Why the McNair gravy train has peaked, and I'm off that bandwagon

[postalworker]

I don't really know what to think about McNair. This seems to sum it up:

He's cool under pressure, he leads the team well, but makes stupid-ass mistakes and can be inconsistent. His arm strength is lacking at times, and he's far too quick to revert to the dump off.

He'll probably play through next season in a similar vein and then retire.

I see Boller getting another shot at being the starter, and I think he'll be successful.

Not much more you can say.

[Big Meaty]

My ideal offseason would see Ogden retire, trade Mason, cut Mike Flynn, go forward with a young core and a young team.

Exactly how is Ogden retiring ideal?

This is the best he's played in at least 2 years.

[Ravens0587]

everytime a qb debate begins,the first thing that comes out of purplerulz mouth is 6-10, 6-10,6-10, 6-10,6-10, 6-10,6-10, 6-10.

Hey buddy you can not pin 6-10 on him, the o-line played better this year b/c of continuity it didn't have a year ago, pryce is better then weaver, ngata is better then kemo, Landry is better then Demps.

Ray and Reed didnt miss as many games this year

Also, Mcnair played like shit at the beginning of the year, then he picked it up a little bit, I bet that was around the same time that Billick took over playcalling for fassell.

PR answer me this mr "6-10" who was our O coordinator last year

[StingerNLG]

While we're on the subject of Boller and McNair, and the obvious people who are on both sides of this......

Don't ever fucking mention Sumari Rolle to me again. That has to be one of the more worthless pickups we've had this year. And the Indy game was just another example of how Rolle simply can't cover a WR.


Now, I agree with a couple of things on both sides. On PR's side, while I disagree about the type of QB Boller can be, and always have/always will, I don't think Baltimore is the place he'll get it done. Not because the team won't play for him, that myth was broken in the last game he played, but because fans simply won't let him. Short of winning a Super Bowl, and I don't even think that would do it, a piece of this fanbase will always be waiting with baited breath for Boller to get hurt so they can cheer. It's just the way it is.

On CBD side, I agree that if Boller does get another chance with this team, and the vets don't want to play for him, then fuck them and they should step aside. This is a team game, and they are professionals. The young guys don't have any problem playing for Boller, and you DID see that with Clayton and Demetrius Williams.

Of course, some vets do respect him. All you had to do was listen to what Trevor Pryce said about him after the Cleveland game (not what Preston was guessing about after Buffalo).

And if you really want to get down to it, Mason had less catches and less yards with McNair, HIS FORMER TEAMMATE, than he did with Boller and Wright last year. So I'm betting, Mason wouldn't mind Boller being his QB again because it means he'll get the ball again. And since we see Mason doesn't care about speaking his mind in front of the camera, you can believe him when he talks positive about Boller, as much as some people don't want to.

You are all one-and-one over McNair, but where was Boller gotten us lately? Zero and done to be exact.

Actually, in 2003, the year he was drafted, he and Wright were the QB's when we went to the playoffs. So you are wrong.

[copenhaggard]

While we're on the subject of Boller and McNair, and the obvious people who are on both sides of this......


Actually, in 2003, the year he was drafted, he and Wright were the QB's when we went to the playoffs. So you are wrong.

I didn't mention that year, becuse Boller wasn't our QB for that game or the the 2nd half of the season, so it'd be unfair to pin that on him. Also, it isn't like Wright really 'led" us to the playoffs either, it was the defense.

The 6-10 season wasn't his fault either, but he didn't play well enough on a consistent basis to really say he would've led us to the playoffs, and a playoff victory.

The best example was our 9-7 season, and it was plagued by inconsistency by Boller, some good games, some bad, and a defensive meltdown against Cinci. We really had no stablilty on that team, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Listen, obviously it's unfair if the player don't play as hard for Boller, and I don't think that's the case that they don't try for him. I think that in the back of their heads, they loose a little bit of confidence when he is the QB. I am not saying it's right at all, because it isn't.

[RavensNTerps]

2004 was our hardest schedule in our history, i don't necesarily care about "opponents winning percentage" stats...

we had to play on the road at 3 of the 4 teams in the championship games (New England, Philly, Pittsburgh), as well as @ the Jets who were a missed field goal away from the championship game.

We also had to play the up and coming Bungholes twice. To finish 9-7 that year was pretty impressive, it just sucked that we lost to the Bengals.

And last year boller was responsible for 4 out of our 6 wins...and provided an explosive spark to our offense...you can't deny that. Even against Cincy and Denver, where he didn't encessarily play well, the offesne was explosive down field.....

[copenhaggard]

2004 was our hardest schedule in our history, i don't necesarily care about "opponents winning percentage" stats...

we had to play on the road at 3 of the 4 teams in the championship games (New England, Philly, Pittsburgh), as well as @ the Jets who were a missed field goal away from the championship game.

We also had to play the up and coming Bungholes twice. To finish 9-7 that year was pretty impressive, it just sucked that we lost to the Bengals.

And last year boller was responsible for 4 out of our 6 wins...and provided an explosive spark to our offense...you can't deny that. Even against Cincy and Denver, where he didn't encessarily play well, the offesne was explosive down field.....

No, it really wasn't impressive, because we were capable of more. To be the best, you need to beat the best.

I am really sick of the 2005 Cinci example, you know why? That was the 2nd half to the game, and we were getting our asses handed to us. You better believe we needed to be more explosive to stay in the game. If it's a tight game, we wouldn't be playing that type of offense, because that's not how Billick is.

