Baltimore Ravens’ incumbent backup QB Tyrod Taylor takes competition with Curtis Painter positive
Baltimore Ravens’ incumbent quarterback No. 2 Tyrod Taylor is taking positive the competition with the new arrival QB, Curtis Painter, for the backup position, expecting it will help him step up his game.
Tyrod is considered the firsthand backup for Joe Flacco, the starter for the team, but since joining of Curtis off the Indianapolis Colts waivers, where he started eight games in the 2011 National Football League (NFL) season, he has been
pushed to compete and retain the position.
The incumbent, a second-year QB, has not taken the competition talk negatively. Instead, he says he will try to take positive out of the fight for the second top role and help himself improve his game.
He said:
"There's always going to be competition, and I think that's how you step up your play. Both of us are competing, and by working together, we're getting better."
Both players, coming out on the field in second year of their pro career, are also good friends and spend time together in off-field activities as well.
Although both will be competing with each other professionally, they are taking the matter very lightly and in friendly manners.
Painter said of the situation:
"It's a lot of him coming off the field and asking me if I saw something that he may have missed. And it's vice versa. I've come back and asked him. So I think it's more of that. It's kind of like having another set of eyes out there,
which helps me out and hopefully, it helps him out. Hopefully, it makes us both better."
Apparently, both players have equally impressive set of skills.
Former Colts’ QB Painter, however, has more experience than Tyrod. In absence of the star QB, Peyton Manning, he started eight games for Colts last season. Irrespective of how successful he was on the starting line, he does have more exposure.
Away from the competition, both players know they are going to be crucial part of Ravens' offence behind Flacco.
The team is lucky in a sense that Flacco has performed consistently well for them as a starter. The five-year veteran has started all 64 games for them. He remains unchallenged as the leader.
One important development in the quarterback situation this season is that the management has brought in a fulltime QBs coach, Jim Caldwell. He is credited for grooming Peyton Manning and a couple of other QBs of high calibre. Baltimore
offence is likely to benefit from his experience.
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