Curious ... Rice Or Flacco?

[Dfence4champs2052]

I'm curious if they had to choose between Rice and Flacco who they'd go with.....obviously not an issue this year but if he's franchised it could be next year!

[RivenHale]

Good running backs are a dime a dozen. Ray Rice is a great running back, a step or two above the normal guy, but ... good quarterbacks come once every couple years if you're lucky. Got to keep Joe.

It's a QB league.

[EdReedFTW]

RR is special. Joe is good. But QB>RB. So I really dont know. I'd have to say joe just because the Ravens have managed to draft several VERY good Rb. But only one good QB.

[Gtown Purple]

I would keep Rice. Rice has the ability to break any play. We can't say that about Joe yet.

[blitzking33]

Ray Rice. I know I might get some heat for this but Flacco hasn't really proved much to me. Rice on the other hand has shown why he is so valuable to our offense. Ray Rice helps us in the running game (duh) and passing game. And besides, Flacco wouldn't be where he is now without Rice grinding out the extra work on those 1 or 2 yard dump offs. Ray's as good as it gets.

[RavensAllTheWay]

Joe because it would be a lot easier to replace Rice, but that doesn't mean it would be easy to replace Rice. Finding a new franchise QB would be very difficult and just about end any chance of getting a ring for and with Ed and other veterans.

[AsianRice]

Rice is very dynamic player; he has great hands, and his running game is pretty elusive. Joe is good and can scramble outside the pocket but not great yet. It's tough choice, but I'll go with Rice cuz he is so reliable on check down play and running game. Ozzie is great at drafting defense and OT player, but not really good at drafting WR and QB. I think with average QB with a very good offensive coordinator can elevate average to good. Great system can make good QBs, but great QB will go out of that system....

[Guest Moderator 6]

Joe Flacco will be as good as he is now, if not better for the next 15 years. Ray Rice, a top 3 RB in the league today, is a gift to have.

Rice will not be as productive 5 or 6 years from now. We should retain both of them, but if you're thinking long term then Flacco is your answer.

[bpytnjr58]

[quote name='RivenHale' timestamp='1316799969' post='801788']
Good running backs are a dime a dozen. Ray Rice is a great running back, a step or two above the normal guy, but ... good quarterbacks come once every couple years if you're lucky. Got to keep Joe.

It's a QB league.
[/quote]
Running backs are a dime a dozen and the career of a RB is a lot shorter than a QB and they have invested a lot of time on Joe so they must stick with him..barring injuries he can only get better.

[757RavensFan]

Rice!! Any decent QB can throw a checkdown.

[Romo Ravens]

Wow this is actually pretty tough. I love Ray Rice, he's one of my favorite Ravens. But I suppose it's just all about perception and what you believe Flacco can do for us this year and down the line. If I really had to choose, like if it was a life or death situation, I'd pick Ray Rice. Can't go back on my vote. I think a lot of people here know that I'm a huge Flacco fan, but Rice is a very special talent to have. Either way, we're keeping both.

[scrock]

BOTH

...but if we can only have 1, you always take the QB, RBs can be easily replaced, QB is the hardest position and when you have a good one you keep him

[T3hRaven]

This is a QB driven league, when you find a guy who can ball you do everything you can to keep him. Joe has to be the choice if it comes down to keeping just one of them.

There are plenty of running backs that get stuff down with no offensive line, including guys like Jones-Drew in Jacksonville. Ray Rice has proven he can't do anything without an excellent offensive line. Honestly, as enjoyable as Rice's personality is, he's really not that good of a back. He has production because we overuse our run game and he's the best check down option in the league, but the numbers mask the fact that he's really just a middle of the pack running back. And all that is before you get down to the fact that there is no reason to pay AP or CJ2.7YPC money to any running back.

[Blex64]

Joe. Franchise QB's are harder to come by then dependable RB's.

That being said, I think Ray Rice is phenomenal. I think him and AP are easily the two best RB's in the league, and I absolutely think we're going to keep him.

