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Baltimore Ravens: How effective will Joe Flacco be in Week 1?

By Steve Rudden

CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 1: Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on January 1, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 1: Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on January 1, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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 Joe Flacco returned to practice on Saturday after being out for all of Training Camp.

This will be Joe Flacco’s first full year removed from ACL surgery so will we see a different quarterback? Flacco hasn’t practiced much since hurting his back early on in training camp. Will he be effective in his first game action of the season?

He’s slated to start Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, but how will he do without having much practice time? He has a new weapon at wide receiver in Jeremy Maclin.

Normally it takes a quarterback time to get comfortable with new offensive weapons. Hopefully, in the week leading up to the season opener, Flacco and Maclin will be working together. We really aren’t sure how bad Joe’s back was to keep him out of all of training camp. It could’ve just been a minor injury, but the Ravens wanted to take extra precaution.  

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The Strategy:

The Ravens could ease Flacco into the game and be a game manager just like they did when he was a rookie. My guess is they don’t have Joe throwing 30-40 times in Week 1. Marty Mornhinweg will want the offense to be balanced. The Ravens learned the pitfalls of an unbalanced offense last season, where Flacco passed almost 700 times. A rusty Flacco could mean that the Ravens will be forced to do what’s good for them, running the football.

I can see Flacco doing a lot of check downs to his running backs while getting his tight ends involved. Also, the offensive line is a little bit of a question mark, so Joe will need to get the ball out of his hands fast. Easing Joe Flacco into the game will be a good thing going forward throughout the rest of the season.

It’s better to do this than throwing the ball over the field and risk throwing interceptions or getting hurt. Flacco is the franchise quarterback and you don’t want to lose him for the season. Week 1 is going to be interesting to watch and I’m very excited to watch the game.

 Final Thoughts

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It’s definitely going to be nice seeing a familiar face behind the center on Sunday.  I know I’m not the only Raven fan concerned over Flacco’s back injury. While Ryan Mallett might be a serviceable backup, I’m not too confident in winning that many games for the Ravens, especially on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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