Coming from Baltimore, Ravens fans are "Wacko 4 Flacco."
They have reason to be. The rookie from the University of Delaware has led the Baltimore Ravens to a 5-3 record. Last year, the team had five wins the entire season. In his last three games, he had 620 yards and four touchdowns, producing a 147.2 QB rating and more importantly, three Ravens wins.
Flacco is a huge underdog for the award, but I think he definitely deserves it.
While some may argue that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan deserves it, I respectfully disagree. Although I agree that Ryan deserves lots of credit for picking up a Falcons team, he has played less effectively on third down, in the fourth quarter and away from home. Overall, Flacco has been much more consistent.
Let me break it down: On third down, Flacco has an 85.1 quarterback rating and a 61.4 completion percentage. On fourth down, Flacco is 2-for-3 with 18 yards. On the road, Flacco is 78-for-121 with 913 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
But if you take away his game against the Indianapolis Colts, in which he threw three interceptions, you have four TDs and no interceptions.
In the fourth quarter, Flacco is a phenomenal 33-for-47 with 446 yards and one touchdown. Last week, he led his team to a 37-27 win when they were down 27-13 with 6:06 left in the third quarter. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he led his team on a touchdown drive, when they were down 20-13 with five minutes remaining in the game.
On the other hand, Ryan hasn't been nearly as good. On third down, Ryan is is a lowly 28-for-53 with 295 yards and no touchdown tosses. On the road, Ryan has a lowly 54.2 completion percentage and five interceptions. In the fourth quarter, Ryan isn't bad, but not as good as Flacco. Matt is 36-for-61 with 380 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
As I said, Flacco is much more steady. Flacco has had one real BAD game. It was against Indianapolis, where he was 28-for-38 with 241 yards and three interceptions. Besides that game, Flacco has been incredibly steady for what people called a "huge reach" on Draft Day.
In the other six contests, he has thrown just two interceptions in a game only twice. And in his last four contests, he has yet to throw a pick.
On the other hand, Ryan has gotten more consistent, but hasn't shown week-to-week progress much this year.
In week one, he was 9-of-13 for 161 yards and one touchdown. The following week, he went 13-for-33 for 161 yards and two picks. The next week, he did well again, going 12-for-18 for 192 yards and a touchdown. The following game, he sucked, throwing just 158 yards on 21-of-41 passing. He did well in his next game, with 194 yards and two touchdowns.
He finally had back-to-back good games, with 301 yards and one touchdown. Following the bye week, he struggled. He was inaccurate, as he threw 23-of-44 with two interceptions. But fittingly, last week, he went 17-for-22 with 220 yards and two touchdowns. Based on his consistency to be inconsistent, he'll struggle today.
People might also claim Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Felix Jones or DeSean Jackson are deserving of the award. As I write this, Flacco threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Yamon Figurs to take a 7-0 lead over the Houston Texans. I think he deserves it more then Johnson, Forte, Jones, and Jackson because you have to take into account what the rookies' respective teams did last year.
Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans), Matt Forte (Chicago Bears), Felix Jones (Dallas Cowboys), and DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles) are all on teams who were expected to do well this year.
Flacco and the Ravens were expected to win four to six games and finish last in the AFC North. Right now, they are one game behind the 6-2 Steelers.
Also, you have to factor in expectations: all of the players mentioned above were expected to do well - Flacco was expected to be a bench warmer all season.
But, he hasn't been. When you look at the stats, you think Matt Ryan deserves the Rookie of the Year. But, after you read this, I hope you think differently.
56 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Tommy 7 months ago
Flacco's been amazing so far, with every opportunity he's got. I have him on my fantasy team, and he just gets points left and right. He really picked up the Ravens offense.
Good points there, and it earned my pick of the day.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
Thanks Tommy. Yeah Flacco looks like he's carrying the Ravens to a 6-3 record. It's 26-13 over Houston with 8:41 to go. Flacco: 15-23, 185 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT.
