An analysis of the Raven's first 2 weeks

[Passepartout]

They are 1-1. As really should had won at home against the Bengals. Really just were not there. But glad they showed up against the Steelers. And won!

[Ravensfan23]

Pierce is not a strong runner almost like he is not sure or scared,something is missing and he also stays hurt,I liked him as a backup,,the offense is still a work in progress,they saw some action in preseason but not really,wait till about the 4/5 game maybe allot of kinks will get worked out but it really takes the second year for the new system to become fluid.the browns are a decent team with a good defense,we can not under estimate them pack a lunch,Joe is good his problem is 1 consistency and 2 when he is bad he is really bad,we have to find him a medium,I hope I answered it ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,       

 

If the offense as a whole is a work in progress, wouldn't it only be fair to view BP as a work in progress as well. I mean the guy did have 22 rushes for 96 yards. I disagree with him not being a tough runner. He may not be a power runner or pile mover, but he's very physical as a runner imo

[edthehead]

If the offense as a whole is a work in progress, wouldn't it only be fair to view BP as a work in progress as well. I mean the guy did have 22 rushes for 96 yards. I disagree with him not being a tough runner. He may not be a power runner or pile mover, but he's very physical as a runner imo

RB is one of the few positions that can plug and play, this is a part of why the position is devalued,those 96 yards you speak of,came about in junk time those are no real yards,,PIerce has been in the nfl for a minute now,he is consistently hurt , the real work in progress is letting him run and us trying to be patient and I agree he is physical but he get hurts ,,so for all the physicality he is a tad bit soft,,,,   

[3-4ravdef509]

Five Things we learned from the first 2 weeks of football.

1. Running the ball is how we will win the game - While we by no means played a good steelers team, this week's performance showed us exactly what we need to do to win games. Pierce did an okay job this week, but has to be more effective going forward to maintain consistency on offense. He needs to step up and become the guy because this system is suited for him. The reason we won on Thursday was the difference in game plan. That is all.

2. The offensive line is the strongest it has ever been. When Ozzie made the trade for Eugene Monroe, he envisioned a line that could impose its will on any team, and he has finally done it. Zuttah has come in and played better than expected. Rick Wagner has been effective at RT (not just okay, but actually effective). The rest of our line is healthy and dominant. We could theoretically finish with what could be a top 5 offensive line.

3. The defense is special. We are not even at full strength yet, and this defense is proving it is special. Make no mistakes, the sacks may not be there, but the pass rush is. Through 2 games, we have held opponents to 1 touchdown that came on a very flukey play given up by our 3rd string corner (who has played exceptionally well). The defense isnt even at full strength yet as Webb will return, and Will Hill will come to galvanize the secondary. From front to back, this defense is special and will only get better from here on in.

4. If we want to win games, Flacco needs to play the role of a game manager. This isn't an insult to Flacco, but I never want to see him try to carry the team by throwing the ball 62 times a game for 345 yards and 2 TD's. I'd rather see him post the 191 yards 2 TD's while going 21-29. Why? It shows that he is playing efficient football and to the strengths of the team as a whole.

5. The run game needs to be more effective if we want to establish the deep ball and Torrey.

I disagree with point 4. Being a game manager might win some games, but I'm sure there will be games where Flacco well have to air it out and carry the team on his back (which I'm confident he can do). But that's fine. Last year he had to carry the team almost every game with no help, so I feel good about the offense moving forward if they continue to progress as they did week 1 to week 2

[Ravensfan23]

RB is one of the few positions that can plug and play, this is a part of why the position is devalued,those 96 yards you speak of,came about in junk time those are no real yards,,PIerce has been in the nfl for a minute now,he is consistently hurt , the real work in progress is letting him run and us trying to be patient and I agree he is physical but he get hurts ,,so for all the physicality he is a tad bit soft,,,,   

junk time? lol Why is it that there always seems to be that one player or two that fans hate and seemingly have no reason to hate him so much. I'm not saying the guys is a stud or anything. But to discredit what he did against the Steelers as "junk yards" is not only foolish imo but completely wrong. Did he have some longer runs in the 4th quarter? Of course but that doesn't discount the work he did for the team to help build that lead that led to "junk time". In both the TD drives, BP was a huge part of the offense. He accounted for 1/2 the total yards on the first TD drive and when the Steelers cut the lead to 10-6, the Ravens leaned on Peirce and he responded with about 25 yards on a 70 yard drive. Those were real yards.

