Pro's Take: Y'all Must-A-4-Got! 'X-Factor' Troy Smith MUST GET A SHOT! (The Anderson Effect)

[RavenTD]

But if they don't let Troy Smith be Troy Smith and throw him out there trying to make him something he's not

I'd have Troy in the shotgun and use him to run,pass or playaction out of that. Or have I been watching too much Tim Tebow?

Billick,will use him like every other Raven QB.Using the same old system.

[Prolific]

I just wanna see what the kid can do if he's given a fair shake. You can't call it a fair shake if all you've had to go on is what he did in the preseason.

It's been a long 8 months since he's been exposed to the Ravens playbook, the players and the offensive structure.

While he probably can't check out of every bad play he probably has a better shot at making plays when everything breaks down than Boller does based on what Boller's done with his chances.

Alot of people lose sight of the unequivical fact that Troy Smith almost single-handedly sent THREE WR's to the NFL as First rounders.

You've got Santonio Holmes with Pitt:
25th Pick of the 2006 NFL Draft

Ted Ginn Jr. with Miami:
9th Pick of the 2007 NFL Draft

Anthony Gonzalez with the Colts:
32nd Pick of the NFL Draft

That's 3 WR's that went in the first round of the NFL Draft in the 2 years that Troy Smith started for THE Ohio State University.

That is not only a testament to Ohio State's recruiting of premier athletes, but also of Troy Smith's ability to showcase the special talents of each of these players enough to be drafted as highly as they had been.

No other QB in the last two seasons has had three first round WR's come from the same QB's seasons.

The closest is DeMarcus Russell with the Raiders who had 2 in the same year, Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis.

Smith's ability to accurately place the ball where the receiver can turn and run with the pass allowed each of these guys to be in a position to create plays after the catch.

That's something that the Ravens offense has been sorely lacking of. And that's something that I'd like to see more of if Troy is given a fair shake.

Just my opinion.-Pro-

[ClericBlackDave]

I agree on everything written, even as someone who had/has a lot of faith in Boller.

However, I'd like to note there is no way Smith is 6'1 . Please. He's a shorty. And if he can play outside of that, thats fine.

However, his height makes me worry about his ability to make plays in the pocket.

However, with this o-line, making plays outside the pocket is probably more important.

[The Fanatic]

Billick,will use him like every other Raven QB.Using the same old system.

And that is where the problem is.

You cannot take a guy like Troy Smith and try and make him a pure pocket passer.
It won't work!!

He needs to be allowed to play "street football" for lack of a better term right now.

His game which he excels at is being mobile and making things happen with his feet and mobility.

[TheExtraPoint]

Pro, as usual, nails this head-on.

First of all, it was absolutely inexcusable for Brian Billick to wait until practically the two minute warning of last night's game to put in Troy Smith. That game was over (evident by the mass-halftime exodus) before the intermission. Troy Smith should have been starting the second half last night, and the final three games of the season. Period.

But he won't. Billick is too stubborn, and has been for much of his coaching tenure in Baltimore. I've defended his practices for the last time. He needs to go, but won't.

There is clearly debate about this, but I completely disagree with the notion that playing a rookie quarterback can be counter-productive for a player's development. I think it's one of the most bogus myths in professional sports, one that's often used to defend Kyle Boller's career ineffectiveness.

Face it. Kyle Boller is a top-level athlete, and a low-level NFL quarterback. Someone, somewhere, saw a kid with great physical tools, and tried to fit the square peg he represents into a round hole called the quarterback position. A great athlete does not always a great quarterback make. See Michael Vick for proof. The position requires a lot more than just physical prowess. Mental and accuracy deficiencies are impossible to overcome for even the most gifted quarterbacks.

But this isn't about the past (Boller). That mistake became obvious to most objective observers sometime several years ago, and has just been reaffirmed over his latest stint as Ravens' starter by default this year.

Billick, who in all likelihood will return next season, should plainly see that this is the time for Troy Smith, because what he and other Ravens decision makers see in Smith over the course of the next three games could go a long way to determining how this team approaches the quarterback position in the offseason.

