PITTSBURGH — There was still some leftover amazement after halftime of the Baltimore-Pittsburgh game from when Ben Roethlisberger did his spinning, dipping, swooning, then launch-it-downfield maneuver in the second quarter on Saturday night. We've seen this from him before. Ben being Ben. But then it was Joe Flacco's turn.
It was the third quarter, and Baltimore held a 13-9 lead. Flacco dropped back, and James Harrison reached for his shoulder pad, almost grabbing it. Harrison had him. Then Flacco ducked and darted. He scrambled left and threw a perfect, tight pass to wide receiver Torrey Smith for an 11-yard score.No, it wasn't as flashy as Roethlisberger's jaw-dropper. Flacco is not Michael Vick. Yet in many ways the play was typical Flacco: effective, borderline athletic-looking, but, most of all, a killer. In the playoffs, this is what Flacco will do. He will destroy you.
It won't be the prettiest destruction. It won't be the most athletic—but athletic enough. His passes won't always be the most accurate—but accurate enough. His leadership isn't exclamatory. There are no Favrian gyrations or Bradian head-butts. A pseudo fist pump. A wry smile. A quick jog. That's what you get from Flacco. That's what you mostly saw during Baltimore's convincing 30-17 victory over the Steelers at Heinz Field on Saturday night.
If a man in a time machine landed on Flacco's front lawn and said he wanted to talk about the future, Flacco would smile and say, "Cool ship, dude. Say, you got anything to eat?"
But make no mistake: There is a fighter underneath the cool exterior, and we are seeing the Playoff Joe back in action. Flacco is back in all of his boring awesomeness, and the Ravens are officially the Patriots' worst nightmare.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2318391-super-steady-joe-flacco-just-right-for-the-playoffs-again-watch-out-patriots
No comments:
Post a Comment