Baltimore Sun article: To fix Ravens offense, Joe Flacco must fix himself?

[redrum52]

How do I not take that the wrong way? Lol...no offense taken.

But I worded it like that for a reason. Why was the running game successful every year, but this year? Or conversely, why does Jamaal Charles or AP get theirs regardless of who their QB is?

Good o line.  I've always agreed that the o line played a huge rule, same as d line does.  During the Rice negotiations I said use the money we'll pay Rice to build the o line for the exact reason we saw last year.  It won't matter who's back there if the guys up front can't block.  Regardless, back to the article, Flacco, with everyone else needs to get better.

 

To be completely fair Flacco does need a lot of help.

 

A whole new offensive line or competition at every position.

One more stellar receiver. A pass catching and a blocking tight end opposite Pitta 

 

Renewed running attack and a offensive coordinator who can call plays to get players open. 

 

He needs to much to be addressed in one off season.  I think we barely miss the playoffs again next year. 

I think we make playoffs next year, but I'll hold off until I see who we make OC.

[Guest RBates]

Good o line.  I've always agreed that the o line played a huge rule, same as d line does.  During the Rice negotiations I said use the money we'll pay Rice to build the o line for the exact reason we saw last year.  It won't matter who's back there if the guys up front can't block.  Regardless, back to the article, Flacco, with everyone else needs to get better.

 

I think we make playoffs next year, but I'll hold off until I see who we make OC.

Good point!

 

 I'm not really a fan of the WR coach so far.  I hope I'm wrong.

[Willbacker]

Joe needs to work on trying to get D offsides more and work on his recognition of what the opposing D is bringing. Just didn't seem like he was audibling into the right calls.

[The Mom Gene]

To be completely fair Flacco does need a lot of help.

 

A whole new offensive line or competition at every position.

One more stellar receiver. A pass catching and a blocking tight end opposite Pitta 

 

Renewed running attack and a offensive coordinator who can call plays to get players open. 

 

He needs to much to be addressed in one off season.  I think we barely miss the playoffs again next year. 

I will agree with everything you said.....  except for the last line... We "barely" missed the playoffs this year...  I think we make it next year.

[Wisdom]

Yeah year 7 and we're hearing the same old stuff.  Next season he'll break out...LMAO....   As I stated long ago Flacco has weaknesses in his game that just can't be fixed. He'll never do well with a Welker/Edelman type receiver because he is always late with the ball, doesn't think fast enough and has poor ball placement among others.

 

Flacco is an average to slightly above average player getting paid like one of the best in the game but he isn't. That's going to be a big stumbling block going forward for this team. Two seasons from now that money is going to be a big hurdle and I look forward to seeing him cut if he can't play up to the money he whined for.

 

I couldn't agree with you more!

[Wisdom]

I agree.  Flacco has his flaws, definitely, but he's not leaps and bounds below the so-called elite.  Flacco had the stats to justify his pay and a cutthroat agent who didn't care about Joe's limitations or needing a supporting cast (like every other quarterback) to win consistently.  Part of the blame belongs to the F.O.  Between Joe Linta and Baltimore's K-Mart budget mentality with other players, we didn't stand a chance this year lol.

 

Part of the blame is also with Flacco for he could have taken less in order to get / keep better players.  Greed goes both ways you know.   

[gabefergy]

Joe needs to work on trying to get D offsides more and work on his recognition of what the opposing D is bringing. Just didn't seem like he was audibling into the right calls.

You realize Joe led the league in causing the opposing D to jump offsides right? How about doing some research...

[HomeoftheBRAVENS]

We really need to upgrade the offensive line and the receiving corp.Yesterday on a play in the first drive,Peyton Manning had time to bobble the ball 5 or 6 times,finally catch it,scan the field and had a guy open after going through all that.I realize Flacco did ALOT of wrong last year,but we did him no favors with the talent we assembled on offense.For example,in the article they said he holds on to the ball for too long at times,but guys need to get open earlier in the routes for him to do that.All of our wrs were hit or miss deep threats who cant get open in the 5-10 yard range.The only good route runner we have is Pitta.I knew going into the year that this was going to be a BAD year for our passing offense and people would be pointing the finger at Joe.I mean really,if you were a fan of another team looking at our roster from the outside in with no bias toward anyone on the roster,what receiving option(wr or te) would you have feared last year besides Smith?We're wasting Flaccos prime years with this group of talent.We need to get a bonifide route runner who is on the right side of 30 and has enough speed to get yac and/or a 6 foot 3 or bigger dominate #1 guy.Torrey Smith just doesnt have what it takes to be a Demaryius Thomas,Dez Bryant,Julio Jones or Aj Green.It would be a big mistake to force him into being our #1 guy again in 2014.

