Joe Flacco is a 36 year old NFL quarterback.
He just completed his 13th season.
11 of those were with the Baltimore Ravens.
After almost 11 years including a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, Joe Flacco is being traded to the Denver Broncos.
Details on the deal: https://t.co/AFVuOP3xJ5 pic.twitter.com/K8elF4KhfF
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) February 13, 2019
Flacco spent 2019 with the Denver Broncos and 2020 with the New York Jets.
When he walks away from the game of football, will he be a Hall of Famer?
This is an easy question to answer.
No, he will not be.
Here are three reasons why.
1. Stats Aren’t Great
While Flacco has longevity which is usually a criteria for Hall of Fame selection, in this case his stats during those 175 regular games work against him.
He has thrown for 40,931 yards in his career which is commendable.
The problem is the touchdown to interception ratio.
Flacco has 224 regular season touchdowns versus 144 interceptions.
This Joe Flacco interception had a 90.6% chance of being completed. To Denver. It was not. pic.twitter.com/Sqb8XaKc6R
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) October 6, 2019
He also is sacked often.
Flacco was sacked 366 times; he never possessed the mobility of his heir apparent, Lamar Jackson.
Probably the worst year of his career was 2013.
The Ravens were the defending Super Bowl Champions, Flacco was the reigning Super Bowl MVP, and he just signed a monster 6 year contract worth $120 million.
Efforts to defend the title and go back-to-back were disappointing.
The Ravens finished 8-8.
Flacco threw 19 TDs and 22 INTs, and he was sacked 48 times.
2. Played On Teams With Good Defenses
Flacco played in the Ravens era of outstanding defenses.
Led by NFL Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, the Ravens defense dominated its opponents.
The Ravens have always been known for their tough defenses.
It’s the same reason Trent Dilfer became a Super Bowl Champion with the Ravens during the 2000 season.
Managing the offensive side of the ball is a lot easier knowing that the Ravens defense could initiate turnovers and disrupt the opponents on every level.
3. One Glorious Year
8 years ago today: Trailing 35-28 with 44 seconds left and no timeouts, Joe Flacco miraculously connected with Jacoby Jones for a 70-yard TD.
The #Ravens would go on to beat Peyton Manning's Broncos in overtime and win the Super Bowl a few weeks later. pic.twitter.com/HeDLehPpBc
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 12, 2021
No football player can build a Hall of Fame career on one great season.
Flacco’s best performance came in 2012.
The Ravens went 10-6 in the regular season.
Flacco threw for 3,817 yards with 22 TDs and 10 INTs.
He had a career best average of 12 yards per completed pass.
Flacco took all of that momentum into the postseason, and the Ravens went 4-0 culminating in a Super Bowl Championship.
Joe Flacco was the Super Bowl MVP; he lit it up throughout the playoff run.
He threw 11 TDs without tossing a single interception.
Flacco completed nearly 58% of his passes for 1,140 yards.
Though Joe Flacco does not have the credentials to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his career was successful.
He became a Super Bowl Champion and Super Bowl MVP.
Those are feats that Hall of Famers and legends like Dan Marino and Jim Kelly never achieved.
Through his rise to fame, he always maintained his down-to-earth and humble demeanor.
How did Joe Flacco celebrate his record $120M contract? With a 10-piece McNugget meal from McDonalds, of course. http://t.co/300WvIwugb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 5, 2013
After he signed the big $120 million contract with the Ravens in 2013, he went to an Aberdeen, Maryland McDonald’s drive thru and ordered Chicken McNuggets.
That makes him near and dear to all of our collective hearts.
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Aldo Ferrone says
There is no question that Joe Flacco will not be a Hall of Famer He had one good year and other than that he was the beneficiary of some legendary defences. After he signed his $120 million contract, he didn’t do much.
Blind Squirrel says
Flacco is being given credit for having “one good year”. It really wasn’t. It was really an amazing 6-7 game stretch. If you look back to that season, the Ravens were very much on the fence as regards offering him an extension. Thank heavens he figured out that throwing the jump balls to Torrey Smith and Anquan Bolden was the magic formula. Still, the defense and running game were huge elements as well. And if you look at the decade of futility that has followed, it’s going to be pretty hard to justify a Gold Jacket.