Baltimore Ravens QB Showing a Cooler Side
According to Deadspin by way of Russell Street Report.com, the Baltimore Ravens will clinch a playoff berth in lieu of a “much cooler team.” Regardless of the sports betting leap of faith that this prediction might require, what if the Ravens are cooler now?
Let’s take for instance their starting QB Joe Flacco.
He has been known as Joe Cool for his icy demeanor, not for being a good looking bad boy-wannabe like Tom Brady, or for having a hip trademark dance move like Cam Newton – or like he used to, at least – but Flacco certainly seems like he was visited by the Ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future while he was rehabbing a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee.
The 31 year old playmaker has been considered to be too laidback and unemotional to be a good leader – hey, it worked for Tim Duncan. At most, he pumps a fist in the air following a big TD. However, Flacco has shown a never-before-seen side – or two – of him during the Ravens 2016 training camp. A side that rookie LB Kamalei Correa got to experience firsthand on Monday night.
Correa mowed down wide receiver Mike Wallace, which prompted Flacco to cuss out the second round pick. What he said to Correa “wasn’t nice,” the QB admitted. One can only assume Flacco called him a Henry Rollins-look alike, or something along those lines.
In addition to that, Correa got into a scuffle with tight end Dennis Pitta, in which the latter sprained a finger. In that case, however, Flacco good-humoredly mocked his longtime friend.
“He got his little baby injury that he always gets in camp and gets himself out of a week in camp,” the QB said within earshot of Pitta. “That’s better than breaking his hip, though.”
Pitta didn’t find it all that amusing, but come on, you gotta give Flacco some time to master these newfangled, um, what do you call them? Ah yes, emotions. Actually, for casual sports betting fans – not in-the-know insiders – this lightheartedness from Flacco is the stuff of legend; the sort of thing that one only hears about from his teammates but never actually gets to witness, let alone during actual games.
So, emotionally speaking, Flacco has made a breakthrough comparable to when Data got an emotion chip installed in his neural net.
But what should sports betting fans expect from his physical performance?
According to the QB himself, he hasn’t even thought about his knee injury. And from the looks of it, why should he? In a 3rd-and-4 situation during practice, Flacco pump-faked twice prior to escaping the pocket then outran LB C.J. Mosley to the sideline for a first down.
No hesitation, no limping, no nothing.
Flacco’s surgically repaired knee doesn’t appear to have any lingering physical or mental side effects, and in fact, the QB’s mindset may be all the better for it. But whether or not his new and improved persona is a direct by-product of his injury, the fact remains we may see a not so calm and collected, but a much cooler Joe Cool in the foreseeable future.
