With Marc Bulger on Board, Ravens Could Trade Troy Smith

Coming out of college, Troy Smith was a very peculiar prospect. The winning was there. The numbers were there. All the intangibles seemed to be there, as well.

However, the one big thing that wasn’t there was the size to play quarterback. At 6’0″ and 225 pounds, Smith is not your prototypical signal-caller. Most teams today want guys to be at least 6’2″ and most of the time closer to 6’3″ at the very least.

But with a guy like Drew Brees — who barely stands 6’0″ — just winning a Super Bowl, guys like Smith are going to get a second look from a team in need of a starting quarterback.

Not only does Smith seem to have everything but the size to play quarterback, he also comes with the added benefit of being able to move around in the pocket. He might have a tough time seeing the passing lanes over linemen — who also will range from 6’2″ to 6’7″ in most cases — but that would also make it more difficult for defenses to see him scrambling around inside and outside of the pocket.

Additionally, Smith would be a west coast offense quarterback. And in the west coast, most passes are made based on timing and landmarks anyway. All he would have to do is get the rhythm down, hit the landmark, and he’d be fine.

Let’s also keep in mind that even though seeing the lanes does become more difficult, he can still see them and would not be running around blind on every play. At the very worst, he might miss a roaming linebacker here or there the same way Brees will every once in a while.

But this kid has too much raw ability and too good of a track record to not give him a chance somewhere.

I don’t believe the Bulger signing meant anything about any of the other quarterbacks on the Ravens’ roster other than they just want to have a veteran guy ready to go were Joe Flacco to go down.

I see a lot of people saying it’s an indictment of Flacco or of Smith, but to me, it reads more like a team that saw an opportunity to bring in a guy who would be a great backup and perhaps move some wasted talent on their roster in Smith.

It probably won’t happen any time soon, but pay attention to Smith’s name were the worst to happen to someone during Training Camp.