Player Profile: Raiders QB Kyle Boller

by John Gennaro on Oct 17, 2011 1:43 PM PDT in AFC West Updates

GO LONG! (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

It doesn't matter how bad of a Quarterback Kyle Boller is. What matters, for the 4-2 Oakland Raiders, is how much worse Kyle Boller is than Jason Campbell. If Jason Campbell could play well enough at QB (and he wasn't lighting the world on fire with his 3:2 TD-to-interception ratio), surely Kyle Boller could do the same....right? Well, no.

Jason Campbell will never win an MVP Award and will never be a very good QB. He's not accurate enough, he doesn't run well enough to make up for his lack of accuracy, and he throws too many interceptions to go along with too few TDs. Yet, with all of those flaws, he is 11-7 as the Oakland starter and has finished with a QB rating between 84-87 each of the last 3 seasons (in 5.5 games this season, his QB rating is 84.2).

The QB Rating stat isn't a perfect stat. In fact, it does very little to show just how valuable a QB is to his team. What it is a pretty good indicator of is whether or not the QB can play without making mistakes. Philip Rivers didn't make many mistakes before this season, so his QB rating for each of the last 3 years fell between 101-106. This season he's making too many mistakes and he's down to a QB rating of 87.6.

Let's see how Kyle Boller stacks up.

In seasons where he has started at least 4 games, Boller's QB Rating has fallen between 61-76. If you throw out his rookie season and the year he started a few games for the Rams (who were/are really bad), that range shrinks to 70-76.

Kyle's best season came the last time he started for the Ravens, a team that the Raiders try and mimic with their tough defense and strong running game. He started 8 games that year, winning just 2 of them, throwing 9 TDs, 10 interceptions and getting sacked 24 times (sacked on 8% of his pass attempts).

Boller has a strong arm, which was proven when he threw a pass through a goal post at the University of Cal-Berkeley from his knees on the 50-yard line, but his biggest issues as a pro have dealt with not throwing enough TDs. In his only full season as a starter, he threw 11 interceptions (less than what Jason Campbell threw in 2010) but threw for just 13 TDs (compared to 20 for Campbell last year). He is an offense-killer in terms of getting points on the board.

The Raiders passing attack was already a weakness, they're tied for 20th in terms of passing TDs this season, and downgrading from Campbell to Boller could be the straw that breaks and sends the Raiders back out of contention for the AFC West.

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Comments

Is this such a slow week

that we are posting raider news?

I hate scooter pie

by Lmbs2slaghtr on Oct 17, 2011 1:54 PM PDT reply actions

I'd say that at this point, it's important to monitor them

"The biggest thing..." - Norv Turner

by Cake or Death on Oct 17, 2011 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions

No

Kyle Boller playing QB for the Raiders is huge Chargers news.

Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.

by John Gennaro on Oct 17, 2011 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions

Fujita

just put the Chargers in the playoffs.

by Stephen (shaynes41) on Oct 17, 2011 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions

It's not like the raiders lost DMC

They can still play. And better of not have jinxed us by saying that

I hate scooter pie

by Lmbs2slaghtr on Oct 17, 2011 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions

ya but they are now one dimensional...

Not that they had the best passing game before…but Jason Cambell was throwing the ball well when he had to.

by borno on Oct 17, 2011 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions

I think Campbell

was an above average QB. Not one who is going to win you games, but he has consistently completed ~60% of his passes and thrown for more TDs than interceptions. And all this for some very unimpressive teams.

Boller is below average. This is a big downgrade at a critical position. Some of it is mitigated because the raiders are a running team, but going from an above average QB to a below average QB will cause some big problems with their offense.

by Stephen (shaynes41) on Oct 17, 2011 2:53 PM PDT up reply actions

come back wed morning!

by Orz on Oct 18, 2011 8:19 AM PDT up reply actions

Kyle Boller is definitely not a good QB

but neither is Campbell, like you mentioned. and the Raiders are sitting in 2nd. Their strength is running the ball, and occasionally taking risks, like going for it on 4th, or fake punts and kicks, and deep throws to their speed receivers. As long as Boller overthrows those deep ones and the run game is stuffed, I won’t worry about them

Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
Bolts from the Blue

by Superduperboltman on Oct 17, 2011 2:03 PM PDT reply actions

It's important to consider

the possibility that the Raiders are playing well because of their new coach, and not just because of DMC. Hue Jackson is doing the Rex Ryan impression pretty well, and that can work for a year or two to build up confidence for a team. I’m witholding judgment on their QB situation until I see how the team responds.

"The biggest thing..." - Norv Turner

by Cake or Death on Oct 17, 2011 2:08 PM PDT up reply actions

I went to Cal during the Kyle Boller era

He is the worst QB on the planet. I laughed sooooooo hard when Baltimore wasted a first round pick on him. All I kept thinking was, didn’t anyone in Baltimore go to at least one of his games?!?!?
Yeah, he can throw 80 yards in the air. But he’s a total bonehead. He’s a pick machine. I can’t believe some of the throws this guy tried to force in college. He has no place in the NFL. Aside from one decent year, his college career was a total disaster. Kyle Boller as the Raiders starting QB… awesome. The guy has a long history of destroying East Bay teams.

by SDreal on Oct 17, 2011 4:25 PM PDT up reply actions