[playlikeawhat]

Part of the blame is also with Flacco for he could have taken less in order to get / keep better players.  Greed goes both ways you know.   

You're absolutely right. Hardbaugh and I agreed on that earlier.  Flacco and the F.O. screwed the team from both sides but I tilt a tad more blame to the F.O. for agreeing to pay such a hefty price.  The money was the organization's to give, not Joe's to take.  They paid him like a QB who can do it all and that simply doesn't exist.  Not even the so-called elite are that good.  Drew Brees owes Sean Payton half of his contract money.  We all saw what happened when Sean was forced to sit at home and watch the Saints struggle.  Tom Brady was as inaccurate as Joe this year due to young receivers and poor throws (gasp!  Not Tom!  Yes Tom).  Aaron Rodgers broke his collar bone trying to compensate for little run game.  Ben owes half of his success to a decent running game and an above average defense.  Peyton has an awesome cast offensively and defensively.  I don't know what the owners and some of the media is smoking but these are not the "gods" they try to paint them as in their columns.  Watching Baltimore follow this trend was embarrassing but I think they'll bounce back...their jobs will depend on it.

[frozen joe flacco fan]

I watched the performance of four highly touted QBs yesterday and with the possible exception of Peyton Manning I saw nobody who distinguished himself in the conference championship games when compared to the play of our QB in last year's playoffs. The AFC Championship was rather boring. Even Peyton Manning got away with a couple of horrendous passes yesterday which were completed. The pass he threw to Wes Welker for a long completion was a wobbly pass with not much velocity on it. How it was not intercepted by the Pats is a mystery in itself. Joe has some things to learn this off-season to get to the next level and he will with the proper QB coach and OC. I saw a lot of growth in Joe this year. He still needs more work on releasing the ball sooner, timing patterns, more deliberate fake hand-offs on PA, going thru his progressions and stepping up into the pocket to throw when there is a pocket but he will get there as soon as the revolving door of receivers stops and the carousel of OCs stop. No growth is stagnation and always loses leadership. Joe grew this year and led by his example. He stood up to his opponents and critics like a Stonewall and neither complained nor threw anyone under the bus. Like MacArthur, Cool hand Joe will be back! Count on it!!

 

PS --- Its hard to go over plays that aren't working when the OC is up in a sky booth. C'mon Man!    

[jazz1988]

You have to be Flacco's kid brother posting this nonsense.

 

 

A few weeks ago on the Fan  Bruce Laird was reflecting on the 4th and 29 first down. He stated he spoke to the four quarterbacks he played with and when questioned if they would have checked down on 4th and 29 they responded "what do you think I'm stupid?" 

 

There is nothing to fear at all that's why he gets blitzed more frequent than any other quarterback. He can't figure out how to beat it, hasn't put the time in with his recievers or just doesn't have the talent. The Ravens are paying for a franchise quarterback but don't have one. 

 

Sheesh, Play well enough to make a Pro Bowl for once guy.

 

 one of the main reason why we get blitzed so much is because  opposing defenses know our receivers are running deep/long develop routes for  the majority of the time. Opposing defenses know we not going to ask our receivers to run slants, they know we not going to run a screen, and  since they know this   it makes it much easier to call a blitz because they know our receivers struggle to get open against press man coverage also we do very little  to beat it. 

 

  You say we get blitz because Flacco can't beat it and  I think that is so far from the truth. Do you even know what type of offense The Ravens run ? Its so mind blowing  that people want to bash Flacco but refuse to acknowledge that our offense has been so predictable for years. I mean you even had Nfl analyst  Greg Cossell call out our offense by saying it is a contrast to all  other passing team in the league but for some reason Flacco suppose to make  everything better because he's 120 million dollar man.  Nobody calls a offense passing game to all nfl teams then expects the quarterback to be consistently successful .

 

Flacco isn't perfect or with out flaws but it's just amazing how  he gets all the  blame when the problem on our offense is so obvious . I can't wait until he finally gets a real offensive coordinator but also won''t be surprised if we dont.

[jazz1988]

Part of the blame is also with Flacco for he could have taken less in order to get / keep better players.  Greed goes both ways you know.   

 

So i guess Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Cutler, and etc are greedy

[Ravenseconbeast]

So i guess Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Cutler, and etc are greedy

None of them ranked 32nd in passer rating either.

[K-Dog]

Is it possible, POSSIBLE I say, that Joes agent got him that pay day and Joe pretty much told him " Do what you do just make sure I get paid what I deserve. " ?

Is it POSSIBLE that Joes agent who works on commission, wanted his pay day as well and had no loyalty to any team or player?

