No Slacko for Flacco

As the preseason winds down and Opening Day approaches, Joe Flacco remains a lightening rod in Baltimore. Mention his name in a pub, on sports talk radio or on message boards and for the most part the result is a rush of polarizing opinions about the player labeled the Ravens “Franchise Quarterback.”

That’s just the nature of the beast.

On one hand you have those who three seasons ago went Whacko for Flacco and have convalesced in Joe Cool LaLa Land ever since. On the other hand there are those who are outwardly frustrated by Flacco’s perceived limitations and his inability to win games on his own – particularly the big ones.

In many ways, Baltimore is no different than any other NFL city when it comes to the town’s signal caller. Yet there are circumstances in Baltimore that make things a bit more difficult for Flacco – circumstances that aren’t his fault and unfortunately can’t control.

THE POST BOLLER ERA

Fed up with Kyle Boller’s post-snap schizophrenic mental meltdowns and tired of watching the prime years of a premier defense wasting away, Ozzie Newsome traded for Steve McNair in 2006. The immediate results were good as the Ravens finished the season with a 13-3 record and the No. 2 overall seed in the post season.

But towards the end of that season the plus results of the anti-aging body cream started to wear off and McNair almost overnight looked like a has-been.

The effects of Father Time were even more pronounced in 2007 and McNair broke down forcing Brian Billick to turn the keys of his clunker offense back over to Boller only to have them taken away again late in the ’07 campaign and handed to Troy Smith.

It wasn’t pretty as the team was lucky to finish 5-11 thanks to a Week 17 gift from an unexpected philanthropist – the Pittsburgh Steelers.

ENTER JOE THE QUARTERBACK

Organizationally the Ravens committed to finding a franchise QB after the debacle of 2007. Frustrated again, they didn’t want to waste any more years of the team’s defensive talent nor did they want the cyclical ups and downs that were part of the Billick regime. To thwart that they fired Billick and then sought stability at the quarterback position – a young gunslinger to grow alongside rookie head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

Flacco didn’t arrive expecting to be the team’s starter from day 1 but as we all know, that’s exactly how it went down. Flacco’s inaugural season was a baptism of fire – one that overall was a smashing success as he helped guide the Ravens into the AFC Championship, something a rookie QB had never previously accomplished.

And neither did Elvis Grbac, Jeff Blake, Kyle Boller, Anthony Wright or even Steve McNair for that matter.

CRITICISMS JUSTIFIED?

So why then so much bile and angst directed toward Joe?

Part of it can be attributed to the many years of frustrating offensive performances dating back to the days immediately following the departure of Vinny Testaverde. Since 1998 the Ravens on average are the 21^st ranked offense based on yards. Defensively they averaged fifth during those 13 seasons.

The best offensive ranking for the Ravens since ’98 is 13^th. Guess who was QB then? You got it, No. 5 in 2009. Defensively the unit has place Top 5 or better eight times!

Maybe Flacco, despite an unprecedented three consecutive post season appearances is just an easy target. After all he is the trigger man of an offense that either hasn’t pulled its weight or has fallen short of expectations in the post season.

TIME FOR A (JOE) COOL CHANGE

Predictably the anti-Flacco camp wants a change. He was supposed to make a difference and in their mind’s eye he hasn’t and this preseason has provided little assurance that he will. Give them Bulger, give them Tyrod Taylor, bring back Troy Smith and why oh why did they not draft Matt Ryan?

“Matty Ice” is a media darling while Flacco gets mud slung in his face by some national and local sports talking heads. It’s no secret that the Ravens explored moving up in the 2008 draft to get Ryan but opted instead for the relative bargain in Flacco.

For many “Ice” trumps “Cool”.

But do the numbers support that position?