As a Baltimore fan, anytime you hear the words "arm strength" and "upside," your mind heads straight for Kyle Boller, which is why I can't say that I'm thrilled with Joe Flacco. Even if he pans out, trading up to #18 was a stretch. Baltimore probably could have bypassed Flacco at #26 even, and then waited until he dropped to them at the top of the second. Even then, I think it would have been a stretch.
I had hoped Baltimore would take a corner in the first round, but instead it's former first-round selection CB Fabian Washington, who played under Rex Ryan's twin brother Rob in Oakland: "They sound alike, they look alike, other than the haircut, and they say the same jokes. Everything's the same, so you feel like you went out of one office and right back in the same office."
Washington ran a 4.29/40 in 2005, making him the fastest player clocked during that year's NFL Combine. He'll pair up nicely with Chris McAlister, but he needs to be a better tackler, which is why Oakland benched him last year after the Broncos game. He became expendable as soon as the Raiders scooped up DeAngelo Hall in the offseason. Then in February, Washington was arrested for a scuffle with his girlfriend. He took responsibility for the offseason incident, apologized, and will avoid prosecution if he stays out of trouble for long enough. It sounds like maybe this guy just needed a change of scenery. If he plays like a former first-round selection, and all we gave up was a fourth-round pick, that's a good deal. Still, I wish the Ravens would have picked up more support in the defensive backfield. They chose a couple of safeties on day two, but those guys are special-teamers, not starters.
There hasn't been much word on QB Troy Smith, who played well in limited action last year. It seems that the front office is content to let Smith, Boller and Flacco battle it out for the starting job, though my guess is that Boller gets the starting nod. If that's the case, chances are Smith will drop to #3 on the depth chart, which would be a shame. Smith has potential, but he may never get a fair shot because the front office is in love with Flacco. We never gave Derek Anderson a chance to perform, and look at what he's doing now in Cleveland. Since we already know Boller is a career backup, my vote is to let Smith be the starter, plant Flacco on the bench, and let Boller do what he does best, which is stay out of the way and play only when needed.
Blogimore's QB Power Rankings:
1) Troy Smith
2) Kyle Boller
3) Joe Flacco
I had hoped Baltimore would take a corner in the first round, but instead it's former first-round selection CB Fabian Washington, who played under Rex Ryan's twin brother Rob in Oakland: "They sound alike, they look alike, other than the haircut, and they say the same jokes. Everything's the same, so you feel like you went out of one office and right back in the same office."
Washington ran a 4.29/40 in 2005, making him the fastest player clocked during that year's NFL Combine. He'll pair up nicely with Chris McAlister, but he needs to be a better tackler, which is why Oakland benched him last year after the Broncos game. He became expendable as soon as the Raiders scooped up DeAngelo Hall in the offseason. Then in February, Washington was arrested for a scuffle with his girlfriend. He took responsibility for the offseason incident, apologized, and will avoid prosecution if he stays out of trouble for long enough. It sounds like maybe this guy just needed a change of scenery. If he plays like a former first-round selection, and all we gave up was a fourth-round pick, that's a good deal. Still, I wish the Ravens would have picked up more support in the defensive backfield. They chose a couple of safeties on day two, but those guys are special-teamers, not starters.
There hasn't been much word on QB Troy Smith, who played well in limited action last year. It seems that the front office is content to let Smith, Boller and Flacco battle it out for the starting job, though my guess is that Boller gets the starting nod. If that's the case, chances are Smith will drop to #3 on the depth chart, which would be a shame. Smith has potential, but he may never get a fair shot because the front office is in love with Flacco. We never gave Derek Anderson a chance to perform, and look at what he's doing now in Cleveland. Since we already know Boller is a career backup, my vote is to let Smith be the starter, plant Flacco on the bench, and let Boller do what he does best, which is stay out of the way and play only when needed.
Blogimore's QB Power Rankings:
1) Troy Smith
2) Kyle Boller
3) Joe Flacco
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