Mike Preston grades the Ravens' 24-9 win over the Indianapolis Colts
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Quarterback: B-
Joe Flacco had a tough first half but played better in the second. Fortunately, the Ravens didn't have to count on him to make a lot of tight passes in the second half. He threw a lot of jump balls in the second half, and basically that was all that was needed.
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Comments (29)
Add / View comments | Discussion FAQFlacco got a B- ? Jeez you're a generous grader. He completes 12 passes--thanks, in large part--to his acrobatic receivers, changes calls to the detriment of the team, and generally looks like what he is, a DII quarterback that is neither smart nor especially athletic. And now, he has to find a way to score at least 30 points for the Ravens to have a chance against Denver. Let's hope Manning gets the flu or stubs his toe.
it was a good outing for joe. not great, but good. maybe those designed jump balls put his receivers in position to make plays. however, that stuff will never work in denver with champ bailey roaming around, and he won't have that kind of time. it will need to be a tighter, crisper passing game, imo. he will need to get the ball out faster.
B- seems a little low to me - and I'm no big fan of Flacco. It's not an "A" either, or you're leaving no room for games in excess of 300, 350+ yards, 400+ yards, 30 completions, 65%+ completions, effective rushing, etc.. (People have got to realize how the NFL has changed in terms of quarterback production.) Flacco had a serviceable passing day with 12 completions, and no turnovers. While Doss had some drops, some of those balls were damn difficult to catch, especially along the sideline and along the backline of the endzone. They weren't in-the-breadbasket-choke drops by Doss. They were 8 to 9 feet in the air. Flacco was sailing everything high in the first half, and other receivers compensated by making some great catches, so a lot of that stuff evens out as it always does. I really hope Flacco appreciates the press and general fan treatment he gets in Baltimore. Other than Preston, who's job is to instigate so he goes after just about anyone, the other writers persist in passing along un-researched anectdotal reviews of Flacco, and have recently been creating 'legends" like the Patriots game, where Flacco did no wrong and Evans wasn't stripped of the ball. Now this game is getting trrumpted by people like he won the SB on a 35 for 42 day for 450+ yards. He had 12 completions, no turnovers, some drops, but some incredible saving catches too. Decent and enough for a B.
