Ravens looking at Dennis Dixon?

**JimZipCode** · 04-16-2012, 02:28 PM

I thought Dixon was hella talented coming out of college. He looked like a potential player in that game against us, couple years ago.

Lots of QBs fail to develop, I guess most QBs fail to develop. On the other hand, there has not been a ton of playing time available behind Big Ben -- the Steelers went with the veteran when Ben had that 4-game suspension, which makes sense.

I think Dixon is likely better than Tyrod Taylor right now. I don't think the fact that we went with Tyrod as the only backup last year is a valid argument against signing Dixon, because what we did last year was weird. I'm inclined to believe we really did have a handshake agreement with Marc Bulger; otherwise the Ravens took a helluva risk with a potential conference championship season.

Be curious to know what Jim Caldwell thinks of Dixon.

**NC Raven** · 04-16-2012, 02:45 PM

I'm a huge fan of Dixon's talent. No reason not to take a look. Whether he can beat out TT, who knows?

That said, even if they sign him, it would be him OR TT. Dixon by himself would not be a "veteran backup" in the same way as a guy who's actually had some playing time would be.

In effect, Dixon and TT are two of the same type of player in that neither has much playing time in the NFL. That would also be true of any late round flyer they take in the draft or whatever.

So I'd say if they want a true vet backup, they'll need to go shopping. If they want to have TT and Dixon battle it out in camp as the 2nd or 3rd QB, fine. But I can't see it being Flacco > Dixon > TT or whatever. That would not be the 3-deep at that position going into the season under any circumstance.

IMHO Dixon will try to go where he can at least be a clear #2 with a shot at unseating a crappy/old/beat-up starter. Not sure who fits that profile right now (Cleveland? Seattle? Miami? Oakland?)

**The Excellector** · 04-16-2012, 04:13 PM

At the end of the day, I couldn't knock Jason Brown for the decision he made, if he were willing to come back and, essentially, admit it was a mistake. I would think that many players would be too stubborn to come back.

As for Dennis Dixon, perhaps this has been touched on already, but I don't think it ended well for him in Pittsburgh. Dixon wanted a legitimate chance at playing time, if anything were to happen to Roethlisberger. He didn't get the playing time, but whether or not he got the chance is up for debate. I've heard that Dixon wasn't getting the playbook. Then again, the Steelers could have simply felt more comfortable with Batch. You KNOW that Batch is not going to LOSE a game for you.

**JustaslowZ06** · 04-16-2012, 04:24 PM

Meh I don't see the fit, especially if he is looking for more playing time. That being said I really wish we had the cap room to bring in a Vet to help with Flacco and also give us an option. I have ZERO faith in TT getting us throug the playoffs if something goes wrong.

McCown, Clemmens, Brunell and I believe Henne are all still avialable, not that I have any more faith in any of them but they've all at least started in the NFL. Luckily Flacco is a resiliant SOB and we prob don't have to worry all that much.

As for JB, I've wanted him back since he was first released months ago. You just filled Grubbs hole and Birk's next year. Look in the draft for your next LG and let them groom under JB this year. Next year will be the big year of transitions on the line, unless Reid can beat out Mcinnie and than you have a pretty solid and contious line for the next 4 years or so. Maybe you even bring back Oher at a cheap price and than you even extend that position also. Or you draft a couple guys next year to compete and see what happens.

**NC Raven** · 04-16-2012, 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by JustaslowZ06

Meh I don't see the fit, especially if he is looking for more playing time. That being said I really wish we had the cap room to bring in a Vet to help with Flacco and also give us an option. I have ZERO faith in TT getting us throug the playoffs if something goes wrong.

Dude, there's not even 32 STARTING Qbs in the NFL that could "get us thru the playoffs."

You do realize the only function of a backup QB is damage control, right? There's no such thing as a realistic "let's make sure our backup QB is good enough to win us the Super Bowl" scenario. Not for us, and not for anybody else. If the guy is good enough to win somebody a Super Bowl, he's gonna know it, and so is his agent, and he'll be starting somewhere for starter money.

As somebody said above the best you can hope for is to survive 2-3 games in the regular season till the starter gets back.

But in the playoffs, the opponents are too good. Tebow lucked into a playoff win, and the Texans put up a good fight, but they all hit the end of the line soon enough. Playoff teams are buzz-saws, and you don't get past them with a clipboard jockey.