Flacco.......looked Good?!?!?!?!

[wilshade]

This season begins the "transition" for the Ravens. Flacco's performance in the Ram's game was a positive step in his development. He is improving each time he goes out there and that is more then anyone can say about either of the other two guys.

I dont think Flacco's confidence is as big an issue as it was with Boller. These guys are two very different personality types. Yeah, confidence is still a factor, but not the big one here.

I DO think that Flacco's survivability is the biggest issue. Basically, the first duty here is to keep the kid alive. I think the coaches will wait until the O-Line has developed and/or healed enough to protect him before they send him out there. Unless, of course, they have no other option (if Boller is still hurt and Smith is still sick). Remember, Boller got hurt by a vicious hit in the Viking game by somebody getting by the right tackle.

But, we can take some solace in the fact that the 3 guys in the interior of the O-line are performing well. The Ravens just need to get the tackle situation straightened out.

Peyton Manning didnt become the Peyton Manning we know until the Colts got their O-Line . . . same for Tom Brady. Now we have no idea how good Flacco is going to be, but I am sure the development of the O-Line will have a great deal to do with that.

[ROH522155]

id just like to say to anyone who thinks flacco should start this year that the only time you throw in a rookie quarterback in his firstyear is when he has a solid offensive line to protect him. and im not sure that we have that right now.

[ROH522155]

sorry, didnt realize that the guy above me basically said the same exact thing as me

[itlstl7]

Ok heres what I dont understand... i wrote that Flacco didnt impress me and everyone ranted about how he's a rookie and you can't say anything about how he played cause it's just too soon and it was preseason...ok i agree with that to a degree however how can you then say that he should start half way through the season, he shows so much promise, etc... is this not going against the point that it's preseason and he's a rookie and therefore can't judge him yet? or is this just a double standard cause some Ravens fans are just wishing Flacco is the answer...

Also, why are alot of people saying that Troy has showed and proved that he can't play? Which is funny cause it's normally the same people who have mentioned what I wrote above.... Troy has played considerably less than Flacco in the preseason...not to mention is only in his 2nd year... only started 2 games last year and played half way decent... and probably never got any practice with the first string offense last year except when he started....is learning a whole new offense as well as everyone else... If we can't really judge Flacco yet then I think it's fair we dont judge Troy Smith yet...

This is not an argument that Troy Smith is better than Flacco or even Boller its just an observation I thought was worth pointing out... and not singling anyone out also

[I*Bleed*Purple]

YES!!! Finally soemthing we can agree on.

Scary, huh?

In all seriousness I'm glad to see this much support for Flacco. It's exciting thinking about this kid as being the future and the real deal. And as I've said before: Ideally he starts middle to end of this season, unless Kyle or Troy are playing great, then he would start next year. And while not trying to bash, I don't see either one of them playing "great" ball. Would I be opposed to him starting this season? No- and here's why: As I have also said before (and got the train rolling, I might add )I don't think "throwing him into the fire" would ruin him or his confidence like it seemed to do to Kyle. He has been showing great improvement over the past few weeks-even the first two weeks when he had absolutely NO TIME to throw, and has said himself he wants to be thrown in there. He said that's there is only so much learning that he can do holding a clipboard. And I agree. Does he need to get timing down with the receivers? Absolutely, but how does he do that without taking game snaps? Practice? Eh-maybe to a point, but there's no amount of practice that can take the place of doing it in game situations. Does he need more time to learn the offense and be comfortable? Sure- but don't think for a second that Matt Ryan has the Falcons offense down like the back of his hand. He will be learning on the fly as well. And I think Flacco can handle the pressure. Especially with a security blanket like Heap, Williams, and McGahee back into the mix. I don't know what's going to happen. But it's my opinion that any advantage Kyle or Troy may have over Joe in terms of knowing or executing the offense would be quickly erased. Yes they are 6th and 2nd year players, respectively. But, it's a completely new offense to them as well. As long as we can keep Flacco relatively protected, I think the upside of him starting the season or starting later this year far outweighs the possible downside.

[I*Bleed*Purple]

Ok heres what I dont understand... i wrote that Flacco didnt impress me and everyone ranted about how he's a rookie and you can't say anything about how he played cause it's just too soon and it was preseason...ok i agree with that to a degree however how can you then say that he should start half way through the season, he shows so much promise, etc... is this not going against the point that it's preseason and he's a rookie and therefore can't judge him yet? or is this just a double standard cause some Ravens fans are just wishing Flacco is the answer...

