Joe Flacco’s progression from surprise rookie quarterback to sophomore year sensation has left the Baltimore Ravens much less to worry about when going to sleep at night. As we know all too well, the Ravens have never been a team to score a ton of points, although the defense has never been able to stop themselves from punishing opposing offenses. Now that Flacco is proving that his success last season was no fluke, it’s never been more fun to watch Ravens’ games then it has been so far this season.

The stats don’t lie; Joe Flacco is among the top in most major QB categories, including passer rating and yards per game. Through three games, Flacco has left nothing to be desired as he boosts the confidence of the team and it’s fans. The reminders every week make us wonder how well this season is on pace to go.

However, some naysayers (and they’re allowed to be naysayers, despite how annoying some of them can be) claim that the weak defenses that the Ravens have faced are the real cause for Flacco’s early season success. They may say things like, "Hey! Defenses like Cleveland and Kansas City are no means of comparing how good an offense, or, more specifically, a quarterback, will be!" Or maybe it will sound something like, "Without the challenge of a solid defense under his belt so far this season, Flacco has accomplished nothing more than a few opportunities to rack up his stats and set the team up for a total letdown." Except a lot of them use language that’s a bit simpler and more offensive.

Either way you may feel about Flacco’s accomplishments in the 2009 season, credit is due where it is deserved. Despite the weak defenses of the Raven’s opponents so far, the fact is that those opponents are still teams in the NFL. Flacco is one year removed from playing college ball, and doesn’t have nearly the amount of experience as some of the defensive players he has gone against when playing the Browns and Chiefs. He has been asked to take on a huge task by turning the Ravens’ offense around, and Flacco has taken off running with the task at hand.

When Joe Flacco showed what he was capable of last season, the expectations skyrocketed. It left the fanbase hoping that he would be able to provide an offensive output that would challenge the best teams in the league. Automatically, that left the games against weak opponents as "give me" games. Teams like Cleveland and Kansas City, who had very low expectations, were considered to be games that the Ravens would roll right through with no problems. The challenge Flacco faced was meeting those requirements; If he wanted to prove that he was a legit quarterback in the NFL, he would have to put a real beating on the teams that people were expecting him to perform well against. His huge numbers against Kansas City and Cleveland weren’t anything to laugh at. Instead, Flacco did everything that was expected of him, further solidifying his development as a QB as a success.

Without performances like those that Flacco put up against the weak teams the Ravens have faced in weeks 1 through 3, not only would the team and fans be let down, but those naysayers would have a valid excuse to find faults in the Ravens’ young QB. Instead, those who don’t want to see a franchise quarterback in Baltimore, or are not yet sold on Flacco’s future, are fishing for reasons to make it seem as if Joe hasn’t accomplished anything yet.

As football fans, we all know that there will always be those whose only intentions are to annoy the reasonable logic out of us. Ravens’ fans have had the first hand experience, whether it’s been the Ray Lewis jokes over the years, or the Joe Flacco comments more recently. But, the fact of the matter is that Flacco is succeeding at a high pace, and it’s doing nothing but pissing off the Raven haters to no end. While the Browns and Chiefs don’t have the most stand-up defenses in the league, there is no push over team, especially for a second year quarterback with so much on his plate. The Patriots will provide a challenge this week, but I wouldn’t expect to see much of a drop off in Joe’s confidence or production.

Thanks to Bruce, whose opinions were helpful in this article.

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