Flacco An Elite Quarterback

Watching the Ravens trounce the Patriots on Sunday night raised plenty of questions surrounding their respective quarterbacks.  On one side, Tom Brady has a 7-7 record in his last 14 postseason games and can’t seem to play well in any round other than the divisional round of the postseason.  Over those 14 games, Brady had a fairly pedestrian average rating of 86.04 with 26 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.  In games past the divisional round over that same span, Brady’s numbers plummet further (7 TDs, 9 INTs, 73.22 rating).  Now, Brady has three rings and will forever have that affirmation, but fans out there should not be fooled by his large media presence.  Truthfully, he has not been good in the past few years when it mattered, and that fourth ring escaped him again on Sunday.

But on the other side is Joe Flacco.  Intrigue swirls around the Delaware graduate who has won a playoff game each of his first five years in this league.  No one has done that in history.  And yet, many refuse to brand him an elite quarterback right now.

The arguments against him are certainly valid.  For one, he has rarely had to win a game by himself.  The Ravens defense, a unit that will be remembered for a long time, always provided Flacco with some kind of insurance, especially when the offense looked to be at its most anemic.  His regular season performance often draws sighs and has drawn comparisons to Kyle Boller, an unenviable compariosn for any athlete in any sport.  Flacco has never exceeded a 93.6 passer rating in any given season, and that rating was good for only 7^th in league during 2010.  By the same token, he has thrown 25 touchdowns in a season only once, rarely exceeding the league average in five seasons.  Those aren’t numbers to make you quake.

But the term “elite” does not equate to Hall of Fame numbers.  There will be all-time greats playing in each era of football who are by definition elite.  Those guys (Manning, Brady, Rodgers) will always receive some credit for their team’s victories simply by the force of their ability.  Those guys can win every week and when it matters most…and what’s better, is that they’ve proved it.

But, there are other quarterbacks who might not be Hall of Famers, but are elite because they consistently play well when the pressure remains at its highest.  Eli Manning and Joe Flacco provide the best examples of postseason performers.  They win during the regular season, but without much consistency.  Eli boasts a paltry 82.7 career rating in the regular season (Flacco at 86.3), leading the league in interceptions thrown during two of those seasons and only going north of 30 touchdowns once.   One cannot deny these two either sleep through the first few months or contribute very little to their team’s overall success.

And yet in the playoffs both Flacco and Manning have found ways to win, beating QBs much more talented and statistically relevant than themselves.  Eli has beaten Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl, and Joe Flacco has beaten Brady twice in the playoffs (admittedly, one was a 4-for-10 effort when Ray Rice ran roughshod but still a W).  For fans who value championships as the mark of greatness, Joe Flacco has none, and yet can win at the highest level.

To me, that’s the definition of elite; a quarterback who can prove his mettle during the toughest circumstances.  I’d think six playoff road victories would classify as very difficult surroundings.  Too often we expect perfection, looking to the impressive 4-0 record of Joe Montana in Super Bowls and wishing present-day passers would find some way to emulate and imitate Joe.  Who’s to blame them right?  They are looking at the best quarterback of all-time and asking everyone else to live up to that standard.  But, as seen by the monumentally disappointing collapses of Manning and Brady in this postseason, not everyone can do it.  We should look for consistency to determine elite quarterbacking.  And Flacco has it.

None should walk away from this thinking I have always seen Flacco as an elite passer in the NFL.  On the contrary, only Skip Bayless could be pleased with his first three seasons.  Despite one AFC Championship berth, Flacco piddled away most of his playoff chances, turning in some truly awful performances (3 INTs in that championship game still makes me retch).  But look at the past two postseasons:

vs. Houston: 14-17, 176 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 97.1 rating

at New England: 22-36, 306 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 95.4 rating

vs. Indianapolis: 12-23, 282 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 125.6 rating

at Denver: 18-34, 331 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 116.2 rating

at New England: 21-36, 240 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 106.2 rating

