Rookie: The Story Of Joe Flacco

It was draft day. John Harbaugh found himself in a tough position, as did everybody else in the room that day. As head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh held the fate of his team in his hands.

He and his scouting department had been debating who to select with the 8th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft for months. Harbaugh drove to Radio City Music Hall that day with peace of mind because he knew that he would draft Joe Flacco; the strong quarterback out of Delaware.

As the draft got closer and closer to their 8th pick, Harbaugh was delighted to see that Flacco wasn't even being debated as an option among other teams.

When the Atlanta Falcons choose quarterback Matt Ryan with the 3rd overall pick, however, that inner peace turned to turmoil. What was wrong with Flacco?

The decision to draft Flacco was not an easy one to make. Some draft projectors had this young quarterback going in the third or fourth round. To pick up Flacco any earlier would be considered by them as a rookie mistake.

Harbaugh was not without pressure this late April day. He was in his first year of coaching a professional franchise, coming off a decade of assistant coaching with the Philadelphia Eagles. The first nine years were spent in the unglamorous job of special teams coach. Harbaugh was dreaming big, though, and wanted to become a head coach.

Special teams coordinators are rarely hired as head coaches. In order to make Harbaugh's dream a possibility, head coach Andy Reid switched him to defensive backs. Sure enough, after just one year he was selected as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

There were big boots left behind by former coach Brian Billick. Harbaugh's precedor was a football mastermind, and high expectations were thrust on his shoulders as soon as his plane touched down in Baltimore.

Now, just months after his hiring, Harbaugh faced a decision that would shape his team's future for years to come. Drafting a quarterback in the first round is never an easy choice to make, but in Harbaugh's position it was even tougher. The only quarterbacks on the Baltimore roster were Troy Smith and Kyle Boller, and if what certain scouts were saying about Flacco were true, he could easily wrestle his way to the starting position in training camp.

Flacco's coach at Delaware was determined to get his quarterback drafted as high as possible. In an interview with a Baltimore newspaper, K.C. Keeler said, "I asked a number of different scouts who has a better arm in the NFL (than Flacco) and they couldn't give me a name."

To those who thought Flacco would be a third- or fourth-round pick Keeler said, "Put Joe next to the other quarterbacks in the country, and he'll blow by them."

Flacco had won the long distance throw competition in ESPN's State Farm College Football All-Star Challenge, as well as the Taco Bell QB scramble. But it wasn't just his physical attributes that attracted him to Harbaugh.

Delaware runs an NFL-style offense, and any starting quarterback needs experience in that type of system before they can be thrown on the field and expected to perform well. On top of that, Delaware coach Keeler had been grooming Flacco for the NFL for years. They both felt he was ready.

But now, as the 8th selection in the 2008 Draft came closer and closer, Harbaugh had millions of second thoughts debating whether a rookie should ever be a starting quarterback in this league.

Peyton Manning started every game as a rookie and he's turned out alright. Then again, so did David Carr. Ryan Leaf, Charlie Batch, and Joey Harrington all started at least nine games their rookie season, and Harbaugh would certainly lose some of his new reputation if that happened to Flacco.

Maybe he should take another route this draft. There was a need at running back, why not Arkansas superstar Darren McFadden? A few minutes later the Oakland Raiders staked claim to him.

No, he needed to make a decision. If he wanted Flacco he needed to attempt to trade down, because Harbaugh was convinced he was the only one in the state of New York who was sure that Flacco was going to be great.

As Harbaugh worked the phones like a telemarketer there was always that uneasy feeling in the back of his mind. Jonathan Stewart was still available, and ready for taking... Before they knew what had happened, GM Ozzie Newsome, with the help of Harbaugh, had traded their 8th overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in return for the 18th pick and a package of others.

While analysts were immediately calling their trade a work of genius, Harbaugh was sweating bullets. He was convinced of Flacco's value, but nobody else seemed to be. Flacco seemed a perfect quarterback, one who was not arrogant, self-centered, or cocky. In fact, when asked by a coach why he doesn't dance around after a touchdown pass Flacco responded modestly, "(M)y family would hammer me. They would say I'm a big dork."

Over six months later and the selection of Flacco with the 18th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft seems like a steal. The quarterback of the Ravens is not leading his team to excellence, but a 7-4 record is certainly one to be proud of.

With a rookie quarterback, rookie head coach, and rookie runningback, not much was expected of this young team. The 2008 season has been a surprise for everyone. Although they aren't leading the league in any major categories, the reborn Baltimore Ravens are making others jealous.

In order to keep me from being skinned alive, I must say that I used some journalistic license in this piece. Nobody but Harbaugh knows what was going through his mind on April 26th, but this is my best guess. If anybody disagrees or has another opinion, please let me know in the comment section.