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The offseason is in full swing. If you weren't sure about that, there is a list of the starting quarterbacks ranked from worst to best. As has become a tradition each offseason, we will talk about how Flacco ranks among the other quarterbacks in the league.
At number 8 overall, it is hard to argue a higher place for Flacco. That is unless you really put more weight in his postseason wins and losses. In that case, there are a few high ranking quarterback (cough... Peyton Manning) that have pretty awful postseason records. Here are the guys ahead of Baltimore's own Flacco:
- Tom Brady
- Aaron Rodgers
- Andrew Luck
- Peyton Manning
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Philip Rivers
- Drew Brees
While most Ravens fans will hate to see Roethlisberger ranked so high and above Flacco, he deserves his ranking. Once a rather mobile quarterback that would set his offense up with his feet, Big Ben has settled down as he has gotten older and has gotten more accurate along with it. Add that accuracy to his arm strength and you have one of the better quarterbacks in the league.
While these rankings usually gloss over Flacco's postseason accomplishments, Andy Benoit of Sports Illustrated clearly did his research and has actually watched Flacco play.
Maybe the strongest arm in the NFL (yes, arm strength matters), and he’s used it aptly in multiple schemes in recent years. It’s still incredible how little talk there is about his 2012 playoff run, which is probably the best ever.
With a cannon for an arm and one of the weakest wide receiver corps over the last few years, Flacco has been able to put together solid seasons. Even though somewhat erratic at times, Flacco becomes a completely different player when the game truly matters, like January. When it's crunch time, there are seriously few quarterbacks in the league that most coaches would rather have than Flacco.
With some of the higher ranked quarterbacks getting older, Flacco will only rise up this list as time goes on. Players like Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and even Tom Brady might not be in the league much longer. While guys like Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers will always get the attention and probably be ranked higher than Flacco, his knocking on the doorstep of a top 5 position sounds about right. Once the old guard is out of the league and Flacco truly hits his prime, he'll be deserving of that spot.