[edthehead]

junk time? lol Why is it that there always seems to be that one player or two that fans hate and seemingly have no reason to hate him so much. I'm not saying the guys is a stud or anything. But to discredit what he did against the Steelers as "junk yards" is not only foolish imo but completely wrong. Did he have some longer runs in the 4th quarter? Of course but that doesn't discount the work he did for the team to help build that lead that led to "junk time". In both the TD drives, BP was a huge part of the offense. He accounted for 1/2 the total yards on the first TD drive and when the Steelers cut the lead to 10-6, the Ravens leaned on Peirce and he responded with about 25 yards on a 70 yard drive. Those were real yards.

do you think forsett had a better game,,in either game maybe both games,,Tilaferro is a strong back and i think he should get some touches, MR.Ravensfan,,, I am not throwing pierce under the bus nor am I condemning to RB hell,I just think he is missing something the way he runs and he is injury prone ,,hypothetically if tilaferro can produce the same as pierce would you start him over forsett   

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Last game changed the narrative completely..."We're back!

[Militant X 1]

Last game changed the narrative completely... "We're back!

Getting into the redzone 3 times and coming away with only 3 FG's is far from being back imo.  So, I'll just wait to see how these Ravens play on the road before thinking that.  They still got a lot of work to do.

 

@Mili

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Getting into the redzone 3 times and coming away with only 3 FG's is far from being back imo.  So, I'll just wait to see how these Ravens play on the road before thinking that.  They still got a lot of work to do.

 

@Mili

True. There's always room for improvement, but I saw  something last game that's special. The 'road' is the test, but this was one of the most consistant, full games of football that I've seen us play since the SB. So now that they've shown their potential, there's no going back. We may miss another field goal or two, lose a few and get out-matched going forward, but this team is special and they're just beginning to realize it. imo - The narrative has changed.

[Ravensfan23]

do you think forsett had a better game,,in either game maybe both games,,Tilaferro is a strong back and i think he should get some touches, MR.Ravensfan,,, I am not throwing pierce under the bus nor am I condemning to RB hell,I just think he is missing something the way he runs and he is injury prone ,,hypothetically if tilaferro can produce the same as pierce would you start him over forsett   

 

oh no i'm not saying you're throwing him under the bus, I just don't get why he gets such hate now. As for you're question, no I do not believe Forsett had a better game in the Steelers game. He definitely had a better game in the Bengals game, although BP was had a fairly good game before the fumble imo.

 

But going back to last week against the Steelers. No I don't feel Forsett had a better game. He had 8 carries for 56 yards. He had 1 carry for 41 yards in the 4th quarter of what you called junk time before. Which mean he had a total of 7 carries for 15 yards leading up to that point. Peirce on the other hand was steady and keep the offense ahead of the chains which seemed to be all apart of the game plan.

 

Let's not be fooled by LT's perform in the preseason. I'm not saying what he is or isn't but we've seen over the last few years that the Ravens aren't afraid to play young players if they prove worthy. I really like LT and think he'll do well with some touches, but in no way do I think he should be taking over for either BP or Forsett right now. We are two weeks into the season and as much as people wanna say BP is indecisive, making poor reads or whatever, he's averaging like 4.2 yards a touch and that's good no matter what offense.

[ravensnick]

RB is one of the few positions that can plug and play, this is a part of why the position is devalued,those 96 yards you speak of,came about in junk time those are no real yards,,PIerce has been in the nfl for a minute now,he is consistently hurt , the real work in progress is letting him run and us trying to be patient and I agree he is physical but he get hurts ,,so for all the physicality he is a tad bit soft,,,,   

No, you can just plug and play 100 yd rushes. We all knew Pierce had the talent.  I think 20 yds came in junk time. RB in devalued, but you can't just but any old scrub back there, yo need a man that fits the scheme (like pierce does perfectly).

[Militant X 1]

True. There's always room for improvement, but I saw  something last game that's special. The 'road' is the test, but this was one of the most consistant, full games of football that I've seen us play since the SB. So now that they've shown their potential, there's no going back. We may miss another field goal or two, lose a few and get out-matched going forward, but this team is special and they're just beginning to realize it. imo - The narrative has changed.

 

You said the key word here for me; "one."  That was one game man!  We're only 2 games into the season and we have not seen any consistency in back-to-back games from these Ravens as of yet.  And we have no idea as to what type of road team they will be until Sunday.  How they perform then will let me know "if" the narrative has changed.  Until then, nothing is different!  Good win for us though!  But, I like your positivity; I'm just not drunk on the purple stuff yet.

