Round one of the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback battle ends with no winner

In a 16-15 preseason victory at New England, starter and six-year veteran Kyle Boller did enough tantalizing and infuriating things to remind us that he is, well, still Boller.

Second-year man Troy Smith stretched the defense enough with his mobility and some excellent throws to tease us with his proverbial upside. And the most encouraging thing about first-round draft pick Joe Flacco was he managed to survive a predictably ineffective introduction to the NFL without getting hurt.

Boller was up to his usual, head-scratching ways. Admit it. After he made his entrance by completing four of five passes and looking relaxed during an opening drive that led to a field goal, you were waiting for the other shoe to drop. You were waiting for Boller to — as the athletes like to say — play within himself.

He offered no surprises. Overall, it wasn’t a bad night’s work for Boller, just a typically uneven one with standout bruises. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 102 yards, mostly on short throws. He also looked like a rookie on two plays by making the kinds of mistakes that change momentum in a regular-season game.

Failing to protect the football in traffic is what you’d expect from Flacco, who quickly committed that judgment error upon his entry in the fourth quarter. That lack of awareness is simply unacceptable for a six-year veteran, yet Boller delivered it once again, as if on cue.

And that was merely a setup for his interception, which began with him staring at his receiver and ended with him throwing into triple coverage. Some quarterbacks just are not gifted with the vision thing.

Smith is not the second coming of John Elway, and he should have had one pass picked off by the Patriots. But he flashed d the most flair of any Ravens quarterback with his arm and legs.

Smith made the strongest throws of the night. His 30-yard strike down the middle to Darnerien McCants, which set up a 44-yard field goal by Matt Stover late in the first half, was the offensive play of the game.

Later, his difficult throw into tight sideline coverage on a deep out should have been caught by McCants. Smith also moved the pocket well, sometimes on his own, sometimes by design. He averaged 15 yards per completion on 5-of-12 passing.

First-year coach John Harbaugh will start Smith on Saturday in round two against visiting Minnesota. On the surface, that doesn’t mean much in the quarterback derby. But I’ve liked Smith in this contest ever since Harbaugh was hired, and Smith will put his foot forward against the first-string defense of the Vikings.

Flacco is a competitor in this quarterback battle in token form only, as he tries to adjust to NFL defenses after picking apart the likes of Towson, Maine, Richmond and Navy as a stud at the University of Delaware. The future is not now for No. 5, but maybe in November.

The most intriguing revelation at Gillette Stadium was the offense of first-year coordinator Cam Cameron. His approach looked like an elaborate sundae compared to the banality that defined the offense under ex-guru Brian Billick.

The Ravens ran a screen pass early — a screen pass! They ran a swing pass to fullback Le’Ron McClain, then gave him the ball on consecutive plays inside New England’s 3-yard line, as the second-year player scored the team’s only touchdown on a short plunge. The fullback sometimes went a month between carries under Billick.

Cameron also shifted his approach when the Ravens changed quarterbacks. For example, he called a designed rollout, running play for Smith, for a decent gain. Wow. A moving pocket!

The Ravens clearly have upgraded in the offensive brains department. Now, they need someone to separate from the pack in this quarterback competition.

My money still is on Smith.

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