Edit Comment Cancel
William Johnson 7 months ago
University of Delaware football is not D-II. It is Division I (formerly I-AA), or as they are trying to call it these days - FCS, Football Championship Subdivision.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
OK thanks William.
Edit Comment Cancel
William Johnson 7 months ago
University of Delaware football is not D-II. It is Division I (formerly known as I-AA), or as they are trying to call it these days - FCS, Football Championship Subdivision.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
You must be a huge fan of Flacco. I am from the Baltimore area and get to watch his games. While he has won games and has generated alot of excitement with his fourth quarter heroics he is not in the same ballpark as Matt Ryan.
Matt Ryan doesn't wait till the fourth quarter to go for the kill. He gets his team up early in the game and then runs clock with the running game. He also doesn't lock into his recievers like Flacco does. Flacco is just now hitting his tight end and it's week 10. Flacco is playing with a great D at it's back with a great running game. Sorry try again.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
You say he's just now hitting his TE, yeah because Heap has been blocking the whole year. It wouldnt matter whos QB, heap wouldnt be getting the ball.
And don't take it the wrong way, if Ryan wins, then I'd understand. But I think Flacco deserves it more, IMO. He is from Delaware, so it's a much bigger turnaround, which could play into the verdict.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Again I have been watching the Ravens games. And Heap doesn't block on every play. In fact Flacco has missed Heap on many occasions and Heap has shown some frustration on the field. Flacco is getting better, but don't get it twisted, the Ravens identity is defense and the offense feeds off the defense.
While the offense is the identity of the Falcons and there young defense feeds of the O. My question for you would be if you had to choose between Flacco and Ryan as your franchise QB, who would you choose?
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
BS.
Even HARBAUGH responded to the media that Heap has to work himself back into games, because on the rare occasions that he wasn't blocking, he wasn't getting open. Not to mention his hands haven't been so hot.
Ryan's doing great, and since he's the media darling he'll probably win the ROY. But Flacco's the better player.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Andrew let me know when Flacco carves up a top 10 defense and not the Houstons and Clevelands of the world.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
Flacco is a rookie with one decent receiver and a suddenly invisible (til yesterday) tight end...he shouldn't be carving ANY defenses up, especially not in the Ravens offense. No doubt that halfway through the season, Ryan's numbers are a little better. Watching these two kids play is amazing, because five years from now I think this is going to be the Tom Brady/Peyton Manning debate all over again. I simply think Flacco does more with less, and is much more consistent than Ryan.
If the season ended today, I would give Ryan the ROY because he is more important to Atlanta than Flacco is to Baltimore (Ryan doesn't have an all world defense behind him like Flacco does, both teams are great running the ball, so losing Ryan would hurt Atlanta more than losing Flacco would hurt Baltimore). But if the discussion is who is the better quarterback, or who will eventually prove to be the better quarterback, there is no question in my mind that Flacco will edge out Ryan. I can see it playing out like this...
Ryan will be the Manning of the two: slightly better stats every year.
Flacco will be the Brady of the two: more W's and rings.
If the Ravens can get Flacco a playmaker like Roddy White, I don't think we'd even be having this discussion.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
Yeah I agree with Andrew. Also did u see him carve the steelers
192 yards
1 TD
led Ravens to tie game with four minutes left.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
Well, I'm not sure that 192 YDs and a TD qualifies as carving them up, but I think I know the point you're trying to make (or at least my point I'm thinking)...and that is that Joe's performances goes beyond the numbers. For example, he was AFC Offensive POW last week based on 248 yds and 2 TDs. A good game for sure, but not extraordinary. Why then would he win it? Because of how he manages the game, and comes through time after time in clutch situations each week. The play that stands out to me more than any other this season was the 3rd-and-20 conversion that we successfully made. Someone, tell me, when was the last time Baltimore converted a third down longer than 7 or 8 yards?
I'm actually starting to rethink my previous assertion that Ryan is more crucial to his team, because Flacco (and the coaches) have completely turned this once weak offense around...
