KVV (ESPN) Article on Joe Flacco

[gabefergy]

Great stuff as usual by Kevin Van Valkenburg.

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9564047/baltimore-ravens-qb-joe-flacco-anything-average-espn-magazine?src=mobile

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

Good read

[arnie_uk]

Thanks for sharing brilliant read

[berad]

Awesome job.

[CARavensFan]

Fantastic!!!

[beasy2487]

Amazing. Thanks for sharing.

[runamuk]

great article thanks for sharing.

[redravenfan]

I think the best part of the article was Joe saying half the time he didn't understand what Ray Lewis was saying , hilarious . Awesome , thanks for sharing.

[PolishRifle]

Here is the deal! All second half, we're cutting loose on offense. We're going to spread them out, run no-huddle, attack on every play. I'm putting the ball in Joe's hands. He's going to win the game for us. Let's go! - John Harbaugh after the first half of the AFCCG

 

Are you kidding me? I've got chills all over my body ready this.

[Moderator 3]

Why do I feel uncomfortable about someone writing a nice article about Joe?

[RavensAllTheWay]

Wow.  Awesome.

[CARavensFan]

Why do I feel uncomfortable about someone writing a nice article about Joe?

 

You keep waiting for the slap after all the compliments lol

[T3hRaven]

That was a really great article.  It's nice to read that behind the scenes Joe is the kind of guy a lot of us thought he was and wanted him to be.

[CARavensFan]

Whenever you get the chance to see Joe having a more candid conversation or he's asked about his own talent you can always tell that he wasn't to be able to play the way that we all think of when we think of the top QBs in the NFL (stat-wise).

 

The thing that has always impressed me about Joe is that despite him wanting to be unleashed, he is ultimately a team-first guy so if the team needs him to hand the ball off and only through 10 times he will do that because he will do what is best for the team rather than just himself.

 

Could you see Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, or Peyton Manning making the same type of sacrifice? Granted they have been so good their teams are built around them having big days in the passing game, but I find it hard to believe they would so willing take a back seat if necessary (though we might see that happen with Brady this year with his dearth of receiving options.)

 

Edited for correctness sake ;)

[T3hRaven]

Whenever you get the chance to see Joe having a more candid conversation or he's asked about his own talent you can always tell that he wasn't to be able to play the way that we all think of when we think of the top QBs in the NFL (stat-wise).

 

The thing that has always impressed me about Joe is that despite him wanting to be unleashed, he is ultimately a team-first guy so if the team needs him to hand the ball off and only through 10 times he will do that because he will do what is best for the team rather than just himself.

 

Could you see Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, or Peyton Manning making the same type of sacrifice? Granted they have been so good their teams are built around them having big days in the passing game, but I find it hard to believe they would so willing take a back seat if necessary (though we might see that happen with Brady this year with his dearth of receiving options.)

 

Come on bro.  Peyton Manning I can see you making your argument for, but Brady was a sixth round draft pick who battled to get where he is today.  He wasn't an immediate starter, and the Pats were very much a run first and defensive team when he won his rings.  And Rodgers sat for years behind Favre and his nonsense, he certainly made sacrifices in his career.

[CARavensFan]

Come on bro.  Peyton Manning I can see you making your argument for, but Brady was a sixth round draft pick who battled to get where he is today.  He wasn't an immediate starter, and the Pats were very much a run first and defensive team when he won his rings.  And Rodgers sat for years behind Favre and his nonsense, he certainly made sacrifices in his career.

 

True enough about Brady and Rodgers in the past, I was thinking of them having to make the change now, but after rethinking it they are at the stage of their careers that Joe is just entering into where they are undisputed leader and the offense goes through them.

 

I stand corrected.

[Ravensallday24/7]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9591440&categoryid=2378529    

Its official Ron Jaworski is a Ravens fan

[callahan09]

True enough about Brady and Rodgers in the past, I was thinking of them having to make the change now, but after rethinking it they are at the stage of their careers that Joe is just entering into where they are undisputed leader and the offense goes through them.

 

I stand corrected.

A very graceful response to someone telling you you're wrong.  I like that!

[T3hRaven]

True enough about Brady and Rodgers in the past, I was thinking of them having to make the change now, but after rethinking it they are at the stage of their careers that Joe is just entering into where they are undisputed leader and the offense goes through them.

 

I stand corrected.

 

The core of your point was correct, there are a lot of QBs who have entered the league with more trust given to them by the coaching staff than Joe got in at least his first few years.  Andrew Luck and RGIII in particular were made the focus of their respective teams immediately.  They weren't expected to take a back seat despite the fact they were rookies.

 

That is true though, Joe is entering the prime of his career.  I think some people, myself included, are kinda forgetting we're probably going to have this guy as our QB for another decade.  I think that's a good thing.

[callahan09]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9591440&categoryid=2378529    

Its official Ron Jaworski is a Ravens fan

Hey, I noticed in the video they have a graphic at the bottom during the whole segment saying "Balti-More of the Same?"

