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08-22-2012, 12:30 PM #1Legendary Asswipe
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Flacco and Rice both top 5 Irreplaceable players at their respective positions
From Baltimore Ravens.com via Football Outsiders:
Rice No. 1 Irreplaceable Back, Flacco No. 5 QB
O’Hara’s point plays right into this next section …
Knowing that the main goal of the offseason is to come out unscathed by injuries, Football Outsiders looked at the five most irreplaceable players at the skill positions in the NFL, based not just on the quality of the player, but the quality of his backups.
The analysts determined that Rice is the most irreplaceable running back in the league and Flacco is the fifth-most irreplaceable quarterback. Ravens fans can hardly stand to imagine what the offense would look like without either of those players.
“Rice is the focal point for the entire Baltimore offense, in particular because he's so good as both a runner and a receiver,” wrote Aaron Schatz. “Third-round rookie Bernard Pierce is a talented running prospect, but he has very little experience as a receiver and got horrible scouting reports for his pass-protection efforts at Temple. If Rice were to get hurt, the Ravens would be desperate for a veteran third-down back.”
Flacco is one of the most durable quarterbacks in the league and hasn’t missed a game in his NFL career. But if he were to go down, the two men currently behind him are Tyrod Taylor and Curtis Painter.
“A change from Flacco to Tyrod Taylor would be the opposite of a Newton injury in Carolina. The Ravens would suddenly have a 6-foot-1 scrambling quarterback instead of a 6-6 pocket quarterback,” wrote Schatz. “There also isn't much evidence that Taylor would be very good; he's completed just 16 of 39 passes this preseason against opposition backups. And the third-stringer is Curtis Painter. Eek.”
Most irreplaceable QBs: Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, Saints’ Drew Brees, Patriots’ Tom Brady, Panthers’ Cam Newton, Flacco.
Most irreplaceable RBs: Rice, Browns’ Trent Richardson, Raiders’ Darren McFadden, Chargers’ Ryan Mathews, Jaguars’ Maurice Jones-Drew.
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