 

Maybe ?

[Ravenslifer]

Why is this contract mess still being brought up - Joe's now being paid what the apparent going rate for franchise quarterbacks is; see the contracts of Tony Romo, Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler, and Aaron Rodgers.  It doesn't matter who's worth it anymore or not, that's what they're going to get.  Those other quarterbacks are being paid and still their teams consistently manage to sign and draft top offensive prospects to surround them with.  They also have offensive coordinators who are much more imaginative in their playcalling and their ability to get the most out of the talent they have on the roster, something the Ravens' offensive staffs have failed to do since 1996.

[TDubbs]

This.  Joe will never change.  Joe will always be the way he is now.  Ray Lewis took some heat for it but he was right that Flacco will not get better.  If given the right support cast, Joe will take us to the promise land every year.  If Flacco has a poor line, mediocre running game, and average WRs, he will never be successful like some other QBs that can overcome those factors.

 

Ahhhh, it pains me, but I whole heartedly agree. I support Flacco, he is a great QB with some outstanding traits that few QB's have. I'm appreciative of what we have at QB in Baltimore.

 

What he doesn't have is that Tom Brady type mental intensity to motivate and drive any type of team forward despite the odds. He just doesn't, which is ok. 

 

Give Flacco enough talent around him to get it done, and he will do it under a variety of tough circumstances with ice in his veins.  Leave him with mediocre talent and you will see what happened this year. He tried to get wins, but he took a severe beating in the process and couldn't help this team into the playoffs. 

[Ravenslifer]

Ahhhh, it pains me, but I whole heartedly agree. I support Flacco, he is a great QB with some outstanding traits that few QB's have. I'm appreciative of what we have at QB in Baltimore.

 

What he doesn't have is that Tom Brady type mental intensity to motivate and drive any type of team forward despite the odds. He just doesn't, which is ok. 

 

Give Flacco enough talent around him to get it done, and he will do it under a variety of tough circumstances with ice in his veins.  Leave him with mediocre talent and you will see what happened this year. He tried to get wins, but he took a severe beating in the process and couldn't help this team into the playoffs. 

 

All that talent didn't change the fact that Brady was playing with 3rd and 4th stringers this year, and that reflected in his numbers - completed less than 62 percent of his passes for the first time since 2004, threw for just 25 TDs the first time since 2006, under 4500 yards for just the second time since 2006, quarterback rating under 90 for the first time since 2006.  Even Brady doesn't put up all-time great numbers without a supporting cast.  No quarterback does - all of the ones with big numbers have high draft picks at receiver and tight end.  IDC how good a quarterback is, it's ridiculous to expect one player to carry a team.  Joe will never be a Brady or Manning or Brees, but I dislike the notion that any one of them could come in here, operate this specific offense with these players this year, and look just like they do in their current systems.

[Ravenslifer]

None of them ranked 32nd in passer rating either.

 

You're right, Brady was 17th... after being top five every year since 2007.

[Militant X 1]

Wow. By far the most I've ever typed. Sorry, kind've went on a rampage. I gotta stop doing dat!

 

Gordo we're cool and all but I didn't read that giant encyclopedia that you wrote brah!  I'll get around to it though.  lol!

 

Yeah year 7 and we're hearing the same old stuff.  Next season he'll break out...LMAO....   As I stated long ago Flacco has weaknesses in his game that just can't be fixed. He'll never do well with a Welker/Edelman type receiver because he is always late with the ball, doesn't think fast enough and has poor ball placement among others.

 

Flacco is an average to slightly above average player getting paid like one of the best in the game but he isn't. That's going to be a big stumbling block going forward for this team. Two seasons from now that money is going to be a big hurdle and I look forward to seeing him cut if he can't play up to the money he whined for.

 

Agreed!  And perhaps his spectacular playoff run (11 TD's and no INT's) is not the norm but was just catching lighting in a bottle.

 

#Mili

[CalvinSmoke]

Flacco can be more consistent but he needs more consistency around him. Good route runners that can run a slant and make the break the same way everytime. He and stokely actually hit it off right away. Not because he's still is a good wr but because he was cinsitent. If the defense gave him A he would do B. Everytime

We can't run option routes with these receivers and that's what we lack the most.

[Wisdom]

So i guess Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Cutler, and etc are greedy

 

Can Flacco carry a team like the quarterbacks you cited?  The answer is a resounding “No”.   He is getting paid to be that kind of QB, so he needs to perform like it or the franchise it screw for years.  You don’t take 18% of the cap for yourself and expect for the Ravens to surround you with a solid group of players for free.  Flacco needs to take a page from Peyton Manning - -take less money in order to keep players we need to keep and go get other players we need to have.  

