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The biggest question in Baltimore with the retirement of Steve McNair is who will be the starting quarterback when they strap it on September 7th against division rival Cincinnati Bengals?  For the first time in years the Ravens finally have good depth at the quarterback position with former starter Kyle Boller, 2006 Heisman winner Troy Smith and this years first round draft pick Joe Flacco. 

Kyle Boller
Pros- Kyle Boller is entering this years camp with a familiar tune, battling for the number 1 quarterback spot. Out of the three, Boller definitely has more starting experience which is a plus. He has played in 53 games in six seasons and is coming off his best season yet. Finished the 2007 season completing a career-high 61.1% of his passes (168 of 275) for 1,743 yards, 9 TDs and 10 INTs. Boller is also entering the 2008 season as the all-time franchise leader with 746 completions, 1,311 attempts (56.9%) and 7,846 passing yards. Boller during his NFL tenure has showed great arm strength as well.

Cons- With new head coach John Harbaugh at the helm and new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron in Baltimore, a very different offense is now in place which puts Boller on equal level with every quarterback on this roster. Boller during his career has shown that he can make really bad decisions in the pocket and definitely needs to improve his ball control.  With Pro Bowl left tackle Jonathan Ogden gone and this offensive line showing some big weaknesses this offense needs a quarterback who can scramble out of the pocket and Boller does not do that as much as he needs to and sometimes just takes the sack.

Troy Smith
Pros- Two words quick feet. Neither Flacco nor Boller have this and with the early reports of how this offensive line has looked sloppy this one trait alone could elevate Smith into the starting position. Like Boller and Flacco, Smith also has a great arm but also makes much better decisions than the two in the pocket and is by far has better field vision. Troy Smith also makes plays out of plays and can at times break a 5-10 yard run if none of the receivers are open which is a huge plus in this competition.

Cons- Troy Smith is only 6 feet tall which definitely can present a challenge seeing over defenders and offensive lineman. Another huge knock on Smith is his accuracy, in college and in his first year with Baltimore last year, he has shown some inconsistencies in his accuracy. Although a huge positive is his ability to escape the pocket, another knack on Smith is the fact that he can at times run out of the pocket too much and opens himself up for contact too much.

Joe Flacco
Pros- Joe Flacco has proven to be a very good leader on the football field and definitely puts his team on his shoulders and takes blame when warranted. At 6’6 Flacco is the tallest quarterback on this roster which is a huge plus due to being able to see the field much better than Boller (6”3 and Smith 6”0). Flacco has a terrific deep ball and will definitely benefit from the deep threat wide outs on this roster such as Derrick Mason.  Unlike Boller, Flacco definitely has a faster delivery with nice touch and timing.

Cons-  Just like Boller, Flacco is not very mobile at all and with the glaring weakness now at left tackle this will also hurt him as well. Also another trait that Boller shows as well, are bad decision making in the pocket under pressure, in college. With a great arm can sometimes come a great arm that at times can be too confident, with Flacco at times over throwing receivers and also at times have some throws sail on him. Also another knock against Flacco is that in college he really didn’t have much experience playing against top tier teams.

The Edge- I’m going to have to give the edge to the former Heisman winner Troy Smith. I think the fact that he is a mobile quarterback with a strong arm and great awareness in the pocket will give him the nod game 1. This offensive line worries me and if Boller and Flacco get the nod this will remind me of what happened in Buffalo when Bledsoe (a very far from mobile quarterback) had to work with a bad offensive line and that didn’t work out. I think Smith needs to work on his accuracy more and also needs to pick his opportunities when deciding whether to run with the ball or not.