It started by taking a leap of faith with Scott Mitchell in 1999.
Since then, Ravens head coach Brian Billick has handed the keys of his offense to 10 other quarterbacks. This list includes Stoney Case, Tony Banks, Trent Dilfer, Elvis Grbac, Randall Cunningham, Chris Redman, Jeff Blake, Kyle Boller and Anthony Wright. This season, Billick turns to Steve McNair with hopes of getting the franchise off its annual quarterback carousel.
McNair, the sixth different season-opening quarterback in Billick’s tenure, brings with him a résumé and an aura Baltimore football fans have not seen since the days of Johnny Unitas and Bert Jones. The three-time Pro Bowler is a former NFL co-MVP and led the Tennessee Titans into Super Bowl XXXIV during his 11 years with the franchise.
Ironically, Billick came to Baltimore with the reputation as an offensive guru after seven years as Minnesota Vikings? offensive coordinator. Those years included 1998 ? his final year with the Vikings ? when they went 15-1, scored an NFL-record 556 points and advanced to the NFC championship game. However, much like former Ravens defensive coordinator and current Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has relied mainly on his team?s offense for success, Billick has had to adjust accordingly.
“You deal each year with the options available to you,” Billick said prior to training camp. “When we came in the very first year and signed the players we did, we felt those were the best players available to us. At any given year, that’s all you can do, and this year, uniquely, the player of the caliber of Steve McNair was available. And we have a great deal of confidence in Kyle Boller. It was going to take the presence of a player of that magnitude for us to make the change that we did.”
During Billick?s tenure, the Ravens have tried a number of approaches to solidify their quarterback situations, including free agency, when it signed Grbac to a lucrative contract after Baltimore?s Super Bowl XXXV win in 2001, and the draft, when it took Redman in 2000 and Boller in 2003.
However, Grbac retired after one season, Redman got injured six games into 2002 and was never the same player again, and Boller has been plagued by inconsistent play since being inserted the starter as a rookie in 2003.
That instability, along with missing the playoffs the last two seasons, led the Ravens to aggressively pursue a top-flight quarterback in the offseason.
Despite the heavy investment in Boller, there was no real quarterback competition for the starting job in the preseason; McNair got most of the repetitions with the first-team offense. McNair understands his presence has led to high expectationsfrom fans clamoring for a more balanced team known mainly for its defense and running game.
“There?s been a lot on my shoulders for 12 years, so I feel like the thing I?ve got to do is just continue to play my game and everything else will take care of itself,” McNair said. “I?m not trying to go out there and be Superman. I?m here to help the team in any way I can, whether it?s just been a leadership role, having some of the young guys excel ? I?m willing to do whatever it takes.”
One person all too familiar with the Ravens? revolving door at quarterback ? which also includes Vinny Testaverde, Eric Zeier and Jim Harbaugh under former coach Ted Marchibroda ? is middle linebacker Ray Lewis. The 11-year veteran has arguably been McNair?s biggest cheerleader since the Ravens acquired him.
“Everybody knows the history around here,” Lewis said. “I?ve been here 11 years, and we?ve been through quarterback, quarterback, quarterback, quarterback. It is one thing to bring in a quarterback and say he?s going to have a great future, but it?s another thing to bring in a quarterback who’s proven.
“To have him on the same side of the ball as me, knowing what he brings, helps the defense. He?s one of those guys that the defense says, ?Oh yeah, we love him.? He really knows how to manage a game. He understands it. He?s been to Pro Bowls. He?s been in the Super Bowl and now he?s hungry to win one.”
While McNair is set to play the entire season for Baltimore, the odds of that are against him. He missed two games last year and eight in 2004 due to injuries, and he has played hurt for most of his career. Therefore, the Ravens know that it is important to help Boller continue with his development.
“I think [Boller] has a great potential in this league,” Billick said. “I think it?s important to look at, by way of evidence ? I can say we have confidence in Kyle Boller.
“We made it very clear at the end of the season that if a quarterback, of a certain level of production and expertise, were to become available, we would seriously examine that. And we bypassed a lot of quarterbacks by evidence that we thought Kyle gave us the best chance for success, up until the point a Steve McNair, who we coveted very much, became available.”
Ravens quarterbacks coach Rick Neuheisel said McNair?s presence could help Boller?s career in the long run.
“[Boller] has never had a guy to emulate,” Neuheisel said. “It will be fun for him to learn from the calmness Steve has. Kyle wants to be No. 1. There?s no sense of being happy not playing. This is a guy eager to be on the field, but he?s also eager to be a team player. So, I see him in the perfect place right now.”
Boller said being relegated to the second team has been difficult for him, but he has taken the demotion in stride and remains upbeat knowing he could get the chance to play at any time this year.
“Steve and I have helped each other,” Boller said. “I think I?ve taken more from him on how to handle certain situations. Most of those are little things that may not seem like a big deal, but they really are.”
