Yes, Joe IS a smart guy. And that's exactly where the issues already raised about how the Ravens chose to treat him, especially with the whole Zorn/Cameron incident, enters the picture. The Ravens, through their actions, paid huge money to Ngata, Suggs, and they also chose to re-sign Rice. They did not choose to re-sign Flacco. (And please don't start with "they offered him a lot of money", okay? They offered him less than he was worth, and never budged from that spot, betting they'd put the squeeze on him. They bet. And they lost.)

They also continued to saddle Joe with Cam Cameron, despite the documented difficulties between those two. Joe also can see the Falcons going out and getting Julio Jones, after already having Roddy White, Michael Turner, and Tony Gonzales. What that all adds up to is that as far as building an offense around Joe, it never really happened. The O-line was a joke as well. So because Joe is smart, he's smart enough to look at all of that and take that into account.

Everyone keeps talking about how much better it will be for Joe here vs elsewhere. That's all well and good, but that's also filled with a certain amount of hype. There are going to be a lot of changes next year. Harbaugh has already come out and said he wants to keep Ed Reed. Ed Reed does not help Joe Flacco, OR the Ravens all that much. A LT DOES. The Ravens are going to have to make some tough choices. And based on their track record, it's not nearly as bright and rosy for Joe as some of you are making it out to be. So the notion that Joe should take less for the privilege of playing for the Ravens, while well intended, really doesn't carry that much weight. And he knows it. Because he's smart. IF some of the other factors had been dealt with differently, then it would be different now. But the Ravens made THEIR choices, now it's Joe's turn.