Baltimore Ravens: Joe Flacco Not Quite in Eli Manning's Elite Company

Remember when Eli Manning said that he was among the NFL's elite quarterbacks?

He didn't say that he was close to Tom Brady's class or almost as good as Brady. He stated that he was as good or better than Tom Brady and backed it up with a Super Bowl victory over New England.

Joe Flacco said what every NFL player believes, that he considers himself to be the best in the league. Based on coming up a couple of plays short of the Super Bowl last year, his statement is fair enough. He has tremendous offensive weapons in Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith.

However, what separates Manning and Flacco is their histories. Manning had already beaten Brady in a Super Bowl but still received a ridiculous amount of media backlash for considering himself an elite quarterback.

Why is that?

Winning a Super Bowl is supposed to be the pinnacle of a player's career. Manning had played good football prior to 2011, then he exploded that year to top-three consideration. A stunning playoff run capped with a championship had people pondering if he could be better than his superstar brother Peyton.

Give Flacco credit for telling WNST-AM radio that he thinks he is the best. That takes a lot of guts when he hasn't won anything in his career. Though he has led Baltimore to the playoffs every year under his reign, he has failed to get them over the hump.

The Ravens have a great defense led by Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed. That isn't the problem. Flacco just hasn't been able to provide the spark needed to lead his team to the Super Bowl.

He has been to two AFC Championship Games. Though his individual statistics aren't overly impressive, he gets the job done. Last year's AFC title game wasn't his fault. He had a perfect touchdown pass, and a Super Bowl appearance, slip through the hands of Lee Evans.

So, while Flacco has the credentials and history to be considered an elite quarterback, the football world knows better.

Eli Manning is a clutch quarterback. He used an undrafted player in Victor Cruz to spark his team.

Flacco had Pro Bowl weapons to work with and couldn't get the job done. In fact, he has had a tendency to disappoint when the team needed him to step up. He is a fine young player, but he's a middle-of-the-pack guy.

Until Flacco can get the Ravens over the hump, or really light up the passing game, he will not be considered a top 10 quarterback, let alone the best. His career has seen highs followed by mediocre-at-best performances.

The Ravens have the pieces for a Super Bowl run, but time is running out.