It�s
Put-Up or Shut-Up Time for Average Joe Flacco
Special
Commentary by PalmerSucks
January
20, 2012
Average
Joe Flacco, the lukewarm one, sure has had a lot to say lately. Here he is
scolding the media before the Ravens played the Texans last Sunday:
�I�m sure if we win, I�ll have nothing to do with
why we won according to you guys. It is what it is.�
It sure is! Joe of course responded by going out
against the Texans and� having nothing to do with why the Ravens won.But c�mon
bud � I�m sure they gave you plenty of credit for that epic 2-yard drive you
led, off the gift muffed punt!
Of course it�s not the first time Joe�s had his
outbursts; first he complained about all the attention Tim Tebow was getting, thendelivered
this little speech:
�You guys want everybody to be Aaron Rodgers and be
Tom Brady, but you guys do realize, those guys�
[teams] don�t run the ball?�
THAT�s got to to go over well with the coaching
staff in Baltimore, huh? A little cheese to go with that
whine? Excuses anyone?Sure those other guys
put up great numbers, but THEY�RE not handcuffed to the handoff like I am!
But wait, there�s more! Flacco piled on the critics
with this little barb:
�You guys want an elite quarterback. You have to
stop complaining when we go out there and throw the ball 60 times a game.��
Trouble is, Joe, we�ve seen what happens when you pass it that many times a game. In my �I
TOLD you Flacco Sucks!� commentary, I detailed the disaster the Ravens enjoyed
in Seattle when Flacco threw it 52 times. This was pretty much the same thing
that happened in a Monday night upset loss to Jacksonville when the Ravens
employed the �Franchise Flacco� strategy.
Fast-forward to this week, where Ed Reed called out
Flacco for, among other things, getting rattled against the Texans. But doesn�t
Ed know that this is the playoffs, otherwise known as �rattle time� for Average
Joe Flacco?
In his regular-season career, Average Joe has put up
these numbers: 80 TDs, 46 INTs, a YPA of 7.06 and a
rating of 86. That�s decent, nothing sensational, but respectable. In a word
it�s adequate, just like Flacco himself.
In the playoffs, however, Flacco�s been nothing
short of putrid � here �Average Joe� becomes, well, �Stink-Ass Joe.� How bad is
it? Well, let me take a quote from a Sirius Bark article called � yes, really �
�Is Joe Flacco the Worst Post-Season QB of All Time?� Keep in mind it�s from
2010, but gives you an idea of how Flacco�s been for most of his playoff life:
�In five post-season games, Joe Flacco has an abysmal rating of
46.5. He has completed 57 of 120 passes (47.5%) for 660 yards. The
Baltimore signal caller has thrown one touchdown and six interceptions.
The Ravens are 3-2 in these games. The defense and a powerful
ground game were able to mask a horrific 4-10, 34 yard, 1 INT performance vs.
the New England Patriots in January.�
Move over, Tebow, let Joey take over! The QB rating practically
drops in half � we�re talking some
serious stinkage here. And the playoff YPA? I know running backs with higher per-carry
averages! The Ravens, of course, have failed to reach the Super Bowl with
Flacco at QB � they�d probably have made it if they�d even gotten an average performance
out of Average Joe.
For the record, Flacco�s up-to-date playoff numbers
don�t improve much:
53% completion rate��� 6 TDs� 7 INTs�� 5.81 YPA���
66.2 Rating
So you can understand Reed�s frustration with Flacco. Suggs may
defend him in public, but as I�ve said before, that�s in public � what goes on
behind the locker-room doors is another matter entirely. (By the way, Suggs
should be grateful for Flacco�s performance Sunday, as it took the spotlight
off Sizzle�s own disappearing act. Defending Flacco on ESPN is the least he can
do.)
Now, I understand Reed doing damage control after the fact, and
claiming he was just saying this stuff to light a fire under Flacco. I believe
him even � it�s just only part of the truth.
I think Reed�s simply holding Flacco to a higher standard re:
his playoff performances, because, after all, if your goal is to win a ring,
your worth as a player is weighted toward the post-season. (Just ask the
voters who put Lynn Swann in the Hall of Fame.)Reed�s motivating, but he�s also
expressing a viewpoint that�s probably shared by most of the Ravens� defensive
players � and it�s not a good viewpoint at all.
Put it another way: down deep Reed probably realizes that if the
Ravens had faced Matt Schaub instead of T.J. (stands for �Turnover Juice,�
which is what he must�ve been drinking before the game) Yates, he and Ray-Ray
would be out golfing this week. I know I judge a player more on his playoff
performance than regular-season � which is why, to me, Joe Flacco has been Joe
Floppo. No matter how Ravens fans want to spin it.
Anyway, the pressure�s now on Flacco as it never has been before
� in fact I think he�s now at a career crossroads. Guys like Reed and Ray Lewis
are beyond the point of being up in age � the window�s about
closed. Should the Ravens lose Sunday, they�ll all be saying what Woodley did
last summer: namely, that the Ravens will never get to the Super Bowl in his
lifetime � and they sure won�t ever get there with Flacco as their quarterback.
Now, I make no secret of my disgust and hatred of�Ravens�
football,� which is how they explain how the team can be leading 17-3 while the
QB has gone 4-for-12 for 80 yards. As much as I hate New England, the thought
of Flacco riding to the Bowl on the backs of Ray Rice and the defense makes me
want to vomit. And frankly, I�d find it totally entertaining to hear the
Baltimorons whine yet again about Average Joe, the playoff choker. (Palmer�s
note: Sunday�s game is actually a no-win situation: one of the game�s two
greatest free-riders will be going to the Super Bowl, either Flacco or Chad �I
Couldn�t Get it Done in Cincy� Ochostinko.)
However, even the worst can reverse � witness Alex Smith and his
see-saw win over New Orleans. Formerly called �Alice� by 49ers fans, he�s now
the toast of the town. Flacco now has his own chance to shut up guys like me,
and the table is set � he�ll face the lowly New England defense. If there�s a
group to pad your stats against, this is it. There are no more excuses to be
made. The 12-for-26, 150-yard specials won�t cut it any more�and no more
depending on those freak Rice 51-yard TDs to bail you out, either.
It�s up to you, now Average Stink-Ass Joe � it�s time to
put up, or shut up, for good.