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Tag: joe flacco

  • Gary Kubaiak Hired As Offensive Coordinator Of The Baltimore Ravens

    The off-season is a time of rebuilding, and several teams around the league have already begun to hire new head coaches, along with coaches for the other positions.

    Gary Kubiak is the latest to be added to the list of new additions after leaving the Houston Texans before the end of the 2013 season. He was fired during a very disappointing season, and one that had predicted big things for the team at the beginning.

    Kubiak was let go at the point when the Texans were 2-11, and by the end of the season, they continued to decline and had a final record of 2-14.

    Since he left as the head coach, Bill O’Brien has been hired as his replacement, and will look to turn things around with the No.1 pick in the draft.

    Despite their awful season in 2013, in the time that he was the coach, Gary Kubiak compiled a 61-64 record as a head coach and took the Texans to the playoffs twice, losing in the divisional round both times, including to the Ravens in 2011.

    He was able to lead the Texans to have a solid offensive game behind Andre Johnson, one the league’s top receivers, and as the Ravens have struggled on the offensive end, having Kubiak on the sideline should help in that area.

    Speaking about the opportunity to work with coach John Harbaugh, and how things worked out, he said “I told John when he first called me: ‘I want to have a chance to enjoy coaching, teaching and have a chance to win.’ I know you would offer all of those opportunities if things worked out.”

    The Ravens have also added Rick Dennison as their quarterbacks coach, who was previously the offensive coordinator under Gary Kubiak.

    Gary Kurbiak will be working with an offense that finished 29th in the NFL in yards per game and 25th in scoring. Joe Flacco also set a franchise record with 22 interceptions on the season.

    The Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl last year, and while they lost a handful of their star players from that season, they still have what it takes to make the playoffs again, and almost did this year.

    After the addition of Gary Kubiak, John Harbaugh said that they have a chance to build the best offensive staff in the NFL. They will need it in order to improve to the offensive production that they had last year, and become a contender in the AFC again.

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  • Joe Flacco Banners Anger Denver Fans

    Joe Flacco Banners Anger Denver Fans

    Sports fans tend to hold grudges. All it takes is one crushing victory against their team and you face a lifetime of at least mild hatred from that city. That is just what is happening in Denver in the lead up to the season opening game between the Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens.

    Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who played a major role in the team’s upset of the Broncos in last year’s playoffs, isn’t exactly the most beloved player in Denver these days. That’s what makes his appearance on posters and giant banners around the city so unacceptable to fans. As part of the NFL marketing campaign for the rematch the posters have been spread throughout town, including a giant banner on the side of Denver’s home stadium.

    Even though it hangs adjacent to a similar banner of Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, fans are still unhappy with the decision. Some fans have even drawn mustaches and other objects on the Flacco posters. There is even an online petition circulating in hopes of forcing the league to remove the banners.

    In the end, it is a case of either Denver fans being sore losers or the NFL overstepping its marketing boundaries and embarrassing one of its premier franchises. Either way, the posters and banners are sure to light a fire under the Denver players and you can rest assured that they will be out for revenge on opening night.

    [Image via 7News on YouTube]

  • Joe Flacco Pledges Not to Use the R-Word

    This year, just before the Super Bowl, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (the self-proclaimed best quarterback in the NFL) stated that holding the Super Bowl in non-domed venues where the weather is cold is “retarded.” He immediately took his words back, calling it “stupid” instead, but the word had been said.

    Flacco issued a public apology on Super Bowl media day, saying it was “a bad choice of words.” This week, the Ravens’ starting quarterback is going even further.

    The Special Olympics of Maryland this weekend held a “Casino Night” to promote the Special Olympics and related organizations. At the event, Flacco and his teammates Gino Gradkowski and Ed Dickson signed a pledge not to use the word retarded. The Facebook post:

    (image)

    Special Olympics Maryland3 hours ago

    We had a blast on Saturday at Al Packer’s White Marsh Ford Casino Night – games, prizes, and Spread the Word to End the Word pledge signing! Thanks to everyone who made it out, including Baltimore Ravens Joe Flacco, Gino Gradkowski and Ed Dickson.