 

Does anybody even know what they mean by that question?  I mean... They're arguing over how they had so much roster turnover (they "lost" more starters in the off-season than any other SB winning team ever), but the title is basically asking are they more of the same?  That seems contradictory in and of itself... But also odd is the connotation that more of the same is bad... Wait a second here... isn't more of the same in the context of the Ravens being a Super Bowl winning team?  Haha.  I just don't get what they're trying to imply with that question.

[T3hRaven]

Hey, I noticed in the video they have a graphic at the bottom during the whole segment saying "Balti-More of the Same?"

 

Does anybody even know what they mean by that question?  I mean... They're arguing over how they had so much roster turnover (they "lost" more starters in the off-season than any other SB winning team ever), but the title is basically asking are they more of the same?  That seems contradictory in and of itself... But also odd is the connotation that more of the same is bad... Wait a second here... isn't more of the same in the context of the Ravens being a Super Bowl winning team?  Haha.  I just don't get what they're trying to imply with that question.

 

If you start asking questions it all falls apart.  First Take isn't a deep show, it's the Real Housewives of ESPN, a Here Comes Skippy Poo-Poo if you will.

[T3hRaven]

Hey, I noticed in the video they have a graphic at the bottom during the whole segment saying "Balti-More of the Same?"

 

Does anybody even know what they mean by that question?  I mean... They're arguing over how they had so much roster turnover (they "lost" more starters in the off-season than any other SB winning team ever), but the title is basically asking are they more of the same?  That seems contradictory in and of itself... But also odd is the connotation that more of the same is bad... Wait a second here... isn't more of the same in the context of the Ravens being a Super Bowl winning team?  Haha.  I just don't get what they're trying to imply with that question.

 

If you start asking questions it all falls apart.  First Take isn't a deep show, it's the Real Housewives of ESPN, a Here Comes Skippy Poo-Poo if you will.

[Ravenslifer]

If you start asking questions it all falls apart.  First Take isn't a deep show, it's the Real Housewives of ESPN, a Here Comes Skippy Poo-Poo if you will.

 

All you need to know about Skip Bayless is that he has done nothing but dog Joe, then (it was either last playoffs or this playoffs) he was asked to rank playoff quarterbacks and he had Joe fifth.

[5aiah]

If you start asking questions it all falls apart.  First Take isn't a deep show, it's the Real Housewives of ESPN, a Here Comes Skippy Poo-Poo if you will.

Both of them know more about basketball than football. Skip is a pundit,nothing more nothing less. He's a necessary part of journalism. A lot of times one agrees with the other but will play the D.A. just for the sake of debate. I've only watched a full episode once or twice but it can be entertaining if you aren't taking it so seriously. To put it in perspective, I'll never watch them when only basketball is going on(even though it is their biggest strength in terms of pure knowledge) and will only watch when all the drama is going on in multiple sports(college and pro bball and fball and baseball). I don't get why people still take Skip seriously as if he is a true sports analyst. Just entertainment folks.

[edthehead]

[CARavensFan]

A very graceful response to someone telling you you're wrong.  I like that!

 

Thanks, I try to keep it honest here. If I'm wrong I will own up to ;)

 

The core of your point was correct, there are a lot of QBs who have entered the league with more trust given to them by the coaching staff than Joe got in at least his first few years.  Andrew Luck and RGIII in particular were made the focus of their respective teams immediately.  They weren't expected to take a back seat despite the fact they were rookies.

 

That is true though, Joe is entering the prime of his career.  I think some people, myself included, are kinda forgetting we're probably going to have this guy as our QB for another decade.  I think that's a good thing.

 

I think the difference ultimately comes down to draft position and the condition of the team the QB was drafted into, with Luck and RG3 for example they're teams were pretty hopeless without them so they had nothing to lose by letting their Top 5 guys play it out and see what happens. It just happened to work out better for them than, for example, the Dolphins and their QB.

 

By comparison Joe (Brady and Rodgers too) were drafted onto teams that were already established winners (our 2007 season record not withstanding) so they had to "fit in" with the existing winning culture rather than help establish one from the get go.

 

The next 5-10 years should be really exciting to watch as Joe steps into his own in this offense, I'm cautiously optimistic that we will see the offense take more of a lead this year on a more consistent basis than last year. I think last season things were poised for that to happen but the offense's lack of growth under Cameron held that back; this year will be different :D

[Gordo52]

Why do I feel uncomfortable about someone writing a nice article about Joe?

Same!

[Ravensfan23]

Silly me, I started a new thread about this and it was already here. But anyway, great article. For those that don't know Joe Flacco and only use the National Media to form opinion of what he's about, I think they'll learn a lot from this article.

 

I thought the Ashley Fox article was pretty good as well. Maybe Ray Lewis' impact is already being felt at ESPN lol.

[MTRavensFan]

Cam asking Joe to give a Lewis-type speech, that's hysterical. Just goes to show how far off Cam was in his assessment of Joe's strengths.

 

and this on Harbaugh:

"His greatest strength as a head coach isn't X's and O's, it's always been how well he understands the complex cauldron of locker room egos and emotions, abilities and ambitions."

Yep. The future.

 

Great read, thanks for the link

[ellicottraven]

Is this the beginning of some long due respect for Joe? Or is it just my great expectations back at work here?