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QB Troy Smith (2006 Heisman Trophy Winner)

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i'd say troy did average for a rookie, considering the ravens o-line sucks, their best offensive player (mcgahee) and the run game the ravens offense relies on went down early, as well as heap being out, and he was playing on the road in the loudest NFL stadium, in pouring rain, and the ravens receivers dropped tons of passes, with probably half of troy's incompletions coming off of drops.

unfortunately he'll probably need a much better game vs Pitt next week for Billick to even think about giving him a legit
starting shot next year

a lot of people on the ravens forums are hating on Troy already, saying he's a career backup after one game. interesting table of NFL QBs in their first starts seems to prove those guys wrong:


----------Year CMP ATT YDS CMP% TD INT QB RAT

Troy Smith 2007 16 33 199 48.5 1 0 79.6
Kyle Boller 2003 22 43 152 51.2 1 1 57.5
Tom Brady 2001 13 23 168 56.5 0 0 79.6
Donovan Mcnabb 2000 16 28 130 57.1 1 2 51.2
Peyton Manning 2000 22 32 273 68.8 1 1 92.3
Michael Vick 2001 12 30 176 40 0 1 46
B. Roethlisberger 2004 12 22 163 54.5 1 1 82.5
 
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Smith quickly rises above lower strata of Heisman winners
JOHN MCGRATH; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: December 24th, 2007

His debut as a starting quarterback in the NFL would draw mixed reviews ? and no promises about next week from his coach ? but Troy Smith decided if he couldn?t own the role of worldly veteran, the least he could do was talk like one.
?With four quarters underneath my belt,? the Baltimore Ravens rookie said Sunday, ?I understand now what the NFL is all about.?

Ten minutes into the fourth quarter at Qwest Field, the NFL looked like it was all about another Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback stepping up in class and getting schooled. Able to generate only one drive inside the Seattle 40-yard line ? a hurry-up-before-halftime possession that fizzled when Patrick Kerney pounced on Smith?s fumble ? Baltimore was on the verge of suffering its first shutout in five years.

Then Smith launched as pretty a pass as has been thrown at Qwest Field all season, a strike down the sideline that wide receiver Derrick Mason caught in stride and turned into an 79-yard touchdown.

Smith didn?t realize it, but his first scoring pass since he left Ohio State made him a more productive NFL quarterback than 2001 Heisman winner Eric Crouch, who walked out on the Rams before the conclusion of his first training camp.

Or 2003 Heisman winner Jason White, whose knee problems forced him to quit shortly after signing as an undrafted free agent with the Titans.

Or 1993 Heisman winner Charlie Ward, who followed through on his vow to concentrate on pro basketball unless an NFL team drafted him in the first round.

For that matter, Smith also is a more productive NFL quarterback than 1992 Heisman winner Gino Torretta, whose career consisted of one 1996 game with the Seahawks at the Kingdome. (Facing the Raiders, Torretta went 5-of-16 for 41 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.)

Or 1967 Heisman winner Gary Beban, who went 0-of-1 in his lone appearance, as a rookie, against the Redskins.

Or 1964 Heisman winner John Huarte, who retired with 19 completions in 48 attempts, a touchdown, and five interceptions.
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?Troy hung in there, took a few hits, still got up,? Mason said. ?You respect a guy that goes out there, and, regardless of the situation, continues to fight. We could have easily said, ?Let?s just go ahead and continue to run the ball.? But Troy hung in there, through a lot of adversity on the field, and continued to battle with them .

?As a quarterback, that shows your leadership. He commanded the huddle really well. He had some fun out there, amid all that was going on.?

Said Seahawks left guard Rob Sims, who played on four Buckeyes? teams with Smith: ?It looked to me like he hasn?t missed a beat since college. He?ll be somebody to be reckoned with in the future.

