Ravens coach John Harbaugh knows which quarterback will start against St. Louis on Saturday, but he refuses to divulge who will line up under center against the Rams in the team’s third preseason game.
Harbaugh, however, told the media which ever player he chooses — Kyle Boller or Troy Smith — may not start in the final preseason game against the Falcons on Aug. 28 or the regular season opener against Cincinnati on Sept. 7 at M&T Bank Stadium.
“It’s almost amazing how they have operated the offense,” Harbaugh said. “We can all get upset or nitpick a throw here a ball handling situation there, but they’ve managed the offense well.”
Since rookie Joe Flacco has played his way out of the race, it comes down to Boller, a former first-round draft pick in his sixth year or Smith, a Heisman Trophy winner entering his second season. In two preseason games, Boller is 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) for 142 yards and two interceptions. Smith is 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) for 99 yards and an interception. Flacco is 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) for 74 yards.
“We want to do the right thing,” Harbaugh said. “We’re going to take our time and find the guy who gives us the best chance to win the next game.”
STILL IN DOUBT
With the regular season opener in fewer than three weeks, the Ravens are concerned about the health of Pro Bowlers Ed Reed and Willis McGahee. Reed, a safety, has missed most of training camp and two preseason games with an injured right shoulder and McGahee, a running back, recently had surgery on his left knee.
If Reed is unable to play, the Ravens could turn to veteran Jim Leonhard or rookies Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski.
“I think it’s a little more slow progress than maybe we all thought it was going to be,” Harbaugh said. “We’re still optimistic that [Reed will] be there the first week but I don’t think you can say definitely right now.”
Rookie Ray Rice would replace McGahee in the starting lineup.
“There is a timetable, but it’s fluid because you just don’t know for sure,” Harbaugh said. “We want that answer, but it’s impossible.”
ON THE MENU
Linebacker Terrell Suggs knows how he is going to spend a portion of his $8.5 million contract he signed earlier this week.
As part of his “punishment” for skipping training camp as a protest for the Ravens making him their franchise player, Suggs has agreed to take all of the team’s defensive linemen and linebackers — 22 players in all — out to dinner on Thursday.
“I think they’re going to aim for the fences on this one,” Suggs, 25, said. “It’s going to be fun. It’s good. We get to catch up on everything that we missed and our plans for the future.”