 

@Mili

[FlocksGottaFeed]

You said the key word here for me; "one."  That was one game man!  We're only 2 games into the season and we have not seen any consistency in back-to-back games from these Ravens as of yet.  And we have no idea as to what type of road team they will be until Sunday.  How they perform then will let me know "if" the narrative has changed.  Until then, nothing is different!  Good win for us though!  But, I like your positivity; I'm just not drunk on the purple stuff yet.

 

@Mili

Agreed. I'm not drunk just, yet either. Just a buzz. I was talking 4 quarters only. I still believe there's something there until I don't see it anymore. Hopefully, the narrative continues and travels well next game.

[edthehead]

No, you can just plug and play 100 yd rushes. We all knew Pierce had the talent.  I think 20 yds came in junk time. RB in devalued, but you can't just but any old scrub back there, yo need a man that fits the scheme (like pierce does perfectly).

of course you can not put anybody back there ,, never said he didn't fit the scheme (based on last year) ,,what I said is pierce is missing something,almost like he is scared (hurt allot) ,maybe unsure,or confidence... idk... I do like him, but at this put I would give  the new kid a couple of carries see how he looks,,I did not see the yards per carry you or anybody have it just to compare,   

[edthehead]

oh no i'm not saying you're throwing him under the bus, I just don't get why he gets such hate now. As for you're question, no I do not believe Forsett had a better game in the Steelers game. He definitely had a better game in the Bengals game, although BP was had a fairly good game before the fumble imo.

 

But going back to last week against the Steelers. No I don't feel Forsett had a better game. He had 8 carries for 56 yards. He had 1 carry for 41 yards in the 4th quarter of what you called junk time before. Which mean he had a total of 7 carries for 15 yards leading up to that point. Peirce on the other hand was steady and keep the offense ahead of the chains which seemed to be all apart of the game plan.

 

Let's not be fooled by LT's perform in the preseason. I'm not saying what he is or isn't but we've seen over the last few years that the Ravens aren't afraid to play young players if they prove worthy. I really like LT and think he'll do well with some touches, but in no way do I think he should be taking over for either BP or Forsett right now. We are two weeks into the season and as much as people wanna say BP is indecisive, making poor reads or whatever, he's averaging like 4.2 yards a touch and that's good no matter what offense.

thanks,great info

[frozen joe flacco fan]

 Five Things we learned from the first 2 weeks of football. 

 

1. Running the ball is how we will win the game - While we by no means played a good steelers team, this week's performance showed us exactly what we need to do to win games. Pierce did an okay job this week, but has to be more effective going forward to maintain consistency on offense. He needs to step up and become the guy because this system is suited for him. The reason we won on Thursday was the difference in game plan. That is all. 

 

2. The offensive line is the strongest it has ever been. When Ozzie made the trade for Eugene Monroe, he envisioned a line that could impose its will on any team, and he has finally done it. Zuttah has come in and played better than expected. Rick Wagner has been effective at RT (not just okay, but actually effective). The rest of our line is healthy and dominant. We could theoretically finish with what could be a top 5 offensive line. 

 

3. The defense is special. We are not even at full strength yet, and this defense is proving it is special. Make no mistakes, the sacks may not be there, but the pass rush is. Through 2 games, we have held opponents to 1 touchdown that came on a very flukey play given up by our 3rd string corner (who has played exceptionally well). The defense isnt even at full strength yet as Webb will return, and Will Hill will come to galvanize the secondary. From front to back, this defense is special and will only get better from here on in. 

 

4. If we want to win games, Flacco needs to play the role of a game manager. This isn't an insult to Flacco, but I never want to see him try to carry the team by throwing the ball 62 times a game for 345 yards and 2 TD's. I'd rather see him post the 191 yards 2 TD's while going 21-29. Why? It shows that he is playing efficient football and to the strengths of the team as a whole. 

 

5. The run game needs to be more effective if we want to establish the deep ball and Torrey.

One and a half out of five ain't bad, Sizzlebshu! Ya got #1 half right and #5 right.

 

1. Running the football always has been a key ingredient to winning football games but as you correctly noted the game plan was the difference on Thursday night. The game plan was obviously much more balanced between runs and passes. Running the ball downhill when you have a lead in the second half is especially effective to shorten the game. Running the ball to establish the pass is always effective. Our success this year at running the football can be attributed to Gary Kubiak's run by committee system. It would have been successful with or without Ray Rice.  