Edit Comment Cancel
Brad James 7 months ago
While I wouldn't disagree with Flacco's excellence, there's no mention of Eddie Royal in this article? He is the epitome of what this award is all about as without Brandon Marshall in the season opener at Oakland, everyone thought the Broncos' receiving corps would be terrible. That is until Eddie Royal stepped on the field. He's as responsible as anyone else for the Broncos' offensive success.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
I was thinking about mentiong ER, but I just think he hasn't really picked a team up from rock bottom like Flacco and Ryan have.
Edit Comment Cancel
chad lamasa 7 months ago
Brad brings up a good point with Royal. There are many guys that will be vying for ROY this year. This maybe the best crop of rookies in a long time with no runaway candidate. I would love to see Flacco win it, but again there will be a lot of people in the running. There is still a lot of football to go so the ranks may thin out due to injuries or poor performances on the parts of some these guys, so we'll have to wait and see.
Edit Comment Cancel
scott stevens 7 months ago
what people forget is that if boller and smith didnt have injuries this preseason, flacco would be ur # 2 or 3... so instead of not playing the entire year... hes taken the ravens to 6-3... you say we have just beaten up on the cupcake teams of the nfl... but a few months ago, u were calling our team worse... just a thought.....GO FLACCO!!!
Edit Comment Cancel
Atlanta Falco 7 months ago
I live in Atlanta and grew up in Baltimore. So, I have watched every game the two teams have played this season (I have the NFL Package which allows me to get the Ravens games). I have to admit that at the beginning of the season, I thought Ryan was clearly the better quarterback; until that was when the Raven came out in their first game running the no-huddle with Flacco. I thought what a mistake to have a rookie, who didn't have a particularly good preseason, run the no-huddle. Well, he did and honestly looked Brady-like running it. The scary thing is that, if you take out the Indianapolis game, he has gotten better each week. As someone else said, Ryan has been steady throughout the season. However, Flacco has been unbelievable. His progression is well documented, but, his clutch play is remarkable; especially for a rookie. He is no longer a rookie and the upcoming Giants game should be the true test of where he is. But up to this point (and I am a Falcons fan), Flacco is clearly the guy I would want running my show. If he stays healthy, he will be the next coming of Tom Brady. And that's not to take anything away from Ryan; he is very good. The Ravens should simply consider themselves very very lucky the Falcons drafted Ryan.
Edit Comment Cancel
Joe Glotz 7 months ago
This has to be the only space on the entire Internet that is even considering Flaco over Ryan for ROY. Flaco has a gun, but Ryan has accurcy, intelligence and leadership. Ryan in 10 games has turned into the leader of the Falcons. Please stop going to obsucre statistics to make your point. Ryan is the next Payton Manning/Tom Brady. If you can't see that, you're not watching.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
So you're saying since Ryan has had 9 games, 4 or 5 good, he's Peyton Manning. Dude. So I guess 3rd down stats, road stats and 4th quarter stats are meaningless.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
I can't deny that Ryan could very well become one of the game's elite, the only thing I take exception to is that your post seems to imply that Flacco doesn't offer those very same qualities. Flac not only has a cannon, but his accuracy has been phenomenal as well (twice this year completing 13+ consecutive passes during a game, and a completion rate of 63% on the season), his intelligence is off the charts (the kid learned Delaware's playbook in one day!, and his progression in the NFL is further evidence) and Baltimore (not just the team, but the entire city) has begun to rally around this kid. Add on top of all that his poise, and ability to make plays with his feet (and even catch an occasional bomb from Troy Smith), I really don't know what else you could want from a player. If he were putting on a show like this in NY, he would have already been crowned the savior of the world and the cure for cancer. But unfortunately for his marketability, he plays in Baltimore and is an unassuming, quiet person who avoids the limelight, so he's not going to get the recognition he deserves.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUVjmXq9vUk
Flacco: 74 yards
Ryan: 62 yards
Flacco ROY and not just because of that.
