Ravens won't rush Flacco, but won't hold him back, either

He opened the first nine games that season for the Ravens, winning five, before he was sidelined by a thigh injury. That's the good news. The bad is that he was never allowed to learn under an experienced quarterback or to develop slowly, and both became obstacles that held him back.

Result: The Ravens lost so much faith in him they made Flacco the 18th pick of this year's draft, one round higher than most boards ranked him.

Sure, Boller is still in the picture, but when you talk to people in and around the organization, they speak more of Smith's chances to succeed now than they do Boller. Maybe it's because Smith is newer, younger and more of a mystery, or maybe it's because someone decided Boller isn't salvageable.

I don't know. What I do know is that there is no fixed starter in Baltimore, even though Flacco made a terrific impression with his coaches and teammates last weekend when he showed the poise, the confidence and, yes, the big arm that drew the Ravens to him.

There was one throw on a deep comeback, for instance, where cornerback Chris McAllister waited on what he thought was a sure deflection or interception. Instead, the ball sailed by him and into the hands of Flacco's target.

There was another toss to Mark Clayton, only this time it was a bomb that hit the wide receiver in stride deep down the field.

"He throws like Carson Palmer a little bit to me," cornerback Samari Rolle told the Carroll County Times.

OK, so Flacco sometimes held the ball in the face of blitzes, with coaches imploring him to get rid of it once he recognized what was coming. Flacco nodded, then followed directions.

"He was starting to get it," said Harbaugh.

The question, of course, is how soon he gets it, and we won't know that for months. What I like is that no one -- not Joe Flacco, not John Harbaugh, not the Baltimore coaching staff and not the Ravens' front office -- is squeezing the rookie quarterback to be armed for a Sept. 7 start.

Instead, the Ravens want to get a long look at Flacco during exhibition games, with the quarterback probably taking more turns at the wheel than Smith or Boller.

But expect nothing more because the Ravens don't. At least for now.