Derrick Mason leaned against a wall in the Baltimore Ravens' practice facility and gave a nostalgic smile. The hiccupped development of quarterback Kyle Boller has once again dominated the conversations inside this franchise's corridors, and while Mason has only been here a few months, he has an eerie sense of familiarity. "It's so similar to what Steve [McNair] went through when I first got to Tennessee," the former Titans wide receiver said shaking his head. Mason settled into his stance and offered a refresher about a first-round quarterback who spent his first two seasons as a full-time starter getting pummeled and missing the playoffs. The struggling McNair put the state of Tennessee in an annual headlock and stoked the passions of mutinous fans, but the frustration paid long-term dividends. "I've never seen the situation happen to a quarterback so young, but yeah, I've seen it happen," Mason said. "Steve took the same kind of heat in his third and fourth year. The offense wasn't performing as well as people outside the organization thought it should have been. People were writing about him and guys were killing him in the news. … But Steve came around, and look what he did." Mason doesn't even have to say the word patience. It's practically become a mantra for the Ravens, who are once again drawing tight around Boller as he weathers a preseason which has seen him throw four interceptions and post a 52.7 quarterback rating. But Mason's reasoning is a different twist on the usual blue-skies propaganda teams crank out when protecting such major investments as a first-round quarterback. Not only is he a big-money free agent whose success is tied to Boller, but Mason has an intriguing argument to support the man he's defending: First-hand experience. McNair's first two seasons as the Titans' offensive centerpiece (a 55.7 completion percentage and 29-23 touchdown-to-interception ratio) weren't much more impressive than Boller's (54.4 percent, 20-20). Mobility aside, McNair – who sat on the bench for two years before becoming Tennessee's regular starter – even had a strikingly similar reputation of being strong-armed but erratic and showing only flashes of his ability. Even their weapons were similar, with Frank Wycheck being McNair's Todd Heap and Eddie George being his Jamal Lewis. "We were even running the same kind of base offense Steve's first two years as a starter," said Mason, a fourth-round pick by the Titans in 1997. "The tight end and the running game were very involved. The year before I got there, the tight end led the team in receptions and you had a back in Eddie that was a 1,300-to-1,400 yard rusher at that time. I come here, and it's sort of the same situation. "There's a young quarterback, the tight end [was among the team leaders] in receptions last year, and we have one of the best running backs in the league. It's going to be a run-oriented offense. The difference, like when things started to get good in Tennessee, is now we've got guys on the outside [at wide receiver] who can make plays." That was the point of Baltimore's offseason – to overhaul the offense in a way that it would help Boller round into form. The Ravens hired Jim Fassel as the new offensive coordinator and added Rick Neuheisel to be a constant influence as a quarterbacks coach. Then they added depth and quality to the receiving corps, drafting Oklahoma's Mark Clayton in the first round and signing Mason to a five-year deal with a $7 million signing bonus. There are other factors in play, too. Lewis and Heap need to stay healthy, and the offensive line – which has looked extremely average at times this preseason – has to play better. And the continued development of 6-foot-6 receiver Clarence Moore as a red-zone threat has to continue. But ultimately, the burden will fall on Boller to calm down in the pocket and make smart decisions. With the changes, the Ravens aren't trying to transform Boller into Peyton Manning, mind you. Instead, they're attempting to turn him into an efficient quarterback who makes an occasional big play and accentuates a strong defense and running game. Something like (and maybe Mason really does have a point here) McNair's role on the 1999 Super Bowl team – a year in which he averaged only slightly more than one touchdown pass per start. "There was something Steve had at that point that Kyle is still working toward," said cornerback Samari Rolle, Baltimore's other major free-agent acquisition who also watched McNair develop. "By the time they put all the talent around Steve, he was established as a player. Kyle isn't established. He's in a situation here where he's got to catch up to everyone around him. "Steve never pressed when things went bad. He just kept doing the things he was doing, and blocked the boos out and didn't let them get to him. I can remember times where everybody was booing and wanted Neil O'Donnell to be the starter. He overcame that, and Kyle's got to overcome that." To his credit, Boller isn't the only young quarterback who has struggled to make ends meet. The league is rife with guys who have yet to pay off on their perceived potential – Detroit's Joey Harrington, Houston's David Carr, and Jacksonville's Byron Leftwich, to name a few. Arguably, none of those players has been as consistently criticized as Boller. Yet, those realities aren't an excuse, especially with Baltimore's roster looking as playoff-worthy as ever. Not that Boller has looked for one. He's been remarkably composed despite