I TOLD You Flacco Sucks
Part
Two of a Series by PalmerSucks
November
16, 2011
Joe
Flacco, Average Joe, the guy who couldn�t beat out Tyler Palko, the guy who
looked like garbage against Tennessee and Jacksonville, has outdone himself now
by losing to Seattle. A week after
basking in all the praise, Flak Jacket followed up his elite-status-confirming
win over the Stillers with a dud against the Seahawks, about as bad a team as
there is in the NFL.
While
the dumb sports media were fawning all last week over Flacco, yours truly put
out a commentary that told it like it was: that Flacco didn�t beat the Stillers
so much as the Stillers handed him the game on a platter. And that the win,
being touted all over ESPN as some great achievement, didn�t change the fact
that Flacco is nothing special. No doubt that sounded like the words of a
bitter loser, but after Sunday�s stinker � how you like me now?
Needless
to say, expect a couple less �Flacco is god�-type comments on TV this week.
Even
Baltimore Sun sportswriter Mike Preston, who last week declared Joe the equal
of Ben Roethlisberger, changed course, saying: �please, no more talk about
Flacco being an elite quarterback.� I guess Mike makes a habit of talking to
himself?
Anyway,
I understand the dumb sports media spewing the Flacco hype � and the dumb fans
buying it -- but here�s the amazing thing: apparently the Ravens bought it, too. Last Sunday, Baltimore hopped the Flacco
express to the tune of 52 passes
attempted, putting the game firmly in their QB�s hands. And how did the
gunslinger respond? With a moldy-cheese-smelling 67.4 rating
� getting thoroughly outdueled by Tarvaris Jackson (who put up an 88 handle).
That�s
right: not only can�t the great Flacco beat out Tyler Palko,
apparently he can�t beat Tarvaris Jackson, either. (By the way, look for Mr.
Palko to be taking over the QB spot in Kansas City this week thanks to an
injury to Matt Cassell. Wouldn�t it be a hoot
to see a Flacco vs. Palko duel in the playoffs?)
Now, I
understand when Suggs and Harbaugh brag up Flacco in public � that�s just being
a good teammate or coach. But in the film room and team offices, you need to be
honest about your player�s skills. More importantly, you have to be realistic
about your player�s limitations. In private you CANNOT afford to buy the hype.
That�s what blows my mind about Sunday�s game � the Ravens treated Flacco as if
he were Dan Marino. Flacco�s not the worst QB out there, but he isn�t the guy
you want throwing it 52 times, either. Meanwhile, Ray Rice carries the ball a
whopping 5 times � 5 times � any wonder the Ravens went down Sunday? (Maybe you
should�ve spent more time watching film of Flacco last week, Coach, instead of
worrying about what music they were playing at Heinz Field.)
As I
said last week, Flacco looks good against the Stillers because only the
Stillers are dumb enough to play him the way they do. Seattle didn�t press
whenever Flacco went shotgun, and they sure as hell didn�t play 8 guys up when
they needed to drop guys back � or let receivers get behind the defense late in
the game. It�s a lesson the Stillers need to learn should there be a third
meeting between the teams come January.
I also
said last week, barring a Ravens collapse, the Stillers could only hope for a
Wild Card berth. Thanks to Harbaugh buying the Flacco hype, however, even the
division crown is still a possibility. There is no way Baltimore should�ve
dropped this one � now everything changes. So thanks Ravens, for playing it as
dumb this week as the Stillers did last week. The road to the Super Bowl may
yet go through Pittsburgh again.