 

2. To say that this offensive line is the strongest its ever been is a stretch and an insult to some pretty good former O-linemen like Jonathan Ogden, Mike Flynn, Casey Rabach, Ben Grubbs, Ray Chester and Matt Birk, just to name a few.The jury's still out on how Rick Wagner will perform against someone like relentless Paul Krueger and the middle of the O-line should never allow its franchise QB to be hit in the midsection by an ILB named Vontes Burfectt(sp). I would agree that they dominated Pittsburgh's once formidable D-line on Thursday night and the ZBS blocking looks good so far.

 

3. The front seven has played well so far and this has made the D-backs look better than they are. However, its way too early to say they are special. The Cincinnati Bengals scored on 6 possessions against us with a mediocre QB. The TD they scored against us in the 2nd half of the game exposed a glaring weakness, named Chykie Brown. Let's face it. We're thin at the CB position until and unless Lardarius Webb and Will Hill return to the lineup. I am encouraged to see that we signed a CB from Good Counsel HS here in Olney. He played for one of the greatest HS football coaches in America --- Bob Milloy. We should keep him.

 

4. Our quarterback's name is Joe Flacco and he is not a game manager. Trent Dilfer was a game manager. Cool Hand Joe is a franchise QB who is also one of the very best QBs in the business. Three of the top four QBs in the league lost their opening game this year. Only Peyton Manning won. The NFL's pre-season ranking of Joe Flacco as being in the middle of the pack is laughable. If Joe's normally sure-handed receivers had not had a bad case of nerves on opening day in BMore and if Bernard Pierce had not fumbled the ball, we would be headed to Cleveland as the Division leaders of the AFC North. No QB wants to have to throw 62 passes in a game but it was dictated by the situation at hand. Nevertheless, Joe was able to overcome those adversities and get us into the lead at 16-15 with 4:48 to play.

 

5. You nailed this one! Running the ball more effectively will enable Joe to use more play-action and go deep to Torrey, Marlon and Jacoby. I love the formation with twin TEs and two WRs (22 package?) with a RB set behind Joe. It can be used to disguise a running play or to pass the ball. In the absence of Ray Rice, we still need to use Jusceyk (sp) as a Danny Woodhead type of slot receiver and Joe could mix in a few shovel passes to become a more efficient passer. Big Ben's completion percentage against us was better due to his effective use of the shovel pass to Le'Veon Bell. Bringing in Tyrod occasionally in the pistol offense formation would also enhance the run game.

 

NEWSFLASH!!! - Rayless Ravens win on road in Cleveland 23-20!

[The Raven]

I do think this could end up our best offensive line in franchise history. As frozen joe flacco fan noted, we've had several phenomenal linemen in the past. I'm not discounting guys like JO, Mulitalo, and Birk. But they were great individuals who probably weren't on a great unit. This could end up our best overall unit yet. We'll see what happens, but I'm confident in these guys up front.

[bMore Heathen]

4. If we want to win games, Flacco needs to play the role of a game manager. This isn't an insult to Flacco, but I never want to see him try to carry the team by throwing the ball 62 times a game for 345 yards and 2 TD's. I'd rather see him post the 191 yards 2 TD's while going 21-29. Why? It shows that he is playing efficient football and to the strengths of the team as a whole.

That's a great analysis, and agree with you, but here's the problem with Flacco being a game manager. His paycheck. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to start another debate about his contract, but we can't pay a game manager 20 M a year. If we're going to commit that much of our cap on 1 player, he has to be a game changer and the main focal point. If a game manager is what we need to win, than we can go with a much cheaper option, and allow ourselves to commit to other positions. And again, don't get me wrong, I love Joe. We searched for a QB for way too long, don't want to go through that again.

[Militant X 1]

Agreed. I'm not drunk just, yet either. Just a buzz. I was talking 4 quarters only. I still believe there's something there until I don't see it anymore. Hopefully, the narrative continues and travels well next game.

 

My viewpoint is different than this.  UNTIL, they "prove" that it is there....I mean...in more than just one game...then I'll believe!  At this point...at least for me....it is waaaaaaay too early to throw all of my eggs into the...."this is a new team and our running game is fixed and our offense is going to be great this season" basket.  I'm waiting for them to prove it by playing well in back to back to back games!  That's what I want to see!!!

I do think this could end up our best offensive line in franchise history. As frozen joe flacco fan noted, we've had several phenomenal linemen in the past. I'm not discounting guys like JO, Mulitalo, and Birk. But they were great individuals who probably weren't on a great unit. This could end up our best overall unit yet. We'll see what happens, but I'm confident in these guys up front.