criticisms, and he even went out of his way to blame himself for some of the sacks he suffered in last week's game against New Orleans. "When you see a guy hit me, I might have missed a hot read," Boller said. "We have to continue to iron it out. If [opponents] are going to bring seven or eight guys, we're going to do some quick stuff. You have to get the ball out of your hands." Ravens coach Brian Billick spread the blame around to the running backs and an offensive line that has been average at best. He then added that Boller is quarterback that's "trying to take his share of the responsibility." "That's why you love the kid," Billick said. But Billick's affections aren't universally shared, especially outside the franchise. And it would be foolish to think Baltimore could have so many offseason upgrades and not be banking on some serious maturation from Boller this season. The Ravens may be protecting him now, but that can't last forever. "It's all about, 'How do we feel about Kyle inside the organization?' " Mason said. "As long as we're winning games, and as long as Kyle is managing games the way he's supposed to manage them, then we'll be fine." The difference in 2005 is that Boller's success won't be a youthful bonus but a veteran expectation.
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Kyle Boller = Steve McNair (1 Viewer)
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Judge Smails
Footballguy
Probably one of the most misleading post titles EVAH! Boller shows why guys with "cannons" sometimes are way overrated. How about some touch? How about quick reads? He just looks so stiff. Dude needs to relax a bit.
Warehouse Nasty
Footballguy
On a related note, it's only a matter of time before Chad Hutchinson makes his mark on the league.WisWolvrns
Footballguy
Throw me in the 2% also... does 3 make a bandwagon? 
NYG Endzone
Footballguy
Its his friggin quarterback NOW, of course hes going to say good things. 
Whats Masons' performance based incentives look like anyway? 
Whats Masons' performance based incentives look like anyway?
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Chase Stuart
Footballguy
Excellent point fightin' whitie.Kyle Boller turned 24 in JUNE.
Dan Fouts didn't have an NFL season of less INTs than TDs until he was 27.
Chad Pennington made his first NFL start at the age of 26.
Boller is ahead of the curve in a lot of ways. He may be sux0r now, but his long term potential is very up in the air. To write off a QB before he turns 25 just doesn't make any sense.
Trent Green started his first game at the age of 28. Jake Delhomme's first real duty came at 28 too.
4thAndForever
Footballguy
I'm there too. A lot of people don't realize that this kid is still less than a year older than Roethlisberger.Throw me in the 2% also... does 3 make a bandwagon?
Colin Dowling
Footballguy
Boller is prominently involved in 2 of my favorite football stats.1. "Kyle Boller and AJ Feeley have nearly identical career numbers."2. "Kyle Boller hasn't completed 60% of his passes since he was a Junior in high school."Never gets old.Colin
Colin Dowling
Footballguy
It's interesting that people view one as a viable QB and one as a never-will-be.ColinI've heard you say this a few times now....what is so interesting about it? I'm honestlyat it.
Colin Dowling
Footballguy
They are 3 years apart in age. Its not like one is 35 and one is 22I'm thinking age has something to do with it.It's interesting that people view one as a viable QB and one as a never-will-be.ColinI've heard you say this a few times now....what is so interesting about it? I'm honestly
Brodie8307
Footballguy
Which is which?It's interesting that people view one as a viable QB and one as a never-will-be.ColinI've heard you say this a few times now....what is so interesting about it? I'm honestly
realamerican85
Footballguy
I really don't value your NFL opinions and I hope you don't take offense to that. I just think you should stick to college. AJ Feeley and Kyle Boller are nothing alike as far as physical attributes are concerned... lots of peoples stats are similar.They are 3 years apart in age. Its not like one is 35 and one is 22I'm thinking age has something to do with it.It's interesting that people view one as a viable QB and one as a never-will-be.ColinI've heard you say this a few times now....what is so interesting about it? I'm honestly
Colin Dowling
Footballguy
No offense taken, but they are a lot more similar then you think as players. THey have the same problems and many of the same positives.COlinI really don't value your NFL opinions and I hope you don't take offense to that. I just think you should stick to college. AJ Feeley and Kyle Boller are nothing alike as far as physical attributes are concerned... lots of peoples stats are similar.They are 3 years apart in age. Its not like one is 35 and one is 22I'm thinking age has something to do with it.It's interesting that people view one as a viable QB and one as a never-will-be.ColinI've heard you say this a few times now....what is so interesting about it? I'm honestly
Colin Dowling
Footballguy
David Klingler...Akili SMith....Cade McNown (although given the choice between a weekend in Mexico with Heather Kozar or playing for the Bears, I'd probably pick the now-Mrs. Couch too)....the list goes on...COlin
Urinal Mint
Footballguy
Aikman stunk it up for nearly 3 seasons before the light clicked on and he figured out the NFL game. I think he deserves the chance to develop, but the clock is definitely ticking.
