AA and start with the Oilers right away? Not sure if he did or not, but you never know who is ready right away nowadays. As a Steeler fan I watched Big Ben get the job by injury to Maddox. Who expected a 15-1 season that year? Definitely not me. Just saying you never know. Let him come in and manage the games, and the Ravens could be right there. We know they should be ok on defense.
True Steelerman1974, but I don't think we want to see another Boller incident.
I say we put in Troy Smith and let him show what he can do, and if he gets injured and Kyle Boller can't manage any games (his success may change with a new OC), then we bring in Joe Flacco.
I don't want to see another rookie QB be thrown unto the field unless we are screwed and have no other choice.
If I'm a fan in Baltimore, Joe Flacco starting isn't what I'm hoping for. He could start this season, and it could be the right choice, but if that happens things already haven't worked out as well as they could for the Ravens. Realistically, the ideal situation for the Ravens is if they experience what the Chargers did with Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers a few years back or what happened last year for the Browns with Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn.
Ideally Joe Flacco isn't kept on the bench by not being good enough or ready to go, but rather he's kept on the bench because they've got another guy who has improved so much and is performing at a high enough level that they can't bench him. I'd guess their best chances in getting this lie with Kyle Boller - but everybody guessed that Charlie Frye was the guy in Cleveland so I wouldn't rule out Troy Smith.
Do not throw him into the fire. I think it is best for him to see the game first and only come into it under dire circumstances. I think he might be the best fit in the short term, but you have to think what is best for him in the long run. He is someone that will need to pick up the playbook, pick up the speed. The Ravens management has learned from the Kyle Boller experiment that giving the rookie the keys to the franchaise from day one is not good for him. It places too much, too soon, to win now. This team cannot wait for Joe Flacco to catch up to the system. Ease him into it. Unless Troy Smith or Kyle Boller are knocked out of a game, would I throw Joe Flacco into it.
Let Kyle and Troy battle it out, but do given Joe Flacco his fair share of reps in training camp. It is a shame that he cannot practice until his school year ends. This will make it even tougher to assimilate the playbook in training camp.
BTW, Steve McNair did not touch the field his first year in with the Oilers, now Titans, until week 12. He did not become a full time starter until the team moved to Nashville in 1997. he started only 6 games his first two years.
Brett Farve, another 1-AA product at the time, only logged four pass attempts his first year in Atlanta. He did not go into the opening season with the Packers as the starter his following year. He went into thefirst game to mop up duty. The third game of the season, when Don Majkowski went down with a ligament injury, was his last as a backup. He too had to wait until his time came to takeover.
I think Joe Flacco should be placed in the same circumstances as well. I think Kyle Boller was the only QB to jump into a starter day one. This was also compounded by having only Chris Redman, who basically broke his back the year before falling out of a tree hunting, as the only real competiton for him.
unfortunately, Joe Flacco doesn't have such a good quarter back in front of him that the Ravens can afford to wait on him.
But while speaking about the Packers, Aaron Rodgers. i believe he will be successful because he wasn't forced into the job. this will be his fourth year in the NFL, and he is just now starting.
Tom Brady wasn't asked to start till the playoffs. He had Drew Bledsoe, who was a good quarterback; he got them into the playoffs. Not sure about Manning, i don't remember who preceded him.
The Browns ran into a lucky situation when Derek Anderson broke out. this gave them a good enough quarterback to let Brady Quinn sit back and learn the game. if only Flacco (or Matt Ryan) had a good quarterback to learn under, they would thrive. who knows, Flacco could surprise everyone and become prodcutive right away. i just think the good quarterbacks develop for a few years.
