Quarterbacks

You know how you wake up on Sunday morning and enjoy the challenge of trying to complete the crossword puzzle or the Sudoku in the newspaper? That's how NFL defensive coordinators and coaches when they wake up in the morning feel about the read-option offense, which puzzled many teams during the 2012 season. Three NFC playoff teams from a season ago -- Washington, Seattle and San Francisco -- made the read-option running game a staple of their offenses, using their poised, mobile young quarterbacks to terrorize defenses.

By now you've surely seen the video, below, of Tom Brady getting super, duper excited about Orb winning the Kentucky Derby. In it, he runs over to congratulate Ogden Phipps II, son of co-owner Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps. I'm not sure how they know each other. Maybe Brady just really revels in the good fortune of other fantastically rich people. Also, he apparently bet $4,700 on the colt and won $25,000 . (In some versions of the video you can see the other co-owner, Maryland resident Stuart Janney, roam through the shot in a tan rain coat and Orb hat, looking for all the world like maybe he'd mistakenly arrived in that place at that time.

Every weekday through April 25, the day before the first round of the NFL draft, The Sun will examine where the Ravens stand at each position, the likelihood that they will address that spot early in the draft and some of the prospects that they may consider. Today, we'll examine the quarterback position: Current quarterbacks under contract : Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor Chances that the Ravens draft a QB in first three rounds : None. Though there was plenty written about the prospect of adding a veteran backup to Flacco last year, the Ravens went all season with two active quarterbacks on their roster.

Michael Phelps is the second-most influential athlete in the United States, according to data from surveys conducted by Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research and published by Forbes.com . Phelps ranks behind only Tim Tebow, a quarterback without a team, and ahead of sprinter Usain Bolt. While Tebow may be an example of marketing mattering more than on-field performance, Phelps and Bolt seem to be the product of Olympic greatness being paired with forward-thinking promotion. I caught up with Phelps' long-time agent, Peter Carlisle, last week to talk about his plans for jockey Rosie Napravnik, a new client he picked up on advice from people in Phelps' Baltimore orbit.

Jim Caldwell is adjusting to his new job as the Ravens quarterbacks coach. After 10 years with the Indianapolis Colts, the last three as head coach, it means working with someone other than Peyton Manning. "I'm not necessarily putting my stamp on it, obviously I'm trying to do my job and doing it well, that's the key," Caldwell said Tuesday after the first day of a three-day minicamp in Owings Mills. "Part of that is learning the system and certainly being able to apply the system and teach the system.

The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, especially in the playoffs. Scan the list of Super Bowl champions from the past decade and you'll see names like Brady, Brees, Manning, Manning and Roethlisberger -- and Johnson, but pay no attention to that guy (sorry, Brad). You can argue that you need an elite quarterback to win a title, but you can also argue that QBs don't become elite until they win one. Chicken, meet egg. Egg, meet chicken. Those elite quarterbacks will be tough to knock out of the playoffs.

The AFC North is starting to become a great division for quarterback play. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton made a name for himself as a rookie last season, and Cleveland quarterback Brandon Weeden was impressive Thursday night, completing 25 of 52 passes for 320 yards and a touchdown. If the Browns had better receivers and players who could hold onto the ball, they might have upset the Ravens. Before the game, the Browns had dropped 11 passes in the first three games and they added at least another three or four Thursday night.  This Weeden kid played well and showed a lot of poise. Combined with Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and the Ravens' Joe Flacco, there could be some good shootouts coming up.

Three days after he confirmed that offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will be retained, Ravens coach John Harbaugh gave his offense -- and Joe Flacco -- an additional voice, hiring Jim Caldwell as the team's quarterbacks coach. Caldwell, who was fired two weeks ago as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts after the completion of a 2-14 campaign, has been a quarterback coach for 15 seasons, most recently for Peyton Manning and the Colts from 2002 to 2008. "After spending considerable time with Jim over the last week, we think he will be an excellent fit with our team, coaching the quarterbacks and helping with our offense," Harbaugh said.

The Ravens named Jim Zorn as their quarterbacks coach Saturday, the most intriguing and high-profile hire by coach John Harbaugh. Zorn, 56, was fired by Washington Redskins on Jan. 4 after a disastrous second season as their head coach. The Ravens, though, were overwhelmed by his experience: 11 seasons as an NFL quarterback, 11 seasons as a respected NFL quarterbacks coach and a familiarity with their offense. "That's a great resume for us," Harbaugh said. Zorn's primary goal is to continue the development of Joe Flacco into an elite franchise quarterback.

The Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck is one of three rookie quarterbacks in the NFL playoffs this season. Historically, the Ravens have played well against teams with first-year passers leading the offense. Rookie quarterbacks are 2-6 - and winless in the playoffs - against the Ravens since John Harbaugh became their coach before the 2008 season. “I can't tell you any secrets, but we've got a little niche going,” defensive tackle Arthur Jones said. “We definitely have something going that you'll see on Sunday.

