Kyle Boller

The Ravens routinely work out free agents even if there is no definitive interest or positional need, but it certainly isn't a regular occurrence for a player once considered their franchise quarterback to return to the team's facility and audition for a job. That will happen Thursday as Kyle Boller, a former first-round pick who was a lightning rod for fan discontent during his five-seasons as a Ravens' quarterback, will be one of three veteran...

When I got home last night, I didn't know if my chills were coming from having stood out in the rain coaching lacrosse for two hours, or hearing the news that Kyle Boller might return as the Ravens backup quarterback . Oh gosh, "My Man" Kyle Boller back in town. If you felt a rumbling sound around town last night, it wasn't an earthquake; it was me break-dancing about "My Man" Kyle Boller's possible return. At first, I didn't believe the Ravens were serious and I still don't.

When I got home last night, I didn't know if my chills were coming from having stood out in the rain coaching lacrosse for two hours, or hearing the news that Kyle Boller might return as the Ravens backup quarterback . Oh gosh, "My Man" Kyle Boller back in town. If you felt a rumbling sound around town last night, it wasn't an earthquake; it was me break-dancing about "My Man" Kyle Boller's possible return. At first, I didn't believe the Ravens were serious and I still don't.

The Ravens decided against a reunion with Kyle Boller, but they will reunite Curtis Painter with Jim Caldwell. After a free-agent quarterback workout today that also featured Boller and Dennis Dixon, the Ravens have agreed to a one-year deal with Painter, who started eight games last year for an Indianapolis Colts team that was without Peyton Manning. Caldwell, now the Ravens' quarterbacks coach, was Painter's head coach for the previous three seasons in Indianapolis. In his career, Painter, 26, has appeared in 11 games, all but two of them coming this past season.

Former Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller never came close to touching the lofty expectations that came with being one of the team's first-round picks in the 2003 NFL draft, which is why last month I labeled him as the biggest draft bust in franchise history . Matt Zenitz, a writer for PressBox , recently tagged Boller as an all-time bust , too. But one man is willing to stand up on a soapbox and defend Boller: Joe Platania. In a response to his PressBox colleague, Platania wrote a lengthy post in defense of Boller , who is still in the NFL today as a backup quarterback for the Raiders.

The Ravens decided against a reunion with Kyle Boller, but they will reunite Curtis Painter with Jim Caldwell. After a free-agent quarterback workout today that also featured Boller and Dennis Dixon, the Ravens have agreed to a one-year deal with Painter, who started eight games last year for an Indianapolis Colts team that was without Peyton Manning. Caldwell, now the Ravens' quarterbacks coach, was Painter's head coach for the previous three seasons in Indianapolis. In his career, Painter, 26, has appeared in 11 games, all but two of them coming this past season.

Quarterback Kyle Boller started nine games for the Ravens in 2005, in which they went 4-5. During that time, the 2003 first-round draft pick had a career-high 58.4 percent completion rate. What's the weirdest thing you've ever signed at training camp? Somebody had me sign a Snapple bottle, peach Snapple. Who was your football idol growing up? People around here don't like me to say, but John Elway. I was a big Denver fan and I just liked the way he threw the ball down the field. Do you have any pets, and what are their names?

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - For almost a half, Kyle Boller almost turned me into a believer. I was about to forgive him for his five previous years of bad football. I was going to forgive him for his fumble nearly midway through the first quarter and give praise to new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron for possibly turning Boller around in a short time. And then reality set in. With 6 minutes, 38 seconds left in the first half, Boller didn't see New England Patriots linebacker Shawn Crable, who stepped in front of intended receiver Adam Bergen and picked off the pass.

To feel the full effect of the Ravens' offensive makeover, it's best to look at it from Kyle Boller's perspective from last year to this one. The wide receiver to his right has gone from a former quarterback out of Grambling (Randy Hymes) to a 90-plus-catch Pro Bowl performer (Derrick Mason). His teammate in the slot has gone from a possession receiver (Kevin Johnson) to a potential playmaker (Mark Clayton). His tight end has gone from a former probation officer (Darnell Dinkins) to an elite target (Todd Heap)

It's time for another leap of faith. Four years after asking fans to take a disastrous jump with Scott Mitchell, Ravens coach Brian Billick is starting a new quarterback era with the same, old, controversial flair. He is handing the keys to a potential playoff vehicle to rookie quarterback Kyle Boller when all the warning signs tell him otherwise. History says Billick is wrong. Popular opinion says he's foolish. Even his own track record says to reconsider. The safe bet would be to go with little-used veteran Chris Redman and bring his first-round pick along slowly.

