Quote Originally Posted by lobachevsky View Post
Cam trusted Joe to throw the outs to a WR with reliable hands who ran precise routes. Partly IMO because Flacco's arm strength made those throws very low-risk. (I remember one sideline pass in the 2008 Cowboys game where the Dallas DB broke on the ball thinking he had an easy pick-6 & it rocketed right past him into Mason's hands.) He didn't trust him to throw over the middle, mainly (IMO) because of a couple of high-profile INTs where Joe didn't seem to see the coverage (I remember when they were driving for the go-ahead score vs the Colts in 2009 & Flacco tries to force the ball to Rice with no less than 3 Colts right in front of #27, & Brackett picked it).

Cam never trusted Joe. You could make the case that in years past (1) the offense was terrified of blowing games in which the defense had played well enough to win, & (2) he never knew when Good Joe would morph into Bad Joe & do precisely that. That 11/09 loss to the Colts is a classic example--the D picks Manning 3 times but the O can't get into the EZ & comes up short in crunch time with that incomprehensible pick.

What brought it all to a head this year was the combination of a tough schedule & injuries which made the defense much less reliable. Playing not to lose when on offense was no longer an option; they were going to have to rise or fall with Flacco, but Cam never trusted him enough to really let him loose. Caldwell trusts Joe & makes the adjustments to let him do what he says he can do & wants to do.
Excellent analysis. The prior offensive inconsistency has to be relegated to several factors: Flacco's inconsistency when he feels pressure due to a porous offensive line, he panics under pressure; Flacco showing poor leadership skills (showing poor time-management skills and taking control of the offense in crucial situations) resultant from Cameron's lack of trust, his iron-clad control, and the OC's inability to analyze defensive vulnerabilities; The poor offensive line play limited Flacco's confidence to move around in the pocket; Flacco had a tendency to hold onto the ball too long and made himself vulnerable to sacks and hits because of a poor offensive line; and a big issue was Cameron not knowing when to adjust to the run game when it became obvious that bad-Flacco was on the field. Cameron stubbornly forced a passing game when it was not working as a result of poor offensive line play and/or Flacco overthrowing or under-throwing open receivers. Flacco's confidence has recently been elevated as a direct result of a better offensive line. Flacco is now moving in the pocket and is getting time to go through progressions and is hitting an open receiver over the middle when another wide receiver (Smith) is double-covered. The rest is history.