Not Your Average Joe

After yet another long layoff my blog is making a comeback with a vengeance. I will be posting a new blog every night of this week with various topics ranging from the NBA's most underrated/overrated players to Alex Smith and the Chiefs. Who knows, I may even have a little something for you hockey lovers out there. For tonight, I will be discussing the question that many people have been asking the past few days: Does Joe Flacco deserve his new contract?

(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1103/nfl-memorable-wonderlic-scores/content.1.html)

This weekend Joe Flacco received a six year, $120.6 million deal with $52 million guaranteed. Take a moment to let that sink in. This deal makes him the highest paid player in NFL history, which of course makes us wonder if he truly is deserving of this amount (assuming that any athlete is actually worth the amount he is paid). The answer to this question is not as clear cut as one might think.

Since Flacco has been in the league all he's done is win games, accumulating a record of 63-30 including the postseason. During that span he reached the AFC Championship game three times and has one Super Bowl Championship and Super Bowl MVP. During his most recent postseason run that resulted in a Super Bowl victory, Flacco put up historic numbers by throwing 11 touchdowns without a single interception. This production is undoubtedly impressive, but when evaluating his overall worth it is important to look at his body of work as a whole.

It's undeniable that Flacco has won a lot of football games in just five years in the league. However, it is important to note that a lot of those wins were the result of stellar defense, rather than Flacco's play. The Ravens ranked 3rd in scoring defense each of his first four years in the league. This past season the defense struggled (at least by Ravens stardards), ranking 12th in scoring defense resulting in more pressure being placed on Flacco and his offense. With the offense carrying the team, the Ravens limped into the playoffs with a 10-6 record, losing 4 of their last 5 games.

Inconsistency has plagued Flacco throughout his career and this past season was no different. He has the ability to play great, as he displayed during his playoff run. He also showed flashes of brilliance throughout the regular season, finishing three games with a QBR of over 90. If this were the norm for him then he would deserve this contract with no debate from anyone. Sadly for him, that is not the case. This season Flacco had the two lowest QBR ratings since the stat started to be recorded in 2008 (0.3 and 0.4). His overall QBR for the entire season is also less than impressive seeing as he ranked 25th in the NFL. That puts him behind the likes of Christian Ponder, Ryan Tannehill, and Jake Locker.

Consistency, to me, is one of the most important characteristics a QB can have. Everyone has a bad game here or there, but the roller coaster performances keep him from being what I consider to be elite. With that being the case, it is impossible for me to say that he deserves the contract that he was given. That's not to say that he wasn't deserving of a big pay day. I just think he should be paid more on the level of a guy like Ben Roethlisberger or Tony Romo, and certainly should not be making more than Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees.