By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
I was watching NFL Network yesterday afternoon and a panel of Jaime Dukes, LaDainian Tomlinson, Daniel Jeremiah, and either Solomon Wilcots or Eric Davis were all discussing the AFC North.
Davis/Wilcots wanted to talk about the loss of Ray Lewis and how the team lost some swagger.
Tomlinson wanted to talk about how they needed to take the ball out of Flacco's hands and give it to Rice and/or Pierce or someone else who can carry the rock more because they put the ball in Flacco's hands far too much last year.
Then Jaime Dukes, who has often shown himself to not be much of a Flacco fan, surprised me.
In a nutshell, he said that the Ravens dont need to take the ball out of Flacco's hands. Instead, they need to give him better weapons. He said signing Steve Smith and Dennis Pitta is a good start; but overall, he isn't sure why the Ravens haven't gone out and gotten that 100+ reception receiver. He said if you look at Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cinci they have at least one guy on their team that can produce a 100+ reception season.
For once, I actually agreed with a lot of what Jaime Dukes says.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Surprising to say the least, that guy hates Flacco. Guy has a major hard on for Matt Ryan.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RavensNest
Surprising to say the least, that guy hates Flacco. Guy has a major hard on for Matt Ryan.
No doubt. That's why I was surprised to hear him talk like that. He was basically calling out the Ravens for not giving Flacco adequate weapons. He doesn't believe that Torrey is a true #1 receiver, which I (like many on here) also believe. That's not to say that Torrey isn't a very good receiver, but is he a consistent 100+ reception, 1300-1400 yard player with 10 TD's? Probably not.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Quote:
Originally Posted by
wickedsolo
No doubt. That's why I was surprised to hear him talk like that. He was basically calling out the Ravens for not giving Flacco adequate weapons. He doesn't believe that Torrey is a true #1 receiver, which I (like many on here) also believe. That's not to say that Torrey isn't a very good receiver, but is he a consistent 100+ reception, 1300-1400 yard player with 10 TD's? Probably not.
I would agree probably not, based on how he's been used. But if Kubiak starts using him as something other than just the deep ball, look out. Running some creative plays to get him the ball on short catches and letting him do the damage afterward with the ball already in his hands.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BPF2
I would agree probably not, based on how he's been used. But if Kubiak starts using him as something other than just the deep ball, look out. Running some creative plays to get him the ball on short catches and letting him do the damage afterward with the ball already in his hands.
Many have disagreed, but I would like to see the Ravens use Torrey like the Giants use Victor Cruz. Granted, Cruz has much more short-area quickness than Torrey, but I think that Torrey does have that YAC capability. The Giants use Cruz on deep patterns also.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
I saw that piece as well. I was somewhat surprised by the commentary, but I thinks it's true. TSmith, SSmith and MBrown are adequate, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Having better TEs and a more successful running game isn't the complete answer.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
With the exception of last year, Flacco has had adequate weapons his entire career. Boldin had #1 numbers when we traded for him. I actually agree with LT when he says that the running game is the most important part of our offense. We cant throw the ball as much as we did last year and expect to win. Last year showed that we need an effective run game for our offense to work, and with Kubiak in and the OL improvements we should see a more balanced attack.
On a side note, I wonder how much of these shows are scripted, and how much are actually honest opinions. I doubt Jamie Dukes is actually a "Flacco hater" outside of the show.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ravens Fan
With the exception of last year, Flacco has had adequate weapons his entire career. Boldin had #1 numbers when we traded for him. I actually agree with LT when he says that the running game is the most important part of our offense. We cant throw the ball as much as we did last year and expect to win. Last year showed that we need an effective run game for our offense to work, and with Kubiak in and the OL improvements we should see a more balanced attack.
On a side note, I wonder how much of these shows are scripted, and how much are actually honest opinions. I doubt Jamie Dukes is actually a "Flacco hater" outside of the show.
Adequate is a very accurate term. We need an explosive receiver who isn't just a deep threat. Torrey has the potential, but we still need a long term answer opposite of him. Maybe Marlon is the guy, but he needs to prove he can stay healthy and I wouldn't bank on it.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Quote:
Originally Posted by
alien bird
I saw that piece as well. I was somewhat surprised by the commentary, but I thinks it's true. TSmith, SSmith and MBrown are adequate, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Having better TEs and a more successful running game isn't the complete answer.
No. I totally agree.
The Ravens havent had a 100+ reception receiver since Derrick Mason in 2007. The next closest was Ray Rice in 2011 with 76 receptions.
We know Torrey can go over 1,000 yards. I want someone that can give Flacco 90+ receptions on a consistent basis. Josh Gordon with the Browns played in 14 games last season and had 87 receptions from I think 4 different QB's at one point. AJ Green has had back-to-back seasons with 97 and 98 receptions. Antonio Brown just turned in a season with 110 receptions.
I know it probably won't happen. But I would LOVE to see the Ravens try to trade up and take Sammy Watkins or Mike Evans if either of them slide a little.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ravens Fan
With the exception of last year, Flacco has had adequate weapons his entire career. Boldin had #1 numbers when we traded for him. I actually agree with LT when he says that the running game is the most important part of our offense. We cant throw the ball as much as we did last year and expect to win. Last year showed that we need an effective run game for our offense to work, and with Kubiak in and the OL improvements we should see a more balanced attack.
On a side note, I wonder how much of these shows are scripted, and how much are actually honest opinions. I doubt Jamie Dukes is actually a "Flacco hater" outside of the show.
adequate. Meanwhile a fair share of other QBs have elite talent around them. The only elite talent Flacco has had was Ray Rice in his prime. Never an elite TE. Never an elite WR.
Seems like this disparity is finally getting some notice. For about 50% of his career flaccos #1 WR was over 30 years old.
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Boldin was elite talent. It didnt show up on the stat sheet during his time in Bmore but he had legit #1 numbers in AZ and San Francisco
Re: By The Beard of Zeus...Jaime Dukes actually said something nice about Flacco
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ravens Fan
With the exception of last year, Flacco has had adequate weapons his entire career. Boldin had #1 numbers when we traded for him. I actually agree with LT when he says that the running game is the most important part of our offense. We cant throw the ball as much as we did last year and expect to win. Last year showed that we need an effective run game for our offense to work, and with Kubiak in and the OL improvements we should see a more balanced attack.
On a side note, I wonder how much of these shows are scripted, and how much are actually honest opinions. I doubt Jamie Dukes is actually a "Flacco hater" outside of the show.
I don't think anyone disagrees that the running game needs to get better. However, I dont know that it is THE most important part of the Ravens' offense. It is an integral part though. Even the Patriots and Broncos who pass as much as anyone had effective rushing attacks last year.
I definitely disagree that Flacco has had adequate weapons his entire career. Boldin had #1 qualities, but was a poor fit for Cam's offense and as a result turned in #2 numbers. Not Flacco's fault and not Boldin's fault either. It was more by design than anything. I don't think it should surprise anyone that Flacco's best season (statistically) came when Mason and Boldin were the top receivers. Even then, they only combined for 120-ish receptions and about 1,600 yards.
Give Flacco a receiver that can produce like a legitimate #1 and I think we'll all be very surprised by how good this offense can be.
Hopefully that comes with Kubiak getting the balance back in order. Under Kubiak, when Matt Schaub actually played an entire season he threw for 4700+ yards, 4300+ yards, and 4008 yards. I'd like to think that Flacco is FAR more capable than Schaub ever was.