[gabefergy]

I love Ray Rice, but when you draft a Franchise QB you have to keep them. I hate the phrase "RBs are a dime a dozen" but there is some truth to it. It's much easier to find a quality RB than a quality QB, so my vote goes to Flacco.

[True]

Hard to imagine what the offense would look like without Ray Rice. He is so important in everything the Ravens do on the offensive side of the ball. He reminds me a lot of Marshall Faulk and through their first years they have some pretty similar numbers (aside from touchdowns) for their first 3 years.

Ray Rice - 668 rushing attempts (4.5 average), 174 receptions, 14 total TDs, and 4,544 yards from scrimmage.

Marshall Faulk - 801 rushes (3.6 average), 164 receptions, 33 Total TDs, and 4372 yards from scrimmage.

Of course their are a ton of variables like Faulk not being a on very talented team unlike Ray Rice, but he was a starter since his rookie year and didn't come out during goal line situations like Rice used to. Either way both players were the feature backs and the offense ran through them in both facets of running and passing.

It will be a big year for Ray Rice and having Vonta Leach blocking in front of him is a great addition. I expect it to continue and see what kind of production he puts up. No doubt that he is the engine of the offense.

[edreedfromtheu]

I assume you mean the Ravens... and which one you would keep if you can only afford to give one of them a new contract?

I have to say Flacco.(I know, shocking... but my choices are limited to 2 guys in this instance) But I'm definitely not giving him a top-tier QB contract. He pretty much gets my vote by default, because I just don't see the point in paying a running back top dollar. It's the easiest position for a rookie to come in and immediately contribute. There is an overstock of very good running backs that some can't even find a team, let alone a starting position. And the league really favors passing over running anyway.

And on top of all that, I don't think Ray Rice is nearly as dynamic as many do. Sure, he's great for fantasy football. But I'm pretty sure many running backs would be awesome in Baltimore's current offense. A ton of check-down throws. A great offensive line. etc. I believe you can find a back with a lot more speed than rice, more power, and a better blocker. I just can't see paying a running back a big contract when the money can be better spent on pretty much any other position for the team.

[Jamal]

I absolutely love Rice, and hes obviously better at his position, but this is extremely easy for me, if it came down to Rice or Flacco.

I'll take Flacco 10 out of 10 times, and I'm not even a huge supporter of his. I know it sounds cliche at this point, but its a QB league, and there's only about 10 or so I'd take over Flacco. You can't win in the NFL without a good QB, and they aren't exactly easy to find. Good RB's on the other hand, are a dime a dozen. (not to say RB's like Rice are that cheap, but you get my point)

You can get by without an elite RB, but you can't get by without a good QB.

[TreTheRaven]

With the long wait to find a quarterback worthy of being a Raven, I'd have to say Flacco at this point. I don't know if I could go through another Boller era -- or Grbac, Blake, Redman, Banks and on and on till they finally find the right one.

The Ravens never seem to have an issue of finding a good running back, it seems.

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

WE already have too much vested in Flacco for it to be rice. RR is awesome and I will be heart broken if we let him go but If we let Flacco we have a lot riding in Tyrod..... Which may not be the worst thing but right now we have known for years we can find a RB but we have ahd no luck with a QB until now.

can you Imagin if we actually drafted a true number 1 WR you can bet that guy will never be let go.

[Ravensstrike4424]

um we will be able to keep flacco and rice

[T3hRaven]

[quote name='ArmyRaven52' timestamp='1316819064' post='802160']
can you Imagin if we actually drafted a true number 1 WR you can bet that guy will never be let go.
[/quote]

You have no idea just how much I was hoping Fitz wouldn't resign with the Cards. I doubt we would have the cap space available to get him, but that definitely would have set the boards astir for a few months.

To those saying we can keep Rice and Flacco, I'm not so sure about that. The Titans and the Vikings got away with paying their guys because they have rookie QBs that are locked up on small salaries for a long time. Flacco is going to be paid like a top 10 QB because that's what he is. Honestly, if it comes down to it I'm keeping Flacco and Grubbs and letting Rice walk. Offensive line is hard to fix as we saw last season, and QBs are nearly impossible to find. RBs are a dime a dozen, as long as we have an offensive line for them to run behind.