    Powered by socialditto(image)  20 likes ·  0 comments

    The pledge is part of the “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign, which seeks raise awareness that the words retard and retarded are seen by many as “dehumanizing and hurtful.” The campaign is a joint effort by the Special Olympics and Best Buddies International.

    (Image courtesy Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons)

  • Madden Predicts Super Bowl XLVII with Impressive Accuracy

    This shouldn’t really surprise you, considering their pretty stellar prediction record, but EA’s Madden franchise totally nailed this year’s Super Bowl.

    Last night, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a final score of 34 to 31. In the annual simulation that’s used to predict every big game since 2004, Madden said that the Ravens would win 27-24.

    Ok, so the score’s not perfectly accurate. But the spread is. Madden said that a Justin Tucker field goal would be the difference in the game, and when it was all over on Sunday evening, that’s exactly what separated the two teams.

    Not only that, but Madden predicted that the Ravens’ Ed Reed would intercept Niners’ QB Colin Kaepernick. Madden didn’t quite get the timing right (they said it would be in the final minutes), but they were right in that Ed Reed would snag a pick.

    The Madden simulation also correctly predicted that Joe Flacco would win MVP honors. Madden’s stat line gave Flacco 260 passing yards on 19 of 27 passing (70%) and two touchdowns. In reality, Flacco racked up 287 yards on 22 of 33 passing (67%) and three touchdowns.

    Pretty damn close.

    Madden NFL’s Super Bowl predictions have now been right 8 out of the last 10 years. The only two predictions they’ve ever missed were the Super Bowls won by Wild Card teams (Packers in 2011 and Giants in 2008).

    Speaking of Madden, we just learned that Madden 25 would be coming out on August 27th.

  • Joe Flacco Blasted For Saying He’s “Best QB” In NFL

    There’s a lot of ego floating around in the NFL, and for good reason; athletes get paid millions of dollars for skills most of us commoners only dream of having, and they get the big contracts because they perform consistently (well, for the most part).

    But sometimes that ego overshadows a person’s capability, and some wonder if that’s not what is happening with Joe Flacco, who said on Tuesday that he thinks he’s the “best quarterback” in the NFL.

    That’s not to say Flacco hasn’t performed; he’s arguably one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league and, despite a dip in numbers last season, led the Ravens to win the AFC North. But he’s never won a Super Bowl, and by some standards, that’s the hallmark of “the best” in the NFL.

    But there’s this to consider: he was commenting on something his agent, Joe Linta, said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun.

    “If the game is about wins and losses, he has to be in the top five quarterbacks,” Linta said, and rightly so. He is an agent.

    When asked to comment on Linta’s assertion, Flacco said, “I assume everybody thinks they’re a top-five quarterback. I mean, I think I’m the best. I don’t think I’m top five, I think I’m the best. I don’t think I’d be very successful at my job if I didn’t feel that way.”

    Which is true, and if he’d answered the question differently he would probably have been blasted for it anyway. Opinons will vary on his abilities no matter how well or poor he does on the field…as evidenced on Twitter today.

    (image)@ErneSnowden4
    Erne’ Snowden ????    Joe Flacco lead tha ravens to tha playoffs every year since he been in tha league(image) 22 minutes ago via UberSocial for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@AlexMyers3
    Alex Myers    I think it’s only appropriate that Joe Flacco declared himself the best quarterback in the NFL on #NationalTellALieDay…(image) 40 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@KenWeinmanSport
    Ken Weinman    I have no problem with joe flacco having confidence in himself but remember when eli played this card he already won super bowl and SBMVP(image) 1 hour ago via TweetCaster for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@ChrisVernonShow
    Chris Vernon    “I think I’m the best QB” – Joe Flacco — “I agree!” – nobody(image) 1 hour ago via Seesmic ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto