Joe Flacco has yet to be listed on the Ravens' depth chart, and he won't be until the start of the preseason in August. But all eyes were on the rookie quarterback from Delaware yesterday.
The player who Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome made two trades to select with the 18th overall pick in last month's NFL draft practiced for the first time at the team's mandatory minicamp in Owings Mills.
"I'm here to play football," Flacco said. "I'm a first-round draft pick, but I don't look at myself as that. I'm looking at myself as a guy whose coming in here to prove he can play quarterback in the National Football League.
"I am definitely going out there to prove something ... and that these coaches made the right decision. I'm going to take it day by day and hopefully get better with each of these practices."
As expected, Flacco made his share of mistakes, but he also demonstrated the kind of big-time arm and accuracy that helped him go from a relative small-college unknown to a first-round pick in a matter of months.
"I have confidence in my ability," Flacco said. "Obviously things are going to take care of itself. I've got a lot of learning to do and after being here for a day, I can see that. It's been a lot of fun so, and hopefully that will continue."
One throw in particular - a long completion to Mark Clayton, who beat rookie safety Tom Zbikowski - gave a small glimpse of what Newsome and director of college scouting Eric DeCosta saw in picking Flacco as the second quarterback chosen behind Boston College's Matt Ryan.
"A guy who's got great potential," new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said, when asked about his first impressions of Flacco. "A guy who's got to work at it like all these guys do. But obviously there are a lot of things we love about him."
Said veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason, "He can throw the ball. ... The one he threw to Clayton I think was about 50 yards down the field in the air on target. The way he commanded the huddle with the team that was in there with him, I think that speaks volumes of him."
If there were butterflies, Flacco didn't show them, either during the two-hour workout or during the 10-minute post-practice interrogation from the media.
"You have to go out there and control that," Flacco said in the locker room. "You have to make it as simple as possible. You have to tell yourself that you know what you're doing; you have to go out there and execute and do the best you can."
