By Mike Wilkening
Sept. 5, 2008

Updated at 10:55 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 8

The Ravens love rookie QB Joe Flacco’s poise, something they believe he has in ample reserve for a first-year player. And they love his skill set. But they are wary of the hard lessons he might endure after being thrust into the starting lineup because of a season-ending shoulder injury to Kyle Boller and a tonsil infection that kept Troy Smith off the active roster in Week One. The way we hear it, it will not be a surprise if the Ravens bench Flacco if he struggles once Smith is back in the fold. Flacco did get off to a winning start, though, helping lead the Ravens to a Week One win over the Bengals. He completed 15-of-29 passes for 129 yards and didn’t turn the ball over. He also ran 38 yards for a TD. In short, the Ravens have Flacco’s long-term future in mind as well as the present. In the meantime, Flacco is being asked to run an offensive package that isn’t quite as expansive as the one the Ravens would run with Boller or Smith.