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By Matt Vensel | May 25, 2012
The most significant offensive additions the Ravens made this offseason were free-agent wide receiver Jacoby Jones and a pair of rookie linemen in Kelechi Osemele and Gino Gradkowski. Their personnel losses include Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs and veteran backups in running back Ricky Williams and wide receiver Lee Evans. On paper -- and we know the dangers of evaluating football teams on that alone -- it doesn't appear the Ravens have done much to improve an offense that ranked 12th in points scored and 15th in total yards a season ago. But there is reason to believe that the offense will be better in 2012: They will finally have a little continuity.
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The Baltimore Sun | December 14, 2011
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco's wife Dana is expecting the couple's first child, and the signal-caller finds the interest he's receiving "funny. " "I honestly don't pay attention. I just hear you guys ask me about it and I think that's even a little funny," Flacco said today. "Other than that, I don't really know what is going on about it but it's a little funny. It's not even close to being here yet, but it's exciting for us though.We're really excited about it. " Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times had the original news on the pregnancy.
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By Ken Murray, The Baltimore Sun | December 30, 2010
It was all the way back in Week 2 when Joe Flacco looked befuddled, when he threw four passes to the Cincinnati Bengals in a five-point Ravens' loss and looked like he was ready to implode. In the life of an NFL quarterback, it was an eternity ago. Fifteen weeks later, the Bengals are on the horizon again and there is no befuddlement in Flacco. There was no implosion, either. He is, as expected, leading the Ravens into the postseason for the third straight year. He has, as was hoped, shown signs of blossoming into one of the league's elite quarterbacks.
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By Matt Vensel | March 11, 2011
I can't say I ever thought of Joe Flacco while watching Cam Newton terrorize SEC defenses this past fall. But based on Newton's pro day workout at Auburn this week, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock thinks a comparison can be made between the Ravens quarterback and the Heisman Trophy winner. No, seriously. " I might draw a parallel with Joe Flacco ," Mayock said. "A couple of years ago, Joe Flacco came out of a spread offense [at Delaware]. He’s a big guy and I think what people needed him to do was kind of hasten the process.
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By Matt Vensel | February 9, 2012
For Thursday's newspaper, I began a three-part series called “Tweaking the Ravens” and I started by tweaking the offense. A big chunk of the analysis piece ( you can find it here ) was about the importance of continuity and stability for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who took a step forward in the team's recent postseason run. That's not to say Flacco is without flaws. He can improve in many areas, which says a lot about his potential. Based on some numbers crunched by Pro Football Focus, a site that got a lot of traction among NFL writers this past year, one area he and new quarterbacks Jim Caldwell can focus on is how Flacco fares when pressured.
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By Matt Vensel | December 22, 2011
Last week, I chatted with ESPN analyst and ex-NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck about San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers for an advance of the Ravens-Chargers game. While I had him on the line, I asked him about Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who has had an up-and-down season in 2011, his fourth in the NFL. Hasselbeck told me that Flacco isn't in the same category as a player like Rivers, whom many feel is one of the top six or seven quarterbacks in the league. But he still thinks the Ravens can do big things with Flacco.