Quote the Ravens Nevermore

November 16, 2008

Quote the Ravens Nevermore

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That is my request to all of the talking heads that cover the NFL. Just shut the hell up about Baltimore and how awesome Joe Flacco has been as a rookie. There's been so much praise thrown his way, it's amazing it hasn't gone to his head yet.

Granted, this was going to be the usual year for Baltimore no matter who their quarterback was. Neither Kyle Boller nor Troy Smith had been exactly stunning coming into this season. Smith was the better of the two, and he's kind of a poor man's Vince Young - which isn't much, given where Vince Young is right now.

I have a hard time agreeing with the praise that gets heaped on a player, especially when that player's primary job description is "don't screw it up."

Yes, when your defense is as good as Baltimore's, all you really need is an offense that is good enough to capitalize on the short fields and turnovers you provide them. It's not unrealistic for a team with such a strong defense to have expectations of finishing 8-8, even if they do have a new head coach, a new starting QB, and no more all-pro linemen.

However, the facts remain the same. Baltimore may indeed be 6-4 and only one game behind Pittsburgh in the division, but it's not really because of anything Flacco has done to get them wins. The combined record of their opponents is 50-47-1, but that includes the 10-0 Titans and 9-1 Giants. Baltimore is only 1-4 against teams with winning records, and their 3-1 home record has come against Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Oakland. Not exactly murderers row.

The offense is 17th in the league in yardage, mostly due to the 4th best running game in the league. All six wins have been against defenses in the bottom half of the league, and the team still has three more games against NFC East teams that are currently ranked in the top 10 defensively.

Baltimore is not a special story, and neither is Flacco. They still have to go through 3/4 of an NFC East division that is better than they are, and when you add in remaining games against Pittsburgh and Jacksonville, the Ravens will have to work to still break .500 - exactly where they expected to finish in the first place before everyone started babbling about Joe Flacco.

Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Joe Flacco, New York Giants, NFC East, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans

Discussion

4 Comments on "Quote the Ravens Nevermore"

Posted by Football Fan, November 17, 2008 11:43 AM

I dont know I think Joe Flacco has been playing pretty well. He seems to get better every single game and eventually he could become a great quarterback. With only six games left in the season the Ravens are home 4 of the 6. The Ravens do not lose at home often so there is a strong chance we could see the Ravens in the playoffs. The defense is helping this team but Joe Flacco has developed into quite a leader and can run this team better then any previuos Baltimore quarterback. It may not be a special story to you but to us here in Baltimore the 2008-2009 Baltimore Ravens season has been exciting and Joe Flacco is the reason. My opinion.....pretty good story to tell. : )

Posted by kevin, November 17, 2008 1:39 PM

the ravens are beneficiaries of the DA gift giving season.

without anderson absolutely handing them 2 games, they are 4-6 and never to be heard of agian this year.

b-more apologists will say the ravens' defense is what won those games, but i actually watched the games and those people would be wrong.

Posted by Mike Z, November 17, 2008 6:22 PM

You know it is funny when people laugh when a player or teams gets praise after a win, but is it also laughable to write of a season after 1 loss.

The fact is that the Ravens ARE 6-4, and ARE in playoff contention by way of TEAM victories. It also amazes me that people will say games were given because a QB did this and did that. Did you ever stop and think that maybe it was the team they were playing that made that player give this and that.

The Giants spanked the Ravens. Just as did the Colts. Just shows that we have some work to do to become an all aroud good football team. Unless I am mistaken this is the same Giants team that was spanked by Cleveland.

The Giants did what they were supposed to do, beat the Ravens at home. They are the defending champs.

Posted by geo, November 18, 2008 6:15 PM

What? You said it, Flacco was not supposed to be the starter! His first two starts was exactly what you mentioned, a rusty rookie whos duty was not to lose, since that he has showed a lot of promises.. Starting with the Steelers game. He was not supposed to get us a winning season, so fare he had obviously did better than most of us have hoped for, despite having the youngest OL in NFL. Ravens offense is in rebulding mode AND ahead of the plan.

And btw compared to Eli, I am fine with Flacco.