FLACCO OUTPLAYS BRADY

People around here like to make fun of Joe Flacco.

He played well enough for his team to win yesterday and he outplayed the guy who, if his team wins the Super Bowl, will be universally acclaimed as the best quarterback in NFL history.

If Flacco’s receiver had kept his head in the game and squeezed the ball in the end zone, the Ravens would have beaten the Patriots. Who knows what would have happened if his kicker had made the last second field goal to tie it.

If the Patriots beat the Giants in the Super Bowl, it will be Brady’s fourth ring and that, combined with his ridiculous video game numbers will have people proclaiming him the best ever.

What happened in the AFC Championship game is an example of why the number of Super Bowl wins shouldn’t be a major factor in making that determination.

Yeah, Brady is going to his fifth Super Bowl, but he wasn’t the best quarterback on the field yesterday and he had nothing to do with the game tying field goal attempt going wide.

Once again, he had all day to throw and hardly ever attempted a pass longer than 20 yards. He plays that dink and dunk game to perfection, but he wasn’t even the second best quarterback playing yesterday.

I was much more impressed with the game that Eli Manning played. He did his share of dinking and dunking — that’s the NFL in 2012– but he had to make a lot more difficult throws to get his yardage.

Date: January 23, 2012

Categories: Sports

Tags: FLACCO OUTPLAYS BRADY, PATRIOTS 23 RAVENS 20

Comments RSS TrackBack 70 comments

Reply

a-dawg

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 07:43

I was impressed with Eli as well. He always knows where every receiver is on the field and can blindly dump the ball off to his safety valve when under heavy pressure.

I’d still take Ben over Eli – but he showed yesterday that he is more than just Peyton’s little brother. If he wins in 2 weeks, you can fire up the HoF talk. I think all 2x SB winning QBs are in the HoF.

Reply

Ken

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 09:53

I think Jim Plunkett may be an exception.

Reply

a-dawg

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:34

Per Wikipedia…you are correct. Good find.

Reply

Ken

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 12:26

He was a nice QB who got so battered playing for a terrible team when he first entered the league (Patriots) that his overall career couldn’t recover for him to possibly make the HOF. He was a winner.

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Matt

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 07:54

It was worse than watching the Steeler’s, the Ravens did everything they could to lose that game. As far as Flacco, you are forgetting about the 3rd down play were all he had to do was fall forward and he would have got the first down, instead he side stepped a defender and threw the ball into the ground.

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 09:58

The Patriots were the third team since 1970 to overcome a -2 turnover differential in a playoff game. If the Ravens’ receiver holds on to the ball in the end zone, Brady is on the beach right now.

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JWPL

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 08:23

On what planet does Tyler Palko beat out Joe Flacco for starting quarterback? Perhaps a planet where pandering and cronyism thrive?

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 09:56

Tyler Palko was a very good college quarterback. Tom Brady was a sixth round pick and was a backup for a lot of his time at Michigan.

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sherm

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 10:15

Above average to good but not very good. If you were drafting a QB for your team, who would you draft? Tebow or Palko?

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John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 10:34

Tebow.

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a-dawg

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:36

I’m with John on this one. Palko was a very good college QB. Pitt had a chance to win every week with him at the helm.

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DavidMcGwire

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 08:29

I don’t think you’re giving enough credit to Brady. He does what he does with no receivers. Gronkowski was a good, not great, Pac 12 tight end….He gets with Brady and is the best TE in football. Look at Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Deion Branch’s numbers when they are and aren’t on Brady’s team.

Dink and Dunk? Tom Brady throws the ball down field probably more than anyone in the league. He’s averaging more than any other QB in the playoffs in yards per attempt by a full yard…nearly twice as much as Flacco.

He has a great line, but why does that have to diminish his greatness? He does an incredible job of sidestepping the rush.

There’s no doubt in my mind that even if Evans scored, Brady would’ve still found a way to win yesterday.

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 09:55

I think he’s a great QB. I’m just not ready to declare him the best of all time. His receivers do a great job after the catch, His tight end is a 6-6 monster. I don’t care what he did in college.

Reply

Dan

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 10:01

There’s been a lot of 6’6″ TE’s over the years but I don’t know of any with hands like Gronk’s.

I’m definitely ready to declare him the best ever. The guy wins so much he’s almost automatic. How many times has his team got the #1 seed? Won their division? More important, who was better? Is there any part of Brady’s game that isn’t All-Pro caliber?

