Why do people want to start Troy Smith?

[RavenTD]

So F'n what if he stinks it up.

And if he does,Troy and the coaches know what to work on for next season.
But it seems some people want to keep their toy cars in their box in case they get all scratched when playing with them.And what is the point of that?

[OriAl]

The backup QB is always the most popular guy on the team when the starter struggles, whether or not the struggling is all the fault of the starter (which it isn't in Boller's case - poor pass protection plays a big role in his struggles, and the same would be true for Smith, were he to start.)

We should be starting all the young o-linemen together, to see if they can begin gelling into a quality line. We know what Ogden and other vets can do - they're not the future (Ogden may even retire - if he doesn't, and gets his toe fixed, that would be a bonus to add to a young line if it does show potential to be a good unit in these last three games.)

[ClericBlackDave]

IIRC, Favre was riding the pine in Atlanta for a year or two when GB decided to pick him up. It seemed that only after "Magic" Majkowski crashed and burned did Favre get his chance.

But PP's last post:


Is spot on. Why the hell not get Smith in there and get him some reps in live NFL action? The Ravens season is already toast and letting the FO see what they have in Smith might give them something to think about as they figure out the draft?

The problem is that starting him now shows you next to nothing. If he fails, people will note poor pass protection, BB hater will note poor coaching by Brian Billick, and that he's a late pick rookie


If he succeeds it won't let you know anything because we're in basic mop-up time. Starting a QB for a team this down isn't going to give you any reliable data.


Thats just my opinion. What you want to do is what the Raiders are doing with Jamarcus Russell. Josh McCown is starting, but Russell WILL PLAY. Likewise, Boller should be the starter but Troy Smith SHOULD PLAY.


The issue is that if Jamarcus Russell or Troy Smith or any young rookie comes is and lays an ugly one under dire circumstance with a questionable supporting cast (lord knows Boller has), what does that do besides actually RAISE questions.


I'd like someone to tell me the last time a team put a young QB in to start in mop-up time and it ended in the team either a) annointing that guy the teams future or b) cutting the player or perma-benching him


it never is clear cut like that.


So, if you're looking for Smith to give you something to make it easy, I think you're going to be dissapointed.


its more likely that he has his ups and his downs and we're stuck in the same position we are now going into the draft.


The worse case scenario is that Troy drops a deuce because he's been rushed along and we'll not know what he REALLY is because we're not REALLY trying to coach him up.


I see Tony Romo and I see all I need to know about the QB position as it stands in the league. Let a guy with the physical tools sit and learn the pro-game.

[shaslers]

I'd be playing Troy Smith. But it has nothing to do with Boller playing badly, and hoping that Smith will prove to be superior.
It has to do with finding out if Smith can simply play as well as Boller and be an option as their #2 next year.

At this point they know what they have in Boller. One of the better back ups in the league and one of the weaker starters. If this were baseball we'd be talking about Boller as a 4-A player. I don't think they are in a situation any longer where they are evaluating Kyle's potential as the future franchise QB.

It looks like the plan is to try to get McNair healthy next year for one final run (that was how his contract was constructed and it's hard to do anything else, unless he retires). Hopefully they are also looking to draft a college player who can become the franchise QB down the road. Let's pretend that player is Joe Flacco.

That would give them McNair, Boller, Smith, and Flacco. A lot of teams don't like carrying three QBs much less four.

So, back to the original question of whether to play Boller or Smith, my theory is that we know Boller is fine as a back up, but we're not sure if Smith can assume the role. Let Smith finish the season to judge if he can supplant Boller in that spot. If so, with Kyle under contract for next year, they could be in a position to trade Kyle.

No one is going to project Kyle as their starter. But he has great value as a young veteran back-up. I was listening to ESPN radio yesterday and they were lamenting the lack of quality back up QBs in the league, and how damaging it is when the starter goes down. Kyle has great value as a back up, whether it's for the Ravens or some other team. But now is the time to find out if Smith can be just as valuable in the #2 role.

Don't get overly excited and think he's going to immediately vault into a franchise QB...one step at a time. Prove himself as a back up, which he hasn't done yet, and then let him compete down the road with a Joe Flacco after McNair is gone, too.