Ray Lewis: Flacco can't carry offense

[iggyman555]

http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ra...-carry-offense

Ray Lewis hasn't pulled any punches during his short time as an ESPN analyst. He questioned the Baltimore Ravens' leadership earlier this season, and now he's taking aim at quarterback Joe Flacco.

This is what Lewis said during ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, which aired before the Ravens' 19-3 victory against the New York Jets:

“There’s no real balance that [the] Baltimore Ravens have right now and they want to make Joe Flacco -- they gave him $100 million, I understand that -- they want to make Joe Flacco a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. He’s not that type of guy. He’s a system type of guy that if you have the balance -- that you have running the ball, doing the things you need to do -- then Joe Flacco excels.”

Obviously, there's a level of productivity that comes with paying a quarterback over $100 million and Flacco (14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions) has not lived up to expectations. I just don't think the Ravens envisioned Flacco becoming the next Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

The Ravens paid Flacco for a couple of reasons: he earned the contract after being the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl and other teams would've given him that money if the Ravens opted not to do so. It was simply the going rate for a championship quarterback.

I do agree with Lewis that Flacco needs to have a solid supporting cast. A consistent running game sets up the play-action pass, which is Flacco's strength.

Let's also don't overlook the fact that Flacco lacks the same pass protection as Brady and Manning. If you're getting hit like Flacco, it doesn't matter what you pay that quarterback. He's not going to produce.

[pslholder96]

I have to agree with this. Joe thrives when he has a better supporting cast around him. I think most of us (including myself) deep down inside yearn for Joe to ball out like Manning, Brady, Rodgers and Brees but it's not going to happen. However I'm happy with Joe as our QB. He's been up and down this season.
I don't think of Joe as a "system" type QB. I think he's being made into one with John Harbaugh's risk averse philosophy, something he picked up from his father and Bo Schembechler

[wickedsolo]

This is pretty much true of every QB.

[Ravens75]

To me there are only 4 QB's that can consistently function without a part of the offense (ie running game, pass pro) and that's Brady, Manning, Rodgers and Brees. That's it.

Matt Ryan is floundering in part because his All-Pro receivers are playing hurt or out altogether and his oline is a weak as the Ravens.

Ben makes plays but even in his prime he looked ordinary at times against the best teams until it counted the most.

Tony Romo plays great with great receivers but he normally falls apart when it counts the most.

Matt Stafford has Megatron and Reggie Bush but he's as up and down as anyone.

All these guys are $100 million QB's and none of them belong with the four I mentioned in the beginning.

I wish that Ray and other medidiots would say that about about all these guys but Joe is the only one that catches hell.

[wickedsolo]

I have to agree with this. Joe thrives when he has a better supporting cast around him.

I don't mean to laugh at this comment, because it is totally true, but you could literally apply that to ever QB in the NFL.

I think most of us (including myself) deep down inside yearn for Joe to ball out like Manning, Brady, Rodgers and Brees but it's not going to happen. However I'm happy with Joe as our QB. He's been up and down this season.

I don't think of Joe as a "system" type QB. I think he's being made into one with John Harbaugh's risk averse philosophy, something he picked up from his father and Bo Schembechler

I think Flacco has the ability to air it out and be one of those QBs that throw for 4,500+ yards a season. The Ravens just aren't running that type of an offense.

I think THAT is the most glaring issue.

They want Flacco to air it out because the run isn't working at all, but the routes they are running are completely dependant on a capable ground attack.

I'd also like to point out that pretty much every team that has a top tiered QB, they went out and got him weapons. I mean, the Broncos already had two 1,000+ yard receivers on their roster AND a young gun tight end...and they STILL went out and signed Welker and drafted a RB.

Brady is the only guy that they really haven't made a concerted effort to go and get him major weapons, but they did draft Aaron Dobson in the 2nd round, IIRC and they have 3 pretty good running backs.

Brees, Rodgers, Ryan, etc. Their teams all invested in them and subsequently gave them better tools to work with.

Flacco gets Torrey Smith, a crap OL, crap running backs and a quesitonable offensive playbook. No shit he can't carry the team!

