Tale of the Tape: Joe Flacco vs. Matt Ryan

New member and thought I’d honor you guys with my wisdom. haha. I think it’s a dead heat in a zeppelin race between these two young QBs. Each one has started their careers with an advantage. Obviously, Flacco was drafted by a much better team. The Ravens are perennial playoff contenders while the Falcons were in rebuild mode when selecting Ryan. But Ryan had the advantage of having a bonafide #1 WR in Roddy White that he’s built quite an impressive rapport with while the Ravens just got theres. You give Flacco and Boldin another year and it’s going to be legit.

I think both teams are playing great football. The Ravens are the best team in football in my opinion. I’m a born and raised Bears fan but I can’t bring myself to root for them the same way until they do something about their HC and GM and entire front office for that matter. I live in the Baltimore area and since I can’t watch Bears games, it’s been either the Ravens and Redskins and there is no way in hell i’m rooting for the Redskins so the Ravens have been getting my secondary love since 96.

I don’t think it is really fair to have a debate about who is better simply because the numbers are basically identical. Of course us here in Baltimore will give Joe the notch because he has led us to the playoffs in 2 straight years as compared to Ryan’s one year and Joe has actually won in the playoffs while Ryan hasn’t. But both are great QB’s and are the future of this league.

The thing that ticks me off about this debate is that there are so many people who say Ryan is such a better QB. I think it is safe to say that these people think Ryan is the better QB simply because of his draft status compared to Joe’s and the fact that Ryan is not nearly as ugly and mute as Joe is. (but that is why we love him).

I always try to get people to give me 5 legitimate reasons why Ryan is the better QB and they always revert to saying stuff like he has a better throwing motion and is better in the pocket. I was not aware that some 40 year old unemployed grease ball in western PA was the next Mike Mayock.

Joe is a great QB, Ryan is a great QB, and I think it is safe to say that both teams are very satisfied with who they have as their signal caller.

Cooler nickname gives him the nod. It’s that simple.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, who was in Atlanta for the drafting of Ryan, explained that Newsome offered the St. Louis Rams picks in the first, second and fourth rounds in 2008, plus a third round pick in 2009, all for the Rams’ second-overall choice.

Had the deal been accepted by the Rams, Baltimore would have taken Ryan and Atlanta would have drafted defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, according to King.

One could scratch their head at the Rams for turning down such a lucrative offer. They clearly valued defensive end Chris Long more than three extra bodies. But, in the end, it turned out well for the Ravens.

Essentially, the Ravens would have given up Joe Flacco (first round), Ray Rice (second round), Marcus Smith or David Hale (fourth round) and Lardarius Webb (2009 third round) for Ryan. Of course, Newsome could have maneuvered to get some of those picks back, but those were the players actually selected with those picks.

As Baltimore fans, not trading up for Ryan might actually have been the better thing to do. We would have missed out on two of our franchise players in Rice and Webb had we made the trade for Ryan. So I am happy with what we got instead of giving up our future for Ryan.

Are the differences between the career stats of the two QB’s -that in itself is a statistical anomaly. Flacco has a slightly significant improvement in completion percentage, but than Ryan has a slightly significant advantage in TD’s -maddening!

The only “objective” (snicker, snicker) observation I can make to give Joe Cool (would you expect anything else from me?) the nod is Joe’s playoff record and also his durability. Although even I admit that last point is dubious at best because one injury does not make Ryan “injury-prone”.

I would be curious to hear what fans from say, Seattle and San Diego for example, which probably have no gruff with either team, would have to say.

Joe wins…Playoff W’s mean everything….get out of here Ryan with your 0-1 self….forget the debating last year matt’s ass was at home watchin Joe piece up them patriots….ravens rule! Enough said, ray ray gone stomp a hole in that soft Boston college ass…..and hey roddy white, my boy Webb gone put that blanket on you….can’t wait for tomorrow….gonna make that dome our toilet bowl

I have to start by saying that the debate between these two could go either way. Flacco’s playoff resume (though not his playoff stats, yuuuuck) certainly shine when compared to Ryan’s. But the reason we love him down in Atlanta is not for his stats, because, lets face it, our offense relies on the running game. We don’t need a 300 yard game or a 4000 yard season to dominate offensively.

No, what we love about him is his intelligence and his hard work, his determination and his leadership. He has always had rave reviews from the coaches, and his film study and after practice work ethic are second to none (except probably Peyton Manning, who lives in his film room). He is finally being given free reign over the offense (see the Cincinnatti game, where on 3rd and 1 he checked out of a run play to throw a ~50 yard bomb to Roddy White for a touchdown) and he’s proved that he understands defenses and knows what he has to do to get this team a W.

He’s the kind of guy that wills our team to win, and he’s been as clutch as they come in the 4th quarter this year. If he has time in the pocket (games where he hasn’t: @PIT, L; @PHI, L; SF, barelyW) he will make the throw every time. He always elevates his game in the two-minute situations, when he knows that he has to make a play. At the end of the game, with a minute left and a few timeouts, if we have a the ball and are within a touchdown, I have no doubt that Matty Ice will pull through. He may not have a rocket arm, or all the great physical attributes of a John Elway, but so many do have those and are not successful QBs at this level (see: Jamarcus Russell).What he does have is the leadership and intelligence to win us games, and because of that, I never count him out.

/end lovefest

Let’s not be boneheaded here….once again and for the exclamation point on this debate…..how many playoff wins does Ryan have? I’m laughing straight to the post season…hahhhahahahaha

doesn’t necessarily have the better QB, just the overall better 22 guys n the field. If that was true, then Trent Dilfer would be a better QB than Dan Marino. End of discussion on that!