Quarterback Joe Flacco is a fan of Gary Kubiak's new offense. And it's clear who is running the show.
"I like it. I like the guys and I like how our guys fit into it. I think it gives us a wide variety of things to do," Flacco said in his first sit-down interview since the end of last season.
Kubiak is Flacco's third offensive coordinator. Flacco worked with Cam Cameron from when he was a rookie in 2008 until most of the way through the 2012 season. Jim Caldwell was Flacco's coordinator during the Super Bowl run and in 2013.
Flacco's voice in the offense has grown over the years, as is customary for any developing quarterback.
But with Kubiak's arrival, there is a strong, new opinion in the building. Kubiak has been running his West Coast-style offense since 1995 and has had unquestioned and abundant success with it. Thus, Kubiak isn't shy about saying how he wants it to look in Baltimore.
Kubiak brought along Quarterbacks Coach Rick Dennison and Tight Ends Coach Brian Pariani to spread that message and help implement the offense faster.
"These guys have an understanding of this offense since they've been doing it their whole lives," Flacco said. "Gary has a definitive reason for this, a definitive reason for that, and he's very matter of fact. There's a right and a wrong."
Flacco is coming off his worst season, statistically, to date. He threw for a career-high 3,912 yards, but tossed a career-high 22 interceptions and posted a career-low 73.1 quarterback rating.
Flacco said he appreciates the strong direction from Kubiak.
"That clears it up a lot in the quarterback's head and lets you go out there and play," he said.
Flacco said he hasn't gotten a chance to really get to know Kubiak personally yet because they've been limited in their meeting times, and those meetings are with the entire offense as opposed to just the quarterbacks. Once they have more meeting time during Organized Team Activities (OTAs), Flacco expects to start developing more of a relationship.
But in their limited time together thus far, Flacco is pleased with what he sees in Kubiak.
"He's played the position, he's been in this offense for a long time, so he knows what he wants and knows what we see back there," Flacco said. "From that standpoint, I think he'll be somebody that you can trust and really listen to throughout the week and go out there and do exactly as he says."
