Flacco Open To Starting 'Boring Quarterbacks Club'
Joe Flacco described himself as "boring." Yet he was anything but boring when he called into The Dan Patrick Show Tuesday.
Flacco covered hilarious topics, including vomiting at training camp, calling himself a "baby" if he complained about practice drills, getting embarrassed for rookies, and my personal favorite – starting a "boring quarterbacks club."
Patrick was asking about the "cluelessness" of rookies when they come into the league, especially off the field. But when Flacco was a rookie, he was never caught up in off-the-field shenanigans.
Why not? Was it the strong locker room leadership of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and company that helped guide him? Would it have been different had the organization been in a state of flux?
"For me, I don't think it would really matter," Flacco said. "I'm a pretty low-key guy. I describe myself as being boring. I don't do a lot of stuff. So if I was to get into trouble, I don't know what it would be doing."
Well, since Flacco embraces his boringness (is that a word?), why not start a boring quarterbacks club?
In addition to Flacco, Patrick nominated Cincinnati's Andy Dalton, Philadelphia's Nick Foles and New York's Eli Manning as founding members.
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind that," Flacco said laughing.
"But I guess you would just sit around and not talk to each other," Patrick replied. "That would be the club?"
"I'm sure it would take a while," Flacco answered. "There would be a lot of silence before we all opened up."
There would be no talk. There would be no exhausting quarterback drills. And there would be no vomiting.
Flacco told Patrick that at the NFL level, players don't do gassers anymore. It's more a high school or college thing. And quarterbacks don't have to do hitting drills either.
"We get off easy," he admitted. "As a quarterback, you don't do that stuff anymore. There's not really any drills that you can complain about. I'd sound like a big baby if I was to complain about drills."
The last time Flacco got hit in practice was high school. And the last time he threw up* *during a game or practice?
"Uhhhh, I've never thrown up," Flacco said.
"Really?" Patrick asked incredulously.
"Not that I'd admit, at least," Flacco said.
The whole interview is great. Check out the full thing below (mobile users tap "View in browser" at the top of the page to watch):
A QB Controversy That Now Seems Ridiculous
While we're talking about Flacco's rookie year, remember when there was controversy around Baltimore about who should start in 2008: Flacco or Troy Smith?
ESPN's Jamison Hensley was pondering that debate yesterday because of the news that Smith was reportedly benched by the CFL's Montreal Alouettes on Monday.
"[It] brought back memories of a quarterback controversy that seems ridiculous now," Hensley wrote.
The funny thing is the Ravens were preparing to start Smith that season. But Smith caught a severe case of tonsillitis and Kyle Boller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, so Flacco jumped up the depth chart.
Flacco had a tough start – as one would expect for a rookie – but he got through it and seven years later he's the $120 million franchise quarterback and the Super Bowl XLVII MVP. Meanwhile, Smith has played for four teams in three different leagues.
"Even the harshest Flacco critic would chuckle if you tried to argue Smith is a better quarterback these days," Hensley wrote. "It was bad luck that an illness kept Smith from the Ravens' starting job in 2008. But it was only a matter of time before Flacco was going to take over as the franchise quarterback."
Keeping An Eye On QB Pat Devlin
On Monday, I suggested to keep an eye on Texans backup quarterback Case Keenum because of CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora saying that the Ravens could inquire about him if Houston were to cut him.
The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec agrees that Keenum potentially hitting market could complicate the Ravens backup position, but he also says to keep an eye on Pat Devlin.
"There's also been some talk that the Ravens could be interested in Pat Devlin, who was just released by the Miami Dolphins," Zrebiec wrote. "However, I'm not sure he's an upgrade over Taylor."
Trading Or Signing New CB 'Complicated'
The Ravens are thin at cornerback, which is why there's plenty of chatter about signing a new player to the roster.
The free agent market is "pretty much picked through" says Zrebiec, which is why he advocates for a training camp trade. But even that will be difficult to pull off.
"Completing [a trade] is complicated by several factors," Zrebiec wrote. "Cornerback has become a critical position in the pass-happy NFL and the demand clearly exceeds the supply. Several teams, including the Ravens, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, could use cornerback help, but there are not a whole lot of teams interested in parting with theirs. It's also fair to question what the Ravens would trade to get a quality corner."
Ideally, you would trade a player from another position of depth. The Ravens opened up with a deep defensive line, but that has been weakened with season-ending injuries to Brent Urban (knee) and Kapron Lewis-Moore (Achilles). Zrebiec says maybe the receiver or linebacker positions could be areas where the team could afford to give up a player.
And what about trading a future draft pick?
"[T]hey've already done that to acquire center Jeremy Zuttah and wide receiver Michael Campanaro, and it seems unlikely that team officials would want to dip into their pool of picks even more regardless of how many compensatory picks they have coming. But the situation has certainly gotten dire enough to consider all options," Zrebiec wrote.