Edit Comment Cancel
Cody Swartz 7 months ago
It's got to be either Flacco or Ryan for the Rookie of the Year. I would probably go Ryan at this point... because I feel he is more critical to his team's success... but Flacco's a close second and gaining ground. Good article, Isaac!
Edit Comment Cancel
Sean O'Brien 7 months ago
When Flacco leads his team to a playoff win and Ryan is left watching the playoffs on TV, people will reconsider who was the real front runner. You beat me to writing this article.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
Yeah even if Flacco wins 8 games.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Flacco struggled mightily against a real passing D in the Colts and Titans. I hope those of you who think Flacco is better than Matt Ryan will post here after the Giant game. I will be here and be the first to congradulate you if he spanks the Giants D.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
Well look at Flacco's week to week stats and then Ryan's.
Ryan has been soooooooooooooo inconsistent. Flacco has had 1, maybe 2 bad games.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
Sorry Fantasy, I don't mean to keep singling out your comments, it's nothing personal!
But let's take a look at how Ryan has fared against good defenses:
Att Completed % YDS TD INT Sacked
Wk 2 vs. TB- 13 33 39.4 158 0 2 4
Wk 4 vs Car- 21 41 51.2 158 0 0 2
Wk 6 vs Chi- 22 30 73.3 301 1 0 0
Wk 8 vs Phi- 23 44 52.3 277 2 2 2
Now, 1 good performance (against the injury-riddled Bears secondary) against 3 awful outings. Looks like Ryan is the one feasting on cupcake defenses.
So, shouldn't the same judgement be applied to Ryan as Flacco? Why does everyone turn a blind eye to those performances above, but sing his praises when he spanks a mediocre defense?
Just a thought...
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Okay, first Andrew, Ryan actually had a nice day against the Eagles with 2td's and 277 yards passing, he had 2 picks but that was against the best secondary in the NFL. We will see how well Flacco plays against the Eagles. And Isaac your post just lost a ton of credibility in that you thought Algae Crumpler still played with the Falcons. It's a telling sign that you haven't watch much of the Falcon games. I would argue that Flacco has a better supporting cast than Ryan has. He has the 3 headed monster in RB's, McGahee, Ray Rice and McClain. He has a All-Pro tight end in Todd Heap, playmakers in Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Yaman Figurs and a awesome, awesome Defense.
You must have forgotten 2 years ago with this team a washed up Steve McNair got Baltimore 13 wins.
Edit Comment Cancel
James Williamson 7 months ago
Isaac, it is hard for me to make a decision on whether Flacco or Ryan deserves the award. You brought up all those stats for third and fourth downs which are very smart to do. Even I didn't think of those.
Now me personally. I thought the Ravens had made a severe error in drafting Flacco when he first got on. I wanted them to give Troy Smith the job, but good ole Ozzie showed us the stuff. I still don't know if Flacco or Smith was the better choice really. They are both that good from what I have seen, and I want to see them do more with the two of them. Think if they had a power receiver to spread the defense further, or if they converted Smith to wide receiver.
The thing is that voters are going to remember Matt Ryan, because of what he did to Chicago, and b/c of the 72 million dollar deal he got, before he played a down. Flacco, from what I remember was losing the QB battle until Smith got tonsilitis. And of course the Colts game as you mentioned.
Now for my final analysis. I think it is a little too early to judge ROY right now. I was wrong in writing that article on Felix Jones. I was caught up in the hype. But, I think Flacco will give Ryan a severe run for his money if he keeps up his performances. If he beats or gives a good run to the Redskins, Eagles, Giants, and Cowboys, then he should win it.
I managed to see the last game against Houston since I live in Texas, and I was rooting for Baltimore over Houston really. I may be a Cowboy, but I am also a Raven too. I'll probably root for Dallas when the Ravens play them, because they need every victory now, but I would be overjoyed if the Ravens and the Cowboys met in the Super Bowl.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
I think he should win partly because of what he's overcome. He didn't even play at all at Pitt, a 2nd rate program. He then switched to Delaware, who no one comes to the NFL out of. Also, look week-to-week at Ryan's stats and then Flacco's. Joe is much more consistent. Ryan has had 5 good games, 3 bad games and 1 iffy. Flacco has had 2 bad games, the rest have been good or great.