?One thing Troy isn?t lacking is swagger,? Sims continued. ?He led us through a lot of tough of games in college. Now that he?s in The League, if he gets a couple of good years under his belt, he?s gonna be a good player.?
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Smith quickly rises above lower strata of Heisman winners | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA

Smith at QB merely a stumble during fall
Thin roster gets thinner as McGahee joins injured
By Don Markus | Sun reporter
December 24, 2007

Smith did little to stir a quarterback controversy come training camp, or quash the debate that surrounded him coming out of Ohio State after winning the Heisman Trophy. He made a few plays with his feet early on, but he also fumbled twice and nearly threw a couple of interceptions before hitting Derrick Mason for a meaningless 79-yard touchdown pass late in the game.

So the Ravens might want to think about drafting a quarterback to add to the mix at McDaniel College next summer, such as Hawaii's Colt Brennan or Boston College's Matt Ryan. Next week's season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers will have the feel of a mid-August preseason game, but for Smith, it could be a factor in the direction his career turns.

Asked to assess Smith's first NFL start, Ravens offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel said: "There were some great things that he did and there were some things that he'll learn from. I'll have to watch the film to do a good job of evaluating him, but as far as looking composed, I thought he did a nice job."
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Smith at QB merely a stumble during fall -- baltimoresun.com

Smith's first start not beginning of something different
David Steele
December 24, 2007
SEATTLE

This might say it all about Troy Smith: After one NFL start, he has virtually the same quarterback rating this season as the two players who preceded him, Steve McNair and Kyle Boller. A mediocre rating, but still almost identical.

There are many ways to interpret that. Here are two: Smith got up to speed quickly to match the level of the average NFL starter. And: This is the fate of all Ravens quarterbacks because this is the offense they're dealt, and no one ever has done or ever will do much with it.

Tomorrow is Christmas, and this year has been hard enough - the Ravens have lost nine straight and yesterday came within 4 minutes, 41 seconds of being shut out by the playoff-bound Seattle Seahawks. So let's give Smith a break and say the first interpretation is correct.

Smith believes it is.

"Early on, I was pressing, trying to do too much," he said after the 27-6 loss at Qwest Field, a loss peppered with three turnovers, including one of his own at the end of the first half. "I didn't get my feet up under me until the second half. Some of the decisions I made, I could've made better."
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Except ... everybody kept talking about Smith's presence, his command, his calm, his confidence. He handled himself in the huddle well. He never flinched at one of the loudest crowds in the NFL, even though he was backed up against that crowd most of the game with lousy field position. He didn't panic when the Ravens fell behind, or when they wasted opportunities, or when they negated a big stop by the depleted defense by giving the ball right back.

Even though he knocked his own pocket awareness, Smith showed more of it than Boller ever has. And, while knowing how being stripped in the pocket at the end of the half killed a rare decent chance at a score, he still protected the ball better than McNair has this season.

Afterward, Smith sounded like anything but a nervous rookie trying to say the right things. Barely a minute into his post-game news conference, he said: "Being a Baltimore Raven, we have a lot of work to do, on offense, defense, the whole way around. Our nucleus of a team is still yet to be made. We still have some things we have to iron out as a team."
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Smith's first start not beginning of something different -- baltimoresun.com
 
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Great articles.

You have to love Troy's modesty, and once he gets going, the press, media, and all of the NFL is going to love this guy. He's always humble with victory and gracious in defeat, and is just waiting to possibly turn this organization back around.
 
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That is a tough stadium to get your first start in, about the only stadium that gets louder is Arrowhead. Also, I mean let's face facts here, if the rest of Baltimores offense was even decent they wouldn't be half as bad as they are. And for the record, 27 points isn't the offenses fault, yes Troy took a bad sack in the first half and made some throws into coverage, but who from Baltimore or the rest of the NFL would say that if McNair or Boller was there they would have done better? I don't think he's a career backup, but I do think that he's probably not going to get a fair shot, you toss him in against a 9 win Seattle team when you havn't beat a team with a winning record all year, hell, last week they lost to a team that hadn't won a game all year, if that blame all goes on a QB who actually managed to score and not throw an interception on his first start then people need to rethink what they know about football.
 
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I really hope that he steps up a notch in the next game. I really want this young man to be a tremendous success because I think he has the potential to really change the lives of many people in Cleveland.
 
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