Joe Flacco is not without faults as a Quarterback, but the criticism of his play has become a bit much.
The three primary issues of criticism for his play are his limitations over the middle of the field, his propensity for checking down, and that he does not get rid of the ball quick enough. All of those critiques might be fair, and I myself have regularly spoken about the need for Flacco to improve against the Cover 2 zones over the middle.
None of those issues change the fact that Flacco continues to grow as a QB, and is extremely talented in his own right. I think many Ravens fans are spending too much time on Flacco’s faults, and not enjoying everything he brings to the table.
Some Quick reasons I think Flacco deserves more respect:
1) He started every game of his first two-seasons, and has started every game of his third. This can not be discounted. He takes hits, he gets up and each week he shows up ready to play. This is huge.
2) In his 2008 rookie season, his QB rating was 80.3. In 2009, that increased to 88.9. In 2010 the rating has increased again to 92.1.
3) His passing yards per game has increased from 185.7 to 225.8 to 243.3.
4) In his last 26 regular-season games, he has thrown 37 TD’s vs. 19 picks.
5) It is true that Flacco prefers the sidelines (77 passes wide-right, 77 passes wide-left) vs. the middle of the field, but the numbers might be better than you expect. He is 21 for 29 over the middle, with a QB rating of 110.4.
6) Maybe this should be number 1 on my list, but Flacco has already won 3 road-playoff games as a starting QB. Overall, the Ravens are 27-15 in the regular-season with him as the starter. In those 27 wins, Flacco has thrown 35 TD’s against 7 picks.
7) This year when the Ravens are trailing, Flacco’s QB rating increases to 96.2. That includes 11 TD’s vs 5 picks.
8) Who has a better arm? There will be supporters for Vick, Cutler, and Rodgers but Flacco’s arm-strength to the outside is as good as anyone.
Obviously Flacco is not in the current ultra-elite class that belongs to P. Manning, Brady, Brees, Rivers, Rodgers and maybe Roethlisberger. (If you want to place Vick in that group, I will not argue with you) I think Flacco stacks-up well with that next group of Ryan, E. Manning, Romo, Bradford, Stafford, Sanchez, Cutler, McNabb, and Orton.
My hope for Flacco before he begins his 4th year in the league is that the Ravens allow him to call his own plays. If the organization wants to see him fully develop, and become the leader; give him the keys to the car. As Flacco loves to spread the field, and run the 2 minute offense out of the shotgun – give him a chance to run that offense full-time. The Ravens could bring in Jim Kelly as an adviser for Flacco. (Kelly ran the K-Gun offense with the Buffalo Bills, credited as the only team to run a no-huddle / hurry-up offense consistently during games for several years. Kelly would call and signal the plays himself.)
However, that talk about what we hope Flacco becomes or what issues we want him to improve; should not take precedence over acknowledging everything Flacco does well now.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.