Edit Comment Cancel
James Williamson 7 months ago
Isaac, it is hard for me to make a decision on whether Flacco or Ryan deserves the award. You brought up all those stats for third and fourth downs which are very smart to do. Even I didn't think of those.
Now me personally. I thought the Ravens had made a severe error in drafting Flacco when he first got on. I wanted them to give Troy Smith the job, but good ole Ozzie showed us the stuff. I still don't know if Flacco or Smith was the better choice really. They are both that good from what I have seen, and I want to see them do more with the two of them. Think if they had a power receiver to spread the defense further, or if they converted Smith to wide receiver.
The thing is that voters are going to remember Matt Ryan, because of what he did to Chicago, and b/c of the 72 million dollar deal he got, before he played a down. Flacco, from what I remember was losing the QB battle until Smith got tonsilitis. And of course the Colts game as you mentioned.
Now for my final analysis. I think it is a little too early to judge ROY right now. I was wrong in writing that article on Felix Jones. I was caught up in the hype. But, I think Flacco will give Ryan a severe run for his money if he keeps up his performances. If he beats or gives a good run to the Redskins, Eagles, Giants, and Cowboys, then he should win it.
I managed to see the last game against Houston since I live in Texas, and I was rooting for Baltimore over Houston really. I may be a Cowboy, but I am also a Raven too. I'll probably root for Dallas when the Ravens play them, because they need every victory now, but I would be overjoyed if the Ravens and the Cowboys met in the Super Bowl.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
The NFL network just broke it down. Ryan touchdown to interception ratio is much better than Flacco. Ryan has 11 TD's to 5 int's. Where Flacco's is just as likely to throw a pick than a TD with 7TD's and 7int's.
As far as QB rating, Ryan is ranked 13 among all QB's as a rookie while Flacco ranks 22nd. There is no comparison so far.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
Stats lie. Stats lie. Stats lie.
Stats lie. Stats lie. Stats lie.
But as far as 3rd down, 4th quarter and road stats, there's no false in there. And do you think Ryan could beat Pittsburgh pretty badly or do you think Ryan could go into a place like BMore with 1 decent receiver, a blocking tighetend and do well? Course not.
in ATL, he has 1 playmaker, 1 quality WR and a good TE (crumpler) along with a 1st rate RB. We have 1 decent recevier, an inconsinstent TE, a nonexistent #2 WR and an inconsistenyl healthy RB.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
Crumpler is in Tennessee.
But Roddy White / Michael Jenkins > Derrick Mason / Mark Clayton
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
let's take a look at how Ryan has fared against good defenses:
Att Completed % YDS TD INT Sacked
Wk 2 vs. TB- 13 33 39.4 158 0 2 4
Wk 4 vs Car- 21 41 51.2 158 0 0 2
Wk 6 vs Chi- 22 30 73.3 301 1 0 0
Wk 8 vs Phi- 23 44 52.3 277 2 2 2
Now, 1 good performance (against the injury-riddled Bears secondary) against 3 awful outings. Looks like Ryan is the one feasting on cupcake defenses.
So, shouldn't the same judgement be applied to Ryan as Flacco? Why does everyone turn a blind eye to those performances above, but sing his praises when he spanks a mediocre defense?
Just a thought...
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
exactly exactly. thats what i mentioned.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Okay, first Andrew, Ryan actually had a nice day against the Eagles with 2td's and 277 yards passing, he had 2 picks but that was against the best secondary in the NFL. We will see how well Flacco plays against the Eagles. And Isaac your post just lost a ton of credibility in that you thought Algae Crumpler still played with the Falcons. It's a telling sign that you haven't watch much of the Falcon games. I would argue that Flacco has a better supporting cast than Ryan has. He has the 3 headed monster in RB's, McGahee, Ray Rice and McClain. He has a All-Pro tight end in Todd Heap, playmakers in Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Yaman Figurs and a awesome, awesome Defense.
