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QB Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

HT: 6-6, WT: 236, Born: 1-16-1985, College: Delaware, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 18

2009 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of September 7th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: J Morgan (137), J Norwood (138), Joe Flacco (139), J Delhomme (140), S Smith (141)
Position: K Orton (129-QB19), B Favre (135-QB20), Joe Flacco (139 - QB21), J Delhomme (140-QB22), C Pennington (149-QB23)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of September 7th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: E Bennett (156), H Miller (157), Joe Flacco (158), B Celek (159), N Washington (160)
Position: K Orton (137-QB20), J Delhomme (153-QB21), Joe Flacco (158 - QB22), J Campbell (161-QB23), C Pennington (170-QB24)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

 Click here to go to the Joe Flacco spotlight, our staff's most detailed analysis.

 Click here to go to the Joe Flacco faceoff, our staff's look at the pros and cons.

Best Case

The theory goes, the biggest leap forward a quarterback will make is between his first and second seasons as a starter. Considering Joe Flacco took his team to within a game of the Super Bowl, a significant increase in productivity would be music to Baltimore's ears. Flacco will go into the season with three legitimate runners to help the ground game, all of his receivers back in town, and an additional tight end in L.J. Smith. What's more, in an interesting twist, the defensive losses for Baltimore could be Flacco's gain. If the Ravens play fewer close, smash-mouth style games, the potential could be there for the team to air it out a bit more. He has already proven that he throws a very good deep ball - why not use it a bit more?

Worst Case

Flacco's numbers were solid, but not eye-popping, a year ago. Obviously it's difficult to say anything negative about his performance, but a case can be made that the defense and running game carried the team to the AFC title game. It could be argued that the best thing Flacco did was to not mess it all up. While he did make plays and didn't make a ton of mistakes, he'll also enter his second season with expectations now. But expectations are the least of his worries now that Derrick Mason, the team's only sure-fire receiver, has retired. Flacco will need to elevate his game and make his suddenly shallow receiving corps better.

Outlook

The training wheels should come off in 2009 as the Ravens look to find out if Flacco can join the ranks of the elite in Year 2. He'll likely be given a bit more freedom within the offense, as he showed signs of that a year ago. His counting numbers (yards, touchdowns) should increase as the team takes to the air a bit more. It wouldn't be surprising in the least to see him enjoy a Ben Roethlisbergertype arc to his career, but expectations must be tempered unless the Ravens acquire a proven veteran receiver soon. Derrick Mason's retirement completely changes the tenor of an already shallow receiving corps.

Relevant Articles

Why he is undervalued

Will Grant - Flacco lead the Ravens a lot farther than anyone expected him to last season. As a rookie on a hungry team, he wasn't expected to do much and he was a great surprise to many people. As Flacco enters his second season, he's the clear starter, ready to prove he can take the Ravens to the Super Bowl. With a full year under his belt and another training camp of preparation, Flacco should easily outperform a 12th round fantasy selection.

Latest News

Ravens | Flacco probable for Week 11 (Fri Nov 20, 04:27 PM) - Jamison Hensley, of The Baltimore Sun, reports Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco (knee) fully participated in practice Friday, Nov. 20. He is listed as probable for Week 11 and will be able to play.

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Ravens | Flacco practices Thursday (Thu Nov 19, 05:55 PM) - Updating a previous report, Jamison Hensley, of The Baltimore Sun, reports Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco (knee) fully participated in practice Thursday, Nov. 19. He will be able to start Week 11.

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Ravens | Flacco practices in full Thursday (Thu Nov 19, 01:28 PM) - Edward Lee, of The Baltimore Sun, reports Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco (knee) practiced in full Thursday, Nov. 19.

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Ravens | Flacco practices Wednesday (Wed Nov 18, 06:59 PM) - Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco (knee) fully participated in practice Wednesday, Nov. 18.

