Guest BallTMore Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 (edited) http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13691649 BALTIMORE — Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco would beg to differ with teammates who have nicknamed him Joe Cool. But there are a lot of reasons for the label, and the Denver defense, which has manhandled an array of quarterbacks this season, saw every one of them Sunday in the Ravens' 30-7 victory. No matter what they did, the Broncos could not fluster the 24-year-old behind center, and he consistently made them pay. "That doesn't surprise me," Broncos safety Brian Dawkins said. "He'll stand in the pocket and stare down pressure. He's a big guy, tall guy, strong guy. He has heart. "Not everybody has that composure to sit there and take a hit and be able to deliver the ball on time. Guys can escape in the pocket, know how to work the pocket, but sometimes he'll just stand there flat-footed, look you in the face, know he's going to get hit and still deliver the ball. That's heart. That's somebody you can follow. No, Flacco didn't wrench the Broncos' heart out with explosive plays, and he didn't dazzle them with highlight runs. He simply faced what had been the league's top scoring defense and calmly helped put up 23 points, and the Ravens added seven more on a 95-yard kickoff return. Flacco completed 20-of-25 passes for 175 yards to go with a touchdown and no interceptions. Although the Broncos were relentless in their pass rush, they sacked Flacco only twice. "(Flacco) made a lot of tough plays under duress today," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. "He has shown that ability before, doesn't surprise us he was tough to get down. There's not much 'give up' in Joe Flacco." At one point in the second quarter, with the Ravens facing a second- and-11 from the Broncos' 31, Dawkins joined the pass rush and was locked on target when Flacco sidestepped the seven-time Pro Bowl safety and tossed the ball to running back Ray Rice for a 10-yard gain. No quarterback, including Tom Brady, Tony Romo and Philip Rivers, had converted a third down in the second half of the past four games against the Broncos' defense. Flacco and the Ravens made six third-down conversions in the second half Sunday. The Ravens also were the first team to rush for 100 yards against the Broncos this year. Edited November 4, 2009 by BallTMore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 It's one thing for us, the fans, to see this quality in Joe but acknowledgement from his opponents validates it. It's his second season and it looks like the sky is the limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varaven45 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Go Bazooka Joe !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colincac Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I heart Joe Flacco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravnravn Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I think he should change his number to #19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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