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Tell me if we've heard this one before: Strong-armed, raw passer with good size impresses members of the Baltimore Ravens brass enough that they trade in the first round to draft the player.
That strategy didn't work the first and only time the Ravens drafted a quarterback in the first round, so what in the name of Kyle Boller were the Ravens doing Saturday when they did the same thing in picking Delaware's Joe Flacco?
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| The pick is made, now the Ravens hope Flacco develops into a franchise passer. (AP) |
In the five years since he has been a tease, that wonderful arm of his bringing the hope that he might just be the franchise passer.
Baltimore is now obviously done being teased.
That's why the Ravens found a way to get Flacco, who tossed it 74 yards in the air to win a quarterback competition during the winter. The Ravens wanted Boston College's Matt Ryan, but the Atlanta Falcons picked him third to end those hopes. So Baltimore traded out of the eighth spot, moving down to 26 in the deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars that landed them two extra third-round picks and a fourth-round pick.
Smart move. Wait at 26 for a quarterback and pounce. Instead the Ravens used one of those thirds (89th overall) and a fifth to move back up to the 18th spot in a trade with Houston to get Flacco.
Look, I know Boller isn't the answer. I just think the Ravens had better options than Flacco.
Louisville's Brian Brohm and Michigan's Chad Henne will be better NFL players than Flacco. One of those two should have been Baltimore's choice. The Ravens could have waited until the 26th pick to get one of them. Heck, they could have waited until the second round.
The Green Bay Packers took Brohm with the 56th overall pick in the second round, and the Miami Dolphins followed that up by taking Henne with the 57th pick. Baltimore had the 55th pick.
Brohm will one day be the starter in Green Bay. Henne might just do it in Miami this season.
Flacco is much more of a raw talent than those two. He started his college career at Pittsburgh, but transferred to Delaware and played two seasons for the Blue Hens. It was during his senior season when his stock rose faster than gas prices.
He had success at Delaware, but the level of competition was a concern of some scouts. I'm OK with that. Good players come from small schools. There is something else much more troubling about Flacco.
