Raveforlife19

I see a lot of people on here saying Flacco doesn't know how to read defenses, but he finished with 71% completion 325yds 2TD's and 92.1 QBR. I mean John Gruden was (obnoxiously) flabbergasted by the defensive scheme so it couldn't have been a cake walk for Flacco and he still put up those numbers. Not to mention the countless drops or flubs by his receivers (Wallace). So my question is: was that just luck on his part, or maybe he was reading the defense well and we just have mediocre weapons who only win occasionally in man-to-man and subpar coaching/game-planning? On the topic of calling audibles and "taking command of the offense", how does everybody so confidently know that it is Flacco's deficiency and not due to helicopter coaching by Harbaugh/Marty with a "stick to the gameplan we gave you Joe" type deal? In other words, is it because Flacco doesn't know how to/isn't good at it or is it because he is being restricted? I don't know, I don't think anyone but Flacco and the FO know, but this is something I have been asking myself for a while -- maybe there's a way to tell. I'd argue, however, given Harbaugh's coaching style, and how Marty reacted when Flacco called him out (he should do it more often), that Flacco has been and is being stifled/micromanaged when it comes to plays. Also there is evidence to support that on the field: when do we see Flacco picking apart defenses and getting into a rhythm? When he goes NO HUDDLE, it's what he did in college and in the first few years of his career. In the hurry up, he's in the driver's seat or at the very least has the final decision making ability and logistically cannot be vetoed by Marty and Harbs. Anyway just food for thought, Go Ravens!

Couldn't agree more! To your 5th point, considering Flacco still finished the game with 71% comp. for 325yds 2TDs and a 92 QBR, I think had the receivers played better and we weren't out-coached on O, we would have seen vintage Foxborough Joe, because he wasn't playing too poorly all things considered as you mentioned... oh well :/

I totally get your frustration and feel it too but that has everything to do with receivers not gaining separation, and not Flacco sucking... It's QB 101 -- if no one is open down field and the pass rush is in your face, hit the check down, scramble, or throw away. The problem is you cant get a first down with three check down passes in a row -_- and that's on the OC because it's an offensive design flaw or it's on the WR coach b/c the receivers are not running routes well. Also, here was Flacco's stat line, given there was no run game and the Pats were dropping 6-8 guys into coverage, he actually did pretty well. 37/52 (71%), 324 yds, 2TD, 1INT (laziness by Wallace and questionable no PI call), 92.1 QBR.

Yes I like that kid! You can tell he's a fiery competitor. He's always super pumped when he gets the ball on ST haha

Yea I hate watching those 2 and 3 yard passes! The reason, however, has to do with either play calling or the fact that our WR's are not open in the very small amount of time that Flacco has before hes getting hit (O-line not pass-blocking well enough). In some cases when flacco does happen to get a lot of time in the pocket but still throws it to the check-down, it's on the receivers for not being good enough to get open. When you look at Brady, he has enough time to do his taxes in the pocket AND his receivers get wide open consistently, it makes it pretty easy for him then. All things considered, idk why people are hating on flacco, he finished the game with 350yds 2TDs and a 92 QBR, hardly a poor performance with the way our O-line looked last night. The defense really fell asleep this game.

just saying, I don't understand all the jumping to conclusions by these pundits about Flacco not being able to play Sunday because he's missed 2 practices?? Harbaugh said himself in a press conference the other day that Flacco wouldn't have to practice to play -- he's a nine-year vet its not like missing two days of walk throughs is going to make or break his ability to play. What's more concerning is that they wont release details about the MRI as to whether its a tear, separation, sprain, bruise, etc. Is it because something is structurally wrong and they are trying to keep it under wraps? Hopefully its just like they said -- nothing to worry about.

The league should either change the W-L column to reflect the correct call or take a page out of the ACC's book when they dealt with the Miami v. Duke game and suspend the entire crew without pay for a few weeks. The fact that the supposed pinnacle of the sport has less integrity than a college conference is despicable and quite sad. The NFL always just says "oops, sorry guys!" and moves on. At least say "We're sorry, we cant change the outcome of the game but heres a draft pick to symbolize our sincere mistake". Im surprised there are no by-laws for what occurs when the refs blatantly take a win away from a team. What if this had happened in the NE-NY game and the Patsies lost? Pretty sure they would have gotten some form of compensation or the loss would have been reversed. What pisses me off even more is that they continue to play highlights of the JAX game winning FG on their site in some stupid "look at how exciting and intense the NFL is with all this last second finishes" montage!!! If I were Bisciotti I would be in NYC and wouldn't leave Goodell's office until that little imbecile did something about it.

Thats been happening all year @old School. The receivers are open when flacco if having to back pedal immediately after getting the snap, likely because the corners recognize the pressure and sink. Also if you look at the freeze frame, there are two guys coming straight on at flacco cleanly, hes got a huge arm but theres no way he hits allen or crockett, even if the ball is on target the line of DBs he would have to throw over would be able to get there in time and likely pick it off anyway. And, meanwhile, on plays where Flacco has all day (i.e. the flea flicker), his receivers dont get any separation and he has to settle for the check down every time. There were a string of like 4 plays in a row where he passed it to the RB out of necessity because the WR's (SSS not included) cant get open

Anyone else notice the fact that the O runs a lot better when Joe calls the shots? Ie. the audible in the red zone yesterday and roll to pass to aiken/brown, or the bootleg keeper against the browns. We shouldnt underestimate Joes ability to run the O, hes an 8-year veteran and has been surrounded by mediocrity (especially this year) yet still wills the offense to put up 20-30 points a game. Yes, the INT's were stupid but only led to 6 points, and he was nearly perfect after the second one

@PurpleDawg96, do the math. Wright got burnt on two TD's. Flacco's INT's, while not acceptable, only led to two FG's so it's pretty clear at the end of the day that Wright's mistakes cost the team more than Flacco's mistakes did.