Joe Flacco helped teammate Haruki Nakamura raise over $56,000 for the Japanese Disaster Relief Fund this past Saturday at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland…now Joe’s ready to focus on the Flacco Relief Fund…i.e.,securing his next long-term contract with the Ravens.
Good for Joe— he did a wonderful thing by showing up for a Saturday afternoon signing event in support of the victims of the Japanese disaster…
Joe also revealed during the event that he intends to spend some time out in Arizona this spring working out with some Ravens…most notably, his tight end, Todd Heap.
“It’s really nice out in Arizona,” Flacco said during safety Haruki Nakamura’s charity event this weekend at Ripken Stadium. “We’ll get together later this month. We’re going to go out to Arizona and hang out with Todd and there’s a facility out there. We could probably play a litlte bit of golf, too. It’s a pretty nice time of year to do that.”
I can’t argue with that logic. Some of the best winters and early springs of my adult life were spent near Phoenix, Arizona…it is an ideal environment for outdoor practice of any sport—especially golf. The temperatures are just right this time of year out in the desert—warm, dry and comfy in the high 70’s and low ’80’s during the day…a little chilly at night, maybe 50-60 degrees F. Perfect football workout weather…
Flacco revealed to reporters on Saturday that he’s just begun to start throwing again. When you think of it, throwing the football is what makes the QB position unique in the NFL. You just can’t hide a bad throwing arm in the NFL.
“I’m really just starting to get back in the swing of things in terms of throwing the ball,” Flacco said. “So, I can take it at a gradual pace. This is the time when you want to make sure you keep your arm in shape, but not overwork yourself or get hurt or worn out before the season comes. I’m really just starting to get back into it and and I’m feeling good.”
Flacco said he has been playing catch with his brother, Baltimore Orioles minor league baseball player Mike Flacco. “I like to throw the football, having a catch with my brother and stuff like that right now,” Flacco said. “Really, I like to throw a baseball a little bit to keep my arm in shape, too. When you throw a baseball, you have a little bit higher arm speed.
“So, you can kind of keep your arm adapted to that. I’ve been doing that a little bit and just throwing the baseball against a wall. You can get a ton of throws in really quick. I throw it harder than my brother, I think. He’ll tell you differently.”
Meanwhile, Joe has been unusually outspoken on his future contract situation with the Ravens.
Flacco is entering the fourth year of a five-year contract worth up to $30 million that includes $4.585 million and $4.61 million in base salaries over the final two years of the deal. The Ravens recently informed Flacco’s representatives that they wouldn’t address his future contract situation until next year (2012).. That kinda irked Flacco….
“Of course it is disappointing,” said Flacco. “I’ve played three years. You would think by now, either you know that you like me or you don’t like me. I think if you like me, you would know. Hey, if it’s not the way they do things, it’s not the way they do things… We’ll see what happens a year from now.”
“I would much prefer that we get something done right now, because in a year from now, I’m going to be thinking, ‘Hey, they already made me play one year without another contract— what’s the harm in playing another year and seeing what happens after that?'”
“I don’t think there’s any question that this is where I want to be (in Baltimore) long-term. It’s just a matter of doing what’s going to be good in terms of signing that deal— and I’d like to do it as soon as possible. If they feel differently, they feel differently. When they eventually do want to do something, I’ll see if that’s something that’s going to benefit me.”
Of course, no contract deals can get done while the owners’ lockout of the players is in force. I guess the Ravens could hide behind that shield and explain it that way to appease Joe’s concern. But the Ravens are a much more honest organization than many teams in the NFL. Their response pretty much has been (and I’m paraphrasing): “Sorry you feel that way, Joe, we love you and want to re-sign you…but that is not the way we do things around here. We typically wait until your final year of a contract to structure a new long-term offer…”
Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said diplomatically after the 2010 season: “Joe is in his third year. He’s not performing like a first-year quarterback in my estimation. What I have been able to see over the past three years is a guy that can make all the throws, a guy that has poise, a guy that has command of his offense. But I also [see] a guy that can be inconsistent, not get it done at times. It’s upon all of us to take him to the next level. What that next level is, I don’t know. But he’s got to be a better quarterback in 2011 than he was in 2010. And I think that’s all I would ask him: Be better than you were last year. I think Joe will be willing to do that.”
I’m not sure what to make of that reaction by Ozzie…almost as if he’s challenging Flacco to step it up another level before the Ravens would decide to extend his contract?
I guess that’s how Ozzie rolls…
Flacco has gone 32-16 as a starter during the regular season and 4-3 in the postseason, but “hasn’t been able to get the Ravens to the Super Bowl”…oh sure, like that is Joe’s fault? Man, what a standard to hold against a 25-year-old quarterback phenom! Are the people who really say this as a knock on Joe serious?
Flacco is onlyonly the second quarterback since 1990 to win a playoff game in each of his first three seasons. The other quarterbacks to start a playoff game in each of their first three seasons are Bernie Kosar and Dan Marino.
Over the final 14 games of 2010, Flacco was the second-ranked passer with a 103.4 passer rating with 24 touchdowns and only five interceptions as the Ravens went 11-3 during that span. He finished as the seventh-ranked passer in the NFL.
“It is what it is,” Flacco said. “You hope to hear something exciting that they want to get something done. I don’t know that they do right now with everything going on. We’ll see what happens. You say you want to get something done next year. My attitude toward that is, ‘Well, I hope so.’ That’s all I’ve really thought about that. We’ll see what happens.”
Geez, if I were the Ravens guy in charge of keeping Joe Flacco on board with the program, I’d probably be going out of my way to tell him how much we loved his talent and needed him to lead this team for the next 10 years. Seems like the Ravens are taking a slightly different approach— playing a little aloof, and hard to get…Of course, we all know how that strategy can backfire in real life…and my worst nightmare is Joe Flacco coming to town in 2013 as a Cincinnati Bengal or a Cleveland Brown.
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