Underrated seasons with the Ravens:
How underrated was Joe Flacco the entirety of his career? The man had some great seasons and simply never received the props he deserved. And don’t even get me started on Pro Bowl vacancies, but Flacco had more than one occasion in which he could’ve reveived those honors…
Flacco was invited twice to Pro Bowl and turned it down each time. https://t.co/j1JiD12ovr
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) February 13, 2019
To me, the two seasons that Mr. Hensley is referring to are his 2010 and 2014 seasons. In both seasons, Joe Flacco was provided with solid-to-great weapons and considerably good coaching. Both seasons saw Flacco post a passer rating above 90.0 while having over a 2:1 touchdown:interception ratio. Of course, Flacco also took the Ravens to the playoffs in both those seasons. Each of those two years has plenty of backbone to support its argument.
In 2010, Joe Flacco was beginning to learn the speed of the game, setting then-career highs in passing yards (3,622) and touchdowns (25). Flacco also received (pun intended) Anquan Boldin that off-season to pair with Derrick Mason and give him a solid veteran receiving core. Of course, the backfield contained ace running back Ray Rice and the still-effective Willis McGahee. The pieces were there, and Flacco capitalized.
2014 was a similar story, but it was by-far Joe Flacco’s best season. With the guidance of offensive guru Gary Kubiak, Flacco went to new-heights and became the quarterback the front office envisioned when they inked him long-term. That season, Flacco led his team back to the playoffs and enjoyed another decent run before losing in the Divisional Round to the New England Patriots in a very controversial game. Anyways, Flacco’s 2014 season saw him throw a career-high 27 touchdown passes and watched “the old-man” Steve Smith Sr. completely rejuvenate his career after being cut by the Carolina Panthers. It was a magnificent season from Joe Flacco.
Even beyond these two seasons, Joe Flacco was still more than good enough for the Ravens to win games. Sure, the team used a strong run-game and defense as its primary pillars of strength, but Flacco could’ve held them back. Instead, he made them a more complete team and a constant thorn in the side of many AFC contenders.