Joe Flacco--merged Threads

[Bullrush]

Weird day 1 for us. I don't get why we traded down so many spots for only two 3rd round picks. The Saints have offered the Chiefs their 1st rounder next year and their 2nd round pick this year on top of their 1st round pick just to move up 5 spots. We however move down 20 spots and we get two 3rd round picks.

In the 2nd round we draft another RB instead of a corner.

[geo]

This is the same O-Line that McNair and Kyle Boller played with.

Not exactly, they have now one year more, Grubbs, Yanda and Gaither is no more rookies. Not the same, still they will be learning and hopefully from 2009- they will be the elite.. And new coaches.. They have now Matsko as coach and Cam as OC!

[geo]

As a Browns Fan you should be the last to be saying this, you guys drafted Brady Quinn to be your "future" and you know the funny thing is that coming into season 2 He is still not even a option to be the starter. Troy Smith era can and will start if He is showing that He can be a NFL starter, and if not then He wont be nothing but a Backup or 3rd stringer.

But the real truth is if Kyle Boller does not to anything to help this ball club this year then He probally wont be here next year.

Then like you guys type of situation.. If TS shows that He's the better man then He will have the job over Flacco, if not then (like Quinn) He will be the backup while the other guy gets the fat pay check.

Bottem line is just because a QB is selected in the 1st round DOES NOT mean that team will let that guy come in and just steal the job.

Agreed. Troy and KB will be figthing this year for the starter position and one of them, I think KB will be gone next year, while Flacco will get his time to develop and please no 2003 scenario. And lets not ask for that, even if things go bad... This is also why I like this pick, if it had been Matt Ryan, the pressure would have been more demanding for him to start early.

Another reason why I liked the pick. We saved a lot of money and got a lot of picks, and we still have our 2009 pick!

[neepo13]

I dont think Troy will be our starter going into the future. But Cam really likes him. He's planning on using Troy, not under center but to change pace on gadget plays.

[Tiz]

I also saw that video and I dont believe that for one second. You dont draft a guy in the first round, if you believe you already have 2 great QB's on your roster. I respect that Harbaugh is trying to give Smith and Boller the benefit of the doubt but I dont believe for one minute that there is a real QB competition going on beyond this season. Flacco will probably sit for a year but after that, this is his team. It doesnt matter how Boller or Smith play.

So true. I believe that there is honestly a competition for starter this first year. I don't think anyone is going to hand the reigns to Flacco like they were handed to Boller as a rook.

[Slick]

Musa is gone. Before we drafted Rice = McGahee was pretty much it at running back. Sure we have Ross - but we all remember when we went into a season with a depleated running back group - we had Grbac as QB & virtually no running game. I say smart pick from Oz with 6 picks coming in rounds 3&4 we will get some quality CB player.

oh i didnt hear about musa, but after the rest of the action from today im much more pleased lol. I was really waiting for a CB but i was unaware of the lack of depth at rb so Rice is much better a pick in my eyes now. Even more-so since we picked up Fabian Washington and added more depth to our LB corps and Oline. It's nice to have someone else for Reed to tutor at safety as well.

am I the only one that thinks that a Joe Flacco / Troy Smith led tandem could be a deadly offense if developed?

No you aren't. Flacco has good mobility for a guy his size but not like that of Smith. Together we have a huge pocket presence and a threat on the run if we can use them in tandem. Both are big playmakers but in their own way.

This draft has really taken us very far into the rebuilding process that we're going through. A tip of my hat goes to Oz & Co: they said they could really solidify depth at a number of positions this year with a good draft (that they believe is exceptionally deep this year in terms of quality) and with all the trades made to get their guys I think it has really panned out well so far this year.

[die_hard_raven]

I dont think Troy will be our starter going into the future. But Cam really likes him. He's planning on using Troy, not under center but to change pace on gadget plays.

Until Troy or Flacco get serious playing time and a chance to develop and progress we don't know what they can do. Boller has had what 4 or 5 years to see if there would have been progress but Troy only started a few games at the end of the year and ppl say he doesn't have what it takes. No QB is going to enter the league on fire, there is a big learning curve and it takes time to grow, whoever the starter is as long as there is progress then I'm cool with that even if they struggle, the problem comes where after 2 or 3 seasons they make the same mistakes they did as a rookie and still struggle with their decison making. Matt Lineart was a 1st rounder and sat and watched Kurt Warner play. I think we are hard on young QB's sometimes, we have to have patience, instant production is sometimes unrealisitic.