It took years (and a couple Steelers victories) for me to get over his dominance of the Steelers. Once I did, I was able to look at him a lot more objectively.

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 10:37

I think he’s a great QB. No greater than Bradshaw, Marino, Elway, Peyton Manning, Montana, Young etc…
And the more I watch the NFL the more astounded I am by how easy it is for EVERY quarterback to complete a pass. I’ve never seen QBs with as much time to throw and receivers who are constantly wide open. Belichick was way ahead of everybody in uderstanding the value of receivers who are great at running after the catch. They were almost unstoppable when they had the little quick guys and Randy Moss as a deep threat.

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Mason

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:08

I don’t think you can compare era’s anymore. Could you imagine Marino playing with today’s rules? The man thru for 5000 yards and 48 td’s when 3000 was a mark that was the yardstick and 25 td’s would lead the league.

That being said, I think Brady is the best of this era, but that only goes back to the mid 90′s.

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Ken

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:16

Imagine Fran Tarkenton today. He passed for 47,000 yards, 7,000 more than anyone else, playing in an era when receivers could be hit all over the field.

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:23

He would be scrambling while receivers were getting knocked on their asses 20 yards downfield and his blockers could not extend their arms and use their hands.

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Ken

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 12:27

Tarkenton is often left off lists of “greatest QBs.” Makes no sense.

Held every important record when he retired, most by huge margins. (completions, passing yards, TDs, rushing yards, games won as starter)

Reply

colt

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 21:31

I know this: If I had to start a team from scatch, I take Bradshaw and don’t look back. How quickly we forget just how good this guy was. He was just as good as Ben when it came to getting out of the grasp of a would-be tackler; and every bit as strong, probably stronger. He could throw with the best of them. He had an arm that would not quit.

He was as smart a quarterback as you will find on any team today. Terry Bradshaw should never be over-looked when we discuss the greatest of all time. Maybe he is not better than Brady; but I will take him any day. On the other hand, maybe he is better.

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 23:01

I still have not seen a human who can throw a football like that guy.
Reply

Dan

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 23:19

I don’t know colt, Bradshaw might have thrown a pretty ball but when your career TD to INT numbers are 212-210 you just aren’t in the conversation for the greatest passer ever. I could certainly concede he is underappreciated but not to that degree.

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 24th, 2012 @ 04:12

The stats go out the window when you’re comparing the two eras….Johnny Unitas had 290 TDs and 253 interceptions. In 1961, when he was 28, he had 16TDs and 24 ints….In 1962 it was 23 and 23. In 1969 it was 12Tds and 20 int and the Colts went to the Super Bowl. Y.A Tittle had 242 TDs and 248 ints. Joe Namath had 173 TDs and 220 interceptions. He completed 50.1% of his passes. Ken Stabler: 194 TDs 222 INTs. In 1975 had 16 TDs and 24 INTs and was 10-3 as a starter. Back then, there was no dinking and dunking. QBs threw the ball downfield. Their receivers were getting knocked on their asses 15 yards into their routes and offensive lineman were penalized 15 yards if their hands came away from their chests when they were blocking. Bradshaw never took a snap from the shotgun and never had more than three wide receivers on the field at the same time. It is ridiculously easy for a QB to complete a pass in the NFL now. Back then it was ridiculously hard. That’s why they changed the rules. Under the old rules, Brady wouldn’t last a quarter trying to stand back there with no blocking back and five wide receivers. There would be no bouncing on his toes waiting for a receiver to get open because his receivers would be getting bumped and knocked down. Gronk would be blocking more than he would be catching.

Reply

Ken

in January 24th, 2012 @ 11:15

Stabler really only had a brief run as a top-flite QB. When he left Oakland for Houston, he really had nothing left.

I seen some of those TD/INT numbers on some of the great QBs and they are interesting. One guy who doesn’t get as much credit as he deserved was Sonny Jurgenson. His TD/INT ration was 255/189, really outstanding for that era. Played until he was 40 and finished with a great season in 1974. And Len Dawson had similar numbers.

Reply

colt

in January 24th, 2012 @ 10:29

Maybe you are right, Dan, but it is hard to compare; too many rule changes. Whether he is the best passer ever or not, I do not know, but as far as all-around QB, I still would be happy with Terry. Go back and look at some of the videos. This guy was flat out good. In case you have forgotten, watch him get out of the grasp of tacklers; watch him run the ball; watch him improvise; watch him as he calls all his own plays. Just watch this guy lead his team and then remember just how good he was.

