Jeff Wolfson

Flacco's rough start - What's your take?

by Dan Kolko View Comments

Remember back in August after the Ravens' second preseason game when some fans were calling for Marc Bulger to replace Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback?

That was when the games didn't matter. I wonder how Charm City is feeling about the Ravens' quarterback situation this morning after Flacco's four interception performance in yesterday's 15-10 loss to the Bengals.

Flacco was expected to take a huge step forward in his development this season for a handful of reasons; he was entering his third professional season (viewed by some as the year when a quarterback truly starts to show what he can do), had a host of new weapons at his disposal in the passing game, and started working with a highly respected new quarterback coach in Jim Zorn.

Through two games, for whatever reason, that huge step hasn't come. A baby step hasn't come. If anything, Flacco seems to have taken a step backwards.

Here are Flacco's numbers through two weeks: 37-of-77 (48.1 percent) for 402 yards, one touchdown, five interceptions and a lost fumble. He ranks 32nd in the league in quarterback rating, behind perennial Pro Bowl candidates such as Seneca Wallace, Derek Anderson and Trent Edwards.

But with all that said, two weeks does not a season make. This is Flacco's team, and unless he remains in this funk, it will continue to be his team.

If Flacco comes out against the Browns next week and stinks up the joint, maybe (maybe) we can start talking about whether Bulger should ditch the clipboard and grab a helmet.

Until then, Joe Cool's running the show. The Ravens have far too much invested in him to give up on him this quickly.

While we're on this topic, here's my weekly Monday morning question for all of you:

Do you have faith that Flacco will become a top-notch NFL quarterback at some point in his career, or do his struggles give you reason to doubt that he can reach that status?

What's your take?

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