Again, I don't see where being explosive gets us, when sometimes it hurts us. Being explosive is great, when you minimize mistakes, and it seems our QBs have a problem doing that.

And in response to the Houston 2005 game, that was a complete team effort, not just Boller. We scored one offensive TD, and a defensive TD, and Boller led our offense down for the winning FG. That wasn't just Boller there.

Boller has done some great things, no doubt, but there are many examples on the opposite side of the spectrum as well. That's the problem, his inconsistency really plagues him, and Billick doesn't know which Boller is going to show up, so more often than not, he creates or recommends a more conservative gameplan.

[ExiledRaven]

Boller, no Boller, who cares.

1 ~ KB is going to be on the Ravens next year
2 ~ Mac9 will be the starting QB for next year
3 ~ look for the Ravens to invest a 1st-4th rounder on a QB
4 ~ new QB for the Ravens in the '08 season. Might be Boller, might be this new guy, we might trade for a backup with potential (I doubt the last one)

A new offensive philosophy might help next year. We need to starting playing to win the game. Herm Edwards will tell you that...but of course then he goes vanilla and loses too. A ball-control grind it out offense works quite often...but that offense is not going to get us to the big game without fluke plays and the defense of the century and that already happened once.

Unleash the O and see what happens. Leash the O and we're back to 9-7 next year with that schedule unless something else changes.

As to being explosive and minimize mistakes. When you're explosive more mistakes will happen, but the whole damn point of being explosive is that you're typically going to reap a greater return on that offense...namely scoring more and the ability to score quickly. 10 minute drives are great, but you'd damn well better score at the end and if you can't move faster than that, being down 9 pts is a death sentence, especially if you DO make a mistake.

[Sports Steve]

Look at Manning's stats in the game and look at McNair's. They are almost the same. It's just the Ravens didn't get the breaks at the right time.

[StingerNLG]

The best example was our 9-7 season, and it was plagued by inconsistency by Boller, some good games, some bad, and a defensive meltdown against Cinci. We really had no stablilty on that team, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

No kidding!

- Todd Heap out for 10 games.

- Travis Taylor, you're supposed #1 receiver pulls his groin in game one and out 6 games and then is pretty much rendered useless the rest of the year (and if he didn't pull up lame on the play he got hurt on, that pass would have been a touchdown and the Ravens win week 1 against the Browns).

- Clarence Moore is your #1 receiver basically all year long, with Kevin Johnson as your #2.

- Jamal out for 4 games, including @ Philly and @NE.

All that and we go 9-7.
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Now, let's step back for a second and re-enter the world of reality. First off, this is soooooooooooooooooooooo the wrong time to be having this discussion. I am angry as it is. We don't need a McNair Vs. Boller debate 2 days after this kind of loss. Yeah, McNair sucked. So did Mark Clayton when he cost us 40 yards by fumbling after a catch. So did Heap by fumbling. So did Billick by deciding to run out the clock at the end of the first half because he had zero confidence in his offense. The only two people I can't be mad at right now are Ed Reed and Jamal Lewis, who had 53 yards in only 13 carries. Imagine if he carried the ball 25 times?

So here is the deal. Unless he decides the pressure was too much for him and announces his retirement, Steve McNair will be back next year. Steve McNair will be the starter next year. Case closed, point blank, signed sealed delivered I'm yours. Kyle Boller will be back, and will be the backup again. Again, case closed.

If you want to know what Boller's fate on the team is going to be, you simply watch the draft:

If the Ravens draft a high-tout QB who is a projected 1st or 2nd year starter in the 1st or 2nd round, then Boller's career in Baltimore is done. I don't know the full class of QB's yet so I can't comment outside of the obvious ones.

If the Ravens draft a QB in the 5th or 6th round, then it's to make sure we have a 3rd for now and will likely move up to be the backup and Boller will move back to the starting role when McNair leaves.

It is highly unlikely Ozzie will dip into FA again to find a franchise QB, or we could just re-open the rotating wheel of QB's we had going the last time we tried to do this. So it's Boller, or it's a draft pick IMO.

[StingerNLG]

BTW, I totally didn't catch your sigline until you added it Copen. What's up Crows??? Dude, believe it or not I have missed talking and debating with you on YBR. You were one of the good ones man. Very glad to see you made it over here.

[ClericBlackDave]

And if you really want to get down to it, Mason had less catches and less yards with McNair, HIS FORMER TEAMMATE, than he did with Boller and Wright last year. So I'm betting, Mason wouldn't mind Boller being his QB again because it means he'll get the ball again. And since we see Mason doesn't care about speaking his mind in front of the camera, you can believe him when he talks positive about Boller, as much as some people don't want to.

Thats the irony here. Mason, for all his hate on Boller and longing for McNair in the offseason, sees that his production has gone down. And while he wouldn't directly hate on McNair, I think its clear that he knows McNair isn't able to get him the ball.


Really, its not clear that if Boller hadn't started all 16 games in '05, that Mason couldn't have had a 1300 yard 8-10 TD type game.


I'll say this: what happened with McNair in that playoff game might be the 1st step to this city and this team actually getting behind Boller whenever he gets his shot.


The backup QB is always the most popular QB in town unless your team has a Unitas or Brady.


Now maybe Kyle can get some love and support.