The Ravens routinely work out free agents even if there is no definitive interest or positional need, but it certainly isn't a regular occurrence for a player once considered their franchise quarterback to return to the team's facility and audition for a job. That will happen Thursday as Kyle Boller, a former first-round pick who was a lightning rod for fan discontent during his five-seasons as a Ravens' quarterback, will be one of three veteran...

At some point in next week's NFL draft, the Ravens will get the itch. It's usually a good itch, and few teams, if any, have been as successful at scratching it as they have been the past two decades. That's why during the draft it has become a question of when, not if, the Ravens will swap one of their picks. They have made at least one trade in each of the past 10 drafts and 14 of 16 overall. Their preference has been to trade down, but they can be aggressive when trying to secure a player they believe is special.

Former Ravens coach Brian Billick will be forever linked to Kyle Boller. When Billick was in Baltimore, the Ravens traded a future first-round pick for the right to draft the California quarterback 18th overall in 2003. Boller never lived up to the hype, but at the time the Ravens were convinced that Boller would be very successful. According to Billick, though, Boller wasn't the best college quarterback prospect he saw in his time here. That would be JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in 2007 and one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.

Love him or loathe him, Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow was the biggest story on a pretty ugly Sunday of NFL football as he engineered a 15-point comeback in the closing minutes to overtake the Dolphins, 18-15. Tebow had completed just four of his 14 pass attempts for 40 yards as Denver trailed, 15-0, with just over five minutes remaining in the game. With every Tebow pass that bounced off the Miami grass, hundreds of Tweets were chirped out into the blogosphere about how he was pretty much the worst quarterback in NFL history.

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.     Running it back: The Ravens finished arguably their toughest five-game stretch of the season with a 4-1 record, so it's understandable to look ahead . ... John Harbaugh is concerned about the number of hits quarterback Joe Flacco took on Sunday.

The stalemate in Cincinnati appears to be over. Multiple news outlets are reporting that the Bengals have finally agreed to trade away Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Palmer , who was unofficially retired and officially sick of the Cincinnati circus . The Oakland Raiders, who were stuck with former Ravens whipping boy Kyle Boller as their starter after Jason Campbell shattered his collarbone, will reportedly pay a first-round draft pick...

It was at the NFL Films studios in Mount Laurel, N.J., last spring that Carson Palmer gained critical insight into the quantum leap he was preparing to make. In a pre-draft session with former NFL quarterback and noted film maven Ron Jaworski, Palmer caught his first glimpse of nuances that will soon determine his own quarterbacking fate. "It was an eye-opener," Palmer would say months later. "My agent wanted me to go out and meet with [Jaworski] to get a taste of what the NFL looked like through an NFL quarterback's eyes.

Whether it is a pre-shrunk Kyle Boller we see tonight, we may never know - that, after all, is confidential. But if head coach Brian Billick did have Boller spend some time with the team psychologist or psychiatrist (the Ravens have both), and if it worked, a more composed and confident quarterback should take the field against the Green Bay Packers tonight. Billick's prescription of therapy - mentioned as a "possibility" after Boller's dismal performance in Denver last Sunday - might conjure images of the young Ravens quarterback on the couch, recalling childhood traumas, but a session with the team shrink (and most teams have one these days)

We have countless awesome sports photos in the archives here at The Baltimore Sun, and I have decided to share one with you each week in a regular feature called "Throwback Thursday. " I found today's picture a while ago when writing a post about the Ravens' all-back uniforms. The smirk on Kyle Boller's face as he and Ray Lewis awkwardly modeled the alternate uniforms in 2004 was so unintentionally humorous, I made this my desktop background for a couple of weeks. Feel free to caption this if you want.

Former Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller never came close to touching the lofty expectations that came with being one of the team's first-round picks in the 2003 NFL draft, which is why last month I labeled him as the biggest draft bust in franchise history . Matt Zenitz, a writer for PressBox , recently tagged Boller as an all-time bust , too. But one man is willing to stand up on a soapbox and defend Boller: Joe Platania. In a response to his PressBox colleague, Platania wrote a lengthy post in defense of Boller , who is still in the NFL today as a backup quarterback for the Raiders.