Boller shows his confidence is well deserved -

God bless Kyle Boller. If everyone worked this hard at his job, we would have a wonderful country.

It's early yet but to those folks who "got upset stomachs" because Boller was extended a measely 1 year contract considering the pathetic team support he has had in the past, stop your whining. Given the right complete team participation Boller is going to be fine. It amazes me how guys coming out of college who haven't proved themselves on the professional stage get multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts and then folks cry because one guy gets a one year extention. Sometimes it just a matter of not liking a person. I think this is one of those times. Hang in there Kyle.

When Ozzie Newsome & Co. drafted Kyle Boller they knew what they were doing. At the time, Ron Jaworski remarked on ESPN that Boller had all the talents to become an outstanding NFL quarterback. As a young QB, Kyle got no real coaching. Unlike Aikman, Brady and Manning, he was playing in an uninspiring offensive system and for a coach that doesn't know how to take advantage of a QBs special gifts. It's a darn shame Boller didn't play for Bill Walsh---he'd possess a couple of Super Bowl rings.

Really though, McNair can take his time and heal. I would imagine that Boller could handle the Cardinals next week.

What game were you watching? Boller looked good in the first half, then the 2nd half became the same as always with him. 3 yard passes when we need 5, then runs right up the middle. There were suddenly many 3 and outs in the 2nd half which allowed the Jets to get momentum going. With McNair, he'll stand in there till the last second for a receiver to get open. Boller gets rid of it too quickly. We were lucky it was the Jets.

.....oh yeah Steve and take the week after that off too. I think Boller can handle the Browns - the question is can our defense handle the Browns? If we take our time bringing McNair back,(a) he'll be at 100% going into mid-season and (b) Boller can pick up some additional confidence. YOU KNOW, just when we'll need McNair late in the season, he'll either melt down mentally or get himself hurt. Boller needs the reps to take us deeper into the playoffs.

Good Job Kyle.

Hey, how about those Cincinnati Bengals? How about those Cleveland Browns? Was week one a fluke? Is Cincinatti's defense really that pathetic? I mean the Steelers defense hasn't been put to the test (neither has their offense). Cincinatti got B slapped, manhandled and absolutely scrogged on Sunday.

jkman1 you got it right. Boller was fine in the first half as good as he can be but in the second half he was throwing the ball like a hot potato and several times if he had held the ball longer like McNair would have had receivers wide open for deep plays. He caused a lot of those three and outs by throwing it too soon when the protection was there. He just has little feel for the game even now.

jkman1 wrote:

What game were you watching? Boller looked good in the first half, then the 2nd half became the same as always with him. 3 yard passes when we need 5, then runs right up the middle. There were suddenly many 3 and outs in the 2nd half which allowed the Jets to get momentum going. With McNair, he'll stand in there till the last second for a receiver to get open. Boller gets rid of it too quickly. We were lucky it was the Jets.

HAHAHAHAHHA Holy christ, did you watch the game? No seriously, did you turn off the game at half and say "done deal" and see the final score and go "MUST HAVE BEEN BOLLER" because that's the only thing that can rationalize your moronic post.

The playcalling was horrible in the second half (Surprise) because Billick got away from Ravens football. He opted to get fancy and got away from Running the ball to burn out the clock.

Also according to you Boller now plays defense and gives up huge plays to WR's now because that's who you can play for the Jets almost making a come back.

Reaching into the barrel for complaints about a Quarterback who has finally come into his own.

Thanks Kyle. Thanks for staying and putting up with comments from people,
if you followed them around on their jobs could find plenty of fault with their performance as well. The problem in Baltimore is the 15 year layoff of football has produced a slew of young uninformed and uneducated fans and sports writers.
These are the same people who think Brian Billick should be fired. Look at the stats and our record over the last nine years. Think before you speak or write.
Thanks again Kyle. You deserve better treatment just for the person you are and the great attitude you possess.
HEED THE CAW

I think the comment by McNair in this article is very appropriate. Let's look at this rationally, Ravens vs. Chargers, and McNair and Rivers are hurt, then it's Boller vs. Whitehurst, who has the advantage there? Ravens vs. Colts, if the football gods were to ever let their baby child Manning get hurt, and McNair got hurt to, Boller vs. Sorgi, I put my money on Boller. Finally, the "great" Patriots, if Tom Brady went down, again if McNair followed suit, then it's Boller vs. Matt Cassel, again, my cash is on Boller. However, we're not playing in a league full of backups haha, so this would never happen, but still, we're fortunate to have a respectable backup on this team.