Given that the Ravens have made a trade in the first round of the draft five times in the past seven years, most fans are well aware there is a chance the team could trade out of the first round again Thursday night. A deep but unspectacular class of quarterbacks may mean the Ravens receive a few trade calls for pick No. 32. “The phone lines are open,” Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta declared last week. Last year, Indianapolis picked Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first overall pick and Washington picked Baylor's Robert Griffin III. Miami also took a quarterback, Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M, in the top 10. Some have said Tannehill would have been the top quarterback in this class had he waited a year to declare.

Horse racing Retired Hall of Fame trainer Kelly dead at 93 Hall of Fame trainer Thomas J. Kelly died Friday morning at St. Catherine's West Rehabilitation Hospital in Hialeah, Fla., after a brief illness, according to his son, Timothy D. Kelly . He was 93. Kelly, who was born in Pikesville, conditioned 65 stakes winners, including Plugged Nickle, 1980's champion sprinter who won that year's Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack,...

The Ravens have finalized a one-year contract with veteran quarterback Caleb Hanie, according to a league source. Hanie is in Baltimore today and will immediately join the Ravens' offseason conditioning program. The Ravens later announced the deal. In Hanie, the Ravens have added another quarterback for training camp and provided Tyrod Taylor with competition for the backup job. "He's a talented guy," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "He's played in games and maybe hasn't been in the ideal situation for him yet. Based on the evaluation of our pro personnel department and our coaches, they felt like he fit us pretty well.

Each weekday through April 24, the day before the first round of the NFL draft, The Sun will look at where the Ravens stand at each position, the likelihood that they will address that spot early in the draft and some of the prospects that they may consider. Today we'll examine the quarterbacks: Current quarterbacks under contract : Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor Chances that the Ravens draft a QB in first three rounds : None. Even the harshest Flacco critic over the years has to grudgingly admit now that the Ravens are set at the quarterback position.

Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown - who has had two season-ending injuries in his college career - has been granted a medical hardship waiver permitting him a sixth season of eligibility, according to the school. The waiver will allow Brown to return for another season after 2013. “It's really good news, and I feel good for him," Terps coach Randy Edsall said. "I'm glad we got that taken care of now, and that's something we don't have to worry about. When I pulled him out of the meeting and told him, he was thrilled and excited about it.” Brown, a team captain whose father was a Michigan State quarterback, was the presumptive starter last August when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament while making a cut during a preseason practice.

You know how you wake up on Sunday morning and enjoy the challenge of trying to complete the crossword puzzle or the Sudoku in the newspaper? That's how NFL defensive coordinators and coaches when they wake up in the morning feel about the read-option offense, which puzzled many teams during the 2012 season. Three NFC playoff teams from a season ago -- Washington, Seattle and San Francisco -- made the read-option running game a staple of their offenses, using their poised, mobile young quarterbacks to terrorize defenses.

When Maryland Crab Bowl officials set out to finalize the Baltimore roster for Monday's second annual senior all-star football game against Washington, they faced a problem they had never seen before: too many quarterbacks. They were looking at six potential Division I quarterbacks for three roster spots. Not great for them but certainly great for local fans, who, this fall, saw probably the best collection of high school quarterbacks ever to play in the Baltimore area at the same time.

When Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert stands under center Monday, he'll be confronting one of the NFL's elite defenses and a trend that suggests that he's in for an extremely long night. One of the defining traits of the Ravens' defense has been a tendency to batter and befuddle young quarterbacks. The Ravens are 6-0 in the John Harbaugh era against first- or second-year starting quarterbacks, and they were last beaten by a rookie signal-caller Oct. 21, 2007, when Trent Edwards led the Buffalo Bills to a 19-14 win. "You don't want any quarterback to do well, but I think we're built in such a way that it's hard to recognize what we're doing," Harbaugh said when asked about the challenge young quarterbacks face when they play the Ravens.

The group of veteran slotbacks who handled most of the work at the position have departed Navy's football program. A former starting quarterback heads into his senior season without much chance of unseating an incumbent who was electric as a freshman last fall. Those two issues could tie together into an intriguing subplot as the Midshipmen prepare to open spring practice Monday. Trey Miller, who started the first five games of 2012, is listed as Keenan Reynolds' backup at quarterback.

Joe Flacco had just put his signature ona six-year contract that could pay him as much as $120.6 million and the NFL's newly-minted highest paid player had big plans to celebrate. “I'm going to drive home tonight and just go out to dinner with a couple of people,” said the Ravens' quarterback. “I'm buying, yeah.” Those who know Flacco best insist the 28-year-old is unfazed by fame and fortune but that will now be put to the test. In a little over a month's span, Flacco led his team to their second world championship by playing one of the best ever postseasons by a quarterback, won Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLVII and signed a contract that he hoped will make him a Raven for life.