Smith is the reason to watch

There is no truth to the rumor that the Ravens changed travel plans at the last minute and, in the wake of yesterday’s atrocity in Miami, decided to go straight to Seattle to prepare for Sunday’s game, rather than show their faces in Baltimore.

But there might be some truth to the rumor that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who just endorsed coach Brian Billick’s return for 2008, has decided to spend this week golfing at an undisclosed location halfway around the world to maintain his mental health.

In retrospect, the Ravens’ 22-16 overtime loss to the previously winless Dolphins simply had to happen, didn’t it? What more fitting way to top off the franchise’s worst season than to fall to 4-10 by losing your eighth straight game to a rotting fish at a half-empty stadium in rainy South Florida?

But wait. The Ravens have sunk so slow you need to peel back the floorboards to get a look at them. However, they also provided a reason to keep watching them during the final two games.

His name is Troy Smith.

Anyone who says the Ravens’ rookie quarterback doesn’t deserve to play has not been watching. The former Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State, who fell to the fifth round of the draft because his lack of size, stood quite tall in Miami.

He should be named the starter for the rest of season.

Billick already has the perfect out regarding his boy wonder. Kyle Boller suffered a concussion midway through the fourth quarter, as the Ravens were busy gaining a grand total of 16 yards in the second half en route to blowing a 13-3 halftime lead. Billick should relegate Boller to backup duty and use him only if Smith goes down.

What transpired over the final two minutes of regulation, following a field goal that gave Miami a 16-13 lead, should cement the team’s decision to wing it with Smith.

Smith, who came to the Ravens with charisma and presence, showed both when called upon against the Dolphins. He exhibited more pocket awareness and purpose than Boller has displayed throughout most of his five-year career — and Smith might have won this stinker had Billick not lost his nerve as a play caller with the game on the line.

On the game-tying drive in regulation, Smith completed 4-of-7 passes for 44 yards to push the Ravens 59 yards to the 1-yard line.

Smith avoided a sack and smartly threw the ball away. He looked like a leader who had made tons of big plays on national television in front of packed stadiums as a collegiate star. And — unlike his mopup touchdown run against Indianapolis backups a week earlier — Smith did it against desperate Miami starters.

But after Smith got the Ravens in position to force overtime on a short field goal by Matt Stover, Billick coached scared in the extra period. The Ravens won the coin toss and Billick smiply took the ball out of Smith’s hands. It worked for a while, as the Ravens smashed the ball inside the Miami 30. But on second-and-nine and third-and-12, Smith handed off, and the Ravens went nowhere against Miami’s run blitzes.

That left Stover to slice a 44-yard field goal attempt wide left, and Billick’s strangely conservative ways — why hold anything back with a 4-9 record? — had backfired.

Minutes later, the Dolphins (1-13) began a raucous celebration as the Ravens were staggered off the field. But the Ravens clearly found a quarterback of the future, even if it is only for the next two weeks.

Gary Lambrecht writes about the NFL, Major League Baseball and college sports. He can be reached at glambrecht@baltimoreexaminer.com.