Should the Ravens stick with Joe Flacco as starting QB?

In fact, during the past two weeks, Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco's statistics have been horrible - zero touchdown passes and five interceptions.

[PaPaJim]

This dicussion is utterly nonsence. If Stover kicks the way he usually does we are 4 and 1 with Sports Center all over Ryan AND Flacco. Lazer Joe is astounding in the pocket with his accuracy. We finally have our QB and he needs to experience the game first hand. He will not learn at a fast pace watching Troy run around and win a few games. Payton missed the preseason and it took him four games to get back in gear and how many seasons has he played??? Go back and listen to what Phill Simms said in the telecast. Our running plays took too long to develop when we should have gone north and south period. Harbaugh is taking this season as we all should. Evaluate your personnel and decide who will be here in two years to build with. That's what Dallas finally did to become competitive. The best thing we can do is to follow the advice Payton gave Joe. Just be PATIENT!!!!!

[Harry]

First off if the Ravens were to make a QB change then the starter should be one of the vets Bouman or Bramlet, not the inexperienced Troy Smith. No QB playing for the Ravens can be succesful just like Boller before him, now that you all see that Flacco's numbers are actually worse, the reason being NOW LISTEN CLOSELY>>>other than Mason who is a good possesion wr, with good hands, but not a deep threat, THE RAVENS HAVE NO BIG PLAY WRS and Heap is no longer a Pro Bowl TE. THE MEDIA NEEDS to stop thinking that changing QB can solve all the problems,The QB is not the limiting factor in the passing game its is the WRs. OZZIE needs to acquire some offensive play makers in the off season thru FA and the Draft. And the next time he thinks about making a trade like not resigning Jamal Lewis and trading / wasting 3 picks for somone like McGahee...don't do it. I think the one thing Flacco has already learned this season is that NOBODY is open.

[gmr]

I believe you both missed the point.......first the question should be....can the the ravens still make the playoffs???.....looking at the schedule, I would say no unless we get some breaks....in that case lets let flacco learn on the job....... and this quote is ridiculous "buried among the typical blizzard of Ravens- Colts pre-game story lines." This is the least I have heard about this meeting compared to the last 3 or 4. If you think troy smith takes the ravens to the playoffs.....good luck.....

[terps19]

I think that if Ozzie or anyone else in the Ravens FO thought they had a shot at the playoffs then a big play WR would be in the works.

Are we totally giving up on D Williams? He could be a decent vertical threat. I hope Figures is getting reps at WR in practice. We need Figures to take over Clayton's spot- what a bust he has been so far.

I still think that Flacco should remain the starting QB, but maybe work Smith in as well. While Smith didnt amaze me last year, he protected the ball better than Flacco has so far. Smith just doesnt have the height.

Ravens better come ready to play Miami.

[Dan]

Flacco is the future. Troy Smith is not. Let Flacco play.

[Dan]

Not that it means much but in Peyton Manning's first five games he was 1-4 with 4TD passes, 12 INT's and 1 lost fumble. The message.....patience.

[Jopa-n]

Joe Flacco and Kyle Boller are related in no way shape or form. Kyle Boller's experience over the last 6 years for that matter, in no way mirrors any QB past or present. To keep using what happened to Boller as some sort of common denominator among young NFL QB's is not only narrow minded and short sighted, it's also simply totally unrealistic.
Joe Flacco will grow or shrink, sink or swim, fail or succeed, because of his ability to do so on his own. It makes no sense at this point to attempt to delay the inevitable.
Teams that play patch work year after year, tend to get just that: 9-7, 7-9, with a good year and a bad year somewhere in between. Good teams make changes for the long haul because that kind of mentality creates long term success in the end.

[Maddog]

Troy Smith is garbage. Period. Yes, he won the Heisman, with an extremely good supporting cast at OSU. The games he started and played in last year were against the other teams' backups, except the Seahawks who blew us out anyways and the winless Dolphins who we lost to. He will give us no better of a chance to win than Flacco will.

I hate how a lot of people want to pin the last three losses on Flacco. Was he out there playing defense? Was he covering Harrison and Wayne? Was he blocking? Was he running the ball? Was he calling the plays? Rookie QBs struggle. That's a fact. And everyone needs to get it out of their heads that we can compete for a playoff spot, because we won't. 6 or 7 wins maybe. If Ray, Suggs, Reed, Heap and any other vets want to win so badly right now, then let them go. The pieces will slowly be put in place to be a championship team in the future.

Bottom line, the only way Flacco will learn is by playing, not by watching our awful backups screw up worse than he has.