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2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 1 - On Baltimore's second play from scrimmage, Joe Flacco threw his first NFL pass to TE Todd Heap. While it was a nine yard completion for what would have been a first down, the rookie had no time to celebrate or follow up on that initial success as Heap promptly fumbled away the ball. Flacco's second series was almost as inauspicious as it consisted of a quick three and out. On his third series, however, the butterflies must have fluttered away elsewhere as Flacco began to calmly and efficiently execute the short to medium range passing plays that offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was calling. That would become the order for the rest of the day as Flacco rarely took aim deep down the field -- and when he did take a deep shot, he didn't lead his WRs nearly enough to give them a chance to stay in stride and outrun their coverage. While the predominantly conservative play-calling may not have been a surprise given the fact it was Flacco's first career start, what was surprising was the mobility that Flacco demonstrated both in and out of the pocket. While no one would confuse him for Vince Young, Flacco was able to side-step the occasional rush and he was able to make his way down-field early in order to throw one of the blocks that sprang WR Mark Clayton free on a first quarter reverse play for a TD. Most electrifying, however, was his late third quarter scramble down the right sideline for a 38 yard touchdown on a broken play. In the end, Flacco showed some poise in this game and looked like he belonged running this offense. With some more time to work with his receivers, some of those long plays that Flacco missed in this game could become completions -- and TDs -- down the road.

Week 3 - Flacco seemed to have the offensive coordinator believing in him before the game, and he looked sharp early completing his first eight passes. Then he threw two interceptions that were clear mistakes and proceeded to only throw the ball eight more times in the game.

Week 4 - QB Joe Flacco suffered the first loss of his young NFL career but was able to keep his team in the game in a high pressure situation on the road. Flacco exhibited superb arm strength but had trouble with accuracy hitting his receivers with the deep ball.

He fumbled twice. The first fumble was recovered by LB James Harrison who ran the ball into the end zone for a go ahead score. The second fumble was recovered by a teammate. The Ravens ran a conservative offense, as usual, but Flacco was able to hit WR Derrick Mason on a number of plays which helped a historically stagnant offense move the ball down the field.

Week 5 - Any rookie QB cutting his teeth in the NFL will have some good games and some bad games. For Flacco, this was one of the latter. While Flacco continued to show that he can rifle short passes to his receivers, when he tried to toss the ball further down the field, it proved a risky proposition. While the stat sheet might show Flacco throwing two picks on the day, in truth he threw three. Had Titan LB David Thornton not bobbled a Flacco first quarter toss ever so slightly as he tried to keep both feet in bounds, he would have had the INT instead of simply forcing an incompletion. What was troubling about this play was that Thornton was clearly in Flacco's view and clearly in a position to make a play on the ball, yet Flacco attempted the pass anyway. On the first of his real picks, Flacco tossed a poor pass into triple coverage while trying to escape the pass rush, and on the second he threw off the wrong foot and delivered the ball to the Titans' Nick Harper to effectively hand the game to Tennessee. By the end of the day, Flacco may have completed two-thirds of his passes (including, admittedly, a few nice tosses), but his performance was anything but effective.

Week 6 - Flacco capped off a week during which he was named the Ravens' starting QB for the rest of the season by putting in a performance that might make his coaching staff question the wisdom of that decision. On his second pass attempt of the game, Flacco once again demonstrated that he does not make the best decisions under pressure. In the face of a looming pass rush, he tossed the ball into an area of the field solely occupied by four Colts defenders. While none of them caught the ball, one did knock it up into the air where a fifth defender was able to bring it down. Flacco almost brought the Ravens' second series to a similarly disastrous end as he bobbled a hand-off to RB Ray Rice (Rice fell on the ball to prevent the turnover inside his own ten yard line.) Flacco suffered his second pick mid-way through the second quarter on a deep pass intended for Mark Clayton. While the pass was well-placed to avoid the covering CB, it did not arrive fast enough to elude a nice break on the ball by Colts FS Antoine Bethea. Flacco would add a third interception in the fourth quarter, and do so the only time that the Ravens were able to get deep into Colts territory. While Flacco would ultimately end up with 241 passing yards (54 of which came on a nice, deep pass to Derrick Mason during fourth quarter garbage time), his performance in this game was anything but impressive.

