Yea Boller- This Is Your Year

Kyle Boller, the promising quarterback out of the University of California, entered himself in the 2003 NFL draft. Soon to find himself drafted the 19th pick by the Baltimore Ravens. Picked to be the quarterback of the future for Baltimore. But so far, Boller has done nothing but disappoint.
Boller started off his football career in the University of California. He was a highly touted recruit and arrived at the California campus in 1999. He had great years at California, racking up 3,256 yards and 36 TD’s. One of his problems was the interceptions. He managed 38 interceptions in his 3 years at Cal. Kyle Boller would then enter the NFL Draft.

Boller was drafted in the first round by the Ravens. The Ravens seemed to be happy with their pick and were interested in starting him right away. Brian Billick obviously saw something in him that others did not.

Boller started the first 9 games of the rookie season. His first 9 games were very “rookie-like.” He had a 5-4 record with 1,250 passing yards, 7 TD’s and 9 INT’s. He was a also sacked a dreadful, 17 times. He then did not play the rest of the season except for 1 play in week 16.

As the 2004 season was nearing, Jamal Lewis was convicted for dealing and possession of drugs. He would then spend time in jail and was suspended for the entire 2004 season. This meant Boller was going to have to step up.

Boller was then relied on to be the leader and to start at quarterback. Unfortunately for Ravens fans, it looked as though Boller wasn’t ready to take that role. Boller started mediocre at best, throwing for 959 yards, 3 TD’s and 6 INT’s. This was not the way the Ravens wanted Boller to start the season.

Boller’s continually, suffered with sacks. He got sacked a whopping 35 times in the 2004 season. That wasn’t going to get it done. Most people were starting to second guess Boller’s ability to be the quarterback in Baltimore. Boller definitely needed to be better than he was in 2004 to keep his starting job in the future.

There was a lot of speculation in Raven country about Boller and the 2005 season. The question was, would Boller finally break from his mediocrity and be the leader of the Ravens? The problem would be addressed Sunday night against the Colts.

Numbers don’t lie. Boller has had a mediocre career at best. Eyes don’t lie either. For anyone that has watched Kyle Boller play, you can just see how sub par he has played. This 2005 season is possibly the last chance to show the Ravens and the NFL what he’s got.

He came into Sunday night playing decent. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 141 yards with a 65.2% completion percentage. He had a relatively slow game for Boller until finally, after a Boller sack, he was down. Boller was injured with a hyper-extended toe. Well what else is new; something had to go wrong. He was taken off the field and did not return. Later did we realize that he would miss more than 1 game and I bet even more.

You had to expect this from Kyle. Once again Boller cannot prove that he should be a starting quarterback. It’s scary when your own fans cheer when you are injured. Then you know you’re not wanted there.

I really don’t think Kyle Boller will ever prove his worth in the NFL. I don’t think he will be starting next year unless he has a spectacular season. Maybe it’s something about those West Coast quarterbacks. All I can say is yea Boller, this is your year.