You can’t call it homerism when it comes from Ron Jaworski, the former NFL quarterback who spent most of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles… and “Jaws” has just observed what I have personally known for a long time now— that Joe Flacco has the strongest throwing arm in the league.
I’ve seen Joe throw in person. I’ve seen Mike Vick throw in person. I’ve seen Tom Brady throw in person.
Joe’s arm is stronger than Vick’s or Brady’s…
“Arm strength – that’s Flacco’s number one attribute,” Jaworski said on Monday’s SportsCenter. “I get so tired of hearing how arm strength is overrated. It’s far more important than people think. … He has the strongest arm in the NFL. And he has an aggressive, confident throwing mentality.”
The primary reason why ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski ranked Joe Flacco as the 9th-best quarterback in the league?—because he has a rocket for an arm. I knew it. And I was constantly amazed how many Ravens fans either did not know it or simply refused to believe it. The contingent of Ravens fans who complain constantly about Joe’s “accuracy” or “completion percentage” have obviously not been paying attention at practice or in the games.
Flacco is amazingly accurate in drills and practice, and throws at different distances and speeds to boot. In games he is usually right on target, too, barring any kind of crazy pressure. Go back and watch the game tape on Joe… Count the number of drops by his receivers…the amount is amazing as it adds up, and they are for the most part easily catchable balls. I mean, look, I don’t work for the Ravens, so I’m not blowing PR smoke here, but since the day Flacco showed up in rookie camp some years ago, I could see he was an extraordinary passer. Get him a few more top-notch receivers over the path of his career and you will see passing records broken in Baltimore.
“Jaws” ranked Flacco ahead of Dallas’ Tony Romo, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan (whom Flacco is constantly compared to), Philadelphia’s Michael Vick, Houston’s Matt Schaub and Detroit’s Matthew Stafford, in that order.
The analyst also points out what everybody already knows – that Flacco is a winner. He’s been the victor in 69 percent of his regular-season starts. Flacco’s started nine playoff games, including eight on the road, and won five. It’s Flacco’s ability to make any throw on the field, and his willingness to do so, that is a large factor in his winning record.
“The element always overlooked by those who minimize arm strength is the willingness of quarterbacks like Flacco to pull the trigger,” Jaworski said. “Few recognize that because there is no quantifiable means by which to evaluate throws that are not made by quarterbacks with lesser arm strength. It’s all about dimensions. Flacco gives you the ability to attack all areas of the field at any point in the game.”
Sarah Ellison of Ravens.com already explored how hard Flacco can throw back in late May. She found out he threw the ball at a top speed of 58 mph while at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2008. It’s probably faster now as he has refined his technique and gotten stronger.
Flacco and the Ravens’ coaching staff utilize that strong arm too. According to Pro Football Focus, Flacco threw the ball 20 yards or more 14.71 percent of the time over the past three years. That’s more than Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, and 8th-most in the league. Flacco is sixth in the league in deep passing yards (2,247) during the same span.
“Flacco is an excellent deep-ball thrower. When he’s that clean delivering the ball, he won’t miss,” Jaworski said.
“There are very few quarterbacks in the NFL with the pure throwing ability of Joe Flacco. The reason Joe is No. 9 and not higher is his production does not always match his skillset. If he can become more consistent in 2012, he will move up in my quarterback rankings.”
Nice to see a guy like Jaworski finally bringing the correct word on Joe Flacco to the masses…
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