ON SUNDAY, two local boys made good, Penn Charter's Matt Ryan and Audubon High and the University of Delaware's Joe Flacco, will become just the 14th and 15th rookie quarterbacks to start an NFL season-opener since 1980.

That was the plan all along down in Atlanta with Ryan, where the Falcons are trying desperately to get the stink of Michael Vick off of the organization.

Not so in Baltimore, though, with the Ravens and Flacco.

When they traded up and took him with the 18th pick in the first round of the draft in April, general manager Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh both viewed the cannon-armed, 6-7, 236-pound Flacco as a project who probably would need at least a year of watch-and-learn schooling before he would be ready to start.

"The jury's out on that," Harbaugh said at the start of training camp when asked whether Flacco could realistically step in and start as a rookie. "That's the $30 million question."

A season-ending shoulder injury to Kyle Boller and Troy Smith's lingering tonsil infection have eliminated the need for a jury verdict. Ready or not, Flacco is the last quarterback standing in the Ravens locker room and will be the guy under center Sunday when his team hosts the Cincinnati Bengals.

"Everybody gets an opportunity and you take it and you run with it," Harbaugh said earlier this week after naming Flacco as his season-opening starter. "Joe's our guy and we think he can win for us.

"You can definitely envision a scenario where it could be Joe's job throughout the year. You also can envision a scenario where it's Troy's job, or even another quarterback. I mean, there are a lot of things that can happen in football. So we're really not predicting anything. No reason to go there. We know Sunday, it's going to be Joe, and let's go try and win a football game."

You easily can make the case that Ryan is more prepared to step in and start right now than Flacco. He played at Boston College in a BCS league. Delaware is a Football Bowl Subdivision school, though some might argue there's not a big difference these days between the FBS and the ACC.

Flacco definitely thinks he's ready. Thought so in late July when I spoke with him at training camp. Thinks so now.

"I want to get out there [and start]," he said. "You want to learn by playing. My expectations are as high as they can be for myself.

"[Becoming the starter] happened faster than I expected. But this is what I wanted all along. I'm getting my opportunity. Now, it's up to me to go out there and play."

 

Around the league

* Another NFL rookie with local roots - Houston Texans running back Steve Slaton - also is expected to see significant action Sunday. The Texans' starting running back, Ahman Green, missed the entire preseason with a summerlong groin injury. Green, who also missed 10 games last year with a knee injury, will start against Pittsburgh, but Slaton, a star at Conwell-Egan, probably will get a good amount of touches. The 5-9, 195-pound Slaton, who was taken in the third round of the draft, figured to be mainly a third-down back for the Texans this season. But Green's injury, along with a season-ending injury to their other running back, Chris Brown, has opened the door for Slaton. "He has a chance to be a heck of a player," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "How quick he gets to that point may have a lot to do with how far we go. We're definitely going to count on him. We need him. He's a work in progress, but his work has been good."

* Another NFL rookie with local roots - Houston Texans running back - also is expected to see significant action Sunday. The Texans' starting running back, , missed the entire preseason with a summerlong groin injury. Green, who also missed 10 games last year with a knee injury, will start against Pittsburgh, but Slaton, a star at Conwell-Egan, probably will get a good amount of touches. The 5-9, 195-pound Slaton, who was taken in the third round of the draft, figured to be mainly a third-down back for the Texans this season. But Green's injury, along with a season-ending injury to their other running back, , has opened the door for Slaton. "He has a chance to be a heck of a player," Texans coach said. "How quick he gets to that point may have a lot to do with how far we go. We're definitely going to count on him. We need him. He's a work in progress, but his work has been good."

* Jameel McClain, a linebacker out of George Washington High School and Syracuse, is on the Ravens' season-opening roster. The 6-1, 252-pound undrafted rookie is the backup at left outside linebacker behind starter Jarret Johnson.

* Steve Spagnuolo's decision last February to withdraw his name from consideration for the Washington Redskins' head-coaching job and stay on as the Giants' defensive coordinator was welcome news for the Giants' defensive players. "I told him I'd give some of my money back if he'd come back," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "I was dead serious. He's very important to this defense. He was a breath of fresh air in the way he went about his business as coordinator. He gave us a lot of freedom. There were times when he'd call a play and A.P. [middle linebacker Antonio Pierce] would look at us and we'd look at him and say, 'We can't run that play in that situation. It won't work.' Spags would just say, 'OK, call what you want to call.' That doesn't happen very often in this league. But when a coach has that much confidence in you, it makes you want to go out there and bust your ass."

* The Colts will have Peyton Manning back for their season-opener against the Bears. But they have some major concerns with their offensive line. They're missing Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday (knee) and starting left guard Ryan Lilja (on PUP with a knee injury). They're also without their top draft pick, guard Mike Pollak (knee). They're hoping to get Pollak back by Week 2. Saturday has a torn MCL, but apparently is going to follow Shawne Merriman's lead and try to rehab it without surgery. Still, he's looking at being gone for at least 5 or 6 weeks.

 

Two-minute drill

FROM THE LIP:

FROM THE LIP:

* "The dude is cool. He doesn't show too much emotion. Poise plays a big factor in how a quarterback is going to do in this league. If you don't have poise, you're not going to last." - Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason on rookie quarterback Joe Flacco