[neepo13]

Until Troy or Flacco get serious playing time and a chance to develop and progress we don't know what they can do. Boller has had what 4 or 5 years to see if there would have been progress but Troy only started a few games at the end of the year and ppl say he doesn't have what it takes. No QB is going to enter the league on fire, there is a big learning curve and it takes time to grow, whoever the starter is as long as there is progress then I'm cool with that even if they struggle, the problem comes where after 2 or 3 seasons they make the same mistakes they did as a rookie and still struggle with their decison making. Matt Lineart was a 1st rounder and sat and watched Kurt Warner play. I think we are hard on young QB's sometimes, we have to have patience, instant production is sometimes unrealisitic.

What are you talking about? I think you quoted the wrong person. I said I dont think Troy will be the starter in the future but Cam likes him and wants to use him on gadget plays. I think Cam would know what Troy can do. And there is no pressure because the fact that we drafted a QB in the first round says he isnt the QB of the future.

[FerrariFan87]

I still don't understand the Flacco move... We fell in love with another QB who had a "big arm" named Kyle Boller and we traded up for him too and look how he fared (and he played against top-notch competition in the PAC-10, who has Flacco played against in Division I-AA???) Sure, he's 6'6" but big deal he is basically a statue in the pocket and if JO retires we are really screwed guys because we don't have a legitimate QB (or receivers) and teams will load up the box every down and McGahee and Rice won't be able to run anywhere because teams won't respect our passing game yet again....

[itlstl7]

Alot of people are saying Troy Smith seems to be the odd man out now but I believe it's Boller who suffers the most from this....

He's on his last year of his contract and dont forget that it was Billick who kept him around soooo long not Harbaugh....

Not to mention that we know what we are getting out of Boller... he's just not good enough to be an effective starter in this league... also helps to free up some money since Boller gets paid a little more then Troy...

[die_hard_raven]

I guess I'm just excited but curious to see what will happen. I don't care who the QB is I and I'm not looking for an all-pro even though that would be great, just to have stability and play making ability on offense instead of hearing about no QB year after year. All we can do is speculate cause no one knows what the coaches will do I just hope was can finally help the defense instead of the defense carrying the team.

[neepo13]

I still don't understand the Flacco move... We fell in love with another QB who had a "big arm" named Kyle Boller and we traded up for him too and look how he fared (and he played against top-notch competition in the PAC-10, who has Flacco played against in Division I-AA???) Sure, he's 6'6" but big deal he is basically a statue in the pocket and if JO retires we are really screwed guys because we don't have a legitimate QB (or receivers) and teams will load up the box every down and McGahee and Rice won't be able to run anywhere because teams won't respect our passing game yet again....

Thats worse case scenario. I am optimistic. I am not a big fan of the reach on Flacco but I do think he will sit for a year, which should help him. Also we have a new coaching staff, as long as Heap stays healthy, we shouldnt be seeing to many eight man fronts and even if we do Heap is a great run blocker and our young offensive line is good at run blocking. We wont blow people away but I am optimistic. I think we have the makings of a great team. Heap and Mason are still legit threats that defenses have to respect. Its now or never for Clayton and Williams and I think one or both of them will step up this year. I am optimistic. Lets see how things go in training camp before we jump the gun. We havent seen our new offense healthy and playing yet.

[BaltimoreBulldog]

I still don't understand the Flacco move... We fell in love with another QB who had a "big arm" named Kyle Boller and we traded up for him too and look how he fared (and he played against top-notch competition in the PAC-10, who has Flacco played against in Division I-AA???) Sure, he's 6'6" but big deal he is basically a statue in the pocket and if JO retires we are really screwed guys because we don't have a legitimate QB (or receivers) and teams will load up the box every down and McGahee and Rice won't be able to run anywhere because teams won't respect our passing game yet again....

Flacco and Boller are 2 different QB's and have very different stats and abilities. Flacco had a 63..5% comp. % as opposed to boller's which was 53.6% coming out of college. That is a big difference and usually QB's with poor comp % in college don't fair well in the NFL. Boller is 6' 3" and Flacco is 6' 6". 2 Very different QB's here and I dont think you can really compare them.

You guys are saying doom and gloom just because we picked this guy and you havent even seen him play a NFL game yet. Settle down and lets see how we fair next year, this guy may be the next Peyton Manning. There have been some excellent players that have come out of Div I-AA schools so I dont think you can automatically assume this guy is going to be bad based on that. The guys who decided to pick Flacco know a hole lot more about him then we will ever know, and I trust Cam, Ozzie and John on this. I think Boller was more a product of Billick. I am sure he had a lot of pull in the draft room with which QB he wanted in that draft. I dont think this is all Ozzie saying lets pick this guy, it is a group effort and now we have guys in here who can actually evaluate offensive talent. Billick sure as **** couldn't.

