Bold Predictions! Who Will Be The Ravens' Backup Qb?

[Ryan Mink]

It's Bold Predictions time!

Q: Who will be the Ravens' backup quarterback in 2011?

Give your answer and tell us why!

[jus'_crAzy]

Brett. Favre. No explanation needed.

[shawn ny]

Tyrod Taylor....

[PuRock]

Kyle Boller....what???....he will be a free agent.

Tyler Thigpen, Brodie Croyle or Jim Sorgi.

I think the Ravens want a guy who can make plays right now. Thigpen and Croyle are ready to play as backups now. Jim Sorgi as a consolation because he has played behind one of the best and knows what it takes to sit back and learn.

[Irish Raven]

Bruce Gradowski

Good leader, has experience and also experience of coming into games.
And hey, led his team to win over the Steelers

[Free Agent]

My bold prediction would be Terrelle Pryor, but I hope that Bulger will return as the Ravens' backup QB.

[AwakenTheDemon]

I've been saying it since the offseason began, Bulger won't be as hot commodity as most people think. That's despite the lockout also. I never believed that Arizona had the interest in him that reports have stated, and I do believe he'll end up back in purple and black next season. Baltimore wants someone who knows the game and can step up if he's needed. Bulger is that man.

[AsianRice]

Bulger cuz he wants a ring....

[PuRock]

[quote name='Irish Raven' timestamp='1310489104' post='706423']
Bruce Gradowski

Good leader, has experience and also experience of coming into games.
And hey, led his team to win over the Steelers
[/quote]

I thought about that. But he is the only QB in Oakland behind Campbell that has proven himself there. I think the Raiders overpay the man. But if I was Gradkowski, I'd try to find a way to get out and compete for a starting job elsewhere.

[Ed_Reed20]

I think it's going to be Bulger. The teams people speculated he could wind up on all seem to have better, more long-term options.

[PuRock]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1310491081' post='706447']
I think it's going to be Bulger. The teams people speculated he could wind up on all seem to have better, more long-term options.
[/quote]

You don't think a team like Minnesota, who think they can win now, could use a Bulger? They are a dome team with a good O-Line. Could be a nice fit.

I would love to see Bulger back, but I feel like after a year off (rest), he wants to try and be a starter somewhere.

It's just not about interest from other teams, but what is his interest.

[AwakenTheDemon]

[quote name='PuRock' timestamp='1310491210' post='706449']
You don't think a team like Minnesota, who think they can win now, could use a Bulger? They are a dome team with a good O-Line. Could be a nice fit.

I would love to see Bulger back, but I feel like after a year off (rest), he wants to try and be a starter somewhere.

It's just not about interest from other teams, but what is his interest.
[/quote]

After that huge leap for Ponder, I think the Vikes would sooner start him than grab Bulger. Ponder wouldn't be half bad with their offensive line, receiving options, and Peterson behind him.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='PuRock' timestamp='1310491210' post='706449']
You don't think a team like Minnesota, who think they can win now, could use a Bulger? They are a dome team with a good O-Line. Could be a nice fit.

I would love to see Bulger back, but I feel like after a year off (rest), he wants to try and be a starter somewhere.

It's just not about interest from other teams, but what is his interest.
[/quote]

I actually think the Vikings would sooner play Ponder than bring in Bulger. We're seeing rookie QBs play earlier than before.

There's certainly a chance Bulger may want to become a starter again. We'll see.

[color="#C0C0C0"][size="2"]Ninja'd[/size][/color]

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

Chad Pennington

[Suggs Package]

Vince Young!

[gabefergy]

I think Bulger will re-sign. He doesnt want to play for a bad team just so he can get injured again.

[AwakenTheDemon]

[quote name='ArmyRaven52' timestamp='1310494589' post='706483']
Chad Pennington
[/quote]

We'd better be carrying three quarterbacks on the roster if that were the case. One hit and Pennington's done for the year again.

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

haha true, but they said bold,m not durable.

[ellicottraven]

I think it will be Marc Bulger again. The reason I say this is that Marc is somewhat settled in the community now and also got paid handsomely for very little wear and tear on his body. He likes the siuation he is in right now and also knows that he will be leading the charge for a contender should Flacco be injured.

Also, what are his starting options anyhow? It seems like Arizona where he was slated to go during draft time may actually looking to trade for Kolb instead. If he was going to be a back up QB I think he would prefer to stay back in Baltimore where he understands his role and offense pretty well...

[edreedfromtheu]

Bulger looked horrible in preseason last year. And everyone blamed the offensive line anytime Flacco had a bad game. So... I'm not sure Bulger would do any better behind the same line being even less mobile and probably less durable than Flacco.

Tyrod Taylor seems like the easy answer, as I doubt the Ravens are going to spend much money on QB when they've got Ngata and other positions to worry about.

If during preseason... Tyrod seems like he's not going to be able to handle this level in his rookie season... Troy Smith might actually be a good option as a back-up. He knows the system, most of the players. He's not under contract as far as I know. And he's not going to be expensive.

There are some bigger names, but the Ravens probably won't bid against other teams UNLESS something happens to Flacco. They'll probably be fine going into the season with a guy like Taylor or Smith... as a back-up.

If Flacco does get hurt somewhere down the line, could I see them doing something un-Raven-like and calling up someone like Brett Favre? Yes, I could definitely see that if the team is in contention to win the division... and if whoever they have at back-up doesn't seem like they are ready to take the reigns.

[Corvus]

Pretty sure I read a few weeks ago Pennington announcing he was retiring and he already has a commentary job lined up. I personally don't blame the guy, his body has obviously just given out on him. I'm gonna agree with a lot of others and say it will likely be Bulger IF he continues to play for the amount we gave him last year (2 million range).

[edreedfromtheu]

[quote name='Suggs Package' timestamp='1310494711' post='706485']
Vince Young!
[/quote]

I would love that, but Vince is going to start SOMEWHERE! Which means he'll cost too much. I think more teams will be bidding over him than there will be trying to trade for Kolb.

[Ravensfan23]

With Kerry Collins announcing his retire, I've had to change my choice. So with that said, I think our backup QB will be Billy Volek.

Volek is a career backup so he knows how to handle the position without causes any problems because of playing time. There are several other QBs who the Ravens could added that would appear to be much better for the Ravens talent wise, but with a talented Taylor at #3, we'd only need a veteran guy like Volek for 1 or 2 years.

So I think Billy would fit better because he's been a backup to Philip Rivers and has been in the same type of offensive system that we ran since 2006. So there won't be much of a learning curve during a shortened training camp. He'd also be able to possibly give Flacco a different view point on how certain play should be run, or maybe how Rivers ran it in SD.

Flacco has shown his toughest over the last 3 seasons, and is actually on a short list of consecutive starts for active QBs, so I don't think we have to factor in playing time when looking for a backup. With a talented guy in Tyrod Taylor seemingly being the long term backup to Flacco, I think Volek could come in and be that quite backup to Flacco, and a added voice in the class room for the QBs.

So my choice is Billy Volek, for veteran experience over talent.

[Ravenseconbeast]

Someone cheap. Bulger was a waste of dough.

[Gordo52]

Peyton Manning.

[Renediffie]

Tom Brady! Beacause he wants to learn from Flacco.