In what can only be described as a collective sigh of relief in Ravens-land, it was announced today that Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith will make his first NFL start for the struggling Baltimore Ravens against the NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks.

“He’s as ready as you’re going to be as a rookie,” coach Brian Billick said after today’s practice. “One thing I don’t worry about is that he has a strong personality. You worry what happens if things get ugly with him and pressures … but he will fight through whatever happens. He’s a very strong-willed young man.”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Billick is trotting out a pre-game excuse just in case Smith doesn’t play the way everyone who backs the purple and black hopes. But anyway, I digress.

This game is very important from a personnel perspective: if Troy Smith responds and can lead this offense, then we may be able to shift our focus from drafting a ‘franchise’ QB to drafting a solid CB.

At any rate, I wish the very best for Troy and the Ravens against the Seahawks. Smith will be going up against a Seahawks defense which is ranked 20th against the pass. We’ll be taking to the air a lot: I have a good feeling that Matt Hasselbeck will be shredding our secondary. More on that in the game preview tomorrow.

This game just got very interesting!