Kyle Boller's career

Below, you will find the story of Ravens QB Kyle Boller's career in picture form:


Boller and his posse on draft day. Who knew how wonderful his career would turn out??

Boller was thrown into the spotlight immediately. Here he is in all of his glory, with all his potential, proving white men can jump.

Boller begins to show his true colors not to long after putting on a Raven's uniform. A gunslinger that can't hold onto his gun.

It got worse. Boller thought he could change his fate by playing without a helmet. Even with the increased vision and mobility, Boller could get Humpdy Dumpdy together again.
Finally, Princess Boller was rescued by her knight in shining armor. Steve McNair's arrival in Baltimore meant Boller no longer had to suffer the degradation and defeat at the hands of Patriots, Bengals, Bears and other frightening beasts.
Finally, we have reached Boller's future. He is destined to ride the pine in 2008-09. The young upstart Buckeye, Troy Smith, will attempt to fill in admirably until he suffers the same fate as Boller and is pushed out by the even younger upstart, Joe Flacco.

Kyle Boller and Troy Smith picking up where they left off

Based upon the account from Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun, Kyle Boller and Troy Smith have come to passing camp this year just as impressive as they've been in the past.

"I know it's only the first day of passing camp, but it was hard on the eyes watching quarterbacks Kyle Boller and Troy Smith throw in practice. Smith had the better day, not because he looked good, but because Boller performed so poorly. Boller had several passes knocked down and underthrew and overthrew receivers."

This is the one opportunity for either QB to prove their worth before the future "franchise QB" Joe Flacco is allowed to attend camp, yet they can barely muster a complete pass with pressure. I don't know why, but I honestly had hope for a stellar season by either returning QB. It could still happen, but doesn't seem likely.

Troy Smith doesn't know who Joe Flacco is

Troy Smith mistakingly thinks Joe Flacco's name is John. I like the "accidental" confusion. This indicates that Smith is ready to be competitive for the starting spot. He doesn't want some upstart rookie from a small school taking his spot or the starting role.

Let Kyle and Troy fight it out this year. Start Flacco next season. Please, no more Kyle Bollers (who openly admits that he didn't want to play in his first professional season).

Kyle Boller or Joe Flacco?

Jamison Hensley has a great read over at the Baltimore Sun. I particularly agree with his assessment of the quarterback position, "Boller should start the season, but Flacco might be the one who finishes it."

Quartback attack

Story of the day:

"First-year Ravens coach John Harbaugh has not officially committed to Steve McNair as their starting quarterback, but it’s likely McNair’s job to lose.

He wants an open competition for the quarterback job and said the Ravens will consider McNair, Boller and Troy Smith for the starting role."

Jonathan Ogden Retires!

Well not yet at least, but it is widely believed that the all-world lineman will hang up the cleats before the 2009 season begins. Obviously the loss of Ogden or a player of his caliber at any position is a blow to a team, but it's not a devastating blow to the Ravens.

The Ravens have planned and plotted for this date. Though the team doesn't have the most dominating o-line in the NFL, they certainly have a better than average one. With the likes of Adam Terry, Jared Gaither, Marshal Yanda, Ben Grubbs and Chris Chester, the Ravens have the personal to produce a quality run attack this season.

Even though I hate that the line has serious trouble pass blocking, it is pretty enjoyable to watch Kyle Boller get knocked down. Its just a little tough love for a eternally frustrating QB.

Billy Volek, whos that?

Picked this one up off the rumor mill:

The Ravens, in particular Cam Cameron, are interested in bring Billy Volek to Baltimore. Now you may be asking yourself, “Self who is Billy Volek?” Well my friends, the answer is “the best backup QB in the NFL.” Volek is currently backing up the always sour-faced Phillip Rivers in San Diego. The Chargers just picked up the option on Rivers so Volek has no chance of starting any time soon. Cameron and Volek are familiar with eachother, and we all know the Raven’s QB situation is not ideal. Picking up Volek would be a good move for insurance purposes. If McNair, Boller, or Smith don’t work out this season plug Volek. It would be virtually impossible for all 4 QB’s to fail. If one of the 4 QB’s or some combination of the whole group can carry the team through one entire season, the drafted QB this year (still hoping its Chad Henne) will have ample time to learn what the NFL is all about. In case you forgot, Billy Volek is the quarterback that marched down the field and scored the winning touchdown to knock the defending champion Indianapolis Colts out of the playoffs this season.

Steve McNair coming back is bad for Ravens

Don't get me wrong, Steve McNair is a great quarterback and seems to be a stand-up individual off the field, but his return will ultimately hurt the Ravens. McNair will most likely get the opening day starting spot out of respect if nothing else. I think the Ravens would be better served to have either Kyle Boller or Troy Smith start the first half of the season while the Raven's bring whatever QB they hopefully draft up to NFL speed. With John Harbaugh, a coach with QB experience, there to help out I think a draft pick could be ready to play midway through the season. If either Boller or Smith end up playing well than that is even better, but McNair would slow the entire process down. In my opinion, he just doesn't have the arm strength or foot speed to warrant being a QB in the NFL anymore. If you disagree let me know why.

Raven's are in the market for a 6'6 QB with a laser rocket arm

"As usual, Baltimore has issues at quarterback, but this offseason the situation is as dire as at any point in recent memory. Steve McNair's illustrious career appears to be over and that leaves Kyle Boller and Troy Smith to lead the Ravens' offense. On a veteran team like this, the Ravens could ideally add an established QB, but finding one in the present market is going to be a very difficult chore. In the draft, Boston College's Matt Ryan will surely be gone by the time Baltimore makes its first selection and waiting until Round 2 could end up the smart move. However, that isn't the instant fix that the Ravens need. The new coaching staff will probably want to bring in their guy to lead the offense." -Scouts Inc.

I couldn't agree more. McNair shouldn't even be a question at this point. He deserves respect, but not the Joe Paterno like respect that would keep him around a decade past his prime. The franchise tried time and again with Boller. I still think he could be a quality QB in the league, but the team can't wait that long. Troy Smith is an enigma. At this point I think he should be resigned to the backup role until Boller throws his first 3-interception game. The team should absolutely take a cornerback with the first pick to replace Samari Rolle, and select a QB in the second round. My humble suggest would be to select either John David BOOOOTY or Chad Henne. Both played for big programs, have the athletic tools, are relatively intelligent, and have questions because of injuries. With great risk come great reward. Take a chance on either of these guys and it could pay off huge in the long run.

Kyle Boller is cooler then I thought

Apparently Mr. Kyle Boller is quite the high roller. Even though the Raven's QB has struggled on the field, he is still accepted with open arms into the Hollywood community.

Young Kyle was recently invited to the Playboy Super Bowl party, an invite that Jeff Garcia probably couldn't even get even though he is married to a playboy model.

Lets hope his late night partying and fraternizing with Playboy models helps his play on the field. Although if you subscribe the Bull Durham theory that sex hurts your concentration then it doesn't bode well.