I have to admit that when the news broke last week that Jim Zorn was not going to be retained as QB Coach for the Baltimore Ravens, I looked at it as pretty much a non-story.
It certainly became a more interesting story yesterday when Flacco voiced his displeasure:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6072322
Obviously the interesting part is that Flacco has internalized the firing of Zorn, as a critique of himself. Nothing could be more distracting to the organization than the Franchise QB questioning how much confidence the Front Office has in him.
I have previously written about why I believe Flacco deserves more respect:
https://baltimoresportsandlife.com/?p=1484
I ended that post by stating, “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.”
Based on Flacco’s comments yesterday, and the retention of Cameron; I am convinced even further that I have this right. Flacco will be going into this 4th year in the league, and 4th year running Cameron’s offense. There should be no reason why Flacco can not call his own plays. When Flacco calls his own plays, you can fully judge him off the results.
What was Parcells’ quote when he was with the Patriots? Something to the effect of, “If you want me to cook the dinner, you should let me shop for some of the groceries.”
It is the same thing with Flacco. You want him to progress from the upper 1/3 of the league, to the elite of the elite? You want him to take further steps towards being the leader of the locker-room? Than you should give him the responsibility of running his own offense.
With 2 years and $5.9M left on his initial rookie deal, I also continue to believe this is the right time to be working on an extension. Obviously with the understanding the CBA probably has to be addressed first.
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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.