You must have forgotten 2 years ago with this team a washed up Steve McNair got Baltimore 13 wins.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
You must not have watched a Ravens game
Williams is out for the year
Figurs is a KR
Heap blocks for almost every play
Clayton has 20 catches, what a playmaker.
Mason is his only good WR.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Nice try Isaac,
Mason has been a great receiver for eternity and still gets separation and makes plays just like Roddy White. Figurs just caught 46 TD from Flacco yesterday. Mark Clayton has been rotting away until now. Demetrius did get hurt but he plays for the Ravens. Haha!!
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
What he made 1 play
1 catch for 70 yards.
What a contribution. Jesus dont come around year talking about that when you have no clue about the Ravens.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
Well, Fantasy, the Ryan game against Philly...completing 52% of your passes and throwing two interceptions in a game that you lost (and was a winnable game; ATL was down only 20-14 in the fourth) in my opinion isn't a good game. The 277 yards were mainly a result of throwing the ball 44 times-- which only averages out to just over 6 yards per attempt, which isn't very good at all. And yes, Philly has a great secondary, but isn't that the whole point? How do these two play against the NFL's better teams?
But that's also kind of besides the point...what I was trying to say is this--
If Flacco doesn't play well against the Giants this weekend, then people will say that is an example of why he isn't on Ryan's level, and he can only play against mediocre defenses. If Ryan plays the Giants and doesn't play well, it will get ignored and swept under the rug until a couple weeks down the road when he slices up Denver or some other patsy defense, and then the heavens will open showering him with praise and glory. Such is life when you're the media darling, and everyone is pulling for you to lift the franchise out of the mess it was in just a short few months ago. And I do not want to minimize anything that Ryan has done, the kid is bursting with potential. If he ever puts it all together, and performs consistently, he'll be lights out. Until then, let's call it how it is, and give him the benefit of the doubt after he's earned it.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Andrew did you see the Eagle game? The Falcons were robbed. The Falcons stopped the Eagles and forced them to punt with 4 minutes to play in the game. The refs called a muffed punt in which the Falcons player didn't touch the ball and couldn't challenge it and didn't allow Ryan to 'test' his mettle in crunchtime against the Eagles D. But in that game he moved the ball all day on the Eagles. He throw an unfortunate interception in the red zone at the one instead of feeding Turner but Roddy took responsibility on the play by not being in the proper position on the play call. Even Ryan's 'bad' games against the Bucs and Panthers he struggled against the coverages in the first half but was able to make the necessary changes in the second half that the great ones make. If they can protect Ryan and Turner stays heatlthy the Falcons will be a playoff team this year, they are for real.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
I live in Baltimore and know just as much as you about the Ravens. Just know that Flacco is no Ryan. If the Ravens had drafted Matt Ryan and he had Cam Cameron as his offensive coordinator they would be the Titans right now.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 7 months ago
No we wouldnt. Matt Ryan would be Joe fLACCO. EXCEPT A BIT WORSE. WHICH MAKES FLACCO ROY.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Ravens should have beaten the Titans, but Flacco threw Picks on his side of the football field. You should watch the Falcons before you give the ROY to Flacco my friend. Ryan took his team to Lambeau and beat the Packers on there home field. He engineered a drive with 11 seconds to beat the Bears. He outdueled Drew Brees yesterday. He is going to have to outscore Jay Cutler next week. He doesn't have the luxury of a great defense like Flacco who can hand deliver great field position like Flacco gets.
I don't know if you watched Ryan in college but he did not have very talented recievers in College but thru his cerebral approach to the game he won games with his head. Flacco has a flamethrower of an arm and his long ball is a thing of beauty but Ryan goes thru his progressions instead of honing in on his first option. Watch the Giant game. They will take his first option away, we will see how far he has become.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
I'll give you that one. Flacco does indeed have a tendency to lock in on a certain player. But to be fair, the majority of his sacks have occured due to him waiting for a reciever to get open; so maybe it's a tribute to his ability to read defenses and decide before the snap who to look for.
