Viva Murillo!
Most of the talk this week will be about the Cardinals’ improbable run and the resurrection of Donovan McNabb and the Eagles. But Joe Flacco is also a name you’ll hear a bit, as the Ravens continue their march through the playoffs with a showdown in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. However, you won’t expect to hear his name much in August fantasy drafts and auctions, if at all. If each fantasy football owner is part team GM and part NFL fan, the line of demarcation is Joe Flacco. How you feel about him determines which part rules your psyche at this time.
Do you marvel at how amazing his performances have been -- two road playoff games, no turnovers and no sacks taken while becoming the first rookie in NFL history to win two post-season games? Do you wonder if he was robbed of Rookie of the Year honors as most of the press attention went to the (also impressive) Matt Ryan of Atlanta? Do you see a franchise quarterback (11-5 in 2008, 2-0 in 2009) when he steps behind center?
Or do you shrug your shoulders when evaluating his first year? Sure, you give the guy credit for what he’s done, but what has he really done in the playoffs? The Ravens defense devoured Chad Pennington and the Dolphins two weeks ago, then forced three critical turnovers to keep the Titans off the board last Saturday night in Tennessee. He failed to complete even 40 percent of his passes in the wildcard round, then completed half last weekend, with his first five going to security blanket Derrick Mason. Do you see a guy who’s simply functioning decently behind a protective system; a Trent Dilfer-type riding a defensive wave in the playoffs?
The first opinion is more of a fan’s perspective; the second a fantasy football evaluation. I admit that I held the latter position before last weekend. Maybe I’m still evaluating talent and it takes time to take the fantasy hat off once a season ends. But while it’s clear that Flacco isn’t going to lead any fantasy teams to titles in 2009 (unless you play in a two-QB system or have a Baltimore fan in your league, he could even be on your waiver wire in week 1), Flacco is for real as an NFL quarterback. Against Miami, the score was only 13-3 at halftime and against the Titans the game was close the whole way. You cannot have your quarterback make mistakes in crucial situations, and Flacco hasn’t.
The truth is that we have no idea what Joe Flacco is capable of producing stats-wise because he hasn’t been unleashed. That’s not the system the Ravens want to run, so it doesn’t really matter. What matters is whether Flacco is capable of executing a game plan set by the coaching staff and win games. The answer so far is a resounding yes.
Now, maybe he falls apart at Heinz Field. Maybe they need him to drive the length of the field in the final two minutes and he takes a dumb sack, throws the ball away and then tosses a pick on third down to complete a pathetic drive. Maybe he ends the playoffs with more interceptions than touchdowns, a completion rate south of 50 percent. It doesn’t matter, really. Big-name quarterbacks have had similar failure in the playoffs before. He’s already accomplished enough to pencil him in as Baltimore’s long-term solution at quarterback -- in pencil, like I said. But a lot of playoff quarterbacks, from Jake Delhomme and Kerry Collins to Kurt Warner and Chad Pennington, have been listed in pencil. That’s the NFL.
Joe Flacco is as good an NFL prospect as he is a rotten fantasy prospect. If I have to start him for any reason next year, my team is on the ropes. He probably won’t even be on my cheat sheets, to be honest. But the fact that I can appreciate what he’s doing tells me that the fantasy season is truly over and I can just be a fan -- even while I ponder the marginal fantasy value of Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon if Plaxico Burress doesn’t return to the Giants. I guess it never really goes away after all.
Youtube Clip of the Week: Would we definitely be talking about Flacco playing Sunday is this hadn’t happened?
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