Ravens quarterback Ryan Mallett is coming off a solid game in his first start with the team, and he says he owes his success to having support in Baltimore that he hasn’t always had in the past.
Mallett was effusive in his praise of quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Jimmy Clausen, who went above and beyond in helping him get ready to start after less than two weeks with the team. And Mallett says he hasn’t always had that kind of help from his teammates.
“What Matt and Jimmy did for me meant a lot. I’ve been in quarterback rooms where it’s every man for himself. They didn’t have to be as helpful. You hear things are different in Baltimore, and I was seeing it,” Mallett said.
Mallett didn’t say which quarterback rooms he was referring to, but he’s only been on two other teams, the Patriots and Texans. In New England, there was never any question that Tom Brady was the starter and Mallett was a backup, so it’s hard to see why there would have been any lack of support there. So it’s hard not to see Mallett’s comments as a suggestion that in Houston, he didn’t always have the support of his teammates, who included Brian Hoyer this season and Ryan Fitzpatrick last season.
Of course, given that Mallett was cut by the Texans after repeatedly showing up late to work, perhaps his teammates in Houston had good reason not to be particularly supportive of him.