Reply

Matt

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 12:41

Gronkowski would have been a 1st round pick if not for a back injury that cost him his senior year. He was more than good in college.

Reply

Paul

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 08:41

Eli Manning took a beating like few I’ve ever seen a QB take. There was one shot of him towards the end with his shoulder pad out, his chin strap at his nose and his helmet crooked on his head that should be made into a motivational poster.

Reply

a-dawg

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:39

and he still had the mental toughness to know he needed a time out. I’ve made fun of Eli a lot in the past…but he was money yesterday.

Reply

Gary M

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 09:08

Yep, on paper Joe outplayed Tom. Which QB would you rather have?
Tom played against a much better defense than Joe. I know the press wants that ‘laid to rest his daemons’ story, but I doubt you do that with a nice performance in a losing effort.
He did throw what should have been the coffin’s nail interception in the 4th and relied on his D and Brady’s bad judgement to get him the ball back.
And as a Steeler fan, how could you root for either of these teams.
Here’s hoping that the Giants repeat their dominance of the Patriots and Brady and Belichick remain ‘ofer super bowls when they don’t cheat.
Reply

Deuce

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 09:19

Doesn’t matter to me if either the Patriots or Giants win the Super Bowl nor does it matter if Brady or Eli Manning is recognized as the “best” quarterback…all that matters is the Steelers are sitting at home, their classless fans are crying and still haven’t grown up.

Reply

Mason

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:10

And I’m sure Packers, Saints, Texans and 49′er fans are all just celebrating that they made the playoffs.

Reply

Dan

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 09:55

For the Patriots to lose the Super Bowl, Brady would pretty much have to have 2 games in a row like this. Personally I think you’d have to be crazy to take that bet.

Why should Super Bowl wins not be a major factor in comparing QBs? Four is no accident. What else should we use? The thing that seperates Brady from Joe Flacco, David Garrard and Phillip Rivers are Super Bowl wins and not a whole lot else.

Reply

Blasto

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 13:32

Pats will lose this super bowl. Giants are better in all areas except possibly the qb….and that is even close.

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Darren

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 14:00

I agree. If you hit Brady he gets rattled and the Giants have the pass rush to harass him and a balanced offense to score on the Pats weak D. The Giants beat Aaron Rogers in Green Bay, they can beat Brady on a neutral field.

Reply

Ken

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 15:55

You may keep him from scoring, as you would when you hit any quarterback frequently, but this is a total myth that Brady gets “rattled.”

People use the last Giants/Pats Super Bowl as an example of this. Brady was hit a lot. He didn’t get rattled, not at all. Good defense kept the Giants in the game and held the Pats offense in check. But it didn’t stop their offense. Brady drove the Pats down the field late in the game to take the lead. They appeared to have won the game on that drive, until Manning hooked up with David Tyree on that incredible catch.

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 15:58

No quarterback is as good when he has people in his face. Brady rarely has people in his face. When does, he’s no better than anybody else.
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Tim

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 20:13

Brady and Peyton Manning have perfected the art of “sacking themselves” to avoid big hits.

Reply

VinceL

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 10:24

I was impressed with Eli Manning,who was terrific against a hell of a San Francisco pass rush.Tom Coughlin took an expansion team to 2 conference championships and is taking NY to it’s 2nd Super Bowl.Has to be the most underrated and unappreciated coach in the NFL.
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Mike from Monroeville

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 10:26

You’re forgetting the pick that Flacco threw in the 4th quarter into triple coverage. He also earned his reputation in part by choking in the last two playoff games against the Steelers. Remember the pick he threw to Polamalu in 2008 and the turnovers in last years game.

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John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 10:33

He’s not better than Brady. But he’s better than people give him credit for and he was the best QB in that game yesterday.
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cherokee23

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 15:17

If I remember correctly, he had a pretty critical 3rd down pass dropped by Houshmanzadah late in game last year against the Steelers, or that may have ended differently. He may just be a “hard luck” guy!

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John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 15:26

You’re right. His receivers are not nearly as good as Brady’s.

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George Washington

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:30

NEs Defense is still crap. How well do you think Flacco would have done if he’d have played against the Ravens D? Sure, Brady didn’t play well, but until Flacco wins a big game with the ball in his hands, I’ll continue to doubt.

One funny thing is that the last few weeks I’ve heard a bunch of yinzers saying how the soft schedule was a big factor in them not being ready for the playoffs.

Funny – NEs win this week was their FIRST OF THE YEAR vs a team over .500.

