ESPECIALLY SINCE HE HAS MEMORIZED THE PLAYBOOK ALREADY!
I believe you wanted to use the word 'allowed' instead of the bolded one. You seem very sure of Flacco's current ability to remember the playbook. Do you have any specific knowledge of the situation?
While there's
several stories out there that discuss Flacco and Cameron's new playbook, there isn't one that uses the
word memorized. So, I'm doubtful of North's source, but also interested in a link.Some stuff gleaned from the articles: All three QBs agree the new playbook is thick. Flacco took it home and has been able to study it for about six weeks. He uses family members as teammates and practices the plays, but admits this is a far cry from being able to run them with the Ravens. In the first set of practices they threw everything at him, he played well, but there were no reports that he had some unusual total recall of the playbook. For the second OTA...
Cameron said that he has simplified the plays for Flacco, tailoring schemes to mirror what he ran in college to ease his transition to the NFL.
"We’ve always done that with young quarterbacks so they really don’t have to perform and learn at the same time so much," Cameron said. "A lot of the stuff he’s doing he should be able to perform at a high level because it’s stuff he’s done in college. Once he gets his feet on the ground and starts to learn NFL defenses, then we start demanding more in terms of what we want to do different than what he did in college."
So they've simplified things for him. There's no indication that he has the playbook down. Fwiw, I too am a long time Troy Smith fan. I have no idea who is going to win the starting job to open the season, and by all accounts it is an open competition. I doubt they go with Boller again unless both Smith and Flacco are nowhere near him. I find that scenario highly unlikely. If it's close between another and Boller the other will probably get the nod just because they know Boller and need change. All three of them are new to the playbook, so this a situation where a rookie has a little better shot than usual. But my guess is they decide to coddle the first round rookie, and throw the second day sophomore to the wolves early. Just guessing, but I feel like it's about 60% Smith starts, 30% Flacco, 10% Boller.
The Ravens went 5-11 last year. Looking at the schedule, I expect similar results. If I'm right, then Smith gets yanked for the rook at some point. If Smith starts the season he first gets the other three division opponents and @Houston (with Pitt also a road game). It's not brutal. It's not easy. It's a good test. He has to keep them in solid playoff contention through the bye week (week 10) to keep the job. Ten, Ind, Mia, Oak, Cle get them to the bye. Again, not easy. Not brutal. Still as much as I like Smith, I think he falters, and Flacco gets his chance at some point. If it's after the bye Flacco will be truly thrown to the wolves. The last seven games include the entire NFC east, Jax and Pitt.
I don't worry about Troy Smith's height. He is more mobile than Brees and has similar if not better arm strength (accuracy and correct reads will be the deciding factor). I think they are pretty similar players. They both have tremendous poise, confidence and leadership ability. But I also think this is probably happening too soon for Smith. Brees had two full seasons to struggle after his rookie year and before Rivers arrived. In his fourth season he barely won the job from Rivers who held out through part of preseason. Brees had a great year that salvaged/launched his career. Smith won't have two seasons to flounder. He'll have between 4 and 9 games depending on results. If they hit the bye week in the hunt, he'll have every opportunity to close the season.
The carts way ahead of the horses here.
To me it's one of the most interesting situations out there, imo.
Everybody has been all over Smith since his time at OSU. All he has done is improved and played the best to his ability. Your comments are rediculous and unjustified.
