One of Cameron's common methods in mentoring young quarterbacks is tailoring schemes that resemble what the players did in college, which eases their transition into the NFL. The Ravens kept Flacco in shotgun for most of the minicamps because that's what he primarily ran at the University of Delaware.
"We've always done that with young quarterbacks, so they really don't have to perform and learn at the same time so much," Cameron said. "A lot of the stuff he's doing, he should be able to perform at a high level, because it's stuff he's done in college. Once he gets his feet on the ground and starts to learn NFL defenses, then we start demanding more in terms of what we want to do different than what he did in college."
Flacco said he is ready to take the next step.
"Everyone knows quarterback is a position where it takes a while to really start playing well," said Flacco, who will report to training camp in 29 days. "But you want to go out there and prove you can do it as quick as possible."
In the classroom
Every day at Ravens headquarters has been like a pop quiz for Flacco.
Inside the quarterbacks room, Jackson would break down defensive fronts, coverages and tendencies on film in front of all the quarterbacks.
At different points, he'd stop the tape and ask: "What would you do in this situation?"
"Sometimes I have no idea what the answer is," Flacco said.
This could be the most important part of Flacco's education. To stay on course, he has had to admit the times when he is lost.
"You can't be afraid to say, `Coach, I don't understand,' " Flacco said. "You don't want to come up with some answer and them not explain it to you. Then you'll never understand."
Boller, who was in Flacco's situation five years ago, can tell that the rookie is becoming more comfortable based on his interaction inside the quarterbacks room.
"If you compared him from the first week until now, his personality has grown exponentially," Boller said. "When you're a rookie, you got so many different things you're thinking about. It's hard to be yourself. But he's doing an awesome job."
At his home
The transition to the NFL can be tougher when your father and brother are stand-ins for Todd Heap and Derrick Mason.
Flacco didn't have a choice because an NFL-NCAA rule barred him from Ravens headquarters for nearly all of May.