[neepo13]

Alot of people are saying Troy Smith seems to be the odd man out now but I believe it's Boller who suffers the most from this....

He's on his last year of his contract and dont forget that it was Billick who kept him around soooo long not Harbaugh....

Not to mention that we know what we are getting out of Boller... he's just not good enough to be an effective starter in this league... also helps to free up some money since Boller gets paid a little more then Troy...

Yeah but Boller has the experience and is an effective backup. He's an inconsistant starter but he does have his good moments. You just cant leave him to long or you run the risk of having him make silly mistakes. Look at our situation last year, we went through 3 QB's. I think we need all the depth we can get and Boller can add that. If Boller does leave it will be because he doesnt want to sit on the bench anymore. If there is a QB that gets cut it will be Smith. I hope that doesnt happen because he is still a young guy and we havent seen much of him but it will be him if it happens.

[neepo13]

Flacco and Boller are 2 different QB's and have very different stats and abilities. Flacco had a 63..5% comp. % as opposed to boller's which was 53.6% coming out of college. That is a big difference and usually QB's with poor comp % in college don't fair well in the NFL. Boller is 6' 3" and Flacco is 6' 6". 2 Very different QB's here and I dont think you can really compare them.

You guys are saying doom and gloom just because we picked this guy and you havent even seen him play a NFL game yet. Settle down and lets see how we fair next year, this guy may be the next Peyton Manning. There have been some excellent players that have come out of Div I-AA schools so I dont think you can automatically assume this guy is going to be bad based on that. The guys who decided to pick Flacco know a hole lot more about him then we will ever know, and I trust Cam, Ozzie and John on this. I think Boller was more a product of Billick. I am sure he had a lot of pull in the draft room with which QB he wanted in that draft. I dont think this is all Ozzie saying lets pick this guy, it is a group effort and now we have guys in here who can actually evaluate offensive talent. Billick sure as **** couldn't.

Again, I dont think its the player that people dont like. I think its where they picked him. I would have rather we went QB in the second round that way we could have a real QB competition in the off season and all three guys get to show what they can do with real hope of them being our franchise QB. Since we took Flacco in the first round thats not the case anymore. He will eventually be the guy regardless of how Boller or Smith do. Basically, we have put all our eggs in one basket and the odds are against us now.

[die_hard_raven]

Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that one of them become the kind of QB we've been looking for since they came to Baltimore.

[FerrariFan87]

Flacco and Boller are 2 different QB's and have very different stats and abilities. Flacco had a 63..5% comp. % as opposed to boller's which was 53.6% coming out of college. That is a big difference and usually QB's with poor comp % in college don't fair well in the NFL. Boller is 6' 3" and Flacco is 6' 6". 2 Very different QB's here and I dont think you can really compare them.

You guys are saying doom and gloom just because we picked this guy and you havent even seen him play a NFL game yet. Settle down and lets see how we fair next year, this guy may be the next Peyton Manning. There have been some excellent players that have come out of Div I-AA schools so I dont think you can automatically assume this guy is going to be bad based on that. The guys who decided to pick Flacco know a hole lot more about him then we will ever know, and I trust Cam, Ozzie and John on this. I think Boller was more a product of Billick. I am sure he had a lot of pull in the draft room with which QB he wanted in that draft. I dont think this is all Ozzie saying lets pick this guy, it is a group effort and now we have guys in here who can actually evaluate offensive talent. Billick sure as **** couldn't.

I never said he was going to be bad, I am not saying doom and gloom either, I was only questioning how high we picked him.... Of course, I hope he proves Oz and the guys right but I don't think throwing him to the wolves this year is the best thing. Let's let Kyle and Troy teach Flacco the ropes and see how he progresses.

[Troy Smith IS the future..]

I am disgusted at what I just saw on ESPN...the question was "will Joe Flacco be the starter in Baltimore"...they talk about Flacco, Boller...and no mention of Smith. I tihnk it's really sad how people discount Smith as being a possibility as a starter in this league, I mean seriously, what does this kid have on Troy? He certainly has no NFL game experience, the arm strength/accuracy each has is fairly even. The only thing I can think of what Flacco has that Troy doesn't is 6 inches of height, now, I know it sounds like alot...the truth is it is alot, but I thought Troy would have squashed any doubt that height doesnt mean anything when he's under center when he threw 60 passes in two starts, and only 1 was batted down.