Asante Samuel is a name that regularly comes up given his connection to Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees when they were in New England together. But Samuel reportedly wasn't interested when the Jets contacted him earlier this week.
There's also Jabari Greer, who has connection with Secondary Coach Steve Spagnuolo, but Greer is recovering from a knee injury and reportedly contemplating retirement.
Three Ravens That Impressed vs. 49ers, Three Who Didn't
The San Francisco 49ers are gone after a preseason game and three joint practices.
Zrebiec offered his opinion – the analysis on each player below is only according to the Sun reporter – on who impressed and who didn't during the stretch:
Three Who Impressed (according to Zrebiec)
Steve Smith: "It sounds like a broken record because the veteran's play has been one of the talks of training camp, but he appears to be getting even better as it goes on. Smith was the one Ravens player who the 49ers really struggled to deal with during the joint practices."
Lorenzo Taliaferro: "Rushing for 71 yards on 13 carries in your first NFL game speaks for itself. However, the fourth-round pick was just as impressive in practices, where he ran hard and stopped blitzing linebackers in their tracks."
Kelechi Osemele: "The 49ers are thin on the interior of their defensive line, but Osemele had his way with them regardless. San Francisco's young defensive tackle, Tank Carradine, will be seeing Osemele in his sleep over the next couple weeks." Three Who Didn't Impress
Chykie Brown:"Just when it appeared that Brown was turning the corner, he struggled against the 49ers, getting called for two penalties in the game and then getting picked on throughout the joint practices. With Webb and Jackson sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Ravens need Brown to play much better. It's that simple."
Justin Forsett:"He has had a solid training camp, but one of the worst miscues that a player on the roster bubble could make is putting the ball on the ground. Forsett lost a fumble in the preseason opener and was relatively quiet during the joint practices. His status seems secure for the first two regular-season games with Ray Rice serving a suspension, but Forsett obviously wants to stick around longer than that."
Ryan Jensen: "The Ravens' second-team offensive line struggled in the preseason opener and Jensen* *was a big reason why. Now, he's nursing a foot-ankle injury and missing valuable reps. His play was earning praise during the various minicamps, but the momentum has slowed considerably."
Read Zrebiec's full list to get his impressions on who impressed and who didn't. Quick Hits
- "The Ravens aren't alone among AFC North teams suffering injuries in recent days," wrote Zrebiec. "The Cincinnati Bengals announced Monday that wide receiver Marvin Jones broke a bone in his left foot and will miss a 'few'* *weeks. A few weeks seems pretty optimistic with an injury like that, so there appears to be a good chance that Jones will be sidelined when the Bengals open the season against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 7. That’s a big loss, as Jones had 51 catches and 10 touchdown receptions last season." [The Baltimore Sun]
- Ravens linebacker Josh Bynes holds onto the feeling of living on the roster bubble for motivation. [The Baltimore Sun]
- The Cleveland Browns signed Rex Grossman as their No. 3 quarterback. [CSNBaltimore.com]
- Hey Clifton, which of the bubble receivers will make the roster? "I think [Michael] Campanaro will make the roster. He's a slot receiver with quickness, which is a skill set the Ravens need. I think the Ravens view him as a pretty good NFL receiver in two or three years, although he may not play regularly this season." [CSNBaltimore.com]
- Ex-Ravens linebacker Bart Scott will debut CBS's NFL Today pregame show as a commentator and analyst when the regular season opens next month. And he's ready to 'keep it real.' Can't wait. [The Baltimore Sun]
- @TeamSizzleFilms: Focus on the positives B'More fam. Don't let all the bad stuff in the news get you down. [Twitter]
- KOsevenduece: At the end of the day I'm still just a Dreamer. Till I turn all my doubters to believers. #Humble #Focused … And why would you want it any other way...Keep striving. Zero complacency [Twitter]
- @TorreySmithWR: Baltimore streets do not drain well at all....feels like I'm driving in a river smh. Thought I was about to go eat at @JimmysSeafood and it's like 6 cars stick around here! Water over their hoods [Twitter]
- This is the COMPLETE opposite of the Ravens-49ers joint practices, which were praised for their physicality, but mutual respect …. Cowboys and Raiders practice turns ugly [NFL.com]
- @89SteveSmith: Surprise the fam on day off! Got down to clt. Heading back to the grind. And yes I'm a freakin goof ball #pjlife [Twitter]
- @trulybean [Jimmy Smith: This ceiling fan is hypnotizing [Instagram]
- @334upshaw41: Happy Birthday son! Another blessing God has placed in my life! Daddy loves you! My guy getting big man. [Instagram]
