With the holidays looming and all the last-minute planning my wife and I are doing with family, friends and each other, I’ve been negligent in putting together a game preview. Thus, we’ll skip the preview and go right to the gameday post.

Bringing everyone up to speed, Kyle Boller will sit, and Troy Smith will start. But you knew that — you read the blog.

The players seem to be on board with Smith and that was never more apparent than when he came in for the injured Boller in last week’s breakdown against the Dolphins.

“Troy is a winner,” Willis McGahee said. “He has won a championship and he’s been in big-time games. This is his first big-time game in the NFL, and I have every bit of confidence in him.”

“Troy is a football player, and that’s what I love about him,” Derrick Mason said. “He goes out there, makes plays and produces regardless of how big you are and what type of quarterback they say you are or are not.”

Unfortunately, Smith is thrown to the wolves this week as he takes on the sack-hungry Seahawks, who are second in the NFL with 41 sacks. If McNair and Boller can be tossed around like rag dolls in the pocket, Smith will really need to utilize his scrambling ability to avoid pressure and keep emergency back-up Cullen Finnerty on the bench. We don’t need a quarterback controversy, people.

Only a few more hours until kickoff. Keep checking back for the latest up-to-date information before, during and after the game!

Welcome to the NFL, Troy Smith!

Injury Update

It’s so bad, the Ravens should consider starting Poe. I hear he has legit shutdown ability…

All kidding aside, the injuries are really piling up. Here’s the latest word from NFL.com:

And here are the inactives: QB Kyle Boller (3rd QB), RB Cory Ross, LB Ray Lewis, T Jared Gaither, DT Amon Gordon, TE Daniel Wilcox, TE Todd Heap, WR Demetrius Williams.

Is it just me, or does Mike Holmgren look like a walrus?  You be the judge: