Where Joe Gets His Motivation

Perhaps Flacco is adamant about Jackson's arrival not being a motivating force because, in a way, saying so is kind of insulting.

If Flacco has a great 2018 season, then Jackson's arrival gets the credit? And implying that it took drafting a rookie quarterback to motivate Flacco would mean he wasn't motivated already.

For a quarterback who has often seen his success tagged with, "Well, he has a great defense," and heard plenty of criticism since 2012; for someone as self-assured as Flacco, that just doesn't sit well. A sliver of that attitude was seen earlier this preseason when Flacco was asked whether he expects to get tired of answering questions about Jackson.

"No. I don't," he said. "Because I think we're going to win and we're not going to hear about it."

That side of Flacco tends to get lost behind the ho-hum exterior. He's super competitive and super confident. Just take a look at his history.

When he was Tyler Palko's backup at the University of Pittsburgh, he grew so frustrated that he transferred to Delaware, in the Football Championship Subdivision, so he could start. He set 20 school records and led the Fightin' Blue Hens to the 2007 FCS Championship game.

When Flacco arrived in Baltimore as a first-round pick in 2008, he was competing for the starting job against former first-round pick Kyle Boller and former Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith. Boller got injured, Smith fell ill and Flacco grabbed the job for good and held it for the past 10 seasons.

In 2011, Flacco turned down a lucrative Ravens contract extension and went into the fifth and final year of his rookie contract with a less certain future. He had an epic playoff run, won the Super Bowl, was named its MVP and paid accordingly. He bet on himself and won.

When Jackson was still playing high school ball in Boynton Beach, Fla., Flacco was proving that he was a player who rises to the occasion. That's just who he's always been.

"My motivation comes from wanting to be the best. No matter what you do, you should strive to be the best in that," Flacco said. "For me, it's always been athletics. At this point in my life, it's playing quarterback. That's what motivates me – winning NFL football games, being the best at what I do."

You don't reach the NFL, become one of the world's best 32 quarterbacks, then become one of the league's top playoff performers, without being inwardly driven – no matter how good an arm you're blessed with.