 

Again, love the positivity but for me...it's way too earlier to think like this after 2 games.

 

@Mili

[Ravensfan23]

That's a great analysis, and agree with you, but here's the problem with Flacco being a game manager. His paycheck. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to start another debate about his contract, but we can't pay a game manager 20 M a year. If we're going to commit that much of our cap on 1 player, he has to be a game changer and the main focal point. If a game manager is what we need to win, than we can go with a much cheaper option, and allow ourselves to commit to other positions. And again, don't get me wrong, I love Joe. We searched for a QB for way too long, don't want to go through that again.

 

The biggest problem with Joe being a game manager is that you will not consistently win that way. I'm amazed at how many people stick their chest out when the Ravens win a game like the one last Thursday and say, see I told you that's the way the Ravens win game. Great defense, a strong running game and a game managing QB. Yet when the playoffs starts, other then the Pats game in 09, we've never really been able to run the ball in the playoffs and our defense rarely has a totally dominating performance.

 

That game against the Steelers was great but you will not win many meaningful games that way. I'm not saying Joe will need to throw 60+ because no QB should be required to do so. However he will need to be in that 35-45 attempts per game on a consistent bases. Ideally you want him closer to the 35-38 range because that probably means we passed early to get a lead and pounding the run game in the 4th quarter to seal the game. I just don't see Thursday night happening often. The Ravens only had one possession in the 1st quarter and a total of 3 in the first half. That drastically limited the number of plays run.

[PerpetuallyBored74]

The biggest problem with Joe being a game manager is that you will not consistently win that way. I'm amazed at how many people stick their chest out when the Ravens win a game like the one last Thursday and say, see I told you that's the way the Ravens win game. Great defense, a strong running game and a game managing QB. Yet when the playoffs starts, other then the Pats game in 09, we've never really been able to run the ball in the playoffs and our defense rarely has a totally dominating performance.

 

That game against the Steelers was great but you will not win many meaningful games that way. I'm not saying Joe will need to throw 60+ because no QB should be required to do so. However he will need to be in that 35-45 attempts per game on a consistent bases. Ideally you want him closer to the 35-38 range because that probably means we passed early to get a lead and pounding the run game in the 4th quarter to seal the game. I just don't see Thursday night happening often. The Ravens only had one possession in the 1st quarter and a total of 3 in the first half. That drastically limited the number of plays run.

 

Depends on our tempo / how long our bend but don't break (hopefully) defense is on the field. If our offense is methodical in eating up the clock, while our defense takes several minutes before they get off the field, then we'll see fewer offensive plays, so Joe only throwing around 25 - 30 times is quite reasonable. If we go with a faster pace, and/or get off the field quicker on D, then 40 - 45 pass attempts seems likely. Anything above 50 though is too many as teams rarely win when the QB (no matter who he is) throws the ball that much.

Ultimately the only thing that matters is that Joe and co. play well enough to win,regardless of how they do it, and being adaptable from game to game is actually to our advantage.

[Ravensfan23]

Depends on our tempo / how long our bend but don't break (hopefully) defense is on the field. If our offense is methodical in eating up the clock, while our defense takes several minutes before they get off the field, then we'll see fewer offensive plays, so Joe only throwing around 25 - 30 times is quite reasonable. If we go with a faster pace, and/or get off the field quicker on D, then 40 - 45 pass attempts seems likely. Anything above 50 though is too many as teams rarely win when the QB (no matter who he is) throws the ball that much.

Ultimately the only thing that matters is that Joe and co. play well enough to win,regardless of how they do it, and being adaptable from game to game is actually to our advantage.

 

That's the biggest thing no doubt. My point is you rarely have games like we saw Thursday night. Ideally we'd love to see that but lets be honest, although it's pointless to play the if game, without those 3 turnovers this is probably a completely different game and we aren't able to run the ball nearly as much. With 14 minutes left in the 4th quarter Joe Flacco attempted exactly 1 pass the remained of the game. How many games can you honestly see Joe Flacco attempting one pass in the 4th quarter of a game? imo it's just not likely.

 

Honestly I'd be surprised if Flacco doesn't attempt at least 33 passes in every game.

[Inqui]

I do think this could end up our best offensive line in franchise history. As frozen joe flacco fan noted, we've had several phenomenal linemen in the past. I'm not discounting guys like JO, Mulitalo, and Birk. But they were great individuals who probably weren't on a great unit. This could end up our best overall unit yet. We'll see what happens, but I'm confident in these guys up front.