Week 7 - After a steady regression over the last few weeks that saw Flacco making a number of extraordinarily bad decisions, the Joe Flacco that impressed so many in his first game seemed to return to the field. With a completion percentage of almost 75% and a YPA of just a hair over ten, Flacco was the vision of efficiency. This was a result of a number of factors including the coaching staff largely limiting him to short throws, better offensive line protection and a commanding lead in the second half that had Miami focused on stopping the run. That being said, Flacco deserves some of the credit, too. He seemed calmer in the pocket, less intimidated by the pass rush, and was able to not only find his receivers, but find receivers that had gained separation so that they could convert his short passes into additional yards after the catch. In fact, every single Raven that caught a pass received at least one that went for ten yards or more. Most satisfying for Flacco (and his owners) was likely his TD toss to Derrick Mason in the second quarter. While the throw was not challenging, Flacco seemed able to read the defense, identify the best receiver and get it to him quickly. Of course, not everything went perfectly, as he did miss some wide open receivers (including what would have been an easy third quarter throw to TE Todd Heap in the end zone) and displayed some continued difficulty holding onto the ball. While he didn't lose any of his fumbles (the one that he would have lost was nullified by a Miami penalty), Flacco still put the ball on the ground more than once.

Week 8 - Flacco did exactly what he needed to in managing the game, which in turn opened up the running game. He looks to be progressing steadily and also appears to be more and more comfortable with each and every start. Perhaps the most important stat for the rookie QB was that he threw zero interceptions on the day. He also caught a trick-play pass from backup QB Troy Smith which was a trip up away from a touchdown, and showed his mobility with a 13 yard scamper for a rushing TD.

Week 9 - Flacco looked sharp out there, leading the offense to a big day. He threw the ball on 29 of Baltimore's 70 plays, showing that he is gaining confidence from the coaches. He had several very nice passes, including a 47 yard pass to Clayton that was on the money. Flacco did not force action when there was none either, remaining calm despite being pressured often by Cleveland.

Week 10 - At the end of the year, as we look back over Flacco's rookie season, this outing will probably be listed as one of his best games. No, he didn't put up big yardage numbers, but that wasn't because of any shortcomings on his part, but rather was a result of the Ravens focusing on the running game to protect their lead in the second half. In the first half, Flacco was 10 for 15 for 143 yards through the air and a beautiful 43 yard TD pass to a streaking WR Yamon Figurs. Not bad at all. Certainly some of this success was due to the Texans' abysmal pass defense, but even a bad NFL defense is more talented than anything Flacco faced in college. While he amassed only 42 yards in the second half, Flacco did add a second passing TD in the fourth quarter on a one yard toss to TE Todd Heap at the goal line. One negative thing that has unfortunately continued for Flacco, however, is his penchant for putting the ball on the ground. While he only did it once today and the fumble wasn't lost to Houston, it still marks the continuation of what became a trend for Flacco in the first half of the season.

Week 11 - Flacco provided much of the Baltimore offense as he ended the day leading the Ravens in rushing. He performed well in a hostile environment and made some key throws when the Ravens needed him to. He connected on 20 of 33 passes and was able to find LeRon McClain out of the backfield for their only score of the day.

Week 12 - Rookie QBs will experience inconsistency from game to game in their first NFL seasons. That's a given, and Joe Flacco is no different. In this game, he was inconsistent from half to half. While Flacco was largely ineffective in the first 30 minutes -- completing only five of his first 16 pass attempts for 59 yards -- he went seven for ten in the second half (almost all in the third quarter) for 124 yards. Importantly, however, Flacco was able to avoid any interceptions, though he did come close to an INT late in the second half when he delivered the ball right into the hands of Eagles LB Stewart Bradley who couldn't hang on. Flacco was also able to find the end zone twice. On the first score he hit TE Daniel Wilcox on a one yard toss that gave the Ravens a 10-0 lead late in the second quarter. A lot of credit for this score has to go to Wilcox as the ball was thrown high and the TE had to make a spectacular play to pull it down with one hand. For Flacco's second score he found WR Mark Clayton on a short slant and Clayton used his speed to convert it into a 53 yard TD. While this will not go down as one of Flacco's best games, he did what he needed to do to allow his team (and primarily his defense) to deliver the victory.

