Joe Flacco says Ravens can't avoid throwing in Darrelle Revis' direction

Revis has played against the Ravens twice in his career, but they mostly avoided throwing in his direction, and he hasn't allowed a reception against them.

"When you go out there and you try to change things around and avoid a guy or pick your spots to go at a guy, I think you're usually taking away a piece of your offense that you rely on a lot," Flacco said Tuesday at the Ravens' training complex. "You allow them to dictate something by who they match him on or who he happens to be on on that play.  So, I think as a play-caller, you have to just go out there, rely on your guys that you have that are out there, rely on the fact that they have ability. And as a quarterback, you have to go out there and just go through your reads. And if he's open, throw it to him; if he's not, don't.

"We're going to have to make contested catches, contested throws, all those things. But I know in the past when we've played against some guys and you've tried to avoid him or done things game plan-wise to get matchups in other places, it usually just takes your attention away from what you should be doing, and I think that has a bigger effect than sometimes the actual guy can."

Flacco has targeted Revis five times previously in two games in 2010 and 2011. However, Flacco hasn't completed a pass in Revis' direction yet.

Flacco emphasized that his mindset isn't based on staying away from Revis. Flacco intends to continue going downfield to wide receivers Torrey Smith and Steve Smith.

And it's not as if Revis is the only good Patriots defensive back in a secondary that also includes cornerback Brandon Browner and safety Devin McCourty.

"You usually don't have a total idea of who is actually playing defense on that guy," Flacco said. "So, when you go into a game and you're thinking about that, it can kind of mess you up a little bit. I think with this offense, we tend to go through our reads and make the plays that present themselves.

"And obviously, with the fact that they have two good guys, it kind of makes it tough to pick one guy out anyway. We just have to go out there and play our game and we have to have confidence. I mean, come on, we're in the divisional round of the playoffs. We have to have confidence that at this point in the year we have guys out there that can do their job."

awilson@baltsun.com

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