Didn’t seem to hurt that much.

That said, I think that’s a decent factor in calling the Pats overrated and leaning toward the NFC winning the SB.

Reply

Gary M

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 12:54

GW
Same point I made above; Don’t agree with John that Flacco’s play rose to the level of outplaying Brady.
If this was NE’s first win over a team that is .500 or better, then remember, the Ravens played the same marshmallow schedule that the rest of the AFC North played. The same schedule that backed the Bengals into the playoffs.

NY will disrupt NE with a rush that won’t rely on the blitz. Eli will make swiss cheese out of the secondary if they stack the line or hand off and use the running game.
Unless Brady plays the game of his life and Eli falters, the GMEN take this one just like the last one.

Reply

Chester A. Reilly

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 12:08

Is there a “Rooney Rule” for back-up Stiller quarterbacks? Must be.

Reply

Tim

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 20:11

If they do its working. Went 3-1 without Ben last year. Jason Whitlock has called Charlie Batch the best backup QB in the entire league. How did Peyton Manning’s white backups do this year?
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ISteve Roissy

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 21:15

Yes. Fpr the O-Line as well.

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Karen

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 13:05

Look what Matt Cassel did in that offense when Brady was hurt – anyone can complete a 5 yard pass when you have 5 minutes to throw it. I’m still trying to figure out why he was SB MVP in their first SB “win” (they cheated). He led their offense to 1 TD. Wow, pretty low standards for MVP. Also, let’s not forget that Dan Orlovsky was 30-37 for over 300 yards when he played NE this year. That def makes anyone QB look good. Can’t wait to watch Eli shred them.

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Dan

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 13:44

I hate this excuse. Can you name one Patriots lineman who has been to a Pro Bowl in the last ten years? There’s nothing special about the line. There’s plenty special about the quarterback. Brady gets rid of the ball in three second almost all of the time and when he doesn’t he moves around and avoids hits better than anyone in the game.

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John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 13:58

Not true. He has more time to throw more often than any QB I’ve ever seen. I don’t disagree that he is good at releasing the ball in three seconds, but he is able to bounce on his toes and pat the ball six times just about every other time he drops back. Matt Cassell was 10-5 in 15 starts and threw for 3600 yards with 21 TD and 11 interceptions and he hadn’t been a starting QB since high school.
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Mike V.

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 14:05

Matt Light comes to mind without even trying very hard.

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DormontDirtBag

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 16:30

Logan Mankins, too — several times, I believe.

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ndhoops

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 13:13

Gotta love Eli’s personality as well. Brady was playing against a better defense than Flacco but agree he did not have his best game.
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Mike from Boston

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 14:46

If New England wins Super Bowl 46, then Bill Belicheat ties Chuck Noll in championships. In my mind, that is the worst possible outcome imaginable. Boston sports fans are in the Top 5 for worst fanbases ever (after Philly, New York, and LA). They already have last year’s Stanley Cup to gloat about, add a Lombardi to that and those smug jagoffs will be intolerable.

I want the Giants to win. Eli Manning is a good quarterback who, compared to his peers, is always falling short of being “Elite”, so maybe a 2nd championship will change that. More importantly, a Giants victory upholds the old saying that Defense Wins Championships. In spite of the NFL and ESPN’s efforts to make football all about the QB, it would be nice to see that it’s still an elite D that gets it done.

The Pats D is never really considered “top notch” but it’s important not to underestimate them, especially not Jerod Mayo. He’s the real leader of that team, not the pretty boy taking snaps.

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Blasto

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 15:34

Mike- I’m curious why you site 4 of the largest cities in the country as the worst fan bases ? I can tell you I’ve live in 3 of them and they are tremendous sports towns. The only thing Pittsburgh has over any of them is ratio of adults wearing sports jerseys.

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John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 15:51

I don’t have the science to back this up, but I’m going to say Pittsburgh’s fans are fatter.
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Mike from Boston

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 16:50

They’re all tremendous sports towns with a lot of accomplishments on every team, and all cities are big enough to support all 4 major sports. But in my opinion, their fans are terrible. They more than likely say the exact same thing about me and other Pittsburgh fans, and I’d have a hard time proving them wrong.

Basically any city that has a successful team has obnoxious fans. The more successful the team, the bigger the fanbase, the more obnoxious and entitled the fans are. At the opposite end of the spectrum there are teams where the fans have no passion, which is in some ways worse. I have a particular bone to pick with so-called “Lakers fans” because it seems to me people only go to Lakers games to spot Jack Nicholson and other celebs.

