The Facts: Flacco’s gotten the message. That’s what I hear. And he’s too smart not to have gotten it. Flacco, 33, understands the trade-up pick of Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson means the Ravens have noticed his sub-.500 record and 82.4 passer rating in the past three years, regardless how much is his fault.
Diehards Line:
So wrote SI.com's Peter King in reminding readers the quarterback always takes major blame when an offense is lousy, and Baltimore’s has been bad—29th, 12th and 29th in passing yards in the past three seasons. What’s more, the Ravens are a boring offense. They excite no one. They’re inefficient—and you can’t blame only Flacco, because the receiving group has been consistently disappointing too. When King saw this pick, he felt it was about more than dissatisfaction with Flacco. It’s about making the team exciting again and throwing a fanbase some change-ups with an electric quarterback. Flacco will get the first shot, and he may well play well enough to beat back Jackson. But it's worth watching.