If Smith proves as a starter to show signs of promise, that he infact has the ability to play the quarterback position effectively at the NFL level, it would go a long way to determining whether or not this team has to invest a potential early-round draft pick in a quarterback, a make-or-break propostion in the world of professional football.

We've all seen first-hand how much that early-round investment in a player at the game's most significant position can set a franchise back if the player they choose doesn't realize the potential his lofty draft status suggests he could. Don't learn from history, and watch as it repeats itself in brutal, franchise crippling fashion.

Troy Smith could be Eric Crouch, a heisman trophy winning college football player with no NFL potential at the quarterback position. He could be Seneca Wallace, a reliable back-up quarterback limited by his size but productive when given the chance to perform. Or he could be Drew Brees, an under-sized, but immensely talented FOOTBALL PLAYER, whose abilities trump his lack of height... I think Troy Smith has 'IT'.

But there is only one way for the Ravens, their fans, and even Smith himself to find out. Expose him to the one thing no college player can truly prepare for without in game, live action. That would be SPEED.

I, for one, have a lot of belief in Troy Smith. I also have very little faith in the Baltimore Ravens vision of how to approach the quarterback position, made evident by their consistent failure at addressing that one position. I hope, for once, they buck their historically horrendous approach, and give Troy Smith the ball. It could tell them everything they need to know going into the most crucial, and complicated, offseason in the franchise's history.

[ravenwoman]

What a great thread this is!! Kudos to all who have posted.

The season is over, folks. Time for reflection and most of all evaluation. How will we know what direction we need to take in the draft if everyone is not fairly evaluated. The last time I checked, the only way you get experience is by doing, not watching. Troy Smith has sat on the pine long enough.

I truly hope we do not win another game. I want the highest position possible in the draft. This affects our second, third, fourth round etc. Nothing is gained by winning at this point anyway, so put in Troy Smith and give him at least a little NFL experience so that he can rightfully compete next year in training camp.

But Billick is a dumb coach and he won't see it that way.

[HoustonRaven]

My only addition is Troy played with a HUGE O Line at OH. I dont see why his height is a factor since it never was when he was playing college ball.

[StingerNLG]

Two questions:

1) If Troy Smith is this good, why did every other team pass on him for 5 rounds?

2) When did the Heisman Trophy automatically mean you were going to be an NFL star? I think Danny Wuerffel, Chris Weinke, Eric Crouch, Jason White, and now it seems even Matt Leinart would have something to say about that.

The only Heisman winner in recent memory I know of that actually made something of himself in the league is Carson Palmer. And even he can't seem to put the Bengals on his shoulders and lead them anywhere.


I'm ready to see Troy Smith too. But I am not buying into his college career and his Heisman Trophy when he was drafted were he was.

[purple bird]

Draft pick position means nothing with qb's. Just look at Brady and Derek Anderson.

Heck, Roethlesberger was considered a "bad" first round choice because he wasn't highly touted by all the supposed scouting "know-it-alls". He has "it", however.

[Prolific]

I'm glad to see that there are alot of varying perspectives on whether or not Troy Smith should get a shot at the title.

I truly believe that for all of the coaching talents that Billick has, the one thing that seems to elude him more oftentimes than not is the ability to think outside of the box.

I'm not going to get into a bashing session here, there are enough threads on that, but it is clear that both Smith is Ozzie and DeCosta's guy NOT Billick.

Billick seems to be more enamored with the measurables of a player rather than the abilities of one. Perfect example, remember long ago when he first got here.

He couldn't get Brad Johnson because Johnson could no longer cope with Billick's ego so he took a lesser deal to play for the Bucs and wound up winning a championship in Tampa.

Who'd he go and get instead? Scott Mitchell, all 6'6 inch tall, sub-par back-up QB Scott Mitchell.

And when he dumped Trent Dilfer after the Superbowl, who did he sign? Elvis Grbac, all 6'5 inch tall, former Pro-Bowl now long retired after cryin his eyes out Elvis Grbac.

And we know that Billick fell in love with Boller because of the impressive things he can do on his knees.

Boller is Billick's guy, that much is obvious. I'm not the H.C. of the Baltimore Ravens so of course there's info that he's privy to that most of us are not.

