QB situation still up in the air
With the preseason starting to wind down, the Ravens still don't have a starting quarterback for Thursday's preseason finale, much less for the Sept. 7 regular season opener.
Troy Smith is recovering from a viral illness and Kyle Boller is nursing a shoulder injury, again leaving rookie Joe Flacco as the only healthy option for head coach John Harbaugh right now.
Smith is on antibiotics for a "tonsil issue", as Harbaugh put it, and was not at team headquarters today. Harbaugh said that he expects Smith to be back by Thursday's game against the Atlanta Falcons, and, if healthy, he'll play "at least a quarter and a half, and [we will] take it from there."
As for Boller, the most experienced of the three quarterbacks was in pads for practice today, and warmed up at the beginning of the session, but did not participate in offensive drills during the portion of practice open to the media. Harbaugh said that Boller was going to have a light day of throwing today, keeping his passes under 20 yards.
Boller's shoulder injury prevented him from filling in for Smith on Saturday in St. Louis, but Harbaugh hopes that he will be ready by Thursday. The first-year head coach would like to have both signal-callers healthy so he can finally work towards naming a clear-cut starter.
"We need to look at Troy. I don't think that's changed from last week," Harbaugh said. "Kyle is still viable in the mix. He's had really good practices all through training camp. We'd like to play him also in the game."
If neither QB can go, Flacco will be the default starter yet again. The rookie did not have a standout performance against the Rams, but he didn't make any serious mental mistakes either. He finished 18-for-37 for 152 yards and a TD; he seemed to overcome some nerves and appeared to get more comfortable as the game went on.
Flacco was eliminated from consideration for the starting job two weeks ago, but the fact that he is the only healthy option has Harbaugh reconsidering where he stands.
"I think he's in the mix because we have two quarterbacks that aren't able to practice today," Harbaugh said. "But the big picture hasn't changed dramatically in the sense that he's still a rookie and we've got two guys that were ahead of him before we came into this situation right before the [St. Louis] game."
The shuffling of quarterbacks has led to a lack of consistency in the offensive huddle, but players have come to grips with the spot the team is in.
"It's a unique situation we have here. We have three guys, three young guys, that are battling for a position that will determine how far we will go in this season," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "All three of them are still in the bag right now, and I guess after this game we'll empty the bag and see who is the starting quarterback."
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