Also, why are alot of people saying that Troy has showed and proved that he can't play? Which is funny cause it's normally the same people who have mentioned what I wrote above.... Troy has played considerably less than Flacco in the preseason...not to mention is only in his 2nd year... only started 2 games last year and played half way decent... and probably never got any practice with the first string offense last year except when he started....is learning a whole new offense as well as everyone else... If we can't really judge Flacco yet then I think it's fair we dont judge Troy Smith yet...

This is not an argument that Troy Smith is better than Flacco or even Boller its just an observation I thought was worth pointing out... and not singling anyone out also

Alot of that is directed towards me, and I understand. I do think you bring up a few good points here. Let me try to answer your question as clearly and objectively as possible:

From what I have seen of last year and this preseason, Flacco has shown more promise/talent TO ME than Troy or Kyle. I would really like to see all of the QB's get a fair shake and may the best man win. But I think sooner, rather than later, that man will be Flacco. I support the Ravens 110% no matter what. Also, just to clear something up, Flacco has not seen considerably more time this preseason than Troy. Troy played most of the second half of the first game, and all of the first half of the second. While Flacco only saw a few series between the first two and played all of the 3rd. He may have a little more time under center, but I wouldn't call it considerable. And to be honest, I'm glad Flacco got to start this third game. It was nice to see the rookie play the whole game to see where he stands.

[Jesse Conroy]

I cant say I like what I see, cause I dont. But I will not judge him for a few years.

[itlstl7]

Alot of that is directed towards me, and I understand. I do think you bring up a few good points here. Let me try to answer your question as clearly and objectively as possible:

From what I have seen of last year and this preseason, Flacco has shown more promise/talent TO ME than Troy or Kyle. I would really like to see all of the QB's get a fair shake and may the best man win. But I think sooner, rather than later, that man will be Flacco. I support the Ravens 110% no matter what. Also, just to clear something up, Flacco has not seen considerably more time this preseason than Troy. Troy played most of the second half of the first game, and all of the first half of the second. While Flacco only saw a few series between the first two and played all of the 3rd. He may have a little more time under center, but I wouldn't call it considerable. And to be honest, I'm glad Flacco got to start this third game. It was nice to see the rookie play the whole game to see where he stands.

haha ok glad we worked out our problems from earlier it seems... ur right i guess it hasnt been a considerable difference... i do think a whole game under center will definately help a qb get comfortable and make him look better and if you take Flacco's first half performace it didnt look good...i bring up his 1st half performance because if troy has only played half games so far you cant really compare what Flacco has done with the pleasure of a 2nd half/entire game with Troys performances... also I know there was alot of debate in another thread about troys very small attempted passes total and how many "drop backs" or "pass Plays" where he should have thrown but fact still is, Flacco has thrown the ball 3 times what Troy has this preseason...I just think people should reserve judgement for Troy as well and not write him off cause we havent seen anything from Troy and if you go back to last year he showed some promise too....

with that being said hopefully troy gets atleast 3 quarters next game

[I*Bleed*Purple]

haha ok glad we worked out our problems from earlier it seems... ur right i guess it hasnt been a considerable difference... i do think a whole game under center will definately help a qb get comfortable and make him look better and if you take Flacco's first half performace it didnt look good...i bring up his 1st half performance because if troy has only played half games so far you cant really compare what Flacco has done with the pleasure of a 2nd half/entire game with Troys performances... also I know there was alot of debate in another thread about troys very small attempted passes total and how many "drop backs" or "pass Plays" where he should have thrown but fact still is, Flacco has thrown the ball 3 times what Troy has this preseason...I just think people should reserve judgement for Troy as well and not write him off cause we havent seen anything from Troy and if you go back to last year he showed some promise too....

with that being said hopefully troy gets atleast 3 quarters next game

I don't think you are too far off in your argument. I would like to see Troy play 2.5 to 3 full quarters, also. But then again, I'd like to see Joe Flacco all game

[foreversunny23]

Hopefully the last preseason game can clear up the muddy picture. Harbaugh did stress that game performance is more important than practice performance. It could easily be argued that Flacco is ahead of the two based on game performance (1 TD pass and no turnovers). However, Flacco played a whole game, something Boller and Smith have not done. Smith needs the most reps out of the three because we still don't know about his accuracy.

At the rate Flacco is progressing, hopefully he can start mid season if the other two QB cannot get the job done. I'm still waiting to see what Troy can do, but it is nice to know Flacco is getting better and better.