[Jon]

I'm sorry, but I've never seen this "potential" people keep saying Troy Smith has.

[A V III]

Having Cam Cameron, why doesn't he mix things up a bit and use both QBs at different times to confuse defenses?? I swear to god that will work. Troy can scramble and Flacco can throw. I'm sure there're some plays in our playbook that can make this happen. The dolphins are running some trick plays and so far they have all worked!! What happened to the OFFENSIVE GENIUS in CAM CAMERON??

[Rob]

I thought the boy was calm I didn't know he was brain dead......strong arm /nice pass...very little instinct ...zero recognition.... primitive judgement...he's just being out classed by the NFL.....thats something you never felt or saw with Smith....smith has short comings [no pun intended ]with judgement....but at this point there's no comparison....Smith was in command of the offense.... Flacco looks slow, Blind,and overwhelmed......meanwhile Ryan looks like a 10 year veteran [class difference].....how's Todd Bauman ?

[FireTrembley]

A V III wrote:

Having Cam Cameron, why doesn't he mix things up a bit and use both QBs at different times to confuse defenses?? I swear to god that will work. Troy can scramble and Flacco can throw. I'm sure there're some plays in our playbook that can make this happen. The dolphins are running some trick plays and so far they have all worked!! What happened to the OFFENSIVE GENIUS in CAM CAMERON??

This is the pros you moron...there is no QB by committee garbage here. You need a guy to lead the team on the field. You really know nothing about football.

[Rick]

I agree that the Recievers (besides 85) are a major part of the problem. I agree they should try figures. Watch the replay as I did and count how man times someone is open. Not many, Demertrios Williams cant catch he had 3 dropped passes. then watch the Costs Harrison and Wayne and how quickly they cut and break away from coverage. I also agree Flacco is a Rokkie. Just let him play he will learn. He is no boller.

[Mike]

In a couple of years folks on this board will be saying the same thing about Flacco as they did about Boller. You can't use the young and inexperienced line forever. Flacco doesn't come close to Ryan and they are both inexperienced.

[Wil]

Flacco has a number of weaknesses that can be corrected. However, that said , he must overcome this appearance of total sedation during times . It seems the more pressure that insues, the more he goes into a trance. As if the pressure creates a sedative reaction within him and causes him to slow down even more so. But what hurts him and the team just as much is the total lack of quality receivers. Excluding of course Mason in this group of untalented and poor producers . The blocking from receivers was non existent in the entire game. The number of times the QB had time to throw but could not find anyone open was mention by the play by play announcers. The special teams play left much to be desired.

[larry g]

we're getting out flanked men. plain and simple. we need to flank better and we'll win. maybe use a little of that old wing-T offense and run the wishbone at them. shake a few men out of their jocks just like old Gale Sayers used to.

[Joe]

I I can’t believe that some of you are trying to compare Flacco to Manning, no comparison. Anyway if Flacco was not going to be the starter before Kyle and Troy was out, why should he stay the starter when one of them return? It’s not like he is hot and the Ravens are not on a winning streak. Harbaugh made a mistake by naming Flacco the starter for the rest of the year. What does that do to Troy moral, especially if Flacco gets hurt and you will need Troy to start? How does Harbaugh announcement about Flacco affect the rest of the team, especially the defense? How much longer will they have to carry the team and spend the majority of the game on the field? It’s easy to say be patience if your playing years are getting shorter and shorter. How many time have the defense been asked to be patient? And, why shouldn’t Troy get a fair shot at starting, he sat behind Steve and Kyle. Give Troy a shot and if it does not work, you have Joe next year. We let Derrick Anderson go and look what he has done at Cleveland. If the Ravens didn’t think that Troy could play in the league, they shouldn’t have drafted him or kept him. John Madden even thinks Troy is a good QB. Give the man a chance, he has earned it!!!

[larry g]

larry g wrote:

we're getting out flanked men. plain and simple. we need to flank better and we'll win. maybe use a little of that old wing-T offense and run the wishbone at them. shake a few men out of their jocks just like old Gale Sayers used to.

Firetrembley , everyone of these posts , I send the link to feedback so they can trace these posts . I sent 5 today so you will be barred soon

[larry g]

larry g wrote:

we're getting out flanked men. plain and simple. we need to flank better and we'll win. maybe use a little of that old wing-T offense and run the wishbone at them. shake a few men out of their jocks just like old Gale Sayers used to.

Just keep sending them

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/baltimore-s...

[Gary]

Let Flacco play. After Sunday's dissection by Peyton Manning, it is obvious that this year's Ravens aren't really going anywhere. Flacco needs the knowledge and experience.