Just the same, with the season being what it is and the harsh realization that any way you slice it the QB position will need to be overhauled in the offseason, these last few games yield the best opportunity to see if Smith has progressed from the preseason.

How many 3-5 turnover games will it take before Billick can no longer back-rationalize each mistake Boller makes away? The QB position is one where you get too much credit either way whether you win or lose but that is the nature of the job. (-19 overall in his career)

It's more of a certainty that if 31 other guys who start for Pro NFL teams turned over the ball more consistently than it scored TD's then they more than likely wouldn't be starting QB's for long, ask John Beck with the Dolphins.

It's almost an assurity that if Boller single-handedly loses on Sunday against the winless Dolphins that Billick will have no choice but to give the rookie more playing time.

Now I'm not saying that Smith would start for the rest of the season, but there would be more of a likelihood that they'd go into straight evaluation mode rather than playing for little more than pride.

I don't know about you, but it's just not a good idea to immediately expect the solution to your problems to come from outside until you've FAIRLY evaluated what you have in house.

If he blows it and implodes worse than Boller has whenever he gets his chance then so be it. But what of the opposite?

What if he comes out there and starts raining points onto the scoreboard? That's what happened in Cleveland when Derek Anderson got his shot after he replaced Charlie Frye.

Anderson was supposed to just hold a spot until they got Quinn acclimated enough with the playbook to start the learning process. But instead of being just a caretaker, he started lightin up the scoreboard and earned his starting spot LIKE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO.

I don't know about you, but if my job was to put points up on the scoreboard and my career ratio of doing my job (44 TD's) was -19 to that effect, no matter how much my boss liked me he'd have to go in a different direction sooner rather than later.

Just my opinion.-Pro-

[purple bird]

Excellent Post Pro!!!

Boller never earned the starting spot from Redman in 2003 and Wright seemed to do better in the camps for the years following.

Boller is here only because of some obsession that Billick has with him.

Remember the commencement speech Billick mad to JHU grads (or maybe it was UB grads) where he admitted to having a vasectomy? Well, my opinon on the Billick-Boller affair is that, seeing as Billick only has daughters, he sees Boller as the "son he never had". Billick is a psychologist and probably would say the same thing about himself if he were to objectively analyze himself.

[StingerNLG]

I like your posts Pro, but:

He couldn't get Brad Johnson because Johnson could no longer cope with Billick's ego so he took a lesser deal to play for the Bucs and wound up winning a championship in Tampa.

Do you have a link for this? Because I don't seem to remember Brad Johnson saying he didn't want to play for Billick because of his ego. You're going to need to provide some proof on this.

Who'd he go and get instead? Scott Mitchell, all 6'6 inch tall, sub-par back-up QB Scott Mitchell.

Brian Billick doesn't "go and get" any player. You can thank Ozzie Newsome for signing Scott Mitchell.

And when he dumped Trent Dilfer after the Superbowl, who did he sign? Elvis Grbac, all 6'5 inch tall, former Pro-Bowl now long retired after cryin his eyes out Elvis Grbac.

Once again, Ozzie cut Dilfer, and Ozzie signed Elvis Grbac. NOT Brian Billick.

Brian Billick is not the final say in anything player personnel related.

And we know that Billick fell in love with Boller because of the impressive things he can do on his knees.

Boller is Billick's guy, that much is obvious. I'm not the H.C. of the Baltimore Ravens so of course there's info that he's privy to that most of us are not.

We're all privy to the reason Boller was drafted. Ozzie went after Byron Leftwich (which in retrospect thank GOODNESS we didn't draft either), and something happened to the phone between him and Minnesota to get the pick traded. Jacksonville then drafted Leftwich, and we were left with a hurt Chris Redman who wasn't going to be the QB of the future (gee, where have we heard that before?). Boller was the next QB BPA, so they traded for the spot to get him.

That's pretty common knowledge. And once again, the final decision to draft Kyle Boller was NOT Brian Billick's. It was Ozzie Newsome's. If Ozzie didn't want to draft Boller he could have held firm or drafted Rex Grossman or something.

Billick gets a lot of blame for players development once they get into the system. And he gets the blame for the system itself. But it's time to stop blaming Billick for drafting or "getting" players when that is absolutely 100% not his job, and he has no ability to do.