Week 13 - Flacco started this game a little bit shaky. He was under some pressure from the Bengals pass rush, especially on third downs when they frequently blitzed. He started to pick things up in the second quarter and began hitting his receivers with more regularity. He used Mason and Heap as his security blanket and then Clayton for his deeper passes. Flacco displayed a very strong arm and was able to fit throws into tight spaces especially on out routes. His decision making was flawless and he also contributed with his legs and ran for 15 yards.

Week 14 - QB Joe Flacco was not very effective in the victory but managed the game well enough to win. He was unable to hit his receivers deep regularly. His touchdown pass to WR Derrick Mason was underthrown and the wide-open Mason was forced to come back to the ball and fight off the defender before falling into the end zone.

He tried to force the ball on his only interception and that turnover set up the Redskins' only touchdown score of the game. Flacco also threw a number of inaccurate passes and tossed a few dangerous floaters that luckily did not end up in a defender's hands. He also did not shy away from contact from defenders when running with the ball.

Week 15 - Joe Flacco looked very impressive one moment and not so the next. He had a few amazing passes that were with pinpoint accuracy. On one pass Flacco threaded three defenders and hit Todd Heap in stride. He also had a great play on the run and hit Mark Clayton downfield. But, he also had some passes that were not close to the mark. Both interceptions were no fault of his. The first was a drop that should have been caught. The tip went right into the hands Ryan Clark. The second was a desperation Hail Mary at the end of the game. Flacco seemed to struggle with the intense pressure of this game. They did run one option in the first quarter that didn't fool Pittsburgh.

Week 16 - The Ravens relied on the running game to keep the pressure off of the rookie quarterback. Flacco performed well, despite being under heavy pressure for most of the first half. He was able to complete 11 of his 15 attempts during the half, but the pressure did cause some problems as he was sacked five times. Flacco had a problem holding on to the ball while being sacked, as his fumble deep in Raven territory on their first series led to an early Dallas score. He shook off the error and led the Ravens to three first half field goals. In the second half the Ravens relied on the running game and Flacco was limited in his passing opportunities with the Ravens trying to run out the clock.

Week 17 - Flacco appeared unflappable on the afternoon and was well in command of the Raven's offense leading them on scoring drives of 65, 71, 78 and 74 yards to build a 24-7 halftime lead. He hit seven different receivers on the day, and had no turnovers. Although sacked three times, he was well in control of the offense. He was replaced with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter.

Week 18 - Flacco did not lose his poise even after missing receivers on deep pass plays. He continued to go for big pass plays, and got the ball out deep easily, but tended to overthrow his receivers even when they broke open. Eleven of his passes were difficult to catch as a result of being thrown a little too high or wide. Although he did not miss by much, he nevertheless was not very accurate. Flacco and Mason connected early, but Flacco only threw one pass his way in the second half. The coaches displayed confidence in Flacco's running ability by calling for him to run up the middle from the five yard line, which he did for a touchdown.

Week 19 - The Ravens protected their rookie quarterback by trying to establish a running game early, choosing to play for field position and to capitalize on Titan mistakes instead of attacking the defense through the air. This has been the bread and butter of the offense all season and it did not change during the second playoff game. He only attempted eight passes in the first half, but he made the most of his limited throws by connecting with Derrick Mason on a deep bomb down field for a touchdown in the first quarter. The deep throws were set up by the running game sucking in the defenders. The Titans rarely blitzed, but they were able to get some pressure on the quarterback. Flacco responded to the pressure by finding his hot receiver, or on one instance locating a player standing behind him and just tossing him the ball as he was going down. Flacco seems to do best when not faced with pressure, but he does have the ability to make plays when it seems all around him is falling apart.

Week 20 - Flacco was under pressure from a very aggresive pass rush from the Steelers who blitzed Flacco on most of his passing attempts. Flacco did attempt to make some plays, but was largely unsuccessful when he tried to take some shots downfield. Of the 16 passes he threw that were 15 or more yards, he missed recievers five times, in large part to being forced to throw early, and had four other passes deflected by Pittsburgh defenders. Another one of those passes was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.