Bernie bits

--THE RAMS SIGN KYLE BOLLER: And why not? No one is saying the dude is Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger, but Boller is an intriguing choice for a backup quarterback. Boller has a rifle arm, but he got banged up a lot in Baltimore. That’s why former Ravens center Jason Brown, who signed as a FA with the Rams, described Boller as “gun shy.” Boller had his moments, but never lived up to the hype after the Ravens made him their No. 1 draft pick (19th overall) in 2003. But Boller doesn’t turn 28 until June, and he still has some upside. The Ravens were notoriously bland on offense, and didn’t start really opening up their passing game until 2008, when new coach John Harbaugh moved in and went with rookie starter Joe Flacco. (Boller was on injured reserve in 2008.) In his Ravens career Boller had a QB rating of 71.9 and threw 45 TDs with 44 INTs. Those are ordinary numbers, but I suggest we put them into some sort of context.

During the Brian Billick years (1999-2007) the Ravens gave eight quarterbacks turns at starting, and they all had roughly the same profile. Boller, Steve McNair, Anthony Wright, Jeff Blake, Chris Redman, Elvis Grbac, Tony Banks and Trent Dilfer all had QB ratings ranging between 71.1 and 77.3. Except for Banks, who had 25 TDs and 16 INTs in 1999-2000, all Raven starting QBs had roughly a 50-50 ratio in TDs and INTs. The yards per attempt for all of the Baltimore QB ranged between 6.0 and 7.1. Which leads to the question: was it the system? Was it the approach? Was it coaching? Why did eight starting quarterbacks play the same way? That’s why I’m interested to see what Boller can do under a new coaching staff, and in a new environment. Maybe offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur can help him improve. Maybe the change will do Boller some good. I know this: I’ll take him over Gus Frerotte, thanks.

--LOOK TO THE OFFENSIVE LINE FOR CLUES: Remember when the Rams released Orlando Pace, and GM Billy Devaney suggested that guard Jacob Bell would be moved to right offensive tackle? Well, during the Rams’ first minicamp, Bell was still at left guard, and Adam Goldberg was lined up at RT, with Alex Barron relocated from RT to LT. This was fresh evidence for those who believe the Rams should, and will, use the No. 2 overall pick on an offensive tackle. Doesn’t mean it will happen, of course. But is this a sign of what’s to come? The Rams can’t be planning on lining up with Barron and Goldberg as their starting OTs, right? Ahhh… but those who are advocating a wide receiver with the No. 2 pick can say the same thing. The Rams can’t line up with just second-year WRs Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton, can they?

--HOPE FOR MARC BULGER? After two horrible seasons, after getting rag-dolled in NFL stadiums all across the land, Bulger’s head seems to have cleared. He’s saying the right things. He seems to have hit it off with the new OC, Pat Shurmur, and that would be a positive development, because Bulger didn’t gave a warm relationship with Mike Martz, Scott Linehan, Al Saunders, etc. The Bulger-Shurmur personalties seem to be a fit. At least early on, anyway. When asked about Shurmur on Saturday, Bulger said: “I think he has a real knowledge of this offense. He was with Philly for nine years in the same system, same quarterback, same head coach, which gave him structure. When he’s in meetings he’s controlled, he’s deliberate and he’s confident. He’s not up there just saying things to say them. He has a complete understanding of the offense. It’s nice if you have a question, you get an answer and it seems like every time it’s right. It’s going to be fun to learn from him.”

As I stated in another thread. I like the signing of Boller alot. As Bernie is saying in this article maybe the guy just needs a change of scenery? Afterall he was a 1st round pick by the Ravens. The other thing is that this signing should put some heat on Marc Bulger. The last 2 seasons Bulger has had wheel chair QB's Gus Frerotte and Trent Green behind him. I'm sure they were hardly a threat to Bulger as far as being the starter for our RAMS was concerned. I'm not saying that Boller was brought in to replace Bulger but maybe he will push Bulger a little. Nothing wrong with some healthy competition. If nothing else at least we have a back-up QB that is coming into a new environment and team that should have him pretty excited.

I would love some good ol' fashioned QB competition!

I really don't think Boller has a chance to start when the season comes around. If Bulger does go down though, he may be able to take the job and not look back, but only time will tell

The signing of Kyle Boller is a good one. It isn't realistic to expect to sign a front line player as a back up; if he were that good, he'd be starting!! Boller is a good get- he has experience, is still young and can win a game for you if Bulger gets hurt. I don't think you could ask for much more.

I love the Boller signing. He fills the role of backup QB adequately, is still fairly young, and has a lot of natural talent. Oh, and the high point of his career wasn't headbutting a wall - and that counts for a lot in my book.