What we saw from Flacco this week is typical and confirms what I have been saying for a while. He is 5 or 6 plays per game better than Boller. He shows flashes of brilliance that makes us forget about all the glaring weaknesses in his game.
Even the play where he hit Torrey Smith on a post looks like a great throw on the surface, but he hit him 5 steps after his cut. Smith’s head was completely turned to Joe at 2 steps. Ball should have been in his hands right then. If it is, Smith has a chance to make the safety miss and go for a TD. Instead, Joe leads Smith right into the safety for an easy tackle. On the surface, looks like a nice pitch and catch, but if I am grading a professional QB, it is a minus. In the NFL, there is such little room for error and, against a good team, that ball could have been intercepted or Smith could have at least been crushed. The difference between good and great is anticipation and trust that your teammates will do their jobs. Waiting for Smith to get open, turn his head and see the little gleam in his eye is far too long. This is why the Ravens have no YAC and is why I would bet they have the lowest YAC in the entire league. Joe cannot process information, doesn’t have anticipation and is therefore late. If he can’t learn it 60 games in, can he ever?
One day we will wake up and see the truth. Saying, "Flacco is tough" is like saying, "Yeah but she has a good personality." Boller was tough, too, which leads me to the conclusion that Flacco is Boller with better physical tools. Those physical tools translate into 5 or 6 plays per game.
But, let’s go ahead and keep hanging on to hope and promise. The only thing hope does is let you down; that is why hope is not a discipline. Unfortunately, what other choice will we have. Bisciotti will pay him the biscuits. Unfortunately, it seems like they will be dog biscuits.