And woo boy, them's fightin' words regarding the Ten game, lol...
Let's be honest. Baltimore lost that game for two reasons.
#1 was a ludicrous pass interference call against Suggs on third down with 2 mins left that would have ended the game, but instead gave Ten a new set of downs.
#2 reason is that baltimore's defense then allowed tennessee to march 80 yards downfield in less than two mins for the game winning TD.
Flacco didn't lose that game for us. The defense (with a tremendous assist from the officials) did.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
Andrew my point was, it should have never came to that. A few times in that game Flacco threw the ball right to Titans secondary rolling to his right and shrinking the field instead of throwing it away and protecting the lead.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rout 7 months ago
I agree and disagree....
I agree because I felt the same way after the game. I feel that no matter who you are, if you hold your opponents to 13 points, then you HAVE to come home with the W. End of story.
On the other hand, you can't blame Flacco for the ref's poor call (if that roughing the passer call never happened, the Ravens win, and the point is moot), or for the defense giving up an 80 yard drive to lose the game with seconds left. Flacco's job was to give the team the lead, and he did that. The defense's job was to hold on to the lead Flacco gave them. They didn't do that. There's a big difference between that, and Ryan's loss to Philly, for example. Ryan never gave his team a lead to hold on to (or blow). In fact, Ryan threw critical interceptions, so Ryan didn't do his job.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 7 months ago
That's fair, but again it's the type of interceptions you want to look at. Both of Ryan's picks were jump balls that deals with the reciever getting the position on the corner, like Boldin, Fitz, Moss and Marshall make, but Roddy is not in that class yet. The Flacco picks were just really really bad. When Ryan like he did with the Raiders and Saints he doesn't throw picks. Those picks against the Titans were unexcuseable and is robbing us of being in first place in our division.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 5 months ago
Okay Fantasy-
Now, Flacco's prepping for an AFC Championship after beating 11-5 Miami and 13-3 Tennessee.
Ryan is at home watching after losing to 9-7 Arizona.
Hm. And you wanna talk about picks, Flacco hasn't thrown one in the playoffs or the previous four games. Ryan threw two against Arizona, including on his first pass.
Flacco is the first to win two road playoff games in his rookie year.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 5 months ago
As we saw tonight. Flacco is a joke. He doesn't belong in the same sentence with Matt Ryan. Flacco was riding the success of a dominant defense much like Trent Dilfer did in 2000.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 5 months ago
Flacco was who we thought he was. A rookie who played like a rookie, throwing 2 crucial picks, one that cost them the game. He's no Matt Ryan. I compare him to Trent Dilfer.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 5 months ago
No he's not Matt Ryan. But he's certainly competent. Comparing him to Trent Dilfer because of 1 bad game against the best defense in the NFL and of possibly the last decade is borderline insane.
Flacco last 14 games after Colts: 200-for-357, 2564 yards, 14 TD's, 8 INT
Trent Dilfer in 2000: 1502 yards, 12 TD, 11 INT
I don't know who to compare him too, but you're a dick for comparing him to Dilfer. He had a bad game in the playoffs against the #1 defense. Who can complain? He's the first rookie in NFL history to win two playoff games - and he did it on the road against 11-5 and 13-3 teams.
And you mentioned way back that Ryan's picks weren't his fault. Were Flacco's tonight? One was, yes. But the Polamalu one was tipped. The other one was thrown when the game was all but over, anyway.
Edit Comment Cancel
Isaac Barrow 5 months ago
That was a mistake on the picks being his fault. But two of them were deserving. But regardless, Flacco was robbed of completions because of misjudged plays by Mason and Clayton, poor blocking, the whole nine yards.
Edit Comment Cancel
Fantasy Writer 5 months ago
Quit whining like a little girl. Flacco couldn't hold Dilfer's jock strap. Haha.
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.