[1/28/01]

I think I just farted.

Edit - Yes, it was a fart. Wasn't entirely sure.

[playlikeawhat]

Gordo we're cool and all but I didn't read that giant encyclopedia that you wrote brah!  I'll get around to it though.  lol!

 

 

Agreed!  And perhaps his spectacular playoff run (11 TD's and no INT's) is not the norm but was just catching lighting in a bottle.

 

#Mili

 

That's exactly what I'm talking about.  Some people seem to be under the impression that the fans are the only ones who didn't appreciate Joe's playoff performance but the F.O. clearly didn't either.  If they did, they would've sought to protect as much of the offense as possible.  They could simply look at other teams who THOUGHT they had a solve-it-all QB only to watch him crumble without supportive help.  "Elite" QBs never existed.  I don't understand why recent Super Bowl winners and the media keep perpetuating this madness.  It'd be nice to see owners sober up and remember dynasties were built off teams, not individuals.

[Wisdom]

Is it possible, POSSIBLE I say, that Joes agent got him that pay day and Joe pretty much told him " Do what you do just make sure I get paid what I deserve. " ?

Is it POSSIBLE that Joes agent who works on commission, wanted his pay day as well and had no loyalty to any team or player?

 

Maybe ?

 

Maybe, but his entire contract is a complete joke.  He not even that good.  As we just saw, we are paying him for mediocrity. 

[wayne]

Flacco > Kap or WIlson .

We either one of those QBs we are at least in the playoffs this season.

[Ravenslifer]

Can Flacco carry a team like the quarterbacks you cited?  The answer is a resounding “No”.   He is getting paid to be that kind of QB, so he needs to perform like it or the franchise it screw for years.  You don’t take 18% of the cap for yourself and expect for the Ravens to surround you with a solid group of players for free.  Flacco needs to take a page from Peyton Manning - -take less money in order to keep players we need to keep and go get other players we need to have.  

 

????  Manning's contract averages 2 million a year less than Flacco's, and his cap hit this year was double what Flacco's was.  In fact it will stay higher than Flacco's hit until 2016.

[Wisdom]

????  Manning's contract averages 2 million a year less than Flacco's, and his cap hit this year was double what Flacco's was.  In fact it will stay higher than Flacco's hit until 2016.

 

Good point.  I was speaking of Manning tenured with the Colts.  Nonetheless, Manning can carry a team, any team .... Flacco can not!

[Ravenslifer]

Good point.  I was speaking of Manning tenured with the Colts.  Nonetheless, Manning can carry a team, any team .... Flacco can not!

 

Doesn't matter - it's not about how good the player is, it's all about the position now.  Justin Tucker and Marshall Yanda are probably the two best offensive players on the team period, but they're not going to be paid like Torrey Smith will.  Joe signed the big deal after the Superbowl - then in less than one year, he's 3rd on the list behind Ryan and Rodgers, and actually 12th on the list if you go by guaranteed money only.  Only a quarter of Joe's deal is guaranteed, compared to say Tony Romo, who has 37 percent of his money guaranteed.  It's not about how good the player is, it's about what the market will pay.  Having more money doesn't make Joe a better QB, and having more money doesn't mean he can't become better than he is now.  He's got to be a better Joe Flacco, not a Peyton Manning, and there are several simple things he could and should be doing in the offseason to get better, but a lot of it would be helped out if he landed a smart offensive coordinator that was able to use the skill set of Joe and the receivers to their best advantage.  Alex Smith was a 7 year bust, got the right offensive minds around him, and the last 3 years looks like a completely different QB and is going to the Pro Bowl as an alternate this year.  Joe could easily make a similar leap if the right system is in place around him.

[Gordo52]

[quote name="Militant X 1" post="1755137" timestamp="1390276280"]

Gordo we're cool and all but I didn't read that giant encyclopedia that you wrote brah! I'll get around to it though. lol!


Agreed! And perhaps his spectacular playoff run (11 TD's and no INT's) is not the norm but was just catching lighting in a bottle.

#Mili[/quote]
Haha, I figured not. Once I was done typing I told my self even I wouldn't lol

[playlikeawhat]

Good point.  I was speaking of Manning tenured with the Colts.  Nonetheless, Manning can carry a team, any team .... Flacco can not!

Manning cannot carry "any" team.  That's why he cherry-picked where he went and sacrificed money to make sure he had the right players around him.  He's limited like every other quarterback with no competent coaching or athletic talent and discipline to complement his performance.  When Peyton can throw a long bomb, sprint, and catch it himself, I'll believe all this "elite" crap people keep spewing about him.  If he was so great, he would've went to the team that offered him the most money and thrived no matter who was there....he didn't.