Ravens Training Camp: Troy Smith ready for his shot
Troy Smith has had his share of ups and downs in training camp, but none of that will matter at 7:30 p.m Saturday night, when he takes the field with the first-team offense to start the Ravens' preseason game against the Vikings.
After having one of his best practices of training camp yesterday, Smith looked good again today. He connected with rookie wide receiver Justin Harper on a couple touchdown passes, and hooked up with Marcus Smith, another rookie wideout, on a few deep passes over the middle as well.
Troy Smith is battling for the starting job with six-year veteran Kyle Boller and rookie Joe Flacco. Boller got the start in the preseason opener against the Patriots, but his inability to limit his turnovers has opened the door for Smith.
Coach Harbaugh said yesterday that it's important for Smith to take care of the ball, but he doesn't want his quarterback to be gun-shy either.
"We want our offense to be aggressive," he said. "We never say, 'Don't turn the ball over.' It's aggressive ball security. We want to score a lot of points and we want to secure the football. It's going to be the same thing with Troy. We're going to be aggressive in everything we do offensively."
One aspect of the quarterback competition that definitely works in Smith's favor is the weakness of the offensive line. Inexperience and injuries on the O-line will obviously hurt the team, but Smith's mobility will allow him to get out of the pocket and buy more time than the more stationary Boller or Flacco.
Harbaugh has not specifically commented on how he expects to break up the playing time between the quarterbacks on Saturday, but expect Smith to play the majority, if not all, of the first half.
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