[Greatness]

I can't believe some of you. You'd actually choose Ray Rice over our [b]franchise [/b]QB? I guess a lot of you haven't been watching the Ravens prior to 2008 and our QB situation. to think a lot of Ravens fans wanted Troy Smith to start. He's doing wonders in...

Wait...

He isn't playing in the NFL.

You don't take a RB over a QB that has at least proven to be serviceable and has only done better each year in the league. This type of tomfoolery is what will get the Ravens dealt with. lol

[Alexir]

Ray Rice is a hardworking, double threat back and a great team player. I want him to finish his career in Baltimore and I believe he will....

But

This is a pass happy league these days and it is MUCH harder to find a competent QB than it is a running back. If Ray Rice went down right now we would still have ricky, allen, and berry (he would be activated). They would still be running behind our line and Vonta Leach. They could manage.

If we lose Flacco we have Tyrod Taylor and Hunter Cantwell. No disrespect to Tyrod but it would be a drop off.

We obviously WOULD tag our QB if it was between the 2.

[Free Agent]

While I truly believe that Rice is an elite player, in my opinion one of the top 5 NFL running backs, I would keep Flacco. It is mighty hard to get a solid QB, but relatively easy to land a solid running back. I hope that Flacco, Rice and Grubbs all get their due contracts at the end of 2011.

[Corvus]

This is a total non-issue IMO, Ray is a bonafide free agent after this season, Joe still has one year left on his rookie deal after this year. Both will get taken care of, but Ray is the imperative resigning this offseason, with Grubbs a close 2nd, Joe getting a new deal will likely come after.

[Hjulmann]

hard comparison since they're on two different positions... but yeah, qb over rb any day

[blitzking33]

All you who said Flacco because he is a franchise QB.. Get out of your feelings!!! Rice pads Flaccos stats with all the dirty work he does after catching the dump offs. True franchise QBs make his whole receiving corp better, not just focus in on one WR relying on his arm strength to get the ball in there. (Mason and his come back routes). Last year Flacco had Boldin, Mason, TJ, Stallworth, But the 3 WRs after Mason basically vanished the 2nd half of the season. I bet you if Boldin was on a different team, he would have surpassed the 1,000 rec. mark last year. I'm not saying Flacco isn't good, he just has a lot of work to do and if we're talking who to franchise if both were to be free-agents, it would def. have to be Ray27

[cursona pirate]

[quote name='scrock' timestamp='1316807682' post='801953']
BOTH

...but if we can only have 1, you always take the QB, RBs can be easily replaced, QB is the hardest position and when you have a good one you keep him
[/quote]
I agree with you

[Guest ArmyRaven52]

[quote name='T3hRaven' timestamp='1316834033' post='802299']

You have no idea just how much I was hoping Fitz wouldn't resign with the Cards. I doubt we would have the cap space available to get him, but that definitely would have set the boards astir for a few months.

To those saying we can keep Rice and Flacco, I'm not so sure about that. The Titans and the Vikings got away with paying their guys because they have rookie QBs that are locked up on small salaries for a long time. Flacco is going to be paid like a top 10 QB because that's what he is. Honestly, if it comes down to it I'm keeping Flacco and Grubbs and letting Rice walk. Offensive line is hard to fix as we saw last season, and QBs are nearly impossible to find. RBs are a dime a dozen, as long as we have an offensive line for them to run behind.
[/quote]
We could franchise him a couple time until the salary cap elevates as well, but I dont think it will be bad as most are anticipating. The reason I was worried about Haloti is because he is unquestionably the best at his position.

As good as RR is it can still be argued that he is only top 5 (trash I know, he is second only to AP in my book.) And Flacco I think has caught enough criticisms that it may affect his value and he wont have nearly the bargaining chip Haloti or rice will.