And to think people thought Juan Castillo was the problem.

[The Raven]

And to think people thought Juan Castillo was the problem.

 

He's clearly a horrible coach

[Sizzlebshu]

That's a great analysis, and agree with you, but here's the problem with Flacco being a game manager. His paycheck. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to start another debate about his contract, but we can't pay a game manager 20 M a year. If we're going to commit that much of our cap on 1 player, he has to be a game changer and the main focal point. If a game manager is what we need to win, than we can go with a much cheaper option, and allow ourselves to commit to other positions. And again, don't get me wrong, I love Joe. We searched for a QB for way too long, don't want to go through that again.

What do you care how much cap we commit if he wins games Who cares how he does it if he wins? 

[ravens533]

After just two games we can not make many real observations about the offense except that Joe is not having to run for his life thus far. That tells me the pass protection has greatly improved. The first game we had a lot of miscommunications but seemed to be doing a lot better on that in Thursday night's game. Our run game is coming along but is not there yet. We need to improve red zone performance. I will wait until we have played a couple of games against good defense before any more analysts. Will say that Thursday night's performance gives me a lot of hope. As for our defense, we were able to get some pressure on Dalton which bodes well for our D-line and they were very good against a so-so O-line. It was good to see that the defense seemed to be playing with more confidence against the Steelers and caused 3 turnovers. If that continues, we will have a lot more success. The special teams was good to very good. We did not allow any kick off returns due to Justin kicking through the end zone most of the time. And were very stingy on what either team got on punt returns. We got that blocked kick which also speaks to how good our special teams unit is. If we can get some really good returns then I would upgrade it to very good. Lots to be done before we can call the overall team very good but signs of that are showing through enough to give me hope that we will be exactly that by mid-season.

[bMore Heathen]

What do you care how much cap we commit if he wins games Who cares how he does it if he wins?

I care because it limits what we can do at other positions. If all we need is a game manager, get a guy that's not going to cost as much and allow us to get a really good CB or FS.

[Sizzlebshu]

I care because it limits what we can do at other positions. If all we need is a game manager, get a guy that's not going to cost as much and allow us to get a really good CB or FS.

It doesn't matter. The QB should play to fit the tempo of the game. If all Flacco needs to be is a game manager to win games (ie what Russell Wilson does for the Hawks) than thats what he should do. The fact of the matter is we are a better team when he throws less than 30 times and executes correctly. We don't need him to be Aaron Rodgers and we certainly dont want him to have to carry the team 

[bMore Heathen]

It doesn't matter. The QB should play to fit the tempo of the game. If all Flacco needs to be is a game manager to win games (ie what Russell Wilson does for the Hawks) than thats what he should do. The fact of the matter is we are a better team when he throws less than 30 times and executes correctly. We don't need him to be Aaron Rodgers and we certainly dont want him to have to carry the team

Yeah, your right. I don't know what I was thinking. You obviously know what your talking about. I mean, you back it up with indisputable well researched facts. I just hope you can forgive me for my foolishness. Smh

[beasy2487]

It doesn't matter. The QB should play to fit the tempo of the game. If all Flacco needs to be is a game manager to win games (ie what Russell Wilson does for the Hawks) than thats what he should do. The fact of the matter is we are a better team when he throws less than 30 times and executes correctly. We don't need him to be Aaron Rodgers and we certainly dont want him to have to carry the team

It matters tremendously. Do you think Peyton, Brady, Brees, and Rodgers all had (and still have for all but Peyton) pathetic defenses after they received max deals by coincidence? No. Putting 10-15-20% of your cap space into one player has real, dramatic implications for the rest of your roster. Given the concept of return on investment, each element has to perform proportionally to its cost or you're not going to field a competitive team. As a result, your highest paid player has to pull a disproportionate amount of weight to make up for the talent you don't have at the bottom of your roster due to his cap hit. When that player is the quarterback, given the inflation of quarterback salaries relative to all other positions, that principle applies that much more.

Russell Wilson is the perfect example. Russell Wilson is only Russell Wilson because the Seahawks are strong across their entire roster. This strength comes from the fact that when the team was constructed it didn't have a disproportionate amount invested in the QB position. As soon as guys like Wilson, Dalton, and Kaepernick start counting against the cap like top QBs, you're going to see the overall level of talent on those teams go down and, if those QBs don't step up just like we're asking Joe to, those teams will regress to mediocrity as we did last season.