The Baltimore Ravens are in pretty good shape at QB for the 2007 season.  Steve McNair should be better with a full Training Camp to get ready for the season.  He started all 16 games last season for the Ravens and he completed 295 of 468 passes (63%) for 3,050 yards with 16 TD passes and 12 INTs (82.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 45 times for 119 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  McNair has had an outstanding career and he still has a little bit left in the tank.  He can’t run like he did early in his career but he’s still a good passer and that’s what the Ravens need him to be.  McNair has played in 155 games (147 starts) in his NFL career and he’s completed 2,600 of 4,339 passes (59.9%) for 30,191 yards with 172 TD passes and 115 INTs (83.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 659 times for 3,558 yards (5.4 ypc) with 37 TD runs.

Kyle Boller will be the backup this season for the Ravens.  Boller never really materialized into the player they projected him to but he did an outstanding job as a backup for them last season.  He played in 5 games (0 starts) and he completed 33 of 55 (60%) passes for 485 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs (104.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 22 times for 34 yards (1.5 ypc).  Boller has had a disappointing career so far for the Ravens but he still has time to turn it around as he played well for them last year.  He has played in 41 games (34 starts) in his career and he’s completed 578 of 1,036 passes (55.8%) for 6,103 yards with 36 TDs and 34 INTs (71.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 128 times for 351 yards (2.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.

The Ravens drafted Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith from Ohio State to groom for the future.  If he can overcome his height problem the Ravens might have a steal here.

Prescott Burgess is a better athlete than he is a football player.  He’s a converted safety and that’s the way he plays at linebacker.  He makes most of the plays he’s supposed to but he’s a little soft against the run and doesn’t fight off many blocks.  He has decent size at 6′3″, 245 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40 so maybe the Ravens can coach him up.  Otherwise he has the look of a backup LB and special teams player.  In 45 games (21 starts) at Michigan, Burgess made 174 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, had 4 sacks, broke up 13 passes and had 4 interceptions.  He was worth a six round pick by the Ravens as he was projected to go higher in the draft.

The Ravens needed a QB for the future as they don’t feel totally comfortable in giving Kyle Boller the keys to the car if Steve McNair goes down because of an injury or suspension.  With that in mind they took Heisman Trophy Winner Troy Smith from Ohio State.  Troy Smith was a highly effective QB at Ohio State and he likely only slid in the draft because of his awful performance against Florida in last year’s national championship game.  One has to wonder after watching that game if most of Smith’s success was tied to just having better offensive players than his opponents had to defend them for most of his college career.  Even with that being said, Smith’s college numbers were pretty impressive.  In 42 games (28 starts) at Ohio State, Smith completed 420 of 670 (62.7%) passes for 5,720 yards with 54 TD passes and only 13 interceptions!   Smith is a little short at 6′0″, 222 pounds and that could cause him problems seeing over the offensive line, but those same things were said about Drew Brees and he’s developed into a pretty good pro QB.  Smith has good speed as he runs a 4.65 40 and he’s tough to bring down when he tucks the football.  Smith is a boom or bust pick but he was definately worth a 5th round pick by the Ravens.

Le’Ron McClain is like having a extra lineman in the backfield.  He’s an explosive blocker in the running game and he’s solid as a pass blocker as he’s efficient at picking up the blitz.  McClain is a huge man at 6′0″, 265 pounds but he’s slow as he only runs a 4.95 40.  Still, he used almost exclusively as a blocker on offense.  In 48 games (27 starts) at Alabama, McClain carried the football 37 times for 170 yards (4.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also has caught 48 passes for 405 yards (8.4 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  McClain is also an outstanding special teams player.  This was another great pick by the Ravens and it should make Willis McGahee really happy.

Antwan Barnes is a good athlete but he’s a tweener.  He’s too small (6′0″, 243 pounds) to play defensive end in the pros so he will likely wind up as an outside linebacker or an end in passing downs.  Barnes is very fast for a man his size as he runs a 4.53 40.  Still, he doesn’t play hard all of the time and often seems to take plays off.  It also will be a big step up in competition for Barnes as he played in the Sun Belt Conference for Florida International.  At Florida International, Barnes played in 45 games (36 starts) and he made 224 tackles, 57 tackles for a loss, had 23 sacks, batted down 5 passes, forced 6 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  Another area that Barnes excells at is playing on special teams so the Raves will take full advantage of that this season.