Rookie Joe Flacco Will Start for Ravens

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The Baltimore Ravens have an identity crisis at the quarterback position. At the start of training camp, there was a three-way race between veteran Kyle Boller, second-year QB Troy Smith and rookie Joe Flacco. When the dust settled, Joe won the starting job by default — he’s the only one left that’s healthy enough to play. Troy is still feeling the ill effects of infected tonsils. And Kyle has a sore shoulder that might require surgery. That being said, some might argue that Joe earned the starting job on the field. He was 35-of-67 for 284 yards and no interceptions during the preseason. His quarterback rating was better than that of Kyle or Troy. And he threw Baltimore’s only touchdown pass. Still, he’s an unproven rookie.

Enter free agents Joey Harrington and Todd Bouman. It has been reported (in separate reports) that both quarterbacks signed with the Ravens, but both of those reports turned out to be false. Way to go ESPN. It is believed, however, that one of these QBs (or former Tampa Bay Buc Chris Simms) will, in fact, sign with Baltimore very soon. But with no familiarity with the Ravens offensive system, they would only be called upon to play as a last resort until they had some grasp of the playbook. Seems like the same old quarterback quandary for the Ravens. Ray Lewis and his defensive mates can’t be enthused.

Source: BaltimoreRavens.com