I don’t think anyone was trying to slam Flacco. I think the point was that no one could have predicted what Ben was going to do after his first year, therefore you also can’t do so with Flacco (no matter how promising he looked). Also, I think the comments referenced were made by CBS commentators, not Ravens fans. And to be fair, I seem to remember the same type of comments being made about Ben in his first playoffs. Something about rookies gets Simms all worked up.

Also, I don’t really think the stats compare between Ben and Flacco in their rookie seasons. I agree that they were both given a lighter, complimentary load. But Ben had a higher rating (18), TD/INT ratio, and YPA (2). Flacco did have more yards, but he also played more games. Don’t get me wrong, Flacco did have a very good rookie year, but let’s not say it was “basically the same thing” as Ben’s just because he made the AFC championship game.

14-1 > 13-6

I know math is tough for those in Baltimore…maybe if we can find a way to convert wins into kilos, they might understand.

But if you listened to AFC commentators on CBS each week, one might get the impression that they were watching the second coming of Joe Montana right before their eyes.

Those 3 need to be taken out of sport commentary.

Just do us a quick favor too. Ask Mendenhall how his shoulder is doing… I’m sorry, but you guys really can’t talk. McGahee only received a concussion. Mendehall was out for the year with a broken bone.

By the way, that hit on McGahee will be illegal next year. Ray’s hit on Mendenhall was clean.

In 2004 the Steelers offense was ranked 11th in the league. It gained 5184 yards.
In 2008 the Ravens offense was ranked 11th in the league. It gained 5184 yards.

Incredible.

My dad can beat up your dad, btw.

We will never back down from you guys, except on primetime of course! Browns fans have no argument. They are uneducated and still think they have the best fan base in the NFL. Their whole organization is poop and Eric Mangina is gonna do nothing to improve it.

I mean, they really thought they found a franchise QB in Derrick Anderson and gave Baltimore a bunch of crap for us cutting him from our PRACTICE SQUAD. Now I hope they can see why he was cut by us.

As for the Bungels, not much to say about them. Dont really hate them like I hate the Steelers or laugh at them like I laugh at the Browns. They are just the Bengals. I respect Marvin Lewis since he coached the greatest defense of all time (Yea I said it).

First of all, numbers aside, all the scouts agree that Flacco is blessed with rare physical talent. He has Roethlisberger’s size, and some of his speed, with discernably better arm strength and throw accuracy. The only question for a scout regarding such a specimen as Flacco is “can he handle the learning curve?”
  I humbly submit to you the case that he can. He went, in one year’s time, from preparing to face Div. 1 AA Appalaichan State to preparing to face the Dallas Cowboys in the last game ever in Texas Stadium—a game in which he made some very good throws and was as responsible for the win as was LeRon McClain or Willis McGahee. Flacco has already shown some things that most rookies struggle with: he looks off safeties, audibles out of bad plays, and shows an ability to scan the whole field.
   Flacco immediately arrived in Owings Mills, MD, and showed up to the practice facility in the wee hours of the morning to work out with Ray Lewis. He has done the same since the hearbreaking AFC Championship loss to the Steelers. Word on the street is that the guy is a total film rat who does nothing besides watch his own game tape and study his own flaws.
  Let us also point out that while Flacco struggled against several of the league’s elite defenses, such as Tennessee, Pittsburgh, and New York, he completely dominated several mediocre defenses. He blew up for 200+ yards against Houston, 247 against Cleveland, and 297 against Jacksonville. He had very strong, efficient performances against Miami, twice, and against Oakland and Cincinatti, although he posted less gaudy numbers (actually he completely blew up Cincy in the last game but I won’t tout that too much since that was an especially poor defensive effort on their part). It seems as though the only step he has left to take is to learn how to play against the NFL’s elite defenses.
  You Steelers fans make the point that its too early to “annoint” Flacco. Sure, let’s not annoint him—we annointed Boller a little too early and it didn’t play too well. But based on all you can know about a quarterback following a Rookie season, there aren’t many guys who can show you better stuff as a rookie or who can make better leaps and bounds with the Pro game’s learning curve than Flacco. There are maybe 5 QBs who ever had rookie seasons as good as Flacco’s, and considering that the only defense that seemed to totally overwhelm him in the second half of the season was Pittsburgh’s, I’m about as confident as you can be for a mere second-year QB. I think I agree with what the Pitt blogger said; that he’s almost sure to have a career that is between “fine and fabulous.” I’m just leaning a little closer to fabulous than he is, I think.

-He stands in the pocket and keeps his eyes downfield, which is often a challenge for many nervous rookies but never was a problem for Flacco…
—He scans the whole field and looks off safeties, which few rookies do well…
—He places balls into very small holes with excellent revolutions on the ball. This goes back to his arm stregnth, but it has more to do with his game than just having a long ball. He can find small spaces with accuracy-the question as a rookie was whether or not he could find them. In some games he did, in othes he didn’t…
—He has a very technically sound throwing motion with a pretty quick release, giving him the ability to make throws as quickly as he makes the decisions to throw them. His size plays into this as well since he will be less likely to have these last-minute throws batted-down by defensive linemen.
—He has shown a superb ability to understand plays and schemes with short time periods to learn them.
—He has a superb work ethic and great mental toughness, which probably had a lot to do with his ability to quickly learn our system.

on the NEGATIVES:
—He DOES NOT yet feel the rush very well, sometimes feeling pressure that isn’t there or missing pressure that is…
—He DOES NOT always accurately judge how quickly some defensive backs can close gaps or how long receivers who ARE open will STAY open for.

In my opinion, there are no uncurable negatives to Flacco so far. He bascially shows that he has all the tools he needs, he just needs to perfect his trade.