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Does Flacco have the answer?

Ravens, a 'graveyard' for QBs, hope first-round pick revives them

By Ken Murray

September 7, 2008

The longest-running riddle in Ravens history is Baltimore's hot topic once again.

Who's the quarterback?

It reads like the film comedy Groundhog Day but is perhaps better suited to a 1939 radio speech by Winston Churchill: It's a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

And now it's coach John Harbaugh's turn to unravel the mystery, more or less.

For the season opener today, the answer is Joe Flacco. Next week, it might be Troy Smith or Todd Bouman. Next month, it might be someone not even on the roster now.

Know this about quarterbacking for the Ravens: There is a long list of failure.

"Baltimore," ex-Ravens safety-turned NFL analyst Rod Woodson said last week, "is a graveyard for quarterbacks."

The only Pro Bowl quarterback the Ravens had was their first, Vinny Testaverde, in 1996. It didn't keep him from getting benched in 1997 or released in 1998. That set the fragile foundation.

By the time Brian Billick came to town in 1999 with his "leap of faith," the search for a franchise quarterback took on comedic overtones.

Scott Mitchell, who got two starts and six quarters before being benched, was too slow.

Tony Banks was too erratic.

Trent Dilfer was, well, Trent Dilfer.

Don't even ask about Elvis Grbac.

When Flacco, a rookie first-round draft choice, starts against the Cincinnati Bengals today, he becomes the 16th quarterback to start in the Ravens' 13-year history. A dozen of those came on Billick's watch, along with most of the controversy, contentiousness and criticism.

So was it Billick's fault, this bleary cycle of quarterback misfits and false promises? The quarterbacks' fault? The man who acquired the players, general manager Ozzie Newsome? Or a combination of all of them?

"For the vast majority of time the Ravens have been in existence, they've been under one system," Woodson said. "I hate blaming the system, but everybody can't be that bad."

In a conference call with CBS analysts last week, former NFL star quarterbacks Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms distributed blame around the organization.

"They haven't been able to find the right guy," Esiason said. "They've been trying with Kyle Boller the last three, four years. Sometimes it's a matter of luck. ... All of us played in an age when there wasn't that much expected of us early."

Simms believes the Ravens' defense-dominated structure had a limiting effect on what the team asked of its quarterbacks.

"Do you think the Bengals built their team around Carson Palmer? Absolutely," he said. "Did the Giants keep going with Eli Manning until they got it right? If your quarterback has a decent set of skills, it can work. The organization has to make it work."

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Does Flacco have the answer?

Ravens, a 'graveyard' for QBs, hope first-round pick revives them

Ravens questions? Just ask.

Going deep

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Does Flacco have the answer?

Ravens, a 'graveyard' for QBs, hope first-round pick revives them

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Ravens questions? Just ask. Each week, Baltimore Sun reporter Jamison Hensley will answer fans' questions about the Ravens. To submit a question, e-mail sports@baltsun.com. Please provide your name and phone number so we can verify the e-mail.

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Going deep

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Ravens questions? Just ask.
Each week, Baltimore Sun reporter Jamison Hensley will answer fans' questions about the Ravens. To submit a question, e-mail sports@baltsun.com. Please provide your name and phone number so we can verify the e-mail.