[Justlovemybirds]

This is pretty much true of every QB.

Yet Flacco is the only one who catches hell. The idea that a QB plays better when he actually gets decent blocking, more than one receiver who can win one-on-one matchups and a running game thats not just bad but historically bad isn't rocket science.

[wickedsolo]

Yet Flacco is the only one who catches hell. The idea that a QB plays better when he actually gets decent blocking, more than one receiver who can win one-on-one matchups and a running game thats not just bad but historically bad isn't rocket science.

+1

[JohnBKistler]

To me there are only 4 QB's that can consistently function without a part of the offense (ie running game, pass pro) and that's Brady, Manning, Rodgers and Brees. That's it.

And Flacco has won just as many rings as those QBs during his time in the league...and for the record, Flacco did indeed win that ring, and Ray's ring, with his play.

For this season, I agree that he needs to play better and is too inconsistent, but that goes for the offense as a whole.

And Manning (Peyton) is horrible when he gets rushed...I would put at least 10 other QBs (including Flacco and Roethlisberger) above him in being able to make plays under duress.

[bt12483]

What is the ravens offensive system exactly?
It isn't the Sean Payton system. Not the bill belichek system. Not the McCarthy system.

No one remembers Matt Flynn and Matt cassell excelling in those systems?

I just don't agree with the "system" proposition. We don't have an offensive system comparable to those other teams: namely a head coach with offensive prowess.

[esporter113]

A couple of things:

The other part of this quote is Ray Lewis noting that Flacco has always made mistakes and the defense has been there to bail him out. It's laughable that he would even go there. This narrative is so tired and lazy it's not even funny. The Ravens defense has been dominant in stretches over the past 6 years but for the most part it has been an above average (and at times below) unit.

The other thing is, we'll see how the story of this season evolves as the weather gets bad. Peyton, for all his amazing stats, was not impressive last night. They seemed petrified to let him throw the ball down the field until they absolutely had to... because who knows where those wobblers are going to end up when you chuck them 20 yards down the field. So yeah, Joe isn't carrying the team right now when you compare him to guys who are leading 30+ point efforts every week. But these high octane passing attacks are starting to wither, you can see it already. I'm happy to have a guy like Joe going into crunch time who can launch the ball 60 yards in blistering weather and swirling wind.

[bmorecareful]

Not a good argument. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning "carry" their respective offenses because that's what their overall scheme and personnel allows for. Joe Flacco can't carry this offense because he's chained to a 1980's offensive scheme, a geriatric RB, an OL that doesn't consistently dominate, and a weak receiving corps.

Did anyone watch the game last night? On 9 out of 10 passing plays Tom Brady's OL generates an absolute WALL of protection. He has 4-5 seconds in the pocket and throws the ball on time to wide open receivers. On the other side, Peyton Manning throws more 2 and 3 yard passes than anyone in the league, and his WRs turn upfield and run after the catch. That causes the safeties to creep up and sets up deep shots downfield.

The problem the Ravens have is that they don't WANT Joe Flacco to run the offense, but are FORCED to turn to that style of offense at times because of how spectacularly bad they are at running the Schembechler offense. Yet they don't have the personnel or coaching staff to run a Brady/Manning style pass-first scheme.

If the Ravens want Flacco to be Brady/Manning, they need to treat him like those guys, and surround him with talent and good coaching. They have not done that and seem very disinterested in doing so. I doubt it will change without some sort of major wake up call.

[wickedsolo]

And Flacco has won just as many rings as those QBs during his time in the league...and for the record, Flacco did indeed win that ring, and Ray's ring, with his play.

For this season, I agree that he needs to play better and is too inconsistent, but that goes for the offense as a whole.

And Manning (Peyton) is horrible when he gets rushed...I would put at least 10 other QBs (including Flacco and Roethlisberger) above him in being able to make plays under duress.

That's just it!

Manning is never really rushed ever.

He is getting the ball out to his receivers within 3 seconds of the snap. Very rarely does Manning take a 7 step drop and sit in the pocket waiting for someone to get open. Now, part of that is because Peyton is really REALLY good at taking what the defense gives him. However, most of that is by design.