Scouting Report on Troy
Smith and Adrian Clarke
Preseason Game New England @ Baltimore
By Bill Smith
Troy Smith QB BAL
The
official stats of the game show that Smith was 5 completions in 12 attempts for
74 yards with no TD's or interceptions.
That does not begin to tell the whole story. First, the Ravens started their 5th string LT. Perennial All Pro Ogden is retired. The first two alternates are both
injured. The surviving starter went to
the sideline with the first string.
Basically, Troy
had a guy that will be bagging groceries by this time next month protecting his
blind side. To make things even worse,
the Ravens did not play their top LG or RT.
So the second team that came in with Smith was composed of 2 guys of the
3rd string and the 5th string LT. Not a good situation.
Troy used his athleticism
not necessarily to generate offense so much as a survival technique. He was under pressure from both sides as the
tackles were playing turn-styles allowing everyone through. The Ravens were using the infamous look-out
block where the tackle turns to the QB and yells “look out!” Troy
did hit a couple of nice passes rolling out and throwing on the run. He also had a 2 passes dropped by rookie
receivers.
He showed
his escapability often out of necessity.
Unless the offensive line gets a lot better or healthier, Troy will be the starting
QB because both the other candidates are statues waiting to be sacked. Smith missed on a couple of short passes
because he put too much heat on the throws.
He also was nearly intercepted when he read blitz and stared down the
receiver. He also misjudged a screen
pass that was knocked down and nearly intercepted.
Troy played about a
quarter and scored 13 points in my scouting system. That translates to a 52 point game
equivalent. Smith's grade is B+.
Adrian Clarke G BAL
Clarke
played RG for most of the second half.
Against the 3-4 defense, he was usually helping to double team the nose
guard along with the center. He does
pull of the double team and help out when the C handles the NG. He has always been a good run blocker and
displayed that ability in the game. He
is quick enough to get outside but is not always as accurate at hitting the
first guy that shows as he should be. He
held on one running play but didn't get called for it. While that doesn't cost his team yards, it
does hurt his scouting score.
He also
contributed to a sack and fumble lost by rookie QB Flacco. His opponent got the first step on him and
was one of two that pressured Flacco into a fumble. He ended up with 3 scouting points in a half
or 6 for a full game.
Clarke's
grade is C.
Bill Smith is a
former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com. He has
also published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and
edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com