Criticizing Flacco?
January 20, 2012 in Guest Blogger
WagerWeb Guest
A bit of controversy involving the Baltimore Ravens entering Sunday’s AFC Championship Game in New England as quarterback Joe Flacco was forced to respond to some criticism from teammate and future Hall of Famer Ed Reed. Baltimore is a 7-point NFL football bets favorite on NFL football bets.
In a Sirius radio interview, Reed, the team’s star safety, said of Flacco: “They [the Houston Texans] had a lot of guys in the box on him and they were giving [the pass] to him. I think a couple of times he needed to get rid of the ball. It just didn’t look like he had a hold on the offense. I don’t know how much of [that was] the play calling … but it just didn’t look like he had a hold on the offense, you know, of times past … It was just kind of like they [were] telling him [what] to do — throw the ball or get it here, you know, get it to certain guys.”
Flacco admitted he “was a little caught off guard” at first but that he has discussed the matter with Reed. Flacco said he first saw Reed’s comments on television while eating dinner. This distraction is the last thing the Ravens need on NFL football bets.
“When I first saw it, I was like: ‘What’s going on?,’ ” Flacco said. “Like I said, we talked about it. We’re a team around here. It’s not that big of an issue. I really don’t take things that bad. It’s Ed. It is what it is.”
Flacco was sacked five times and hurried by Texans defenders in an ugly 20-13 victory over Houston. The Ravens went three-and-out eight times Sunday, averaged 2.8 yards per rush and scored only three points over the final 46 minutes. Baltimore’s lack of offense allowed the Texans — led by rookie third-string quarterback T.J. Yates — to stay close until the game’s final possession. Baltimore didn’t cover the spread on WagerWeb.com’s NFL football bets.
Linebacker Ray Lewis, another future Hall of Famer, defended his quarterback and tried to squelch any lingering issues.
“I think I’m more shocked just how people can speak about somebody who is just a flat-out winner,” Lewis said. “There’s no one side to anything. There’s no one player that makes one team great. It takes a team effort. … A lot of things that people always try to put on the quarterback, I understand it. But it ain’t about our quarterback. It’s about the Baltimore Ravens and we’re a complete team. We win as a team, and we lose as a team.
“The only issue we have as a team is going up and trying to get a big win in Foxborough because anything else that everybody wants to bring up at this point is irrelevant. And everybody in the locker room is thinking the same way.”
