Flacco Unleashes His Arm for Ravens

Rookie Is Focusing On the Playbook, Not QB Competition

OWINGS MILLS, Md., May 9 -- Joe Flacco threw dozens of passes during his first practice as a Baltimore Raven on Friday afternoon, but there was one in particular that veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason remembered afterward. It came during team drills, it went deep to Mark Clayton and, as Mason described it, "I think it was 50 yards, down the field, in the air, and he put it on target."

That arm strength is one of the reasons Baltimore was eager to take Flacco with the 18th pick of the draft. But over the next couple of months, Flacco hopes to show the Ravens other qualities and put himself in position to be the team's starting quarterback. He made a good impression on the first day of mandatory minicamp.

"He's doing good out there," said Mason, who has played with four starting quarterbacks in his three seasons in Baltimore. "I'm pretty sure he told you there are some things he needs to get used to -- the speed of the game -- but from first glance, the guy is what they thought he was going to be. Big guy, can throw the ball and put it on target."

Indeed, few people questioned Flacco's size (6 feet 6), arm strength, or accuracy (63.5 completion percentage) while he was leading Delaware to the division I-AA championship game. The main concern was showing he could perform in the NFL after playing in what Flacco himself called "the minor leagues of college football"

On his first day, he showed poise both on the practice field and in the locker room, when he was surrounded by television cameras and microphones. Coach John Harbaugh said Flacco didn't seem overwhelmed or nervous. "He never changes his expression, I don't think. He seemed calm," the coach said.

But there are plenty of things to which Flacco needs to get accustomed.

For instance, "it's definitely different to see Ray Lewis come into the locker room and be on your team," Flacco said. "I'll get used to that, but I don't know if I am right now."

He needs to get up to speed on the offense. Flacco spent the past two weeks studying the playbook at home, but admitted "there's only a certain amount you can actually take from looking at it by yourself." Several nights, he spoke on the phone with quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson, going over different things so he would be prepared for his first day.

"We don't believe in spoon-feeding," Harbaugh said. "We throw it all at him, and he handled it well."

He also needs to get used to the attention that goes along with being in a quarterback competition. Kyle Boller, a first-round pick in 2003, and Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, have dealt with the pressure.

Boller and Smith "take it as a challenge, just like I think anybody would at any position," Harbaugh said last week. "The quarterback of the future is going to be whoever gives us the best chance to win games in the future, at that time. To say anything else or assume anything else would be a mistake, except for the fact that when you have a first-round pick coming in here, that's the expectation for him. We drafted him because we believe he can be that guy."

So far, all three quarterbacks have said all the right things -- with the possible exception of Smith referring to the rookie as "John Flacco" during a group interview last week. Both Boller and Smith have vowed to help Flacco with the adjustment to the NFL, and all three quarterbacks have said they don't view this competition as Flacco vs. Boller vs. Smith. Each is focused on his own progress and performance, particularly because they're all learning a new offense.

"I'm not worried about anybody else," Flacco said. "I don't think, through a competition even, you're not worried about what the other guys are doing. You're worried about going out there and playing your best football. You let things take care of themselves."

Ravens Notes: Tight end Quinn Sypniewski, who was fourth on the team with 34 receptions last season, will be sidelined for the next six to nine months after seriously injuring his knee during last month's voluntary minicamp. He recently underwent surgery to repair a ligament that tore off of the bone. . . .

Tackle Jonathan Ogden and linebacker Terrell Suggs were the only other veterans who were not present for the mandatory camp. Ogden is expected to retire, and Suggs has yet to sign his one-year contract offer as the team's franchise player. . . .

Lewis sidestepped questions about his contract situation -- he's entering the final year of his current deal -- and his future with the Ravens.

"I'm going to keep talking about football," he said. "That's irrelevant for what we're trying to do right now. . . . Everybody knows there has never been a camp where I've held out; there's never been a contract problem with me. There has never been that, and it will never be that with me -- bottom line."