In each of these games, I’m sure the nitpicky of you can find three or more “Flacco Throws” which are typically wounded ducks thrown 5-10 yard past the line of scrimmage that miss receivers by the same 5-10 yard window.  They exist, undoubtedly.  But look at the numbers above and tell me with a straight face you don’t think Joe Flacco can win when it counts.  It’s impossible.  Not only are the rating numbers well above his regular season average, but he has thrown one interception in five games.  And yes, he picks up huge yardage with deep balls, but that makes his accuracy much more impressive.  This postseason we’ve watched traditionally accurate quarterbacks throw deep, only to be picked off.  That doesn’t happen for Flacco in the playoffs.

As a final point, we should not look to elite quarterbacks as guys who will undoubtedly end up in Canton.  Jim Plunkett won two Super Bowl rings with Oakland in three years.  His numbers won’t get him to the Hall, but he won postseason games when needed (including an almost-perfect 145.0 rating in Super Bowl XV, before Marcus Allen provided insurance for Oakland a few years later).  That kind of consistency deserves credit from pundits and fans alike.  I guarantee you opposing defenses never wanted to play Plunkett in the playoffs, and after looking at Flacco’s stats the last two years…I’d be shocked if anyone doesn’t view him as an elite quarterback.  Maybe not an elite talent, but definitely an elite quarterback.

Bit #1: Super Bowl Keys/Predictions

I was able to pick one of the teams right in the big game, but otherwise my crystal ball is ready to see this postseason end.  Still, I don’t see why we can’t discuss a few keys to this game.

My initial view sees the Ravens running game as the key and, by association, the trenches becomes most important.  Baltimore’s offensive line, bolstered by the addition of Bryant McKinnie, has played very well in the playoffs, shutting down the fearsome pass rush of Denver two weeks ago.  With Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce providing a potentially explosive attack, the winner in the trenches will likely dictate how the game progresses.  If the Ravens can establish the run and keep Flacco upright, the vertical play-action game will come into effect.  And, while they won the game, we all saw what San Fran’s corners can do against physical, speedy wide receivers.  Julio Jones and Roddy White torched them early, so there might be more of the same.

On the other side, Baltimore might stand a better chance of stopping the run than Atlanta did thanks to the presence of Haloti Ngata.  For the Ravens, the linebacking corps will need to stay disciplined in order to contain Colin Kapernick, but Ngata’s big frame has no equivalent on Atlanta’s line.  That might easily change the dynamics of the Super Bowl, and given the strength of both defensive lines I could see the game transform into a passing attack across the board.

I give the edge to the Ravens, not only because it’s hard to trust a second-year starter in Kaepernick, but Baltimore has exceeded expectations through the entire postseason.

Bit #2: Hockey returns!

For those who will read this Bit, I salute you.  Hockey came back on Friday with a vengeance as puckheads learned again who plays where and why Mike Milbury could be the worst studio personality in sports.

A passing note about this weekend’s action was the prevalence of high-scoring games.  Nine games thus far have featured one team scoring five goals or more, further proof that the time away did not help defenses at all.  I’m sure they will adjust, but regardless it’s great to have hockey back on every night.

Bit #3: Ten years later, Tim Brown whines

In a truly bizarre story, Tim Brown accused former Raiders coach Bill Callahan of sabotaging Super Bowl XXXVII, which occurred almost ten years ago.  In his comments, Brown claimed Callahan scrapped the original run-heavy gameplan against the Bucs in favor of a passing attack.  Brown further commented that center Barrett Robbins, who would disappear during the day leading up to the game, begged Callahan not to make the change, insisting that without full practice the offensive line would not be ready.

Whether or not Callahan changed the gameplan remains to be determined, but for Brown to make these comments ten years later stinks.  He’s one of the best receivers in the past 20 years, currently a finalist for the Hall of Fame, and decides to throw his coach under the bus like that?  It’s classless, and Bill Callahan has every right to attack Brown’s credibility on this, as Brown insinuated the last minute change was designed to submarine the Raiders organization.