Joe Flacco Considers Himself the NFL’s Best QB, Now He Needs to Prove It

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco caused a bit of a stir in April when he proclaimed that he was the best quarterback in football. Not too many folks would have argued had he said he was one of the better QBs in the game or even top 10. Is he the best? No way!

The man is entitled to his opinion though (as am I). Perhaps what is even more important than any opinion is that this is a contract year for him. Win and we are talking big money; lose or just win a handful of games and we're talking average money. Prove he's the best and the Ravens will have no choice but to hand him a blank check.

Defensively the team is not the same feared group that it once was making Flacco that much more important to Baltimore's success. So far he is doing a good job of making his case. The Ravens are 5-1 with the No. 8 offense in the league and the proud owners of a solid running game and passing game--a rarity in today's NFL.

On an individual level Flacco is playing well. Through six games he has a 92.0 QB rating (good enough for No.10. He has a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio, and a nice 282 yards/game average (12th). His numbers are good, but that is all they are—good.

Umm…Joe…we thought that you were supposed to be the best?

In all fairness to Joe and quarterbacks everywhere the statistics do not make the player. No player can win a game alone so the stats might not reflect a player's contribution and commitment to the game. Good teams will not rely on any one player, but will have several working in tandem in order to win.

Flacco has some very talented help on offense. Ray Rice is one of the most prolific running backs in the game. Anquan Boldin is one of the best wide receivers in the game and young Torrey Smith is well on his way to reaching elite status as well.

So then how can Flacco prove that he is the best? He has to beat the best. Normally they would have already done that since they beat the New England Patriots earlier this season, but so far they are a middle of the road team at 3-3. Cincinnati is good, but they are barely a playoff caliber team. Ask Jerry Jones and he'll say Dallas is the best, but we all know that isn't the case.

For the immediate future the team to beat is the Houston Texans.

Even after getting beat up by the Packers, the Texans are one of the best teams in the league. Arian Foster and Ben Tate are arguably the best pair of running backs in the league. The team does not sling the ball all over the field anymore, but Matt Schaub has the ability to do that with Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, and Owen Daniels as targets.

Then there is the defense. Last season they were one of the top three all season. They are only No. 6 overall right now due to the night that Aaron Rodgers had last Monday. J.J. Watt is having a career year in his second season (MVP type numbers?), and will not make it easy for Flacco and the Ravens to do anything on offense.

Going against the Texans defense will be a challenge for Joe Flacco and the Ravens. Should the game be one that he wins it will not make him the best. What it will do is put him squarely on the path to become just that.

The best.