Preseason 1: Baltimore Ravens At New England Patriots

[foreversunny23]

If Flacco wants to gain solid ground in this competition, he needs to take advantage of EVERY snap. He can't afford to waste an opportunity if he's looking to get the starting nod in Week 1.

In other words, he really has to WOW everybody.

first snap, 70 yard bomb for a TD!

[theFRANCHISE]

first snap, 70 yard bomb for a TD!

I really hope so...

I mean, again, I'd be happy with any of the three QBs getting the starting nod as long as they EARN the job, but I'm obviously pulling for Flacco.

It is what it is. You can't blame me -- how often will I be able to say that my favorite NFL team drafted a player from MY school (the University of Delaware), and in the first round, on top of that?

On a side note, I'm loving what I'm hearing about possible upgrades to UD's athletic department in the next few years...but that's not official yet.

[theFRANCHISE]

If it was Yamon Figurs, he would've taken advantage of that wedge on that return.

But, I can't blame Cory Ross for not being able to fit into there -- it was a pretty small gap.

[theFRANCHISE]

That near-pick by Troy Smith to Erik Alexander (#52) scares me a little...

But other than that, still doesn't change my opinion of his performance tonight. I'm still impressed.

[BAL_Hawk]

Huh... No Flacco... yet...

[theFRANCHISE]

That screen pass being batted down by Pierre Woods scares me a little more, too...

Ummmmmmmm...I still stand by my positive evaluation of Troy Smith's performance tonight! lol.

[foreversunny23]

That screen pass being batted down by Pierre Woods scares me a little more, too...

Ummmmmmmm...I still stand by my positive evaluation of Troy Smith's performance tonight! lol.

Troy Smith still has some beginner's luck!

[theFRANCHISE]

Troy Smith needs to calm down a little. I like the fact that he tried to keep the play alive with that scramble, but he didn't get much out of it, and that would've been an unnecessary risk in the regular season.

Even with a QB job to win, the fact that it's the preseason and he's taking that risk makes it even more unnecessary.

Remember, we're looking for someone under center who can THROW the ball...being able to move around the pocket and improvise is nice, but unless you have Vick-like abilities in doing so, sometimes it's better to just throw the ball away than risk an injury in getting a run that yields very little gain.

[BAL_Hawk]

Another drive dies.

Again... It's still preseason. Alot of these plays may be experimental.

[BAL_Hawk]

Wow, our special teams are amazing! We stopped them on the two.

[theFRANCHISE]

Derrick Martin almost jumped that route perfectly and could've taken a pick back for an easy TD...

[Toreno]

Another drive dies.

Again... It's still preseason. Alot of these plays may be experimental.

I just hope we aren't like this in the regular season.

[theFRANCHISE]

OK, this is ridiculous...throwing a challenge flag in the 4th quarter in preseason, though?

I would think Belichick, like any other coach, would be more concerned with wrapping the game up, making evaluations, and most importantly, walking away with little-to-no injuries.

[saved72907]

As of right now, unless Troy Smith fails majorly on the next couple of drives, it seems as if he's definitely leapfrogged Kyle Boller, if you were to judge the competition solely on this game.

But...that's not what this QB competition is about.

There's still more of Troy Smith to see, and of course, Joe Flacco's NFL debut.

"leapfrogged?" Whatever....... he's like 5/12 now woohoo.

[POE]

I think you want that in a coach..he wants to win no matter what!!!

[rayvenfan_52]

Belichick is nit picky like that.. A perfect example is during the Super Bowl how he wanted that flag where there was 12 guys on the field.. The guy was barely off the field maybe a coupe inches more but was on the field on the air..

[theFRANCHISE]

"leapfrogged?" Whatever....... he's like 5/12 now woohoo.

What I saw on the field, in terms of the things Smith did right, outweighed what Boller did. Those two turnovers by Boller hurt his case the most, even though Boller was more accurate.

[BAL_Hawk]

WOW! The refs are so bad tonight!

[Natural Born Hitters]

haha nice catch troy! but dangerous

[theFRANCHISE]

lol @ Troy Smith's "interception" of Kevin O'Connell's pass on the sideline.

But I agree with the commentators to an extent...that wasn't smart of Smith, since he almost got plastered by the defender nearby diving for the ball.

[Bob Sacamano]

"leapfrogged?" Whatever....... he's like 5/12 now woohoo.

Smith played OK. Nothing special but not bad. Boller had two turnovers. I would have to guess Smith at least gained some ground on him if not surpassed him. Boller has experience so you would think he would do a little better in a pre-season game.

[rayvenfan_52]

Wow.. Its the pre-season game and they wanna cheat us outta that too? very nice....

[Bullrush]

Haha, Troy Smith with a diving catch.

[RavenNuts]

If that DB could catch, Troy would have an INT, too.

[Natural Born Hitters]

here we go fella's, Joe Flacco

[rayvenfan_52]

lol.. sounds pretty funny.

[batraven]

Flacco tiiiime

[Bob Sacamano]

If that DB could catch, Troy would have an INT, too.

hmmm and if Boller wasn't a sub standard QB he would already have the starting job. The world is full of if's. The fact of the matter is Troy doesn't have a turnover.

[rayvenfan_52]

Cmon D.. stop em for FLACCO

[theFRANCHISE]

Flacco's got that poker face, but you can still tell in his eyes that he's anxious...