Could dire QB straits lead to a return of McNair or Dilfer?

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GRAPEVINE - Could dire QB straits lead to a return of McNair or Dilfer?

Plus John Harbaugh ranked worst among 32 NFL head coaches

Posted On: 8/28/08

Written By:

Tony Lombardi

Could dire QB straits lead to a return of McNair or Dilfer?

I find it hard to believe that the Ravens are actually going to use a roster spot for what appears to be their new QB – the great Casey Bramlet. The guy has as many NFL completions as I do. He can’t be anything more than just another arm at practice to spare Joe Flacco and Troy Smith, can he?

Hit the spin cycle please...

Kyle Boller awaits a second opinion on an MRI of his shoulder that apparently puts his season in jeopardy. If you buy what the Ravens are selling, Boller will not require surgery and he will work through the injury with extensive rehab therapy and he’ll return to the sideline in ’08.

Oh really?

Let’s assume that Boller returns by week 6. Would he be inserted as the starter then? Doubtful! He wasn’t even named the starter after several weeks of training camp. Six weeks from now, who knows what the Ravens’ record will be but chances are it won’t be good.

Why then insert a rusty Boller when a shiny galvanized Boller can't get it done? What would be the point? Does anyone really expect him to be around in ’09? If healthy the only reason to play him is if the offensive line was an accessory to the murders of Smith, Flacco and Bramlet (or some other clandestine QB).

Let’s get real here – the signing of Casey Bramlet is nothing more than a red herring in an attempt to not look so desperate for a quarterback so as to avoid a high ransom for the QB they really want. We can all hear it now....

"Kyle will be back and the team is very happy to have found a QB of Bramlet's skills and familiarity with the offense."

Hit the spin cycle again!

This team can't possibly go into the season with 3 quarterbacks who collectively have 2 NFL starts, can they?

Sure Bramlet is familiar with Cam Cameron’s offense and he knows the QB Coach Hue Jackson from their days together in Cincinnati. But for crying out loud, this guy was behind Cleo Lemon (a Ravens' summer camp castoff) on the 1-15 Miami Dolphins' depth chart. Gee and we thought we had already experienced the abyss of quarterbacking in the NFL.

My bet is that Bramlet will be around for a week or two until the Ravens strike a deal for a real third quarterback. And when they do, the Ravens will announce what most of us suspect anyway – Kyle Boller’s season is done and so is his career as a Raven.

And I’ll still have as many career completions in the NFL as Casey Bramlet.

Thanks for the memories Kyle.

Staying with the Ravens rather dire situation at quarterback, I wonder if it has crossed the mind of Ozzie Newsome to bring back Steve McNair. Trent Dilfer is another former Ravens’ QB that has crossed my mind. Not that I am a big Dilfer fan – I supported the move to get Grbac and I would even support the move today with all of the circumstances exactly the same save for one – a healthy Jamal Lewis.

Dilfer is on record saying that he would not consider his career in football complete unless he returned to the Ravens in some capacity. Now I know Dilfer has some injury concerns going on with his knee and Achilles’ but if those injuries could be removed from the equation, would Dilfer be a viable option as a No. 3 and as a willing mentor for the Ravens? This isn’t an endorsement – it’s more a topic for around the watercooler.

Rain on the scarecrow, rain and the Falcons…While M&T has enjoyed a pretty decent history of good weather, seems to me that whenever the Dirty Birds visit Baltimore, the Man above must think they need a good cleansing. Once again, rain is in the forecast for tonight’s Ravens v. Falcons game.

Rich Cimini from NBCSports.msnbc.com proved recently that he has far too much time on his hands by serving up a worthless list of the top coaches in the NFL. Cimini ranks all 32 and then in some irrelevant way he assesses their abilities in a far too subjective way with far too little meaningful criteria.

Naturally you want to know where John Harbaugh is ranked, right? Put him at No. 32 on Cimini’s list and the rationale you ask: “He takes over an old team with no quarterback. Good luck.”

For what it’s worth, I’d take Harbaugh over several in the list including Marvin Lewis (20) and Herm Edwards (22) despite the fact that he’s never coached a down as a head coach in a game that mattered.

What did Momma Cimini put in your pasta Rich?