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I think you guys are reading the Smith starting this week all wrong. Sure, the Ravens would love Smith to be an answer. However, they know nothing about him, So in an effort to see if he should even be considered over Kyle, they are going to let him play. Good move, as Kyle really has nothing more to prove. Stuck and thrown into a terrible offensive scheme for 5-6 years, no receivers other than Mason for a couple and oft injured Todd Heap to throw to.

Running game has been nothing close to a dominant part of the Ravens offense for over 5 years. Sure agianst weak teams they can thrive a little, but against high caliber defenses, they cannot get the job done on the ground.

Since you are convinced John reads this article, I hope he sees what I have said and would agree, I think Boller IS the starter UNLESS Troy shows so much against St, Louis, he can make the switch.

As a Ravens fan, I am tired of the Boller bashing. There are a limited number of QB’s in this league that are game changers. Boller is better than Dilfer, right? I mean if Trent, who I liked can take a team to the Super Bowl, then Boller can too. But agreed, Kyle needs to lose the shotput motion and start zinging the ball as he can. He is so on pins and needles because of columnists and fans that forget even Johnny U had 20 TD 22 INT years. Every time Kyle makes a mistake, he is lashed. Every time he makes a great play, it,‘s well, it’s about time… why. The guy was great before they brought the wounder McNair in for his last chance. Kyle lit up a bad GB team and lit up a pretty decent contending playoff team in Minnesota. After that, and being replaced, I can only imagine what that does to a person’s mindset. He had turned the corner, and Billick missed it…as he always did with the QB’s..

Remember it was Kyle that almost won the Bengals game last year when McShell, I mean McNair could not get it done. Had it not been for a renegade officals horrible call of pass interference on Heap, people may remember how brilliantly Kyle played at the end. Two GREAT throws coming of the bench in a hostile environment. And, it was Kyle that should have beat NE, had it not been for the coaches ruining the performance in spite of themselves.

So I ask you, can Troy Smith be a pocket NFL QB. He size is concerning, h\s accuracy more so. A gifted talent in college does not always transcend to the professional level. If he was that great, could 30 teams pass him by for 4+ rounds! With all the “bad” qb’s out there, he would have been snatched up. I’m sure Stan White is correct about Troy…. a good leader, good presence and a good guy. But there is an old saying in baseball, you don’t chnage the pitcher unless you kn ow the one in the bullpen is better. In this case, I think Kyle is better, and if he was given the reigns one last time, for the entire year, with the “Billick” gone and Cam in place, I think he could achieve an 85 passer rating and lead this team to 8-10 wins.

BTW, Flacco looks like he will need at least 2 years of watching. Hang tight. The Ravens may have reached too far witrh a guy that has a great arm, but what does that mean. I could throw a football as well as anyone when I was younger….but to be an NFL QB requires more than just an arm. Kyle has the intellegence and grit. I think Troy does too.

In conclussion, I would start Kyle and have 5-7 plays a game scripted for Troy. Like the Steelers did with Stewart. It adds a wrinkle and keeps both men in the game plan. We are going to need all the innovative play calling and execution we can get.

Rexx and all the good fans,

I hear all of you. I will say this. I hope you are right about Troy. If he proves better than Boller, then it’s good for us and I will be happy to be wrong.

1. In the NE game he did not throw a costly int. It led to a NE field goal and they were still winning when Brian as always forgot McGahee had 138 yards and stopped running the ball.

2. He has won many games for us. C’mon, I’ll give you he’s no 4th quarter wonder….but Kyle won against the Jets, despite Herm and Brian both forgetting how to manage the clock.., Cleveland, GB (Sun or mon night), Vikings (Sun or Mon night) and quite a few other Kyle led wins.

3. Rexx, Troy could have had 5-6 more int’s then occured in Seattle and against Pitts. But it’s a new year and I am hoping like all of us Troy is better. As for the 20-22, I hear ya. But we do not have a game plan or receivers that can give that many td’s or int’s. so 10-11 or something along those lines is about the same. And yes, Favre threw tons of int’s and made ton’s of boneheaded plays even as a veteran. Still a pretty good QB though.

I still think if given one last shot, Kyle will do well. If not here, then another team. Look how good Redman looked last year for Atlanta. Granted, they got Ryan, but he looked better there than he did here. Billicked. Grbac, Banks, Mitchell (stunk anyway), so many more. We need Vinny back…nah….just kidding.

Good blog. I will continue to follow you Rexx.

Go Ravens!