Quarterbacks

The only intriguing aspect about today's draft for the Ravens is whether they will select a quarterback. Basically, all the suspense is gone because it's safe to assume the Ravens, despite the return of second-team All-Pro Jonathan Ogden, will draft a quality offensive lineman early. But what about a quarterback for the future? If there has been an Achilles' heel of the Ravens as far as the draft, it has been their lack of success in grooming a young quarterback. The failure has transcended two owners, two directors of scouting and two pro personnel directors.

Sometime early Saturday afternoon, after all the smoke screens have dissipated and all the subterfuge has been exhausted, Ricky Williams will learn his destination in the 64th annual NFL draft.That it isn't likely to be the Cleveland Browns with the first pick, but the Indianapolis Colts -- or some other team that trades up -- with the fourth pick says a lot about today's NFL.It says the league has an obsession with quarterbacks.It says it is harder to find a franchise quarterback than a Super Bowl running back.

In a season when Steve DeBerg came out of retirement at age 44, when 35-year-old Randall Cunningham recaptured his former glory, and when 35-year-old Vinny Testaverde finally found a place he could call home, the rules have changed.A young man's game?Not anymore.Not when it comes to quarterbacks, anyway, and especially not when it comes to backup quarterbacks.The phenomenon of the 1998 NFL season is that while it hasalways been difficult for young quarterbacks to succeed,recycled veterans are enjoying a resurgence unlike any in recent years.

Chris Chandler spoke for quarterbacks everywhere -- but especially young ones -- when he addressed the difficult learning curve in the NFL last October."

You say Vinny Testaverde drives you crazy; we can't argue.You say he'll never lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl; we can't argue.But if you say Vinny must go, you're clueless about the state of quarterbacking in the NFL today."

Bobby Sabelhaus might play at Byrd Stadium this year after all, but it would be for West Virginia, not Maryland.A Parade All-America quarterback during his record-setting days McDonogh School, Sabelhaus committed to the Mountaineers yesterday. He had been without a team since last August, when he withdrew from Florida.Sabelhaus is in his second semester at Los Angeles Pierce College. If he can earn an associate degree from that junior college by this summer, he would be eligible to play for the Mountaineers next season.

The NFL's off-season quarterback merry-go-round finally stopped spinning this week.When Elvis Grbac signed a five-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, he grabbed the last open starting quarterback job for this fall.Although there are a few quarterbacks, including Heath Shuler, scrambling for backup jobs, the starting positions are set.Starting quarterbacks are changing as quickly as coaches. There will be 11 new coaches this fall, and 12 teams will start quarterbacks who didn't get the shot on opening day last year.

An article in Tuesday's editions regarding Maryland's recruiting under football coach Mark Duffner incorrectly reported the number of offensive linemen recruited in 1992. The Terrapins signed three, including Erik Greenstein, who is Maryland's starting center. The other two left the university.The Sun regrets the error.COLLEGE PARK -- Mark Duffner has either had too many quarterbacks or too few.The first recruiting class signed by Duffner, in February 1992, included three prospective passers.

The first two picks in the 1993 college draft shared the common bond of duty. Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer -- cornerstones, saviors and quarterbacks -- would usher the NFL into the next generation, pure and simple.A decade after there was Marino and Elway and Kelly, there would be Bledsoe and Mirer, and the league's fine line of superstar quarterbacks would be reinforced.That it hasn't exactly happened that way is further proof of how murky this business of franchise transformation is for a young quarterback these days.

PHILADELPHIA -- You will not find Ronnie McAda's picture or biography in the 1994 Army football guide. Nor will you see his name listed in the preseason three-deep chart for Cadets quarterbacks.But this afternoon at Veterans Stadium, McAda, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound sophomore from Mesquite, Texas, will direct Army's offense in its traditional season-ending meeting with the Naval Academy.It took injuries to the Cadets' two most-seasoned quarterbacks to place McAda in this pressure-filled position.

Each week, Baltimore Sun reporter Jamison Hensley will answer fans' questions about the Ravens. To submit a question, e-mail sports@baltsun.com. Provide your name, the city you live in and phone number so we can verify the e-mail. HEY, JAMISON: : I'm not the most football-savvy guy, but I enjoy your columns. During the recent New England game soon after the first "roughing the passer" penalty infraction, [Tom] Brady seemed to, in a moment of triumph after scoring, knock heads with most of his team in an effort to display an act of toughness that surprised me. I don't understand that he literally can't have the slightest brush of an arm or hand across his head during a play but can clunk heads with his teammates after the touchdown in a celebratory manner and that's OK?