Kyle won the game without turning the ball over, period. Steve lost last weeks' game with turnovers, period. I love Steve, always have, but his time has passed. Give Kyle a chance. He is a team player, hard nosed, and finally has pass protection and receivers he can depend on.

To Matthew: Moronic post? Did you just start watching the Ravens this year? Were you not here the last 4 years? Kyle Boller is a decent back-up. He did a decent job yesterday. I didn't say he was bad, but it was the Jets! and YES! if we had a quarterback who could put teams away when they are down and not FORCE our defense to win the game all the time, we would not have been in that situation. Kyle plays well when the plan is very conservative. However, when we will need that big play in the end of the game, do you really trust Kyle to do that? Against the Patriots? Colts? Steelers? Hey, I am all for Kyle to prove me wrong and I hope he does because I love the Ravens. I really want him to do well, but that 2nd half yesterday was same thing we have seen from him before. Only 3 points produced. Obviously, our defense could have played better but they dominated that game until our 3 and outs starting letting the Jets get some momentum. Even best defenses get tired if out on the field all the time. Do you remember that? Because that happened often when Kyle was starting. For Billick, for some reason, gets very conservative with Kyle in there with the game on the line because HE STILL DOES NOT TRUST HIM YET!

Well hopefully it is true that it used to take at least 4 - 5 years for a quaterback to mature. Plus he has had time to learn for another experienced quaterback which he never had the chance to do so before. The good thing about that game is that there really wasn't a pressure situation for the offense, which is where I still think Kyle still has trouble. Now as for throwing twice on the last drive, that was just a terrible call on Billicks part.

Kyle played well yesterday. His biggest problem in the past was that he self-destructed. He didn't do that yesterday. Now, going forward, he needs to continue to get better and be consistent but yesterday was a positive experience for him. Kyle might complete some more passes with a better passing scheme. You can't blame the offense or play-calling on him. How about some crossing routes, saw some in the preseason but not too many since the games started counting.

Regardless of what anyone thinks about Boller's play, the one thing you can't ignore is his moxie. I don't think anyone could go through what he's been through in Baltimore and survived. Anyone who can go from first string down to second and NEVER complain has my utmost respect. with someone that determined to stay in Baltimore when he could have gone anywhere else shows more poise and dignity than anyone on the football field. with that type of determination I have no doubt that one day he WILL become a great QB. some of the signs yesterday are proof of that. he's willing to learn and take it all in. He'll get there eventually.

Again, Boller caused a lot of those three and outs in the second half by not holding the ball longer. He was throwing the ball like it was a hot potato and not giving the play time to develop. The one deep throw he made was like a rainbow and hung Williams out to dry, and that pass should never have been thrown as Williams was covered like a blanket!

The Ravens are what they are. At least under this regime, that will not change. Play it close to the vest, count on strong defense and special teams and keep the turnovers to a minimum. That is their recipe. With that said, you will not hear clowns like Preston comment on Boller without getting a dig in. What Boller did yesterday is exactly - EXACTLY -what we brought McNair here to do. McNair's days of getting into a shootout with Palmer, Brady, or Manning or over. We all (including Preston) praised him all of last year for managing the game and not making mistakes. This is our M.O.- who we are. So when Boller plays the way he did yesterday, that is exactly what they want. So you may not agree with the philosophy, you may think that will not win us the Super Bowl and you may even complain about wins like this, but Boller played perfectly to the Ravens system yesterday. If this would have been McNair yesterday, everyone would have said "Great job." But with Boller, he will constantly have to prove himself over and over.

Go Boller.

I think one of the biggest things Kyle learnt from McNair is that *he* doesn't need to win the game by himeself. Let the game come to him (as Steve is wont to say).
He was poised and a few more games like this and all you that see 80-yard throws as the only *real* football strategy to win games might even be satiated :)