Joe Flacco: How does he compare to the G.O.A.T?

Flacco vs Brady: they might be more similar than you think.

Where does Joe Flacco rank in the pantheon of QB greatness? With the playoffs in full swing, I thought it might be interesting to compare him to some of those still playing. Of course, I began with Tom Brady; and while some fans might be quick to complain about Flacco’s contract or ready to run Joe out of town, what I found could be surprising. No, don’t throw anything at your computer, but there are more similarities between Joe Flacco and Tom Brady than you might think.

As far as personality goes, if you’ve ever listened to a radio interview with Joe Flacco, you’ll quickly realize that he is a very nice, humble guy. Self-effacing, easy going, unassuming. That guy in floral shorts at the BBQ nodding to the music who speaks when spoken to.

The same cannot be said for Tom Brady. I doubt you’ll find anyone who thinks Tom Brady is “easy-going.” At least not on gameday that is. This may be the biggest difference between the QB who, after last year’s Super Bowl, is widely being hailed as the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) and the Ravens’ Joe Flacco.

Tom Brady is fiery, to say the least. You constantly hear reports about him on the sidelines during games. How this affects his teammates is anyone’s guess, but seeing someone so pumped up, especially after so many years in the league has to do something. Maybe it’s just that they don’t want to see what crazy Tom is really capable of. Maybe they’re scared of him, who knows? But it’s this passion that leads Brady to continue to push himself, to follow his infamous TB12 nutritional and training regimen, and to have probably earned the title of G.O.A.T.

I wanted to look into the numbers, to see if I could find any correlation between two QBs so dynamically different. And, well, I found more than you might imagine. Especially early in their careers.