redman
Footballguy
So what you're saying is that Boller can struggle for 3 MORE years and the Ravens will continue to be patient with him long enough to be successful. The only example cited who struggled for that long and who played during the salary cap era, Trent Green, became successful on his THIRD TEAM (it may have even been his 4th team IIRC because I think Washington picked him up off of someone else's practice squad. If Boller doesn't get it done this year, he may be done in Baltimore.
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redman
Footballguy
I'll make my point a different way. There's an element of "wearing out your welcome" that needs to be taken into consideration. I can't think of a single example in the salary cap era where a young QB sucked/struggled for more than 4 years before the team he was on either drafted a new would-be starter (e.g. QB in the 1st round) or cut or traded him, can you? Contrast that with Pennington or Green who sat for years before they got their shots. Sitting doesn't "wear out your welcome" the way that playing and sucking does. People cite Brees like he's the norm, but that's an exception and even then that team went into the '04 training camp with the assumption that Brees was keeping the seat warm for Rivers. His breakout was a surprise to everyone, and even then I'm still wondering whether last season is going to be the norm, or whether he's going to decline.
I'm not arguing that the way that most NFL teams develop QB's is good. There are likely QB's whose potential we'll never see because they were not put in a position to win. But the win-now mentality and the limitations of the salary cap severly limit their patience.
The Ravens have clearly signed their best WR during the Billick era in Mason. The expectation then must be that Boller should shine now or the problem is Boller himself and not the rest of the team. This is going to work against him.
-OZ-
Footballguy
There isn't a lot of similarities IMHO between the two.Level of competition in college? Say what you want about the PAC 10, but it's better than Div III ball.
McNair was known to be a project.
Boller may still be a good QB, I just don't see the need to resort to "Boller = McNair" to make that point.
CalBear
Footballguy
How about this one: after ten years in the league, Elway had 54.7% completions, 158 TDs and 157 INTs--practically identical to Boller's numbers after two seasons (54.4%, 20 TD 20 INT).
Partly that shows that Elway is the most overrated player of all time. But it also indicates that a mediocre start does not necessarily indicate much about a player's long-term prospects.
I do think that Boller will need to be successful this year to keep his job. But I don't think you can point at his performance in his first two years to say that he won't be successful. Some people deride his accuracy, but according to a play-by-play study, he had about the same percentage of passes incomplete due to poor throws as Peyton Manning; right in the middle of the pack. With receivers this year, he should have a good season.
Partly that shows that Elway is the most overrated player of all time. But it also indicates that a mediocre start does not necessarily indicate much about a player's long-term prospects.
I do think that Boller will need to be successful this year to keep his job. But I don't think you can point at his performance in his first two years to say that he won't be successful. Some people deride his accuracy, but according to a play-by-play study, he had about the same percentage of passes incomplete due to poor throws as Peyton Manning; right in the middle of the pack. With receivers this year, he should have a good season.
Urinal Mint
Footballguy
Maybe the light finally turned on. Or maybe they just played a couple of bad teams that didn't care.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
I saw the game, and Boller still looks bad to me. His receivers bailed him out numerous times on awful throws. The bad news for Ravens fans is he's thereby putting up enough numbers so they'll be stuck with him for one more season.Oh yeah, his motion is awkward and he's still staring down one reciever most of the time.
Jeff Tefertiller
Footballguy
why bump a two year old thread?
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