[theFRANCHISE]

I am disgusted at what I just saw on ESPN...the question was "will Joe Flacco be the starter in Baltimore"...they talk about Flacco, Boller...and no mention of Smith. I tihnk it's really sad how people discount Smith as being a possibility as a starter in this league, I mean seriously, what does this kid have on Troy? He certainly has no NFL game experience, the arm strength/accuracy each has is fairly even. The only thing I can think of what Flacco has that Troy doesn't is 6 inches of height, now, I know it sounds like alot...the truth is it is alot, but I thought Troy would have squashed any doubt that height doesnt mean anything when he's under center when he threw 60 passes in two starts, and only 1 was batted down.

That's ironic...all I've heard is Flacco and Smith, with NO talk of Boller whatsoever.

[noy]

If Flacco comes out and starts, I'd be concerned. But I guarantee all the Smith nuthuggers will start to talk smack if Flacco doesn't start off well. We'll hear, "Troy was SO much better in his first start in the NFL blah blah blah" etc, even though Smith had almost a whole season to watch the other pros go to work (which Flacco wont have). In order to know if Flacco is ready for the NFL, we either start him immediately or we let him learn from the bench (hence, Boller still being in the equation and starting our first few games). Afterward we will see who did better in training camp, Flacco or Smith. Smith already has 1 year experience on Flacco, so it should be close.

[neepo13]

That's ironic...all I've heard is Flacco and Smith, with NO talk of Boller whatsoever.

I have heard just the opposite. The only people I have seen mention Flacco and Smith at the same times was people within our organization. ESPN has focused on Boller being the starter this year and Flacco taking over eventually. Not once did any of them mention Troy Smith.

I was wrong, Berman did mention Smith when talking about the Jags pick of Harvey. He said the last game of the season could be interesting if Smith is the starter. But that was before we drafted Flacco, nothing since then.

[Ravensfanspls]

We all like Troy Smith but this is because our franchise is horrible when it comes to QB and we hoped he was OUR guy but he isint if ozzie or anyone thought he was going to be someone they would of went with him, Im sick of seeing people not to happy with our 1st round pick Joe Flacco our guys feel good about him and think he is our guy for the future why we reached and moved up for him. Know obviously we would of rather had Matt Ryan but he got taken early and Mel Kiper talked about Flacco being a good QB so lets hope hes our guy.

[alg52]

Totally agree with your statement, think we should all get behind him now.

[Ravens52]

How can you say Flacco is better when he hasn't even played in an NFL game?

[theFRANCHISE]

Totally agree with your statement, think we should all get behind him now.

Ehhh...I'm probably the biggest Joe Flacco fan you'll find around these parts (since I go to the same school as him), but even I wouldn't go so far as to say we should all automatically get behind him.

I know he'll probably be the starting QB eventually because of where he was drafted, but I say we should all just get behind whoever's named the starter.

If that ends up being Flacco at the beginning of the season, then so be it. If it ends up being Troy Smith, then great. If it ends up being Kyle Boller, then I guess so (but ONLY if he EARNS the job).

[alg52]

Fair enough you cant say he's better but dnt you think he should just get full support now?

[neepo13]

We all like Troy Smith but this is because our franchise is horrible when it comes to QB and we hoped he was OUR guy but he isint if ozzie or anyone thought he was going to be someone they would of went with him, Im sick of seeing people not to happy with our 1st round pick Joe Flacco our guys feel good about him and think he is our guy for the future why we reached and moved up for him. Know obviously we would of rather had Matt Ryan but he got taken early and Mel Kiper talked about Flacco being a good QB so lets hope hes our guy.

People are entitled to their opinion, just like you are. You cant fault people for that. There is a such thing as freedom of speech in this country.

[theFRANCHISE]

Fair enough you cant say he's better but dnt you think he should just get full support now?

Not necessarily FULL support...moreso, support the fact that he's a Raven.

I can understand how people would doubt that Flacco's better than either Boller or Smith since he's never played an NFL snap.

But those same doubts can be applied to EVERY rookie in this draft, so that's a moot point. That doesn't take away from the truth of the argument, but it's still overstating the obvious.

Instead, we should just look at this as the team doing the best it can to provide insurance for the future.

If Troy Smith ends up the starter, then we possibly have a capable back-up in Flacco that can be traded away later when he still has value. Or, if Flacco ends up being the starter, the same can be said for Troy Smith (minus the trade value).

Either way, it's better to have TWO good QB's on the roster than NONE at all.

[Ravensfanspls]

How can you say Flacco is better when he hasn't even played in an NFL game?

Flacco 1st round Smith 5th i cant state that he is better but what people think says Flacco is better know he hasnt played a snap yes but hes has the intangibles to be great

[Ravensfanspls]

People are entitled to their opinion, just like you are. You cant fault people for that. There is a such thing as freedom of speech in this country.

Your comment is dumb i was just stating what people are saying and how i feel about it im not faulting anyone for anything.