It's clear at this point that it really doesn't make a difference whether the Ravens start Steve McNair or Kyle Boller at quarterback.
It will matter Nov. 5, when the Ravens play the Steelers in Pittsburgh, and then afterward when the Ravens play the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. That's when McNair has to be healthy, and be the starter.
No players want to talk about it, but the veterans know McNair gives the Ravens the best chance of winning against the better teams in the league because he is proven and Boller is unproven.
Yes, it really is as simple as that. It's all about confidence.
It was painful at times watching McNair play Sunday in the Ravens' loss to the Browns. He threw and completed a lot of passes, but you could tell the groin injury was bothering him.
He didn't always plant his feet. Sometimes he didn't step into his throws. There wasn't always a follow-through. Almost everyone at Cleveland Browns Stadium and at home in Baltimore watching the game knew McNair was having leg problems.
Yet, Ravens coach Brian Billick kept McNair in the game. That's understandable, because McNair wants to play all the time, injured or not. But the week before, Billick replaced McNair with Boller early in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals because he thought McNair had "tweaked" the injury, even though McNair was playing reasonably well.
Even when the Cardinals rallied at the end of the game, Billick stayed with Boller. The way Billick has handled this quarterback situation is strange. When McNair tweaks it, he pulls him. When it seems like it really hurts, he leaves McNair in the game.
My gut feeling is Billick knew he made a bad decision in the Arizona game by pulling McNair and was gun-shy about doing it again against Cleveland.
Here's a suggestion for the next three games against the San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams and Buffalo Bills: If McNair shows discomfort and his passes start sailing over the stadiums like UFOs, give him the hook, because he is hurting the team.
At that point, McNair would be no better and no more accurate than Boller. If he needs the rest, just give it to him and gear McNair up for the stretch run.
Boller certainly has looked better this season than in previous years. When he comes into a game, he actually looks calm instead of having panic written all over his face.
