(Evan Habeen/US PRESSWIRE)
Since drafting Joe Flacco in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens have made the playoffs each of the last four seasons–including a trip to the 2011 AFC Championship last year. For a team known for their defense, Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals displayed a team that seems capable of having one of the league’s top high-powered offense for the 2012 season–which means it may be time to re-consider that long-term deal Flacco’s been fighting for.
Flacco is in the final year of his contract and while the two sides were making progress during the offseason on a new long-term deal–this may be something the Ravens would want to address sooner rather than later. On top of his success with helping Baltimore reach the postseason every year since 2008, Flacco has thrown for at least 3,600 yards and 20 touchdowns in each of the last three seasons.
What makes Flacco’s case even stronger–his performance against the Bengals on Monday night was nothing short of phenomenal as he looked like a quarterback that we’ve never seen before. From completing deep passes to running the no-huddle, Flacco was doing all of the right things early on against Cincinnati’s defense and never looked back as Baltimore went on to win 44-13.
Obviously, the Ravens are going to work out some-sort of deal with their franchise quarterback; it’s just a matter of when they decide on doing it. The smart decision would to make the deal happen as soon as possible to keep him happy throughout the regular season so he doesn’t have it weighing on his shoulders–especially if he’s going to play like he did on Monday night.
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