Joe Flacco Is Just Another QB in Long Line of Baltimore Ravens Failures

While it's impossible for every team in the NFL to start a quarterback the caliber of Tom Brady—for there simply aren't 32 of them—a team should try to do all it can to have a solid, competent offensive leader.

However, for the entirety of its history as a franchise, the Baltimore Ravens have made mistake after mistake at the position, culminating presently with Joe Flacco, who joined the team in 2008.

The Ravens haven't had any real consistency at the position since the team's debut in the league in 1996. Flacco, in his fourth season with the team, is the longest-tenured starting quarterback the team has had. While perennial disappointment Kyle Boller had more years with the Ravens, he started just one 16-game season, with injuries plaguing his time with the team.

Since '96, the Ravens have started 16 different quarterbacks, and it's clear that the team should have made improvements at the position far before drafting Flacco in the dismal 2008 quarterback draft class (featuring such luminaries as John David Booty, Dennis Dixon and Brian Brohm).

Whether via the draft, trades or free agency, there are a number of smarter decisions Baltimore could have made when it comes to having a consistent, talented starting quarterback, predating that fateful 2008 draft choice.

Flacco has spent every season with the Ravens touted as being on the brink of a major breakthrough. But it never seems to happen. Whether due to issues with the offensive line, problems with the receiving corps or just Flacco's overall mediocre-to-bad play, with every step forward it seems that the Ravens take two steps back when it comes to their passing offense.

Flacco has never thrown for 4,000 yards in a season, with his best yards-per-game average at 226.4, coming in 2010. The Ravens have seemed content to not rely on Flacco to win games, rather focusing on their running game and defense to control the pace.

But it's becoming clearer and clearer that Flacco is more liable to lose a game for his team rather than manage a lead. That certainly makes the Ravens a far more one-dimensional team that they would be with a more talented quarterback under center, and it means they are more susceptible to opponents exploiting Flacco's weaknesses, especially when Baltimore's defense or run game falters.

And those weaknesses aren't few nor are they marginal. He's terrible at reading and evading pressure and seems prone to react to pressure that isn't even there as a result. He's not very mobile, and he's not very accurate. When the game is on the line, it's hard to trust that Flacco is capable of making the right decisions.

All of this history makes me feel that the Ravens don't seem to take the quarterback position very seriously, which would be a huge mistake considering how important it has become with each passing year. It seems like the Ravens are stuck in an old pattern with no clear way to get out of it.

While it has alternately harmed and not harmed but not helped the team in the past, with each game it's clear that Flacco is not the answer the Ravens so desperately need under center. They need a quarterback who can truly lead the team, consistently, season after season—and until they figure that out, they will be hard pressed to really contend in the modern, pass-heavy NFL.