Barring a change of mind by voters, former Ravens quarterback Steve McNair will not be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In The Baltimore Sun's poll of selectors this week, the three-time Pro Bowl player would fail to gain the 80 percent approval needed for election. Seventeen of the 24 voters who responded to The Sun - the committee has 44 members - said they did not consider McNair a Hall of Fame quarterback because he lacked elite career numbers. McNair, who was shot and killed Saturday, is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2013.

How many quarterbacks will we see this season and in what roles? Will Jordan Steffy stick? Will Chris Turner re-emerge? Will the situation present itself to allow multidimensional Josh Portis to show his stuff? Possibilities abound. Can Maryland win one of the biggies on its road schedule? The away games on the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule are daunting. A truly successful season would include a win at Clemson or Virginia Tech. Is that dreaming? Does speed really kill? Maryland has speed all over the field - one of the biggest reasons coaches are optimistic about the season.

And so Baltimore's quarterback curse continues. No doubt some are shocked by quarterback Steve McNair's abrupt decision to retire from professional football. He led a 13-3 Ravens team to the playoffs just two years ago. Sure, his 2007 performance was subpar, but that could be attributed to injuries he suffered early in the season. His teammates (and presumably the coaching staff) told reporters Wednesday that they expected him to attend this week's minicamp. He is, after all, only 35 years old. "Right now, he looks great," said tight end Daniel Wilcox, who must say nice things about the departed's stylings at funerals, too. But Ravens fans aren't surprised.

Eight seasons ago, Steve McNair led his team to the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams. Today, whether or not he is healthy enough to face the Rams at M&T Bank Stadium, there are questions about whether he can consistently lead the Ravens to the end zone. Rams@Ravens Today, 1 p.m., Ch. 45, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Ravens by 9 1/2 Passing grade? A look at where the Ravens' Steve McNair ranks this season among qualified quarterbacks: Category Stat Rank Overall passer rating 80.2 20 Completion pct. 65.6 11 Yards per game 230.5 14 Yards per attempt 5.87 28 Touchdown passes 2 T-28 Interceptions 2 T-7 20-plus-yard completions 3 34 40-plus-yard completions 0 T-28 4th-quarter passer rating 80.8 22 3rd-down passer rating 84.6 16 Note: Qualified quarterbacks have at least 14 attempts per team's game.

Heading into Monday night's season opener, what should worry the Ravens' defense is Carson Palmer's lack of fear. The Cincinnati Bengals star is one of the few quarterbacks in the NFL who isn't afraid to attack the league's most aggressive defense. He is what Mark Brunell was to the Ravens' dominant defenses in 1999 and 2000, a quarterback who regularly put up big numbers against them when others could not. Palmer's confidence comes from December 2004, when he rallied the Bengals from a 20-3 deficit by throwing for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

College Park -- At Maryland's most recent scrimmage, backup quarterback Josh Portis missed a call -the same play coach Ralph Friedgen called again at a recent practice to see whether Portis had learned it. "I said, `I bet you an ice cream at dinner tonight that you don't get it right,'" Friedgen told Portis. "He turned to me and said, `I'm gonna get 'em all right.'" Portis executed that play - and apparently enough others - this summer to convince Friedgen he has learned the offense, and when the time is right, Friedgen said he won't hesitate to play him. He just didn't say when or how. "I think [Jordan Steffy is]

On Christmas Eve of 2004, the Atlanta Falcons gave Michael Vick a 10-year, $130 million contract, more in recognition of his promise than his production. Almost three years and $22 million worth of signing bonus later, Vick is likely headed to prison and his football career is in jeopardy. The brilliantly talented, but tragically flawed quarterback has fallen short of the Falcons' vision in every way possible. It is uncertain whether there will be any more NFL Sundays in store for Vick after a 12-to-18-month prison sentence - the punishment expected to be meted out for a guilty plea to dogfighting charges.

The only intriguing aspect about today's draft for the Ravens is whether they will select a quarterback. Basically, all the suspense is gone because it's safe to assume the Ravens, despite the return of second-team All-Pro Jonathan Ogden, will draft a quality offensive lineman early. But what about a quarterback for the future? If there has been an Achilles' heel of the Ravens as far as the draft, it has been their lack of success in grooming a young quarterback. The failure has transcended two owners, two directors of scouting and two pro personnel directors.

With two of the top three on the depth chart sidelined by injuries, Navy dressed its remaining two quarterbacks in red jerseys for its annual Blue-Gold spring football game yesterday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. That is a signal to the defensive units to avoid contact with those players, but the game had hardly begun when Jarod Bryant and Greg Zingler were being flung to the ground by young and eager defenders battling for jobs on a wide-open unit. "The quarterbacks [starter Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada and Troy Goss]