Joe Flacco a Top 5 QB?

Added on Feb 16, 2012 by Scott in

NFL

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco wants a new contract. And by most accounts, the Baltimore braintrust has every intention of giving him one. When the NFL Scouting Combine convenes next week in Indianapolis, Flacco’s agent Joe Linta will sit down with the powers that be to discuss a long-term extension. However, getting the money he and his client wants might be easier said than done.

While speaking with the Baltimore Sun, Linta did his very best to focus on Flacco’s positives.

“If the game is about wins and losses, he has to be in the top five (quarterbacks),” Joe Linta said of Flacco, who has gone 44-20 in four seasons and led the Ravens to two AFC Championship Game appearances.

“He is a player who has been extremely durable, never missed a game. And he’s done something that no one has ever done. In his four years in the league, he has never missed a game and has more wins than any other quarterback.”

Linta brings up an interesting point. Should wins and losses be the main factor when evaluating the overall worth of a franchise quarterback? It’s hard to argue with Flacco’s record. Like Linta surmised, the guy wins and doesn’t get hurt, which is exactly what teams want in a starting signal-caller.

However, suggesting Flacco is “Top 5″ material seems a tad crazy. That would put him into the same category as Brady, Rodgers, Brees, Rivers, both Mannings and Big Ben; with the exception of Rivers, all have Super Bowl rings. Ten Super Bowl rings to be exact.

And based on statistics alone, Flacco doesn’t stack up to any in that group. He’s thrown for 13,816 yards and 80 touchdown in four seasons. The closest among the “elite” would be Roethlisberger, who has amassed 14,906 yards and 91 touchdowns, and played in a pair of Super Bowls.

There’s no doubting Flacco’s value to the Ravens. That said, he’s not on the same level as the big name quarterbacks. He deserves a new deal, but breaking the bank to make it happen wouldn’t be a wise move.

Source: NFL.com