Joe Cool And The Gang

[93henfan]

Latest piece on Flacco in this week's Sports Illustrated: http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1150395/index.htm?eref=sisf

Good article; gratuitous usage of KC Keeler quotes.:p

[SunCoastBlueHen]

Joe and KC even had some nice press in the St. Pete Times this morning.

Baltimore Ravens are wacko for rookie quarterback Joe Flacco


The Ravens' rookie quarterback, dubbed "Joe Cool" by his teammates, didn't garner the moniker due to a colorful personality or lavish lifestyle. Nor does it stem from his growing popularity (fans wear "Wacko for Flacco" T-shirts in the stands).

Flacco, who turns 24 Friday, refuses to make waves with comments or cash. He reportedly has never owned a car (he uses a loaner from a dealer), and his first big purchase after getting his $30-million contract was a lawn mower for his mother.

And Flacco shrugs off the improbable turn of events in his life in the past year. The former star at Division I-AA Delaware began training camp as a third stringer, but after a couple of injuries, he was unexpectedly handed the starting job. He has led the Ravens to the playoffs and become the first rookie since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to win a road playoff game.

But with the Ravens two wins from the Super Bowl — they travel to Tennessee today — it's the trust of his teammates that puts "Joe Cool" in perspective.

Flacco can be unflappable under pressure.

"Once one good play or bad play is gone, he lets it go," Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis said. "A lot of guys can't do that. Joe is one of those gifted ones. He's going to be a special kid."

The Ravens have had problems finding a franchise quarterback. Lewis has seen 16 players start under center in his 13-year career.

Learning from its experience with former first-round pick Kyle Boller, Baltimore didn't want to throw Flacco (drafted 18th overall) into the fire right away. But with Boller getting hurt (shoulder) and backup Troy Smith getting sick (tonsil infection), Flacco became No. 1 right before the season started.

Delaware coach K.C. Keeler told Ravens officials not to worry about rushing Flacco into it.

"His athletic ability is ridiculous. … He has a cannon for an arm," Keeler said. "He has poise beyond what you could imagine, and he's very, very bright. But the thing that separates him (is) he has ice water in his veins."

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/article964603.ece

[93henfan]

And now:

The first rookie QB in NFL history to win two playoff games!

xbeerchugx xbeerchugx xbeerchugx xbeerchugx xbeerchugx xbeerchugx xbeerchugx xbeerchugx xbeerchugx xbeerchugx

xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx xhurrayx

[JayJ79]

Flacco didn't really win the game.
It was all about the defense getting takeaways (and knocking out Chris Johnson), and a whole lotta luck.

But Joe did have a couple decent throws (and a good helping of luck), and he didn't make any big costly mistakes.

[93henfan]

Flacco didn't really win the game.
It was all about the defense getting takeaways (and knocking out Chris Johnson), and a whole lotta luck.

But Joe did have a couple decent throws (and a good helping of luck), and he didn't make any big costly mistakes.

GMAFB. Yeah, Joe didn't go 11/22 with a huge 48 yard, thread-the-needle TD pass, a critical 1st down pass to Todd Heap on the game winning drive, and no sacks or INTs this game (or for the whole playoffs so far). Joe did what only three other QBs did this year (guys named Favre, Manning, and Schaub): beat Tennessee.

[JohnStOnge]

I was pulling for Flacco and he did a good job. But that was a classic case of a phenomenon I've often noted: The best team does not always win.

If you're Tennessee you've got to be awfully frustrated right now. They were saying that thing about nobody wants to see Baltimore. I guarantee you the winner of the other AFC game has a better chance of beating Baltimore at home than they would have had to beat Tennessee on the road.

And I say that not just because Tennessee was the number 1 seed. I'm not a big NFL fan, don't watch it much, and hadn't seen Tennessee at all this year. But I watched today and they were clearly the better team physically. It took an awful lot of them shooting themselves in the foot for Baltimore to get the win.

[BEAR]

I'm not a fan of either team, but it was clear that Tennessee lost that game, Baltimore didn't win it. You can't turn the ball over like that and expect to win a playoff game. Props to the Ravens, but the Titans need a swift kick for that horrible effort.

[JohnStOnge]

I'm not a fan of either team, but it was clear that Tennessee lost that game, Baltimore didn't win it. You can't turn the ball over like that and expect to win a playoff game. Props to the Ravens, but the Titans need a swift kick for that horrible effort.

It wasn't just the turnovers. It was penalties too. No matter how you slice it, the team that wins on the other side of the bracket caught a break because the team they're going to have to play in the AFC championship isn't as good as the one that got knocked off today.

But in the final analysis I like this better than the FBS thing. When you have a tournament you may not have the best team win it but you're going to have a true champion. If Baltimore goes on to win it all it won't matter that Tennessee had a better team than they did.

[JohnStOnge]

By the way, I have no criticism of Flacco. He did a great job. It's just that the team surrounding him wasn't nearly as good as the other team and they had to screw themselves an awful lot to lose.

[blukeys]

We always get into this argument whenever one team turns the ball over and the other one does not.

I saw a hard hitting Baltimore defense force the fumbles and turnovers they needed. Collins was being rushed and threw off his back foot for the pick that the Ravens got. This was good defense and not bad luck. (I would say maybe a poor decision by Collins but that is till not luck.)

In 2 playoff games the Ravens opponents have turned the ball over 8 times compared to 1 turnover for the Ravens. Good defenses force the turnovers and a 8 to 1 ratio can't be attributed to bad luck for Ravens' opponents.

I have seen this at every level of football and the harder hitting, tougher team gets the turnovers.

If not lets just give the Umass NC in 1998 to GSU.

[89Hen]

The Ravens' rookie quarterback, dubbed "Joe Cool" by his teammates...
Baloney. Folks at gohens called him that in 2006. xpeacex

[GannonFan]

Baloney. Folks at gohens called him that in 2006. xpeacex

yeah, but we never came up with that "Wacco for Flacco" tagline - we missed the boat on that one. xlolx

[Blue Hen 53]

Joe Cool making Blue Hen Nation PROUD!

[YoUDeeMan]

It wasn't just the turnovers. It was penalties too. No matter how you slice it, the team that wins on the other side of the bracket caught a break because the team they're going to have to play in the AFC championship isn't as good as the one that got knocked off today.

But in the final analysis I like this better than the FBS thing. When you have a tournament you may not have the best team win it but you're going to have a true champion. If Baltimore goes on to win it all it won't matter that Tennessee had a better team than they did.

You mean the Titans, except for their turnovers and stupid mental errors - all part of the game, appeared to be the better team in Saturday's game. They are not necessarily the better team and they might not have been the better team showing up next week.

Funny thing...easy to forget for some folks...Baltimore won the stats in the first meeting between the teams and certainly appeared to be the better team. However, Baltimore lost that first game. In this game, the Titans appeared to have the upper hand in a lot of areas and in the stats. Some of that can certainly be attributed to the short week and lack of rest for Baltimore. And home field is usually an advantage - even more so against a team that has to travel on that short week.

In the series this year, each team won on the board yet the losing team could say that they were the better team. So who knows what team would have lined up next week for the Titans? The good news, for Ravens and Flacco fans, is that they played well enough to win. And, with an extra day of needed rest, we actually do get to see what Raven's team shows up next weekend in Pittsburgh. xthumbsupx

[YoUDeeMan]

yeah, but we never came up with that "Wacco for Flacco" tagline - we missed the boat on that one. xlolx


Sad, really. We do seem to have some whacko fans. xsmiley_wix