Boller might be Ravens' backup

[Guest Moose Knuckle Ball Four]

Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick admitted he is thinking about getting his backup quarterback ready to replace Anthony Wright.

 

But it is not Kordell Stewart.

 

Billick said yesterday he is hoping injured quarterback Kyle Boller (toe/doubtful), who hasn't played since he was injured in Week 1 against Indianapolis, is well enough to serve as the No. 2 quarterback when the Ravens play the Steelers Monday night at Heinz Field. He will at least be the No. 3 quarterback against the Steelers.

 

"We'll see how he progresses during the week in practice," Billick said yesterday in a conference call. "There is a possibility he could be available to us to start next week, so, if we can accelerate that this week, that's fine."

 

The Ravens' offense has been abysmal, right down to running back Jamal Lewis. They have scored a league-low 69 points and are coming off a loss to Chicago in which they managed just two field goals.

 

Wright, who played one season with the Steelers in 1999, has completed 120 of 192 passes (62.5 percent) for 1,177 yards and seven touchdowns with a passer rating of 73.2 since replacing Boller. But he completed just two passes (32, 48) longer than 30 yards this season.

 

Conversely, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has eight passes of 33 yards or more this season, among the tops in the league.

 

"We are anxious to get Kyle Boller back," Billick said.

 

"Teams are playing a lot more cover-2 against us, which is preventing us from taking chances down the field," Wright said. "It's been tough getting those kind of plays. As long as we can get things going and get our running game on track, I think we'll be all right."

 

Wright signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 1999 and played one season here. He played with one other team -- Dallas, where he started five of the eight games he played -- before signing with the Ravens as a free agent in 2002.

 

He is one of three former Steelers quarterbacks with the Ravens, joining Stewart and Brian St. Pierre, who is on the practice squad.

 

"It's going to be an exciting experience for me, being that Pittsburgh gave me my first chance in the NFL," Wright said.

 

"I am much better, obviously [than when I was with the Steelers]. I've played in games and have some experience. I think I've learned a lot about playing this position in this league."

 

 

Injuries

 

 

Center Jeff Hartings (knee/probable), running back Jerome Bettis (knee/probable) and safety Mike Logan (hamstring/out) did not practice for the second day in a row.

 

Wide receiver Hines Ward (hamstring/probable), wide receiver Antwaan Randle El (foot/probable), cornerback Deshea Townsend (hamstring/probable) and defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen (shoulder/questionable) returned to practice.

 

 

Running on Hope

 

 

The old running back in Chris Hope seems to come out every time he touches the ball.

 

Hope, the team's starting free safety, has three interceptions and one pass reception on a fake punt in his four-year career. He has turned nearly every one into a big play.

 

The most recent was his interception and 55-yard return early in the third quarter of a 27-13 victory in Cincinnati Sunday, a play that helped turn around the game.

 

Hope had one interception last season, but he returned it 41 yards in a 17-6 victory against the New York Jets. In the 2003 season finale against Baltimore, Hope caught a pass from punter Josh Miller on fourth down and turned it into an 81-yard touchdown -- the 12th-longest pass reception in franchise history.

 

That comes to an average of 44.5 yards every time Hope touches the ball.

 

"I'm an old running back," said Hope, who was a first-team Parade All-American running back at Rock Hill (S.C.) High School.

 

"They say defensive backs are not skilled players, that we don't have hands. We don't get to touch [the ball] so often, so you got to do something with it [when you do]."

 

 

Parker answers questions

 

 

Coach Bill Cowher admitted the other day there were questions before the season about the stamina of running back Willie Parker because Parker had started only three games in college.

 

Those questions became heightened when Parker, after rushing for 161 and 111 yards in his first two starts, rushed for just 136 yards in his next three games.

 

Parker, though, might have put some of those doubts to rest when he had 131 yards on 18 carries against the Bengals.

 

"I never really sat down and thought about it." Parker said.

 

"Without me playing [in college], I guess there were a lot of questions. If I'm somebody outside, I'd have questions about this guy, too.

 

"But things just weren't clicking, whether it was me not reading my holes, the linemen, it just wasn't clicking. But we got everything together last game and hopefully it will continue."

[RLLD 4,230]

"We are anxious to get Kyle Boller back," Billick said.

 

 

 

[BradtheBold 0]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05301/596626.stm

 

Friday, October 28, 2005

 

By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[Rusty Shackelford 0]

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