This. It’s hardly Flacco’s fault that the team’s best receiver is a running back. Are you going to tell Dick Vermeil or Kurt Warner they were cowards because Marshall Faulk caught so many passes?
Not just best receiver, but the best player. As a Ravens fan, I want Rice involved in as many plays as he can be, and I don’t much care whether Flacco hands it or throws it to him.
Interesting theory. I look forward to NFL coaches ascribing to the “lose your almost unanimously regarded best player on your defense to get a .1 ppg advantage over a couple games” theory of defense.
The Giants simply played a great game. They had two weeks to prepare, they are experienced, have an excellent coach, and were coming off two straight losses, so I am not surprised they played so well.
The Packers have some issues, the injuries do make a difference, but it is what it is. Hopefully we will get those key guys back soon.
Fair points all, except that idiotic last sentence again. I am not sure how to make this any clearer: I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE 4TH AND 29 PLAY.
This example only further proves my point. Faulk never led those teams in receiving. Torry Holt did.
EDIT: In fairness, though, Rice isn’t leading the team in receiving either, so I’m not sure what FoieGras was saying.
You seem to be saying that throwing to the TE or RB a lot is a sign of wussiness. I’m pointing out that Marshall Faulk caught 50 passes a year on a team with two HOF -ish wide receivers.
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Interesting theory. I look forward to NFL coaches ascribing to the “lose your almost unanimously regarded best player on your defense to get a .1 ppg advantage over a couple games” theory of defense.
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Don’t be stupid. I’m not saying they should be happy about losing Matthews or Woodson. I’m saying it obviously hasn’t affected the performance of the defense as much as losing Bululaga and/or Jennings has affected the offense.
I’ll try.
I can’t imagine anyone watching that Giants game last night and the amount of time Eli had to throw and the complete lack of plays made by the defense as a whole and concluding that the team wouldn’t be hugely better with those two players on the field. Missing Bulaga is certainly huge to that O line, and Jennings is a big blow too, so I don’t mean to minimize those loses. My point was losing all of these players is a big deal to the Packers, and they really struggled last night because of those losses.
I am not trying to downplay the success of the Ravens: they’ve earned their wins. I am also not attributing some kind of wuss factor to throwing it to the running back. What I am saying is that invariably Flacco’s name gets tossed into that “elite QB” discussion by talking heads every year and to me the discussion is just silly when your (mostly) leading receiver is a RB…which means you aren’t throwing the ball down the field.
Flacco just isn’t all that great, in my opinion. Nothing against him and it hardly matters as the Ravens tend to win with tough defense and a grinding-style offense.
Rice may not be the leading receiver in receptions this season but he has been pretty much every year Flacco has been there. I just don’t think you can count on Flacco to win you a big game with his arm throwing down the field, although I must say I have never seen him play better than when he did in game 1 versus the Bengals.
Isn’t it just possible that the Giants offensive line and receivers played really, really well? The Packers defense already has 34 sacks this season, five more than they had all last year. However, I just realized that Matthews has actually played in 9 games. I thought he’d missed a lot more, so I take everything back with regard to him.
Talking heads have a whole lot of airtime to fill, so they’ll often bring up an idea just to shoot it down. The only person who really thinks Flacco is elite is Joe Flacco, and I’m happy about that - I want him to be as confident as he can be when he walks out on the field.
Flacco’s not great, but he’s a good quarterback and he’s a good fit for the Ravens. He completes 60%+ of his passes and throws about twice as many TDs as interceptions. He holds the ball longer and fumbles more often than I’d like, but on the whole I’m happy with his performance. Sure, I’d rather have Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, but I’d rather have Flacco than Romo, Phillip Rivers, Jay Cutler, and a lot of other starting QBs. Maybe you can’t count on him to win the game with his arm, but you can count on him not to lose it. For a team built the way Baltimore is, that’s enough.
Elite…such a funny word…Elite.
What is idiotic about the statement? And I understand you are not talking about that play. I am speaking to the Ravens season as a whole.
Really I don’t care if anyone ‘believes’ in Flacco or the Ravens. I am making my case as to why I think they have a winning formula but I understand I am unlikely to sway any opinions.
I view football much like politics and religion - pleasent reasonable conversation is unlikely.
Why on earth would you rather have Flacco than Rivers?
Over his entire career, Rivers has thrown 0.83 interceptions per game (including four games he didn’t start), 243 yards per game, and 1.63 touchdowns per game. Flacco has thrown 0.71 IPG, which is obviously better, but just 1.25 TPG and 222.21 YPG, which are way worse.
Flacco vs Romo is a pretty interesting discussion, though. I’m not entirely sure who I’d pick, to be honest.
That makes it idiotic in a different way. Speaking to the Ravens’ season as a whole, justify “9-2.”
Two 49er bits.
first, top reserves Kendall Hunter (RB) and Kyle Williams (WR/PR) are both out for the season on the same 3rd Quarter play Sunday. This could mean playing time for heretofore inactive rookies A.J. Jenkins and LaMichael James, or at least putting in disgruntled backup Brandon Jacobs.
Second, NaVorro Bowman (ILB) signed a 5-year extension, which will kepp the 49ers’ linebacking corps together for at least the next three years. 
And fear descends on the NFC…
Am I alone in thinking that the 49ers are making a mistake with casting Alex Smith aside after the way he’s played last season and this one in favor of Kaepernick? I can’t help but think this is going to bite them in the ass come playoff time.
And I think Harbaugh was pretty douchey the way he handled this “transition”.
Don’t be surprised if Smith starts this week.
Subjective call from watching him play a few times - this year and last year Rivers has been much worse than his career before that was (especially wrt interceptions), and I don’t see him turning that around.
Maybe I’m wrong and Rivers will thrive with a new coach - it wouldn’t be the first time.
Kaepernick is the shiny new thing. Both QBs are the beneficiaries of a great defense (#2 overall) and a great running game (#1 overall). Frankly I think you could put almost anyone back there and still have success.
Personally I’ve never really been sold on Alex Smith, however he had a great year last season and was putting up similar numbers so far this year. The man deserves to get his job back.
And Harbaugh being douchey? I’m pretty sure that’s because he’s a douchebag; everything he does is douchey by default.
Is there an article posted somewhere explaining the whole Kaepernick hullabaloo? I’m sadly underinformed about it.