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Dan

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 15:53

I hate Boston fans more than most, but I think Spygate or whatever is the most overblown sports controversy ever. The Jets turned the Patriots into the league after the first or second week of the 2007 season. The taping or whatever stopped. And the Patriots went on the kick every single team’s ass all year long right up til the Super Bowl just to prove they didn’t need the tapes to crush teams. No cheating since, and yet they’re still always in the playoffs and this year again were the #1 seed.

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John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 16:00

There’s no way of knowing how much it helped. All I know is that the tapes disappeared immediately and the NFL had no interest in showing the tapes to anybody or talking about them. Hines Ward did say after the 2001 AFC Championship game that “It was like they knew what play we were gonna run.” That was before anybody knew about the tapes

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Tim

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 20:10

Maybe their offense was just that predictable.

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Ken

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 15:59

The Patriots “cheated.” Get over it.

There was a reason that the other teams in the league said so little over the mild punishment given the Patriots over that “cheating.” It’s because they didn’t want the spotlight turned on them. It’s pretty common knowledge that this stuff goes on all the time. It doesn’t make it right, but they were just the ones that got caught. They weren’t alone.

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John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 16:29

Again.. you may be right. It’s also very possible that all the owners wanted it to go away as soon as possible because of the ramifications of having to admit that the Patriots got an edge. Forfeits etc… That would not have been good for the league. Nor would it have been good to find out that half the teams were cheating or that five other teams were cheating. That was an issue that every owner wanted to go away as quickly and quietly as possible.

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The Machinist

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 16:28

For the most part sports fans from any city are pretty much the same. Except for Philadelphia. Not only are their sports fans jackasses, their population as a whole are jackasses. I have had the displeasure of meeting quite a few assholes from Philly, and i have met one i could tolerate.
Reply

Rob

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 18:54

Flacco did his part yesterday, for the second year in a row he had receivers dropping perfectly thrown balls at the end of the game. I don’t consider him a choker at all, Eli impressed me again yesterday, I predict they beat the cheats and Brady gets harassed all game long. Tom Couglin is so underrated.
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Ochotexto

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 19:31

Granted Brady had a bad game yesterday but he’s a winner. Had a great QB sneak on 4 th down which shouldn’t be minimized. If he wins this Super Bowl I’d put him top 5 all time. He can throw a long ball as well as dink. JS., you really under estimate “throwing accuracy” when ranking QBs. It’s a crucial aspect.

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John Steigerwald

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 22:55

Great QB. Not the slam dunk greatest of all time. That’s all. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl 3-0 and he puts up a 62 passer rating, does the fourth ring still make him the greatest ever?

Reply

Sean

in January 23rd, 2012 @ 23:45

The game showed me that the Patriots are just a better team than the Ravens. It was not because of the plays, but it was about the performance in key moments of the game. Yes, the Patriots looked sloppy. But as you pointed out John, the dropped touchdown pass by Torrey Smith (?) in the endzone and the missed chip shot fieldgoal showed the Patriots are a better team. However, Flacco did have a good game. I give him credit. Minus the one INT to Spikes, he did what he could do. Flacco shouldn’t be blamed by Ravens fans for the defeat.
Reply

GeeWhiz

in January 24th, 2012 @ 08:44

Fun!

http://youtu.be/0-kCQMDpSVE
(F-bomb alert. Watch your speakers, not safe for work or kids)

Reply

John Steigerwald

in January 24th, 2012 @ 10:56

Now there’s a guy with some perspective. I’ll bet his parents are proud.

Reply

GeeWhiz

in January 24th, 2012 @ 12:38

Probably would be. The video went viral and he could probably make some money now.

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a-dawg

Ken

a-dawg

Ken

Matt

JWPL

sherm

a-dawg

DavidMcGwire

Dan

Mason

Ken

Ken

colt

Dan

Ken

colt

Matt

Paul

a-dawg

Gary M

Deuce

Mason

Dan

Blasto

Darren

Ken

Tim

VinceL

Mike from Monroeville

cherokee23

George Washington

Gary M

Chester A. Reilly

Tim

ISteve Roissy

Karen

Dan

Mike V.

DormontDirtBag

ndhoops

Mike from Boston

Blasto

Mike from Boston

Dan

Tim

Ken

The Machinist

Rob

Ochotexto

Sean

GeeWhiz

GeeWhiz